Dilapidated Downtown Pittsburgh Eyesore Getting $63M Makeover

PITTSBURGH, PA - A long-vacant 7-story buuilding in the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh is about to get a $63 million makeover that will transform it into a mixed-use development that will include retail, offices and residences.

Cleveland-based Start Enterprises, which owns the building, will detail plans for the building at 441 Smithfield Street, between Fifth and Forbes avenues across the street from the former Kaufmann’s department store, at a Pittsburgh Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday.

Stark plans to rechristen the building The Icon that will include 60,000 square feet of retail space on the first two floors, 160,000 square feet of office space on floors three through five and 40 apartment units on the sixth and seventh floors. The redevelopment also will include underground parking.

During the renovation, which is expected to be completed in 2020, the building will undergo extensive demolition. The building envelope will receive cosmetic restoration of the terra cotta, limestone and brick exterior. The windows will be completely replaced to match the building’s original style. The existing 7th-floor exterior walls will be removed to create an outdoor space for the residential units.

Built in 1918, the building formerly housed the Frank & Seder department store and most recently contained offices. It’s been empty since 2011.

Rendering via the Pittsburgh Planning Commission.

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