Carnegie Mellon University has bought Chatham University’s Eastside building, but will lease a portion of the building back to Chatham.
Chatham closed on the 250,000-square-foot building, located at 6585 Penn Ave. near Bakery Square, last week, President Lisa Lambert said in a letter to the school community.
Carnegie Mellon will lease back 140,000 square feet of the building for at least a decade, said Mick Stinelli, Chatham spokesman. Chatham’s College of Health Sciences programs and Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship and Small Business Center will be housed there, he said.
Lambert wrote that the sale and leaseback is part of Chatham’s long-term strategy to reduce its real estate portfolio and the amount of time and money spent on facilities maintenance.
“This strategy (and sale) allows us to further focus on our core educational mission, while investing resources in the Shadyside Campus and the farm and research activities at Eden Hall,” Lambert wrote.
Chatham and CMU officials did not disclose the financial details of the sale or leaseback.
CMU’s Penn Avenue location is contiguous with the Eastside building, said CMU spokesman Chuck Carney. The university’s plans for the Eastside building are in the preliminary stages, he said.
“The purchase of this property allows for potential development and expansion for a variety of activities, while the leaseback allows Chatham to continue work at the site,” Carney said.
Chatham’s main campus is in Shadyside, where it was established in the late 1800s as the Pennsylvania Female College. The Eden Hall campus in Richland opened in 2015.
Lambert anticipates transitions at Eastside to be seamless for students and staff. Changes to parking management are expected and will begin next school year.
Chatham will also continue construction of its Health and Human Performance Center and Athletic Annex at the Eastside location. That project is scheduled to be completed in August.