F E A T U R E
D owntown Pittsburgh was 2010s, but the “work” part of that equation had begun eroding in the middle of the decade. Once the third largest home to Fortune 500 companies, Downtown becoming a more vibrant live/ work/play center throughout the Pittsburgh lost tens of thousands of daytime workers when industrial giants moved out in the 1980s, even as five new buildings were built. After stabilizing and rebounding in the 1990s, office occupancy rates soared in the mid-2010s. Those single-digit vacancy rates belied the coming trend of subleases and structural downsizing that was to come later in the decade. The pandemic was the last straw. In the fall of 2022, the effects of the pandemic are still palpable from 9:00-to- 5:00; however, the vibrance of nights in
revitalized retail driving new residential development 20 years ago. When the city got out of the way and let developers set the vision, residential flourished and lifestyle amenities followed. But the health of the office market downtown was masked by several factors that were unrelated to the factor that drives office occupancy: job growth. The job growth that is anticipated in Pittsburgh in the coming decade is unlikely to be in sectors that will gravitate to downtown. It will be tough to move the needle on the office occupancy levels downtown, even if everyone returned to the office by Thanksgiving. That does not mean that downtown faces a bleak future. What the market has already begun to demand – more residential downtown – is being met by converting
downtown has returned. Restaurants and bars are full. The Cultural District is selling out again. Streets are full of residents walking dogs and suburbanites taking a night on the town. If you had asked a civic leader for a vision of a vibrant downtown 20 years ago, chances are they would have described a scene like you can find on any given evening. Even the most optimistic promoter of downtown might not have expected the number of apartments and condos being occupied. It is safe to say that no one would have predicted that 80 percent of the daytime workforce would be absent. Leaders now must set a new course for Downtown Pittsburgh. With any luck, the market will follow. That does not always happen. Tom Murphy had a vision of
The addition of permanent outdoor seating throughout the CBD helped restaurants survive the pandemic and is one reason why dining is stronger in 2022 than in 2019. Image courtesy of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.
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DEVELOPING PITTSBURGH | Fall 2022
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