Pittsburgh real estate company Kossman Development expands sights
A third generation of owners may change the direction of 60-year-old Kossman Development Co., one of Pittsburgh's largest real estate development companies.
Curtis and Marc Kossman, the sons of company founder Paul Kossman, want to use solar energy on its office buildings. They've set a goal of building more apartments and may venture into construction of student housing. And they want Kossman to stay active in developments outside the Pittsburgh area.
Solar panels and certification for so-called green, or environmentally friendly, designs in new and renovated buildings could yield benefits for the company in attracting tenants, they say.
They'll start by seeking state grants to put solar panels on the roofs of two buildings at Kossman's Marquis Plaza complex on Campbell's Run Road in Robinson, where major renovations are under way. Work on the vacant Two Marquis Plaza building and a 250-car parking garage that serves the complex is designed to accommodate solar panels once costs and funding are worked out.
When the renovations are finished in the spring, “Two Marquis Plaza will be one of the most energy and environmentally efficient office buildings in the region,” said Curtis Kossman, president, who handles overall business and strategic planning. The two other buildings in the complex, One Marquis Plaza, occupied by the Postal Service, and a 152-room Holiday Inn Express Airport, also could be solar panel-equipped.
“More solar panels on office buildings would be innovative for the region, and the location of Marquis Plaza off the Parkway West would make them highly visible,” said Marc Kossman, executive vice president.
Concentrating on solar energy projects won't keep the Kossmans from continuing to build offices, shopping centers, hotels, warehouses and apartments.
Kossman Development is best known for developing Parkway Center and the Omega Corporate Center in Robinson. It owns Town Place at the corner of Stanwix Street and Forbes Avenue, Downtown; three buildings at Parkway Center East in Forest Hills; and properties in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Texas.
The company's first project was an office building in Green Tree — which was the start of the Pittsburgh area's first suburban office complex, Parkway Center, now with 11 buildings. Kossman's redevelopment of the former Parkway Center Mall property, where Giant Eagle remains as sole tenant, involves retail outlets, offices, apartments and an integrated community park.
The supermarket chain wants to stay, Curtis Kossman said. “We have involved representatives from the City of Pittsburgh and Giant Eagle as part of our planning process,” he said.
Expansions are planned for several of the company's shopping centers in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas, Marc Kossman said.
On the drawing board: a 35-acre Market Place Boulevard property in Moon, a retail/office complex, and a 256-unit apartment building near Route 88 in Castle Shannon. Tenants would be offered shuttle service to the T stations nearby.
After years of trying to break into the development boom at Southpointe, Kossman established a presence at the sprawling office park in Washington County.
In March, the company bought two Southpointe II buildings, paying more than $11.1 million for one at 1000 Town Centre Way, records show — a healthy price in perhaps the region's hottest office market. Its anchor tenant is USG Insurance Services.
The acquisition was part of a 1031 exchange, Marc Kossman said, in which a company buys an asset to postpone or avoid taxes from the sale of another. He declined to say which asset Kossman sold as part of the exchange.
The second Southpointe building, at 601 Technology Drive, lists among its tenants Federated Investors, Quaker Capital and Barton Malow, a Michigan-based general contractor. Marc Kossman declined to comment on the terms of that purchase.
“Both buildings are fully leased,” he said. “They certainly fit within the property types that are our bread and butter.”
Paul Kossman, an architect, started the company in 1957. He designed, built and managed office buildings, hotels and shopping centers in seven states.
His father, Curtis Kossman, was a home builder who immigrated from Vienna in 1921 and built his first house on Shady Avenue. He went on to build more houses and some apartments in Allegheny and Butler counties.
Paul Kossman's sons assumed operation of the company in August 2008. When he retired, the elder Kossman said he felt “blessed to have been able to create lasting landmarks for the city” and to have sons willing to take over the family business.
