URA to Advance Multiple Downtown Residential Developments
Esplanade project to move forward
PITTSBURGH, PA (September 9, 2025) This Thursday at its regular meeting, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) board is poised to vote on up to $11.6 million in funding to aid three office-to-residential conversion projects in Downtown Pittsburgh, including one that is part of a historic $600 million Downtown Revitalization Plan led by Gov. Shapiro’s Administration, Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, the URA, and many local private and nonprofit partners to make Pittsburgh a more livable and vibrant neighborhood for all to live, work and play.
The three developments are on track to create 217 total housing units Downtown, with 154 being affordable for residents with low-to-moderate incomes.
- 120 Cecil Place - $5 million
Beacon Communities’ adaptive reuse and historic preservation of an early 1900s steam plant will bring 97 new units of affordable rental housing. - 933 Penn Ave. - $1.6 million
Rugby Realty’s adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of a commercial building will bring 70 new housing units, seven of which will be rented affordably, and 5,500 square feet of new ground floor retail space. The project was included in Gov. Shapiro’s Downtown Pittsburgh Revitalization Plan and received a $2.5 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program award. - 901-903 Liberty Ave. - $5 million
Beacon Communities’ Apartments at 9th and Liberty is the conversion and rehabilitation of two historic commercial buildings into 50 new units of affordable rental housing.
Upon financial closing of these awards, the URA will have obligated all of its existing Pittsburgh Downtown Conversion Program (PDCP) funding. The PDCP started out as a pilot initiative in January 2023 to support the economic recovery and growth of Downtown and to reimagine vacant office space as vibrant housing opportunities for individuals and families of all economic backgrounds. From the start, the URA was poised to quickly deploy multiple funding allocations for conversion projects, while also stacking funding with other URA sources. Later, the agency extended the PDCP after securing additional funds through a historic Affordable Housing Bond in partnership with the City of Pittsburgh. As a result, the program became a successful tool for the local development community and has enabled the URA to prioritize increasing the availability of housing options in Downtown.
“The URA remains engaged with developers advancing projects that are part of the Governor’s Plan or whose projects emerged after our public-private plan announcement last year,” said URA Executive Director Susheela Nemani-Stanger. “We are thankful to our partners at the state and local level, as well as our real estate development community for their active investment in Pittsburgh. This collective energy is advancing our regional vision for a Downtown neighborhood where current residents and future generations will want to stay. The URA is in the process of raising more funds that will allow us to deploy additional funding for emerging conversion projects in the future.”
To date, the URA has committed $26.075 million to boost transformative downtown residential and mixed-used development. Its policies and financing tools were outlined in a local, 10-year investment strategy. The additional investments to be approved Thursday will bring the URA’s total commitment to more than $36 million.
“This investment is a vital step forward in our commitment to making Downtown Pittsburgh a place where people of all incomes can live, work, and thrive,” said Mayor Ed Gainey. “By transforming underutilized spaces into vibrant, affordable housing, we are not only preserving our city’s rich history but also building a stronger, more inclusive community for current residents and future generations. Partnerships like these demonstrate the power of collaboration and shared vision to create a more livable, dynamic Pittsburgh.”
Also on Thursday’s meeting agenda, the URA board is expected to approve final financing and to authorize execution of a deed for the sale of URA-owned properties for Phase A of Piatt Companies’ Esplanade development in Manchester-Chateau. This approval will enable the developer to complete site preparation and infrastructure work, making way for vertical development to begin.
The long-anticipated project will significantly transform a brownfield site along the Ohio River into a nearly 15-acre destination that will reconnect the neighborhoods separated by Route 65 and provide new economic and job opportunities, housing, and amenities for the Pittsburgh region and visitors. The developer is required to return to the URA board for approval before the start of vertical construction on URA-owned property.
The September 11, 2025 hybrid regular URA board meeting agenda details can be found here.
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About the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA)
The URA is the City of Pittsburgh's economic development enterprise. We are committed to building a prosperous and equitable economy for all of Pittsburgh. We help bridge public and private interests to invest in meaningful, equitable developments that promote housing affordability, economic mobility, entrepreneurship, and neighborhood revitalization. Our work creates and sustains quality jobs, thriving neighborhoods, healthy communities, and sustainable businesses for the benefit of all Pittsburghers.
