HACP, HUD, developers, and many stakeholders to commemorate end of Choice Neighborhoods Cornerstone Village development in Larimer with ribbon-cutting celebration

Two decades of vision, brainstorming, proposals, plans, and development have come to fruition with the completion of the third and fourth phases of the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s Cornerstone Village development in Larimer/East Liberty.

HACP will be joined by officials with the City of Pittsburgh, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), developer McCormack Baron Salazar, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA), the Larimer Consensus Group, and multiple local, state and federal lawmakers at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 20, 2024, to celebrate a ribbon-cutting ceremony complete with walking and trolley tours, food trucks, Rain Poetry demonstrations, tours of Steel City Squash’s Larimer Education and Squash Complex, and CitiParks’ Roving Art Cart.

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, guests and community members can enjoy free refreshments, Rain Poetry (https://pahumanities.org/rainpoetry/) demonstrations (times to be determined), and various tours of the facilities, including the $10 million Steel City Squash (www.steelcitysquash.org) Larimer Education and Squash Complex along Larimer Avenue that houses eight squash courts, a fitness room, and Smart classrooms, among other amenities.

“The completion of the Choice Neighborhoods Cornerstone Village development will provide access to affordable housing for many of our residents. It will give them an opportunity to thrive and have a safe place for their children within an environment that’s surrounded with parks and a wonderful playground,” says Mayor Ed Gainey. “I offer congratulations on a job well done to HACP, HUD, URA and the developer.”

The $140 million certified Enterprise Green Communities mixed-income development, completed by McCormack Baron Salazar and Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation (ARMDC), comprises 334 new housing units and three parks and outdoor activity spaces – Liberty Green Park, Village Green, and a community playground, as well as 10,800-square-feet of commercial/retail spaces.

The Larimer/East Liberty Choice Neighborhoods Initiative includes a $30 million grant award from HUD.

The final two phases of the development include the redevelopment of the former Larimer School that sat vacant along Larimer Avenue for 40 years, ending a decades-long community-led process to save the historic neighborhood landmark.

Originally built in 1896 and designed by well-known Pittsburgh architect Ulysses J. Lincoln Peoples, the school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Community members, particularly the late Larimer activist Ora Lee Carroll and the Larimer Consensus Group, have long advocated for the reuse of the building, but the scale of the task made it impossible until the $30 million Larimer/East Liberty Choice Neighborhoods grant was awarded to the city in 2014.

“The school not being part of the Choice project would have left a hole in the neighborhood, and knowing the amount of effort and support it took to get this done, I can say with a lot of confidence that it would’ve never happened otherwise,” says Vincent Bennett, President and CEO of McCormack Baron Companies.

Many of the school’s historic features have been maintained, including the corridors, terrazzo floors, unique wainscoting, exterior brickwork, and even the original school bells. The school adaptive reuse project also created approximately 6,000 square feet of commercial space in the school’s old auditorium and gym building that has been master leased to the URA.

The last two phases include 84 apartment units in five buildings, with 35 of those units housed in the former school, and the rest constructed on parcels of land nearby Larimer Avenue, including townhouses and a mixed-use midrise building, which includes 4,800 square feet of commercial space. Approximately 75% of the units are affordable to families making 20% to 60% of the city’s area median income.

Phases I and II consisted of the construction of Cornerstone Village Apartments, which comprises 235 new apartments and townhomes – the majority of which are affordable – to the corner of East Liberty Boulevard and Larimer Avenue, behind Target. Fifteen Scattered Sites units (developed through HACP’s turnkey development methods with East Liberty Development, Inc. (12 units on Centre Ave) and URA/Pittsburgh Housing Development Corporation (3 units on Auburn St. and Mayflower St.) complete the Choice Neighborhood Housing Plan.

“This is very important to me from holding the baton from Mrs. Ora Lee Carroll, hoping that what we’re creating is a livable community where people can raise their family and enjoy the amenities throughout the community,” says Donna Jackson, Executive Director of the Larimer Consensus Group. “As we rebuild the Larimer Community, our partnership and collaboration are the key to its success of moving forward to a vibrant and resilient community.”

Cornerstone Village includes a variety of amenities, such as secure off-street parking, an outdoor patio and green space, and a community room and fitness room. A computer lab and the management office are within a short walking distance of the property.

The URA will lease and ensure the long-term economic performance of the 4,800 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

As part of the long-term vision for expanding the business district to the Larimer Avenue Bridge, the development includes a streetscape along Larimer Avenue, in tandem with on-street parking and improved pedestrian pathways that are walkable and bike-friendly.

In addition, as part of the CNI plan for neighborhood improvements, the park plan supports the community’s vision of creating “21st Century Green Neighborhood that Works” sustainable mixed-income housing that integrates into the neighborhood.

Family Supportive Services are offered on-site and coordinated by the CNI People Team, led by Urban Strategies, Inc., from 2014 through 2019, and the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, since 2020, and include partnerships with the Kingsley Association, Partner4Work, and Pittsburgh Public Schools. The team works directly with residents providing eviction prevention, workforce development, employment, adult education, financial literacy, health and wellness services, and youth enrichment activities.

“It’s good to be a dreamer and have the staff to make it a reality,” HACP Executive Director Caster D. Binion says. “This Choice Neighborhoods Initiative is an example of what comprehensive, collaborative redevelopment efforts can look like. Together with community stakeholders and our development partners, we truly transformed Larimer to address the community’s needs.”

JW Kim, HACP’s Director of Planning & Development, says he can’t believe the initiative is finally complete.

“I am pleased to share this momentous occasion with HUD and my HACP colleagues,” he says. “This Choice Neighborhoods program helped the Housing Authority and the City of Pittsburgh to forge a strong public-private partnership in jumpstarting the positive transformation of the Larimer and East Liberty neighborhoods. It’s been a long time coming.”

HUD Pittsburgh Field Office Director Michael Horvath adds, “The HUD Pittsburgh Field Office congratulates the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) for reaching a milestone in the Larimer/East Liberty Choice Neighborhoods project. The area also saw the expansion of homeownership as renters participating in HACP’s Family Self-Sufficiency program participated in housing counseling and accrued savings for down payments and are now building equity and generational wealth. The work in Larimer/East Liberty has inspired redevelopment and expanded affordable housing opportunities across HACP’s jurisdiction in Allegheny Dwellings with the construction of Sandstone Quarry and in Bedford Dwellings with HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods grant of $50 million to redevelop over 400 public housing units and add an additional 400 mixed-income units. We applaud HACP’s collaboration with the public, local officials, and developers to expand affordable housing opportunities and build community.”

Our team of financial partners includes the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (Sponsor), Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation (Co-Developer & Lender), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Lender), Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (Tax Credits & Lender), Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing (Equity Investor and Lender), and Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (Lender and Leaseholder). TAI+LEE architects, PC and Michael Baker International designed the projects, and Mistick Construction served as the construction general contractor.

CORNERSTONE VILLAGE FACT SHEET

• The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and the City of Pittsburgh received a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Grant from HUD in 2014 for the redevelopment of Larimer/East Liberty

• Cornerstone Village in Larimer/East Liberty comprises 334 new housing units and three parks and outdoor activity spaces: Liberty Green, Village Green, and a community playground, as well as 10,800-square-feet of commercial/retail spaces

• Construction by McCormack Baron Salazar was completed in four phases over the last decade

• The first phase includes 85 units; Phase II includes 150 units; Phases III and IV include 84 units in five buildings and commercial spaces of varying sizes. The buildings are a mix of multi-story buildings, garden walk-ups and townhouses

• Fifteen Scattered Site units complete the 334-unit Enterprise Green Communities development

• Thirty-five of the units are housed in the redeveloped former Larimer School, which sat vacant along Larimer Avenue for 40 years. Originally built in 1896, the school was designed by renowned Pittsburgh architect Ulysses J. Lincoln Peoples. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986

• Original features of the school have been preserved in this redevelopment project, including the school’s corridors, terrazzo floors, distinctive wainscoting, exterior brickwork, and the original school bells

• The project received Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Moving to Work and Capital funds, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh CDBG, RACP, RHDIP, and RGP HOF funds, and Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency PHARE Housing Trust funds
  
  About McCormack Baron Salazar:
  McCormack Baron Salazar is one of the nation’s leading developers, property managers, and asset managers of economically integrated urban neighborhoods. Since 1973, the firm has been an innovator of community development and urban revitalization in 48 cities, having built more than 25,000 high-quality homes with total development costs of over $5 billion.

For additional information, contact Michelle Sandidge, Chief Community Affairs Officer, at: 412-812-5545 or michelle.sandidge@hacp.org.; or find us online at: www.hacp.org.