A ‘PERFECT FIT’
Edgar Snyder law firm leaving Downtown for the North Shore
A well-known law firm is joining the movement out of Downtown. But it’s not going far.
Edgar Snyder and Associates is leaving its home in U.S. Steel Tower on Grant Street and has signed a lease to relocate to the Cascade, the former Equitable Resources building at 225 North Shore Drive near PNC Park on the North Shore.
The law firm will be taking 21,400 square feet in the six-story waterfront building, which is owned by the NAI Burns Scalo real estate firm.
In a statement Tuesday, Rob Fisher, law firm partner and chief marketing officer, said the location, from its trails to its sports teams and its music and arts venues, “blends perfectly with our firm’s values and our deep-rooted commitment to the Pittsburgh community.”
“The decision to move our headquarters
to the North Shore was simple: It’s the perfect fit to not only be accessible to our clients, but also to share a backdrop with the great Pittsburgh history that is featured on the North Shore,” he said.
Edgar Snyder is the latest company to leave Downtown for other neighborhoods, most of them relocating to the fringe of the Golden Triangle or in Oakland or the East End.
A recent report by the Jones Lang LaSalle real estate firm found that Downtown has lost a net of nine tenants since 2020.
The analysis showed that 17 firms moved out of the city’s center over that period, while eight, including four new to the market, moved in. Another 47 signed leases to remain in Downtown.
Downtown Fringe, which includes the North Shore and the Strip District, or the Oakland/ East End submarkets.
Six of the departures occurred last year amid concerns about safety, lewd behavior,
open drug dealing and homelessness in the central business district.
Among the high-profile exits was Fragasso Financial Advisors, which relocated to Sewickley.
But in its report, JLL attributed the relocations more to a flight to quality than concerns about safety. It stated that tenants are becoming increasingly attracted to buildings that offer amenities like child care facilities, fitness centers, better ventilation, indoor and outdoor gathering areas, and restaurantgrade cafeterias.
After buying 225 North Shore Drive in 2019, NAI Burns Scalo launched an overhaul last year, one that included major renovations to the lobby and the addition of Convive Coffee. The building also is the only one on the North Shore to have integrated underground parking.
Hyde Park restaurant, which is located on the first floor of the building, also is spending
$1.5 million to renovate its outdoor dining area along the waterfront.
“We are thrilled to welcome Edgar Snyder and Associates to this prestigious development, further solidifying the North Shore’s status as a thriving epicenter for commercial activity,” said Scott DiGuglielmo, NAI Burns Scalo executive vice president.
Jim Scalo, president of NAI Burns Scalo, has been one of the big proponents of the flight-to-quality trend, arguing that companies are looking for highly amenitized spaces to entice workers back to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic, even if it means shrinking their overall footprint.
“People are generally taking less space and upgrading their space and saving money,” he said during an interview.
That is borne out by the JLL study, which found that since 2020 relocating tenants, in signing new deals, have reduced their space by 19% compared with 8% by those renewing their leases.
The trend is even more pronounced over the past year, with tenants signing new leases that cut their space by 21% on average.
Mr. Scalo said there has been a lot of interest in the Cascade. It’s located across the street from the new 108unit North Shore Flats apartment complex just opened by Continental Real
Estate Companies.
Another 305-unit apartment building is in the works a couple of blocks away directly across from PNC Park. The North Shore also is home to Acrisure Stadium, Stage AE, four office buildings, hotels, and a number of restaurants and bars.
“The North Shore is a really strong submarket,” Mr. Scalo said.