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A proposed $850 million expansion of Bakery Square is ready to roll with the award of a $5 million state redevelopment assistance capital grant.
Developer Walnut Capital stated that the funding will enable it to move ahead with the first phase of the sprawling 14-acre expansion, including the construction of a 10-story building that will house an AI workforce hub and a number of infrastructure improvements.
The $5 million for the Bakery Square expansion is among $85.8 million in redevelopment assistance capital grants awarded in Allegheny County by the state in the latest round of the funding.
Of the total, the biggest splash involved the $16 million announced last month by Gov. Josh Shapiro for developments to help revitalize Downtown Pittsburgh, including seven residential conversion or preservation projects.
But the state also doled out funding for a number of other initiatives in Allegheny County, including $7 million for the construction of a new hockey facility at Robert Morris University, $3 million for the expansion of Highmark Stadium at Station Square, and $2.5 million for the Brickworks residential complex in the Strip District featuring more than 220 apartments and 60 townhouses and condominiums.
In all, Shadyside-based Walnut Capital was the recipient of $11 million in RACP grants in the latest round — $5 million for Bakery Square and $6 million for Oakland Crossings, an ambitious proposal that once included more than a half-dozen apartment buildings, a grocery and even a pedestrian bridge spanning the Boulevard of the Allies.
After scaling back much of the proposal in recent years, the developer is set to move forward with one piece of it — construction of a 159-unit apartment building on McKee Place in Oakland.
Todd Reidbord, Walnut Capital president, said the $6 million just awarded will be used for the 11-story McKee Place project, which will go before the city’s Planning Commission for a vote later this month.
He stressed that the state funding for that project and the Bakery Square expansion will enable both to advance.
“Basically, it permits these projects to get moving right away,” he said. “They’re shovel ready and can get started immediately. We need to get on with it.”
The expansion would involve the Village of Eastside shopping center and the former Club One Fitness site in East Liberty just west of the existing Bakery Square complex, which once housed a Nabisco plant.
Phase one would start at the far west end of the site.
It would be anchored by the new building, which would feature an AI Workforce Hub designed to train and develop local residents for careers in AI, IT, and trades associated with the AI economy. Partner4Work would oversee the training facility.
Another big component of phase one involves $50 million in infrastructure improvements, including the creation of two new streets, a new parklet-like structure to be built over part of the East Busway, and pedestrian connections and priority zones.
Walnut Capital should be ready to start construction on the first phase by the middle of next year, Mr. Reidbord said. Assuming it gets approval from the Planning Commission, the developer plans to start the McKee Place apartment project in early 2025.
Bakery Square recently hosted the AI Horizons Summit. In a statement, Walnut Capital CEO Gregg Perelman said the expansion will help to create an “AI innovation corridor that also trains an AI workforce for the future.”
“This sends a strong message: Pennsylvania is committed to an AI-driven future that connects people to opportunity and fuels economic and community growth,” he said.
The developer also has received a $2.8 million federal Economic Development Administration grant to help with infrastructure improvements for the Bakery Square project.
In the Strip, developer McCaffery Interests has been waiting out high interest rates and construction costs before getting started on the Brickworks redevelopment.
McCaffery CEO Dan McCaffery said the $2.5 million redevelopment assistance grant “gets us closer to home” in being able to start construction.
“We’re really struggling to get this started and this is a big help,” he said.
The Brickworks would be built next to the Strip’s historic produce terminal, which McCaffery has redeveloped into retail, restaurant, entertainment and office space. The residential site borders Smallman, 21st, 23rd and Railroad streets.
McCaffery is partnering with Laurel Communities on the project.
The 100,000-square-foot Robert Morris facility, meanwhile, would feature two sheets of ice, seating for 2,500 fans, at least four team locker rooms, concession stands, restrooms, office space for the college's hockey programs, and additional parking.
At Station Square, the Highmark Stadium expansion eventually could add as many as 9,500 seats and other amenities to the Monongahela riverfront venue over the next few years.
The first phase would involve the construction of a rooftop terrace with additional suite seating and improvements to the locker room, event center, and group event areas. It is estimated at $15 million.
Other projects receiving state RACP funding included $1 million for costs related to the demolition of Century III Mall; $1.7 million for a new giraffe building at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium; and $4 million for renovations to the Tree of Life synagogue, the site of the worst antisemitic shooting in U.S. history.
First Published: November 4, 2024, 3:19 p.m.
Updated: November 5, 2024, 9:05 p.m.
