A mixed-use housing allocation in the Bloomfield Community Market is probably dead

Plans for a new grocery store, a public plaza, a retail business, and a bunch of apartments in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield community are dead.

Bloomfield Development Corporation said Thursday that the building at the corner of Liberty Avenue and Bloomfield Bridge had been transferred to Giant Eagle, meaning plans to rebuild it would not move forward.

O’Hara-based Echo Realty proposed creating a 248-unit apartment building, a 28,000-foot grocery store, approximately 10,000 feet of retail and a public plaza across Liberty Avenue on the site. Those projects stalled when the city’s zoning board rejected a variance last year, but that resolution has been appealed.

Giant Eagle spokesman Dan Donovan said the regional grocery chain will take over the site.

He said that means Giant Eagle will continue to operate the Community Market grocery store there without any disruption. The store employs 28 people and those jobs will remain, Donovan said.

“Since opening under the Community Market banner in 2020, the Bloomfield store has gained popularity as a resource for community residents,” he said.

It’s bittersweet for Bloomfield Development Corporation, which is pleased that the community is keeping the grocery store running, but disappointed that new homes may not be available.

The proposals also included 25 sets that would remain affordable to low-income residents. Sam Spearing of Bloomfield Development Corporation said many on the network are interested in applying for affordable housing, but now they won’t be able to take advantage of it.

“Bloomfield will be a welcoming position for everyone,” Spears said. “The loss of that progression has only made things harder. “

Maria Montaño, a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, said the city is looking to negotiate a settlement with Echo regarding the zoning variance appeal to allow the allocation to move forward.

She is now willing to work with Giant Eagle.

When asked if Giant Eagle would like to proceed with the redevelopment of the site, Donovan said Echo was the driving force behind the redevelopment project.

Echo did not respond to a request for comment.

The regression plans have received widespread support from the Bloomfield community, adding nearby businesses like Trace Brewing. The progression was also seen as an opportunity to modernize the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Bloomfield Bridge.

Spearing said the Bloomfield Development Corporation is asking city leaders to make it less difficult to build more housing.

David Vatz of the advocacy organization Pro-Housing Pittsburgh said he was dismayed by the end of the redevelopment plans.

He criticized the city’s zoning code, calling it too restrictive. The assignment sought a zoning exemption to build the maximum height allowed, and Echo said last year that it intended to build enough sets to make the assignment economically viable.

He said the 248 pieces of equipment that would have been put into service would have put downward pressure on local rents, as the new homes would be in a working-class domain where rents would rise.

“This is a wonderful example of how our bad zoning code kills housing,” Vatz said. “It’s unhappy and negative for all Pittsburghers, because fewer sources mean rents will continue to rise. “

Montaño said the city was contemplating a potential zoning code update, but couldn’t provide a timeline for when that might happen.

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