Discover What’s New and Interesting in Our Backyard
Pittsburgh is the second largest city in Pennsylvania, and is home to more than 305,000 residents within the city limits. Nestled at the foothills of the Alleghany Mountains, Pittsburgh is known as “The Steel City” for its more than 300 steel-related businesses, as well as the “City of Bridges” for its 446 bridges. Over the past three decades, the Pittsburgh region’s economy has undergone an evolution. Business investors tap into the city’s strategic location, top-flight corporate real estate, highly competitive cost of doing business, and affordable cost of living. Residents are attracted to the region due to its world-class performing arts, excellent healthcare system, major sports teams, and year-round recreation opportunities.
Five key industry sectors support Pittsburgh’s economy: advanced manufacturing, energy, financial and business services, healthcare and life sciences, and information technology. Shell is currently developing a multibillion petrochemical complex near Pittsburgh, which will be built on the banks of the Ohio River, about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. As a result of its close proximity to gas feedstock, the complex will benefit from shorter and more dependable supply chains, compared to supply from the Gulf Coast. The project will also bring new growth and jobs to the region, with up to 6,000 construction workers involved in building the new facility, and an expected 600 permanent employees when completed, according to Shell.
Pittsburgh is also among the world leaders in robotics technology. Investment by global brands like Uber and Ford in autonomous vehicles has helped to anchor this, according to the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. An influx of millennials to the urban core has resulted in a rapid expansion of housing in the downtown area. The growth of the information technology sector has increased demand for commercial real estate in downtown Pittsburgh, as large global brands such as transportation company Uber; Argo AI, a software company; and Bosch, a global supplier of technology and services, locate there. Bosch’s 51,667-square-foot technology center, which was completed in 2016, nearly doubled its footprint in the region.
A recent study completed by the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Initiative on Innovation and Placemaking and the Brooking Institution, “Capturing the Next Economy: Pittsburgh’s Rise as a Global Innovation City,” claims that Pittsburgh is “at the precipice of a new competitive reality.” The city’s competitive advantage is no longer its geography; instead, it is its highly skilled workforce and focus on advanced manufacturing. An increased demand for distribution facilities, as well as space for smaller manufacturers, promises to create positive movement in the commercial real estate industry.
About Fidelity National Financial
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (FNF) is currently ranked #359 on the 2023 Fortune 500®*, and is among numerous defense, energy, media, hospitality and financial Fortune 500®* companies based in the region. Our Pittsburgh-based team of CRE professionals works in all facets of the industry, including power and energy projects, office buildings, industrial parks, multifamily housing, retail properties, government contracts, corporate transactions and more.
Discover what’s new and interesting in our backyard in the latest real estate news, provided courtesy of the FNF Newsdesk.
*FORTUNE and FORTUNE 500 are registered trademarks of Time Inc. From FORTUNE Magazine, June 2023 ©2023 Time Inc. FORTUNE and Time Inc. are not affiliated with, and do not endorse products or services of Fidelity National Financial. Chicago Title Insurance Company is a member of the Fidelity National Financial family of companies and the nation’s largest group of title companies and title insurance underwriters - Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title, and National Title of New York - that collectively issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the United States.