EPA Officials Tour Pittsburgh Redevelopment Sites Where Brownfield Funding Supports a Community Resurgence
PITTSBURGH (Aug. 23, 2022) – Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency toured two formerly contaminated sites in Pittsburgh today that are now cleaned up and provide thriving assets for the community.
Deputy EPA Administrator Janet McCabe joined EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz to tour the Homewood Station Apartments in the Homewood section of the city and the former Lawrenceville Foundry Site at 41st and Willow Street in the Lawrenceville section.
The Homewood site, which had once consisted of two vacant gas stations and vacant commercial buildings, sat idle for many years. Located across the street from previously developed townhouses, the blighted site hindered redevelopment in the area for at least a decade. Thanks to previous Brownfields funding to the North Side Industrial Development Company (NSIDC), the Homewood site was assessed and has since been redeveloped with an $11.5 million project that includes a mixed-income apartment building for senior citizens with ground floor retail space and a proposed café.
Advocates for revitalization in the neighborhood like Councilman Reverend Ricky V. Burgess, Pittsburgh City Council, 9th District, helped make this redevelopment a reality.
“This senior low-rise, probably the most significant project to occur in the community in the last 20 years, will provide seniors with quality affordable housing and world class amenities. This is the first step of revitalizing the business corridor and transforming this neighborhood,” said Burgess.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to help communities redevelop,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “EPA is more than just a regulatory agency, we’re also a public health and community revitalization agency, and we look forward to building partnerships and working together to empower community-driven property transformations like those we’re witnessing today.”
Their next stop was the former Lawrenceville Foundry. This five-acre site, located adjacent to the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, is housed in a former steel fabrication shop that sat largely underutilized for more than a decade.
A local developer agreed to purchase this property for redevelopment, conditioned upon a complete environmental investigation. EPA Brownfields funding to NSIDC was previously used to assess the site.
It has since been redeveloped as a $35-million housing project known as The Foundry at 41st that features upscale apartments with amenities including a landscaped courtyard, rooftop terrace, swimming pool and fitness area. The development celebrates Lawrenceville’s industrial roots in a neighborhood that has a trendy, urban vibe.