Bloomfield community group joins appeal to revive housing, grocery store development

A large development proposal for Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood that stalled out last year is gaining an ally in a local community group.

The Bloomfield Development Corporation joined in this week on the appeal of a zoning rejection for a plan to build a large housing and grocery store development at the Community Market site in Bloomfield.

O’Hara-based Echo Realty is seeking to increase the maximum height allowed on a site at the intersection of Liberty Avenue and the Bloomfield Bridge. The city of Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustments denied that variance request in November.

The company appealed the variance denial in December, calling it “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion.”

Echo planned to build a 248-unit apartment building, a 28,000-square-foot grocery store, about 10,000 square feet for retail, and a public plaza facing Liberty Avenue.

The site at 4401 Liberty Ave. houses the Community Market grocery store (formerly a ShurSave IGA) and a large surface parking lot. In addition to market-rate housing and retail, Echo’s proposal would include 318 parking spaces, some of them underground, and 25 of the housing units kept below market-rate due to Bloomfield’s inclusionary zoning law.

Bloomfield Development Corporation, a neighborhood group that helps guide development and organize community events, said in a statement that intervening in the appeal “ensures that the interests of Bloomfield, primarily new affordable housing and the inclusion of a grocery store are firmly represented.”

The group, which is the Registered Community Organization for Bloomfield, has been meeting with Echo since 2020, when the developer first acquired the site. Bloomfield Development Corporation said engagement with Echo and the community has shown a desire to see the site redeveloped and “put to better use,” including the addition of affordable housing to the neighborhood.

“The redevelopment of this site presents an opportunity for Bloomfield to add income-restricted affordable housing units for the first time since 2016,” said the group. “This comes at a time when ‘naturally occurring’ affordable units are increasing in price as more high-income households seek to live in Bloomfield.”

Trace Brewing, which sits adjacent to the Community Market site, also added its name to the petition to intervene in the appeal. Trace said it shares Bloomfield Development Corporation’s interest in creating and perserving affordable housing in Bloomfield.

Echo has said the project needed to exceed the maximum height under zoning to make the project economically feasible, with added cost from the necessary digging needed for the project and Bloomfield’s affordable housing requirements for large projects.

Bloomfield Development Corporation added that the maligned intersection in front of the site is also set to receive $2 million in improvements. Echo has said the project will also be upgrading bus stops adjacent to the project and adding more bike parking.

“Bloomfield has an opportunity to fully reimagine the gateway entrance to the neighborhood,” said Bloomfield Development Corporation.

A status conference for the case is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 5, according to court records.