East Liberty : Development News

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

In East Liberty, a 110-year old home has been given new life as the Pittsburgh Green House.  A project of ACTION-Housing, Inc., the Green House will be a weatherization training and educational facility, where classes and workshops will focus on residential energy and water savings, and making homes healthier.

ACTION-Housing is the largest provider or weatherization assistance to low income residents in Pennsylvania, serving Greene, Washington, and Allegheny County.  However, according to program administrator Lindsay Ruprecht, the Green House will offer a new service that is unlike any other resource  in the region.

Ruprecht says that while other institutions do offer great weatherization training, because they’re often in sterile, classroom settings, contractors aren't necessarily prepared for the rough conditions of the region’s aging housing stock.  To address that, the Green House has been left intentionally "raw," so that learners can experience hands-on what it's like to retrofit a home more similar to the majority of houses in Pittsburgh.

"We wanted to do it in a real house where the contractors would have real opportunities, in a 110-year-old house, to really see what happens in something that's wonky," Ruprecht says. "Things aren't perfect."

In addition to providing this training, Ruprecht says her organization wanted to fill what it perceived to be a middle-class resource gap.  For those households that don't qualify for low-income programs, Ruprecht says the Green House will allow greater access to do-it-yourself projects that can reduce a home’s carbon footprint.

Classes will be taught on a rotating basis by ACTION-Housing staff, as well as product specialists and experts from local nonprofits.  For contractors, hands-on training includes building science, weatherization skills, blower door technology, and Building Performance Institute certification.  Some courses are free, while others have associated fees.

The Pittsburgh Green House, 308 N. Sheridan Avenue, is open for public tours Wednesday through Saturday.  Call 412-362-4PGH for more information.

Upcoming classes:

March 21st, Home Energy 101, 12pm.  Learn easy, inexpensive ways of cutting your energy consumption around the house. Focus areas will be water, light, heating/cooling and electricity.

March 22nd, Water Use in the Home, learn about the different ways to save water in your home, and why decreasing burden on Pittsburgh's water system is important.  6pm.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Lindsay Ruprecht

Union Pig and Chicken has opened in East Liberty, Kevin Sousa’s latest restaurant project in the East End.  The menu features barbecue and fried chicken, assorted sides, as well as draft beer, and a quality selection of whiskey.

The restaurant, which seats about 48, offers full dine-in services at four large, communal-dining tables.  The barn-like interior makes use of reclaimed wood, and other rustic details like bare, hanging bulbs.

And although the menu certainly shows its Southern influences, general manager Jessica Keyser says the restaurant isn’t trying to specialize in any specific region’s cuisine.  

Keyser says the word Union has a three-fold meaning, representing Pittsburgh’s Northern and working-class roots, as well as a marriage of various styles of regional barbecue, all under one roof: St. Louis ribs, brisket, chicken, and pork shoulder.

Union Pig and Chicken also hopes to be the first restaurant to serve Pittsburgh’s own Wigle Whiskey, from the city’s first distillery since prohibition.  Bottles of white whiskey are expected it to be in-stock in the coming month.

But Union Pig and Chicken isn’t the only barbecue joint to have opened in the East End.  Yinzburgh BBQ opened just two weeks ago on Baum Boulevard, and is now serving barbecue six days a week.

Owned and operated by Richard Coursey, a native of southeast Georgia, Coursey left his career to devote himself to the barbecue trade.  And although this currently  means consecutive 90-hour work weeks, he says, “I’m living my dream.”

Yinzburgh’s meats, including beef brisket, pulled pork, baby-back ribs, and chicken, are smoked over a combination of hickory, apple, and cherry wood for up to 12 hours.  And on weekends, Coursey is experimenting with smoked tofu for vegetarians.

Three sauce types, which are tomato, vinegar, or mustard based, are served on the side.  Yinzburgh is primarily take-out, but does have a few places to sit.  Sides include collard greens, black-eyed peas with spinach, mac and cheese, and coleslaw.

Yinzburgh BBQ, 4903 Baum Boulevard, 15213. 412-621-YINZ (9469).  Open 11:30 to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 11:30 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Union Pig and Chicken, 220 N. Highland Avenue, 15206.  412-363-PORK (7675).  5 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Saturday, with lunch service beginning soon.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Jessica Keyser; Richard Coursey

The Urban Redevelopment Authority has been awarded $20 million in New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) by the U.S. Treasury Department.  The tax credit program aims to aid economic development, community revitalization, and job creation, by stimulating private investment in low-income communities.

Previous tax credit programs in Pittsburgh have helped to finance several prominent developments, including Bakery Square, Target, and Market Square Place.  And more than 2,500 full- and part-time jobs have been created through URA projects funded with NMTC.

Robert Rubinstein, the URA’s director of economic development, says projects like these often won't happen without those tax credits, which enable developers to close critical financing gaps in their respective projects.

Rubinstein says this current allocation is important because all of the funds will stay in Pittsburgh, and will help finance local projects.

Pittsburgh Urban Initiatives LLC (PUI), a URA-sponsored community development entity, decides which projects receive NMTC funding, based on a strict set of criteria.

Last year, the URA was allocated $35 million in NMTC, part of which were deployed in the 201 Stanwix Street project, a conversion of the former Downtown Verizon building into a charter school and apartments.  

In East Liberty, the East End Cooperative Ministries is expected to receive $15 million in credits for their proposed Community House development.

Rubinstein says NMTC has proven to be an important tool for the URA to advance community development projects throughout the city, and credits Mayor Ravenstahl, Senator Casey, and the congressional delegation for bringing these funds to Pittsburgh.

“It’s great that we've been able to receive a direct allocation ourselves, that allow us more control over helping to advance projects,” he says.  “In these times of declining local resources, declining state resources, we're fortunate we have the leadership that's helped us bring in these federal resources to help keep the momentum going here.”


Writer: Andrew Moore
Source:  Robert Rubinstein

PetSmart, the national pet-supply retail chain, is coming to fill a vacant storefront in East Liberty.  It’s been just under a year since Borders closed in the Eastside development, and the Mosites Co. says the specialty store should be open in the former bookseller’s location by June.

PetSmart will occupy only the lower level of the Borders’ space , or 14,000 sq. ft. of the former store’s original 24,000.

Steve Mosites says his company met PetSmart, which has over 1,200 pet stores in North America, at the International Council of Shopping Center conference last year in Las Vegas.   He says compared to other potential tenants, PetSmart made the best economic sense, and served a need in the community.

PetSmart connects with the daily shopping patterns of Whole Foods, Wine and Spirits, and the other needs in a neighborhood shopping center, Mosites says.

Mosites says his company is working with a variety of tenants and hopes to have the upper level of the former Borders spaces leased by the end of this year.  He adds that the success of the nearby Target opening has been great for the retail businesses in the area, and the Eastside development.

In addition to leasing the former Borders space, Mosites says his company is doing pre-leasing for a development that will occur on a parcel near Target, which will be the final four acres of the greater Eastside development.  For this site, Mosites plans to continue developing retail tenants, but could also include levels of office and apartment spaces.

A road will eventually be constructed within the Eastside development, connecting Penn Avenue and South Highland.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Steve Mosites

A sign at Station Street Hot Dogs boasts service since 1915.  Although it had close for a while, the shop has reopened, and looks exactly the same on the inside--same counters and stools, still serving hot dogs and fresh-cut fries. The main, critical difference though is that this time it’s a project of local chef Kevin Sousa.

At Station Street, Sousa is offering a basic hot dog, a vegan dog, and a host of other types: the New York Dog, with just sauerkraut and mustard; the Hawaii Dog, with pineapple salsa, bacon, sweet soy and mint; even a Banh Mi dog, with pork liver, pickled vegetables, and the standard toppings of this Vietnamese favorite.

Kimchi for the Korean dog is made in-house, as are most other toppings, including sweetbreads and smoked brisket.

As the sign says, Station Street originally opened in 1915, and moved to its current location in 1969.  But the shop was closed for several decades until 2006, when Bob and Ruth Tortorete reopened and renovated the space.

Sousa and his partners have made little changes to the interior or exterior.  The menu is written on a hanging chalkboard sign above the counter.  As a subtle sign of the changed culinary landscape, the standard pair of ketchup and mustard squeeze bottles is now joined by a bottle of spicy Sriracha.

Fresh-cut French fries come standard, $3, or fried in duck fat, which chef Mike Lefever says imparts the same flavor of duck confit onto the French fry.

Lefever will be the chef at the new Union Pig and Chicken, a second restaurant that Sousa is opening, also in East Liberty.  Union Pig and Chicken expects to be open and serving barbecue by the end of this month.

Station Street Hot Dogs, located at 6290 Broad Street, is open Monday though Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.  412-365-2121.

Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Mike Lefever

Pittsburgh can claim more bridges than any other city in the world, and will now add one more elevated span to the list.  The Eastside Pedestrian Bridge, a project of the URA, opened last week, connecting the Ellsworth shopping district with the Eastside development in East Liberty.

East Liberty Development, Inc. (ELDI) initiated the effort to build this structure, which is equal parts functional amenity and public art.

Skip Schwab, ELDI director of operations, says that while undertaking a community outreach and planning process, residents expressed a desire to have better connections between East Liberty and Shadyside.

The community wanted the new bridge design to be more open, and to have a safer feeling than the existing structures which cross the busway, Schwab says.

And in order to finance the planning and engineering of the bridge, ELDI raised funds from the private sector, including numerous foundations and individuals, to supplement the project’s budget.

Artist Shelia Klein designed the artistic elements of the bridge.  Thousands of glass sequins adorn the structure, and were made at the Pittsburgh Glass Center in the nearby Friendship.  Railings for the bridge were salvaged from the 31st Street Bridge, and restored by Keystone Metals in Larimer. 

Schwab says the bridge is part of a broader effort to repair pedestrian infrastructure lost during urban renewal of the 1960s.

“Everything that we're trying to do is to not only just rebuild the connections, but to do it in a way that is much more pedestrian friendly and accessible,” Schwab says.

The total project cost was $1.5 million, and included street lighting and sidewalk improvements in Shadyside, and was designed by SAI Consulting Engineers.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Skip Schwab, ELDI

East End Eden, a new wellness center collective in East Liberty, will open January 20th, offering city residents another space to unwind, and recharge both the mind and body. 

The 1,200 sq. ft. collective, located on the mezzanine level of the Liberty Bank building, is run by Emily Escalante, and a group of other independent practitioners of massage therapy, reiki, yoga, and other fields of wellness. 

Escalante says the center, with extra-large windows, beautiful floors, and lots of natural light, has a kind of lounge feel, where participants could sit and enjoy tea before and after yoga classes, stretch, meditate, or other peaceful activities.

“It's kind of like hanging out in your friend’s cool loft and getting well at the same time,” she says.

During the January 20th opening, from 6 - 9 p.m., cocktails will be served, coupons and prizes will be given away, and those interested can meet the different wellness practitioners of the East End Eden collective. 

On Tuesday, January 24th, the center will conduct a visioning workshop, where attendees can create a mental map of one’s life and goals.

“If you visualize where you want to go, you can kind of create the life that you want to live,” Escalante says. 

And every Thursday morning, a yoga class will be given for stress management.  Escalante says it’s a very gentle, restorative class, intended to be more meditative than an intense workout.

Escalante is a graduate of the Pittsburgh School of Massage Therapy, and is experienced in Swedish massage, reiki levels 1 + 2, reflexology, hydrotherapy, and aromatherapy, among other types of massage. 

East End Eden is located at 6101 Penn Avenue, Suite M01, East Liberty.  412-361-4850.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Emily Escalante

The Beauty Shoppe, a new innovative coworking space, is now open in East Liberty.  Located at 6014 Penn Avenue, the Shoppe will have an open house this Friday as part of the Unblurred Gallery Crawl.  

Matthew Ciccone, one of the Shoppe’s creators, says his team wanted to offer an office space in the most flexible, scalable way possible, to allow startups and entrepreneurs a good experience while taking that first, often difficult step into business.

The space is approximately 4,000 square feet, and is located on the second floor of a building in the center of East Liberty.  The Shoppe offers tenants high speed network access, shared conference rooms, and a kitchen, among other amenities.  Additionally each tenant, or member, gets a dedicated desk and chair, secure access to the building 24/7/365, webcasting  and video conferencing facilities, and a physical mailing address.

But membership rates and sizes vary, and can change from month to month.

“We’re slowly and always thinking about ways to add to the space,” Ciccone says.  “When we first opened up, we tried to keep it pretty Spartan…so that we could always add in terms of responding to what users actually required, rather than having to speculate around it.”

The project is a collaboration between East Liberty Development, Inc, Ciccone, Thinktiv, and Jenn Bee Designs.

Ciccone says his team set their base lease at roughly the cost of three cappuccinos a day, about nine dollars, which is what a coffee-shop freelancer might expect to pay.

“We can offer you a full, nice office experience with the full suite of office infrastructure, and at a price point that is about the same as Starbucks,” Ciccone says.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Matthew Ciccone

The City of Pittsburgh has secured two key development grants totaling $8.5 million for projects in East Liberty and downtown.  The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Grants were recently released by Governor Corbett’s administration.

A $4 million grant will be used to target smaller buildings in downtown that are in need of rehabilitation.  One such structure in consideration by the city is the Thompson Building on Market Street.  Currently owned by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, the Thompson Building was most recently home to the restaurant Ciao Baby. 

Yarone Zober, chief of staff of the mayor’s office, says a project like this could not be completed without outside funding.  He says this grant will allow the city to partner with developers and private owners to further the redevelopment of Market Square and the greater Forbes and Fifth Avenue corridors. 

Other buildings being considered for renovation include the building at Wood Street and Forbes Avenue, as well at the “sister buildings” at 420 and 422 Wood Street, according to Zober.

In East Liberty, a $4.5 million grant will be used to build a parking garage between the Highland and Wallace buildings, where a redevelopment project seeks to create 130 apartment units, and 5,000 sq. ft. of retail space.  The development is a project of Walnut Capital and the Massaro Corporation.

The Highland Building was built 101 years ago and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Greg Perelman, a managing partner, said “the project would not have happened if we did not have the grant.”

Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Yarone Zober; Greg Perelman

Kazanda's Cafe is East Liberty's first coffee shop in recent years and the newest place to gather on the Penn Avenue. Located next to the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, owner Kazanda Tamo is excited to be part of the neighborhood's growing business community.

"East Liberty is so diverse, you have so many different types of people," Tamo says. "I think it's a great place to open a business."

Tamo, who was born in Haiti and moved to the U.S. when she was young, brings a Caribbean flair to many items at the cafe. In addition to coffee, espresso, and smoothies, Kazanda's offers kiwi, mint and mango lattes, and fresh squeezed lemonade and ginger juice.

Sandwiches include a tropical shrimp wrap, and her most popular seller, a spicy Creole chicken sandwich. A creamy, black bean soup, made with coconut milk, is a vegan rendition of the classic Caribbean dish.

Kazanda uses Haitian-grown coffee at her cafe as well. She had researched many types of beans, but after last year's earthquake, working with coffee farmers in Haiti seemed like the best way to help rebuilding efforts.

"If I was living there, do I want money, or do I want a way to sustain myself?" Kazanda asked herself. "I think most people would want to have their dignity and be able to have something to sustain themselves."

"And I know our coffee is really, really good," she adds.

Ever since inviting a group of drummers to her grand opening celebration in July, customers have been asking Kazanda when she would bring them back. She plans to have performances ever second Saturday at the café, and on August 13th, the interactive event will be held outside, with activities for kids.

Kazanda's Café, 5943 Penn Avenue, East Liberty. 412-361-2200. Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.


Writer: Andrew Moore
Source: Kazanda Tamo

Pittsburgh's first net-zero renovation is now complete in East Liberty. The one-hundred year-old home at 710 North St. Clair Street now produces as much energy as it consumes, thanks to an energy-conscious renovation by West Penn Energy Solutions.

The roof of the three-story Colonial Revival home is covered in photovoltaic solar panels, which have already begun producing enough surplus energy to sell back to the power company. Once the house is lived-in electricity bills might fluctuate, but at year's end the total bill should balance to a net-zero electricity bill.

In addition to solar panels, polyisocyanurate insulation envelopes the entire house, which Michael Merck, owner of West Penn Energy Solutions, says is probably the single most important factor in energy conservation.

The first floor is radiant-floor heated, while the upper stories are baseboard heated. Low-flow water fixtures have been installed for conservation, as well as CFL light bulbs. And although the house has no air-conditioning, a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) acts as the lungs of the house, exhausting stale air while taking in fresh air.

East Liberty Development, Inc. owns the home and partnered with Merck for the renovation. With this first renovation complete, Merck is now turning next-door for his second project. He says on a holistic scale, this type of renovation and new-home building is just the right thing to do.

"We need to be more conscious of the materials that we use in a house, the waste that is generated…and the person who's going to live in it, what their utilities bills are going to be like," Merck says. "It should be the standard, and it's slowly starting to happen."


Writer: Andrew Moore
Source: Michael Merck

GTECH Strategies is celebrating four years of environmental and community development work this summer by launching a new initiative called the Social Capital Council.

Andrew Butcher, GTECH CEO, says the Council will be an effort to increase connectivity between people in the private sector and innovators in the social sector.

"There are a lot of people [in the business world] that are very passionate about issues of community development, very passionate about sustainability and the green economy, and want a higher level of involvement than just volunteering from time to time," Butcher says. "So what we're trying to do is tap into the latent passion and creativity that may exist."

GTECH hopes the council will be a mix of 15-20 partners from a range of companies and industries throughout the region. Applications to join the council are now open to the public, and close at 5pm on August 19th.

In addition to the new council, GTECH has recently relocated their headquarters to Larimer, in the East End. Butcher says Larimer is a fitting and exciting neighborhood for his organization to work from.

Three years ago in Larimer, GTECH was contracted to cultivate a city block of sunflowers on a vacant lot. Since then, the organization has continued working with the Larimer Green Team, an experience which Butcher says has been incredibly informative and empowering.

"It was that [initial project in Larimer] that we first recognized the value of what it means to transition a vacant space into a community asset," Butcher says. That once-vacant lot is now the Larimer Community Garden, what Butcher calls the anchor of the Community Green Plan.

"It's really exciting to be among the community, and to have our operations here," Butcher says.


Writer: Andrew Moore
Source: Andrew Butcher, GTECH

By transforming a small plot of vacant land into a lush, urban food forest, the Borland Green Ecovillage is hoping to create an intentional community in East Liberty that aims to strengthen ties between neighbors and the community at large.

A row of seven houses at the corner of Black and North Beatty Streets are undergoing substantial renovations as part of the co-housing project, using sustainable and low-cost building practices where possible.

Bob Metz, a member of the ecovillage, says the goal is to recapture the spirit of neighborhoods from the early 20th century and form a strongly knit community.

"Looking out for one another, helping one another," Metz says. "For a lot of us it's a question of downsizing--to be able to share some of our assets."

The Borland group has been working closely with East Liberty Development, Inc. for the past several years in their quest for the right co-housing context. When ELDI purchased this row of houses on Black Street through a foreclosure sale, Borland felt it was exactly what they had been looking for.

Kendall Pelling, ELDI project manager, says co-housing is really just about living with neighbors that you actually want to spend time with.

"In other words, to know your neighbors, have meals with them once in a while, do gardening with them, and do the things that we're all interested in," Pelling says.

In the planned green space, which community members will share, they hope to create a fruit and nut orchard, plant vegetable gardens, and build a bio-shelter for winter gardening, among a list of other projects. Metz says the ecovillage will use permaculture practices to create sustainable food systems.

Plans for the garden have been funded by a $5,000 grant from the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, and an additional $5,000 grant from the Sprout Fund will support purchasing plants and infrastructure for the green space.

According to Pelling, there was only one tenant in the Black Street row houses when ELDI purchased them. That tenant was able to stay in her home even through renovations.

And a second tenant, who had left her home when it was foreclosed upon, approached ELDI when she heard they'd been purchased, and would be under better management. Pelling says he is working with both tenants through ELDI's affordable home ownership program.

"They've lived in the neighborhood probably 20 years each," Pelling said. "They like the location, they like the houses. I'm looking forward to working with them to become homeowners there."

Metz says members of the ecovillage are looking forward to the challenges ahead.

"It's a lot of plans and a lot of work, but we're really excited about it," Metz says. "We're really looking forward to every morning, [and just about] every day we're over there moving towards making it more and more of a reality."

Writer: Andrew Moore
Source: Kendall Pelling, ELDI; Bob Metz