Barry Ford Obituary – Frank Kass of Continental Real Estate met Barry Ford about 25 years ago, when Mr. Ford worked for the Park Corporation, which was leveling and rehabbing the Homestead Steel Works site.
Continental ended up buying the massive property and developing it into the Waterfront shopping center, and the joke is that Mr. Ford came with the deal.
As the head of Continental’s Pittsburgh office, Mr. Ford spent about two decades shaping some of Pittsburgh’s most significant real estate projects, from The Waterfront, to the North Shore properties between PNC Park and Heinz Field including Stage AE, to the Streets of Cranberry, and the renovation of The Galleria in Mt. Lebanon.
Mr. Ford died Thursday at his home in South Fayette. He was 63.
“To know him was a pleasure,” said Mr. Kass, founding partner and chairman of Continental. “He was very articulate, very driven to do the right thing, very persistent, and most of all he was just a nice guy. When you were dealing with him, you always knew you were getting a fair shake.”
Mr. Ford, 63, was born in Ivyland, Bucks County, and graduated from Lower Moreland High School. He was an All-American water polo player at the University of Pittsburgh and graduated from Duquesne University Law School, where he met his wife, Denise.
As the Waterfront development was winding down, Mr. Ford began working on the “crown jewel” of his career: the development of Pittsburgh’s North Shore between the two stadiums. “The pride of his career was creating the North Shore as it sits today,” said Herky Pollock, a CBRE executive vice president and close friend and business associate of Mr. Ford for the past 25 years. “His legacy will continue on for many generations to come.”
Mr. Ford shepherded the North Shore project for the past 18 years, said Mr. Kass, working with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Sports and Exhibition Authority, and the city of Pittsburgh. The development, which includes Stage AE, eight buildings and three parking garages, is nearly complete, with construction on the final building expected to begin in the next two months.
“Barry’s sudden passing has left us all in a state of shock,” said Bob Nutting, chairman of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who worked closely with Mr. Ford on the North Shore projects. “Barry’s vision, passion and relentless ability to build relationships and move projects forward was instrumental in the dramatic transformation of the North Shore.”
One sign that something was amiss with Mr. Ford was when he didn’t show up Thursday to a meeting regarding the North Shore project. His body was found Friday at his home in South Fayette.
“Barry put his heart and soul into everything he did and got things accomplished,” said Jimmie Sacco, vice president of operations and management for the Pittsburgh Steelers. “He was definitely the face of the North Shore development, the innovator, the creator, who kept everything on track.”
Keeping everything on track in a massive development project is a monumental challenge, said Mr. Kass, noting that they would joke that it might take 20 meetings with a municipality over the course of a year to get one thing done. Mr. Ford was always able to follow through with persistence, intelligence, and just the right amount of humor and sarcasm, he said.
“It’s always compromise and it’s always a difficult process,” said Mr. Kass. “He would stick to it and when it was all done, everyone was still talking to each other — he had the ability to do that.”
Jason Wrona, a real estate attorney for Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney who represents the Steelers on the North Shore development, worked with Mr. Ford on the development project for the past 15 years — talking at least once a week and sometimes 10 times a day. “In the real estate community, he was a force of nature,” he said. “He was great at getting things done but behind the curtain, once you pull back the veneer of the tough real estate developer, he had a real sense of morals and he was dedicated to serving others.”
As much as Mr. Ford and Mr. Wrona talked about business, they talked as much or more about their families and their faith, he said. Mike Hudec, who worked for Mr. Ford at Continental since 2000, recalls his boss and mentor’s passion for learning about other people.
“Every conversation started with asking about your spouse, your children, how your parents were doing,” said Mr. Hudec, Continental’s vice president of development. “It didn’t matter if it was a coworker, a contractor or the housekeeper — he believed in knowing people and addressing people by their first name. He really wanted to get to know you and there was always time for business later.”
A devout Christian, Mr. Ford was also deeply involved in his church, the South Hills Bible Chapel, and in charitable work. He led Bible study groups for many years and he and his family were active in raising and donating money to the Yahve Jire Children’s Foundation, a school and orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
“Their definition of wealth was to see how much you could give away, not how much you could collect,” said Mr. Pollock. “They were extremely generous with their time and money.”
Mr. Ford is survived by his wife of 36 years, Denise, and his four children, Erika Hart of Charlotte, N.C., Hilary Wisniewski of State College, Alex Ford of Jacksonville, Fla., and Mitch Ford, of Pittsburgh. He is also survived by his parents, H. Charles and Marguerite Ford, and brothers Michael and Mark.
“Barry loved hard,” said Mr. Pollock. “He loved his family, he loved his faith, he loved his friends, he loved his career, he loved his city and each one of those he attacked with passion and zeal, and we were all better because of it.”
A celebration of life service will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at South Hills Bible Chapel, 300 Gallery Drive, McMurray PA 15317. A luncheon at the Bible Chapel will follow. The family suggests memorial donations to Yahve Jire Children’s Foundation at http://yjcf-us.org/contact/ or checks can be mailed to 1328 Chartwell Drive, Upper St Clair, PA 15241.
