More than $200M sought for 71 projects in Allegheny Co.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A new plan is in the works to revive a Mount Washington hotel project. The city potentially is eyeing the construction of a new municipal building. And a Chicago developer might put a brew pub restaurant in a building he owns across from the Strip District produce terminal.
Those developments, as well as the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s plan for a movie house Downtown, are among 71 projects in Allegheny County seeking more than $200 million in the latest round of state redevelopment assistance capital grant funding.
A group called Grandview Realty LLC has requested $5 million in state aid to revive a plan to build a hotel at the former Edge restaurant site on Grandview Avenue adjacent to the Monongahela Incline.
According to a project summary accompanying the request, the $70 million venture would be built on four acres and include a 125-room hotel, a 500-car parking garage, a spa and fitness center, a ballroom that could be leased and a public grand plaza with an outdoor dining area in the first phase.
Chicago developer Steven Beemsterboer had put the site up for sale in 2015 after abandoning his quest to build a 163-room hotel, up to 58 condos, a two-story lounge, a 472-space parking garage, and an observation deck on the land. He could not be reached for comment.
No other information was available Thursday about the latest plan. Michael Grande, president of the Mount Washington Community Development Corp. board, said he was unfamiliar with the project’s details and declined to comment further.
In the Strip District, another Chicago developer, McCaffery Interests, is seeking a $5 million grant to help renovate a former
warehouse at 1600 Smallman St. in conjunction with its plan to redevelop the iconic produce terminal.
McCaffery is proposing to convert the 1600 Smallman space into 24,418 square feet of “premiere” first-floor retail, including a brew pub restaurant, and a total of 85,743 square feet of office on the second, third and fourth floors.
There also would be a basement parking garage and adjacent surface parking.
The developer is requesting another $6 million for the $62.6 million produce terminal project, which would include a “food centric” public market as well as offices and perhaps services like spas or fitness space, crafts, and perhaps even music venues or nightclubs.
According to a project summary, a 475-stall parking garage also is being proposed adjacent to the terminal.
The city already has received a $4 million redevelopment assistance capital grant to help fund improvements to Smallman Street outside the 1,533-foot warehouse, once a hub for produce wholesalers.
The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, meanwhile, is requesting $4 million to either erect a new municipal building to house employees now located in the 13-story John P. Robin Civic Building at 200 Ross St., to renovate the Robin structure, or to build replacement space at another location.
Kevin Acklin, URA board chairman and chief of staff to Mayor Bill Peduto, said all options were still on the table.
“We haven’t yet determined a potential relocation site or whether a relocation from 200 Ross St. is a viable option. The URA board asked staff to produce an evaluation of a sale vs. stay scenario, and we will reserve [a] final decision pending the outcome of that review,” Mr. Acklin stated in a text.
The list of grant applicants shows the URA seeking $12.9 million in state aid, but Mr. Acklin said that is actually what the estimated cost of renovating the Robin building would be.
If the city decides to leave the Robin building, it likely will market the structure for private development, Mr. Acklin said.
Six years ago, the URA board voted to sell the building to PMC Property Group for $1 million, but the deal fell through when the city was unable to find space to relocate employees.
Other notable projects in search of state money include:
• The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is seeking $3 million to help fund construction of a four- to six-screen cineplex in Downtown that would show first-run movies. It would be located in the former Bally Total Fitness Club building on Sixth Street.
• The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh wants $5 million to help fund exterior and interior renovations at the Carnegie Library Allegheny building next door to create a museum lab.
• Robert Morris University is asking for $8 million to help fund a new 4,500-seat convocation center at its Moon campus that will be used primarily to house its basketball and volleyball teams.
• Allegheny Shores LLC requested the largest amount among county projects — $10 million — for a 125-unit apartment project on the North Side.
• A group led by Millcraft Investments is seeking $7.25 million as part of its plan to build a 174-room Moxy Hotel and 56 loft apartments at the former Saks Fifth Avenue site Downtown.
Overall, redevelopment assistance capital requests totaled $1.7 billion statewide and involved 398 submissions. Typically, only a small percentage of the projects end up being funded.