These offices are being converted to housing
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The former FHL Bank Building, aka the Porter Project, is being converted into housing. Photo: Ryan Deto/Axios
Downtown Pittsburgh is busy converting some of its scores of old office buildings into housing.
Why it matters: The city is still recovering from job losses caused by a pandemic-induced remote work burst, and one way to improve Downtown is to add more residents to replace the workers it might not get back.
Driving the news: Columbus-based developers Woda Cooper Companies presented plans to the Pittsburgh Planning Commission last week for Smithfield Lofts, a conversion of a 120-year-old office building into mostly affordable housing.
- The top nine floors of 4 Smithfield St. will be transformed into 46 units, with 39 subsidized as affordable for low-income renters and seven market-rate, according to Woda Cooper's presentation.
- Jared Miller, vice president of development at Woda Cooper, said the historic building offers an excellent redevelopment opportunity.
Zoom in: Six other office-to-housing conversions are in the pipeline for Downtown — including the iconic 582-foot Gulf Tower and the 18-story former FHL Bank Building — said Kyle Chintalapalli, chief economic development officer for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey.
- Two conversions have recently been completed: the Livewell Apartments at the former GNC headquarters building and the Ivy Residences at the Triangle Building on Smithfield.
By the numbers: That's about 1,300 new housing units across these buildings, with about one-fourth of those subsidized to be affordable to low-income residents, said Chintalapalli.
What they're saying: Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said Downtown's many early 20th century offices have closed floor plans that are ideal for housing conversions.
- "If our building boom had happened in the 1980s and those were all open floor plan skyscrapers, then it wouldn't be true that they were primed for conversion," he said.
- There are still roughly two dozen office buildings that are good candidates for housing conversions, but haven't had any funding proposals attached to them, said Chintalapalli.
State of play: As of 2024, Downtown Pittsburgh is 91% office buildings, compared to 9% apartment towers, according to the Brookings Institution.
- That's the highest share of office space relative to apartment inventory of any of the six downtowns reviewed by Brookings. Los Angeles, St. Louis, Houston, Winston-Salem, N.C., and Stamford, Conn., were reviewed.
Context: Downtown Pittsburgh is getting an infusion of $600 million to help convert office buildings to housing and revamp public spaces ahead of the city hosting the 2026 NFL Draft.
- Chintalapalli said Gainey's work bringing in this investment has been crucial to the conversions.
What's next: There are another five building applications in front of the URA to convert offices to housing, according to Chintalapalli. Those are still contingent on whether they are awarded funding.
- Those would create 300 units, 272 of which would be subsidized to be affordable for low-income residents, if they are approved and funded.