How a Riverfront Building Mark Cuban is Selling Could Become Loft Apartments

The former PPG glass warehouse on Fort Duquesne Boulevard has been empty for years
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Long vacant, a former Downtown warehouse with views of the Allegheny River that’s owned by billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban may soon be transformed into 140 loft-style apartments. 

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the Mt. Lebanon native, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” has struck a deal with Washington, D.C.-based developer Douglas Development Corporation to buy the nine-story building on Fort Duquesne Boulevard, an official with the firm said. 

Cuban has owned the former PPG glass warehouse since 2006. At the time, he paid $6.85 million for the property, according to Allegheny County real estate records. 

Last year, Cuban hired CBRE real estate firm to market the century-old building after failing to reach a deal with The Davis Companies — the Boston-based firm responsible for the $100 million renovation of Pittsburgh’s historic Union Trust Building — on the sale. 

MARK CUBAN ON SHARK TANK

Douglas Development managing principal Norman Jemal told the Post-Gazette the company hopes to close on the transaction within the next three months. 

Cuban, who at one time hoped to partner with Shadyside developer Walnut Capital to convert the 168,000-square-foot building into a mix of housing and office space, declined to comment. 

For now, Douglas Development has tentative plans to convert the building into one- and two-bedroom units featuring high ceilings and large windows that take advantage of the riverfront views. 

Although the firm’s work mostly is in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland, it has begun branching out to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The building at 632 Fort Duquesne Blvd. would be its first asset in Pittsburgh.  

“Pittsburgh is a great city, rich in history and with a very bright future ahead of it,” Jemal told the PG. “The bones of the building are spectacular, and the views of the water are really impressive. We think it’s a great place to live and offers us a great opportunity.”

He declined to share the purchase price, noting the amount the firm plans to invest in the building’s rehab is “still fluid.”

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