GKD Offers Safety On LEED Platinum Certified Building At Bakery Square
Downtown Pittsburgh boasts some of the hottest shopping and office tenants on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Larimer in Bakery Square. The former Nabisco factory was completely refurbished and rebuilt in 2007 when Walnut Capital took over ownership. The owners partnered with Astorino, now Cannon Design, for planning, architecture, engineering, and landscape services, PJ Dick Construction Management to implement the design and GQ Contracting LLC for project management.
The Nabisco Factory occupied the location for 80 years until shutting down in 1998. Through a combination of public and private funding, $135 million was raised to renovate the 400,000 square foot property. Astorino kept most of the Nabisco Factory, added a tower, and demolished a section of the three-story structure – the rest was refurbished. PJ Dick Construction Management implemented a design that led to LEED Platinum Certification. They diverted 99% of the demolition waste, utilized 13.4% of recycled building material, and locally sourced 24.2% of the building material. Of the recycled and regionally sourced material, GKD Metal Fabric Tigris was specified to provide safety and security on a walkway.
Twenty panels and 2,100 square feet of sustainable and locally-sourced GKD Metal Fabric were utilized to create a transparent barrier on an upper-level passageway. GKD produces and manufactures their stainless steel metal weaving at their headquarters in Cambridge, Maryland, a relatively close neighbor to Pittsburgh. Because the material is sustainable, completely recyclable, and offers energy efficient qualities such as daylighting, GKD played an important role in helping the project to achieve sustainable recognition. Other green technologies were implemented as well to include photovoltaic panels, a green roof, and energy efficient fixtures in the restrooms.
The first tenant at Bakery Square was Marriot Spring Suites, a 110-room hotel. Underneath the hotel is over 100,000 square feet of retail space with popular names to include Anthropologie, Free People, Coffee Tree Roasters, and Jimmy Johns. The real attraction came when Google decided to move their Pittsburgh headquarters from Carnegie Mellon University to Bakery Square. Google is one of the biggest tenants at 115,000 square feet and an estimated 500 employees. Urban Active occupies a little more than half that amount of space to run a fitness center and the rest is office space for university researchers and the Department of Veteran Affairs to round out the diversity.
After less than ten years, Walnut Capital might be looking to sell Bakery Square. The popular mixed-use space has an estimated 350,000 people residing within five miles of the site. With a consumer base of affluent, young, educated people, and a diverse tenant roster of tech giant Google and university researchers it is an attractive property on the market.
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