78° 
Release Date: Thursday, April 28th 2011
Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh seeks buyers for Robin Civic Building, Downtown
Pittsburgh seeks buyers for Robin Civic Building, Downtown
Thursday, April 28, 2011
By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The city Urban Redevelopment Authority is looking to sell the Downtown Pittsburgh building that houses the offices for about 300 city-related employees, including its own.
The URA today announced that it wants to vet the qualifications of developers interested in buying and redeveloping the 13-story Robin Civic Building, built in the early 1900s. The building at 200 Ross St. is jointly owned by the city, URA and city housing authority.
The building, named for former URA executive director John P. Robin, is appraised at about $1.9 million. The authority did not give an asking price.
The sale would mean the relocation of 92 URA employees, plus 85 from the housing authority, 70 from the city Bureau of Building Inspection, 12 from the city fire department and 43 from the city planning department, which holds public hearings in the building's first-floor meeting room.
Officials haven't decided where to relocate the employees, but said a move would be at least two years away.
"There are several development scenarios where the sale of the building yields a higher and better return on the public's investment than in its current nontaxable use," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said in a statement. "We want to put it out in the marketplace to see if there is interest from developers."
Officials said possible uses include a hotel, residences or offices. Some projects would be eligible for a special tax credit for redevelopment of a historic property.
The invitation to developers may be found at www.ura.org. Applicants must submit their qualifications by noon June 17.
"The URA's mission is to create economic development opportunities throughout the city and when considering buildings prime for redevelopment, we realized that our very own location at 200 Ross St. could be a viable economic development opportunity," URA Executive Director Rob Stephany said.
A committee comprising representatives from all three owners will vet developers' qualifications and recommend a finalist. City Council and the URA and housing authority boards individually would have to approve the sale.
A. Fulton Meachem, Jr., executive director of the housing authority, said the project is "an opportunity to maximize the impact we can have in generating economic activity and pursuing our mission to the benefit of Pittsburgh communities."
A surface parking lot will be included in the sale. Officials said the building will be sold as-is. Proposals for development of the parking lot only won't be considered.
Joe Smydo: jsmydo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1548.
First published on April 28, 2011 at 4:33 pm
