City of Pittsburgh leaders want to expand Bakery Square

PITTSBURGH — City of Pittsburgh leaders want to expand Bakery Square down Penn Avenue to the busway.

“You’ll see new apartments, new expansion of businesses, new retail just a vibrant new community,” said Councilman Reverend Ricky Burgess as he explained new legislation to expand Bakery Square.

Apartments, office space, outdoor areas, and retail, Pittsburgh City Council will decide if Bakery Square can expand in East Liberty.

“It’ll go from East Liberty Boulevard down basically to Target,” Burgess explained.

The highlighted area shows where the new development will be located. Next to the current bakery square and the adjacent neighborhood of Larimer.

In addition to the mixed-development plan, Walnut Capital, the developers behind the project, have agreed to help fund a $25 million effort to build and rehab 100 homes in the Larimer community.

“We are using the expansion of Bakery Square to use corporate resources to rebuild Black communities. It is the last missing piece of our work,” Burgess said.

A plan Burgess said has been years in the making and has the support of both the Larimer Consensus Group and East Liberty Development Inc.

We asked community members if the plan had their support.

“It’s going to make it a much more attractive place to be, and I am excited about that,” said Reverend Deryck Tanes.

Reverend Deryck Tanes and Dr. James Johnson Jr. Run the city’s oldest African American music school in nearby Homewood and agree that expanding development and creating housing will help make the city a more attractive place to visit and live.

“Now we have a place that when. you have out-of-town guests you can take them to and feel good about it, and now that I know the purpose behind the plan, I wish more cities would model after what we are doing here,” said Dr. Johnson, the founder of the Afro American Music Institute

If approved, the proposed plan will be built in phases over the next three to four years.

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