Pittsburgh City Council approves Bakery Square expansion

Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved legislation that paves the way for a massive expansion of the Bakery Square development in the city’s East End.

Council members unanimously supported a measure to expand the special zoning district to allow Bakery Square to grow, nearly a year after the proposal received approval from the Planning Commission.

Pittsburgh-based developer Walnut Capital in 2009 opened the first phase of Bakery Square. The site now spans 20 acres in Pittsburgh’s Larimer and Shadyside neighborhoods on the site of a former Nabisco plant. It is home to a Google office, restaurants, shops and other amenities.

Walnut Capital is now eyeing an expansion that would extend the office, residential and retail development to another 14 acres the developer owns in Larimer and East Liberty adjacent to the existing Bakery Square.

The plan received praise from community groups during a recent public hearing. Councilman Khari Mosley, D-Point Breeze, whose district includes Bakery Square, said the project is “truly transformational.”

“This is not just about bricks and mortar,” Donna Jackson, executive director of the Larimer Consensus Group, told City Council. “This is about creating jobs, improving public spaces, reconnecting our communities to opportunities.”

As part of a community benefits agreement tied to the expansion, Walnut Capital pledged to help fund a $25 million effort to build or rehabilitate 100 for-sale affordable homes in the city’s East End, with an emphasis on Larimer.

Olga George, a spokeswoman for Mayor Ed Gainey, in a statement applauded the on- and off-site affordable housing included in the project.

“Our vision remains a system that can more consistently and efficiently deliver these kinds of results throughout the city in a fair and predictable process,” George said.