Palcic creating Downtown condo renaissance on Penn Avenue

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - August 25, 2011
By Mark Belko

Todd Palcic isn't one to succumb to peer pressure.

While everyone else is building apartments Downtown, Mr. Palcic is erecting condos.

He already has two condo projects in the cultural district and is about to embark on his third. He is close to buying a seven-story building at 907-909 Penn Ave. that once housed GNC offices.

Mr. Palcic and his company, Penn Renaissance, are expected to pay $650,000 for the building, owned by the Regional Industrial Development Corp. of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

That will make three buildings in five months for Mr. Palcic, all on Penn Avenue.

In his latest project, Mr. Palcic plans to convert the third through seventh floors into 16 to 18 condominiums priced between $200,000 to $350,000. He also is working with the city Historic Review Commission to add private balconies.

The project is expected to bring the return of Mark's Grille to the area. The restaurant, once a Penn Avenue mainstay, will occupy the basement and first and second floors.

"It's a great fit," Mr. Palcic said. "The neighborhood missed them." The new project builds on the developer's other holdings in the corridor.

At 524 Penn, Mr. Palcic is planning 16 condominiums, including seven that will be priced at less than $200,000, a bargain compared to higher-end units in the past few years. The rest will range from $200,000 to $400,000.

"That's what's been missing in the Pittsburgh market," he said of the lower-priced units.

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