Pittsburgh’s once insulated Downtown condo market cools

Pittsburgh Business Times - February 21, 2009
By Ben Semmes

While the local housing market continues to outshine most other metros, one segment has lost a bit of its luster of late. High-profile Downtown condominiums, which began to gain momentum a few years ago after a decades-long hiatus, have seen slow sales, and the downturn could pose additional challenges for agents and developers.

Patty Burk, vice president of housing and economic development for the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, knows this firsthand.

Burk, with partners Sean Luther and Tom Jackson, created Ninth and Liberty Partners LLC in early 2007 with the idea of selling customizable, unfinished living spaces, or “white boxes,” in their 5 Lofts condo project at 806 Penn Ave., Downtown.

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