Walnut Capital

Bates Street rowhouses/cleared lot

Project Summary: Oakland Gateway Ventures (OGV) purchased the row house on Bates St. between Boulevard of the Allies and Zulema St in 2014. OGV proposed a development that was opposed by the community. OPDC, along with our local elected officials, opposes it as it is not consistent with the Oakland 2025 Master Plan or City of Pittsburgh zoning. Read the town hall minutes here: https://www.opdc.org/blog/2017/11/21/november-2nd-town-hall-meeting.

February 4, 2021 UPDATE

OPDC statement re: conservatorship filing, 3400 block of Bates Street

As has been reported in the media, a private firm filed a conservatorship action to become the conservator of the row of vacant properties in the 3400 block of Bates Street.  OPDC is currently discussing the planned future development of the site with principals at Penn Pioneer Enterprises in an effort to determine a redevelopment plan that will be financially feasible and also be a community asset in line with zoning and worthy of community support.  OPDC will continue discussions to prepare information for a community meeting in the next month or so to solicit community input and feedback.  Please stay tuned for more details as we have them. 

June 14, 2021 UPDATE

Walnut Capital is acquiring the condemned rowhouses located in the 3400 block of Bates Street.

Walnut Capital presented plans to demolish the buildings and plant grass at a June 24, 2021 Development Activities Meeting (DAM). No development is proposed at this time; they will present any proposal to the community in the future. Walnut Capital presented the project for a hearing at the July 27 Planning Commission meeting; the commission voted to approve. Demolition on the project started in early August 2021. New sidewalk surrounding the now empty lot was poured and opened to the public in late October 2021.

These buildings have since been demolished and the property sold to Pitt.

Project resources:

Council Bill 2021-1906, proposed “Oakland Crossings” UC-MU

About

The UC-MU District allows for commercial uses while also providing housing options. Publicly accessible open spaces are required, along with active ground floor uses and adequate sidewalk width. To transition from smaller scale residential adjacent to this district, green spaces and other buffers are required between lower scale residential and taller new buildings.

Upcoming

On July 11, there is a scheduled joint Development Activities Meeting for the first phase of Oakland Crossings “Parcel A” at 3401 Boulevard of the Allies. The developer seeks to add 426 apartments units, a grocery store, parking, and retail in the space. Renderings can be accessed here.

Past Updates

On Friday, September 17, 2021 Mayor Bill Peduto submitted a bill to City Council, seeking to re-zone 17+ acres of Central and South Oakland. This bill is not a product of the ongoing Oakland Plan process, and did not involve the Department of City Planning.

At the regular City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 21, Councilman Bobby Wilson introduced the bill as 2021-1906 and remanded it to the Land Use and Economic Development Committee to refer to the Planning Commission.

Oakland residents organized a petition for a public hearing on the bill and submitted it on Friday morning, September 24. At the next meeting of the Land Use and Economic Development Committee on Wednesday, September 29, the committee voted to hold the bill pending the citizen-demanded public hearing.

City Council hosted a public hearing on Tuesday, October 5. 31 people spoke at the hearing, 27 in opposition to the bill, including 17 Oakland residents. Following the hearing, OPDC and several Oakland residents reached out to Councilman Bruce Kraus’s office to request a meeting to discuss the matter further. No one received any acknowledgment.

On October 12, Councilman Kraus announced that he, his legislative aide, and Walnut Capital’s lawyer had spent every day since the hearing behind closed doors working on a set of amendments, which he introduced at the same time that he asked Council to approve them. After some brief discussion, Council voted 8-0 to send the amended bill to the Planning Commission for its review.

The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing for this bill on January 11, 2022 (see guidelines for submitting testimony here). Following the hearing, the Planning Commission will make a recommendation to City Council, at which point City Council will review the Planning Commission recommendation, receive public comment, and vote.

OPDC hosted a Development Activities Meeting for the proposal on Monday, November 29, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. The project presented plans at a briefing before the Planning Commission on December 7. Originally schedule for a hearing on January 11, 2022, new Mayor Ed Gainey requested a 30-day continuance and a new hearing date.

Mayor Gainey attended the January 25 Oakland-Wide meeting regarding the proposed Oakland Public Realm District E (OPR-E).

The Mayor’s office hosted a public community listening session on February 2, 2022.

The bill was scheduled for a Planning Commission for a hearing on February 8. Mayor Gainey issued another 30-day continuance and a new hearing date was set for March 8, 2022.

On March 7 at 2:00 p.m., the Mayor’s office released a statement and substantial and transformative revisions (including a change from 17 to 13 acres) to the proposed Oakland Crossings legislation. Click for the Mayor’s press release and revised text.

At the March 8 meeting, the Planning Commission issued another continuance. The bill returned for a hearing on March 22.

On May 25, the bill went before City Council for a hearing. From here, the bill was referred to Land Use Committee, who will then refer it back to City Council for a vote in the coming weeks.

On June 13, Councilman Kraus hosted a meeting to discuss 2021-1906. He heard from Oakland residents their concerns about the process, heights, and uses in the bill. He announced that the bill would be discussed at the next standing committee meeting.

On June 15, City Council, at it’s regular meeting, discussed 2021-1906. An amendment to the bill was introduced less than an hour before the meeting began, which changed the maximum allowable street façade length from 400 ft to 425 ft. This amendment was passed, but then City Council had a spirited discussion not just about the appropriateness of that length, but also whereby the bill had arrived in Council chambers. The city solicitor advised Council that they could take no action on the bill until the public had been given the opportunity to review and provide feedback on the proposed amendment. The bill is held at standing committee until next weeks meeting June 29.

At a Standing Committees meeting on June 22, Pittsburgh City Council gave Council Bill 2021-1906 an affirmative recommendation.

On June 28, 2022, Council Bill 2021-1906 was passed.

Resources

Innovation Research Tower - 3342 Fifth Ave

Developer: University of Pittsburgh

Project summary: Walnut Capital proposed to build a 10-story office building (Innovation Research Tower) geared toward technical, medical, and research companies. The building's use complies with the zoning code, but the developers requested variances for height, FAR, and parking. Walnut Capital presented its preliminary plans at a public meeting on January 23, 2019, and hosted a follow-up meeting on February 25, 2019. The project went before the zoning board on March 14, 2019. OPDC executed a community benefits agreement with Walnut Capital that addresses 1) transportation demand management strategies, 2) community-oriented retail space, and 3) investment in Oakland Community Land Trust.

The ZBA approved Walnut Capital’s request for a new 10-story office building with ground-level retail and 100 accessory parking spaces on May 9, 2019 (see decision below).

Walnut Capital presented a detailed review of building design at an Oakland-Wide Community Meeting in August 2019.

The City Planning Commission approved the project on October 22, 2019.

Walnut Capital plans to start demolition of existing structures in May. Two years of traffic restrictions are set to begin on May 26, 2020, reducing inbound traffic to two lanes between Chesterfield Avenue and Robinson Street. Left turns onto Halket Street will not be allowed; detours will be in place.

The project, originally expected to be completed by July, is now set for September 2022 due to a product delay.

The University of Pittsburgh’s board of trustees voted to purchase the Innovation Research Tower from Walnut Capital at their June 17, 2021 meeting. Pitt announced that they would review programmatic needs and design for the project.

Walnut Capital requests a Special Exception to permit the University of Pittsburgh to use a portion of the project for educational space. Walnut presented at the August 9, 2021 Development Activities Meeting. The project went before the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) meeting on September 16, 2021. They requested a special exception in the OPR-C zone for the educational space and they did not receive any objections.

Construction is currently underway and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Supporting Documents:

107 - 111 Halket Street townhomes

Walnut Capital plans to demolish three townhomes located at 107 - 111 Halket Street. Future plans are TBD, but the lot is to be maintained as a small open space parklet following demolition.

OPDC, OBID, and the City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning hosted a required Development Activities Meeting (DAM) on Monday, August 9, 2021.

The project went before the Planning Commission for a briefing on October 26 and on November 9, 2021 for a hearing.

Resources

Pittsburgh Athletic Association - 4215 Fifth Avenue

Developer: Walnut Capital

Project Summary: Developer is rehabbing the former PAA and incorporating office spaces, a fitness center, restaurants, and a social club. After COVID-19 related delays, construction resumed in Summer 2020. Walnut Capital completed construction on the project in April 2021.

Craft Place (former Cadillac dealership)

Developer: Walnut Capital

Project Summary: Construction in process to convert the building into office space with attached parking. Tenant will be UPMC for office space, not clinical space.

Construction has been completed and UPMC research offices have recently moved into the space.

Jewish Federation site - 234 McKee Place

Developer: Walnut Capital

Project summary: The developer demolished the house at 242 McKee Pl. next to the Jewish Federation building. This involved taking the building down to grade and filling it in with gravel to provide more parking on the site. Prior to the demolition, Construction Junction removed any items that could be salvaged. Norelco completed the the demolition. The developer plans to eventually demolish the existing Jewish Federation building, but understanding that there are significant zoning issues and the process would benefit from additional planning, Walnut Capital will continue to lease the main building as an interim use. This will allow more time to collaborate with OPDC on planning and community process about the site overall.