Strip warehouse eyed for residential, office use

A lampshade warehouse could become the next big development site in the booming Strip District.

Pittsburgh- based Hullett Properties has teamed with a New York developer to purchase the property at 50 26th St. for $6.1 million as it considers a range of options for the site, from residential to office to research and development.

The nearly block-long warehouse, which also borders Railroad Street, is located in the heart of the Strip adjacent to Oxford Development Company’s 3 Crossings office and residential complex.

It is surrounded by tech firms, including the headquarters for autonomous vehicle firm Argo AI across the street, and residential buildings.

Such a location could provide plenty of opportunities for the partnership, although residential appears to be the front-runner at this point.

Hullett is primarily a residential developer, founder and principal Breanna Tyson noted in an email.

“We always look at sites from that perspective and so we expect this to be a residential project,” she said.

She stressed, however, that a final determination has yet to be made.

Phillip Gesue of Manhattanbased PE Real Estate Holdings LLC, which is partnering with Hullett on the venture, said one reason the team is taking its time in figuring out a reuse is the diversity of business activity in the Strip, running the gamut from tech offices to research space to residential.

“So we’re trying to see what the appropriate opportunity is, what’s right for the site,” he said. “But it seems as though it’s probably residential.”

Hullett already has developed one residential project in the Strip — 2554 Smallman, which features 27 condominiums, all of which have been sold, according to its website.

It also has three other projects in the works in the Strip, including Pimlico Row, featuring 14 townhouses priced between $900,000 and $1.6 million.

Two other developments — the Waterman, with 90 residences, and the Mercer — are listed as coming soon on Hullett’s website. Brett Walsh, a Hullett principal, said it was too early to discuss “those development concepts in any detail.”

Hullett also owns what is known as the Triangle Building on Liberty Avenue in Downtown.

The 50 26th St. warehouse currently is occupied by J. Harris Lampshades, a familyowned wholesale manufacturer that has been based in Western Pennsylvania since 1972. The company sells custom lampshades, with a catalog of more than 9 million combinations of shades, its website stated, and an in-house wire shop.

J. Harris will stay through

the year and then relocate its operations, Mr. Gesue said. The sellers of the property, Jack and Craig Harris, are affiliated with the lampshade company.

Whatever is eventually developed at the site likely will include ground-level retail, Ms. Tyson said.

“We feel it is important to provide streetscape retail vibrancy in our developments and we are already looking for high-value retailers,” she said.

PE Real Estate Holdings is serving as a financial partner in the development. Mr. Gesue said he was introduced to Ms. Tyson and Mr. Walsh through a mutual acquaintance.

Mr. Gesue was born in Erie and grew up in Pittsburgh. He said PE Real Estate is a family-owned company that invests in property.

“I love Pittsburgh and it seems like there’s a lot going on there. It seems like an exciting time,” he said.

The partnership has yet to come up with a timetable to start work on a new development at the site.

“We’re exploring a lot of different possibilities. We’ll probably have a direction and start work on something toward the end of the year,” Mr. Gesue said.

If it ends up being a residential project, the team probably will build new. But if it’s office or some other type of development, an adaptive reuse may be possible, he said.

There’s no doubt that the Strip continues to be a hot market commanding top dollar for its real estate. Argo recently purchased another warehouse in the Strip for $6.5 million.

Over the past decade, $1.5 billion has been invested in the gritty neighborhood with industrial roots, according to a report released last year by the Strip District Neighbors community group.

As of last year, the report counted 1,425 rental and condo units in the Strip, with another 730 being built and 530 planned. Of the apartments, 62% were delivered over the past six years.

Average rents ranged from $1,511 for a studio to $1,815 for a one-bedroom and $2,481 for a two-bedroom.

Over the past five years, the residential population has soared by 150%, the report found.

Office development has been just as explosive, according to the report, with 1.2 million square feet of space under construction and another 300,000 square feet in the planning stages.

Over the past decade, $1.5 billion has been invested in the Strip District, a gritty neighborhood with industrial roots.