In October, the historic Try Street Terminal building in Downtown Pittsburgh will get a new lease on life, thanks to a partnership between The Davis Companies and Milhaus.
Located at 615 First Avenue, the building — officially rechristened Terminal 21 — will bring 205 loft-style apartments to the local real estate market.
Speaking with NEXTpittsburgh from Davis’s Boston headquarters, Senior Vice President of Asset Management Gary Hofstetter says the company is hoping to attract younger tenants, particularly those working in the Strip District’s booming tech sector.
“The property is really geared towards the demographics that are looking for their first or second jobs and living in the city,” he says.
To attract these coveted, upwardly mobile millenials, Terminal 21 will offer a wide variety of unique amenities, including a coworking space, music practice rooms, communal kitchens, laundry rooms with smart appliances that sync with smartphones, a fitness center, a duckpin bowling alley and a speakeasy-style bar.
It will even include a package receiving room with both cold and hot storage, Hofstetter says, “in case you’re getting your groceries delivered.”
In addition, there will be a maker space — a room devoted to pursuing hobbies that may be too sprawling or dirty to tackle inside one’s living space. “You can fix your bicycle. You could pot plants. You could do work you don’t want to do in your apartment,” adds Hofstetter.
The building was designed by architects at Strada LLC, with Shannon Construction serving as the contractor. The rental units will include loft studios and one- and two-bedroom layouts. Their costs have not yet been announced.
“We are aiming for a phased-in opening beginning on October 1,” says Hofstetter. “They’ll begin pre-leasing in the next couple weeks.”
During Pittsburgh’s industrial era, the Try Street Terminal building served as a hub for shipping and manufacturing companies in the area. The current structure was built in 1921, and briefly served as a dormitory for the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
The project is the second collaboration between Davis and Milhaus in the Downtown area. The duo also restored the nearby Union Trust Building into a mixed-use office and retail development — a project started in 2014 and completed in 2016.
“We just love the demographics,” says Hofstetter. “We love what’s happening in Pittsburgh.”
