Proposal to build new Citizens Bank branch in East Liberty receives approval on 3rd try

Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a plan to tear down and replace the Citizens Bank branch in East Liberty after previously denying two similar proposals.

The building at 6112 Penn Ave. was constructed in 1969 and 1970, originally housing a Mellon Bank branch. Citizens Bank opened a branch there in 2002 and closed it in March 2020. The bank has since proposed replacing the building with a smaller one that better meets its needs.

A nomination for the building to receive historical designation was recommended by the city’s Historic Review Commission and Planning Commission. City Council voted down the historic designation in July 2021.

Tuesday marked the third time Citizens Bank has attempted to gain Planning Commission approval for its proposal. The commission denied the proposal in fall of 2021 and October 2022.

Citizens Bank has since modernized the design, changed some of the building materials and added benches and a small parklet to the plans, said Mike Knipper, executive vice president of property procurement at Citizens Bank.

Knipper previously told commissioners that bank officials liked the location, but felt the existing two-story structure — which is about five or six times the size of a typical Citizens Bank branch — didn’t fit their needs.

The proposal now calls for a one-story, 2,600-square-foot building with a false second floor that includes decorative windows.

Bruce Bisbano, the principal architect on the project, said the building has grown from 21 feet tall to 25 feet tall as the proposals have been tweaked to meet commissioners’ requests and input from the public. The new building will include bike parking on Centre Avenue and the design aims to provide better visibility for drivers and pedestrians coming in and out of the site, he said.

The granite base of the building will be saved and used to create a landscape wall on the site.

“I appreciate the nod to the previous structure and the little parklet area,” said Lashawn Burton-Faulk, the commission’s vice chair. “I think that was creative use of the former building.”