Pittsburgh's most dominant beer distributor, Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Co., partnered with ARCO Beverage Group to develop a 350,439-square-foot warehouse that will employ more than 100 workers.
It's a significant expansion for the beer distributor and accommodates plans for future growth, making it the CoStar Impact Awards commercial development of the year for Pittsburgh, as selected by a panel of judges familiar with the market.
According to a nomination, Fuhrer Wholesale has grown from "distributing 600,000 cases of beer per year and employing 11 people to over 14 million cases annually and 330 employees."
Fuhrer Eagle Sales & Service is a division of Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Co. ARCO Beverage Group was the design-build partner on the project.
The property will include nearly 30,000 square feet of office space, as well as a fitness room for employees.
The development overcame significant hurdles, including weather-related and supply-chain delays, but was able to finish three weeks ahead of a revised contractual completion date.
About the Project: ARCO Beverage Group partnered with Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Co. to complete a new 350,439-square-foot, state-of-the-art beverage distributorship at 2430 Boquet Rd. in Delmont, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. The new facility nearly doubled the leading beer distributor’s presence in the local market and will be home to its Fuhrer Eagle Sales & Service division.
What the Judges Said: "This development greatly helped a long-standing local company. At the same time, this development will likely continue to grow a relevant submarket off of I-66, " said Patrick Sentner, executive vice president, Pittsburgh, Colliers. Meanwhile, CBRE's executive vice president of retail services, Herky Pollack, said the new facility would allow Fuhrer Eagle Sales & Services to continue to grow and create more job opportunities.
UPDATED They Made it Happen: Cameron Pinzke, president, ARCO Beverage Group; Mark Turney, vice president, ARCO Beverage Group; Dan Bercot, senior project manager, ARCO Beverage Group; Kurt Laufer, superintendent, ARCO Beverage Group; Louis Vandeloecht, president, GMA Design Group; Vince Valli, director of architecture, GMA Design Group; Frank Fuhrer III, CEO, Frank B. Fuhrer Holdings, Inc.; Jake Wrigley, chief financial officer; Frank B. Fuhrer Holdings, Inc.; Mike Morgan, director of operations, Frank B. Fuhrer Holdings, Inc.; Brian Booth, facilities manager, Frank B. Fuhrer Holdings, Inc., Gary Dudley of CBRE represented the seller and Sam McGill and Randall G. McCombs SIOR of Cushman & Wakefield represented Fuhrer in the site search.