URA expected to select developer for Produce Terminal this week

With the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority expected on Thursday to select a firm to redevelop the Strip District's Produce Terminal, a company once lined up for the project has turned the page.

The Strip-based Buncher Co., which acquired a $1.8 million option on the Produce Terminal four years ago, received approval from the Pittsburgh Planning Commission to remove the crumbling terminal from a subdivision plan for riverfront property it owns.

It's no longer in our development plans, said Buncher President and CEO Tom Balestrieri.

Buncher owns more than 50 acres between the Allegheny River and Smallman Street. It is laying a road parallel with Smallman, between 16th and 21st streets, that crews will mostly complete by the end of the year, Balestrieri said.

Construction of as many as 200 apartments could begin along the riverfront near the 21st Street edge of the property next year, Balestrieri said. Simultaneously, townhouses that include so-called live-work units designed to house tenants and their businesses could be built nearby.

Balestrieri said Buncher spoke with about a dozen developers, including seven national firms, but Buncher could opt to use its own real estate and development division.

Tentative proposals have included 100 to 200 apartments in the first building, which could be five to 12 stories tall. Some firms proposed building a neighboring apartment building at the same time.

Buncher's plan to demolish about one-third of the URA-owned building drew opposition from Mayor Bill Peduto and some preservationists. In a deal brokered in February, Buncher agreed to step aside while the city considered alternate proposals.

Three groups are in the running. The URA is expected to choose a developer to negotiate with for up to 90 days. The board will vote to terminate URA's option with Buncher and pay the company $640,000 for doing so, its meeting agenda said.

Buncher is as anxious as everybody to see that project completed, company Vice President Mike Kutzer said.

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URA expected to select developer for Produce Terminal this week