A developer who tried for nearly three years to rehabilitate a former cigar wrapping facility on Liberty Avenue, Downtown, is upset that the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority is seeking new proposals for the property.
Michael Clements, president of Iron City Ventures, is demanding the URA reimburse him for more than $4,000 he estimates he spent on trying to redevelop the vacant building at 604 Liberty Ave.
The URA terminated Iron City Ventures’ exclusive negotiations for the property in November and last week requested a new round of proposals from developers interested in rehabbing the structure.
“I am deeply disappointed, as I possess the means, commitment and experience to deliver on this project,” Mr. Clements said in an email.
The URA declined comment on the developer’s complaints.
Iron City Ventures won the right to redevelop the property in 2012, proposing to turn the three-story building into a two- or three-bedroom townhouse with a street-level cafe or bistro.
It also had plans to return the building’s exterior to its early 1900s appearance when a restaurant named Rudy’s occupied the site.
But Iron City Ventures never was able to deliver on the proposal, and the building has now been vacant for about four years. Mr. Clements said one reason he couldn’t deliver was that an in-kind contribution and a grant he was to get through the URA never materialized.
When he realized the aid wouldn’t be available, he said he offered the URA a number of alternative proposals to turn the building into a full commercial use, such as a restaurant, a bank or a bakery. But those ideas, he said, went nowhere.
Mr. Clements said the agency did invite Iron City to submit another proposal in its latest request to developers. But he has flatly rejected that “as a matter of principle” and because he still thinks Iron City has exclusive rights to the property. He said he has never been formally notified that those rights were terminated.
In the new request for proposals, the URA stated that it is seeking a developer to complete a “unique small scale redevelopment” at the site, one that does not involve demolition.
“Due to this building’s location with respect to the many recreational and cultural amenities within Downtown Pittsburgh, it has the potential to be a showcase development,” the agency stated.
Proposals must be submitted by Feb. 13.
Before getting involved in 604 Liberty, Mr. Clements successfully redeveloped a three-story building on Forbes Avenue, where he converted the upper floors into two loft-style apartments and recruited the Penn Avenue Fish Co. to open a restaurant on the first floor.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First Published: January 13, 2015, 2:24 p.m.
