Hazelwood Green redevelopment takes off
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The new CMU Robotics Innovation Center in the foreground, with housing units being built behind it, and the U.S. Steel Community football field in the background. Photo: Courtesy of John Schissler/Tishman Speyer
After a slow start, redevelopment at Hazelwood Green — the former site of Pittburgh's largest steel mill — is finally taking off.
Why it matters: Civic leaders planned for decades the redevelopment of a massive brownfield site along the Monongahela River in Hazelwood, and it wasn't certain it would come together with new office space, light industry, multi-unit housing, retail and parks.
Catch up quick: Hazelwood Green covers 178 acres on the site of the former Jones & Laughlin Steel Pittsburgh Works. The works closed in the 1980s as the steel industry collapsed and the property sat vacant for decades.
- Most of it was demolished in the 2000s. Site prep for redevelopment started in the 2010s.
- The Mill 19 building was rehabbed and opened as a tech-flex office space in 2019, but then development stalled for a few years.
The latest: Hazelwood Green's first apartment complex, Woodlawn Lofts, is under construction, and its first phase is set to open in December, the site's developers, Tishman Speyer, tell Axios while on a tour of the neighborhood.
- Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Innovation Center opened this year and Pitt's BioForge facility is set to open this fall.
- U.S. Steel Community Field hosted its first high school football game last Friday, giving thousands their first glimpse of the shiny — if still incomplete — new neighborhood.
By the numbers: Between 2010 and 2022, about 250,000 square feet were developed in Hazelwood Green, says Tishman Speyer managing director Austin Gelbard.
- But since 2022, about 700,000 square feet has been developed or is in the process of being built, Gelbard said.
What they're saying: Gelbard touts the public plaza and park next to the Robotics Innovation Center and says they will serve as an anchor to build out Lytle Street as the neighborhood's main drag with coming retail and housing.
- "We want to bring folks down to the site for something fun. There hasn't always been a reason to visit Hazelwood Green."
Between the lines: Hundreds of millions of dollars have been donated by philanthropic groups like the Richard King Mellon Foundation, U.S. Steel and the Heinz Endowments to spur development in the neighborhood, said Gelbard.
State of play: Several tech companies have office space in the neighborhood, including life science company ElevateBio, AI company Hellbender, and autonomous vehicle company Motional.
- Woodlawn Lofts will house 160 residential units or a mix of market-rate, affordable for low-income, and units set aside for single-parents working on their degrees.
Yes, but: There are still 58 vertical acres of mixed-use space to develop at the south end of Hazelwood Green, which Gelbard said could be filled by more tech companies, light-industrial businesses and retail.
- There's also space for about 1,200 units of multifamily housing in the north end of the neighborhood.
What's next: Another small park is set to open next month near the entrance to the football field. It will serve as a welcome mat for Hazelwood Green and help bridge the connection to Second Avenue in Hazelwood, Gelbard said.