Makeover plans revealed for East Liberty buildings
The historic Highland Building in East Liberty will get a makeover worthy of its roots as part of a plan to transform it into a 110-unit apartment complex.
Developer Highland Wallace Joint Venture will be replacing windows, repairing the building's white terra cotta finish, repointing brick, and making other improvements designed to return the structure to its opening day look.
It also will be maintaining sections of the building's main staircase and bringing back the look of the lobby, with its marbled walls and terrazzo floors.
"The building itself will be restored to its original 1909 grandeur," Joseph Serrao of TKA Architects told the city planning commission Tuesday.
Commission members were briefed on the $30 million project advanced by the developer to convert the Highland Building and the adjacent Wallace Building into apartments, with a 182-space, four-level parking garage built between the two structures.
Mr. Serrao said one of the goals of the project is to restore the original look of both buildings as much as possible. The 13-story Highland Building, a former office complex that has been vacant for more than two decades, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was designed by famed architect Daniel H. Burnham and built by Pittsburgh industrialist Henry Clay Frick.
Under the redevelopment plan, 12 of the 13 floors will be converted into apartments. Most will be one-bedroom units. However, the two top floors will house penthouse apartments with upgraded kitchens and bathrooms and washers and dryers in the units themselves.
While the outside of the building will be restored, most of the inside will be gutted to make way for the apartments. The first floor will be used for a fitness center, a community room and management offices.
The three-story Wallace Building, built in the early 20th century, will be transformed into 18 apartments, nine on each of the two upper floors. The first floor will be used for retail.
Highland Wallace, a partnership involving Walnut Capital and Massaro Properties, also plans to restore the facade of that building. It will clean the masonry, repair or replace stone detailing, and restore the original steel columns. The developer also is using old photographs to rebuild the storefronts of the building.
Gregg Perelman, a Walnut Capital principal, said the apartment units should be ready by June 2013. The one-bedroom units will start at $1,100 a month.
He believes the space will attract a lot of attention from young professionals and graduate students who are attending the nearby universities. Shuttles to Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh run by the Highland Building, he said.
The project will come before the planning commission for a vote in a month.
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...ldings-629803/
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