Charter High School Students, Urban Apartment Dwellers Share Space in Unique Pittsburgh Complex

Pittsburgh, PA ― In downtown Pittsburgh, PMC Property Group is redefining the parameters of mixed-use property development. In its 201 Stanwix Street luxury apartment building, PMC's residential tenants share building space with an unlikely neighbor: City Charter High School, a 600-student charter school that recently moved into the lower four floors of the 12-story building.

While they share an address at 201 Stanwix, the two distinctly different groups maintain separate entrances and a clear delineation between their respective spaces.

By all accounts, the scenario is working out well for all involved. In fact, City High principal and co-founder Richard Wertheimer, feels the unique arrangement is a perfect fit for his organization.

“As a charter school, we’re supposed to think differently; we’re supposed to think out of the box,” Wertheimer stated in an interview with KDKA-TV, a CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh.

Mixed-use development projects have been quite popular for decades in urban locations, where residents of population-dense downtowns seek out unified, sustainable communities in which their jobs, homes and recreational interests all reside within close proximity of one another.

Jerry Novick, Executive Vice President of PMC, says the PMC executive team is excited about making this type of investment in downtown Pittsburgh.

“We have really enjoyed working in Pittsburgh," Novick explains. "The city has been been very professional to work with. We’re happy to create such a wonderful learning environment for CCHS and its students, and we’re pleased that we’re bringing more people to live in the dynamic environment that downtown Pittsburgh has become. We’re looking forward to more investment in the city.”

201 Stanwix was originally built in 1957 by Bell Telephone of Pennsylvania as its Western Pennsylvania headquarters. The 275,000 square foot building was later occupied by Verizon until December 2010.

The property recently won a competition sponsored by NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, for the best mixed-use project in Pittsburgh in 2011.