8 Questions Pittsburgh Tenants Ask Before Signing a Lease

July 6, 2026

Jack Donahue and Alex Lehman have seen it all. They bring decades of commercial real estate experience and one clear mission: protect Pittsburgh tenants. Below, they answer the questions that come up in nearly every lease conversation, and the ones tenants wish they had asked sooner.

Meet the Advisors

Jack Donahue, SIOR — Founder & President

Jack began his career at the Pittsburgh office of Grubb & Ellis, where he spent 15 years representing both landlords and tenants. He went on to work with Highwoods Properties near Research Triangle Park and then spent a decade in the brokerage division of Oxford Development Company before founding Donahue Real Estate Advisors in 2010. Since then, the firm has grown into one of the most respected independent tenant representation practices in southwestern Pennsylvania. Jack brings more than 35 years of Pittsburgh market experience to every engagement.

Alex Lehman — Associate

Alex started his career at the Pittsburgh office of CBRE, managing real estate transaction activities for corporate clients. He works alongside Jack to implement strategies for new locations, surplus space disposition, renewals, early lease terminations, and multi-market transactions. Alex holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from American University and an MBA from Duquesne University.

One thing sets Donahue Real Estate Advisors apart: the firm exclusively represents tenants. No landlord conflicts. No divided loyalties. Every answer below reflects that perspective.

1. How much square footage do I need?

The honest answer: it depends on how your people actually work, and where they’re headed.

There’s no universal formula, but there are useful benchmarks. Traditional office planning assumed roughly 200 to 250 square feet per person. Today, with hybrid work schedules and open collaboration models, many companies are successfully operating at 150 square feet per person or even less.

What matters more than any benchmark is understanding your actual utilization. If 60% of your team is in the office on any given day, you’re not designing for 100% occupancy. You’re designing for peak days with built-in flexibility.

Jack and Alex walk every client through a space needs assessment before any search begins. That conversation looks at:

Current headcount and realistic in-office attendance
Collaboration needs versus focused work requirements
Growth projections over the lease term
Client-facing space and conference room demands
Any specialized needs: lab space, server rooms, training rooms

Committing to the wrong square footage is one of the most expensive mistakes a tenant can make. Too small and you’re out of room in year two. Too large and you’re paying rent on empty desks for the life of the lease.

2. What should tenants know before starting a lease search?

Start earlier than you think you need to.

Most tenants underestimate the lead time a real estate search requires. Even in a market with elevated vacancy like Pittsburgh’s, where overall office vacancy currently sits at approximately 11.7% (CoStar, July 2026), the right space for your specific needs may not be available the day you start looking.

Alex hears this constantly: “We have nine months left on our lease. Is that enough time?” The answer is usually: it’s enough, but not comfortable. Twelve to eighteen months is the window where tenants have the most leverage and the most options.

Before starting a search, every tenant should understand:

Your lease expiration date and any notice requirements. Many leases require written notice 12 months in advance to exercise a renewal option. Miss that window and you lose negotiating power.
Your current lease terms. Do you have a renewal option? An early termination clause? Expansion rights? If you don’t know, have someone review your lease now, not during negotiations.
The difference between tenant representation and landlord representation. A broker who lists buildings works for landlords. A tenant rep works for you. These are not the same service.
The Pittsburgh market by submarket. Conditions in Downtown, the Strip District, Oakland, and the suburbs differ meaningfully. Knowing where you want to be (and why) shapes your entire strategy.

Donahue offers a free lease review and strategy session as a starting point for any business evaluating its next move. There’s no obligation, and the information is useful regardless of what you decide.

3. How long does the process take?

Plan for six to twelve months for a standard office search. Longer if you have specialized needs or a complex build-out.

The commercial real estate leasing process has more stages than most tenants expect. Here’s how Jack and Alex typically describe the timeline:

Needs assessment and market survey: 2 to 4 weeks
Property tours and shortlisting: 2 to 4 weeks
Requests for proposals and comparison: 2 to 3 weeks (but could take longer)
Letter of intent negotiation: 2 to 4 weeks (but could take longer)
Lease negotiation and execution: 4 to 8 weeks
Build-out and construction (if applicable): 3 to 9 months (but could take longer)

That last item is the one that trips people up most often. If your new space requires significant tenant improvements (a custom build-out, new conference rooms, IT infrastructure), construction alone can take the better part of a year. You need to move before that construction is finished. That means your lease likely starts before your old one ends.

The earlier you start, the more options you have. The more options you have, the better your negotiating position.

4. How much is this going to cost?

You’ll get a better deal with tenant representation than going it alone.

The base rent number on a listing is only part of the picture. Commercial leases, particularly full-service gross and modified gross structures, can carry a range of additional costs that affect your real monthly expense.

Here’s what tenants often underestimate:

Annual base rent escalation: Anywhere from 2 to 3% per year in the Pittsburgh market.
Operating expense escalations. Typically 2 to 3% per year on utilities and building upkeep. On a five-year lease, that compounds.
CAM charges and pass-throughs. In NNN leases, tenants pay their share of property taxes, insurance, and maintenance on top of base rent.
Parking. In Pittsburgh’s urban areas, parking is rarely free. Monthly parking costs can add hundreds of dollars per employee per year to your real estate overhead.
Fit-out costs. Even with a tenant improvement allowance, there may be gaps between what the landlord provides and what you need.
Holdover risk. If you stay beyond your lease expiration without a new agreement, most leases allow landlords to charge 150% or more of your base rent on a month-to-month basis.

5. What is the greatest challenge in negotiating a lease?

Making sure you’re far enough out from your lease expiration to have an alternative so that the landlord knows you’re not afraid to leave.

Jack has been negotiating Pittsburgh leases for more than 35 years. His answer to this question is consistent: the single greatest challenge is creating real competition among landlords. Without it, you’re negotiating from a position of weakness regardless of market conditions.

“Landlords know when you’re committed to their building,” Jack explains. “The moment they sense you have no alternative, the conversation changes. Our job is to make sure you always have a credible alternative — and that landlords know it.”

6. What issue kills most real estate deals today?

Misaligned expectations on tenant improvement allowances.

This is the deal-killer Jack and Alex identify most frequently in the current Pittsburgh market. Here’s why:

Construction costs have risen significantly over the past several years. A tenant improvement allowance that would have covered a full build-out in 2019 may cover only 60 to 70% of the same scope today. Landlords, especially in higher-vacancy buildings, are often willing to offer TI, but not at the levels tenants need to fully outfit their space.

The gap between what a landlord will fund and what a tenant actually needs to build out creates a financing problem that can collapse deals late in the process.

Other common deal-killers in today’s market:

Lease term disagreements. Tenants want shorter terms for flexibility; landlords need longer terms to justify TI investment. This tension requires creative structuring.
Delayed decision-making. The longer a negotiation drags on, the more opportunities arise for priorities to shift on either side.
Unfavorable lease clauses discovered at the attorney review stage. When legal review surfaces a problem late, re-opening negotiations can be costly and slow.

Working with an experienced tenant rep means these issues are identified and addressed earlier in the process, before they become deal-breakers.

7. Can you renegotiate or renew your lease early?

Yes, and doing it proactively is almost always in your favor.

This is one of the most underused tools available to Pittsburgh office tenants, and one that Jack is particularly direct about: “If your lease has 24 to 36 months remaining, you should at minimum be having a conversation about your options. The market right now creates real opportunities for tenants who are willing to negotiate early.”

With Pittsburgh office vacancy elevated across most submarkets, many landlords are motivated to lock in existing tenants rather than risk a vacancy. That motivation is leverage.

What early renegotiation or renewal can get you:

A review of current market rates, to make sure you’re not overpaying for your space
Additional tenant improvement allowance to refresh or reconfigure your space
Free rent periods at the start of a new term
New or improved lease clauses — expansion rights, termination options, parking guarantees
A longer runway for your business without the disruption of a full relocation

The one caveat: your current lease likely contains a notice deadline for renewal options. Miss it and you forfeit the option entirely. If you’re unsure where that date falls, a lease review will surface it immediately.

8. What is a lease review and what do I get out of it?

A clear picture of where you stand, what you’re obligated to, and what opportunities you may be missing.

Donahue Real Estate Advisors offers a free lease review and strategy session to any Pittsburgh business evaluating its real estate situation. Here’s what that conversation actually covers:

Critical dates. Expiration, renewal option notice deadlines, expansion option windows, and termination rights — all surfaced and put on a timeline so nothing is missed.

Financial obligations. Base rent, escalation schedules, operating expense exposure, and any contingent costs buried in the lease language.

Rights and restrictions. Sublease rights, signage, parking, permitted use clauses, and assignment provisions. These are the terms that define what you can and can’t do with your space during the lease term.

Market context. Where does your current rent stand relative to today’s Pittsburgh market? Are you paying above market? Below? What concessions are landlords currently offering new tenants that you aren’t receiving?

Strategic options. Based on your lease terms and market conditions, what are your realistic paths forward? Renewal, renegotiation, relocation, or sublease?

There’s no cost and no obligation. The goal is simply to make sure you have accurate information before your next real estate decision.

Ready to Talk Office Strategy?

Donahue Real Estate Advisors has exclusively represented Pittsburgh tenants since 2010. Jack Donahue and Alex Lehman bring a combined depth of local market experience that very few tenant-only firms can match.

If you have a lease expiring in the next one to three years, or questions about your current space, schedule your free lease review today.

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