PITTSBURGH — Bakery Square is about to get a lot bigger.
Pittsburgh City Council approved the zoning for the new $500 million expansion of Bakery Square. The 14-acre addition will be near the previously renovated east end of Pittsburgh.
“From Google’s offices all the way to Duolingo…it creates this whole big energy bordering on five neighborhoods. We have Point Breeze, Larimer, East Liberty, Shady Side...,” Walnut Capital CEO Gregg Perelman said.
Perelman said Trader Joe’s will stay put, but folks should expect new retail, housing, office space and even hotels. He also pointed out the AI Avenue banners hanging on Penn Avenue. He says they are a symbol of what this area is becoming, a hub for the future.
“Really, we are trying to create jobs and an ecosystem, and this just adds one more piece to it, to the whole development that we have here,” Perelman said. “That’s where the jobs are right now, in the AI industry, so we just need to grab hold of it and make something happen.”
Pittsburgh native Alonzo Mitchell Jr. said he is excited for the city to be at the forefront of an industry.
“Sometimes we are like, behind on things,” Mitchell said. “You go to different cities, and you’re like, ‘dang, this is here?’ So it’s just cool that we are upscaling and changing the dynamic of the city.”
Perelman said the funding for the project comes from a combination of equity, developer funds, financing, federal grants and state grants. Walnut Capital has also pledged to help build or fix up 100 affordable homes in Pittsburgh’s East End as part of the project.
Walnut Capital is set to host an AI conference in early September. Perelman said he plans on featuring the new developments in hopes of more businesses coming to East End.
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