$13 million mixed-income housing project planned in East Liberty

A proposed 42-unit apartment building in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood will include units geared toward people who cannot afford to pay increasing market-rate rents.

The project is part of an effort by the city to replace the loss of affordable housing in the neighborhood spurred in part because of the 2016 demolition of the Penn Plaza apartment complex, according to a statement from the city. The Penn Plaza site is being developed as office and retail spaces.

Trek Development Group is calling the $13 million project Harvard Beatty after the street corner where it will be located. It will expand upon Trek’s mixed-income Mellon’s Orchard development that’s nearby on Station Street, Trek President and CEO William Gatti said.

On Thursday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority board will vote on measures to sell the property to Trek and give the company a $450,000 rental gap loan. It is presently a parking lot.

The project was previously awarded low-income housing tax credits by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.

Trek worked with residents and community groups in the neighborhood as it developed Mellon’s Orchard and works to develop Harvard Beatty, Gatti said.

“We went through a very detailed community-based approval process,” he said.

Once the URA approves the project, “we’re ready to move,” Gatti said.

Nine of the 42-units will rent for market rate — between $1,400 and $1,500 per month. The rest of the units will use a tiered system based on income levels.

A gym and other amenities are also planned in the project, including an expanded business center, which is geared to support a trend spurred by the pandemic where more people are working from home, Gatti said.