525 William Penn Place

History

525 William Penn Place was one of the first skyscrapers built in Pittsburgh as part of longtime Mayor David Lawrence's Renaissance I building initiative to rebuild downtown Pittsburgh. The building was built by the then Pittsburgh Pirates owner John W. Galbreath with loans from the Mellon National Bank and additional financing from insurance companies. At the time of construction, Mellon purchased floors 2-8 by deed in 1951 from John W. Galbreath. The building was designed by Harrison & Abramovitz with construction by the Turner Construction Company. It was built on the site of the Henry Hotel which was demolished to prepare the site for the tower in 1949.

The original plan for the building was to construct the ground floors in the same architectural design as the Mellon National Bank on Smithfield Street adjacent to the skyscraper and to allow open flow of Mellon employees between the two buildings with Mellon occupying the first eight floors. This plan was later modified during construction to give the entire building its own modernist style and an open shared lobby with three elevator banks and multiple passages between the skyscraper and the Mellon National Bank on Smithfield Street. U.S. Steel leased the floors 9 through 37 for their corporation and various subsidiaries. The top floors were reserved for the T. Mellon & Sons Company, various Mellon family charities offices, and a penthouse for philanthropist Richard King Mellon.

U.S. Steel was the primary tenant until completing their own skyscraper, U.S. Steel Tower, on Grant Street in 1970. At that time, Mellon Bank owned floors 2-8 and leased the remainder of the building from the John W. Galbraith Co. In April 1982, Mellon Bank finally purchased the remainder of the building for $10 million (equivalent to $ in ).

Mellon Bank (The Bank of New York Mellon since 2007) remained the owner of 525 William Penn Place and the largest occupier of space at approximately half the building (approximately 500,000 ft2). The remainder of the space is leased to various businesses and law firms with Citizens Bank as the largest tenant occupying approximately 1/4 of the building at 250,000 ft2. Citizens Bank also leases from Mellon signage rights to the building which include the right to erect signage at the top of the tower and above the entry closest to Fifth Avenue.

In January 2015, BNY Mellon announced it would begin slowly moving employees to other space in downtown Pittsburgh and seek a buyer for the building.

In September 2016 BNY Mellon, National Association sold it to FAC 525, LLC (a single purpose entity) for $67.65 million (equivalent to $ in ).

Renovations

The first major building renovation of 525 William Penn Place occurred from 1986 to 1987 with a complete building renewal. New windows (approximately 3,344), heating, air, plumbing, and new mechanical systems were installed. In 2001, a new renovation commenced with the complete rebuilding of the lobby, building entrances, elevator cabs, and restrooms. The building was awarded an Energy Star label in 2008 for its operating efficiency. In 2010, the building was further awarded a Gold Level LEED certification by the US Green Building Council.

Building name

Being primarily a bank office building and due to the ever changing banking industry, the name of the building has often been in confusion. Originally known as 525 William Penn Place from construction until 1970, it was then named the Mellon Bank Center. It was renamed again in 1984 with the completion of One Mellon Bank Center two blocks away with the designation of Three Mellon Bank Center (later Three Mellon Center). In 2002 it reverted to the original name of 525 William Penn Place with Mellon's sale of its retail banking business to Citizens Bank.

Popular culture

The skyscraper makes a cameo in the 2010 rap video Black and Yellow, the camera panning skyward from a street view.

References

References

1. Department of Real Estate of Allegheny County on 9/21/16 in Deed Book Volume 16544, page 152
2. (1949-09-22). "Gateway Center". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
3. Russell, W. L.. (March 27, 1949). "Work on Mellon-US Steel Skyscraper Starts April 1". [[The Pittsburgh Press]].
4. "Search Results for April 11".
5. Allen, William. (Aug 2, 1970). "Mellon Taking Over Skyscraper". [[The Pittsburgh Press]].
6. "Real Estate | General Information | Allegheny County".
7. Tascarella, Patty. (2002-01-14). "Building with three names creates moniker mystery". [[Pittsburgh Business Times]].
8. Sabatini, Patricia. (2015-01-29). "BNY Mellon to sell historic 525 William Penn Place".
9. "Properties".