Developer considers townhouses, condos, offices
With work on the redevelopment of Pittsburgh’s historic produce terminal winding up, a Chicago developer is turning its attention to another prime piece of Strip District real estate — with a new vision that could include townhouses, condos or offices.
McCaffery Interests probably will scrap plans for a seven-story office project at the site at Smallman and 21st streets that had already won city approval, CEO Dan McCaffery said Wednesday.
“We think we can come up with a nicer plan, with a plan that will be more long-term rewarding, let’s call it that — not monetary rewarding, but for the community,” he said.
Mr. McCaffery made his comments after a produce terminal ribbon-cutting to celebrate the opening of two new tenants — OnPar Now, a locally owned golf instruction and practice facility, and City Grows, a Lawrenceville-based organic garden and gift shop.
Those tenants join a Fine Wine & Good Spirits Premium Collection store operated by the state Liquor Control Board as the first businesses to open in the Strip landmark, a former hub for produce wholesalers.
Mr. McCaffery purchased the 3.5acre 21st and Smallman site — next door to the produce terminal — from New Jersey-based Rugby Realty last summer for $19.5 million. The location, which extends to 23rd Street, once housed produce wholesaler Tom Ayoob Inc., Acme Banana Co. and Benkovitz Seafoods.
Before selling the real estate to Mr. McCaffery, Rugby had pitched a plan to build an $80 million office
and retail development there known as the Brickworks at 21st and Smallman.
It would have been erected in two parts — a $39 million first phase featuring 230,000 square feet of office and 20,000 square feet of retail, followed by a second phase with 175,000 square feet of office and 10,000 square feet of retail.
Rather than move forward with that proposal, which got city planning commission approval, Mr. McCaffery likely will go a different route.
The company, Mr. McCaffery said, is eyeing several concepts — a townhouse development, a “modest” high-rise condo or apartment development, or a built-to-suit office.
“We’re looking at the best combination in combination with what’s around it.”
That could mean blending some historic elements with more modern ones, he noted.
“What mix is the right mix?” he asked. “To do a whole mass of red brick buildings down there that are new sort of flies in the face of the old.”
Mr. McCaffery will take more time “to think it through” before deciding on a final concept for the site. The developer is currently using the land for parking, an ever-scarce commodity in the Strip District.
A growing presence
The Smallman and 21st redevelopment would be Mr. McCaffery’s latest venture in the Strip.
In addition to the produce terminal itself, the developer has converted another old warehouse across the street called 1600 Smallman into four floors of office space.
Autonomous vehicle firm Aurora Innovation will take nearly all of the space in that building, with a move-in slated for later this year. Mr. McCaffery also was involved in the conversion of the Cork Factory into apartments and in the adjacent Lot 24 residential complex.
During Wednesday’s ribbon- cutting, Mr. McCaffery said his company is in Pittsburgh to stay.
“We’ve really made a fullforce commitment to this city,” he said.
If nothing else, the rehab of the historic terminal is a testament to the company’s resolve. It took seven years to gain control of and complete work on the structure, with the pandemic thrown into the mix for good measure.
“Over these past seven years, there had been times that this thing went up and down and the uncertainty of whether finances could be made in order to create something that would be special for generations,” Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said on Wednesday. “But you never gave up. You always found a way to make it somehow try to work.”
After becoming mayor, Mr. Peduto took issue with a proposal by the Buncher Co. — which then held development rights to the terminal — to tear down about a third of the massive building at its western end as part of a planned rehab.
The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority ended up paying Buncher $640,000 as a
“settlement fee” in terminating the company’s master development and lease agreements involving the building, clearing the way for Mr. McCaffery’s eventual involvement.
Mr. Peduto said Wednesday that the rehabbed warehouse, where his grandfather once bought grapes, “represents a Pittsburgh that is as proud of its past as it is of its future.” He sees the terminal as a focal point that will facilitate connections to the traditional-laden Penn Avenue retail corridor and the riverfront, with its Buncher-led residential developments.
Seeking more tenants
Mr. McCaffery hopes to lease most of the terminal for commercial space, much of it to local operators, although the developer may add office space at the eastern end in the section that once housed the Society for Contemporary Craft.
Other businesses scheduled to open this summer will be Envy Premier Nail Spa and Walk At Home, a 6,128-square-foot workout studio.
One of the new ventures is OnPar Now, an indoor golf facility that features four simulators, a putting green with state- of- the- art PuttView technology and a sand trap.
Owner Jan Receski said she had been looking at another space on Smallman for the venue, her first, when she decided to check out the produce terminal.
She found the bright open space inside the warehouse to be perfect for her business, not to mention its location in the heart of the Strip.
OnPar Now was created to provide a relaxed, non-intimidating space for women, for those new to golf and those skilled at the sport. But Ms. Receski stressed the facility is open to all, noting that OnPar means “that which is equal.”
“I love it. It’s the perfect spot. I’m so glad we landed here,” Ms. Receski said.