Worked behind the scenes of the city’s biggest projects
Some of Pittsburgh’s most prominent projects, from the two North Shore stadiums to PNC’s Downtown headquarters, owe their existence in part to a man who rarely, if ever, made the news — John Keefe Ellis Jr.
Described as the “assemblage guy to the stars,” Mr. Ellis worked behind the scenes to acquire the property needed to build Heinz Field, PNC Park, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, PPG Paints Arena and the Tower at PNC Plaza.
He also was involved in assembling the real estate later used to build Three PNC Plaza, home of the Fairmont Pittsburgh hotel and the Reed Smith law firm, on Fifth Avenue Downtown; in buying the former Lord & Taylor department store on Smithfield Street for PNC; and in acquiring the property needed for the Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12 school.
“He was really a giant in Pittsburgh real estate, but he was very low key,” said Gary Saulson, the former director of corporate real estate for PNC who hired Mr. Ellis to buy the 10 properties needed for the bank’s Wood Street headquarters.
Mr. Ellis of Squirrel Hill, managing director and principal of Hanna Langholz Wilson Ellis, died Saturday after a battle with cancer. He was 61. He was known to most as Keefe.
His fingerprints can be seen all over some of the city’s signature projects, starting with the development of Heinz Field and PNC Park, both fraught with controversy and heated opposition.
While former Mayor Tom Murphy was among those who dealt with the political fallout, Mr. Ellis doggedly went about the task of assembling the land needed for both of the venues and the convention center.
It was no easy task. In all, about 25 properties were involved, including a senior citizen center on the North Side, a former Kaufmann’s department store warehouse and privately owned row houses.
At times, Mr. Ellis didn’t even know where the money was coming from to pay for the properties, which ended up costing more than $40 million.
To add to the pressure, the city had less than a year to acquire the real estate it needed for PNC Park and Heinz Field, said Steve Leeper, former Sports & Exhibition Authority executive director. BEREZ
“But NATALIE for RUTH him (LAUFE)we never would have met our time schedule for getting the stadiums completed,” Mr. Leeper said. “He did a masterful job.”
“He worked hard. He was relentless. He was such a gentleman. People respected him. He could speak to princes. He could speak to paupers. There was a reason everyone trusted him.”
Mr. Murphy said some of the acquisitions represented “potential land mines” that could have crippled the ability to get the stadiums done on time. But Mr. Ellis made them happen.
“He was an absolutely critical part of our ability to get things done,” Mr. Murphy said. “There was a relatively small group of people who made the stadiums and the convention center happen, and he was one of them.”
As high profile as those developments were, Mr. Ellis’ tour de force may have been the 10 purchases totaling $19.3 million related to the Tower at PNC Plaza, the bank’s new headquarters.
Mr. Ellis held the city in suspense for months as he collected prime Downtown real estate using fictitious names such as Carol Jean Management, Kimross Real Estate and Autonomous Investors to shield the true buyer from the public. He stayed mum even as the media pressed hard to unmask the purchaser.
The secrecy was important, said Mr. Saulson, who made up the names used to buy the properties to prevent the owners from driving up the prices if they knew a deep-pocketed bank was behind the acquisitions.
He hired Mr. Ellis to do the job because “I had very high regard for his integrity. I knew he would be very good at keeping it under wraps, which was very important. I knew he had the concept of value, which was very important. I thought he knew what the property was worth.”
Before getting involved in that project, Mr. Ellis, while working at Ellis Real Estate, teamed with Gary Wilson of Langholz Wilson and Associates to acquire the options on 14 properties on Fifth Avenue later bought by PNC for the Three PNC Plaza project.
The two firms later merged into Langholz Wilson Ellis, which morphed into Hanna Langholz Wilson Ellis in 2014.
“[Mr. Ellis’ death] will be a great loss for the firm because of his experience and demeanor, but his teaching and guidance are what make us us,” Mr. Wilson said. “He always had partners in deals and he taught them how to do deals. His legacy will live on in all of us.”
As highly regarded as his work was, Mr. Ellis also was remembered as a dedicated family man who always seemed to have a smile on his face. He enjoyed outings with his family, whether they were overseas golf trips or weekend jaunts to Nemacolin Woodlands.
“He was the same whether he was in the board room or on the street. He treated everybody the same. He treated everyone with kindness and respect,” said his wife, Stacy.
Mr. Ellis also is survived by two daughters, Emily of Morristown, N.J., and Caroline of Squirrel Hill, and two sons, Jake of New York City and Patrick of Squirrel Hill; a brother, Dr. Peter Ellis of Squirrel Hill; a sister, Constance Heppenstall of Philadelphia; and nieces, nephews and cousins.
Visitation is from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at John A. Freyvogel Sons Inc., 4900 Centre Avenue at Devonshire Street, Shadyside. The funeral Mass is at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Bede Parish, 509 S. Dallas Ave., Point Breeze.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Shady Side Academy Science Building Fund or the St. Bede School Stem Lab Fund.