Pittsburgh, PA - (March 23, 2010) -

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial has been engaged to lease Northpointe Technology Center II, a 30,000 square foot new construction flex project with a target delivery date of Fall 2010. Northpointe is located along Route 28 at Exit 18. The space will be ideal for office start-ups or larger office users, and for those in need of light manufacturing space.

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial will also be responsible for the leasing efforts at Northpointe Technology Center I, an existing 30,000 SF Flex/Light Manufacturing building.

John Bilyak, Principal & Director of Industrial Brokerage and Jessica L. Jarosz, Associate, of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial, are representing the Armstrong County Industrial Development Authority in this exciting new project. Feel free to contact John or Jessica at 412.321.4200 for more information or to schedule a tour.

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE.

By Sam Spatter, FOR THE PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Pittsburgh led the nation during 2009 in the amount of office space leased or occupied by new tenants, the chief economist for Grubb & Ellis, a national commercial real estate company, said Tuesday.

"The region did remarkably well versus other markets," said Bob Bach, during the firm's 2010 Commercial Real Estate Forecast Update at the Duquesne Club, Downtown.

The region filled 693,276 square feet of office space -- equal to about 40 football fields -- which helped reduce the office vacancy rate to about 15 percent -- from about 16 percent -- while other cities, such as Philadelphia, had 2 million square feet vacated last year, increasing office vacancy to 16.8 percent, Bach said.

The overall increase in occupancy was fueled by Westinghouse Electric Co.'s move to about 500,000 square feet of space at its new world headquarters in Cranberry, and Dick's Sporting Goods occupancy of its new 670,000-square-foot headquarters in Findlay, at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Other gains included K&L Gates law firm occupying 251,000 square feet of space in K&L Gates Center, formerly One Oliver Plaza Building, Downtown, and the state's leasing of space in three Downtown buildings, now that the State Office Building, Downtown, has been sold to Millcraft Industries Inc. Because the state owned the building, the office space was not included in previous office inventories.

Offsetting losses included about 387,000 square feet of space at Westinghouse's former Monroeville campus and 289,000 square feet of space K&L Gates is vacating at the Henry W. Oliver building, Downtown. But BNY Mellon Corp. already has leased 100,000 square feet of space at the Monroeville site.

Bach said class A rental rates Downtown are predicted to increase to $22.75 this year from $21.75 per square foot last year, while suburban office rates could increase to about $20.85 from about $20.40 per square foot of space.

"Dwindling class A space will force tenants to consider second generation space, and the limited availability of larger blocks of space will provide upward pressure on class A rates," he said.

Pittsburgh, PA - (March 17, 2010) -

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is pleased to announce the 3,500 SF lease signing of Nine10 Interactive, Inc at 125 Hillvue Lane in Pittsburgh, PA 15237.

Edward R. Lawrence, of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial represented the landlord in the transaction. Gail Beek of ACRES represented Nine10 Interactive, Inc.

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE.

NAI Global Named Global Broker of the Year

By Private Equity Real Estate Magazine

The readers of Private Equity Real Estate (PERE) magazine named NAI Global the Global Broker of the Year in the PERE Awards 2009.

"Each year, the readers of PERE magazine and PERENews.com nominate and choose the firms, individuals and deals they believe stood out from the crowd the previous year," said Zoe Hughes, Senior Editor, Real Estate. "2009 was a year in which the private real estate investing world experienced a tremendous amount of turmoil, so to be selected in this year's awards is a tremendous accolade from our readers and a vote of confidence in what lies ahead forNAI Global."

"This award is a testament to the quality and commitment of NAI Global and its professionals around the world in serving the private equity and financial sectors," said Jeffrey M. Finn, NAI Global President & CEO. "Looking ahead, we will continue to innovate and add value with focused service offerings like our Special Asset Solutions group or the Commercial Property PowerSale program, to deliver exceptional results for clients around the globe."

NAI Global offers a wide range of services for the commercial real estate investment sector, including asset management, acquisition/disposition, property management, leasing/agency services, valuation and advisory, market analytics, auction and portfolio optimization. The Global Broker of the Year award from PERE serves as recognition that NAI Global is the best at identifying and anticipating a client's investment and brokerage needs.

Peter Setaro
Director of Public Relations

The readers of Private Equity Real Estate (PERE) magazine named NAI Global the Global Broker of the Year in the PERE Awards 2009.

“Each year, the readers of PERE magazine and PERENews.com nominate and choose the firms, individuals and deals they believe stood out from the crowd the previous year,” said Zoe Hughes, Senior Editor, Real Estate. “2009 was a year in which the private real estate investing world experienced a tremendous amount of turmoil, so to be selected in this year’s awards is a tremendous accolade from our readers and a vote of confidence in what lies ahead for NAI Global.”

“This award is a testament to the quality and commitment of NAI Global and its professionals around the world in serving the private equity and financial sectors,” said Jeffrey M. Finn, NAI Global President & CEO. “Looking ahead, we will continue to innovate and add value with focused service offerings like our Special Asset Solutions group or the Commercial Property PowerSale™ program, to deliver exceptional results for clients around the globe.”

NAI Global offers a wide range of services for the commercial real estate investment sector, including asset management, acquisition/disposition, property management, leasing/agency services, valuation and advisory, market analytics, auction and portfolio optimization. The Global Broker of the Year award from PERE serves as recognition that NAI Global is the best at identifying and anticipating a client’s investment and brokerage needs.

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE

Pittsburgh, PA - (March 10, 2010)

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is pleased to announce the 3,600 square foot lease signing of National Association of EMS Educators at 250 Mt. Lebanon Boulevard, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The National Association of EMS Educators was established in 1995 as a membership organization designed to promote and provide a voice for EMS Education. Today, it is a national professional association comprised of educators, instructors, teachers, training officers, directors and advisors in EMS in both the private and public sectors.

Ralph Egerman, Principal of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial, represented EMS Educators in this transaction.

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE

Spokane Kootenai County Real Estate Forum

West Plains Development by Scott Person of NAI Black


I. Spokane County- There have been three areas in the west plains that
Spokane County has focused on existing or future development. These areas/projects have been identified as the Spokane Raceway, potential sites for the new Spokane jail, and the Geiger rail spur re-alignment.
a. Geiger spur re-alignment
i. Approximately 4 years ago in conjunction with the federal government, Spokane County started the process to move the Geiger spur off of Fairchild Air Force Base to help increase base security and allow for increase amount of weekly trips on the rail spur.
ii. Because of the re-alignment, there are several businesses that were able to benefit and stay in the area, such as Seaport Steel, Metals Fabrication Co., Western Rail Switching.
iii. Geiger spur will allow for future development, in which the county has set aside space for a potential transloader facility to enhance the attractiveness of new business into the area.

b. Spokane Raceway
i. Raceway encompasses 314.43 acres that are broken out into 3 areas.
ii. The overall intentions of the raceway were to provide space for community activities facilities that include a sports complex; maintaining operations of a raceway; provide space within the county for a future law enforcement training facility.
iii. Raceway has identified an operator and are negotiating the contract hoping to have the raceway up and operating by spring 2010.
iv. Working with Airway Heights to develop a 72 acre sports facility that will include soccer and baseball playing fields.
v. No immediate plans, but conversations with the sheriff have taken place on potentially developing a regional training facility, but nothing planned in the near future.

c. Jail Site
i. Current lease of a 400 bed corrections facility expires on airport land in 2013.
ii. County has identified 10 locations of which 6 are located in the West Plains area.
iii. County has completed 2 of 3 steps to narrowing down site selection from the 10 identified by mid-March.

II. New incorporation- As everyone has heard in the news, approximately 6,464 acres will be annexed between the city of Airway Heights and the city of Spokane.
a. Spokane will gain 6,144 acres and Airway Heights will gain 320.
b. This annexation is expected to go into affect January 1, 2012.
c. Until that time, all vested projects will be processed through the County.
d. Spokane owners should see some reduction in utility charges based on a use fee that was added when under county.
e. Services will not be affected by these areas.

III. Northern Quest Casino
a. New hotel that includes 250 rooms of which 22 are suites, and the new hotel will also house a 14,000 square foot spa and salon.
b. 22,000 square feet of conference & meeting rooms.
c. In addition to fine dining, there are 13 other food and lounge venues within the facility.
d. Future development includes the ability to develop another 450 room hotel and 252 acres to the south for retail and commercial development.

IV. Spokane International Airport Business Park
a. The airport has approximately 5,400 acres of which there are roughly 2,000 acres of development land broken down into the business park, industrial development and Airport Drive.
b. Business park consists of approximately 104 acres designed for office uses.
c. The industrial development land consists of approximately 950 acres for industrial development.
d. Airport Drive consists of approximately 120 acres that is being marketed for office light retail uses.
e. The Spokane Airport Business Park is identified as a foreign trade zone that does provide benefits to companies that conduct international business.
f. Waste to Energy contract expires at the end of 2011, although the plant will not be able to retail the energy, the airport and city will have the ability to utilize steam energy from the plant.
g. This year they’ll complete the extension of the main runway by 2,000 feet, replace the concrete apron and have increased number of non-stop flights and available seats.

V. City of Airway Heights
a. Focusing on residential development north of Hwy 2 , industrial south of Hwy 2 and commercial retail along Hwy 2.
b. Completing a new water treatment center in 2011 that will service properties along Hwy 2 and to the south.
c. Sports facility estimated some time in 2012.
d. Working to annex a small area at the west end of the city at Hwy 2 and Craig Road.

VI. Private Development
a. Supply of industrial land is approximately 9,300 acres.
b. Over the last 13 years, there have been approximately 935 acres used, of which approximately 4.5% have been utilized for manufacturing.
c. Average of 71.9 acres per year, of which 5.2 acres are for industrial uses.
d. At 71.9 acres per year, West Plains has about a 129 year supply for all uses.
e. Vandevert.
i. Northwest Tech Park
1. Consists of 223 acres.
2. Intent is to be developed with mixed office and light manufacturing/technology users.
3. Existing users consists of an 110,000 square foot Ambassadors Group building, 120 room hotel, 2 parcels under contract with government & office uses.

ii. Cross Point Plaza
1. Consists of 227,000 square feet of existing buildings that include an 188,000 square foot Walmart and approximately 39,000 square feet of retail space that was constructed starting about 2007. The 39,000 square feet of retail are near stabilized occupancy, and there is the ability to add an additional 60,000 square feet of retail uses, adjacent, to the east.

iii. Deer Creek Village
1. 25 acres.
2. New 29,000 square foot 10 screen theater.
3. Two Story 47,000 square foot office building to be built in spring 2010.

f. Other West Plain areas of development
i. Cheney Industrial and Research Park.
ii. County looking long term to encourage more commercial uses along the south side of I-90.

Over all, the West Plains has experienced a moderate level of growth over the past couple of years. Last year there was a dip in development that was obviously caused by the slow economy, but each of the private and governmental entities located in the West Plains have positioned themselves to continue business and development at a steady pace.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010
By Timothy McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Longtime dreams of new Allegheny riverfront housing, commercial spaces, bike paths and other recreational amenities are a step closer to reality, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is set to announce today.

The city plans to join forces with the Buncher Co. real estate firm to redevelop some 80 acres of riverfront land, starting in the Strip District and going north 6.5 miles to the foot of Highland Park. The city would combine parcels it owns -- including the historic Produce Terminal on Smallman Street and the 22-acre former Tippins International site at 62nd Street -- with industrial properties Buncher owns in Lawrenceville and the Strip District to create the redevelopment site.

Construction could kick off in the Strip District in 2013, in the 40 undeveloped acres behind the terminal building on the south bank of the Allegheny River. The city and the Urban Redevelopment Authority will spend some $20 million in capital funds to remediate the site and prepare it for redevelopment. Buncher will then follow master plans for that site -- and other parcels dotting the riverfront up through Lawrenceville -- that architects Perkins Eastman have been compiling for the URA over the past year.

The hope is to follow the city's 1990s success in using public-private partnerships to redevelop the former LTV site into the bustling SouthSide Works development.

"This historic development partnership will allow us to reconnect our neighborhoods to the rivers," Mr. Ravenstahl said in a statement. The plans will "unlock the true potential of this portion of the riverfront."

Perkins Eastman has been working for more than a year on the Allegheny Riverfront Vision plan, under a $350,000 contract from the URA. It drew on similar plans from the city's Riverlife Task Force and used input from community meetings the last several months, and is set to deliver the plan next month.

Officials stressed that the developments could take years, or even decades, to complete. The URA bought the 123-acre LTV site in 1993 and the first buildings from the Soffer Organization weren't completed for 11 years. Unlike that project, the 80 acres in the current plan are spread over miles and not completely contiguous.

"It's a dream come true, but a work in progress," said state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, who has been pushing redevelopment of the Allegheny riverfront since joining Pittsburgh City Council 23 years ago.

The first formal step is a URA board vote Thursday on an agreement with Buncher. The URA will agree to adding infrastructure such as streets, parks and trails to the parcels behind the terminal building on Smallman Street, which Mr. Ferlo said Buncher will likely use for residential construction. (The Strip has experienced the largest increase in housing sales prices and demand in the city, Perkins Eastman found.)

The estimated $20.5 million cost of those upgrades would likely be paid through local, state and federal capital funds and tax increment financing (TIF). By city estimates, the work would create the equivalent of 5,000 new jobs and $6 million in new tax revenue.

After that project, developers would work up the river, possibly relocating some industrial firms in Buncher-controlled properties from 43rd to 48th streets in Lawrenceville up to the Tippins site less than 20 blocks north. That would create space for riverfront access for Lawrenceville residents -- access, parks and other riverfront amenities are major parts of the master plan. Traffic studies for Butler Street and surrounding roadways would be included.

"It's a progressive domino effect of land uses, for higher and better uses of the corridor," Mr. Ferlo said.

The city plans to honor leases through 2012 for those currently within the produce terminal building and then relocate them. The adjacent construction in the first phase of the project could start in 2013. The Neighbors in the Strip community group already has plans -- partially funded by the URA -- for a public market in portions of the terminal building.

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE

By Sam Spatter, FOR THE PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, March 6, 2010

Apartment buildings are hot properties in the Pittsburgh market, and at least five major projects are in the works to satisfy demand from renters and investors, local real estate experts said.

One of the projects is a proposal for 220 apartments in the former State Office Building, Downtown, according to experts and the developer.

Millcraft Industries Inc. completed the purchase of the 16-story building on Monday, paying $4.6 million. Millcraft officials had delayed announcing how they would use the building, saying only that they would begin work by late summer on anything from residential condos to apartments to retail space.

The state moved 800 employees out of the building over the past few months into other Downtown buildings.

"We are considering the 220 apartments for the building, but we also would consider an office tenant who offers to occupy the entire building," said Lucas Piatt, Millcraft Industries' executive vice president. He said there are no plans to convert the building into a hotel.

Other projects under development include the conversion of the former Goodwill Industries headquarters building into 64 apartments in the South Side; the former South Side Vo-Tech School into 71 units; 100 units in an apartment in the Oakland Portal project in Oakland; and 112 units in the Highland Building in East Liberty.

Apartment buildings are holding their value during difficult economic times, said Paul D. Griffith, managing director for Integra Realty Resources in Pittsburgh.

"What's driving the demand for apartments is the low vacancy rates, with Pittsburgh having among the lowest in the nation," said Griffith, who spoke this week at a meeting of the local chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.

Pittsburgh's apartment occupancy rate of 96.6 percent is ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to a mid-year 2009 survey by M/PF Research, a Texas firm that tracks rental markets.

The occupancy rate is the best in the nation by a fairly sizable margin, said Greg Willett, M/PF vice president, research and analysis.

Federal aid is available to help finance apartment projects. All of the projects mentioned are considering using the Department of Housing and Urban Development's 221(d)4 mortgage insurance program, said Cheryl Campbell, field office director of the Pittsburgh office.

"The South Side Vo-Tech project has received a firm commitment, and the other four have expressed interest but not submitted an application," she said. The program offers longer financing and lower-interest rates, she said.

Two area apartment complexes -- the Morrowfield in Squirrel Hill with 156 units and the Waterford in Collier with 315 units -- are on the market and have attracted interest from investors, said Cynthia Kamin, senior vice president, CB Richard Ellis.

"About 70 percent of the inquiries, including some offers, have come from out-of-town investors," she said. Recently, out-of-town buyers are getting more competition from local buyers, she said.

In the past, 70 percent of the buyers were from out of town. Recently, they consist of 50 percent, she said.

Out-of-town buyers bought three major apartment complexes within the past 12 months.
Brookview Associates, an affiliate of St. Louis-based developer Brookview Group Ltd., paid $10.2 million for the 241-unit Penn Towers in Wilkins; Morgan Management LLC of Pittsford, N.Y., paid $11.6 million for the 291-unit Westpointe Apartments in Robinson; and Morgan Communities of Pittsford purchased the 232-unit Lincoln at North Shore. No sales price was released.

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE

Pittsburgh Business Times
by Tim Schooley

Rock Ferrone’s ambition to develop a busy industrial park around an air strip in West Deer Township near Pittsburgh appears to have reached the end of the runway.

On Monday, NAI Pittsburgh Commercial announced that it has been hired to market the 263-acre Rockpointe industrial park for sale, either in its entirety or in smaller parcels.

“For whatever reason, it just didn’t work out and he wasn’t able to attract the building owners and users like he needed to,” said Gregg Broujos, a principal for NAI working on the assignment for Ferrone. “He’s going to move on and sell it so that someone else can finish it off.”

The sale includes the 3,500-foot air strip and its surrounding acreage. Not included in the sale are the two buildings owned and occupied by Management Safety Associates, Inc. or the building owned and operated by Joseph B. Fay Company. Independent of the sale of the park, Zambrano Corp. is also marketing for sale a 65,000 square foot office building within the park which is fully vacant.

John Bilyak, principal and director of Industrial brokerage for NAI, called the land included in the sale “western Pennsylvania flat” and estimated that 60 percent to 70 percent of the overall property included in the sale is developable. The industrial park is fully equipped with all utilities and infrastructure.

The park is zoned industrial with a business and technology overlay, according to NAI.
The goal is to sell the property to one buyer but Broujos and Bilyak said the land could be subdivided for smaller users as well, with seven acre-parcels selling in the range of $30,000 to $60,000 per acre.

Close to the Pittsburgh Mills and 25 minutes from Downtown Pittsburgh, the park is accessible to Route 28. Bilyak expects demand to be strong since industrial, office and land in the Allegheny Valley corridor he described as “historically tight.”

“If you try to identify a three-to-seven-acre parcel along the 28 corridor you really have to go up into Armstrong county before you can have options,” said Bilyak.

The property goes on the market as its status as a Keystone Opportunity Zone, which enables the owner to avoid state and local taxes, is set to expire at the end of the year after a ten-year term, said Bilyak.

Bilyak and Broujos hope to sell the property this year and are marketing it nationwide.

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is a Pittsburgh proud locally owned and operated company. To see some of the investment and development opportunities available in the Pittsburgh region CLICK HERE