Hot Metal Flats will break ground this week
Oxford Development will break ground on the Hot Metal Flats—a new 115-unit apartment building—this Friday, according to Oxford’s Mark Grasso.
Located on the lot between Spring Hill Suites Southside Works and IBEW Local No. 5, Hot Metal Flats will offer a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 570 to 1,200 square feet.
PJ Dick will construct the building which was designed by Dallas-based firm Humphreys & Partners. Upon its completion, Walnut Capital will manage the property.
Bradley Street Redoubt
According to developer Jeffrey Paul, construction on the Bradley Street Redoubt, a new Mt. Washington housing development adjacent to Pittsburgh’s last remaining Civil War-era fortifications, could begin later this summer.
“We’ve got a great street design and we’re hoping to break ground in August,” says Paul, president of Pomo Development, adding that he’s already sold two of the development’s 26 units.
Architect Ed Pope, who worked with Paul on Sweetbriar Village, is handling the designs while Paul’s company is working with local historians to restore and preserve the earthen fortifications built by anxious Pittsburghers when Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army marched north during the summer of 1863. In addition to housing, the Bradley Street Redoubt will include a park which will make the restored fortifications accessible to the public.
Pittsburgh comes up big at the EBies
While new construction in Pittsburgh almost always incorporates elements of green design and sustainability, green improvements to existing buildings are often overlooked.
With that in mind, the Green Building Alliance nominated three managers of existing buildings (EBs) in its Pittsburgh 2030 District initiative for recognition at the third annual EBie Awards in New York City last week. Pittsburgh projects wound up taking home three of the event’s six awards.
Nana Wilberforce, whose lighting retrofit for the PNC Financial Services Group resulted in a nearly 20 percent reduction in electricity usage, took home the Shine a Light on Me Award.
Gary Sechler of Winthrop Management claimed the Smooth Operator award for helping turn the U.S. Steel Tower—formerly one of Downtown Pittsburgh’s biggest energy consumers—into a more efficient building through lighting and metering retrofits which led directly to energy reductions.
CBRE’s Chris Pinelli, who manages 11 Stanwix, claimed the honor for best all-around improvement after his installation of dual-flush toilets, occupancy sensors and energy recovery units led to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and lower water consumption.
“Since this is a national event, it was really exciting to hear Pittsburgh coming up over and over again,” says Leslie Montgomery, communications director for the GBA.
