PITTSBURGH, PA - Target Corp. is coming to East Liberty and going green in the process. Pittsburgh's Planning Commission gave unanimous approval Tuesday to the Minneapolis-based retailer's plan for a 152,000-square-foot store on the site of East Liberty's last remaining public housing high-rise. Plans call for the high-rise to be demolished to make way for the Target store, which "will be one of our most green buildings we've done to date," said Ron Bailey, development manager with Target.
The store, which is expected to be complete within a year and a half, is seeking a silver rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program, Bailey said.
As opposed to a suburban Target store, usually built on 10 to 12 acres of land, the East Liberty store will sit on five acres above a 470-space ground-level parking lot. Of the company's 1,600 stores in 48 states, only about half a dozen are built in this configuration, Bailey said.
Taking cues from Pittsburgh's Contextual Design Advisory Panel, Target will design the store with a stretch of large windows and a mix of design styles to break up the look of the exterior of the building.
Robert Tortorete, owner of the nearby Station Street Hot Dog & Sandwich Shop, expressed concerns about decreased visibility and increased shadows caused by the 42-foot tall building.
But the site's developer said studies indicated these issues should not be a problem. "It doesn't shade his store," said Mark Minnerly, director of real estate for Downtown-based The Mosites Co., which is the project's lead developer. "The visibility issue is more than counter-balanced by the increased traffic."
Source: Pittsburgh Business Times