Hill District and East Liberty Developments

East Liberty is becoming the place to develop in Pittsburgh.  The mayor and two senators from Pittsburgh are announcing a development in East Liberty that will create jobs and help the area's economy.  East Liberty is set to acquire a new boutique hotel that is being constructed from a historic building that has set empty for years.  This funding that has opened up is also helping to support new developments in the Hill District as well.

Two major neighborhood development projects, one in East Liberty, the other in the Hill District, received word of a federal infusion of grant funding.

An $800,000 grant will go to East Liberty Development Inc. to help fund the renovation of a historic five-story former YMCA building in the center of the neighborhood into a new 63-room
boutique hotel.

In the Hill District, a $789,000 grant will go to the Hill House Economic Development Corp. to help build a new Shop ‘N Save grocery store long pursued in the neighborhood.
Both grants came from the Office of Community Services, a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The funding was announced by Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl along with community leaders from East Liberty Development,Inc. and the Hill House Economic Development Corp.
According to an announcement from the mayor’s office, Ravenstahl worked on securing the grants with U.S. Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., and U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pittsburgh. Both new developments are expected to create hundreds of jobs, according to the mayor’s announcement.

The hotel plan will be pursued as a partnership between ELDI’s private real estate arm, ELDI Real Estate LLC, and Edile LC, led by East Liberty entrepreneur Matt Ciccone. The plan calls for redeveloping a historic building that has sat vacant for 10 years into what may be the city’s first boutique hotel at a total development cost of $19 million, including $500,000 in loans from the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority to help acquire the building.

With a budget of $11.5 million, the new Hill District grocery store is planned to be a new 30,000-square-foot Shop ‘n Save providing full-service shopping and selection in a project expected to create 100 jobs.

The project, which has faced budget shortfalls and delays, has established a broad range of funding support that includes a $1 million Community Development Block Grant and $275,800 in deferred land acquisition financing from the URA.

The grocery store is to be operated by local store owner Jeff Ross and the construction project is being managed by Massaro Corp. on behalf of the developer, Hill House Economic Development Corp.

Ravenstahl praised the Obama administration for providing financial support to help continue to spur new development in the city.

For more information see Biz Journal.