GOING FORWARD
Squirrel Hill ‘gateway’ site back on the market, as proposed $40 million redevelopment stalls
A prominent Squirrel Hill development site is back on the market after the group behind a proposed $40 million residential and retail project failed to close on the real estate.
Equity Real Estate began marketing the property at Murray and Forward avenues earlier this month after the owner, AldersonForward Properties LLC, got tired of waiting for the group, led by local retail broker Herky Pollock, to buy it.
Equity is asking $2.1 million for the 26,000-square-foot site, sometimes referred to as the gateway to Squirrel Hill.
“It just took too long. The sellers are essentially tired of waiting. Per the agreement, it was time to close. It didn’t close. The sellers terminated the agreement and are looking for a new buyer,” said David G. Tkacik, an Equity agent.
But Mr. Pollock said Tuesday he and his partner Morgan Communities are very much moving forward with the redevelopment.
He said he has been talking to the seller directly and hopes to have the property back under agreement in the next week and wants to finalize the purchase by the end of this year.
“No one wants to close on this development more than I do, as well as my partner Morgan Communities. We’re working as diligently as possible toward that end,” Mr. Pollock said.
His group, he said, already has received zoning approval for height and capacity variances and intends to pitch the 10-story project — which includes 123 apartments, up to 13,000 square feet of retail space, and a threestory parking garage — to the city planning commission within 60 days.
It would be located at a blighted corner where a 2015 fire destroyed a building that once housed a karate studio and other businesses. A former movie theater also would be demolished to clear the way for the work. Part of the site is now being used as a staging area for another nearby development.
“Nothing has changed. We are proceeding with the development and nothing has changed our plans to proceed with this development,” Mr. Pollock said.
The hang-up has been a collapsing retaining wall at the back of the site that has caused problems with Maeburn Road, which sits above the property, he said.
Repairs could run as much as $1 million — money that is not part of the project budget. Nonetheless, the work is essential if
any redevelopment is to take place, he said.
Mr. Pollock has been working with city councilman Corey O’Connor, who represents Squirrel Hill, and other city officials to try to get help to rectify the problem.
Given the prominence of the property, the city is willing to consider options to “make that site and the site around it work,” Mr. O’Connor said.
“There’s an issue with who has ownership [of Maeburn Road]. Is it the property owner or is it cityowned? We’re going round and round with that. I think everybody is working together to see if we can find a solution to move the development forward,” he said.
Alderson-Forward PropertiesLLC, whose four principals are from Squirrel Hill, is supportive of Mr. Pollock’s efforts to develop the property, Mr. Tkacik said, adding it has given the broker, a CBRE executive vice president, several yearsto buy the site.
He is welcome to make another offer, Mr. Tkacik said. Since the property was put back on the market, the owner has received lots of interest from other parties and has received an offer from a potential buyer with whom it is now negotiating.
“We aim to have this come under agreement with somebody soon,” Mr. Tkacik said.
Interest from other potential buyers doesn’t worry Mr. Pollock, who went to high school with two of the Alderson-Forward principals. He said he has spent several years laying the groundwork for what he considers a legacy project and has received support for it from the city, the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, and the neighborhood.
“The site is very challenging, and it is fraught with all sorts of development challenges and approval challenges and we’ve worked through every one of those over the last couple years,” he said.
Mr. Pollock’s group also has applied for a $5 million state redevelopment assistance capital grant to help purchase the property, demolish buildings and a smokestack, prepare the site, and provide infrastructure, the parking garage, and streetscape improvements.
“I’m still spending money, working diligently, and working with the same people I’ve always been working with to close by yearend,” Mr. Pollock said.