Massaro Co. pays $10.6 million for office complex on hot airport corridor - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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Mr. Massaro said he recently bought the alonfg the Parkway Westfor $10.6 one of the largest transactions of the year so far and an earlyu indication of the growingv local demand for suburbam real estate properties. Campbells Run Businesd Center, a 131,000 square foot, five-building office complex off CampbellsRun Road, sits on the northh side of the highway. It is Mr. Massaro'w second such purchase in three years. In he bought the 91,000-square-foot Park West Office Cente II building at RIDC Park West in NorthFayette Township. Massaro Co. leased 85,000 square feet there in six bringing the building to a 97 percentgoccupancy rate. Mr.
Massaro now owns 400,000 square feet alongb the airport corridor. His most recent purchaser "shows the strength of the whole Parkway West saidLou Oliva, the Grubb & Ellis Co. vice presideny who representedthe seller, CRBC Associates L.P. The airport corridof is the tightest market in thePittsburgjh area, with only 6.15 percent of 5.4 million squard feet of office space available for according to Grubb & Ellis. The next busiesgt is the North Hills, where 13.7 percent of space sits unused. Investors are takingg notice. Several other Parkway West offics buildings hit the sales blockj inrecent months.
One is Cherrington Corporate Centerr inMoon Township, where Properthy Ventures Ltd. is considering the sale of 336,000 square feet. Another is 3000 Park Lane in NortuFayette Township. In January, Spieker Northwest Inc. boughyt this 107,000-square-foot property for $13.9 milliom as part of a larger portfolii sold by TheHillmabn Co.'s WCB Properties. Now, Spieker is looking to the building in a profitable sale. It hired Eastdil Realty Co. of New York to accep t bids and selecta buyer. Bids were due last Several local groups, including one led by Mr. bid on the property. Mr.
Oliva, who brokereds the sale of Campbells RunBusiness Center, assembled an investment group willing to pay $15 Eastdil, which could not be reached for rejected the offer as too low. Mr. Oliva said the biddinfg now is down tosix groups. The top two or three are real estatedinvestment trusts, he said. As a result of the renewex interest and lack of space on theairporrt corridor, he said, "People are starting to ask much higher pricesx than six to 12 months The next property in play may be the 45,000-square-foot American States Insurance Building near the intersectionm of the Parkway West and Interstated 79 in Rosslyn Farms.
Grant Streert Associates, based Downtown, listed the propertuy for $5.3 million. That' $117 a squares foot, about $36 a square foot higher than the price paidby Mr. Massarok for the nearly full Campbells RunBusiness "I don't think they will get the Mr. Oliva said. "The income on that building will not justifythe price." Mr. for his part, plans to look for more acquisitionws alongthe Parkway, he said. He can afford to do so, with his O'Hara-baserd construction company recoveringfrom Mr. Massaro'z rough period in the 1980s (Business April 1, 1996).