edited by blazinaSt. Mary of the Mount Parish asked the Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment Thursday for a special exception for a proposed new parish center and social hall on a vacant lot across Bertha Street from the church on Grandview Avenue in Mount Washington.
The board is expected to decide on the special exception, required for religious assembly use, within 45 days.
The parish made a land swap with Cozza Enterprises to use the site, which Craig Cozza ceded in exchange for property the parish owns, a former school on Bingham Street, four blocks west. His plan for that property has not been proposed.
The parish closed the school, Bishop Leonard St. Mary of the Mount Academy, in 2012.
The lot Mr. Cozza owned for more than a decade and for which he had previously planned to build townhouses, had been subject to several legal challenges. Its long-time vacancy was a sore subject in the neighborhood, but the new parish hall also is opposed by some who say it will add to parking and traffic problems.
Rev. Michael Stumpf said the church needs to consolidate its space for convenience of fellowship, education and support of its parish congregation, which includes the Pittsburgh Catholic Deaf Community.
The building, designed by Lizette Rios Williams Architects, is proposed to be two stories and approximately 15,000 square feet, with a gabled end and lantern tower that suggests modest steeples on all four corners.
John Walluck, a member of the parish finance council, said the group has raised $2.2 million toward a goal of $4 million and expects to build by 2017.
Although parish representatives have said the main purposes are education, congregational gatherings and more space for ministry, Gloria Ostermeyer, a 50-year resident of Bertha Street, said she is concerned the site will be overrun with wedding receptions.
“I am in favor of housing,” she said. “My concern is that it will be a wedding banquet hall. When people in the city find out there’s a place with a view, they’re all going to want to go up there.
“We have no alleys, no garages,” she said. “Our [parking] permit area is until 6 p.m., so it’s not going to affect 7 p.m. receptions.”
The plan calls for indoor capacity of 300 to 340 people and parking of 106 spaces, 75 on site, the rest off-site with valet service.
Acknowledging the million-dollar city view that more than a million tourists seek every year, parishoner Christine Jordanoff said those visitors also see a vacant lot on a prime location: “This new proposal will add dignity to Mount Washington.”
First Published: May 15, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
