While one major Oakland community group battles zoning legislation crucial to a developer’s bid to reshape Oakland, another is throwing its support behind the plan.
The Oakland Business Improvement District — made up of neighborhood property, business, hospital, university, community and cultural stakeholders — backed the change in a statement issued Monday.
Shadyside developer Walnut Capital is seeking to add a subdistrict to five existing public realm districts in Central and South Oakland as part of a massive development proposal that would include the addition of 1,000 apartment units and other amenities.
Pittsburgh City Council voted, 8-0 with one abstention, earlier this month to send the amended zoning legislation to the planning commission for a hearing and action.
“Holistically, we believe Walnut Capital’s vision for Oakland Crossings is in line with the Oakland Plan’s community goals and that their high standards of place-making will advance our mission to enhance Oakland as one of Pennsylvania’s top global centers,” OBID board chair Kelly McBroom said in a statement.
Among those on the OBID’s 31-member board of directors are Walnut Capital president Todd Reidbord and several people affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh, which is collaborating with the developer on part of its proposal.
Georgia Petropoulos, OBID executive director, said Mr. Reidbord, the Pitt representatives and board members affiliated with health care giant UPMC, which also could have a role in the proposed development, abstained from voting.
The decision by OBID, a registered community organization, to back the zoning change puts it at odds with Oakland Planning and Development Corporation, the other registered community group.
OPDC led the fight to try to block council from referring the zoning legislation to the planning commission until the Oakland Plan, a 10-year neighborhood master plan, has been completed.
It has blasted council’s action to do otherwise as "a corruption of the public process and a bald betrayal of the public trust.”
OPDC Executive Director Wanda Wilson also has said it “is completely wrong in every way” for Walnut Capital to advance its massive proposal to reshape Oakland while the neighborhood master plan is being completed.
She declined comment Monday in the OBID statement.
Ms. Petropoulos, a member of the steering committee involved in the development of the master plan, said that a “good portion” of what Walnut Capital is proposing is in line with that vision.
She added that the committee issued a letter to developers last spring to encourage that any development undertaken prior to completion of the plan consider the community’s top priorities.
OBID believes the Walnut Capital proposal does that.
“We see it as an exciting project. It’s something that’s going to have an incredible impact on Oakland and the community,” Ms. Petropoulos said.
OBID voted last week to expand its registered community organization boundaries to include zoning districts in Central Oakland and the Boulevard of the Allies covered by the Walnut Capital plan.
Ms. Petropoulos said the proposed expansion, which must be approved by the city, “takes into consideration that our stakeholders are significantly impacted by investments in these areas.”
She added that the boundary change “was something we were looking to do months ago” before Walnut Capital announced its plan.
The developer’s proposal, dubbed Oakland Crossings, spans nearly 18 acres and includes the construction of more than half a dozen apartment buildings on Halket Street, McKee Place, and the historic Isaly’s site on the Boulevard of the Allies.
Walnut Capital is collaborating with the University of Pittsburgh to convert the former Quality Inn and Suites on the boulevard into housing for nonstudents. Pitt also has vowed to bring to the site a large grocery, a long-sought neighborhood amenity.
Other major elements of the Walnut Capital plan include a pedestrian bridge across the boulevard linking the Quality Inn and Isaly's sites and the creation of a plaza on Zulema Street.
The developer also is planning to deconstruct the historic Isaly's building, owned by UPMC, and reconstruct it on another part of the property. It also is proposing to build a park and an apartment building at the site.
Mr. Reidbord on Monday welcomed the OBID support, saying he believes the Walnut Capital proposal is “good for Oakland” and the vast majority of people who live and work there.
“It just shows that there are other views out there,” he said.
Mark Belko: 412-263-1262 or mbelko@post-gazette.com.
First Published: November 1, 2021, 4:01 p.m.