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