11 Investigates: City of Pittsburgh-owned buildings in shambles

PITTSBURGH — 11 Investigates found some city buildings in pretty bad shape and shocking conditions in the halls of government.

Holes in the walls, broken toilets and peeling paint.

We found it all inside the building that houses the city’s top government officials.

Built in 1917, the City-County building is home to the mayor’s office and city council, along with city and county offices.

But for months now,  some of the elevators haven’t worked.

The doors are blocked by benches and orange traffic cones.

We wanted to know why they’ve been down for so long so we reached out to the mayor’s office.

A spokesperson told us she would have answers for us, but that was more than a month ago.

When we didn’t hear back from the mayor’s office, we went to Pittsburgh City Council.

Chief Investigator Rick Earle questioned Councilman Anthony Coghill about them.

Coghill was clearly upset by the conditions.

Earle:  These elevators here have been broken for months.  What’s the deal?  Do you have any idea?

Coghill:  It’s inexcusable, as far as I’m concerned.

Coghill said the elevators maintained by the county are working, but the city elevators have been out for months.

“I’m not sure what the holdup is. I’m not sure why the elevators are out of use. But I’ve almost become complacent,” said Coghill, who called it a “bad look” when visitors come to the building to obtain city or county services or to view the Gingerbread House Competition.

Coghill said he would speak to the council president about the elevators.

But it’s not just the elevators.

In restrooms, 11 Investigate found urinals out of order, covered with cardboard boxes and broken toilets.

Coghill said he was not aware of all of the broken urinals.

11 Investigates also found paint peeling from walls and ceilings in the hallways.

Cracked glass at the security checkpoint.

A gaping hole in another wall, and leaking ceilings.

11 Investigates showed pictures of the damage to visitors at the Gingerbread house display in the lobby.

“It’s unfortunate. It’s a beautiful building,” said one visitor.

“I think that would be the first priority of the mayor to take care of their own housing,” said another visitor.

And councilman Coghill said it’s not just the city county building.

“It’s unsafe. It’s unsanitary. And it’s unhealthy,” said Coghill.

Coghill is talking about the Pittsburgh Municipal courts building next to the Allegheny County Jail.

“It’s deplorable, Rick, and you know you hear the word slumlord a lot. Well, the city is a slumlord in this instance,” said Coghill.

The Courts building is owned and operated by the city, but the majority of employees work for the county.

“I’ve seen standing water and fountains with mold, holes in walls everywhere, offices shared by county sheriffs, that they don’t have heat,” said Coghill.

And this year, 11 Investigates told you about more problems.

“As I walked in the door, I noticed a funky smell,” said Robin Dudley.

Work crews believe a ruptured steam line caused the foul odor.

More than a decade ago, Coghill said the state and Gov. Ed Rendell, promised to buy the building, but that fell through.

Coghill said the city can no longer afford the $300,000 yearly upkeep and he recently introduced legislation to sell the building to the county or state.

If they don’t want it, would the city sell to a private developer?

“We won’t sell it to a private developer unless the county and state tell us to go pound salt. We reserve that right,” said Coghill.

11 Investigates has learned that there doesn’t appear to be much interest in purchasing the building.

Both the county and courts declined comment.

Sources tell 11 Investigates that they don’t have the money.

11 Investigates reached out to the governor’s office more than a week ago but still hasn’t heard back.

Some of the issues 11 Investigates discovered appear to be cosmetic and it’s unclear why those haven’t been fixed.

Sources told 11 Investigates that some of the other more substantial problems, like the elevators,  may not be getting fixed because of the city’s financial struggles.

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