Chatham Center

Last updated
Chatham Center
Pittsburgh, PA
Chatham One Building.jpg
Chatham One Building at Chatham Center
Pittsburgh locator map 2018.png
Red pog.svg
Chatham Center in Pittsburgh
General information
Typecommercial and residential
Architectural stylemodern
Location Downtown Pittsburgh
Address112 Washington Place
Town or cityPittsburgh, PA
CountryUSA
Coordinates 40°26′21.67″N79°59′32″W / 40.4393528°N 79.99222°W / 40.4393528; -79.99222
Construction started1964-10-20
Completed1966-09-07
Cost$26 million USD
Dimensions
Other dimensions5.5 acre complex
Design and construction
Architect(s) William Lescaze
Main contractorDiesel Construction Company

Chatham Center is a 5.5 acre commercial and residential building complex located within Downtown Pittsburgh. It is bounded by the Interstate 579 (Crosstown Boulevard) on the west, Centre Avenue on the north, Washington Place on the east, and Fifth Avenue to the south. Comprising a 2,200 car parking garage, Marriott Hotel, residential condominium building, and office and retail space, Chatham Center is a located adjacent to PPG Paints Arena and Duquesne University nearby.

Contents

History

Chatham Center was named after the Earl of Chatham, William Pitt, for whom Pittsburgh is named. Groundbreaking for the project occurred with much fireworks and fanfare the evening of October 20, 1964. The complex was built between 1964 and 1966 by Chatham Center Inc, of which the principal investors were Morton S. Wolf and Leon Falk Jr. [1] Financing for construction was provided by the Irving Trust Company of New York and the Mellon National Bank of Pittsburgh with the mortgage for the center being held by the Prudential Insurance Company. The architects for the project were William Lescaze and Harry H. Lefkowitz while the construction was by the Diesel Construction Company of Pittsburgh. [1]

Prior to construction, four downtown Pittsburgh hotels waged an unsuccessful two-year court battle that was appealed all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court opposing the construction on the grounds that there were already too many hotel rooms in downtown Pittsburgh and further hotel construction would hinder current hotel business in the city. [2]

Original plans

The original plans for the center called for a 20 floor luxury apartment building; nine-story office building with a Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge hotel above; a 650-seat movie theater; a 2,200 car garage and gas station at a cost of $26 million. [1]

The building plans were delayed by labor strikes and absent building materials, but was finally completed by 1966. The day-long dedication and open house occurred on September 7, 1966, with a ceremonial "light-switch" thrown by Richard K. Mellon. [3]

Multiple owners

Chatham Center Inc continued to operate the center until 1975 when Prudential was able to foreclose on the mortgage and bought the entire Chatham Center facility at sheriff's sale for $19 million. Chatham Center Inc, headed by Leon Falk Jr, had defaulted on mortgage payments and was $2.1 million behind in property taxes. [4]

Prudential made many changes while owner of Chatham Center. In 1976, the hotel changed from a Howard Johnson's to the Pittsburgh Hyatt House. The Chatham apartment building was converted to a condominium in 1981 and Chatham Two was built as the final phase to completing the entire Chatham Center concept envisioned in the 1960s. [5]

In 1988, Prudential sold its interest in Chatham Center for $36.2 million to Elteq Equities Inc and included Chatham One and Two buildings in addition to the parking garage. Elteq Management Company assumed management of the center and renovated the parking garage shortly after the sale. [5]

In 2014, One Chatham Center went into foreclosure after UPMC's departure left the space nearly vacant. [6]

In 2015, HSBC Bank USA bought One Chatham Center at a sheriff's sale for $2,321. [7]

In 2017, Core Realty bought One Chatham Center for $8 million, and turned floors 4-8 into apartments. [7]

Buildings and Plaza

Chatham Center consists of three high rise buildings and a plaza built on top of a 2,200 car parking garage. The center originally contained a 650-seat movie theater in the south east corner.

Chatham Tower Condominium

Chatham Tower Condominium Chatham Tower Condo.JPG
Chatham Tower Condominium

The Chatham Tower Condominium building was built as a luxury apartment building and was part of the original plans for Chatham Center. The apartment tower comprised 180 apartments and opened for tenants on May 1, 1966. J.J. Gumberg Company was named rental agent in 1967. This luxury residential building became a premier Pittsburgh address and home to many distinguished Pittsburgh residents over the decades. [8]

In 1981, the Prudential Insurance Company, then owner of Chatham Center, converted the apartment building into a luxury condominium. The new condominium project was named, "The Tower, A Condominium at Chatham Center" (often referred to as Chatham Tower Condominium), [5] and opened with a gala celebration on December 6, 1981. Since opening, the condominium building has continued to be a premier residential address in Pittsburgh. In 2010, the building completed an extensive interior renovation project.

Chatham One

The Chatham One high rise building was part of the original plan for Chatham Center and is a mixed use building. The first nine stories contain 230,000 square feet (21,000 m2) of office space and are separate from the top 11 floors which contain a hotel.

Early tenants of the office space included Travelers Insurance, Westinghouse Electric, and the National Steel Corporation. Today, major tenants include Allegheny County Economic Development and the Pittsburgh Penguins offices.

When originally opened in 1966, the hotel on the upper half of the building was a 450-room Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge. The Motor Lodge included a pool on the eleventh floor, a bar, restaurant, and signature Red Coach Grille. The Chatham Center Howard Johnson was designed to be an upscale hotel version of the traditional roadside Howard Johnson. [9] Hyatt Corp took over the hotel site in 1976 and renamed the hotel, the Pittsburgh Hyatt House at Chatham Center. Extensive renovations took place and the number of hotel rooms were reduced to 406. [4] When the Hyat House branding was phased out, the hotel was later renamed the Hyatt Pittsburgh.

In 1996, Host Marriott entered into a joint venture with Interstate Hotel Corporation and bought the Hyatt Pittsburgh for $18.5 million. [10] Marriott assumed operation and the hotel was renamed the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center Hotel. It underwent an $8 million renovation, during which the number of rooms was reduced to 396 and six suites. [11]

In 2014, UPMC agreed to sublease the Heinz 57 Center and move 550 employees from One Chatham Center after Heinz had vacated the space after a round of layoffs in 2013. [12] [13] [6]

In 2015, HSBC Bank USA bought One Chatham Center at a sheriff's sale for $2,321. [7]

In 2017, Core Realty bought One Chatham Center for $8 million and converted the vacant lower office levels to The Washington at Chatham apartments. [14]

Chatham Two

Chatham Two is a 16-story, 340,000 square feet (32,000 m2) high rise office building built between 1980 and 1981. It was planned by then owner, Prudential Insurance Company, and was considered the first of many high rises built during Pittsburgh's Renaissance II building boom of the 1980s. The entire building is dedicated to office space and was 75% pre-leased prior to completion. The Chatham Two building is in the modernist style of architecture and is completely covered in mirrored glass and aluminum framing. It was designed by the architectural firm of Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates and construction was by Mellon-Stuart Co. [15]

Two Chatham Center building and Plaza Two Chatham Center.jpg
Two Chatham Center building and Plaza

Plaza

The 4.5 acre landscaped plaza at Chatham Center received its first complete renovation after 40 years in 2007 and was designed by Fabringer, McCarty, Grey Inc of Monroeville, Pennsylvania. A new central fountain was created surrounded by trees and walkways with floral landscaping and ornamental grasses. The plaza is used daily by residents and guests to Chatham Center. [16]

Chatham Cinema Chatham Cinema.jpg
Chatham Cinema

Chatham Cinema

The Chatham Cinema was part of the original plan for Chatham Center and opened on October 25, 1966, with a pre-screening of the movie, "Alfie". The cinema's palatial decor was in the American Revolutionary style with period antiques throughout the lobby and movie seats with reclining backs. [17] The cinema closed in 1985. The facade has since been bricked up. It was located in the south east corner of Chatham Center on the corner of Washington Place and Fifth Avenue. There was also an entrance to the cinema from the parking garage. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Newark</span> Central business district in United States

Downtown Newark is the central business district of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Louisville</span>

Downtown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jacob Streets to the south, and 9th Street to the west. As of 2015, the population of downtown Louisville was 4,700, although this does not include directly surrounding areas such as Old Louisville, Butchertown, NuLu, and Phoenix Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SouthSide Works</span> Mixed-used development in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

SouthSide Works is an open-air retail, office, entertainment, and residential complex located on the South Side of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. and just across the Monongahela River from the Pittsburgh Technology Center, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. The $300 million complex opened in stages between 2002 and 2004 and offers more than 34 acres (140,000 m2) of shops, offices, hotels and apartments, and has a new urbanist design. The site has over 330,000 square feet (30,000 m2) of specialty retail, restaurant, hotel, and apartment space. In addition, the site has 700,000 square feet (70,000 m2) of office space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reston Town Center</span> Mixed-use in U.S., United States

Reston Town Center is a mixed-use urban development featuring offices, apartments, retail stores, and restaurants in Reston, Virginia owned and managed primarily by Boston Properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OneEleven</span> High-rise luxury rental apartment tower located in downtown Chicago, Illinois

OneEleven is a luxury rental apartment tower located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The building is located between LaSalle Street and Clark Street, adjacent to River North and directly on the Chicago River.

Oakland City Center is an office, shopping and hotel complex in Downtown Oakland, Oakland, California. The complex is the product of a redevelopment project begun in the late 1950s. It covers twelve city blocks between Broadway on the east, Martin Luther King Jr. Way on the west, Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on 14th Street on the north side of the complex and the Oakland Convention Center and Marriott Hotel extend south to 10th Street. An hourly parking garage is located beneath the complex's shopping mall. The mall features an upscale fitness and racquet club, in addition to numerous take-out restaurants and other stores. The complex is served by the 12th Street/Oakland City Center BART station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cityscape of Lexington, Kentucky</span> Architecture and urbanism in Lexington, Kentucky (USA)

The urban development patterns of Lexington, Kentucky, confined within an urban growth boundary that protects its famed horse farms, include greenbelts and expanses of land between it and the surrounding towns. This has been done to preserve the region's horse farms and the unique Bluegrass landscape, which bring millions of dollars to the city through the horse industry and tourism. Urban growth is also tightly restricted in the adjacent counties, with the exception of Jessamine County, with development only allowed inside existing city limits. In order to prevent rural subdivisions and large homes on expansive lots from consuming the Bluegrass landscape, Fayette and all surrounding counties have minimum lot size requirements, which range from 10 acres (40,000 m2) in Jessamine to fifty in Fayette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinz Hall</span> Performing arts center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Heinz Hall is a performing arts center and concert hall located at 600 Penn Avenue in the Cultural District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Home to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, the 2,676 seat hall presents about 200 performances each year. Originally built in 1927 as Loew's Penn Theatre, the former movie palace was renovated and reopened as Heinz Hall in 1971.

Metro Centre at Owings Mills, previously Owings Mills Town Center, is a partially-completed $220 million transit-oriented development in Owings Mills, Maryland aimed at creating a downtown meeting place on the land between the Owings Mills Metro Station and the former Owings Mills Mall. The complex will include housing, shops, office space, a hotel, a library, and a community college. In addition, a new garage has been constructed on the Metro station lot to replace some of the parking spaces that the Metro will lose to the town center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riley Towers</span> High-rise residential buildings in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

Riley Towers are three residential high-rise apartment buildings in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Riley Towers were conceived as part of an expansive urban renewal project known as Project H. The complex was constructed between 1962 and 1963. Towers I and II have 30 floors and Tower III has 16 floors. Riley Towers I and II are the tallest residential buildings in the state of Indiana. The towers are distinctive for their cantilevered corner balconies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Center (Lexington)</span> Mixed use in Kentucky, United States

City Center, formerly known as CentrePointe, is a residential, commercial, and retail building in downtown Lexington, Kentucky that opened in 2020. The plan consists of a 12-story office tower incorporating premium luxury condominiums in its top three floors, two hotels, retail spaces and an underground parking garage. The parking garage was completed in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marriott Wardman Park</span> United States historic place

The Washington Marriott Wardman Park was a hotel on Connecticut Avenue next to the Woodley Park station of the Washington Metro in the Woodley Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marriott Syracuse Downtown</span> United States historic place

The Marriott Syracuse Downtown is a historic hotel located at 100 E. Onondaga St., Syracuse, New York. It was built in 1924 as the Hotel Syracuse and was completely restored in 2016, when it joined the Marriott chain.

Kingdon Gould III is an American real estate developer, active in the Washington, D.C.-area. He is part of the fifth generation of the Gould family of financiers, philanthropists and diplomats, which includes his father Kingdon Gould, Jr., grandfather Kingdon Gould Sr., great-grandfather George Jay Gould and great-great-grandfather Jay Gould, with associated generations of mothers, siblings, uncles, aunts and cousins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakery Square</span> Shopping mall in Pennsylvania, United States

Bakery Square is an open-air shopping and office development in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Larimer, adjacent to the neighborhoods of Shadyside and East Liberty in the city's East End. Bakery Square is located on 5.1 acres along Penn Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaza of the Americas (Dallas)</span> Commercial complex in downtown Dallas

Plaza of the Americas is a major commercial complex in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). It is adjacent to DART's Pearl Station and connected to the Dallas Pedestrian Network. The complex features several amenities connected by an enclosed 120,000 sq ft (11,000 m2). skylighted atrium which rises 13 stories above the lowest level:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaza Towers</span> Building

Plaza Towers is a mixed-use highrise building in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At 345 feet (105 m), it was the tallest building in the city until the completion of the River House Condominiums in 2008. The building contains apartments on floors 8–14, individually owned condominiums on floors 15–32, and a 214-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel on floors 1–7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helios (building)</span> Residential skyscraper in downtown Seattle, Washington

Helios, also known as 2nd & Pine, is a residential skyscraper in downtown Seattle, Washington. The 40-story tower is 440 feet (130 m) tall with 398 luxury apartments. Plans for the project were first proposed in 2013 and construction began in late 2014. It is located at the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Pine Street near the Pike Place Market and the city's retail core.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Street Transportation Center</span> Bus station and parking garage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Grant Street Transportation Center is an intercity bus station and parking garage in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The facility is operated by the Pittsburgh Parking Authority and takes up an entire city block, with the ground floor hosting the bus station and some retail space. Upper floors are dedicated to parking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinz 57 Center</span> Office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Heinz 57 Center is an office building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the corner of Sixth and Smithfield Avenues. The building has approximately 790,000 square feet (73,000 m2), standing 13 stories tall.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Vince Johnson, "Fireworks and Fanfare Hail Chatham Center", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 21, 1964
  2. ↑ Vince Johnson, "Hill to Get Five-Acre City-In-City", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 29, 1964
  3. ↑ "Dedication at Chatham", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 8, 1966
  4. 1 2 Jonathan Williams, "Hyatt Takes Over Chatham Center Hotel Operations", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 6, 1976
  5. 1 2 3 Sam Spatter, "Prudential Sells Stake in Chatham Center", The Pittsburgh Press, April 30, 1988
  6. 1 2 Belko, Mark (2014-09-06). "One Chatham Center facing foreclosure". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  7. 1 2 3 "Owner planning apartments at One Chatham Center". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  8. ↑ "Chatham Center Manager Named", The Pittsburgh Press, January 14, 1967
  9. ↑ "Chatham Center". Highwayhost.org. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
  10. ↑ "Host Marriott to Buy Interest in Hotels". The New York Times. 1996-01-12. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  11. ↑ "New Digs, Top Rates", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 30, 1996, Page C-5
  12. ↑ Nixon, Alex (2013-08-13). "Heinz eliminates 600 jobs, including 350 in Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Tribune. Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  13. ↑ Pop, Adriana (2014-04-16). "UPMC to Occupy Former Heinz Space in Downtown Pittsburgh". Commercial Property Executive. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  14. ↑ "Chatham Center apartment complex hits the market". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  15. ↑ Bill Steig, "Chatham Two Opens with a Party", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 29, 1981
  16. ↑ "Master Plan of Chatham Center Plaza", Fabringer, McCarty, Gray Inc architectural landscape plan, 2007
  17. ↑ James Kastner, "When the Movies Played in Downtown Pittsburgh", page 254, Dorance Publishing, 2011
  18. ↑ Kaspar Monahan, "Unique Film Theater for Chatham Center", The Pittsburgh Press, July 24, 1965

.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.