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Originally Posted by Evergrey
I actually don't think US Steel is the primary culprit in this... although they obviously had influence over the design, size, etc. Like Heinz, US Steel is a shell of its former self in Pittsburgh and doesn't have the need for much office space. I blame the Penguins and the various governments involved the most.
Penguins should've planned on this being a multi-tenant tower of at least 20 stories, 700k sq ft. But I'm sure they acquiesced to any demands US Steel made on this being a "single-tenant campus"... and were just happy to have US Steel sign on to their development. US Steel is getting all sorts of bribes and tax breaks from the state to essentially do nothing and take no risk at all.
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US Steel is going to take the best deal it can get. I don't think they are the "culprit" either. They wanted their own stand-alone building at a size to suit their needs, and they got it... with a good amount of help from the public.
It's not like the Penguins have had suitors beating down their door to locate on the Arena site. But a local heavyweight company came knocking and their proposal fit in with the Penguins' design.
We'd all be a lot happier today if US Steel's proposal was for a 50-story, 700 ft tower on that portion closest to downtown...
and we'd be lauding the Penguins and city for securing US Steel for the next true skyscraper in Pittsburgh, and for great use of the former arena site. But alas, like you say, US Steel is a shell of its former self in Pittsburgh.
The planned HQ is crap... but I think we were all a bit too optimistic in thinking that US Steel was going to build a new tower or be major tenant in a tower (we already saw they weren't interested in that). The tall buildings in the arena site plans were never meant for US Steel obviously.