New apartment building coming to Squirrel Hill. (condominiums, theatre)

[eschaton]

A mixed-use retail/residential project has been proposed for 5800 Forward Avenue, also known as the former Squirrel Hill Movie Theatre site. The whole development is planned for a total 9-plus floors of structure, consisting of 125,000 SF of residential space, 13,300 SF of commercial/retail space and over 52,000 SF of structured parking area. The proposal has 3 retail spaces on the ground floor and 1 on the first floor. The residential space is divided into 44 studio units, 52 one-bedroom units, and 29 two-bedroom units. All will be market-rate units. The private parking is spread across the first 4 floors with completely parking spaces on 2nd and 3rd floors, and partial on 1st and 4th (totaling 135 spaces including bicycle and ADA parking). The residential units start from the 4th floor all the way up to the 9th floor. The 10th floor would consist of the management offices, a gym facility for the residents, and rooftop garden space.

The project is currently seeking set-back and height variance at Zoning Board of Adjustments (ZBA) with a hearing date August 10, 2017. A public meeting is being held in Levinson Hall of the JCC on Monday, July 24 to discuss the project in advance of the ZBA hearing. The project developer Herky Pollock and architects from Pieper O'Brien Herr Architects will be on hand on July 24 to answer questions from the community.

I try to keep an eye on local development as a hobby, and this came as a total surprise to me. I knew about the 33-unit senior apartment building being built on the old Poli site (which can be seen in the rear of this rendering) but this 125-unit building? It's news to me.

[ferraris]

Is there a name for that style of building? It looks like every other 2010's apartment building.

[xdv8]

Very nice to see something that has the correct scale, but typical ugly building we see these days.

Isn't the senior housing being built on the other side of Murray where there has been a off shaped parking lot, across from Poli's site? I was just looking at a mock-up and it looked to extend as far as Sq. Hill Chiropractic building.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by xdv8

Isn't the senior housing being built on the other side of Murray where there has been a off shaped parking lot, across from Poli's site? I was just looking at a mock-up and it looked to extend as far as Sq. Hill Chiropractic building.

No. It's on the former Poli site. It's the light gray building immediately behind and to the right of the building in the foreground of this rendering. Apparently they coordinated enough that Action Housing shared their renderings of the final building with this developer.

IIRC, the building planned across Murray Avenue was a condominium. I'm not sure if it sold enough units to go forward.

[szug-bot]

I like it! I do not see it as ugly. It is a vast improvement over the blah stuff that was there prior.

Also, that corner is the perfect place for something like this. That is not a ped-friendly, hang-out type area - you are close to the loud traffic and obnoxious car fumes, and the hill might discourage some.

Yes, this is typical of the "international style", if that is what it is still called. But I don't mind it. I would not want to see this Downtown or on the South Side, mind you....

[SolitaryThrush]

It is a very ugly commercial district, and a very ugly block. With this going in (hopefully), the 6-story senior center, and the condominiums across from the Morrowfield, we'll finally have some density and some new construction.

I'd like to see them at least plant some trees in the Poli parking lot, that little strip of asphalt across from the former restaurant that is too small to do anything with on its own.

[norcider]

Haha, think that intersection is bad now?

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by SolitaryThrush

...

I'd like to see them at least plant some trees in the Poli parking lot, that little strip of asphalt across from the former restaurant that is too small to do anything with on its own.

I think that will become....r u ready? Another ridiculously cramped parking lot. That is the word on the street, in some circles.

[charisb]

Originally Posted by norcider

Haha, think that intersection is bad now?

Are there plans to reconstruct that intersection and make a busway or something? I saw plans for this but I cannot remember where.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by ferraris

Is there a name for that style of building?

Walnut Capital Exterior Leftovers.