A long-sought redevelopment of a former shopping plaza in Shadyside that will include a new grocery and a massive 231-unit apartment complex has been given the green light — but not without some reservations.
Pittsburgh Planning Commission members unanimously backed the makeover of the Shady Hill Center on Tuesday even though some quibbled with design elements and affordable housing commitments.
Approval of the site plan clears the way for Echo Realty and Greystar Real Estate Partners to move forward with the ambitious project, to be built at Penn and Shady avenues and Shakespeare Street.
It will be anchored by a 36,000-square-foot Giant Eagle Market District grocery and a six-story mixed-use building featuring five floors of apartments and street-level retail.
To be constructed at the rear of both will be a 423-space parking garage that will serve shoppers and residents alike.
The Market District store will replace the traditional and slightly larger Shakespeare Street Giant Eagle that for years occupied the plaza, along with a host of smaller retailers.
Echo, an affiliate of Giant Eagle, won site plan approval after a sometimes contentious two-year battle with nearby residents that resulted in a consent order after an unfavorable city zoning board of adjustment ruling.
While Tuesday’s approval after a 90-minute public hearing was unanimous, some commission members had reservations about certain aspects of the project, dubbed the Meridian.
Commissioner Becky Mingo took issue with efforts to vary the facade of the mixed-use structure by using different colors and materials, saying it had the potential to look “super flat.”
Treatment around the windows, she added, gives the appearance of “highway motel architecture.”
She also had concerns about the overall look of the facade.
“It seems to me like it’s a building that could be in a highway in Denver. It could be a motel in Arkansas that is not specifically designed for our place or our city and doesn’t address the building facades across the street in any particular way.
“I’m sort of disappointed that this building is going to look like it does. That said, I know I’m not going to change it. I’m not going to influence the design at this point. I would just like to get that out there.”
As part of its community commitments, Echo has agreed to make 15% of the apartments — 35 in all — affordable, with 10% dedicated to households at 50% of the area median income and 5% to those at 80%.
But Commissioner Sabina Deitrick maintained that it’s “a stretch” to call 80% of the area median income an affordable level.
“That’s too bad that you’re going with 80. I’d give you a lot more credit if you really did an affordable,” she said.
However, Shawn Gallagher, attorney for Greystar, noted the percentages were set as part of the consent order. He said there was no requirement for any affordable housing in the project.
“So this is going above and beyond what is required,” he said.
The affordable housing commitments — and the housing in general — won the support of David Vatz, chapter lead of the nonprofit Pro-Housing Pittsburgh.
For decades, the city has not built enough housing to support residents, causing rents to escalate and providing little incentive for landlords to improve conditions, he said.
“It’s critically important that we continue to support the building of new housing, especially in neighborhoods that are walkable, bikeable, and nearby to so many great amenities,” he stressed.
LaShawn Burton-Faulk, commission vice chairwoman, also said she appreciated the affordability.
The consent order was reached after the zoning board rejected Echo’s request to build to a height of 84 feet and six stories instead of the allowed four stories and 60 feet.
In the agreement, the developer got the right to build to the 84-feet height after agreeing to move the garage another 30 feet away from properties in the adjacent Village of Shadyside, whose residents had raised concerns about the impacts on traffic and views from their homes.
No Village of Shadyside residents spoke at Tuesday’s hearing.
As part of the community commitments, Echo also agreed to set aside at least $50,000 in its budget to buy transit passes for apartment tenants and to not seek public subsidies or tax abatements for the project.
Echo is hoping to start construction of the parking garage early next year, to be followed by the grocery and the apartments. It hopes to have everything done by late 2024.
The commission did attach conditions to its approval, one being that the developer provide evidence to the city’s zoning administrator that it has compiled with all elements of the consent order.
Another is that Echo and Greystar work with the city to improve planting areas around sidewalks to ensure that the sidewalks are safe and easy to navigate, particularly during bad weather, after commission members raised concerns about the design.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First Published: November 30, 2022, 12:11 a.m.
Updated: November 30, 2022, 11:05 a.m.
