Bakery Square Phase III Expansion Approved in East Liberty

The URA board adopted the East Liberty TRID Phase III plan on Oct. 8, advancing Walnut Capital's Bakery Square expansion at Penn and Shady avenues. Phase A, the Bakery Square Connector, is a six-story, 74-foot mixed-use building with 199 apartments and about 5,000 square feet of office space on the former Club One site. Strada is the architect.

The project includes 70 parking spaces, a tree-lined public plaza, and ground-floor amenities. Five percent of the units, about 10 apartments, are planned as affordable at 80% to 120% of area median income. Walnut Capital scaled the project back from 400 apartments to 199 due to rising construction costs.

The $158.1 million project anchors a 14-acre expansion along Penn Avenue. The TRID plan projects about $10.1 million in net proceeds for Phase III public improvements. Phase B would redevelop the Eastside Village Shopping Plaza with hotel, retail, residential, and possibly office uses.

The project awaits a building permit, with a spring 2028 opening targeted. The plan still needs approval from the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and Pittsburgh Public Schools.