On the walls of parking operator Merrill Stabile's office, a progression of aerial photos shows the dramatic changes that have occurred over the years in the Golden Triangle and on the North Shore.
Skyscrapers and new bridges sprout. Old bridges and buildings vanish. Three Rivers Stadium appears, surrounded by striped-off lots. Then it is gone, replaced by two new stadiums.
One thing that hasn't changed is the dominance of Mr. Stabile's family in the Pittsburgh parking market.
As the city's largest private operator, he controls more than half the spaces in and around Downtown. Alco Parking Corp., of which he is president, owns, leases or manages 15 major garages in the Golden Triangle and surrounding area. It has the surface lots around the stadiums on the North Shore and in the Strip District and recently won contracts to manage garages at SouthSide Works and the University of Pittsburgh. A sister company, Grant Oliver Corp., operates the garage and surface parking at Pittsburgh International Airport.
The empire that Mr. Stabile's grandfather started with a single Downtown lot in 1925 has grown to nearly 20,000 spaces.
Mr. Stabile's latest venture, however, would involve putting something besides cars on vacant lots. He has offered $10 million to the city Stadium Authority for 3.3 acres between PNC Park and Heinz Field, where he says he wants to build a 10-story "signature" office tower with Cincinnati-based developer Al. Neyer Inc.
Mr. Stabile, a man who says "my goal is to get along with everyone," ruffled some prominent feathers with his pitch.
Continental Real Estate Cos., chosen by the Steelers and Pirates to develop property around the stadiums, has an option to buy the land for about one-eighth of what Mr. Stabile offered. Continental's chairman, Frank Kass, tartly recommended that Mr. Stabile stick to parking cars. The Steelers took it a step further, threatening to sue Mr. Stabile if he didn't back off.
"In my opinion, Merrill's got a lot of nerve trying to stir up trouble," Mr. Kass said. He suggested that Mr. Stabile was upset because the Stadium Authority is soliciting bids for management of a North Shore garage where Alco currently holds the contract.
In a recent interview, Mr. Stabile didn't conceal his amusement with the agitated response. But he also denied ulterior motives. "I've been in the middle of this [development]. I've watched this. Bang, bang, bang," he said, pointing to the sequence of photos.