A Pittsburgh developer’s yearslong push to expand a marquee East End development can proceed, though at a far less ambitious scale than originally proposed.
Representatives for Walnut Capital revealed at a City Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday that their initial vision for the expansion of Bakery Square – which once called for 1.5 million square feet of office space – is no longer feasible. Instead, the developer is shifting its focus to developing a higher share of retail and residential spaces on the Larimer site, next to East Liberty.
“The office demand market – and mixed-use market with an office component – just doesn’t exist,” said Jonathan Kamin, counsel for the development and property management company.
Walnut Capital’s proposed expansion of Bakery Square includes redeveloping 14 acres – currently home to a strip mall and Trader Joe’s – into a mixed-use development filled with affordable homes, retail spaces and offices. The other, smaller portion of land included in the expansion sits to the east of Bakery Square and across from the Mellon Field baseball diamonds.
Last July, City Council unanimously passed two laws that paved the way for those two parcels of land to be folded into Bakery Square. Importantly, one of those laws approved Walnut Capital’s preliminary land development plan – a master plan required for specially planned districts – along with revised zoning text for the area.
That plan was a topic at the commission’s first meeting of the year, in which Kamin divulged that the future of Bakery Square isn’t totally clear. The developer is considering several options, he said, which include redoing the existing shopping plaza or building more standalone residential buildings.
As a result of the developer’s uncertainty, Walnut Capital sought the commission’s blessing to conduct a traffic study limited to an initial phase of the development – a mostly residential building with some office and retail space, though at half the density of what was originally proposed – as opposed to conducting a districtwide study.
The commission ultimately voted unanimously to allow Walnut Capital to press forward with its first phase. The commission will weigh whether to allow the same approach with the remaining phases of development at a later date.
Commission Vice Chair Rachel O’Neill expressed some skepticism about the developer’s lack of clarity, noting that while specially planned districts receive flexible zoning requirements, the public should still have a good idea of what’s in store for the district.
“Had you come to us before with an incomplete [preliminary land development plan], I don’t know that there would have been a [specially planned district].”
Duquesne University plan ‘better than a parking lot’
The commissioners expressed more positive views on Duquesne University’s proposal to transform an existing parking lot into a five-story academic building on the corner of Forbes Avenue and Magee Street. The commission was briefed on the building today, and is expected to hear any public testimony and vote at its Jan. 27 meeting.
“It’ll definitely look better than a parking lot there,” said Commissioner Phillip Wu.
Recent highlights in the development of Bakery Square
The development started 2007 with Walnut Capital’s purchase of a former Nabisco bakery.
October 2019: City Planning Commission approves Walnut’s “Bakery Refresh 2020” plan including a new two-story building and conservatory.
May 2020: Amid pandemic, Walnut expresses optimism about medium-term prospects for office development.
February 2021: Walnut reaches agreement with the Larimer Consensus Group and Urban Redevelopment Authority to fund workforce development and affordable housing.
November 2023: Then-Mayor Ed Gainey suggests that agreements between Walnut and community groups did not include enough affordable housing.
June 2024: Walnut brings the commission a new proposal for a 14-acre expansion of Bakery Square including construction or rehabilitation of 100 affordable for-sale houses in the area, plus affordable rental units.
July 2024: Walnut tells the commission that plans to add affordable apartments (along with retail) to Bakery Square hinge on the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh dedicating Housing Choice (Section 8) Vouchers to the financing mix.
September 2024: After delays, the commission approves the expansion, greenlighting a five-phase redevelopment.
Mia Hollie is a data reporter with a focus on housing and economic development. She can be reached at miashollie@gmail.com.
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