A vacant parking lot in Pittsburgh\u2019s North Point Breeze neighborhood may soon be the site of nearly 100 new apartments, many of which will be designated affordable housing.<\/p>\n
Developers are planning to construct five new apartment buildings and four duplexes along McPherson Boulevard between Homewood Avenue and Lexington Street on land owned by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
The 4.5-acre site is located directly across the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway\u2019s Homewood station.<\/p>\n
Downtown-based Trek Development Group is leading the project after it submitted plans to the URA last year.<\/p>\n
Bill Gatti, president and CEO of Trek, said the project would be developed in three phases, ultimately resulting in 94 units.<\/p>\n
The first phase would include the construction of a four-story apartment building with 43 units, while the second would see the build up of four smaller, \u201cgarden style\u201d walk-up buildings that would add another 43 units.<\/p>\n
Plans for the third phase of the project center on the construction of four duplexes on the other side of McPherson Boulevard, which would be available for purchase.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think it\u2019s an important step toward repopulating our urban neighborhoods,\u201d Gatti said.<\/p>\n
All of the apartments in the first phase would be listed below the average median income of the surrounding area with some discounted as much as 80%. Gatti said Trek will likely apply for federal Low-Income Housing Tax credits next year.<\/p>\n
Quianna Wasler, chief housing officer at the URA, said the agency has been trying to redevelop the site for years, but no plans so far have come to fruition.<\/p>\n
She said the URA and developers have been in consistent contact with surrounding communities throughout the project, saying it\u2019s been the agency\u2019s goal to turn the property into its \u201chighest and best use.\u201d<\/p>\n
During a development activities meeting earlier this month, some community members expressed concerns about parking and the density of the project, but Gatti said plans had already incorporated many of the suggestions from previous rounds of talks with residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel that the plan is appropriate and responsive to concerns,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t anticipate any changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plans call for 85 0ff-street parking stalls.<\/p>\n
Albert Lardo is managing member of Ellsworth Equities, which owns eight nearby buildings that collectively make up the Rockwell Park commercial area, which includes tenants like the Ascend climbing gym and Commonplace Coffee.<\/p>\n
A building across Lexington Street from the proposed development site, which formerly served as the Allegheny County 911 call center, now serves as an \u201ceclectic\u201d mix of office, warehousing and manufacturing space, Lardo said.<\/p>\n
Lardo said Trek\u2019s plan for housing \u201cperfectly fits\u201d into the area, saying it could serve as workforce housing, including for some of the employees who work in the neighboring commercial area.<\/p>\n
Trek still needs to gain approval from Pittsburgh\u2019s Zoning Board of Adjustment to build the residential project, which sits in an area currently zoned urban industrial. That meeting is scheduled for Nov. 12.<\/p>\n
If awarded the tax credits it seeks, Trek\u2019s development plans call for construction to begin in April 2028 and for work to be completed by the following summer.<\/p>\n
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