With days left in 2025, the Zoning Board of Adjustment issued a ruling that stalled a luxury condominium development planned for the Strip District.<\/p>\n
Under the joint ownership of Francois Bitz and Moritz Development, the project planned for 1700 Penn Ave. appeared before the Zoning Board in April requesting a variance for zero-foot setbacks \u2014 essentially, a space between where the sidewalk ends and a building begins \u2014 and exceptions for residential use of the property and a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 10:1. This means the total area of the building could be 10 times larger than the plot it sits on. FAR in the Strip District is usually restricted to 3:1, according to zoning guidelines.<\/p>\n
While the board approved the special exception for multiuse residential, both the setback variance and FAR exception were denied.<\/p>\n
The zoning board\u2019s ruling was \u201cexpected,\u201d according to developer John Moritz.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Normally, this would send developers back to the drawing board to redesign their structure and resubmit, but Moritz is taking a different strategy that hinges on the fulfillment of campaign promises from Mayor Corey O\u2019Connor\u2019s recent run.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is more of a mentality thing of the current administration,\u201d he says. \u201cI think we would have a strong argument to appeal, especially the side setbacks, but we want to wait and see what this new mayoral administration \u2014 the people he puts in place \u2014 if they\u2019re pro development, if they want to work with us and be reasonable. Because this is unreasonable, we feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Connor has already positioned himself as a pro-development leader in Pittsburgh. His first executive action \u2014 on his first day in office \u2014 sought to smooth out the permitting process for developers, according to reporting by news partner Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source<\/a>.<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n At the October meeting<\/a>, parishioners of St. Patrick Church plus Dan and Jim Wholey of Robert Wholey & Co. Inc., raised concerns about how construction and subsequent traffic could be detrimental to patron access in the narrow business corridor.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that the increased congestion that would result from cramming this oversized development into our human-scaled shopping district will be detrimental to traffic, health, safety and welfare of the employees and patrons of our business community,\u201d Jim Wholey said at the meeting.<\/p>\n The Wholey brothers declined to comment on the board\u2019s December ruling.<\/p>\n Moritz says the plans presented already included major concessions that were spurred by the Wholeys, the Strip District Neighbors community group and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most notable ones was we have curb cuts at Penn Avenue \u2014 two of them \u2014 so we can certainly, by right, have our garages on Penn Avenue,\u201d Moritz says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re selling multimillion dollar condos, generally, you would not want to go to a back alley for entrance. We did that as a concession to get these people to support us, and, ultimately, we did not get the support.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not moving those garages to the back alley, certainly, and if that results in less retail or something else, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather than make more changes to the building\u2019s design, Moritz says, he\u2019s ready to play the waiting game\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not in any rush. I want to do it \u2014 I\u2019m not just doing it to do it. We had a vision in mind, we want for-sale condos. I think you need to get certain criteria for that to work, and height is probably one of those, so rather than rush it, we\u2019re going to be patient and see if other people share our vision at the next administration.\u201d<\/p>\n That means that the site\u2019s current tenant, the Helltown Brewing Taproom, may stick around longer. While its lease is up this summer, Moritz says, \u201cI do, I think that will continue, that or something similar.\u201d <\/p>\n Zoning Board members are usually installed for three-year terms. According to City Council legislation from Nov. 12, 2024<\/a>, John J. Richardson\u2019s term expired on Jan. 1, 2026. Terms for the other two members, LaShawn Burton-Faulk and Alice Mitinger, will not expire until Jan. 1, 2027<\/a>, and Jan. 1, 2028<\/a>, respectively.<\/p>\n