PNC planning 2012 start on new headquarters tower Downtown
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The view of the Tower at PNC Plaza from Market Square. -
PNC CEO Jim Rohr announced plans for The Tower at PNC Plaza -- an "eco-friendly" 40-story skyscraper that will become its corporate headquarters. It will be built between Fifth and Forbes. -
The location of the Tower at PNC Plaza will be between PPG Place and the U.S. Steel building. -
How the Tower at PNC Plaza will appear when seen from the air.
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PNC Financial Services Group has finally fessed up: It will build the world's greenest skyscraper -- about 40 stories in all and nearly all glass -- in the heart of Downtown.
The disclosure came Monday at the Fairmont Pittsburgh, where PNC showed off plans for the $400 million "skyrise" that will serve as its worldwide headquarters.
But the Tower at PNC Plaza won't be any ordinary skyscraper.
PNC officials are promising that the building will exceed the highest rating given for environmentally friendly design by the U.S. Green Building Council and enliven the Downtown skyline.
"We think the Tower at PNC Plaza will be a destination. We think it will draw people from around the world who will want to come and see this building and, hopefully, we'll find some people who will want to emulate it," said Gary Saulson, PNC's director of corporate real estate.
PG VIDEO: PNC'S NEW HEADQUARTERSJames Rohr, PNC chairman and CEO, said the office tower will be an "exclamation point" on the bank's investment in Pittsburgh and "another symbol of our deep bond with this city and this region."
It will be built in a rundown block of Wood Street between Fifth and Forbes avenues where the bank has spent more than $18 million over the last year secretly acquiring seven properties. The Post-Gazette first reported last week that PNC was behind the purchases and that it planned to build a new office tower at the location, which is adjacent to its current headquarters at One PNC Plaza.
Construction is expected to start next year and should be completed by mid-2015. The building will house about 3,000 PNC employees, including its top executives. PNC will pay for the entire project. It will not seek any public funding, Mr. Rohr said.
"This exciting development Downtown is the continuation of what I believe is the third renaissance that's happening right now in the city of Pittsburgh," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said.
Mr. Rohr said the 800,000-square-foot development is being driven by the bank's need for more space. He said that PNC began thinking seriously about expansion after acquiring National City Bank in 2009.
First Published May 24, 2011 12:00 am
