URA trying once again to develop key Beechview property

The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority is heading back to the drawing board in a bid to redevelop a high-profile building on Broadway Avenue in Beechview.

URA officials on Monday issued a new request for proposal for redevelopment of the corner threestory building and a vacant lot at 1602-1606 Broadway. It is the second time the URA has issued an RFP related to the real estate.

The authority had been working with Atlas Development for the past four years on a plan to convert the building into a boutique hostel, apartments, a storefront diner and a basement jazz club.

But that plan appears to have fizzled.

“It is a difficult property to rehabilitate and the previous developer struggled to make their development work financially,” URA spokeswoman Gigi Saladna said.

She added that Atlas was “never able to present us with a fully financed project, and their board approvals expired.”

City Councilman Anthony Coghill, who represents Beechview, said he pushed the URA to issue a new request for proposals because he wasn’t satisfied with Atlas’ pace.

“They weren’t moving fast enough for me,” he said. “They’re welcome to bid again. I want somebody to move on it. It’s been sitting there for 25 years.”

Atlas representatives could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Coghill believes the second RFP could produce fruit. He said that he has personally shown the building to three or four developers and that “there’s a lot of interest in it.”

“I’m confident that someone is going to come in with the right idea,” he said. “We’re going to give it to them at the right price and they’re going to change downtown.”

In announcing the new request for proposals, the URA stated that it is seeking a “high-quality,

mixed-use development ... while preserving the architectural character of the building.”

The appraised value of the real estate is $82,000.

“Please propose a sales price that allows for a project that is economically viable and meets a ‘highest and best use’ standard with the least amount of public subsidy,” the URA stated in the RFP.

Mr. Coghill envisions a redevelopment that features first-floor commercial space — maybe a “nice little Italian restaurant or something” — with other uses above that.

He acknowledged that the vacant structure needs some work. For that reason, the URA is urging interested parties to check out the site.

“One of the greatest challenges is the structural deterioration. In an effort to get responses that are more attuned to the needs of the property, we are mandating that interested developers schedule a site tour with their architects/engineers before responding,” Ms. Saladna said.

Responses are due Oct. 20.

The building is one of about a dozen properties in Beechview once owned by developer Bernardo Katz. He used more than $700,000 in URA loans in 2004 and 2005 to acquire the properties and then left town.

Mr. Katz defaulted on his mortgages and loans, and left the U.S. to return to his native country Brazil in 2007. The episode has hampered efforts to develop in Beechview since then.

“We’re just now rebounding from it,” Mr. Coghill said.