Developer’s plans for remaking the PAA released
Details have emerged about Walnut Capital’s plans for redeveloping the bankrupt Pittsburgh Athletic Association’s iconic clubhouse on Fifth Avenue in Oakland.
The Shadyside-based developer’s vision for the property — brought to life in renderings contained in documents filed recently as part of the PAA’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case — includes offices on the upper floors of the six-story structure, plus space for three restaurants and a cafe on the main level.
Visitors should expect a “stunning arrival,” according to the plans, which include restoring the current lobby’s stone walls, fireplaces, coffered ceilings and period details.
Walnut Capital emerged in September as the winning bidder to buy and redevelop the stately but shabby property. The $12.6 million sale is the cornerstone of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association’s proposed reorganization plan, which would use the proceeds to repay creditors.
A confirmation hearing for the reorganization plan — which won conditional approval from a bankruptcy judge last month — has been set for May 30, exactly one year after the 110-year-old club filed for Chapter 11.
Walnut Capital’s planned redesign of the old building also includes space set aside for club activities, such as an 80-seat grille room on the main floor for the exclusive use of PAA members. Other member amenities would include extensive fitness facilities on two basement levels and rooftop racquet ball courts with a view of the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning.
The fitness area would encompass a welcome desk, sauna and steam rooms, locker rooms, a spa, cardio training area, ropes equipment, hydration station, “spin theater” with stationary bikes lined up before a giant video screen, plus a new 25-meter, two-lane lap pool.
Walnut Capital — best known for developing the Bakery Square complex at the site of the former Nabisco cookie factory in the East End — also
plans to clean and restore the exterior of the aging structure, which opened in 1911 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“Our vision for the redevelopment of the PAA … is mindful of its illustrious past but also balances that history with the 21st century lifestyle,” the developer said in a letter distributed to club members last week.
Despite the grand plans, there still is a chance that the PAA could be left without a home.
In order to settle some objections, the original reorganization plan filed in December was retooled to include a $3.5 million reserve fund to pay potential taxes on the sale of the clubhouse.
That money will come from Walnut Capital and from the conversion of what was to be the PAA’s 5 percent interest in the refurbished building into cash.
The club’s attorneys don’t think the sale will be taxable, but if they are wrong, it could be disastrous for the club.
Under terms of the plan, if taxes eat up Walnut’s portion of the reserve fund, that would trigger a corresponding reduction in the PAA’s amenity package.
If the entire fund were spent on taxes, it would release Walnut from providing the club with any space, “thereby making it highly unlikely that PAA will reopen” in the building, plan documents say.