NAI PITTSBURGH COMMERCIAL IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE
The Sale of 256 Kappa Drive in RIDC/O’Hara

PITTSBURGH, PA (May 19, 2010)

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial was the listing & selling agent for an 11,500 sq. ft. flex building at 256 Kappa Drive in the RIDC/O’Hara business park. The seller was Superior Specialty Company and the buyer was 258 Kappa Drive LP.

John Bilyak, Principal and Director of Industrial Brokerage and Gregory H.M. Broujos, Founding Principal, were involved in the sale.

According to Mr. Bilyak, “256 Kappa was not on the market very long and had much
activity during the marketing campaign. This is a testament to the continued tight flex,warehouse, and office market along the Route 28 corridor.”

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
Pittsburgh, PA (May 15, 2010)

Metro Pittsburgh has the 73rd strongest economy in the United States, according to a study released Wednesday by Policom Corp.

The top 10 are Seattle; Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria; Denver; Houston; Sacramento, Calif.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Des Moines, Iowa; San Diego; Madison, Wis.; and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.

So what constitutes a top area in terms of economics?

"The top rated areas have had rapid, consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period of time," said William Fruth, president of Palm City, Fla.-based Policom. “The rankings do not reflect the latest ‘hotspot’ or boom town, but the areas which have the best economic foundation. While most communities have slowed or declined during this recession, the strongest areas have been able to weather the storm.”

The study focused on 366 metropolitan areas, including Pittsburgh. The firm considers a metropolitan area to be at least one urbanized geographic location that has a population of 50,000 or more persons.

To determine how these areas are performing, Policom measures 23 different economic factors.

The data company followed 20 years of data covering 23 economic factors to create the rankings. The most recent study focused on a 19-year period stretching from 1989 to 2008.

Policom is an independent research firm that focuses on economics and specializes in analyzing local and state economies.

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

Pittsburgh, PA (May 7,2010)

The private sector may be struggling to come up with financing for industrial real estate development, but that isn’t stopping the Armstrong County Industrial Development Authority from pushing forward on a 30,000 SF addition at Northpinte, a 995 acre mixed-use development.

With $4million in state and federal dollars in hand, the county authority expects to break ground soon, adding to the development, located in South Buffalo Township near the Route 28 Allegheny Expressway.

“If we can fill that niche, I’m happy to do so,” said Michael Coonley, executive director of the public authority, which works jointly with Armstrong County Industrial Development Council. “It was the perfect storm. There was a need indentified in that 28 corridor. We had very little to spare in our existing buildings.”

Home to a mix of tenants that includes Boeing, BNY Mellon and a branch of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Northpointe now consists of nine privately owned buildings.

With occupancy at the development running near 100 percent since its first year, Northpointe was able to secure local and federal funding for the project, which should be available in the fall. While still intended for flex use, the new building’s configuration will be designed more for office users and accommodate either larger tenants or small companies in need of about 6,000 SF.

“It will probably have a higher percentage of office users than our previous buildings,” Coonley said. “There are components of the building that will have areas for light manufacturing and research and development.”

John Bilyak, the director of Industrial Brokerage with NAI Pittsburgh Commercial helping to market the property, was unsure if the business park would be able to draw the same kinds of defense-related companies it has in the past, given the passing last year of U.S. Rep. Jack Murtha, the powerful Johnstown Democrat who brought considerable federal funding to his district, which includes Northpointe.

But Bilyak expects the new building will have no problem finding tenants, with vacancy levels low and little other available land in the area. “The northeast corridor of the Allegheny Valley has never been tighter since I’ve been in the business,” he said. “That includes any product type with the exception of retail.”

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.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010
By Sally Kalson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Once again, Pittsburgh has been named the country's Most Livable City, this time by Forbes.com.

The business publication ranked the metropolitan area as No. 1, based on its arts and leisure scene, job prospects, safety and affordability -- but not, obviously, on its baseball team.

This is the second-year running that the city has picked up a Most Livable distinction. Last year, British magazine The Economist named Pittsburgh No. 1 in the United States, and 29th worldwide. But it's a big jump from where Forbes ranked Pittsburgh in 2009, when it came in at No. 10.

Reiterating the description that has won high marks from other ratings mavens as well, Forbes reporter Francesca Levy wrote of the city's rebound from its manufacturing past, with "disused steel mills" transformed into multimedia art centers.

In addition to the Rust Belt renaissance, the article cited the city's strong university presence with more than a dozen campuses, noting that college towns in general have a younger, more educated and consumer-oriented population.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl pounced on the news, sending out a statement that "Our city has come a long way and I'm thrilled that Forbes.com has once again recognized Pittsburgh's unique position as a city that truly has it all -- entertainment and affordability, but most importantly, safety and jobs."

If people are guffawing at the honor the way they did in 1985, when the city won its first Most Livable distinction, from the Places Rated Almanac, they're woefully out of date, said Joe McGrath, president of Visit Pittsburgh, the official tourist promotion agency of Allegheny County.

"This is more validation that our product is as good as we say it is," he said.

So why is the region still losing population?

"It takes a while to steer a new course and change directions," Mr. McGrath said. "But it is happening."

The methodology looked at five measures in the 200 largest Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

Economically, cities were ranked both by their five-year income growth and current unemployment rate, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The stronger the income growth and the lower the unemployment, the higher each city ranked.

"Jobs don't mean everything, though," the article said. "A city is more livable if a family's income goes further. Using cost of living data from Moody's Economy.com, we ranked cities higher that had lower costs for everyday goods."

Inexpensive is not always desirable, however, so the ranking included crimes per 100,000 residents, using data from the FBI and Sperling's Best Places. Also considered was a thriving local culture crucial to livability, based on an index from Sperling's Best Places.

Each city's final score was an average of all the factors. Looking at Pittsburgh's numbers, it appears that low crime rate, active arts scene and high income growth put the city over the top. The city's score card:

Low unemployment: 73

Low crime: 15

Income growth: 20

Low cost of living: 52

Arts and leisure: 26

After Pittsburgh in the top slot, Forbes.com ranked these cities: 2) Ogden-Clearfield, Utah; 3) Provo-Orem, Utah; 4) Ann Arbor, Mich.; 5) Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.; 6) Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa; 7) Manchester-Nashua, N.H.; 8) Trenton-Ewing N.J.; 9) a tie, with Lincoln, Neb., and Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.

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 – (May 5, 2010)

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is proud to announce they have been selected to be the Exclusive Leasing Agent for 95 West Beau Street in Washington, PA.

95 West Beau Street is a Six (6) Story, LEED Certified, 144,000 SF mixed-use building that was constructed in 2006 and is located in historic downtown Washington. The building is adjacent to and attached to an 800 car public parking garage, is minutes from Interstates 79 and 70, and is in walking distance to various amenities. Currently, there is 3,500 to 106,000 contiguous SF of Class A office space immediately available and “plug & play” ready.

Paul Horan, a Founding Principal of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial said “We are excited for the opportunity to work with Millcraft Industries and specifically 95 West Beau Street. This is a premier property, strategically located to accommodate the ever growing demand for quality office space in Washington County.”

For additional information on this office opportunity, please contact Paul Horan (ext. 205) or Jeff Adams (ext. 210) at (412) 321-4200.

PITTSBURGH, PA May 6, 2010

NAI PITTSBURGH COMMERCIAL IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE:
Patrick Sentner, SIOR has been elected as SIOR Regional Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region.

NAI Pittsburgh Commercial is pleased to announce that Patrick Sentner, SIOR has been elected as SIOR Regional Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region and will be installed during the SIOR Leadership Conference on October 20, 2010.

Mr. Sentner has been affiliated with and active in the SIOR since 2003 and has over 20
years of experience in the commercial real estate community.

Patrick Sentner, a Founding Principal of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial said “As a true advocate of the SIOR principals, I am honored to represent this outstanding organization in a greater capacity.”