by Rich Lord
Larimer stands to get a new indoor community or commercial space and two affordable for-sale homes following Thursday’s Urban Redevelopment Authority board meeting.
The URA board voted to increase construction lending by $517,261 and the architect’s contract by $23,200 on the conversion of the Larimer School’s auditorium and gymnasium into developable space. It could end up becoming a food co-op, community space, a business incubator, a food preparation site or a place for health and wellness activities, according to the URA.
The vote brings the budget for the conversion of the nearly-10,000-square-foot gym to just over $3 million, a price tag boosted by COVID-19-related delays and higher-than-expected bids. The architect is Pfaffman + Associates, and the building will be owned by a partnership between St. Louis-based developer McCormack Baron Salazar, and the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh.
The rest of the school is set to become 35 apartments, with seven more townhomes across Winslow Street. Of those 42 residences, all but seven will be geared toward low-income tenants. The financing for that part of the redevelopment isn’t complete.
According to the URA, the school is the last significant historic structure in Larimer, and was long a community centerpiece. It has been closed for three decades.
The board also voted to award $45,000 in Housing Opportunity Funds to the URA’s Pittsburgh Housing Development Corporation arm, for construction of two new affordable for-sale homes on the northernmost block of Larimer’s Meadow Street. The full funding package will be greater, but not all details have been worked out. The Larimer Consensus Group, which has been pushing for for-sale housing, has been involved in the decision-making, according to the URA.
“What we’ve been able to do is convert those two opportunities into a broader revitalization plan that will revitalize a whole block, which is absolutely what we want to be doing,” said Diamonte Walker, the URA’s deputy executive director.
The Larimer School, closed for 30 years, is to be reborn under a Choice Neighborhoods Initiative grant that must be spent by September. (Photo by Jay Manning/PublicSource)
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Develop PGH Bulletins: Larimer School redevelopment, housing get new funds
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