"Oakland is a neighborhood with plenty of personality — dominated by Beaux-Arts/City Beautiful-era monumental civic architecture and student energy — but that’s not true of the entire neighborhood. There’s a dead zone in South Oakland that doesn’t feel like it’s part of one of the state’s most vibrant and economically dynamic urban centers.

That’s the spot near UPMC Magee Women’s Hospital, where an abandoned hotel (formerly a Quality Inn) sits, surrounded by parking lots. It’s referred to as “Parcel A,” where Pittsburgh-based developer Walnut Capital is planning one of the single biggest residential buildings in recent memory. And that’s just the start of the company’s long-term Oakland Crossings plan.

Walnut Capital presented its plan — adjusted to meet zoning requirements by City Council — at a community Zoom meeting on Monday evening. The Shadyside developer and Downtown-based architecture firm Strada depicted a massive structure, anchored by a street-level grocery store — something Oakland has been lacking for a long time. The brick-clad 10-story building includes 426 apartments and 438 underground parking spaces.

While it’s fairly typical of current construction trends from an architectural standpoint, the project will definitely change the urban fabric of Oakland."

Read the full article here.

Next Pittsburgh | Michael Machosky