Developer signs deal to build office buildings near Pittsburgh International Airport

Office buildings are going up faster than airplanes in the Pittsburgh International Airport corridor these days.

The latest is a 16.2-acre, one- or two-building flex office development on Industry Drive in Findlay being planned by Oxford Development Company.

Allegheny County Airport Authority board members approved a 50-year lease agreement with the Downtown developer Friday to build on land adjacent to the Thermo Fisher Scientific building.

Oxford is considering two options for the property either one large 95,000-square-foot class A flex office building or two smaller ones, said Shawn Fox, director of business development.

Either way, it plans to start construction by the end of the year and have the space ready for a tenant by next summer, he said.

If two are built, the first would total about 50,000 square feet. A second building, about 45,000 square feet, would be erected after Oxford finds tenants for the first. It would be built within 30 months.

Oxford initially planned for two buildings, but is holding open the option for a single larger one because there are several potential big users in the market that might be interested in such a facility, Mr. Fox said.

It plans to build on speculation, meaning without a signed tenant. Mr. Fox said Oxford is comfortable doing so because of the strength of the market and the demand for office space.

Theres a lot of growth in the Parkway West market past the [Interstate] 79 interchange, and theres been a movement to this class A flex office space because its a little bit cheaper of a price point, because of the efficiency factor for tenants, he said.

Oxford will pay $95,000 in the first year to lease the land, with the amount increasing over the course of the 50-year agreement.

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Developer signs deal to build office buildings near Pittsburgh International Airport