URA APPROVES $5M IN LOANS
Funds going toward Downtown office-to-apartment conversions
The Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday approved nearly $5 million in loans that would help convert vacant and underused office space into affordable housing.
The funds are going toward renovations of two struggling Downtown structures — the Triangle Building on Liberty Avenue and the First and Market Building — which would add more than 100 affordable housing units to the neighborhood.
The first loan, at $2.4 million, will go toward a $15.3 million renovation of the Triangle Building on Liberty Avenue. The overhaul will create two street-level commercial businesses and 15 apartments on the five stories above, with eight units designated as affordable housing. The URA initially greenlit a $600,000 loan in May 2023, and granted an additional $1.8 million Thursday.
The second loan, at about $3 million, will help create 93 affordable senior apartments in the First and Market Building, as part of a $38 million project that is scheduled to start in October and finish in spring 2026.
“We are pleased to see this investment being made in our urban core at a time when we need it most,” said Allegheny Conference CEO Stefani Pashman at the board meeting. “The allocation of this funding is a critical next step to creating a future Downtown Pittsburgh neighborhood for all. … It is vital to the vibrancy not just of our city but our entire region.”
The projects come at a time of turmoil for Downtown. Since the COVID pandemic, the city’s largest office buildings have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in value, with steep assessment cuts and high vacancy rates. The loans are part of an effort by developers and the URA to bring the area back to life by repurposing underutilized commercial buildings.
“It’s incredibly exciting to see one of these Downtown projects actually coming to fruition and getting occupied,” said Sam Williamson, a URA board member. “This is hopefully the first of many successful conversions.”
Also at Thursday’s meeting, URA members introduce a new “Downtown working group” that brings together developers and other parties that are interested in
converting Downtown office buildings into housing.
The group is meant to be a “central clearing house” to navigate “challenges the projects are facing and how we can creatively work in partnership to solve that and advance them,” said Kyle Chintalapalli, the URA board chair.
Many stakeholders, he and other URA board members said, aren’t familiar with the array of tools available — such as loans and vouchers — to fund various projects.
“I think this is a great proof point — or two great proof points — on what we’d be able to do to a sleepy corner Downtown or one of the corridors that are active and maybe just need a little bit of a shot in the arm,” Mr. Chintalapalli said.