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Southpointe II continues to advance strong architectural design
By Mike Swisher
When Horizon Properties Group set out to the take the lead in developing Southpointe II in 2001, the vision was to improve upon what was already the most successful business park in the region and, arguably, the state of Pennsylvania.
The two primary objectives that Horizon presented to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Western Center Task Force and Washington County Commissioners was first to provide needed services for the residential and business population and, secondly, to provide additional office building sites for an even higher quality level of office buildings to meet the demand that Horizon was confident existed. Southpointe II was also envisioned to include additional residential housing and public service uses. However these were secondary to the overall goal of economic development and putting a 217-acre tract of state land into private sector uses that would take tax-exempt Commonwealth property and place it on the Washington County tax roles for the benefit of Washington County, Cecil Township and Canon McMillan School District for years to come.
The recipe that was used for Southpointe created more than 7,000 jobs and 2.7 million square feet of commercial space during the most robust period of economic growth the nation has every experienced. Southpointe was planned as a mixed use park that would help dig Washington County and the region out of the “rust belt ditch” by implementing a real estate development that was modeled after successful mixed use developments in Florida, California and Texas versus replicating the tired industrial park model of the 70s that was stressed. While the vision was to concentrate on the office sector and emerging technologies in the industrial/manufacturing sector and the computer/information technology sector, the park clearly took the office “fork in the road” in 1994 to become the leading provider of suburban “class A” office space in the region.
From the date when Southpointe broke ground in 1991 up to 1995, the mixed use park had a balance of industrial uses and office uses which included Bailey Center, Accutrex Products and AEG Automation. These buildings combined for 130,000 square feet of office and 180,000 square feet of industrial space and the park was off to a modest start with guarded optimism, although some remained vociferously critical of the slow progress.
However, in 1994 that all changed and Southpointe set off on the course that would literally “put it on the map.”
First, exit 48, the Southpointe interchange on Interstate-79, opened thanks to the monumental efforts of state Sen. J. Barry Stout. Secondly, the Pittsburgh Penguins moved their practice ice to the Southpointe Iceoplex. Rod Piatt and his father, Jack Piatt, had already laid the groundwork for a successful high quality business park at Southpointe by developing an 18-hole signature golf course and clubhouse, residential home sites at Ironwood, townhomes at Fairway Landings and office buildings.
During the next five years, more than two million square feet of “class A” office buildings was added to Southpointe. The significance of accessing I-79 and being only 17 minutes from Pittsburgh without a traffic light was monumental. When evening traffic reports were extended to Southpointe for the benefit of the Penguin players, Southpointe became a household name.
The business community saw a location that they wanted to be a part of because it included beautiful open green space in the form of a golf course that would provide the desirable environment for business and recreation. They also saw high quality architecture that would put Southpointe in a position to attract the very best companies in the region including Centimark, Ansys, Crown Castle, Mylan, John T. Boyd Co., Metso Minerals and Reliant Energy.
The late Bill Durkee of Lorenzi Dodds and Gunnill played a vital role in setting this high standard by crafting Southpointe’s design guidelines and covenants and designing several significant buildings including Fairway Landings townhomes, Southpointe Golf Club, Crown Castle, Stealth I & II and Solutions Consulting. There were other architects that also contributed greatly to the Southpointe skyline including Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates, LD Astorino and Gerard Associates Architects. These are some of Pittsburgh’s most talented architectural firms who were commissioned to design some of the best office buildings to be built outside the city of Pittsburgh. They were very successful in designing buildings that all had a unique style but still shared a commonality in quality and design elements to create a cohesive look. The decision to engage this level of design professional was vital to the success of Southpointe.
As Horizon Properties began to contemplate how Southpointe II would look, Rod Piatt envisioned a development that would continue to build on the quality established at Southpointe (Phase I) and, if possible, improve upon it with regard to architecture. Now that five buildings have been completed, it is evident that that vision was well conceived.
The first building, 1000 Town Center, was designed by LD Astorino and was recognized as the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) Speculative Office Building of the Year in 2007. The building is a study in how to make a 60,000-square-foot building look dynamic from multiple vantage points versus a design that is simply repeated on all four sides.
The next were the Consol Energy headquarters building and the Fairmont Supply building, both of which were designed by Kevin Turkall, principal of Design Stream Architectural Studio. Consol is truly cutting-edge architecture and was recognized as the 2009 NAIOP recipient of the Speculative Office Building and Green Building of the Year. This striking building has also been nominated for upcoming national architectural awards.
The latest office building to be completed is 4000 Town Center, a 120,000-square-foot multi-tenant office building, designed by Gerard Associates Architects. This impressive building was a finalist in the 2008 NAIOP Speculative Building category.
Southpointe Homewood Suites by Hilton, a 113-room extended stay hotel, was designed by Kaczmar Architects Inc., based in Cleveland, Ohio. The hotel has been identified by Hilton as one of the top designed Homewoods in the entire Homewood portfolio.
The aesthetic look at Southpointe II is very dramatic and has set the stage for a very high quality development that will continue to attract corporations and promote economic development in Washington County. It is exciting to see what is on the horizon as the next buildings are designed and constructed in the coming years.
Mike Swisher is a principal partner in Horizon Properties, LLC.
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