South Side developments look to rekindle their mojo

On opposite ends of the South Side, two of the region’s top destinations are in a state of flux.

At Station Square, construction is in full swing, with the Freight House Shops being gutted and rehabbed to prepare for the arrival of new restaurants, an entertainment anchor and UPMC, which plans to open a 36,500-square-foot training center in the southeast corner this summer.

At the other end of Carson Street, SouthSide Works also is primed for change, with a new owner poised to take over a 34acre retail and entertainment complex that has struggled to fill vacant storefronts despite big draws like the Cheesecake Factory and Hofbrauhaus.

“The underlying theme is that both centers need to find their place in the market, restore their luster, and capture consumers who have since gone elsewhere,” said Herky Pollock, a top retail

broker in the region who could play a role in helping to reshape both Monongahela riverfront developments.

At Station Square, a $30 million overhaul is well underway. The Bradford School has closed. Tenants such as Bradley’s Book Outlet, Morini and the Puffs-nStuff Cigar store are gone. The Melting Pot restaurant has moved from the Freight House across the street to Station Square’s Bessemer Court.

In their place will come UPMC, restaurants and, in a new twist, a major entertainment venue on par with Main Event, said Jim LaRue, an asset manager for Brookfield Properties, Station Square’s new owner.

Mr. Pollock, the CBRE executive vice president who is handling the leasing, said he is negotiating with a national Mexican concept, a variety of local and national brew pubs, smaller traditional restaurants and the entertainment anchor.

“If a shopping center today doesn’t have an entertainment component, it’s destined to fail,” he said. “All need to look at experiential [restaurants and retail] and entertainment to liven up the vitality and to extend the vibrancy for longer periods. The days of shopping centers without some form of entertainment are over.”

Mr. LaRue expects UPMC to move in this August. The goal is to have entertainment and restaurants in place in the first quarter of 2020.

The plan is to line Station Square Drive, including vacant street-level spaces in the Commerce Court building, with such attractions. They would join existing restaurants such as the Grand Concourse, Buca di Beppo, Hard Rock Cafe, and Texas de Brazil.

Also in play is a Bessemer Court space that will not house a Rascal Flatts-themed restaurant, as was originally planned. Brookfield has retaken the space and is looking for another tenant.

“We’re repositioning that asset. It’s been a long time in coming,” Mr. LaRue said of Station Square. “It’s going to be geared toward what people are looking for in spending their entertainment dollars today.”

The changes would represent the latest incarnation for the former railroad complex, which was transformed into a shopping, dining and entertainment destination four decades ago. Besides the Freight House Shops, Bessemer Court and the Commerce Court building, Station Square is home to the Sheraton Hotel, the Gateway Clipper and Highmark Stadium. An apartment complex also is being built on the east side of the property.

At SouthSide Works, a former LTV steel mill, the repositioning is starting with a new owner.

Somera Road Inc., a New York-based commercial real estate firm that targets distressed assets, has purchased two sets of loans representing a key chunk of the property, including the buildings that line East Carson Street.

Alfred Maiello, trustee for the Soffer family, which developed the site, said Soffer is hoping to continue to play a role in the future as manager of the property, now some 2 decades old.

“We’re working on a joint deal where we would continue to operate the property. We are in the midst of some discussions along those lines,” he said.

Regardless of the outcome of those talks, change appears to be in order for the development, which at one time was perhaps the city’s premier entertainment and retail destination.

In recent years, it has lost many of the trendy retailers that used to draw crowds, but still is home to the offices of companies such as Amazon and American Eagle Outfitters and a sizable residential population.

Ian Ross, Somera’s managing principal, said the company is looking to reposition the retail and provide a better tenant mix.

“We’re very optimistic about the repositioning of the asset,” he said,

Mr. Pollock, who is serving as a consultant for Somera, said he envisions a mix that includes entertainment, restaurants, health and wellness, and even daily needs such as a grocery.

“If you look at what are the driving concepts in retail and shopping centers, they largely center around experiential, entertainment, and health and wellness, cool and hip restaurants, and daily needs,” he said.

Mr. Maiello said the main thrust of the repositioning will be to get the retail started again. He sees SouthSide Works moving away from some of the national fashion-centric retail that has anchored the complex in the past to more local oriented stores.

While retail has lagged, the SouthSide Works office and residential components are “pretty much rented up,” Mr. Maiello said.

He believes the complex is poised for a comeback.

“We’re looking forward to a bright future. Like anything else, you’re going to have some bumps along the way. We’re all confident that we’re going to be able to do it,” he said.

“We got good bones. We just got to put some flesh on them now.”