PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, August 21st 2023 – Colliers’ Ed Lawrence, resident research analyst for the company’s Pittsburgh firm, recently interviewed Mayor Edward Gainey regarding the state of the city’s downtown.
Like many American cities, Pittsburgh experienced a post-pandemic increase in crime and homelessness that put into question the validity of its downtown as a safe environment for existing businesses and prospective office conversions. Obviously, these concerns directly impact the success of the CRE industry within the area: without entertainment options to allure visitors or RTO mandates to ensure office occupancies, all commercial real estate sectors suffer.
“What we promised people was that we’re not going to change Downtown overnight, because we didn’t get here overnight.” – Mayor Ed Gainey
Since obtaining office, Gainey has worked to implement a number of measures to revitalize Pittsburgh’s downtown: partnering with downtown organizations, increasing safety budgets, adding police in crime-heavy areas, and creating an ambassador program to ensure the city’s center is a welcoming environment – while acknowledging significant continued change and improvements are still necessary for revitalization.
“With the advent of artificial intelligence, and some folks out there worried about their jobs being eliminated and so forth, I’ll tell you what: if I was starting out my career, I would want to be in the office to make sure that my manager knows that it’s tough to replace me.” – Edward Lawrence
During the 17-minute interview, both Edwards discuss the city’s revitalization efforts, the merits of in-person workspaces, and ways the private sector and local government can work together to improve downtown for businesses and residents alike.
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