Retail and Commercial Development Coming in Sheraden

Two projects that consist of retail and commercial space has been approved by the Urban Development Authority.  These new developments will bring in new clients and renters thanks to the money set aside to update the land and property.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has voted to approve two projects that will bring new residences and retail or office space to the Lawrenceville and Sheraden neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, including apartments in Doughboy Square and the Neighborhood Stabilization Program in Sheraden.

The Doughboy Apartments, located in the 3400 block of Butler Street, is a mixed-used development in Lawrenceville that will include 39 residential units and approximately 17,000 square feet of first-floor commercial space. 

The infill project will be located amongst a mix of old and new structures, like The Clemente Museum’s historic Engine House 25, and newly constructed townhomes on Butler Street.

“Right now, most of this property is vacant land, so it'll provide an attractive building to anchor a pretty strategic location in the corridor,” says Tom Cummings of the URA.  “It will bring additional residents to the community that will help to bolster the main street shopping district.”

The URA approved a $1.4 million Pittsburgh Development Fund loan, and a $100,000 Urban Development Fund loan for the project, as well as a request for multifamily financing bonds up to $10 million from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. The total development cost of the project is $13 million.

Developer Ralph A. Falbo, Inc. is partnering with architect Chris Desmone, whose architecture firm is headquartered in the historic Pennsylvania National Bank building in the center of the Doughboy Square.

The apartments will be one- and- two-bedroom units, with basement-level parking.  A majority of the apartments will be market rate, while 20 percent will be offered as affordable housing.  Cummings says neighborhood organizations are very supportive of the housing mix panned for the project.

And in Sheraden, seven abandoned homes will be acquired, rehabilitated, and sold to owner-occupants through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). 

In January the URA received a $333,400 NSP III grant from the federal program, and PNC Bank has stepped forward to provide $500,000 in acquisition construction financing.

Three of the seven homes, located on Bergman Street, have been acquired, with construction to begin within the next month.




For more information on the developments click on PopCity.