DERRICK TILLMAN (Photo by J.L. Martello)
by Christian Morrow, Courier Staff Writer
Throughout his career, developer and real estate broker Derrick Tillman has been driven not only to improve communities with his projects, but also to provide opportunities for the people in them to become self-sufficient.
Now, he has a chance to do that on a much greater scale. His Bridging The Gap development firm and joint venture partner, HB Development, have been selected by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh to turn several vacant Uptown properties into a mixed-use commercial and residential development. The estimated budget is $51 million.
At its July 11 meeting, the board voted to approve entering into exclusive negotiations to sell 34 city-owned properties, making up about one-third of the project site, to his joint venture partnership, Fifth and Dinwiddie Development, LLC.
“This is my biggest project,” said Tillman. “We’d talked about other projects in the past, but they didn’t pan out. When this came up though, Gene (Boyer of HB Development) said let’s take a run at this. So we put together a dream team of local talent.”
Tillman’s recent Miller Street project, which brought units of 36 units of supportive, affordable housing to the Hill District in May, allowed him to employ a like number of residents on the project, allowing them to gain marketable skills and the ability to improve their quality of life.
“It’s our core mission,” he said. “Bridging gaps in development and in opportunities, creating opportunities and programs that build people. So we’re very intentional about that.”
He said the MWDBE commitment on this project will be much greater. Both he and partner Gene Boyer, co-managing director of HB, are African Americans. Boyer is already in contact with the unions and Jeff Nobers at the Builders Guild about getting Black workers on the project the training needed to join the unions. The project also has a female architect, Blacks in accounting and promotion, and Tillman said they may hire a Black co-construction manager for the commercial redevelopment.
“We’re going to shatter the MWDBE requirements in the (Request For Proposals), and those of the city and the URA,” he said. “For sure.”
As outlined in the URA Director’s report delivered at the July 11 board meeting, the project will transform 1.4 acres of property—consisting of a parking lot and vacant parcels at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Dinwiddie Street—into two new mixed-use buildings joined by a three-story skybridge.
The site will include 20,000 square feet of commercial space, a new public plaza, and a total of 167 rental units comprised of micro, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units. Thirty-three of the units will be affordable. Of these, 16 will be set aside for households earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), 13 for households earning at or below 50 percent AMI, and 4 units for households earning at or below 20 percent AMI.
A 20,000 square-foot building on the opposite side of Dinwiddie, currently used for storage by the city Department of Public Works, will get a two-story, 20,000 square-foot addition and converted to additional commercial and office space.
Another feature of this project is that Tillman’s joint venture—he is the 55 percent partner—was chosen following the community’s recommendation as part of a neighborhood planning process that began more than two years ago. For someone engrained in the community, it’s particularly meaningful to Tillman.
“I think it’s validation, validation that we’re doing something right,” he said. “Of course it makes us all feel great to community recognizes our commitment. You can make money and still do good.”
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