The city of Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment has roundly rejected a contentious proposal to redevelop the site of the Irish Centre of Pittsburgh, which lies adjacent to Frick Park.
Would-be developer Craft General “was unable to present sufficient, credible evidence to meet its burden of demonstration that the proposal satisfies the applicable review criteria,” the three-member board said in a 16-page ruling handed down Monday morning.
Toronto-based Craft sought to replace the disused community center and its adjacent swimming pool with an 8-story building that would contain 160 condominiums. But the 4-acre site, located where Forward Avenue becomes Commercial Street, is zoned as a park district — a designation that permits construction of single-family homes but not multi-unit dwellings.
The board also found that Craft “was unable to credibly demonstrate that an 8-story structure for a multi-unit residential use on the Subject Property would be consistent with the essential character of a neighborhood that includes, as its predominant feature, Frick Park.“
Craft has up to 30 days to appeal the ruling to the Court of Common Pleas.
Larry Regan, the developer’s vice president, declined to comment when reached by WESA Monday morning. He said the company has not yet decided whether it would appeal the ruling.
Craft had sought a variance to allow the company to build a multi-unit structure despite that designation. It also sought “dimensional variances” to build a structure larger than those that would ordinarily be permitted in the area: It sought permission to build a structure that was 87 feet high — more than twice the 40 feet permitted in the area — and to build a retaining wall that also exceeded height limits.
The proposal was the subject of a four-hour hearing this past summer, at which the developer argued that challenges of building on the site — including its sloping topography — made developing single-family housing cost-prohibitive. Neighbors who opposed the project said they worried it would attract traffic to the area and disrupt the park next door.
Board members were critical of the proposal, noting that developers were asking to far exceed the physical dimensions of a project specifically disallowed under the rules they had to enforce. While the board noted it could ease some height requirements, it wrote “the premise [for doing so] is that the use itself is one that is permitted in the zoning district. … Even if considered under more relaxed standards, the magnitude of the height variance requested here would make [zoning rules in the area] meaningless.”
Board members Alice Mitinger, LaShawn Burton-Faulk and John Richardson also criticized Craft for not offering evidence that uses of the site that are permitted in a park district — including single-family homes and use by a community center — were not viable. That is a necessary step toward demonstrating that zoning rules impose an undue hardship and a waiver may be warranted.
“The other uses permitted might not be those that the Applicant would choose to pursue,” the opinion found, “but the Applicant’s development preferences do not constitute an ‘unnecessary hardship.’ The hardship the Applicant asserts is, in effect, self-imposed and self-created.”
The decision is a win for community groups who opposed the proposed use, and the board said that they had presented “extensive credible testimony and evidence” about the area’s character. The board also noted that Craft “did not credibly contest, and some of the Applicant’s exhibits actually confirm,” that testimony and evidence.
Frick Park Friends, a group of neighbors who fiercely opposed the development, applauded the zoning board's ruling Monday.
"[The zoning board] recognized the immediate and substantial concerns of the property’s neighbors and users of Frick Park," Frick Park Friends said.
But ultimately, the board said, the proposal was rejected on the basis of its own shortcomings rather than community input.
Not everyone was pleased with the outcome: Pro-Housing Pittsburgh, a new housing-advocacy group, posted on social media that it was "very dark" to see foes of the project celebrating the board's decision when more housing is needed.
But while it's unclear whether Craft will appeal the decision, Frick Park Friends say they're ready to hear new ideas for the property.
"We look forward to working with potential buyers of the Irish Centre property to help them develop a project that will benefit the Park, it’s neighbors, and the greater Pittsburgh community in the future," the group said.
Christina Cerkevich, a neighbor and member of Frick Park Friends, said most of her neighbors would prefer the property become part of Frick Park. But if the parcel is redeveloped by a private entity, she would prefer to see Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens take the reins.
Phipps submitted a letter to the zoning board last month outlining an alternative proposal for the former Irish Centre. It included additional plant nursey space and an outreach center to expand its community gardening program.
"That would give us not only something that fits in with the character of the area, but also would help provide the home for a community greening program that would benefit all of Pittsburgh," Cerkevich said.
