Fourteen years after the first seeds of development took root, the Allegheny County Airport Authority is closing in on the completion of Clinton Commerce Park.
The authority’s board authorized a ground lease with Cincinnati-based developer Al. Neyer Friday for about 46 acres of land within the Findlay complex.
Those parcels will round out development in the 200-acre industrial park, which the authority kicked off in 2006 with a building erected by the Buncher Company.
Al. Neyer will use the land to construct up to two more buildings, bringing the total within the park to as many as 10. Eight already have been completed.
Christina Cassotis, the authority’s CEO, called the ground lease and the completion of Clinton Commerce Park a “good news story” in the face of a pandemic that has devastated Pittsburgh International Airport and the aviation industry as a whole.
Al. Neyer plans to break ground on the latest project, whether it’s one or two buildings, before the end of the year and have it completed by the third quarter of 2021, Ms. Cassotis said.
When completed, about 2.3 million square feet of space will have been developed throughout the park.
In all, the park has generated nearly $200 million in private investment and created more than 1,000 jobs, according to the authority.
It also is generating $870,000 a year in annual rent for the agency, which controls the land.
Under the agreement with the authority, Al. Neyer will pay 20 cents a square foot for the 975,308 square feet it will be using for the buildings. That will generate an initial annual revenue of $195,061 for the authority.
The ground lease will run 50 years with varying rates over its duration.
Al. Neyer has already completed five buildings totaling nearly 1 million square feet at the commerce park. All have been leased.
Mark Vella, Al. Neyer senior vice president of business development, said the company is considering one 450,000-square-foot building or two 250,000-square-foot buildings for the last site.
It is leaning more toward one building at this point. Whatever is built would be done on speculation, meaning without a signed tenant.
Nonetheless, Al. Neyer already has some interested parties it is talking to about the new space, Mr. Vella said.
“There’s interest out there right now, so we’re going to go forward,” he said.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First Published: September 19, 2020, 4:00 a.m.