East Liberty : Development News

The commercial space in East Liberty’s Broad Street business district continues to grow. The area, known as Indigo Square after the hotel soon to occupy it, will include a holistic medicine center, an oil and vinegar retailer, a kitchen and bath design showroom and a pair of independent fashion boutiques. 

Peace, Love & Zen Wellness Center will occupy a space at 6023 Broad Street that was formerly a bakery. Among its services, the center will offer acupuncture, a Himalayan salt cave and an Aquascape Zen bed.

Olive & Marlowe, which currently deals in specialty olive oil and balsamic vinegars out of a space in the Strip District’s Pittsburgh Public Market, will also move to the new East End district in a space at 215 North Highland Avenue.

Luxe Home & Design, also on North Highland, is a new venture from Splash owners John Nicklas and Brent Hugas, who already have showrooms in Cranberry and Murrysville.  

One of the independent fashion boutiques is owned by Kiya Tomlin, wife of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.

The businesses will consume about 8,500 square feet of commercial property out of the four-block, Wedgwood Group-owned space.

Michelle Stewart of leasing agent Colliers International says that they hope to fill out the remaining space with as many local businesses as possible. She says Colliers is looking to attract a coffee shop and a microbrewery, and is also looking into yoga studios, florists and high-end furniture dealers.

Writer: Matthew Wein
Source: Michelle Stewart

Eat + Drink is Pop City's roundup of restaurant and food news.

- Cure, Chef Justin Severino’s Lawrenceville restaurant, has obtained a liquor license. While the restaurant will offer a full-service bar, its full menu of wines and specialty cocktails won’t be ready for another few weeks. “Right now, they’re just testing some stuff out,” says restaurant spokesperson Gita McCutcheon.

- A new addition to Pittsburgh’s food truck scene, the PGH Crepes cart sets up at the corner of Penn Avenue and 20th Street on weekends and makes its way around town during the week.

“We really like the carts in general. We think it speaks well the entrepreneurial spirit of Pittsburgh,” says Leigh White of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. “It’s a new twist on things, and a nice compliment to the many restaurants downtown.”

To find the crepe cart, follow it on Twitter @pghcrepes.

- Waffalonia, the Squirrel Hill-based makers of Belgian-style Liège waffles, will open a kiosk in Schenley Plaza in mid-May.

And now that the weather is good, it’s time to dine outdoors. Here are some of the latest openings:

Make Your Mark Artspace & Coffeehouse in Point Breeze opened its serene back patio last week.

The garden portion of Pusadee’s Garden in Lawrenceville is ethereal and lovely.

The partially re-done patio at Kelly’s Lounge in East Liberty is open, as is the spacious back patio at Lawrenceville’s Round Corner Cantina.

Marty’s Market in the Strip has tables around the outside of its corner location, as well as stools at its garage-door coffee counter.

Orange chairs adorn the patio at Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina.

The Porch in Oakland has some of Pittsburgh’s best outdoor seating, and plenty to go around with school out for the summer.

Biddle’s Escape, a coffee shop tucked away off the main drag in Regent Square, has a spacious and tree-shaded deck.

And Il Pizzaiolo, in both Market Square and Mt. Lebanon has outdoor spaces. In the Mt. Lebanon location, the charming terrace in the back just opened and in Market Square, you'll find tables outside the new location next to Starbucks.

Writer: Matthew Wein
Sources: Gita McCutcheon, Leigh White

TOWNHOUSE, a new pop-up furniture and home goods shop, is opening soon in East Liberty. The shop will feature goods from Weisshouse, The Shop in East Liberty, and Florida-based designers Industry West.

The retail collaboration is a project of partner organization Epic Development, a Pittsburgh-based economic development firm. Epic’s Michael McAllister says TOWNHOUSE will offer modern pieces—including chairs, stools, rugs and prints—currently unavailable in Pittsburgh, aimed for the city’s growing design community.

The storefront will also serve as an experimental street-level coworking lounge for members of The Beauty Shoppe, a partner in TOWNHOUSE.

McAllister says the store is committed to high design and quality at a low cost, with the majority of items priced under $200.

And since the project is a pop-up, TOWNHOUSE will close just eight months later, in December.

This is not the first time Epic has brought together members of Pittsburgh’s creative community. Last year, the firm launched Tapped, a pop-up beer garden event series that activates empty lots with local food, beer, and music. McAllister says Epic plans to continue Tapped in 2013.

TOWNHOUSE opens Friday, May 3rd, and is located at 6016 Penn Avenue, in East Liberty. It will be open Tuesday through Saturday, and by appointment Sundays and Mondays.


Writer: Andrew Moore
Source: Michael McAllister

Eat + Drink is Pop City's weekly roundup of Pittsburgh's food scene.


- Tender Bar + Kitchen will celebrate a grand opening next Friday, April 5^th. The restaurant features a “Gatsby-era atmosphere,” regional American cuisine, and a craft cocktail list.

Renovations to the restaurant’s historic building—the former Arsenal Bank—unearthed artifacts such as bank checks from the 1890’s, a pair of handmade stone dice, and a vault alarm system, whose 1930’s electronics will be on display in the restaurant.

Tender is the second concept from Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina proprietor Jeff Catalina.  The menu includes regional dishes such as lobster rolls, meatloaf, and shrimp and grits. Tender is located at 4300 Butler Street, Lawrenceville. 412-402-9522.

- Notion has reopened in East Liberty. Chef-owner David Racicot closed the original Oakmont eatery in late 2011 with plans to bring the restaurant to a more central location in Pittsburgh. The smaller, 28-seat space is located at 128 S. Highland Avenue, near the neighborhood's many popular dining destinations, including BRGR, Abay Ethiopian Cuisine, Paris 66, and more.

- Piper's Pub owner Drew Topping is opening a new United Kingdom-style fish-and-chip shop called The Pub Chip Shop. The menu will include pasties, a stuffed British pastry, and other U.K. take-out fare.  It will be located in the adjacent Victorian storefront to Piper's Pub, at 1830 E. Carson Street. 

- Redbeard's  on 6^th Sports Bar and Grill is opening soon in Downtown Pittsburgh, at 144 6th Street. It is a second location of the original Redbeard’s, which has served Mount Washington for more than 20 years.

Redbeard’s replaces the former Palazzo Ristorante, and is adjacent to Six Penn Kitchen. The Roberto Clemente Bridge is just one block away, which connects pedestrians to PNC Park on Pirates game days.
 

Writer: Andrew Moore

Anthony Dolan’s new development projects aim to fill in the gaps of East Liberty's ongoing redevelopment.

Dolan's company, Alphabet City Co., plans to build a 20,000-square-foot retail and office structure at the corner of Penn Avenue and Penn Circle East, across from Target. Plans also call for a 5,000-square-foot rooftop restaurant featuring outdoor seating.

Once a lead tenant is identified, construction is expected to be complete within 15 months. Oxford Realty Services is handling leasing and marketing for the project. Three existing buildings, including the current location of Yen's Gourmet Chinese Restaurant, would be razed.

Dolan says it's important for the building to be an amenity to the neighborhood and to complement the existing structures.

"Whatever happens here is going to set the tone for the rest of that block as new development moves into the core," he says.

The site is surrounded by several high-profile developments in East Liberty. Dolan praises the early development work of Mosites and that company's plans for new residential units at the Eastside III, as well as Walnut Capital's restoration of the residential Highland Building.

"But we do need a balance of office space and residential units in the core," Dolan says, "to make sure that we have enough daytime population to feed the businesses that are currently there and ones that want to locate there in the future."

David Morgan, of Morgan Associates, is the project architect. Dolan says Morgan has a strong history with the neighborhood and was an original board member of East Liberty Development, Inc.

Alphabet City Co.'s second project in East Liberty is renovating existing warehouse structures near the future Ace Hotel. At 5915 and 5921 Baum Boulevard, the refaced buildings will be converted for retail and restaurant uses. Dolan's goal is to have these structures available by the end of this year, around the opening of the Ace Hotel.

Writer: Andrew Moore
Source: Anthony Dolan

Thanks to a new series of Sprout Fund projects, life in Pittsburgh will get more connected.

Connect Your City (CYC) is a series of 14 unique projects aimed at building connections between Pittsburgh’s many neighborhoods and across generations, cultures, and communities. CYC grew out of a recent Social innovation eXchange (SiX) event, a partnership between Pop City, the Sprout Fund, and the Pittsburgh Foundation, among others. 

Projects include the Friend-Field Postcard from Felipe Casteblanco and James Southard which will be the largest group portrait taken in Pittsburgh of residents of Garfield, Friendship, and Bloomfield. The postcard will then be mailed across neighborhoods. And Song for Pittsburgh, from Jennifer Myers, will place six singers in six different neighborhoods performing the same song at the exact same time. The one-day performance will take place on April 21^st.

An RFP was announced at the event last November. Of 30 applicants, 14 projects were recently awarded $1,000 grants.

Next Wednesday, March 20^th, grantees will present 90 second pitches of their projects at a happy hour event at the Shadow Lounge, 5972 Baum Blvd in East Liberty, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The happy hour will be one of the final events to be held at the Shadow Lounge’s current space, which will close in the coming weeks.


Writer: Andrew Moore
Source: Sandra Hartkopf

The planned Eastside III development will be centered on a new $52 million transit center and will include more than 360 apartments and 50,000 square feet of retail.

A project of Mosites Co., the $65 million transit-oriented development will complete the 14-acre Eastside development which began in East Liberty over a decade ago.

Mosites' earlier developments have brought large retailers such as Whole Foods and Target to the neighborhood. Now, rather than seeking more big-box retailers, the latest phase will be built for smaller stores complimentary to the new residential units proposed for the site.

Steve Mosites says his company is excited about building community in the larger context, as well as at the development site.

"With 360 apartments, it's a community within itself," he says.

The new multi-modal transit center will include a new bicycle parking garage, pedestrian links, and a hub for nearly 1,000 daily bus departures and arrivals. A new connection to Shadyside will be constructed via a pedestrian bridge.

Last June, the City received a $15 million TIGER IV grant for the planned East Liberty Transit Center. The transit center is being developed in a partnership between the Port Authority of Allegheny County, the URA, and Mosites. 

The URA board voted last week to sell a portion of vacated Shakespeare Street to Mosites for $1, which completes the site assembly necessary to begin development of both projects. Bids for the transit center’s development could begin as early as this summer, while the Eastside III project is expected to break ground by mid-2014.
 

Writer: Andrew Moore
Source:  Steve Mosites

Bakery Square 2.0, a $100 million, mixed-use development adjacent to the former Nabisco factory, is set to break ground.  Developers Walnut Capital and partner RCG Longview Fund have officially closed on the purchase of the former Reizenstein School and surrounding property.

Demolition of the former school has begun, allowing construction to commence on phase 1 of the development. The plan calls for several office buildings along Penn Avenue, with up to 400,000 square-feet of office space; 55 rental townhomes; and the construction of several interior roads and bike paths.

The development site is located across the street from Bakery Square, a $100 million redevelopment of the former Nabisco factory and several new structures. Tenants there include Google, UPMC, the Software Engineering Institute, various retail  and restaurants, and a hotel.

Construction of the first apartment building is expected to begin in March, with an opening date of June 2014.  The five-story building will include 175 apartment units and underground parking.  Rents are expected to range from $900 to $1,000 per month.

Earlier this month Walnut Capital announced it was dropping plans to develop 20 single-family homes in favor of a second apartment building, which will be similar in scope to the first.

A $2 million federal grant, secured by Mayor Ravenstahl and the URA will be used to help prepare infrastructure at the site. 


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Gregg Perelman

A 63-room boutique hotel is coming to the heart of heart of East Liberty.  The development will be a historic renovation of the five-story former YMCA building on Whitfield Street, behind the East Liberty Presbyterian Church.

East Liberty Development Inc. (ELDI) is the project developer, and was recently awarded an $800,000 federal grant from the Office of Community Services, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service. 

Previously, attempts to convert the circa-1911 building into condominiums or apartments have stalled and failed.  ELDI’s Nate Cunningham says the current historic renovation plan maximizes the use of the building, and will preserve many of its original functions. 

Existing hotel-like rooms in the building’s upper floors will be expanded to create larger hotel rooms.  The ground level will feature an 80-seat restaurant space, in addition to a 120-seat ballroom, and a 300-seat gymnasium.  The gym will be available for larger evens including sit-down or musical events, Cunningham says.

The hotel will be operated by a national brand known for its commitment to transitional neighborhoods, with a strong cultural and arts focus.

This is the fifth OCS grant that ELDI has been awarded.  Grant recipients are required to create a specified amount of jobs as part of the development, a certain number of which are to be reserved for low-income workers.

“It’s nice because it’s a recognition of the commitment we’ve had to making this a neighborhood for everyone,” Cunningham says.

One hundred fulltime jobs are expected to be created for the ongoing operations of the hotel, and restaurant and beverage components.

Cunningham hopes to begin construction on the project by the first quarter of 2013.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Nate Cunningham

The Shop in East Liberty celebrated a grand opening last week, and is now offering home goods, everyday art, and jewelry.  All items in the store are handmade, and curated from local makers, as well as from artists throughout the country.  Owner/artist Julia Reynolds describes it as a retail store for design-conscious people.

Reynolds’ vision for The Shop is to be a comfortable space to display and view handmade items, appearing naturally as they might in a home.  She wants the space to contrast with the experience of viewing objects in a gallery, which she says can often be intimidating.

“You want to own something unique and that’s handmade, but you want to come to a place you feel comfortable, where you can touch the artwork or objects,” Reynolds says. 

And The Shop aims to be affordable too. 

“I hope that people can find things that they love and can easily take home to enjoy,” Reynolds says.

The Shop is located at 214 N. Highland Avenue, two doors down from Union Pig & Chicken. 

Reynolds, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz College of Arts Management, has lived in East Liberty with her husband for several years.  When she began looking for a location to open The Shop, she says staying in the neighborhood was a priority.

The space was completely remodeled from an office-use space to now have a bright and modern feel, reflecting the type of products offered at the store.

The Shop is open until 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings.  Reynolds is hoping her store can help to build foot traffic in this commercial district.

As a first-time business owner, Reynolds believes she has chosen the right neighborhood to open a store.

“We’re in an area that I think encourages this opportunity for anyone,” she says.

The Shop is open Tuesday through Saturday, at 214 N. Highland Avenue. 


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Julia Reynolds

The City of Pittsburgh received a $2 million infrastructure grant from the federal government toward Bakery Square 2.0.  An award from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), these funds will be used for the construction of public infrastructure at the $120 million development site.

The grant will help fund public amenities which are needed to construct the proposed mixed-use development, a redevelopment of the former Reizenstein Middle School site.

"I am extremely grateful to President Obama and the Economic Development Administration for their support of this great project that will create much needed high-tech office space to support the growth of our innovation economy," Mayor Ravenstahl said in a statement.

The mayor's press secretary Joanna Doven says the city is seeing a lot of investment from the federal government, and cites the recent $15 million grant to the East Liberty Transit Center.

"We’re seeing a lot of federal support that is spurring millions in private investment," Doven says.  "We believe that the government’s main role in development is readying infrastructure, and this is what that grant will do."

The grant will be matched by funds provided by Walnut Capital, the RCG Longview Fund and the Pennsylvania Gaming Economic Development and Tourism Fund.

The plan for the former Reizenstein Middle School site calls for constructing several new office buildings, creating 400,000 square-feet of office space, 90 rental townhomes, and 20 single family houses.

"Bakery Square 2.0 will be a campus-like setting that will allow for more high-tech companies, more startup ventures to be located in a place that has a lot of synergy," Doven says.  "There’s a lot of talent around that area, a lot of young minds, and it’s a place where people want to be."

Developer Walnut Capital has previously said they will spend up to $130 million on the project, or equal to the amount of the original Bakery Square site redevelopment.

The URA will work with the Department of Public Works to construct the streets and associated public infrastructure, such as street lighting, curbing and storm, sanitary and water facilities, which will ultimately be dedicated to the City of Pittsburgh.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Joanna Doven

A new event space is opening in  East Liberty which aims to be the missing link between nightlife and cultural institutions.  The venue is a project of the Pittsburgh-based audio-visual collective VIA, best known for their annual three-day VIA Music & New Media Festival.

"In Pittsburgh, and a lot of cities, I think there’s a clear line between nightclubs and music and art gallery," says VIA's media coordinator Tara George.  "Those scenes don't really overlap a lot of times.  So I think this will be a great opportunity to bring both of those cultures together."

Known as 6119 (the venue's address on Penn Avenue), the space will be a renovation of a 3,000 square-foot former social club, in partnership with the building's owner, East Liberty Development (ELDI).  Programming will include DJ/club nights, video screenings, experimental performances, small concerts, and pop-up programming and exhibitions

The space, which has been inactive for the past decade, will offer a large performance area, bar and lounge, and a small mezzanine for installations.  Bar nights at the venue will be presented by Lawrenceville's Round Corner Cantina. 

George says the space will also be used to host some of the events for the VIA Music & New Media Festival, which has previously been held in various venues throughout the city.

Next week's grand opening weekend (July 20-21) will feature French hip hop beatmaker Onra and Toy Selectah (Mad Decent), Mexico's "moombaton mix-master."  And in keeping with VIA's efforts to integrate visuals with music, local emerging video/new media artists Di-Ay Battad and Timothy Sherman VJ will  create audience-interactive visuals in conjunction with the main acts.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Tara George

Thanks to a federal TIGER grant East Liberty will soon be the home of a new $34 million multi-modal transit center.  The planned infrastructure project will reconnect the busway with the neighborhood's street grid, and improve pedestrian and bicycle connections for transit riders. 

Once raised to street level, the center will connect transit users to existing destinations along Centre and Penn Avenues in a more pedestrian-friendly manner, and will further improve connections between East Liberty and Shadyside.  Design improvements will include expanded walkways and a new pedestrian bridge, as well as bicycle corrals and bicycle parking.

The East Liberty Transit Center will replace the current East Liberty Busway Station.  City officials anticipate the project will spur more transit-oriented development in an area that has already benefited from numerous redevelopment projects in recent years.

The transit center is considered the centerpiece of the privately-funded, 10 1/2 acre Eastside III and IV developments, a project of the Mosites Company.  Mosites’ earlier Eastside developments include Whole Foods, Trek of Pittsburgh, and several popular restaurants, among other businesses.

Mayor Ravenstahl’s Press Secretary Joanna Doven says spurring this type of privately-funded, transit oriented development is exactly the type of project these TIGER grants were designed to assist.

“Repurposing that bus station into a comprehensive transit center is a key factor in creating two new prime developments,” including Bakery Square 2.0 and Eastside III and IV, Doven says.

The City had applied for the $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, TIGER IV discretionary grant program, back in March, and received the grant last week.  Doven says the City hopes to break ground on the transit center in the spring of 2013.
 

Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Joanna Doven

Across from the Bakery Square development, Walnut Capital Partners says they are prepared to spend up to $130 million on their latest project, known as Bakery Square 2.0.  A redevelopment of the former Reizenstein Middle School site, the plan calls for constructing several new office buildings, creating 400,000 square-feet of office space, 90 rental townhomes, and 20 single family houses.  Details of the plan were released last week at a public meeting in Bakery Square.

The developer is seeking a zoning change for the site in order to execute the proposed plan, which Gregg Perelman, of Walnut Capital, says is a work in progress.  According to Perelman, his company is meeting with neighborhood organizations, such as the Shadyside Action Coalition, to find solutions to the zoning issues.

The plan does not call for any new roads to connect the former school site to Shadyside, however a bicycle and pedestrian connection would be built.  Office tenants would utilize the parking structure located in Bakery Square, across Penn Avenue.

Perelman says the streetscape along Penn Avenue would include sidewalks, and the possibility of added bike lanes.  Within the development, Walnut Capital plans extensive green space and courtyards to be used by future residents and office workers, similar to the developer’s Forbes Terrace property in Squirrel Hill.

The townhome rentals are projected to range in price from $2,500 to $3,000, and will be two- to three-bedroom units.

Walnut Capital expects to purchase the property from Pittsburgh Public Schools by the year’s end, when it will then begin demolition.  Building materials from the former school will be recycled on site, used for infill and road improvements. 

Within the original Bakery Square, Perelman says 100% of the office space is currently leased, while a Panera Bread is expected to open there in August, as well as other retail and restaurant openings in the works.

The first opportunity for the public to comment on proposed zoning changes will be on May 29^th before the City Planning Commission.

 
Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Gregg Perelman

After 25 years of vacancy, the Historic Highland and Wallace buildings in East Liberty are under renovation and will once again offer housing and retail opportunities to the community.  Construction began Monday on the 103-year-old complex, which is being converted to 129 apartments, 5,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and will include a 180-car parking garage.

Earlier this month, the URA approved the transfer of the properties to Highland Wallace Joint Venture, a development partnership which includes Walnut Capital and Massaro Properties.

Gregg Perelman, of Walnut Capital, says the work is to be “100% historic renovation,” and will restore the exteriors and interiors of both structures.  Built by Henry Clay Frick in 1909, the Highland Building was designed by Daniel Burnham, and placed on the National Register of Historic Properties in 1991.

Last year, the development hinged on two key funding components: a $4.5 million grant from the state for construction of a parking garage, and federal financing from HUD, both of which the project received.

The project is on a 14-month timeline, with the first rental units to be available by June 1^st, 2013.

The apartments will feature oversized windows, stone counter tops, stainless steel appliances, high ceilings, and a washer and dryer in each unit.  The units will primarily be 1-bedroom apartments, however a few 2-bedroom units will be available.

And in nearby Larimer, the Larimer Consensus Group is inviting residents to participate in the Larimer Avenue Corridor "Vision to Action" Kick Off Event.  This will be the first in a planning series focusing on the transformation of the Larimer neighborhood.  Among many issues, the consensus group is looking for ideas on housing, education, safety, health, and commercial development.  Thursday, March 29 at 6:00 p.m., the Kingsley Association (6435 Frankstown Avenue).
 

Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Gregg Perelman, Walnut Properties