Pittsburgh-based developer Walnut Capital is one step closer to expanding its flagship Bakery Square site in the city’s East End.
The commercial and residential development, which opened in 2009, now spans 20 acres in the city’s Larimer and Shadyside neighborhoods. Walnut Capital is seeking to expand office, residential and retail development to an additional 14 acres it owns in the city’s Larimer and East Liberty neighborhoods.
The city’s Planning Commission on Tuesday unanimously voted in favor of expanding a special zoning district to make way for Bakery Square’s proposed growth. Commissioner Rachel O’Neill was not present at Tuesday’s meeting for the vote.
The proposal now moves to City Council for final approval.
Located on the site of a former Nabisco plant, Bakery Square boasts a Google office, restaurants, shops and other amenities.
Walnut Capital has pledged to help fund a $25 million effort to build or rehabilitate 100 affordable homes in the city’s East End, with a focus on Larimer, as part of a community benefits deal tied to the expansion, which it has been working on for over a year.
The commission vote came after city planning staff and the development team briefly sparred over technical minutiae of the bill, including how far tall buildings had to be set back from certain roadways.
When Walnut Capital first unveiled plans to nearly double the Bakery Square development, the news was met with mixed reactions.
Some applauded the pledge to expand affordable housing and saw the development’s growth as an opportunity for more jobs and amenities for East End communities. Others criticized the development, claiming the existing Bakery Square site wasn’t welcoming for minorities and didn’t fit the fabric of the community.
