American Eagle Moving HQ to Pittsburgh Riverfront

PITTSBURGH, PA-American Eagle Outfitters will relocate its headquarters to a 186,000-sf building and adjacent land in the SouthSide Works redevelopment area here that it recently acquired for $21 million. The publicly held clothing retailer says it will hold onto its existing headquarters location in Warrendale, PA, which it will expand and covert into a dedicated technology, logistics and distribution center.

The company’s new building is located at 77 Hot Metal St. and known as SouthSide Work’s Quantum II. The exterior of the building is complete; interior design and office space construction is expected to be finished in early 2007. The land parcel, which fronts the Monongahela River, will be used for development of a second building.

“We have simply outgrown our current facility,” says AE chief executive Jim O’Donnell. Moreover, he says the company’s distribution and headquarters needs will continue to increase as it pursues future growth initiatives, including continued expansion of the AE brand and the creation and launch of new retail concepts, including its newest brand, Martin + Osa.

Southside Works is a 34-acre, $450 million retail, office and housing development on the site of a former riverfront steel mill. The seller of AE’s new building was the developer of Southside Works, Damian Soffer and his Soffer Organization. AE will benefit from more than $6 million in state assistance in the form of grants and low interest loans. As part of the deal, AE has agreed to lease a nearby parking garage and will provide the space at no cost to its employees.

According to published reports, the last planned major retail building in Southside Works will open next month with retailers such as REI, Sur La Table and a McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant. A Hofbrauhaus restaurant is slated to open in 2006, and there are ongoing negotiations with the operators of Dan Marino Town Tavern and three other final candidates for a prime restaurant site. A 15-story hotel also is planned, as well as a potential further expansion of the retail to accommodate ongoing interest from retailers.