Pitt Building Takes Co-Working Facilities To A New Level, Owners Claim

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The iconic Pitt Building on Smithfield Street just got another makeover on its 100th birthday.

This time it's to create a service-oriented co-working workplace.

"For a lot of individuals and small companies, there's not good office options for them," Matthew Ciccone told KDKA money editor Jon Delano on Monday.

Ciccone is the CEO of Beauty Shoppe, the company that just opened up space in the Pitt Building.

Think of it as downtown office space for lease on a month-to-month basis where what you lease from conference rooms to private work spaces depends on your needs, says Ciccone.

"For a lot of people, who just need to be downtown once in a while, it's a really great option," he says.

That includes attorneys, architects, entrepreneurs from start-ups to established companies.

It's called co-working, a relatively new concept in Pittsburgh, but one in which individuals, entrepreneurs or small companies can essentially lease space downtown, giving them a downtown address and a place to meet with clients and customers.

"We've been here as of Friday, and we are so thankful. It's been great," says Alexis Wilkerson with Ikos, a residential leasing start-up company.

Besides saving money required to buy an office building or lease space, Wilkerson likes the space options of being both out in the open and private.

"We're able to come in here and do our daily jobs and not have to worry about other people hearing specific information about our clients," she notes.

But you don't have to rent a room for privacy.

There are "phone booths" where you provide the phone.

"Step into the phone booth and make a call," says Ciccone. "That's what it is."

Co-working space is expanding quickly in Pittsburgh giving lots of options for those looking, but the Pitt Building, says Ciccone, is taking it to a new level.