NAIOP Pittsburgh Blog
Inquiries? Contact Tom Frank at tfrank@naioppittsburgh.com
Oct. 7, 2025: NAIOP Pittsburgh attends AIA Architecture Week
On October 7, 2025, NAIOP Pittsburgh joined forces with AIA Pittsburgh for an electrifying panel during Architecture Week: Driving Downtown: A Panel Discussion on Spurring Growth. Hosted at Strada Architecture in the heart of the Golden Triangle, this midday event brought together industry leaders to tackle one of Pittsburgh's biggest challenges: reigniting economic vitality in our urban core. Moderated by Endicott "Endy" Reindl, AIA Pittsburgh's Executive Director, the conversation wove together threads of mobility, infrastructure, placemaking, and commercial real estate—proving that collaboration is the key to unlocking our city's potential.
Kicking things off, Endy spotlighted Governor Josh Shapiro's recent blueprint for Downtown Pittsburgh's revival—a bold, 10-year strategy announced last fall to flood the area with housing, spruce up public spaces, and boost affordability and safety. With a nod to adaptive reuse projects at the forefront, the panel dove into how these initiatives could catalyze investment and population growth. Enter Aaron Sukenik, Vice President of District Development at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP). Aaron painted a vivid picture: Pittsburgh's population, or lack thereof, is a well-known talking point, but targeted multifamily developments could flip the script. By drawing in residents, we'd lure national retail chains and increase retail development He also hyped PDP's Market Square facelift as a way to ensure vibrancy. He also envisions a "rebalanced" Golden Triangle real estate portfolio - less office glut, more mixed-use & multifamily - to fuel sustainable growth.
Building on Aaron's momentum, NAIOP's own Brian Walker, President of NAI Burns Scalo, brought the developer's perspective. "Perseverance is everything in adaptive reuse," he stressed, unpacking the realities: high interest rates, high construction costs, and the high cost of capital that often leave projects in a funding gap. Brian's takeaway? Bridging these gaps demands public-private partnerships (P3s)—but only if developers double as true community stewards. His call for balanced incentives resonated, reminding us that smart policy can turn hurdles into high-rises.
Lisa Carver, AIA, Principal at PWWG Architects, rounded out the trio with a dose of architectural heart. Showcasing PWWG's portfolio of urban redevelopments, she emphasized that every project, and every resident, is one-of-a-kind. Context is king: sensitive adaptive reuse honors history while welcoming tomorrow's diverse tenants. As a proud Downtown walker who commutes on foot, Lisa portrayed optimism. She sketched a thriving Pittsburgh, walkable, inclusive, and buzzing with housing options across income levels.
The mic-drop moment came with the Endy's big question: "What can the public sector do to spur development?" The panel's answer was nearly unanimous: Slash the red tape. Streamline permitting, zoning, and DOMI approvals. Increase utility coordination. These aren't pie-in-the-sky wishes - they have become NAIOP Pittsburgh's local advocacy committees North Star, with our committee working hard to develop suggestions for the incoming administration.
Walking away, I'm channeling Lisa's hope, Aaron's blueprint, and Brian's knowledge. Pittsburgh's future is bright. There are solutions to the problems. Let's continue to preserve and make Pittsburgh a destination for business and living. Let's keep the momentum: Join NAIOP, amplify our voice, and turn vision into reality.
For more on AIA Pittsburgh's Architecture Week (October 3–10, 2025), check out their full calendar here. And stay tuned to NAIOP for updates on our red-tape-busting efforts.
Tom Frank
NAIOP Pittsburgh Executive Director
Last week our Executive Director, Tom Frank, had the opportunity to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Washington Mall Redevelopment Project, hosted by the development team of 79/70 Associates and Chapman Properties. The groundbreaking ceremony showcased the strengths of Washington County's leadership when aligned with private development.
Our NAIOP President, Nate Phillips served as the Master of Ceremony while leaders of the team and public officials discussed the impact of demolishing a once vibrant, now decaying highway-front property and the plans to build prominent retail real estate. The announced projects include a new Costco, a Campers Inn and a new building for the Harbor Freight on the 66-acre redevelopment. Some of the key presenters included Tony Rosenberger, Chapman Properties CEO, Bob Weber, South Strabane Township Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, County Board of Commissioners, Nick Sherman (Chairman), Electra Janis (Vice Chair) and Larry Maggi (Commissioner), Bob Griffin of the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County, PA State Senator Camera Bartolotta, and PA State Rep Tim O'Neal.
To showcase this alignment of private development and government, the Commissioners have allocated $5.9 million from the county's blight mitigation funds to demolish the existing mall. Tony ended the ceremony with a laugh stating "Mr. Commissioner, tear down this mall!" just before the speakers took sledgehammers to mall, adding a fun twist to a typical groundbreaking ceremony.
View photos from the event below. Additional articles and information about this project can be found at the following links:
During the first week of February, NAIOP Pittsburgh attended the annual Chapter Leadership & Legislative Retreat, also known as CL&LR, hosted by NAIOP Corporate.
Accompanied me on this trip were our Chapter President, Nate Phillips; Chapter Administrator, Erica Loftus; Chapter Advocacy Consultant, David Caliguiri; and a portion of our Chapter Board Members: Clayton Morris, Jackie Bezek, Aaron Roach, Stacey Weniger, and Brian Walker, who just rolled off as our Corporate Board Chair. This three-day retreat consisted of seminars where we were able to take away benchmarks on how to make our chapter the best it can be.
This year's conference Keynote Speaker was Scott Jennings, a CNN Contributor, serving as a conservative voice for day-to-day politics on their broadcast. Scott was entertaining, to say the least, answering tough questions from the crowd and reminding us that politics is like a pendulum.
In addition to intriguing speakers and networking with industry leaders, we were afforded opportunities to create valuable connections with other NAIOP Chapters from across North America, including the newly formed NAIOP Detroit Chapter. Detroit is where the 2024 NFL Draft took place and we had a first-hand discussion about the upcoming 2026 NLF Draft with key players involved in the 2024 project. One of the NAIOP Detroit members, Andrea Daniewski of Bedrock Detroit, will be a speaker at our March 20th Chapter Breakfast focused on the NFL Draft.
We also discussed advocacy issues with NAIOP Massachusetts, arguably the most advocacy-focused chapter in NAIOP. Their insight into how they approach advocacy in their region will serve as a stepping stone to our Pittsburgh and state efforts. We spent time with our counterparts from the NAIOP Philadelphia Chapter and look forward to continuing our mutual efforts for the betterment of CRE in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Lastly, we spent our final day on Capitol Hill, where we met with Senators and Representatives who represent NAIOP and its members. The highlight of our time on Capitol Hill included meeting with Senator Dave McCormick and Senator Fetterman's aide, Madeleine Marr. We also had the opportunity to meet with aides from the offices of Congressman Guy Reschenthaler, Congressman Mike Kelly, and Congressman Chris Deluzio. During our time with our elected officials, we were able to speak to the NAIOP Corporate Advocacy Initiatives, which include the increased energy demand facing our nation, a push for Congress to further incentivize the adaptive reuse of vacant buildings, and new tax legislation that renews the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. To read more about the three key initiatives, download the one pagers below:
We encourage each of our members to print out the one pagers mentioned above and reach out to your elected officials, advocating on how these issues and policies will affect your business.
When a large number of people contact their representatives about a particular issue, it can create a powerful and compelling sense of urgency. – medium.com
Tom Frank
Executive Director