Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Jack Norris is chairman and chief executive officer of CB Richard Ellis' Pittsburgh office. He's been a fixture on the Downtown real estate scene for more than two decades.

By Joyce Gannon
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette On his way home from the hospital after his first kidney transplant in 1995, Jack Norris took a detour to buy a new car. His daughter was at the wheel because he couldn't drive only days after the surgery, but Mr. Norris was confident he'd be in the driver's seat soon.

A week later, he was back working at the helm of the prominent real estate brokerage then known as Galbreath Co. Mid-Atlantic.

When he had a second kidney transplant eight years later, he again returned to the office within a week to run the company.

"It's important to keep focused on things ... and strive for a positive attitude regardless of what ailment you may have," said Mr. Norris, chairman and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh officer that, following a series of mergers in the latter 1990s, is now called CB Richard Ellis, a global real estate development and management concern.

For Mr. Norris, who underwent dialysis treatments for about six months before his second transplant, work in the office and as a volunteer has been his way of staying focused and positive.

Dialysis "is not fun," he said. "You sit there for five hours, three days a week. So I tried to keep up with work while doing it."

That work has included serving as an active volunteer for the National Kidney Foundation, including a stint as chairman of the NKF of Western Pennsylvania. For his contributions, he will receive the foundation's 2006 Gift of Life Corporate Award on May 20 at the Hilton Pittsburgh, Downtown.

Among his efforts has been steering the annual Corporate Monopoly Tournament fund-raiser held at U.S. Steel Tower, where CB's local office is headquartered. This year's event in February generated $40,000 for the local foundation.

Mr. Norris, 60, was diagnosed in 1984 with scarring that leads to kidney failure. Medication kept the disease at bay for 10 years, and when he required a transplant, his wife, Louise, turned out to be a suitable donor.

"It was a fluke that it matched," said Mr. Norris.

Nearly a decade later, that kidney failed because of a virus and Mr. Norris' sister was tapped. "She was a perfect match and it should not be rejected," he said.

The North East, Erie County, native was a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh in 1970 when he was hired as planning director for Monroeville. He never got his master's degree because he didn't complete the dissertation, but he launched a career that has allowed him to put his stamp on significant developments and properties throughout the region.

Monroeville in the 1970s was a booming suburb where Oxford Development Co. was building one of the area's first large, regional malls.

"It was a zoo. There was lots of zoning to do and subdivision regulations and I put most of them in place," said Mr. Norris.

Oxford's chair, Ed Lewis, asked him to join his company in 1973, and he stayed for 19 years, eventually rising to chief operating officer.

At Oxford, Mr. Norris worked on high-profile developments, including retail centers Village Square in Bethel Park and Edgewood Towne Centre. His most satisfying project was One Oxford Centre, the 45-story Downtown office tower that was a major component of the city's Renaissance Two in the early 1980s.

The upscale tower with high-end retail on its lower levels was built on speculation with no pre-leased tenants. But because Downtown had not seen new space on the market for years, the building filled up with headquarters for firms such as Duquesne Light, Joy Manufacturing and Westinghouse Credit. Many of its original tenants are defunct or have since moved to more modest digs.

"It was [constructed], intentionally, from all Pittsburgh products," Mr. Norris noted, including fabricated steel from American Bridge and lights and elevators from Westinghouse.

After the go-go '80s and routine 70-hour workweeks at Oxford, Mr. Norris wanted a change in pace and left the big developer in 1992 to start a boutique real estate services firm, Tricor Realty Partners. His small company days were short-lived.

Within a year, Tricor agreed to partner with Dan Galbreath -- the Columbus, Ohio-based developer and former Pittsburgh Pirates owner -- to operate Galbreath Co. Mid-Atlantic. When the Galbreath share of that business was sold in 1997, Mr. Norris and his Pittsburgh-based partners formed a joint venture with CB Richard Ellis, an international brokerage with about $3 billion in annual revenues. The Pittsburgh operations' share of that is approaching $20 million, Mr. Norris said.

"We made a good choice" because the CB name "provides power, penetration and instant credibility."

Mr. Norris oversees 130 employees involved in finding and leasing office, retail and other commercial space; property sales; and real estate management. Clients include Alcoa, FedEx Ground, Medrad and Millcraft Industries, which is redeveloping the former Downtown Lazarus store.

He's optimistic about the city largely because of residential projects that will "bring people back to Downtown."

He likes that "Fifth and Forbes is growing organically" with investment from local players such as Millcraft and PNC Financial Services Group and components that are being driven by the marketplace as opposed to grand government-driven plans.

"That's the way it should have been done before. The new mayor is a great cheerleader and is picking good people to run the city government."

His self-described open-door management style is evident from the glass-walled cubicles that he and his employees occupy in U.S. Steel Tower.

"There are no big corner offices here because that's not important. It's very collegial ... lots of foot traffic around the office and interaction between the groups."

In stark contrast to the early years of his career, Mr. Norris tries to contain his workweek to Mondays through Fridays and wants his employees to do the same.

"People need to be refreshed. It minimizes stress. When I was at Oxford working 70-plus hours a week, I was short on patience. I was very demanding. I had a pretty poor personal reputation. I became agitated very easily, and that doesn't accomplish much."

The father of seven who is expecting his ninth grandchild likes to spend weekends boating on Lake Erie.

"Going boating kept our family together and focused."

JACK NORRIS

Job: Chairman and chief executive officer, CB Richard Ellis Pittsburgh Age: 60 Hometown: North East, Erie County; resides in Edgeworth Education: Bachelor's, political science, University of Louisville, 1968. Career: 1970-73: director of planning, Monroeville; 1973-92: series of jobs at Oxford Development Co., including director of development, executive vice president and chief operating officer; 1992-93: founder and president, Tricor Realty Partners; 1993-1997: president and chief executive officer, Galbreath Co. Mid-Atlantic; 1998-present: chairman and CEO, CB Richard Ellis Pittsburgh.