With parking on North Shore in flux, firm gets extension on project
With still no agreement on where to add parking on the North Shore to make up for spaces lost to development, a Columbus, Ohio, firm is getting more time to start an apartment complex near PNC Park.
The Pittsburgh Stadium Authority board approved an extension Thursday that gives Continental Real Estate Cos. until Oct. 15 to purchase the land needed for the development, which would be built in a parking lot between the ballpark and the Hyatt Place Hotel.
“We’ve been working together on the development and the parking issue, and we think it’s prudent to take a little more time,” said Mary Conturo, stadium authority executive director.
This is the second extension Continental has received while it,
the authority, and the Pirates and the Steelers deal with the question of where to add parking.
“Getting it right is critical to unlocking the balance of the site,” said Barry Ford, Continental’s president of development.
Continental is pitching a proposal to build about 250 apartment units in the lot adjacent to the hotel and ballpark. Preliminary plans called for the construction of an eight- or nine-story building, but Mr. Ford said details have not been finalized.
In all, 531 parking spaces would be lost to the apartment project, the new North Shore Place I and II office and retail buildings on North Shore Drive, and another office complex being planned on the riverfront.
Mr. Ford said the various stakeholders involved are considering a “full range of options” to replace the parking.
One is the possible expansion of the 1,321-space West General Robinson Street garage. The $28.9 million garage, opened in 2006 and home to the North Side T station, can be expanded by as many as 500 spaces.
The stadium authority is required to replace parking under its option agreement with the Pirates, the Steelers and Continental to develop the land between the two sports facilities.
Ms. Conturo said she hoped to have a resolution to the parking puzzle by midOctober.
In conjunction with the extension, the board Thursday authorized up to $30,000 in additional payments to Walker Parking Consultants to provide analysis related to the parking issue.
It also approved a oneyear agreement and two possible six-month extensions with Avison Young, a commercial real estate firm, to recruit tenants for the long vacant street level retail space in the West General Robinson Street garage.