Downtown developer targets East Liberty
Residential building proposed for Penn Avenue
A Downtown developer is proposing to build a residential building in East Liberty on part of a block of properties it purchased on Penn Avenue last year.
An affiliate of McKnight Realty Partners is scheduled to go before the Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment to seek a variance and special exception related to the development at 5941 Penn.
The project involves the demolition of a one-story retail structure and the construction of a six-story apartment building with about 40 units, said Izzy Rudolph, McKnight president. There also will be retail.
McKnight purchased the block of properties late last year for $8.3 million. The block includes the Kelly Strayhorn Theater and the fourstory Penn Highland Building, which once housed a May Stern store.
Mr. Rudolph said neither the theater nor the Penn Highland Building will be affected by the development.
“East Liberty is such a dynamic and storied neighborhood. The May Stern building is at the epicenter of it. We are working with the tenants in the building and the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, and we are looking forward to adding additional residential units to improve the neighborhood,” he said.
McKnight is asking for a special exception to allow for the six-story height of the new building. It is requesting a variance to waive a requirement for 39 parking spaces related to multiunit residential and retail uses.
It intends to use existing parking facilities in the vicinity to accommodate the development.
Mr. Rudolph said the one-story building that will be demolished is not in great shape and has no significant historical value.
McKnight decided on apartments in part because the site, at 8,800 to 9,400 square feet, is not large enough to accommodate an office development. Mr. Rudolph also believes the demand will be there given the location and nearby office projects.
“East Liberty is a very vibrant neighborhood, and people continue
to want to live there,” he said.
The site is near the East Liberty Presbyterian Church, the Hotel Indigo, the Target store, and the Liberty East office and retail project that will include the new home of Whole Foods.
McKnight also owns the Mansmann Building in East Liberty.
It is best known as the owner of some of Downtown’s most venerable properties, including the former Gimbels department store, now known as Heinz 57 Center.
Other Downtown holdings include the Henry W. Oliver Building, the Grant Building, the Bank Tower and 610 Smithfield Street, home to the Brooks Brothers clothing store.
McKnight also has been rehabbing an old cargo warehouse on the South Side previously known as the River Walk Corporate Centre into the Highline, an office and retail development where it has converted an asphalt street into a public park with views of the Downtown skyline.
Other holdings include the Cranberry Woods complex.