click image to enlarge

Pittsburgh Public Schools Portfolio

The URA has partnered with the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Education (BOE) to assist in the evaluation of proposals for the renovation and reuse of 18 closed school buildings in the City of Pittsburgh. For more information on this relationship, see Partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools below.

A complete listing of available closed school properties can be found here, or view schools by neighborhood below. The URA serves as a bridge between the school board and the community; however, the BOE is under no obligation to use the URA’s services for any of these properties nor to accept URA’s recommendations. All closed schools are owned by Pittsburgh Public Schools and will be sold strictly at their discretion.

For more detailed information on individual properties, to conduct a walk through of any of the buildings, or if you are a developer interested in pursuing the reuse of one of the vacant school properties, please remit the Pittsburgh Public Schools inquiry form to Claire Hosteny at or 412.255.6570.

If you are a community organization wishing to pursue a planning process around one of the vacant schools in your neighborhood, please contact Kyra Straussman at 412. 255.6418 or .

Process

The URA will work with communities and the BOE on a case by case basis to review proposals for closed school buildings. Though individual proposals may be considered for specific schools, in some cases, Request For Proposals (RFP) will be issued for school properties. These RFP processes are intended to be inclusive and transparent. Community involvement in the development of RFPs ensure that the proposed project matches the community’s revitalization goals.

Once proposals have been received, the URA will review them to reach a recommendation for the BOE. General criteria considered include:

• Is the proposal compatible with community goals? Will community leadership endorse the project?
• Is there a strong financing strategy in place? Are the costs of the project in line with other similar projects?
• Does the developer or team have a good track record with the kind of project they are proposing?
• Is the proposed project meeting market demands? Can the project be sustained given market conditions for an indefinite period?
• Does the project retain the architectural and historic integrity of the building?

After recommendation by the URA, final selection of successful projects will be determined by the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Education.

Sign up here to receive RFPs for individual school properties as they become available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are sales prices set for the available school properties?

A: No, prices are not set. Developers are urged to make their highest and best offer in their proposals that would allow for a project that can be financed and sustainable over the long term.

Q: What is the basis for proposal evaluation?

A: Priority preference will be granted to those proposals that return the property to a taxable use, provide a strategy for sustainable financial performance, and have development partners with relevant previous experience.

Q: Is URA financing available for these projects?

A: Proposals for URA financial assistance will be considered on a case by case basis and will follow the URA’s specific underwriting process. The URA is under no obligation to fund any proposal or project.

Partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools

At peak enrollment, Pittsburgh Public Schools served 80,000 students in 87 buildings. Currently, Pittsburgh Public Schools serve approximately 26,000 students. Based on this decrease in enrollment, the BOE implemented a plan to help right size the school district and their building portfolio in 2006. This exercise closed 22 under-utilized schools and consolidated the 25,000 existing students into 65 remaining buildings. It currently costs the school district $2 million annually to maintain the 18 closed buildings.

Some of the closed school buildings have or will be adapted for reuse, for example, the Milliones facility in the Hill District was reopened in the fall 2008 as University Prep 6-12.

In 2008, the BOE formed a partnership with the URA to help facilitate the disposition of the closed school properties. The goal from the sale of these buildings is for the property to return to a taxable use.

The BOE and the URA favor a community process and encourage neighborhood groups to be open to discussing their market realities. Many communities would like to see the buildings returned to a community centered use, but with high operational costs, this sort of adaptive reuse is usually cost prohibitive. Parking and accessibility for any use is also a challenge at most locations. The development needs to be sustainable and market conditions are a key factor in evaluating reuse options.

The URA is working with the BOE on a marketability evaluation to help prioritize the disposition of the closed schools. The BOE will also undertake a district-wide facilities study that will lay out a blueprint for all of their property over the next 10 years, to assist in this prioritization. (Please note, Schenley High School is not currently offered for sale.)

Partnership at Work

The partnership between the URA and the BOE is already at work in the Morningside community. Morningside Elementary on Jancey Street served as a neighborhood cornerstone since 1897. When it closed, the community became concerned about its’ future since it is the most significant architectural structure in the neighborhood. The community organization quickly approached the URA for assistance, to ensure the community had a voice in the redevelopment project, and spearheaded the community’s planning efforts.

Since then, Morningside Area Community Council has undertaken a community planning process, using the school as the central focus, and determined that a housing reuse is the most desirable. The URA then released a Request for Proposals to find a development partner for this project. A committee of community members, URA staff and school board representatives are currently reviewing submittals. Once evaluated, the recommended proposal will be presented to the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Education for approval.

available closed school properties