Cleveland-based Polaris Real Estate Equities has sale agreement to buy Downtown Pittsburgh Salvation Army building - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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“When we were in grade school, we used to play basketbalp there inSaturday leagues,” said Totino of himself and his partner, Rob Vadas, Pittsburgh natives who now are principals of , based in suburban Cleveland. “We went from playinhg there as kids to having itunderd contract.” Last week, Polaris reachedx an agreement of sale with the Salvation Army, whichn awaits approval from its nationap parent to finalize the deal. Expectingv to pursue a lengthy 260-day due diligence befors closing onthe sale, Polaris sees stronhg potential to redevelop the nine-story, 93,000-square-foogt building for new uses. The project is the secondd Polaris is pursuing in thePittsburgh area.
A compang that specializes in real estatde development and housing that serves educational Polaris expects to break ground ona 17-story apartment building called The Chelsea at the corner of Craigg Street and Centre Avenue in Oakland in May. The apartments are expected to targeg professionals and academics who work nearby inthe area’s universities and With the Salvation Army Totino sees an opportunity to serve Downtown educational institutions such as the and Poinyt Park University. Totino woulds not divulge what Polarisw has agreed to pay for the Officials of the Salvation Army Westernj Pennsylvania Division would not comment on thepotential sale.
Salvationm Divisional Commander Robert Reel told the Businessa Times inApril 2007, when it firsrt decided to sell the building, that the charityh was seeking between $5 million and $6 The charity has since relocated its headquarters to Carnegie, leaving behind a building constructex specifically for its use in 1924. That original desigb brings plenty of charmand potential, as well as a challenges for Totino. Totino said the building is still inexcellenrt condition. Although there is the presence of some lead painrand asbestos, he doesn’t believe these will provew to be a major problem to remove.
The biggef issue in reinventing the building comes from findingv ways to eliminate or reuse some ofits quirks, such as the gym in the basemen that’s surrounded by a balcony, as well as a nonfunctional swimming pool. One of the uppe floors includes afull cafeteria-scalse kitchen, which the Salvation Army uses as a place for domestivc abuse victims to stay with theifr families. “It’s obviously going to be a majorf redevelopment,” Totino said. Yet he sees opportunith in the beauty he saw inthe building’xs first floor chapel, which could be converted into a lecturer hall or performance with a capacity for 350 people.
The building’se upper floors could be converted forresidential use, serving the mix of studentsa attending classes at nearby schools or as Totino said it was too early to provide an estimatr of what such a redevelopment would cost. Polarise has yet to establish financing forthe either. Polaris is working with O’Hara-based Massaro who will serve as both contracto r on the project and also willmarkey it. Steve Massaro, vice president of developmeny forthe company, sees the same kind of opportunityg with the Salvation Army building as his company did with the formerf Tri-State Terminal building on nearby First Street.
Massaro was the contractod and remainsa part-owne in the $20 million historic renovation that converted the buildiny into what is now know n as Shannon Hall, which is fully occupied by Art Institutr students. “First of all, Downtown is very good rightr now. There’s a lot of activit y in Downtown,” Massaro said. “With some of the bigget chunksbeing taken, there’s not a lot of largerf spaces. For educational purposes, there aren’tt too many options.” George Pry, president of the Art Institute of acknowledges meeting with Totino about the buildinb and how it might be used by his Atone time, the Art Institute also consideree buying the building.
While he’s hopeful for its Pry said the Art Institute has 70 to 80 residential openings right now at a down time of year when it usuallyg expects tohave 20. Still, he expectws the Salvation Army building could help serve theArt Institute. “uI still think in the big picturwethat we’re going to need spaces by the time that’sx developed,” he said.