Buccini Pollin Group Completes Construction of FNB Financial Center – An Iconic and Sustainable Model for the Modern Collaborative Workplace

Anchor tenant and project partner F.N.B. Corp. has relocated its headquarters to the new $300 million tower in the heart of Pittsburgh, PA

WILMINGTON, DE – December 18, 2024 – Buccini Pollin Group, Inc. (BPG), lead developer for the 28-acre Lower Hill District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, announced that construction is now complete on the $300 Million FNB Financial Center. The building opened last week with the relocation of F.N.B. Corporation’s (NYSE: FNB) headquarters into this iconic building, the first commercial development on the former site of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena and the first multi-tenant office tower in Pittsburgh’s Central Business District in forty years. In addition to BPG and FNB, development partners include the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia-based Clay Cove Capital, one of the largest minority-owned real estate investment firms in the country.

Designed by Gensler, the 26-story FNB Financial Center rises over 400 feet and features a state-of-the-art fitness center, a large-scale conference center, and a tenant-only terrace retreat and dining area. In addition to on-site executive parking, amenities include a ground floor coffee bar, full-service café, and public plazas. Served by multiple modes of public transit, the central location of the FNB Financial Center benefits from the vibrancy generated by PPG Paints Arena, home of 5-time Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the new $64 Million Lower Hill Music Venue, which entered construction phase this month with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Live Nation. The FNB Financial Center recently received LEED Gold certification, joining a select group of highly-sustainable Class A office developments across the market.

“BPG’s team worked with FNB Bank to deliver one of the first new office towers developed in the United States post-covid. Its iconic design, cutting-edge technology, and abundant amenities make it a leading example of the modern workplace. As the cornerstone of the Lower Hill mixed-use district, it has redefined the center of energy in the dynamic City of Pittsburgh,” said Chris Buccini, Founder of Buccini Pollin Group. “BPG is most proud of the team’s commitment to inclusive opportunities, leading not just the State of Pennsylvania, but the nation in community reinvestment with over $25 Million of the construction completed by Black-owned businesses and over $7 Million invested into a community improvement fund for the nearby Historic Hill District. And I am grateful to have completed this transformative project with my long-time friend and partner, Amachie Ackah of Clay Cove Capital.”

Amachie Ackah, Co–Founder of Clay Cove Capital, continued, “Today is a proud day for our team. FNB Financial Center is a model, in Pittsburgh and beyond, of a major project that creates lasting opportunities. This milestone is proof that when people of good faith and good will work together, we can build great things that endure and can inspire others.”

“This is a long-anticipated milestone. This project has re-established the visual and physical connection that was severed by the construction of the Crosstown Expressway several generations ago,” said Kevin Acklin, Pittsburgh Penguins President of Business Operations. “The development team not only aligned its efforts with the public interest, but they have spurred significant investment in and commercial opportunities for adjacent underserved communities and their residents.”

“Having a positive impact on our employees and the Hill District community, while reducing our impact on the environment, was a strategic goal for our new headquarters, and the expertise of our partners made that goal a success,” said Vincent J. Delie, Jr., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of F.N.B. Corporation. “After years of planning, we are thrilled to have our team members filling the building and enjoying a workspace that further enhances our outstanding culture.”

Boris Kaplan, BPG Senior Vice President of Development, said, “We set out during a period of economic uncertainty to provide a much-needed boost to local contractors, consultants, and workforce while also building a new model for equitable development with public and private partners.  From every department at our headquarters to a winning team that we built on the ground in Pittsburgh, we invested considerable resources in implementing our reinvestment roadmap—and those efforts have paid off.” 

Since breaking ground in 2021, the FNB Financial Center team has generated over $7 Million for a Hill District community-directed reinvestment fund and made over $3 Million of capital infusions into programs to benefit growing minority-owned businesses as well as the Hill District Federal Credit Union. The project team has previously announced paying out over $50 Million to minority and women-owned businesses as part of tower design and construction. This major achievement reflects the culmination of years of investment and commitment by the team to ensure the Lower Hill Redevelopment generates opportunity and shared prosperity for the community.

Butler Landscaping is one of over 80 minority and women-owned businesses that have been part of the development team to date. Its founder and owner Roy Butler observed that inclusive contracting practices helped him start his business and that the FNB Financial Center has made an invaluable contribution to promoting local business owners: “Thinking back on my early projects, I know that diverse contracting opened doors that otherwise would have been closed to me. Looking around the site of FNB Financial Center, I get a sense of growth. Not just for my company and my employees, but for all the companies and workers who got their first big opportunity here.”

Facts and Figures about FNB Financial Center:

• Class A, best-in-class, sustainable mixed-use building designed by Gensler
• LEED Gold certified project, anchoring Pennsylvania’s first LEED Gold for Neighborhood Design district
• 26 stories of offices, ground floor retail and on-site parking
• Nearly 550,000 square feet (total)
  • 400,000+ square feet of Class A office space
  • 20,000 square feet of retail space
  • 2 levels of on-site parking

• Amenities include a state-of-the-art fitness center with locker areas, a large-scale conference center, and a tenant-only terrace retreat and dining area, and public plazas
• Timeline: FNB Financial Center broke ground in late 2021, topped off its 26^th story in May 2023, and opened in Fall 2024

• Community benefits: FNB Financial Center is part of an innovative partnership between public and private entities, community organizations, lead investor F.N.B. Corporation, the Pittsburgh Penguins and lead developer Buccini Pollin Group, in order to share the prosperity generated by the Lower Hill Redevelopment with the Historic Hill District
• Commercial Leasing Contact: A JLL team led by Market Director JC Pelusi, who represents ownership in commercial lease negotiations.