GNC searching for new headquarters in region
Several months after emerging from bankruptcy, GNC is on the hunt for a new headquarters while signaling its intent to stay in the region.
In a statement issued Monday, the Downtown-based company said it is exploring options for the sale of its current home at 300 Sixth Avenue. At the same time, it stressed it is committed to remaining in the region. Pittsburgh has been the home of the global vitamin and supplements company for 86 years.
GNC is searching for a new space that will be a “better fit for the future,” president Josh Burris said.
“GNC’s business is evolving, and there’s no doubt that the pandemic has changed the way everyone works, which makes this the perfect opportunity to evaluate our future office space needs,” he said. “The new GNC is more innovative, relevant and efficient — from the way we approach product development and strategic partnerships to the way our teams work together — and we want our headquarters to reflect that.”
One possible landing spot for GNC could be the former Civic Arena site, where First National Bank is preparing to build a 26-story headquarters. The 471,890-squarefoot office tower will have space available for firms other than FNB, which is taking more than 160,000 square feet.
“We have been in discussions with GNC; they have been a longtime partner of the Penguins, and we believe they would be an ideal candidate for our Lower Hill development,” said Kevin Acklin, chief operating officer for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who hold the development rights to the 28-acre site.
Jack Donahue, president of Donahue Real Estate Advisors, who is representing GNC in the search, declined comment. Mr. Donahueand Nick Unkovic, of the Jones Lang LaSalle real estate firm, are
representing the company in the sale of the current headquarters.
GNC also will have plenty of other options in a real estate market featuring a glut of subleased space, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There currently is 1.8 million square feet of subleased space available in the Pittsburgh market, according to a report last week by JLL.
Most of it is Downtown, although the highest percentage exists at the Southpointe business park in Washington County, the report stated.
Buildings with the most subleased space are EQT Plaza and U.S. Steel Tower in the Golden Triangle and the Westinghouse headquarters campus in Cranberry.
The search for a new headquarters comes after a bankruptcy judge in September approved the sale of GNC Holdings Inc. to Chinabased Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co. for $770 million.
Last year, GNC stated it would be closing 800 to 1,200 stores in an effort to streamline operations. As of last March 31, it had 7,300 locations, including 5,200 retail stores in the U.S.
The company also has announced it would be closing its distribution center in Leetsdale at the end of this month.
As of fall 2019, 600 people worked at GNC’s headquarters Downtown.