PITTSBURGH, PA - We hear in movies all the time, “The eagle is on the move,” and while it may be a tad cliché, it could be happening in real life as it is reported the Giant Eagle may be moving its corporate headquarters, which are currently based in O’Hara Township. As the company nears the end of its lease in March 2021 and the pandemic has many of its employees working from home, there may be incentive for the retailer to make its move.
“Prior to the pandemic, our three leased office spaces housed more than 800 corporate team members. While the majority of these team members will continue to support our stores and retail support centers by working remotely for the foreseeable future, there are core teams in areas such as IT and advertising that continue critical work in these offices," said Dick Roberts of Roberts Communication Firm, Giant Eagle's PR firm, in an email to Pittsburgh Business Times. "In the coming weeks, we will open office spaces in Lawrenceville and the Strip District to corporate team members who require ad hoc work spaces at any given time."
Totaling over 70,000 square feet, the 701 Alpha Drive building that Giant Eagle occupies now, along with two others, may be downsized due to the changing work environment that the company, along with many others across the country, are facing due to COVID-19. According to the article from Pittsburgh Business Times, the retailer may be moving toward a shrinkage of its office footprint.
The new Lawrenceville space is housed within the Tech Mill office building that the company announced last year as a tech annex for over 150 employees. The office offers a downsized 23,000 square-foot space that could fit the changing needs of the business. The Strip District Facility also mentioned is a warehouse-and-office facility is made up of a series of warehouse facilities that have long been of interest to Giant Eagle.
As March 2021 approaches and the pandemic continues to change the landscape for one of the region’s largest private companies and employers, it is not yet clear what moves, if any, Giant Eagle will make in terms of its office holdings.
“We will require team members to reserve desired dates for use of the spaces, and are implementing a variety of sanitization practices to ensure that all work can be performed safely. As we move forward, we will continue to explore all opportunities to set our team members up for success to best meet the needs of our communities,” continued Roberts.
Will Giant Eagle move its corporate offices or downsize its office footprint? Keep reading AndNowUKnow as we keep our ears to the newswire.
