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Sam Spatter 412-320-7843
Business Writer
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Sam Spatter
Published: Saturday, March 29, 2014 9:00 p.m.
Jason Lardo of Integrity Construction has acquired a
vacant lot and adjoining building in the 5800 block of Baum
Boulevard in East Liberty but has not announced his plans
for the properties. The purchase through Baum Grove LP
involved the building owned by Family Resources at 5874
Baum, which was purchased for $1.5 million, and the adjoining lot at 5848 Baum, owned by Crossgates
Realty Inc., which was purchased for $800,000. According to Skip Schwab, manager of ELD Real Estate
LLC, part of East Liberty Development Inc., the initial plans are to clean up the site and the exterior of the
building, which will be used temporarily for offices. No long-term plans were announced, he said. Lardo last
year opened the 15-apartment Bovie House at 5730 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside.
Real estate notes: Buyer of East Liberty block
weighs long-term plans
From the Pittsburgh Business Times
:http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/the-next-move/2014/03/east-
libertys-next-property-to-watch.html
Mar 25, 2014, 4:30pm EDT
East Liberty's next property to watch for
redevelopment
Tim Schooley
Reporter- Pittsburgh Business Times
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Jason Lardo leads a tour of his new property, a work in process for which hes striving to find a
balance between short-term prospects and long-term potential.
Its very tricky, he said, showing off the collection of rooms, a gymnasium and a rooftop deck
and play yard in a property a short walk from the East Liberty Whole Foods. Obviously, this is
not the highest and best use for the property.
The property is the former Family Resources Inc. building, a long structure facing years deferred
maintenance on Baum Boulevard that includes 53,000 square feet of space on three levels
that sits on a lot of three-fourths of an acre of land.
A few weeks ago, an investment group in which Lardo is the managing partner called Baum
Grove LP bought the building from Family Resources Inc. for $1.5 million after it was originally
listed for $2.25 million. At the same time, Lardo's group bought the neighboring open plot from
Crossgates Inc., which at one time planned to build a new condo project on the site.
Now, Lardo, who also is a principal of Monroeville-based Integrity Construction Co., is making
basic improvements to the Family Resources building with the expectation of leasing it for
the near future to help defray basic ownership expenses. Hes already had talks with the Beauty
Shoppe tech incubator on nearby Penn Avenue about taking space in the building and is
reaching out to others as he seeks to keep the building busy as a hub for office users, artists
and various community activities.
At the same time, hes been working with architect David Roth and his Downtown Design Co. on
a future design to redevelop the property.
Lardo comes to the property with the cost advantages of performing his own construction
through Integrity, a company that specializes in building with insulated concrete forms, an
energy-efficient construction technique. He estimated that he can cut between 10 percent and
20 percent out of the development costs for such a project by building it with his own company.
A lot of developers cant do the developments that we can do, he said.
With his most recent project the almost fully leased Bovie House apartments on Ellsworth
Avenue, Lardo told me its too early to offer specifics of what he would like to develop on the
property. But he sees strong prospects for it as a retail location as well as for residential on a
site he expects he could build as high as six stories in what easily could be a multi-million-dollar
development project. Office space could also be a possibility, he said.
Were in no hurry. Were sitting back and watching things evolve," Lardo said.
Thats in an East Liberty in which the pace of revitalization continues to quicken. The East
Liberty Transit Center is well under construction, along with two hotels in what is now a busy
retail trade area with Target, Home Depot and Trader Joes. Not far from Lando's
property, the 127-unit Walnut on Highland apartment building redevelopment is more than 95
percent leased.
It was just such market activity that helped to motivate Family Resources to sell and relocate to
the Uptown area, where it could establish operations with more parking, said Pete Licastro,
president of Point Bridge Realty Advisors, who represented the nonprofit in the sale.
East Liberty obviously has been very hot with everything that continues to happen over there,
said Licastro. For my client, the availability of client parking was a very significant
consideration. We couldnt find a property that provided the kind of space that they needed.
The transaction puts one of the last unspoken-for properties of any size in the core of East
Liberty in the hands of a motivated developer.
Nate Cunningham, of East Liberty Development Inc., is eager to see Lardo pursue new plans for
the property.
I think that it is great that he stepped out, bought the building, and is looking to position it as
a higher density redevelopment opportunity, said Cunningham, who grew up with Lardo in
Monroeville. Lots of people like to draw, not everyone wants to put down hard money against
those sorts of opportunities.
Its a property to watch as Lardo continues to evaluate its potential, describing the strength of
the location as basic fact.
This is the core, he said.
Tim Schooley covers retail, real estate, construction, hospitality, arts and
entertainment, and government. Contact him at tschooley@bizjournals.com or 412-
208-3826.