RAND To Occupy 59,000 Square-feet In New Pittsburgh Building

The RAND Corporation has signed a lease with The Elmhurst Group for 59,000 square-feet of office space in a new Pittsburgh building scheduled for completion in 2005, RAND President and CEO James A. Thomson announced today.

The Elmhurst Group, a Pittsburgh-based commercial real estate developer, is building the 110,000 square-foot office building at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Craig Street, at the hub of Pittsburgh's health care, education and research community in Oakland. RAND plans to move into the building in January 2006.

“RAND is planting deeper roots in Pittsburgh as our ties to the region grow and our staff expands,” Thomson said. “Our Pittsburgh office has become an important part of RAND, bringing talented people to our staff who want to live and work in a community that offers an attractive and affordable lifestyle.”

RAND's new Pittsburgh office will accommodate 200 people—more than twice the size of the present staff of 86. The nonprofit research organization currently occupies about 30,000 square-feet at 201 N. Craig Street.

“This lease brings us one step closer to expanding and strengthening our commitment to Pittsburgh while maintaining our proximity to RAND's client base and research partners,” said Barry Balmat, director of RAND's Pittsburgh office. “As our staff grows, we can look forward to further collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and other area community partners on projects that benefit the region, the nation and the world.”

The new building will have state-of-the-art amenities—including energy efficient, tenant-independent climate-control systems, fiber-optic cabling with access to high-speed data connections, and dedicated on-site security protection.

“This is the first full-service, Class A office building to be developed in Oakland in several years, and the interest it's generating among potential tenants is strong,” said Bill Hunt, President of The Elmhurst Group. “The response has exceeded our expectations. The building will provide RAND and other tenants with first-class facilities, in the center of Pittsburgh's major educational and health care institutions, in close proximity to dining, entertainment, shopping and housing.”

Hunt also said the project would not have been possible without the cooperation and assistance of the University of Pittsburgh, which owns the site, and Mellon Financial Corporation, which leases the land.

Nearly 60 percent of the space in the six-story office building has been pre-leased, with the University of Pittsburgh, a Citizens Bank branch, and an office of Mellon Bank rounding out the list of major tenants.

“RAND has become a vital asset to the Pittsburgh area, bringing jobs and devoting intellectual capital to answer some of the area's most pressing challenges,” said Ronnie Bryant, president of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance.

Since its inception in 2000, RAND's Pittsburgh office has worked on several projects of regional significance. Most recently, RAND examined the performance of Pittsburgh Public Schools for the Mayor's Commission on Public Education. The RAND-University of Pittsburgh Health Institute has developed an action plan to improve the maternal and child health care system in Allegheny County.

RAND has also harnessed the intellectual resources of the area to confront issues of national significance. RAND is partnering with Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute to conduct research on robotics for the U.S. Army.

As part of its work in the national security arena, RAND has assessed the capacities of city and county emergency services in Allegheny County to respond to terrorist attacks. RAND's findings have provided Pittsburgh and Allegheny County officials with first steps to enhance existing emergency response capabilities.

For more than 50 years, decision-makers in the public and private sectors have turned to the RAND Corporation for objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the nation and the world. These challenges include such critical social and economic issues as education, poverty, crime, and the environment, as well as a range of national security issues.

Today, RAND researchers and analysts continue to be on the cutting edge of their fields, working with decision-makers in both the public and private sectors to find solutions to today's difficult, sensitive and important problems. Through its dedication to high-quality and objective research and analysis and with sophisticated analytical tools developed over many years, RAND is engaged with its clients to create knowledge, insight, information, options, and solutions that will be both effective and enduring.

Founded in 1974, The Elmhurst Group is one of Western Pennsylvania's leading commercial real estate development and investment organizations. The company's holdings exceed 1.5 million square feet of office, distribution, retail and flex space, including the Ramada Plaza Suites Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.

Elmhurst is currently constructing two other buildings—one 60,000 square-foot building in McClaren Woods Business Park in Findlay Township and one 64,000 square-foot building at the Airside Business Park in Moon Township. The Elmhurst Group has retained TARQUINCoRE, a Pittsburgh-based commercial real estate services provider, to serve as leasing agent for the new building.

RAND was represented in the leasing agreement by David Lipson, executive managing director of Studley, a national commercial real estate services firm; and Tim Goetz, a partner at Pittsburgh-based Grant Street Associates. Studley is the exclusive national real estate advisor to RAND.