Pittsburgh, PA – Non-profit codevelopers The Community Builders (TCB) and Hazelwood Initiative, Inc. (HI) joined with partners to celebrate the ground breaking of Gladstone Residences, an historic, adaptive-reuse project that will transform the former Gladstone School building into 51 architecturally unique apartments and amenity spaces. Located on a six-acre site in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Hazelwood, the codevelopers will turn a long-vacant, key community asset into high-quality affordable homes.
“Today marks a milestone in Hazelwood’s redevelopment as Gladstone Residences breaks ground, paving the way for 51 Pittsburgh families to move into new quality, mixed-income homes,” said Juan Powell, TCB Mid-Atlantic regional vice president of development. “We’re thrilled to offer life-long residents of Hazelwood the opportunity to live and thrive in their community, regardless of income. We look forward to expanding housing options in Pittsburgh by providing more first-class affordable and mixed-income housing in the future.”
Gladstone Residences will feature four studios, 39 one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom apartments. Forty-three of the units will be affordable to households at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI), including 20 apartments that will include housing vouchers provided by the Housing Authority City of Pittsburgh. Six units will be fully ADA accessible.
Amenities will include on-site management suite, a top-floor lounge with a skyline view, historic auditorium/community room, resident flex space for events and small group activities, a health and wellness room and an outdoor patio. Gladstone Residences will be an all-electric development certified under Enterprise Green Building Communities 2015.
Sonya Tilghman, executive director of HI, emphasized the importance of the project to the community, saying “Gladstone School was a neighborhood institution that connected multiple generations in Hazelwood until it closed in 2001. Now it can be a source of neighborhood pride again and stand as a major step forward in maintaining affordability in this community.”
In partnership with the City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Planning, the Hazelwood community completed its Greater Hazelwood Neighborhood Plan in 2019. This plan was formally adopted as a part of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, with a focus on ways to strengthen and improve the community while proactively preparing for future growth and change.
“The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh is pleased to contribute toward the revitalization of the former Gladstone School and the opportunity to bring sorely needed affordable housing units to Hazelwood. The adaptive reuse of the Gladstone School is the type of development initiative that our organization gets excited about and we look forward to providing Pittsburgh families with access to the top-notch affordable housing this building will offer,” said Caster D. Binion, executive director of the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh.
The adaptive reuse of Gladstone Residences will be possible through funding provided by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, Housing Authority City of Pittsburgh, federal and state historic tax credits administered through the National Park Service and Hazelwood Initiative. The residential redevelopment of the historic property will be financed in part by PNC Bank’s investment in a combination of federal low income housing tax credits and federal and state historic tax credits.
SOTA Construction will lead construction of Gladstone Residences with design by the architectural firm Rothschild Doyno Collaborative.
About The Community Builders
The Community Builders’ mission is to build and sustain strong communities where all people can thrive. Our mission-driven businesses work with partners to develop, finance and operate residential communities, neighborhood amenities and opportunity programs for families, seniors and adults with disabilities. Since 1964, we have advanced housing equity through award-winning affordable and mixed-income communities and our pioneering Community Life model for resident success. Today, our ownership and management portfolio include over 14,000 apartment homes. Anchored by offices in Boston, Chicago, Columbus, New York and Washington D.C., we operate across 15 states.
About Hazelwood Initiative, Inc.:
Hazelwood Initiative, Inc. (HI) is a growing community-based organization committed to economic and social development of the Greater Hazelwood neighborhoods of Hazelwood and Glen Hazel. Guided by a mission to build a stronger Hazelwood through inclusive community development, our primary focus is the preservation and development of affordable rental and for-sale housing, strategic commercial development, and community outreach and engagement. For more information, visit hazelwoodinitiative.org.
About Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh:
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) is a municipal corporation, formed under the United States Housing Act of 1937, charged with providing decent, affordable housing for low-income persons. The Authority is governed by a Board of Directors, which establishes goals, approves policy and budgets, and provides general direction to the HACP Executive Staff. HACP provides publicly assisted housing consisting of traditional public housing, scattered sites and Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8). We currently house more than 18,000 Pittsburghers, manage more than 2,200 public housing units, and provide oversight of an additional 600+ mixed-finance units.