And yet they keep building "upscale" condos downtown. I don't know who lives in them, but developers keep building them.


Macy's puts Downtown building on the market
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Macy's has put its 13-story building Downtown up for sale.

Mike Hanrahan, a broker for commercial Realtor Cassidy Turley, confirmed that the building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street is on the market but referred all questions to Macy's.

A listing announcing the sale stated that Macy's would lease back a portion of the building. Macy's currently occupies about 10 floors and part of the 11th in the building, which for years housed the Kaufmann's department store. The top two floors, previously used for administrative offices, have been vacant.

Even with a sale, Macy's plans to continue to use the building as a store, although there's a chance it could end up using fewer floors for retail operations, spokesman Jim Sluzewski said.

No asking price was listed. May Department Stores, acquired by Macy's in 2005, paid $2.8 million for the building in 1986, according to the county real estate web site. It is currently assessed at $14 million.

Macy's joins a growing list of buildings for sale Downtown. They include the Gateway Center complex, the Oliver Building, the Regional Enterprise Tower, the EQT Tower, and the American Red Cross building.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.