Old Downtown Pittsburgh Department Store Renovation Plans Advance

PITTSBURGH, PA - Stalled plans to redevelop the dilapidated building that once housed the Frank & Seder department store at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street are being jump-started.

Stark Enterprises of Cleveland, the company behind the proposed $63 million makeover of the seven-story building, has changed the project's name from "The Icon," to "Fifth and Smith." Construction could begin with six months, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Fifth and Smith 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 fiveand 40 apartment units on the sixth and seventh floors. The redevelopment also will include underground parking.

During the renovation, 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 housed Frank & Seder until 1958 and most recently contained offices. It's been empty since 2011.