Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11143/1148621-100.stm?cmpid=latest.xml)


PNC to build new 'eco-friendly' headquarters Downtown
Monday, May 23, 2011
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/201105/20110523brk_hi_tower_skyline_500.jpg
The location of the Tower at PNC Plaza will be between PPG Place and the U.S. Steel building.

PNC Financial Services Group will build the world's "most environmentally friendly skyrise" Downtown to serve as its new, $400 million worldwide headquarters.

The bank announced plans for the building during a press conference this afternoon at the Fairmont Hotel.

The building will be about 40 stories high and will be called the Tower at PNC Plaza. PNC hopes to exceed the highest level of certification offered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Gary Saulson, director of corporate real estate for PNC, said construction would begin next year and should be completed in mid 2015. The "skyrise," as Mr. Saulson dubbed it, will house about 3,000 employees.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11143/1148621-100.stm?cmpid=latest.xml#ixzz1NDwRVBpS

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pnc/42893/images/42893-hi-tower_campusview.jpg

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pnc/42893/images/42893-hi-tower_skyline.jpg

New Pittsburgh headquarters building expected to set standard for green construction

PITTSBURGH, May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) announced today that it plans to construct the world’s most environmentally friendly skyscraper. The Tower at PNC Plaza will be located on the Southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street, the same Pittsburgh intersection where PNC has been headquartered for more than 150 years. Once complete in 2015, the approximately 40 story building will serve as PNC’s executive offices.

“The Tower at PNC Plaza is an exclamation point on our investment in downtown Pittsburgh, and it reflects our commitment to community, competitiveness and innovation, as well as the comfort and productivity of our employees,” said James E. Rohr, chairman and chief executive officer of PNC. “When the Tower is complete, we will have invested more than $700 million in green buildings at the heart of the city.”

At approximately 800,000 square feet, the Tower at PNC Plaza would be PNC’s largest building in Pittsburgh. Tentative plans call for approximately 300 underground parking spaces, street level retail and green rooftops. Erecting the planned $400 million Tower should create 2,500 construction jobs, with 500 workers at a time on the site during peak periods.

“A headquarters facility is the cornerstone building of any company’s portfolio, embodying company values and business ethics. PNC is making a strong statement by building their forthcoming headquarters to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards,” said S. Richard Fedrizzi, president, chief executive officer and founding chairman of the United States Green Building Council. “This project is just another example of PNC’s on-going leadership, setting a green building example for other large corporations through their application of LEED.”

PNC opened its first green building in 2000. At that time, the 650,000 square foot PNC Firstside Center, on Pittsburgh’s First Avenue, was the largest LEED-certified building in the world. In 2010, PNC opened Three PNC Plaza, on Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh, one of the largest LEED-certified mixed use buildings in the United States. PNC, which has more newly constructed buildings LEED-certified by the USGBC than any company on Earth, recently completed its latest green office building in Washington, D.C. LEED Platinum certified PNC Place at 800 17th Street sits just blocks from the White House and serves as PNC’s regional headquarters in the capital.

The Tower at PNC Plaza will feature a double glass facade to enhance energy efficiency by reducing cooling costs and allowing natural airflow to the building. Using advanced sensors and metering, a state-of-the-art, high efficiency heating and cooling system will deliver conditioned air to specific zones of the building, as needed. The building will be oriented to take advantage of sunlight in workspaces, reducing the need for artificial light during the day. The design team is also currently exploring fuel cells, solar panels, geothermal systems and other alternative power generation sources that will significantly reduce carbon emissions. The building’s green rooftops will collect rainwater and channel it for use in other parts of the structure, as well as reduce the heat gain associated with traditional rooftops.

PNC will own the building and occupy all of the office space, with tenants in the retail spaces at street level. The project is being designed by the Pittsburgh office of Gensler, the world’s largest architectural and design firm and the design architects for both Three PNC Plaza and PNC Place. Pittsburgh-based PJ Dick will serve as construction manager and U.K.-based Buro Happold will be the engineering firm. Paladino & Company of Seattle serves as the green building consultant.

Subsidiaries of PNC have acquired six properties, totaling approximately 31,000 square feet, on the site bounded by Fifth Avenue, Forbes Avenue and Wood Street. PNC will seek to acquire three others totaling approximately 6,000 square feet from the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. Deconstruction of buildings on the site is expected to begin late in 2011, with construction scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012. PNC anticipates completion of the Tower at PNC Plaza in the summer of 2015. PNC will solicit community input on street level design and other aspects of the building in the upcoming months.

Consistent with PNC’s commitment to green building practices, re-usable materials from deconstructed buildings on the site will be donated to Pittsburgh-based non-profit building supply warehouse Construction Junction. A cultural survey of the site, including archeological excavation, will be conducted by Christine Davis Consultants of Verona, Pa.

PNC expects the Tower at PNC Plaza to accommodate the company’s long-term growth. The current headquarters building, One PNC Plaza, will continue to house PNC offices.

source: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pnc/42893/

Wow! That's really fantastic news! A great addition in my favourite American skyline.

Some more renders of this tower that will be 182m or 600 ft. tall:

http://questpointsolarsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/PNCTower1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/newpnctower.jpg

http://pnc.thedigitalcenter.com/photos/30687/webres/tower_interiorview.jpg?1305838605

Cool looking building!

I like the building, but a few years ago there was a big furor over Pittsburgh's intent to demolish several historic buildings in the 5th and Forbes district; is this the outgrowth of that proposal?

I knew a skyscraper should have been built on the site of the deceased Farmers Bank Building (1903-1997). The proposed 4 PNC Plaza is to the south of the plot.

Here's some more details:

Today.msnbc (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43138419/ns/local_news-pittsburgh_pa/t/downtown-pittsburgh-getting-new-skyscraper/)


Downtown Pittsburgh Getting New Skyscraper

ThePittsburghChannel.Com
updated 5/23/2011

http://i54.tinypic.com/2ytwk9j.jpg

PNC Financial Services Group has been revealed as the recent "mystery buyer" of many downtown Pittsburgh properties, and the company said it will use that land to build a 40-story headquarters.

The Tower at PNC Plaza will be located at the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2012 and end in summer 2015.

PNC said several buildings totaling about 31,000 square feet in the area of Wood Street and Fifth and Forbes avenues will start being torn down late this year, in preparation for the construction project.

Those properties were purchased over the past year by a buyer who had been listed under a fictitious name, now revealed to be subsidiaries of PNC.

PNC said it will buy three more properties from the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh to complete the necessary footprint for its new office tower.

PNC will own the building and occupy all of its office space. Retail spaces on the street level will be rented.

CEO Jim Rohr said PNC believes the new building will be the world’s most environmentally friendly skyscraper.

The city's most recent skyscraper opened at Three PNC Plaza along Fifth Avenue near Market Street in 2009. It includes offices, condominiums and a Fairmont Hotel


another render:
http://www.pncsites.com/pnctower/images/PNCTower1.jpg

Nice. I like the big open spaces in the interior. :)

I had no clue that Pittsburgh or a company in Pittsburgh could afford or need something like this.

Very nice tower.

Awesome news for Pittsburgh!!!!

Pittsburgh became on of my favorite skylines when I drove into the city for the first time through the Fort Pitt Tunnel earlier this year.

I had no clue that Pittsburgh or a company in Pittsburgh could afford or need something like this.

Very nice tower.

Pittsburgh one of the few places in the country where companies are expanding rather then closing the doors

2010 Fortune 500 Corporations

123 PNC Financial Services
190 PPG Industries
211 U.S. Steel
233 H. J. Heinz Company
412 Mylan Laboratories
448 WESCO International
449 CONSOL Energy
466 Dick's Sporting Goods

Also recently starting to get a lot of companies come in for natural gas extraction.

I had no clue that Pittsburgh or a company in Pittsburgh could afford or need something like this.

Very nice tower.
Pittsburgh is awesome and the natural setting is spectacular. It's one of my favorite cities.

That being said, why couldn't they have bought the parking lot or parking garage down the street and built there instead of tearing down all those buildings? It's the small older buildings that allow small businesses to exist and give a place it's character. I don't want Pittsburgh to end up like Boston where I live and lose all it's character.

Beautiful building!

It's a nice filler for Pittsburgh.Far from being iconic.

I don't want Pittsburgh to end up like Boston where I live and lose all it's character.

HUH?!?!?!?!

Alright, so PNC Financial Services has One PNC Plaza, Two PNC Plaza, and Three PNC Plaza (a mixed use building), and now they're gonna build a de-facto Four PNC Plaza. Can all of PNC's employees be consolidated at The Tower at PNC Plaza or will some of its employees remain in PNC's existing buildings? If the former is the case, then the new tower should have had a floor area of over 1 million sq ft (or 100,000 sq m).

Pittsburgh Post Gazette (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11343/1195607-28.stm)


City to review plans for 'distinctive' PNC tower

Friday, December 09, 2011

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/6999/toweratpnc.jpg

The new $400 million skyscraper planned by PNC Financial Services Group will feature 33 floors of office and related space, the best of sustainable building techniques and a skyline presence that will be "distinctive but not dominating."

Based on documents filed with the city planning department, PNC hopes to start demolishing existing buildings along Wood Street and Forbes and Fifth avenues Downtown in March to make way for the office tower and expects to have the mostly glass skyscraper completed by June 1, 2015.

The city planning commission will begin its review of the Tower at PNC Plaza at its meeting Tuesday.

PNC originally planned as many as 40 stories for the tower, but it later refined that to 33, plus a 12,590-square-foot mechanical penthouse as well as green features at the very top to help ventilate the building. There also will be three floors of underground parking with 136 spaces, plus a dedicated and secure area to park as many as 195 bicycles.

Despite the changes, PNC's new headquarters still will total slightly more than 800,000 square feet of space -- 698,463 for offices and 107,310 for the garage.

The base of the building will contain two retail areas, one at the corner of Forbes and Wood and another on Fifth Avenue. The lobby will feature an auditorium and meeting space for employees.

[...]
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11343/1195607-28.stm#ixzz1ge2uZMBY

A closer look at the capital of this evolving tower design:

http://www.pncsites.com/pnctower/images/PNCTower4.jpg
http://www.pncsites.com/pnctower/

Now Thats HOT!

A closer look at the capital of this evolving tower design:

http://www.pncsites.com/pnctower/images/PNCTower4.jpg
http://www.pncsites.com/pnctower/

I like the open stairwells at the top. That's something different.

PNC Tower Approved (http://www.constructiondigital.com/green_building/pittsburgh-to-host-worlds-greenest-skyrise)

http://www.pncsites.com/pnctower/images/PNCTower1.jpg



PNC, already a prominent aspect of Pittsburgh’s downtown skyline, is moving forward with plans for a $400 million high rise set to exceed the industry’s top sustainability standards, LEED Platinum.

The new complex, planned for Wood Street between Forbes and Fifth Avenue, will boast more than 800,000 square feet of office space for more than 3,000 employees, with ample parking for up to 136 vehicles.

---

The area’s city planning commission voted to approve the 33-story project on Tuesday. “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,” says Gary Saulson, director of corporate real estate for PNC.

The company hopes to complete the building process by June 2015.


Site clearance should begin soon and construction may start in Q2 2012.

Site clearance has begun. These pics are from this morning.

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/1130/pnc006.jpg

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/299/pnc005.jpg

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/2702/pnc004.jpg

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/7820/pnc003.jpg

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/2908/pnc002.jpg

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/9943/pnc001.jpg

All pics were taken by me.

It's a very nice tower. But it's kinda sad that a few of the older buildings have to be demolished. But it could be for the better.

I had no clue that Pittsburgh or a company in Pittsburgh could afford or need something like this.


Wow, you really said that?

PNC ready to deconstruct site for skyscraper (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12059/1213042-53.stm)

"Tuesday, February 28, 2012
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It's time to bid adieu to a rundown block of Wood Street. But not with a stick or two of dynamite.

Noralco Corp., the same contractor tearing down the Civic Arena, will begin work this week clearing a path for the construction of PNC Financial Services Group's new 33-story skyscraper, the Tower at PNC Plaza.

"The beginning of this project puts Pittsburgh another step closer to reclaiming its heritage as an architectural innovator and leader," said Gary Saulson, PNC's director of corporate real estate..."

"...The new building, occupying the block of Wood between Forbes and Fifth, should start rising by the summer of 2013. The $400 million mostly glass skyscraper is expected to be ready for occupancy by June 1, 2015."

I wonder if they could possibly reconstruct the buildings being torn down somewhere else in Pittsburgh, or if they'll just toss what they take down.

That's like suggesting we rebuild the civic arena in Robinson. Although it would be nice.

Here's a BIG render of the updated design:

http://www.djc.com/stories/images/20120223/ImageA_ToweratPNCPlaza_big.jpg
http://www.djc.com/news/en/12038214.html

4.14.2012
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/8400/img8900bi.jpg

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/5430/img8899f.jpg

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/3049/img8898x.jpg
^ I dont think these two buildings will stay.

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6545/img8897z.jpg

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/9239/img8896x.jpg

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/700/img8895t.jpg

Mods,
Please change the status to Prep. TY. :)