Snow removal firm proprieter plows into real estate

The iceman cometh back. Chuck Lantzman remembers plowing and salting the parking lot and sidewalks at 810 River Ave. on the North Side 15 to 20 years ago. Now he is returning — as the owner of the real estate.

Mr. Lantzman, CEO, president and founder of Snow and Ice Management Co., recently paid nearly $5.7 million to acquire the threestory office building at 810 River Ave. on the North Shore near the

Veterans Bridge.

Outside of the real estate he owns for his longtime snow removal business and some residential holdings, the purchase marks Mr. Lantzman’s first venture into commercial real estate.

“I always wanted to invest in real estate. I just didn’t feel that residential is the market I want to be in. Too many problems,” he said.

Mr. Lantzman said he settled on 810 River Ave., which is home to the Pittsburgh Marathon headquarters, because it’s a “nice location, a nice-looking building, and I work on the North Side.”

He doesn’t plan any major building changes. “It was remodeled a number of years back. It’s in pretty good condition,” he said.

The building, he added, is nearly 100% filled. What little space is available, one current tenant is looking to fill, he said.

With one commercial acquisition under his belt, Mr. Lantzman is in the market for others.

“Nothing in mind right now but I’m looking to build a portfolio,” he said.

He looked in the booming Strip District a couple of years ago but found it “pricey back then. It can only be worse now.”

That’s why he set his sights on the other side of the Allegheny River, where he found “ample parking and great views of the city, which you don’t get in the Strip with the high rents.”

“I’m just sort of seeing what’s out there,” he said of other possible real estate opportunities. “I like to buy things where I can get a deal and there’s not many deals to be had.”

With 810 River Ave., at least, he won’t have to travel very far to plow and salt the parking lot during winter storms. The headquarters for Snow and Ice Management Co. is about 3 miles away on Knott Street on the North Side.

He already knows the way. “I used to service it 15 to 20 years ago,” he said of his newest holding. “When I got the address, it rekindled [memories of] when I plowed snow there.”