Published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Mark Belko

December 19, 2013

A Falls Church, Va., company that specializes in next-generation information technology services and solutions will open a new delivery center in the Strip District, one that could generate at least 500 jobs over the next three years.

Computer Sciences Corp. expects to move into temporary facilities in Penn Liberty Plaza at 1350 Penn Ave. early next year, starting with 50 to 75 employees.

It plans to sublease the 57,201 square feet of space in the building, owned by the Buncher Co., for three years, said Marcel Goldstein, a CSC spokesman.

Longer term, the firm intends to invest more than $14 million to acquire a 120,000-square-foot building for its operations that would house at least 500 employees. Mr. Goldstein said he expects that expansion to take place over three years as well.

That building is still "very early in the planning stages," Mr. Goldstein stressed. While CSC has been talking to Buncher about constructing the building, "Nothing has been finalized," he said.

Right now the company is focused on the subleased space, "but we know we would like to have a longer-term facility in Pittsburgh," he noted. Buncher has plans for a $10 million, six-story office building at 13th and Smallman streets near the Veterans Bridge.

In a statement Thursday, Gov. Tom Corbett said that he welcomed the CSC investment in the Strip. The company worked with the governor's action team and Pittsburgh Regional Alliance in deciding on Pittsburgh.

It has received a funding offer from the state that includes a $2 million Pennsylvania First Program grant, $1.5 million in job creation tax credits, and a $425,000 grant to train new workers. It also received a $1.5 million, 10-year Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund loan with an interest rate of 1.5 percent.

Mr. Goldstein said CSC analyzed 400 cities for its new delivery center and settled on Pittsburgh because of the strength of its technical workforce.

"With a mix of local IT talent and technically trained college graduates, Pittsburgh provides an excellent recruiting tool for us to build a next-generation workforce," said Gary Budzinski, executive vice president and general manager of CSC's Global Infrastructure Services business.

(Mark Belko, "Computer Sciences Corp. to open tech delivery center in Strip District," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/19/13)