The North Side isn’t one neighborhood, but many: from the stately brick Victorian row houses of the Mexican War Streets to the riverside industrial zone of Chateau. Some are thriving, some are stagnant, some are in decline.
However, it’s possible to say that the North Side as a whole is turning a literal corner this week with the dedication of Cal-Bride Place located at the corner of California Avenue and Kirkbride Street. The project will consist of a new 30-unit, four-story apartment building and six duplexes. Stabilizing this key intersection in a central part of the North Side will help a revitalization project that is well underway. Cal-Bride Place is the fourth and final phase of a 307-unit, $103 million project called North Side Residences.
The larger project involves taking 265 existing neglected and vacant properties scattered across the North Side (owned by North Side Associates) and turning them into fully renovated affordable housing.
“The first three phases were all full gut rehabs,” says Sarah Mistick, owner and president of Northside Properties Development Co.
The first and second phases are complete and fully occupied with 197 units. The third phase includes 68 units and will be complete in 2022.
Cal-Bride Place is intended to create a gateway into the California Kirkbride neighborhood and the broader North Side. The apartment building will include a community center plus a conference room and a lounge.
“Not only is each unit an affordable home for an individual or family, it’s also the beginning of a new, stronger community,” says Mistick.
The six duplexes are on Sedgwick Street and Kunkle Avenue and will feature three and four-bedroom units.
Cal-Bride Place will be affordable to tenants at various income levels; five apartments will be affordable at or below 30% Area Median Income (AMI), 20 will be at or below 50% AMI, and 17 will be at or below 60% AMI.
The apartment building is expected to be done by the fall of 2022 and will cost $15.6 million. It was designed by Downtown-based Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel.
“Today, we are celebrating not just the development of more affordable housing in the North Side, but also providing opportunities for our neighbors to build wealth and investment in our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Bill Peduto says in a press release. “I’d like to thank Mistick Construction and our partners for working with the community on these projects and providing over 307 units — with each unit representing a family that gets to continue to build roots in the North Side for generations to come.”