The emptiness price in downtown Pittsburgh is near 20%, down from 5% in 2013 – CBS Pittsburgh

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Downtown Pittsburgh, like all other urban centers, has been badly hit by the pandemic.

It means fewer people are coming into offices, cultural events are canceled, and fewer people are shopping and dining in town.

While recording the Sunday Business Page, real estate attorney Jon Delano said the downtown vacancy rate is now close to 20%, down from just 5% in 2013.

“The sector that has by leaps and bounds given back the biggest place in the pandemic is technology,” said Kirk Burkley. “This is how tech companies have found that they can have most of their employees work from home or from remote offices that they might disperse across the region and thus disperse them from their downtown core.”

However, Kirk Burkley says his company just signed a long-term lease to stay downtown and he’s optimistic that the worst is over.

Check out Jon’s full interview on the Sunday Business Page on KDKA’s Sunday Morning News.