North Shore industrial site redevelopment underway, lands distribution firm

An industrial site near the former Heinz plant on Pittsburgh’s North Side is welcoming new tenants — and developers of the site have an eye on future expansion along the Allegheny River.

New Jersey-based distributor Champion Container Corp. has moved into the first phase of the River Avenue Distribution & Technology District across the Allegheny from the Strip District.

Champion Container, which in February acquired Lawrenceville-based Harvey Lipsitz Co., is consolidating two smaller local distribution hubs as it sets up shop in a 141,460-square-foot facility at 1080 River Ave.

Champion provides packaging container solutions to companies in sectors that include chemicals, paint, agricultural, food and pharmaceutical.

“Considering the limited availability of high-bay, urban-infill warehouse product in the city center, 1080 River Ave. provided an exceptional value proposition for location and building quality,” said Michael Stuart, vice president of the commercial real estate firm CBRE, which represented Champion.

The site most recently housed Riverbend Foods, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2019. A New York development firm, Golden East, bought the buildings out of the bankruptcy process in 2022, according to Jake Mansher, a principal with Golden East.

Originally developed as the H.J. Heinz manufacturing campus, Golden East is redeveloping the first phase of the site to include 300,000 square feet of warehouse and flex space across two buildings, along with a 600-space parking garage. The second phase is expected to feature flex and research and development space. A courtyard also will be added.

In all, the space owned by Golden East totals about 1 million square feet.

The second phase of development will take advantage of an existing feature — the third floor of one building has a 25-foot-high clearance and was built with 18-inch thick concrete that can support heavy equipment, allowing for robotics and R&D uses, Mansher said.

“These are unique buildings with unique architecture internally as well. We’re trying to bring back as many jobs as we can,” Mansher said. “I feel like this part of the North Shore has been kind of an afterthought for a long time, but hopefully it can be another focal point for Pittsburgh.”