First house completed in Manchester development
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A 4.3-acre lot of mud and weeds that occupied Manchester's northern portal for five years is now on the way to becoming Columbus Square, a 31-home development whose first model home was opened to the public Thursday during a ceremony on Juniata Street.
Speaking from a lectern on the front porch, Linda Nelson, chair of the Manchester Citizens Corp., called the milestone of the first completed house "a momentous occasion."
"These homes represent all the wonderful things that can happen when we join forces," she said.
Five structures are up now, four in various stages of completion. Two have been pre-sold; all are market rate. The prices will range from $179,000 to $290,000.
Ms. Nelson said Manchester has long prided itself on being a historic district and now can be proud of having "extraordinary value for people who want new construction. We are proud of the cost-saving energy components because we value sustainability. That is necessary for communities like ours to prosper."
Manchester offers further incentives because it is one of the targeted "growth neighborhoods" in which investors get a 10-year abatement from city and school taxes, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said.
The homes are expected to be built in groups of five. About half will be duplexes, the others separate homes, some with attached garages, some with separate garages. Half will be 1,700 square feet, the other half 2,100 square feet.
Mark Schneider, managing partner of Fourth River Development, said the project is modeled on the cottages at Summerset at Frick Park, which he helped develop when he was president of The Rubinoff Co.
"We took people to Summerset" to see the cottage-style homes, he said, "and that's what people wanted."
Asked about the prospect of a sluggish build-out because of the national economy, he said, "I'm not worried about that in Pittsburgh."
Seventy-three-year-old James Layne, a lifelong resident of Manchester, stopped by the ceremony. "I've lived all my life within five blocks of here," he said. "I think this is great -- great for our community -- and the thing is, we have room for more of this."
The Manchester Citizens Corp. and Fourth River Development shared control of the project, starting with a $425,000 property acquisition cost. That money came from the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Northside Community Development Fund. Remedial work on the site was done with about $100 million in state Growing Greener funds.
Developers broke ground for the project in September 2006 on the site of the former Steel City Electric, which later became American Electric. The site is separated from the North Side's main postal facility by railroad tracks. It is bounded by Sedgwick, Juniata and Fulton streets and Columbus Avenue.
Juniata formerly dead-ended into a cul-de-sac. It has been reopened to Fulton Street.
First Published October 21, 2011 12:00 am
