Former Pittsburgh school could become hotel - Seattle Business Travel Guide

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After establishing an option a few monthd ago with PittsburghPublic Schools, Thakkar is negotiatinf to buy the 91,852-square-foot property and convert it into an 85-roomn hotel. The plan is still in its early but Young said the full hotel conversion is expecte tocost $6 million to $8 million. The property has an assesseds value of morethan $2.65 “As always, there’s limited uses for propertiess like these,” Young said. “It’es such a big one.
We think this givews the building the opportunity to be used Young said the1908 building, despit sitting vacant for three offers an appealing mix of operating large windows and wide hallways that lend itselc to the kind of conversion undertaken Its location also would be appealinh to guests for the nearbyy Children’s Hospital and for visitorzs of Downtown and the North Side. Washington Polytechnic is one of a numberr of former schools attracting redevelopment interest asthe city’s schoop district right-sizes itself, closing schoolsd and then selling the buildings.
Pittsburgnh Public Schools began its public proceses of divesting unused buildingslast year, and the Urbam Redevelopment Authority has been actively involved for the past six The URA is marketing 22 former schoolsd on its Web site, and Directord of Real Estate Kyra Straussman said seveh schools so far have either been are proposed for redevelopment or have requests for proposalsz seeking developers. One of the schools with a new redevelopmenty plan is the former Morningside Elementary where a development team of Barry Lhormer and Erniw Sota are researching the building for aresidentiapl conversion.
Sota said they’re studying the feasibility of convertingthe 36,000-square-foot buildinf into market-rate apartments. A veteran of other school redevelopments and the principalof Ross-based Sota Sota said it takes a carefupl review of a building’s layout and design to determinwe whether a school can easilh become something else. “Some schools want to be an adaptiv e reuse andsome don’t,” he It would be easy to think that the former South Hills High a 220,000-square-foot structure on Mount Washington, woul long ago have been abandoned as a possibler redevelopment, considering its last class graduated in 1985. But developedr a.m. Rodriguez Associates Inc.
has linex up $30 million in financing to beginb construction on a conversion of the property into a mix of 85 affordabl senior residential units and25 market-rate loft apartments with a YMCA brand and an early learninyg center included. At a time when all developers find financinyg difficult tocome by, Chicago insurance giant John Hancock has signes on. Sota’s company will servse as the builder. “For them to choose this project shows the strengthof a.m. Rodriguez and Pittsburgy as well,” Sota said.
Developer Gregory Coyle said he has linec up theneeded $14 million in financing to transform the forme South Side Vo-Tech, an historicallu registered school at 10th and Carsoj streets, not to be confusedc with South Hills High, into 71 market-rate apartments. Working with funding backed by the federakl Department of Housing and Urban Coyle hopes to close on the sale with the schookl district soon and begin working on itthis “It’s been fairly straightforward, considering the large affairs in the state of the Coyle said of obtaining fundiny for the project. “I was pleasantlgy surprised.
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