Another empty office building in downtown Pittsburgh is on its way to becoming somewhere people live.
On Wednesday, Oct. 14, state officials joined developers Rugby Realty and Walnut Capital at 933 Penn Ave. to celebrate the conversion of a vacant office complex into a 70-unit apartment building. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the project carries a total cost of $42 million and got a $2.5 million grant from the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, better known as RACP.
When it's done, the building will have 70 apartments, seven of them affordable, plus about 5,500 square feet of ground-floor retail. It sits in the Penn-Liberty corridor of the Cultural District, steps from the theaters and a block from Arts Landing.
DCED Deputy Secretary for Housing Kevin Bush was on hand for the event, which WPXI also covered in a follow-up story on Oct. 18.
"A thriving city must have strong neighborhoods, and that means making sure people have access to quality housing near work and opportunity," Bush said.
Conversions are hard work
Anybody who has worked inside an old office building knows that turning one into apartments is not a paint-and-carpet job. Plumbing has to reach every unit, kitchens and bathrooms have to stack, and the windows, egress and fire separation all have to work for people who sleep there.
Aaron Stauber, president of Rugby Realty, didn't sugarcoat it.
"Projects like 933 Penn require extraordinary persistence, public-private partnership and a shared commitment to Downtown Pittsburgh's future," he said. "Converting historic buildings into housing is incredibly challenging, and without the Commonwealth's significant financial support, this project simply would not have been possible."
The state's release doesn't name a builder. But PJ Dick, the Pittsburgh construction firm, has publicly solicited subcontractor bids for the renovation of 933 Penn Avenue twice: once with bids due Jan. 6, 2026, and again with bids due June 9, 2026. Its January invitation noted that minimum wage rates set in the contract documents apply, that the project carries RACP grant compliance rules, and that a pre-bid meeting was held for minority- and women-owned businesses.
Part of a bigger downtown push
The project is one piece of Gov. Josh Shapiro's 10-year plan to revitalize downtown Pittsburgh. That plan pledges to add or preserve nearly 1,000 residential units in the downtown core, with about a third of them affordable for people with low to moderate incomes.
According to DCED, the state and its partners have now begun work on at least 678 new housing units downtown, counting 933 Penn. The department lists it as one of seven major mixed-use conversion, construction and improvement projects underway.
Construction is continuing on the conversions of the Smithfield Lofts, The Porter and The Standard on Fifth. Developers expect to break ground soon on the Gulf Tower, and the YWCA Building project is being restructured by state and local partners.
Earlier this year, the state also celebrated the revitalized Arts Landing park, the reopening of Market Square and the partial reopening of Point State Park. The idea is simple enough: if downtown is cleaner, safer and has more to do, more people will want to live there, and those people need apartments.
For downtown property owners, the math on older office space has been ugly for a while. Many buildings sit half empty or worse. Turning them into housing puts them back to work, but the numbers usually don't pencil out without help, which is exactly why grants like RACP keep showing up in these deals.
Why it matters for Contractors
Downtown Pittsburgh has a steady pipeline of conversion work, and 933 Penn shows what it looks like. Seven big projects are underway or coming, with Gulf Tower expected to break ground soon. These jobs reward subs who know older buildings: selective demolition, structural repairs, new MEP risers, fire protection, window replacement and a lot of interior framing and finishes. State money like RACP brings paperwork with it, so expect wage requirements and diversity goals in the bid documents. If you want in on the next one, get on the bid lists of the builders handling this work, watch for pre-bid meetings and keep your compliance paperwork in order. Downtown is short on housing, and these old office towers aren't going to convert themselves.