New FNB tower in Lower Hill lands 3rd tenant
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made another big move — this time to help fill the FNB Financial Center.
Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman, a law firm now located Downtown, has signed a lease for about 7,200 square feet on the 19th floor of the 26-story office building under construction at the former Civic Arena site.
It plans to move into the building from 525 William Penn Place on Oct. 1.
The law firm becomes the third tenant in the skyscraper, which is being developed by the Buccini Pollin Group in conjunction with the Penguins.
Cohen Seglias, with a presence in nine cities, opened its Pittsburgh office in 2003. It has since grown to employ more than 85 attorneys throughout its system.
In making the move, Christopher
Carusone, Cohen Seglias managing partner, described Pittsburgh as a “very special community for me and everyone here” at the firm.
“We value the many long-standing relationships our firm has with regional businesses in construction, real estate, financial services and other industries. We share an affinity for Pittsburgh and its history and are proud to be invested in the redevelopment of the Lower Hill District,” he said.
In a statement, Chris Buccini, president of the Buccini Pollin Group, said Cohen Seglias has represented his firm for more than 20 years and has partnered with it on many construction projects.
“Cohen Seglias is a perfect complement to FNB Financial Center tenancy, and we are happy to welcome them to the building’s modern, Class A office space with great amenities,” he said.
The law firm will join First National Bank and GH Advertising in the glass and steel office tower at the western end of the 28-acre former arena site.
FNB will be moving its headquarters from the North Shore to the building and will serve as the anchor tenant.
The bank has committed to taking about half of the 400,000 square feet of office space available. It will occupy the building’s three top floors as well as floors eight through 15.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported in January that the bank may add more space to its operations, perhaps as much as two floors. It has the option under its lease to expand its footprint in the building.
FNB plans to move into the new digs by late summer or fall. The building is scheduled to be completed by early summer.
GH Advertising will move its headquarters into the tower before the end of the year. It will be taking about 5,500 square feet on the sixth floor. About 40 employees will make the move from the First and Market Building, its current Downtown headquarters.
Besides office space, FNB Financial Center will feature two levels of parking with about 115 spaces for tenants as well as 15,000 square feet of retail space spread over the first and second floors.
Buccini Pollin and the Penguins hold the development rights to the former arena site and are planning another mixed use building on Block F next to PPG Paints Arena.
One prospective tenant is believed to be the K&L Gates law firm, which has been considering a move from the Downtown building that bears its name.
Mr. Buccini has said the new building is one of three his firm and the hockey team are planning on blocks D and F, with one possibly starting construction in the next 12 to 24 months.
But he has stressed that he won’t start building unless he has a tenant signed up to anchor a new building.
The move by Cohen Seglias to FNB Financial Center is not good news for the owners of 525 William Penn Place. That building is now only about half occupied.
Its 2023 assessment was recently cut by more than half, to $28.3 million from $58.8 million, a difference of nearly $30.5 million. For the 2022 tax year, it was cut by $29.3 million, to $29.5 million.
The assessment cuts, not only for that building but for otherDowntown skyscrapers, are the result of office vacancies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and hybrid work policies, as well as a sharp reduction in the figure used to compute taxable value during appeal hearings.