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The Bakery Square expansion by Pittsburgh-based developer Walnut Capital is one step closer to breaking ground after the Pittsburgh Planning Commission voted to approve a specialty zoning district to allow for the development on Tuesday.
The proposed $500 million project, called the Bakery Square District Connector, would tack on 14 acres of new development next to Bakery Square in Larimer and East Liberty. The Planning Commission approved the project after reaching agreements with the developers on much-debated aspects of parking limits and parking garage materials and the inclusion of one step-back from Penn Avenue.
To complete the development, Walnut Capital wants to demolish a shopping center along with some already cleared plots of land and turn it into a dense district with room for housing and businesses over the next few years.
Walnut Capital has been working on the design for the past two years. In September, the Larimer Consensus Group and the Village Cooperative, two local community groups, signed a Community Benefits Agreement alongside Walnut Capital. Per that agreement, the developers committed to build 100 new homes — both market rate and affordable — hire union labor for the project and put money into workforce development and education in the neighborhood. It’s estimated to cost $100 million, but it’s unclear where the money will come from. In addition, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey still needs to sign off on the CBA.
Beyond the buildings off of Penn Ave., which could reach 150 feet, the plan calls for new walkways, bike lanes, trees and better stormwater management in the neighborhood. The developers want to build a cap above the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway near the Target store in East Liberty to make it easier for people to walk between Larimer and East Liberty. That part of the project got a $2 million boost from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant in March.
Walnut Capital has outlined a five-phase vision. The first phase would focus on the pedestrian path to the busway and on the part of the site that’s already cleared right next to Target. The second phase would include demolishing the Village of Eastside shopping center.
The project now moves on to City Council for a public hearing and a vote on the rezoning.
Christopher Ayers contributed to this report.
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