Construction will begin next year on the first residential building at Hazelwood Green, the former steel mill site in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood, now home to robotics and high-tech enterprises.
The 50-unit Lytle Street apartment building will include 40 affordable apartments, according to developers Tishman Speyer and TREK Development Group.
The five-story building will have 33 one-bedroom apartments (26 affordable, seven market rate) and 17 two-bedroom apartments (14 affordable, three market rate). Thirteen of the two-bedroom units will be reserved for single parents pursuing a college degree, through a partnership with nonprofit Pittsburgh Scholar House. The building’s first floor will also include commercial space.
But the project is about more than a building, said Scholar House CEO Diamonte Walker, adding that it will have a huge impact in the lives of the families her organization serves. Scholar House aims to support single parents seeking college degrees while supporting their children.
This project “gives them the opportunity to have stable housing while they work on a long term educational and career goal,” Walker said. “And what we've identified is that housing instability is one of the greatest deterrents of completing a two year or four-year degree.”
Residents should be able to move into the building in 2027, officials said.
Funding for the project is coming from a combination of sources, including Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, and federal tax credits awarded by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, according to an announcement Tuesday.
Hazelwood Green is supposed to be a place that is sustainable and developed in an equitable way that does not displace longtime residents, and this project lives up to that goal, said Todd Stern, an advisor to the three foundations that control the site.
“I think it's incredibly significant that our first residential project is an affordable and mixed income project. I think that's a very intentional statement on our part,” said Stern.
Hazelwood Green, a former LTV Steel site purchased by Pittsburgh foundations, is home to Mill 19, which houses the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute and the Catalyst Connection workforce training center. There are future plans for a youth and community sports field, Carnegie Mellon University robotics center and University of Pittsburgh biomanufacturing facility.
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