With the rehabilitation of two mixed-use properties in Friendship, the
Penn Avenue Arts District is about to get a little greener.
A 1,000-square-foot, three-story property at 5427 Penn will soon house Friends of the Urban Forest’s new offices and two one-bedroom apartments, while 5429 Penn will be home to
Grow Pittsburgh and a two-bedroom apartment.
“They have huge sunny windows facing Penn. They're really going to be great urban spaces,” says developer Steve Choder, who purchased the properties in 2007. “I really believe in what’s going on along the Penn Avenue corridor.”
After sitting vacant for 20 years and suffering severe water damage, both properties are undergoing extensive renovations. The project calls for installing new windows and roofs, and completing structural work and façade improvements. “The first floors will have the same character as
The Sprout Fund and
Quiet Storm, with new aluminum framed glass storefronts,” says project architect Freddie Croce with
Inter*ARCHITECTURE, also located on Penn. Contractor is Fred Aul. Apartment rents will be in the $600s and $700s.
“We're calling it a little green corner,” says Grow Pittsburgh’s executive director Miriam Manion, who plans to build capacity and expand programming in the new space, which is more than four times larger than the nonprofit’s current Point Breeze offices. “The new space is much more accessible.” Manion says Grow Pittsburgh already has a waiting list for its urban garden program.
Friends of the
Pittsburgh Urban Forest, which plans to occupy 5427 Penn in August, is commissioning local woodworker John Metzler to construct flooring at
Urban Tree Forge in Highland Park that is made entirely from trees that have come down within the city.
Writer:
Jennifer Baron
Sources: Steve Choder; Miriam Manion, Grow Pittsburgh