Kinkead: $5.25 million secured to develop local properties

State grants to fund moon lab, ballet theatre, mixed-use spaces, and more

PITTSBURGH, April 26 – More than $5 million in state grant funding has been awarded to various development projects in the city, state Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, announced today.

“I’m proud to have helped secure these investments that will play an essential role in building the future of the Greater Pittsburgh area,” said Kinkead. “Our region is attracting leading companies across all industries and grant awards like this support crucial redevelopments that will reinforce our appeal to businesses and make Pittsburgh a better place to live, work, and play.”

Kinkead emphasized that several of the funded projects include renovations to buildings that have sat unused or succumbed to blight and others will increase river-related opportunities for those living and working in the area, providing further aesthetic enhancement and accessibility to the urban environment.

Funds were awarded as follows:

  • $1 million to 1501 Penn Owner LLC: The project will demolish the existing cold storage building located at 1501 Penn Ave. The existing foundations will be retained and incorporated into a new mixed-use office building. The building will include central chilled beam HVAC/supplemental cooling, enhanced indoor air-quality strategies, and supporting water conversation efforts. The project will have a total building area of 951,593 SF, consisting of 537,068 SF of Class A office space across 15 levels, plus 21,301 SF of retail space, 14,000 SF of amenities, and parking spaces. The installation of exterior improvements such as sidewalks, public plaza, tree pits and trees, plantings, curbs, and bicycle racks are also included.

  • $750,000 to Three Crossings 2.0, LP: This project represents the transformation of the former cardboard factory into a sustainable mixed-use neighborhood. Phase 2 will develop 600,000 SF of office space, 50,000 SF of retail space, 300 residential units, and over 1,300 parking spaces on a 10-acre brownfield site. It will incorporate health and safety features such as touchless entry doors and systems, HVAC units with enhanced filtration (MERV 14), and foot pulls on high-touch doors.

  • $2 million to Astrobotic Real Estate Holdings LLC: The project will repurpose a former post office into a new state-of-the-art headquarter building for lunar logistics. The building will house the company's spacecraft integration cleanrooms, test facilities, lab spaces, rover test labs, payload operations room, dedicated mission control, and museum. The facility will have 15,000 SF of cleanroom and lab space, and will feature a space mobility and lunar simulant lab, where mobile rovers can test drive in synthetic lunar regolith.

  • $1 million to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre: This project continues campus improvements to the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre by creating two crossing squares on Liberty Avenue, avoiding major intersections. This will create a pedestrian-friendly gateway to the riverfront. Other improvements to the campus will include a 30% increase in office space and hardscape and landscape redesign of the campus.

  • $500,000 to City of Pittsburgh: The project will relocate the First Division Street Maintenance Facility from Riverview Park to a more industrialized and centralized location along the Allegheny River. The project includes the deconstruction of the existing facility, purchase of the new property, design, and a geotechnical survey. Upon completion of the design process, the building will be deconstructed on the newly acquired property, and will construct a new facility along with site work surrounding the new building to house the necessary vehicles and equipment.

In December, Kinkead announced additional funding for the projects at 1501 Penn Ave. and Three Crossings.

The funds were awarded through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, a Commonwealth grant program overseen by the Office of the Budget to assist with regional cultural, economic, civic and historical projects that improve a community’s economic growth by creating jobs and opportunities.