East Liberty Place North

54 new environmentally-friendly family rental homes above 11,000 s.f. of ground-floor commercial space.

East Liberty Place North, located on the 5800 block of Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh, is the redevelopment of the north parcel of the former East Mall Apartments site on Penn Avenue in the East Liberty neighborhood, a neighborhood that is coming back to life after thirty years of decline and stagnation. This new, 54-unit mixed-income, mixed use, elevator building features three floors of environmentally-friendly apartments above an 11,000 s.f. ground-floor commercial space, management offices, and community activity areas. The residential and commercial components are structured as separate condominiums.

The community features attractive, spacious, and well-appointed apartments that meet or exceed local market-rate offerings. Building systems integrate green technologies such as ENERGY STAR rated appliances and lighting fixtures, high-efficiency heat-pumps, and a focus on air quality in the decisions on materials and finishes and ventilating where possible. The building achieved LEED Gold certification and is the region's first LEED for HOMES multifamily certified project and TCB's first LEED certified project.

The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) is the property's management agent and was the designated developer by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA). TCB will also develop the site across Penn Avenue to the south. The property is near TCB's other transformative neighborhood properties: New Pennley Place, Pennley Commons, and Penn Manor. The design for East Liberty Place North emerged from a charrette process and was informed by advice from former residents, community organizations, City leaders, and other stakeholders. The building is in scale with East Liberty and the Penn Avenue streetscape and was designed to support additional redevelopment around it. The U-shaped, approximately 75,000 square foot building has contemporary craftsman styling with a masonry and metal-accented façade. East Liberty Place North is the western gateway to East Liberty's downtown district and provides a strong residential anchor and new street level commercial/retail opportunities.

East Liberty Place North continues the significant local commitment to replace three blighted, HUD-subsidized properties (the "Federal American" properties) with new mixed-income developments. It provides 54 new one- and two-bedroom apartments with 38 units reserved for low-income households, 11 units reserved for households with incomes between 60% and 80% AMI, and five market-rate units with no income restrictions. Former Federal American tenants have admissions priority.

"Who would ever have thought that a group of low-income residents would give this much input and be heard. Promises were made, and promises are being kept."

—Alethea Sims, President, Coalition of Organized Residents (COR)