Update (5/16/23): The City Planning Commission approved plans for the construction of four mixed-use buildings in the Strip District by the 31st Street Bridge.
The panel unanimously approved the plans Tuesday but the developers, North River Company, noted that there is no timeline for the completion of the project, which will include residential units.
The public was invited to question or comment on the project but there were no comments made.
Reported 5/2/23: A New York City-based real estate company has unveiled what it calls a “market-driven” plan to redevelop seven-plus acres along the Allegheny River.
The North River Company presented a master development plan Tuesday to the City Planning Commission, proposing to transform land along 31st Street into about 750 residential units along with retail space and amenities. The commission could vote in two weeks during its next meeting.
“We’re excited to be investing in Pittsburgh and we hope to be investing more,” said Adam Meyers, the company’s managing director and chief engineer.
Meyers told the commission that the company bought the 9-plus acre site in 2017 and they were now prepared to present their vision for developing most of it. They don’t have a timeline for the development.
“The current economic conditions are a little tricky,” Meyers said. “We recognize that this is a large development and an important site for the neighborhood and requires a great deal of thought and attention.”
A steel mill once operated on the site, according to the developers, and the eight sheds on the land are being used as filming stages.
“The buildings present opportunities to be stripped and re-purposed in a way that reveals the life and activity inside,” the developers wrote in their submission to the commission.
On the southwestern side, the property is bordered by the 31st Street Bridge, with the water bounding it on one side and the train tracks on the other side.
Meyers said the Allegheny River is mostly inaccessible in that area but they hope to change that by repurposing four of the buildings into residential, retail and parking space.
“We’re looking to create the next great destination along the Allegheny River,” said Matthew Seybert, a senior associate at Perkins Eastman, an architectural firm that helped with the proposed design.
“We want to create a vibrant community along the Allegheny,” Seybert said, noting that the current buildings are “big monoliths that present an impediment to the river view. We want to bring to light the innate beauty of the site.”
The design, Seybert said, is meant to produce “seamless access for pedestrians and cyclists to the river.”
He also added that “this is a market-driven program” with 15,000 to 20,000 square feet of retail development “geared towards river activity.”
Plans also call for several parking arrangements including a parking garage near the 31st Street Bridge. In total, the plans call for 785 parking spaces across the four proposed buildings.
Eric Jankiewicz is PublicSource’s economic development reporter, and can be reached at ericj@publicsource.org or on Twitter @ericjankiewicz.
