Flickr member Sakeeb, licensed for use under Creative Commons

According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Highwoods Properties, a real estate investment trust based in Raleigh, N.C., has pulled out of a development deal that would have brought four-buildings, and 400,000-square-foot of office and retail development to the Monongahela riverfront. Highwoods already owns the iconic PPG Place in downtown but let its option with the Soffer Organization on the four vacant parcels slide in early October.

Andy Wisniewski, vice president of Highwoods in Pittsburgh, said the company just was never able to work out a deal with a tenant to get the development rolling.

Mark BelkoDeveloper plans to add 300 more apartments at SouthSide Works. “We came close a couple of times. We were unable to achieve the parameters that would have enabled us to move forward,” he said. Philips Sleep and Respiratory Care is believed to be one of the companies that seriously considered SouthSide Works before settling on Bakery Square 2.0 in Shadyside for its new headquarters.

SouthSide Works, the location of an old LTV steel mill, has been a showcase for the city in terms of brownfield redevelopment — with office, retail and residential elements. It serves as the headquarters site for teen clothing retailer American Eagle Outfitters, as well as hosting a 10-screen movie theater and Cheesecake Factory and apartments, although it has been hit with retail closings in recent years.

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