A development company received approval from the City Planning Commission to demolish the facade of an old Downtown Pittsburgh office building and replace it with a mixed-use residential building with the caveat that the project takes into consideration noise concerns from surrounding neighbors.

The approval allows iPenn Ventures to replace 933 Penn Ave. with 70 housing units, 10 of which will be reserved for people making 50% of the area median income [AMI]. The project is in a historic district and previously received approval from the Historic Review Commission. 

The new building will also feature an outdoor deck area designed for a restaurant, a detail that had several residents concerned about the continued buildup of the area as a destination for young, late-night party-goers. 

One resident of a nearby building, Candice Komar, attended Tuesday’s commission hearing and said she was concerned about the area becoming overdeveloped. 

“After multiple additions to the neighborhood, it’s a completely different character, I feel like we have a nightclub situation, a place where the young people come to party,” she said. 

On a street populated by Bridges & Bourbon, Bakersfield Penn Avenue and other restaurants and bars, Komar said, “Every single restaurant has a loudspeaker facing the street” and the area is a high-commotion, high-traffic area. 

“So when you’re trying to unload groceries in the front, you have to wait in line,” she said. “And forget about shopping on Saturday and Sunday when there’s a Steeler game. The foot traffic has become intolerable.”

Komar said she was also concerned about the noise from the demolition and reconstruction of the facade. 

“We’re the tipping point beyond vibrant,” she said. “Enough has transpired on this street.”

Komar’s husband, Ivor Hill, said he lived in a two-story penthouse unit with a roof deck and bedroom facing the targeted building. He worried that along with the construction, the HVAC units on the roof would create uncomfortable noise levels. 

During a City Planning Commission briefing in September, Commissioner Steve Mazza expressed concern for the company’s choice of a demolition contractor that he said was not part of Pittsburgh’s Workforce Development Hub. The Hub is a federal initiative meant to help train people in the Pittsburgh region for unionized, skilled trades and is targeted toward residents of “high/extreme needs neighborhoods.”

Mazza was not present at Tuesday’s meeting to continue that line of questioning. 

Commissioner Rachel O’Neill proposed approving the project with a directive that iPenn work with neighbors on their concerns. The motion carried unanimously.

 Eric Jankiewicz is PublicSource’s economic development reporter, and can be reached at ericj@publicsource.org or on Twitter @ericjankiewicz

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Penn Avenue partying leads neighbors to question new building

by Eric Jankiewicz, Pittsburgh's Public Source
October 1, 2024

<h1>Penn Avenue partying leads neighbors to question new building</h1> <p class="byline">by Eric Jankiewicz, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />October 1, 2024</p> <p>A development company received approval from the <a href="https://pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/planning-commission">City Planning Commission</a> to demolish the facade of an old Downtown Pittsburgh office building and replace it with a mixed-use residential building with the caveat that the project takes into consideration noise concerns from surrounding neighbors.</p> <p>The approval allows iPenn Ventures to replace 933 Penn Ave. with 70 housing units, 10 of which will be reserved for people making 50% of the area median income [AMI]. The project is in a historic district and previously received approval from the Historic Review Commission.&nbsp;</p> <p>The new building will also feature an outdoor deck area designed for a restaurant, a detail that had several residents concerned about the continued buildup of the area as a destination for young, late-night party-goers.&nbsp;</p> <div class="wp-block-group alignright is-style-border has-secondary-background-color has-background"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="infobox-title">Planning Commission</h3> <p>The City Planning Commission guides land use and land development within Pittsburgh, makes zoning recommendations to council and reviews major development plans and proposals. </p> <p>The commission convenes public meetings biweekly on Tuesday afternoons.</p> </p></div> <p>One resident of a nearby building, Candice Komar, attended Tuesday’s commission hearing and said she was concerned about the area becoming overdeveloped.&nbsp;</p> <p>“After multiple additions to the neighborhood, it's a completely different character, I feel like we have a nightclub situation, a place where the young people come to party,” she said.&nbsp;</p> <p>On a street populated by Bridges &amp; Bourbon, Bakersfield Penn Avenue and other restaurants and bars, Komar said, “Every single restaurant has a loudspeaker facing the street” and the area is a high-commotion, high-traffic area.&nbsp;</p> <p>“So when you're trying to unload groceries in the front, you have to wait in line,” she said. “And forget about shopping on Saturday and Sunday when there's a Steeler game. The foot traffic has become intolerable.”</p> <p>Komar said she was also concerned about the noise from the demolition and reconstruction of the facade.&nbsp;</p> <p>“We're the tipping point beyond vibrant,” she said. “Enough has transpired on this street.”</p> <p>Komar’s husband, Ivor Hill, said he lived in a two-story penthouse unit with a roof deck and bedroom facing the targeted building. He worried that along with the construction, the HVAC units on the roof would create uncomfortable noise levels.&nbsp;</p> <p>During a City Planning Commission <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-city-planning-commission-department-proposed-inclusionary-zoning-changes/">briefing in September</a>, Commissioner Steve Mazza expressed concern for the company’s choice of a demolition contractor that he said was not part of <a href="https://engage.pittsburghpa.gov/white-house-workforce-talent-hub">Pittsburgh’s Workforce Development Hub</a>. The Hub is a federal initiative meant to help train people in the Pittsburgh region for unionized, skilled trades and is targeted toward residents of “high/extreme needs neighborhoods.”</p> <p>Mazza was not present at Tuesday's meeting to continue that line of questioning.&nbsp;</p> <p>Commissioner Rachel O’Neill proposed approving the project with a directive that iPenn work with neighbors on their concerns. The motion carried unanimously.</p> <p>&nbsp;<em>Eric Jankiewicz is PublicSource’s economic development reporter, and can be reached at ericj@publicsource.org or on Twitter </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ericjankiewicz"><em>@ericjankiewicz</em></a></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/penn-avenue-downtown-new-apartments-affordable-resident-noise-concerns-pittsburgh/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1309482&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/penn-avenue-downtown-new-apartments-affordable-resident-noise-concerns-pittsburgh/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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