Studio St.Germain and Massaro renovating 400 Beaver St. in Sewickley

Beaver Street in Sewickley is going to look a bit different in the coming months.

Construction at 400 Beaver St., which used to house The Village Melt and Esthetics of Sewickley, is slated to start in late May or early June, according to Studio St.Germain architectural firm.

The project is an addition and renovation of the commercial building at the intersection of Beaver and Walnut streets that will transform the existing building into a modern, sustainable, high-performing, mixed-use space.

Sewickley Borough manager Marla Marcinko said she hasn’t received a construction schedule yet, but that the town welcomes the project.

“We are pleased to see the property returned to productive use and will work closely with the contractor on strategies to minimize disruptions to the community during construction,” Marcinko said.

According to Studio St.Germain, the renovation will introduce contemporary design principles while complementing the other main street buildings. A third-story addition will provide the finished building with 9,500 square feet of mixed-use space.

The first-floor storefront will incorporate extensive wraparound windows designed to provide a welcoming aesthetic at the neighborhood intersection. The second and third levels will be apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows and mid-century, modern-inspired interiors. The third-level apartment will have a private rooftop terrace.

Karen Porier of KeboWorks LLC is doing public relations for the firm and said that commercial or residential tenants have not yet been confirmed.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing another sustainable, high-performing building to Sewickley,” said Nathan St.Germain, principal and founder of Studio St.Germain. “We have some very forward-thinking building owners and developers here who are pursuing more environmentally friendly buildings.”

The project is a participant in Studio St.Germain’s High Performance Program, an owner-facing initiative designed to improve clients’ understanding of the many options in high-performance building design and technology. According to Studio St.Germain, predictive energy modeling shows the building is expected to use 53% less energy than a typical mixed-use building of its size.

The HVAC systems have been designed to provide superior indoor air quality, more than double the building code requirement for outdoor air and almost double the minimum for ventilation. In addition, the project will be pursuing Passivhaus EnerPHit and RESET Air certifications.

Massaro Corporation will be doing the build, marking the second time the two firms have collaborated on a high-performance building project on Sewickley’s main street — the first was the Sewickley Tavern in 2019.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Studio St.Germain to bring advanced building design and sustainability to Sewickley. It’s an exciting transformation, and we’re proud to be leading the way together,” said Massaro president Steven Massaro.

At times during construction, Walnut Street could be closed to accommodate heavy equipment but those closures are expected to be kept to a minimum.

“For the safety of the walking public, there will also be a sidewalk closure on the Walnut side of the building as well as immediately in front of the building on Beaver Street,” Marcinko said. “We have received assurances from the contractor that they will make every effort to structure their schedule in such a way that would allow the sidewalk to be opened prior to the conclusion of construction.”

Poirier said that Studio St.Germain has “several more projects in the works in Sewickley” but that details aren’t being made public at this time.