Foreclosures raise doubts about Beechview real estate firm

Karl Cureton, of Brookline, stands across from a building he planned to rent from Atlas Development at 1600 Broadway Ave. on Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Beechview. The former barbeque restauranteur moved his business from Virginia to Pittsburgh on landlord Daniel Berkowitz’s promise to set him up a barbecue restaurant in the building, which was also supposed to house a hostel. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource) Atlas Development seemed driven to carry Beechview on its shoulders. Now the once-hyped firm is beset by foreclosures, and its co-founder sells bonds in Florida. by Eric Jankiewicz, PublicSource Pittsburgh’s reputation as a place of culinary excitement led Karl Cureton to consider moving his barbeque business here from Virginia. That consideration became more serious in 2016 when he met Daniel Berkowitz, co-founder of a real estate company called Atlas Development.& “He found me and knew I was interested in Pittsburgh because it was the up-and-coming place to be for foodies,” Cureton said, describing Berkowitz’s interest in him as a courtship, which led to a tour of a commercial space on Broadway Avenue& in Beechview.& & “I came up here to Beechview and saw the space and told him I’d have to think about it,” Cureton...