Pitt's plan for a $250M biomanufacturing facility in Hazelwood moves forward

The University of Pittsburgh has received approval from the city’s Planning Commission to build a biomanufacturing facility in Hazelwood.

The $250 million facility will serve as a cell and gene therapy innovation hub in the Hazelwood Green development along the Monongahela River.

University officials have said about three-quarters of the 185,000-square-foot facility will be leased to Massachusetts-based ElevateBio, which is partnering with the school on the Pitt BioForge Biomanufacturing Center.

When the university announced the ElevateBio partnership in August 2022, it estimated the biomanufacturing center would create more than 170 permanent full-time jobs, plus 900 construction jobs and 360 off-site support jobs.

Pitt officials have said they hope to complete the project by 2027.

The BioForge development will include a two-story building with a penthouse, two small parks and public art, according to information presented to the Planning Commission on Tuesday.

Commissioners Lashawn Burton-Faulk, Jean Dick, Peter Quintanilla and Mel Ngami voted in favor of the project Tuesday. Commissioners Rachel O’Neill and Sabina Deitrick, a Pitt professor, abstained from the vote, while Commissioners Dina Blackwell and Monica Ruiz were not present.

Related:

• Pitt committee approves $120M in construction for biomanufacturing facility in Hazelwood

• Pitt to partner with Massachusetts company at biomanufacturing center in Hazelwood

• Pitt gets $100M infusion to build biomanufacturing hub at Hazelwood Green brownfield site

Editor’s note: The original version of this story had an incorrect cost estimate for the project. It is $250 million.