For more than 20 years, development of a headquarters hotel attached to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center has eluded local political leaders and tourism officials. But just when there appeared to be virtually no momentum for such a project, a new plan has arrived at their doorsteps.
Loews Hotels & Company is pitching the idea of building a hotel featuring at least 500 rooms on the Downtown side of the convention center, according to sources.
The project, estimated at more than $400 million, would utilize two parking lots at Penn Avenue and 10th Street that have long been reserved for such a development.
New York City-based Loews, a subsidiary of Loews Corporation, has approached Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority and city officials about the idea in hopes of drumming up support for it.
The full-service hotel would feature meeting rooms, a ballroom, a swimming pool and fitness space, a restaurant and bar, and an outdoor event space. Several levels would connect directly into the convention center.
Loews is resurrecting the idea after plans for such a venture had been buried for years. Local officials had all but given up on the project after a wave of hotel building Downtown and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which stifled most tourism.
The last notable effort came in 2015 when the SEA issued a Request for Qualifications from developers interested in building a headquarters hotel with at least 500 rooms to supplement the 616-room Westin Convention Center Hotel next to the convention center.
But at the time, perhaps in recognition of the longshot nature of the proposal, the SEA also solicited ideas for alternative uses of its parking lot properties at the corner of Penn and 10th, including office, residential, retail and other commercial purposes and outdoor public spaces.
Nothing ever came of the request. In 2019, VisitPittsburgh, which has long championed the need for a headquarters hotel to attract more conventions, made another run at generating support for the idea, though it mostly seemed to fall on deaf ears.
Spokeswomen for Loews did not return emails seeking comment Tuesday.
Aaron Waller, SEA executive director, said the authority received “some inquiries” — not proposals — from entities interested in pursuing the development of a convention center hotel. He would not identify those who have made overtures.
“We definitely have had inquiries and the folks seem to be earnest, so we’re acting accordingly,” he said.
The inquiries, he noted, involve the same kind of hotel envisioned for the last two decades — one that is full service and features at least 500 rooms and a ballroom.
SEA officials are now trying to get a better handle on exactly what is being proposed before moving onto the next steps, Mr. Waller said.
“We’ve asked some questions. We’re waiting for some responses before we can begin a full-blown due diligence process,” he said.
Mr. Waller declined to say whether Loews or anyone else who has inquired are seeking public subsidies in the bid to build a hotel. But such incentives have been a hallmark of previous proposals — and of convention center hotel projects elsewhere.
Efforts to build a headquarters hotel Downtown go way back to 2003 when former Mayor Tom Murphy and the late County Executive Jim Roddey tapped Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises to do the work.
But after years of trying, Forest City never got the project off the ground, even with $34 million in state funding available to help offset the cost, then estimated at $104 million.
In 2010, a new request for proposals attracted three potential hotel developers. But that also ended without a deal after all three wanted more than $50 million in public help for the project.
It would not be surprising if Loews also sought public aid for its plan, particularly given the current economic climate where a combination of high interest rates and high construction costs have stymied many projects.
At the same time, the venture could be a shot in the arm for a Downtown that has been reeling because of high office vacancies and concerns about safety.
“I think you’re seeing a number of different folks talking about hotels here and in the Downtown area,” Mr. Waller said. “I don’t know if it’s out of the blue or if the market is seeing an opportunity.”
Just a couple of blocks from the convention center, Rugby Realty, the owner of the iconic Gulf Tower, is considering a plan to convert part of the Downtown skyscraper to a 126-room luxury hotel.
VisitPittsburgh has for many years lobbied for a headquarters hotel at the convention center, arguing that it’s needed to compete with other cities in attracting more shows and tourism business to Pittsburgh.
Jerad Bachar, VisitPittsburgh CEO and president, said the tourism group did not meet with Loews when it was in Pittsburgh discussing the project.
And while he noted that a headquarters hotel “probably makes sense,” he stressed that a feasibility study needs to be done first to ensure that the city gets the right project.
He pointed out that over the last decade hundreds of new hotel rooms have been added Downtown and that the tourism landscape has changed in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Officials have to be careful that whatever is built doesn’t negatively affect other hotels Downtown, he explained.
“If we are to build it, we need to know exactly what we should be building to support the market,” he said.
During its annual meeting last week, VisitPittsburgh stated that local tourism is trending in the right direction, with visitation numbers hitting 94% of pre-pandemic levels last year. In all, 20.4 million people visited the county in 2023, driving $6.4 billion in spending, up 6.1% from 2022.
But before a convention center hotel is built, officials “need to be be very thoughtful and strategic in our approach,” Mr. Bachar said.
Loews has been involved in the development of hotels adjacent to convention centers in Kansas City and Philadelphia. In Texas, it recently opened the Loews Arlington Hotel and Convention Center featuring 888 rooms and luxury suites, a 51,000-square-foot ballroom, and indoor and outdoor meeting space. The hotel is connected to the Arlington Convention Center.
In Pittsburgh, Mr. Waller noted that a headquarters hotel not only is meant to help attract more convention business but is to serve as the “front door” to the convention center itself.
He is hopeful that the recent inquiries will lead to something more substantial.
“I’ve talked to a couple of folks with regard to a headquarters hotel. There does seem to be some energy around this conversation at this point,” he said.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com
First Published: April 2, 2024, 11:28 p.m.
Updated: April 3, 2024, 7:21 p.m.
