Earlier this summer, ELDI—along with dozens of long-time partners—was proud to celebrate the final piece of a project over a decade in the making.
On Thursday, June 20th, the developer McCormack Baron Salazar held a ribbon cutting for Cornerstone Village Phases III and IV. These two new developments encompass 84 apartment units, 35 in the Larimer School and the rest constructed on parcels of land along Larimer Ave. Approximately 75% of the units are affordable to families making 20-60% of the City’s Area Median Income (AMI).
“Planning for Cornerstone Village III and IV goes all the way back to 2011 when we began community engagement and listening sessions for the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant,” explained Vincent R. Bennett, Chief Executive Officer for McCormack Baron.
The Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant is a highly competitive $30 million federal grant that was awarded to projects in the East Liberty and Larimer neighborhoods in 2014.
In 2006, ELDI helped stabilize and redevelop East Liberty Garden Apartments, an aging affordable housing complex located on Broad Street in East Liberty. The redevelopment of this complex enabled the City of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh’s Housing Authority (HACP) to apply for and ultimately be awarded the funds.
In total, 355 new units have been constructed as a result of this transformative grant, with Cornerstone Village Phases I and II completed back in 2019.
46% of the units are Section 8, 28% are affordable (60% or less AMI), and 26% are market rate. The grant also funded the creation of Liberty Green Park, a $6.5 million playground and green space located on 3.25 acres of land at the intersection of Larimer and East Liberty.
“The final Choice ribbon cutting felt much like a 10-year high school reunion,” said ELDI’s director of operations, Ted Melnyk. “But our collective involvement with Choice has been even longer. The Larimer Consensus Group’s community plans and ELDI stepping in to rescue the East Liberty Garden Apartments from foreclosure in the early 2000s were just a few of the pieces that set the stage for this amazingly successful and nationally recognized Choice project.”
At the ribbon cutting, several speakers acknowledged the hundreds of people and organizations, years of meetings, and countless discussions it took to get the job done, emphasizing that, through the tribulations, we were all in it together.
Phase III of the project was a particularly impressive feat, with the historic Larimer School preserved and transformed into spacious apartments and a community space (slated to become a celebration hall). This was an important point of the community’s vision, with energy and green resiliency incorporated into all of the housing.
Phase IV is a newly built two-story walkup with four units and three attached townhouses to accommodate larger family units. All buildings match the character and honor the history of the neighborhood.
“The community was the key driver in what they wanted to see happen in their neighborhood,” underscored Bennett.
And one element that was key to their vision was a mixed-income approach. That’s why each building blends affordable units with market-rate—both built to the same high standard—safeguarding the affordability and sustainability of the neighborhood for many years to come.
“At the end of more than a decade of work, the East Liberty and Larimer neighborhoods have 355 beautiful, high-quality mixed-income apartments, an amazing state-of- the-art park, and the feeling that the neighborhoods are moving in the right direction, said Melnyk.
Learn more about the story of the Choice Neighborhoods grant in our impact
report.
Apply to live in Cornerstone Village.