Family House buys Courtyard by Marriott in Pittsburgh for $20.5M

Family House Pittsburgh, an organization that serves patients and families staying in Pittsburgh for medical care each year, announced Wednesday it has bought the Courtyard by Marriott hotel located on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield.

Family House, a non-profit charitable organization, provides an affordable “home away from home” for patients and families at three locations in Oakland and Shadyside. The acquisition means Family House can now consolidate its operations under one roof, said board chair Al Vallano. It serves 24,000 patients a year.

The 132-room property is across the street from UPMC Shadyside hospital and one block from UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.

“As an essential partner to all Pittsburgh health care systems, this location remains within close proximity to our region’s world-class hospitals with which we have partnered for nearly 40 years,” said Vallano. “We believe that the region is also a big winner since Family House will take over an existing structure, and retrofit it to serve as the home for Family House long into the future.”

The hotel was sold to Family House by Chicago-based Watermark Lodging Trust, Inc. for $20.5 million.

“Seizing upon this truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to purchase this property and establish a one-house operation will enhance our service delivery and ensure that Family House is well positioned to meet the needs of the thousands of patients and caregivers we will continue to serve long into the future,” said Glen Feinberg, a Family House board member.

Family House will renovate the facility, which opened in 2003, at a cost of $3 million, according to Feinberg.

“We will make changes as needed to the interior and exterior to ensure it aligns with the overall home-like atmosphere that is a hallmark of Family House,” he said.

While its capital building plans slowed during the early stages of the pandemic, Family House remained open.

“I am proud that Family House was the only health care hospitality lodging facility in Western Pennsylvania to remain open throughout the pandemic,” said executive director Jennifer March.