300 South Craig Street

Project summary: Property owner plans to complete interior and exterior renovations of the existing retail space at the corner of Craig Street and Winthrop for a second Oakland location of Fuku Tea (the first location is located at Forbes and Oakland Ave).

A public review of the proposed exterior renovations took place at a Development Activities Meeting on October 24. 2019. The project is scheduled for review at the January 14, 2019 Planning Commission hearing.

The Craig Street location of Fuku Tea opened in August 2020.

Project resources:

University of Pittsburgh Cathedral of Learning railings

Project summary: The University of Pittsburgh plans to replace and add railings to 11 locations around the Cathedral of Learning. The wrought iron railings are designed to match existing historical details and meet ADA design standards.

The University of Pittsburgh will present at the virtual Oakland-Wide meeting on July 28, 2020.

Project resources:

Frazier St. and Parkview Ave.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The owner of the lot at Frazier St. and Parkview Ave. had a Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing scheduled for February 6, 2020 regarding a proposal to subdivide the lot and construct two homes.  A density variance was requested for the plan to construct two homes on one lot. The owner did not meet with the community to present their plans, nor were they responsive to OPDC’s attempts to make contact. Prior to the start of the hearing, the community, via Councilperson Kraus’ office, requested a continuance so that there could be community discussion. 

The Zoning Board granted the requested continuance. The zoning hearing will take place on March 5th at 9:40 a.m.

The developer revised the proposal.  It now consists of building only one new house on the lot, no longer needing a density variance.  Variances for setbacks are all that the project now needs. See the latest, revised proposal below. OPDC is working with South Oakland Neighborhood Group to provide an opportunity for community members to review and discuss this revised proposal.  The project was presented at the SONG meeting Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at 6 pm at Frazier Field House.  Residents expressed concerns with the curb cut on Parkview Avenue, the design of the building being out of character with the rest of the neighborhood, and the potential for this property to become a student rental.

OPDC submitted testimony to the zoning board at the hearing on March 5. The ZBA approved the developer’s request for a side setback variance, subject to the condition that any access to the interior parking garage shall be from Wolf Way, with no new curb cut on Parkview Avenue.

Supporting documents

Burrows and Dunbar Way

Developer: Burrows Street Townhouses, LLC

Project summary: Burrows Street Townhouses, LLC, an affiliate of PE Real Estate Holdings, LLC, plans to build a single-family housing development on the western side of Burrows Street in West Oakland. The development will be market rate, for sale, and will not require any material zoning exemptions. The developer met with the West Oakland Community Council (WONC) in July 2019. This project is currently under construction.

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.

214 South Craig Street

Developer: Mike Wu

Project summary: Owner proposes to build a six floor, mixed-use development. The building will include restaurant space and one- and three-bedroom apartment units. The developer is asking for the following variances:  Lot coverage, restaurant use, floor area ratio (FAR), parking, and height.

This proposal was presented to the Bellefield Area Citizens Association (BACA) on September 10, 2019. BACA was not in support of the developer’s request for a parking variance. An updated proposal was presented at the Oakland-Wide Community Meeting on September 25, 2019.

The original Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing scheduled for January 16, 2020 was postponed. The new hearing date is Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 9:40 a.m.

Project resources:

3611 Parkview Avenue

Project summary: Homeowner wishes to complete exterior renovations in rear of property. The renovations include a reduction in depth of rear facing porch and demolition of single car garage in rear of property. This home is in the Oakland Square Historic District, but the proposed changes are not visible from the street. The project was presented at the November 26, 2019 Oakland-Wide Community Meeting.

Project resources:

Point Park Playhouse - 222 Craft Ave.

Developer: Point Park University

Project summary: A fence is currently up around the property for asbestos abatement. Point Park has applied for a demolition permit. Reviewed at the March 27, 2019 Oakland-Wide Community Meeting. The project was up for hearing and action at the May 21 Planning Commission agenda.

The project moved forward and Point Park began demolition in early June 2019.

Demolition was completed and the site was sold to Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation.

Supporting documents:

1 Oakland Square

Developer: Homeowner

Project summary: Homeowner made alterations to a single car garage in the Oakland Square Historic District and will need to present changes to the Historic Review Commission. This project was shared at the September 25, 2019 Oakland-Wide Community Meeting.

Project resources:

203 S. Craig

Project summary: The owner initially planned to construct an addition attached to the front of the building. At a ZBA hearing on September 27, 2018 the developer requested a continuance, however the project was placed on hold.

Carnegie Mellon University purchased the property in September 2019. There are no plans — aside from general cosmetic/code updates to the exterior — for the property at this time.

3247 Ward Street

Developer: OPA-HI Development LLC

Project Summary: The owner of the vacant lot at 3247 Ward St originally proposed splitting the property into two parcels and building a single family house facing Ward and a duplex facing Hardie Way. The project was granted a continuance at the December 13 Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing due to a lack of community process. After hearing concerns from residents, the developers are now proposing to split the lot and build two single family homes; one facing Ward St and one facing Hardie Way.

The project has since been revised so that both dwellings have a front entrance on Ward St. The developers requested side setbacks at a ZBA hearing on May 16, 2019 (see page 9 of the agenda). The requested variances were denied on July 18, 2019 (see the decision below).

Project resources:

Wakefield Street

Developer: Medco

Project Summary: Developer proposes to build seven, market-rate, owner-occupied town homes at 3523 Wakefield Street. The ZBA hearing took place on November 29, 2018 and the project was approved by the zoning board on Jan 24, 2019.

Supporting documents:

3939 Forbes Ave, 3925 Forbes Ave, 3990 Fifth Ave

Developer: University of Pittsburgh

Project summary: 2 new 7.16 sq. ft. projecting signs, one 93.4 wall business ID sign, and 97.93 sq. ft. wall business ID sign for University of Pittsburgh. Project was presented at Zoning Board Hearing on April 4, 2019.

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.

424 Gold Way

Project Summary: Developer plans to renovate the interior of the building, adding ten residential units to the existing two and converting the ground floor into a gym and the first floor into a play area. There will be no construction outside the existing shell of the building, and the only exterior renovations will be replacing the windows throughout and adding two new storefront entrances at the rear.

TCS Hall - 4900 Forbes Ave (Before Tepper Building)

Developer: CMU

Project Summary: The TCS building is billed as the new entrance to CMU's campus and will consist of a mix of office and academic space. The building will be occupied by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and CMU's school of Computer science. CMU presented their plans for the project to BACA and OTF and plan to open the building in spring of 2020.

Due to COVID-19 construction delays, CMU completed construction in the fall of 2020.

365 N. Craig Street

Developer: Sterling Land Company

Project Summary: Sterling Land Company has filed an application with the City to raze the multi-family building at 356 N. Craig St due to structural and electrical concerns. The wall along N. Craig would remain the same, and the developer does not yet have plans for re-developing the property.

The building was razed in 2019.

The Portal - West Oakland

Project Summary: The Portal is a proposed development on three sites near Fifth Ave and Robinson streets that would include retail, restaurant, office, housing and hotel space. OPDC and West Oakland oppose the Planning Commission's approval. Although current efforts to continue the development are stalled, we are monitoring the project and will alert the community if developers resume plans.