Former Letsche Elementary School in Hill District to be converted to mixed-income housing

Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority has agreed to sell the former Letsche Elementary School in the city’s Hill District to a developer that will revitalize the historic building as part of a mixed-income housing development.

The project, called Letsche School Apartments, will include 42 apartments in the former school building, as well as four new-construction townhomes and an urban garden, according to plans presented to the URA board.

“This is an incredibly large and beautiful building that was constructed in 1905 and has an incredible amount of detail and ornamentation that was added on to it in several decades over the previous century, the most notable being art deco paneling in the building’s southern entrance facing Bedford Avenue,” said Niklas Persson, a lending analyst with the URA.

The former school, he said, was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

“Unfortunately, the building was closed thereafter and has remained vacant for approximately 15 years,” Persson said.

The interior is in poor condition, but the structure is still in good shape, he said.

Boston-based Beacon Communities plans to leverage low-income housing tax credits and historic rehabilitation tax credits to bring the building back to life.

The URA also has approved a rental gap program loan of about $953,000 for the development.

Once renovated, the building is expected to house 42 apartments, including 10 units earmarked for people making no more than 60% of the area median income, 19 for people making up to 50% of the area median income, five for people making 20% of the area median income and eight listed at market rate.

Construction is slated to be completed by early 2024, Persson said.

Total development costs are estimated at around $22.6 million, according to the URA.

URA Board Chair Kyle Chintalapalli highlighted the “significant number” of affordable units in the development and credited the developer for “preserving that community fabric” by revitalizing a historic site in the Hill District.

“It’s a good one to see for the community there,” he said.

The URA board on Thursday unanimously voted to approve the sale of the property for $30,000, plus costs.

“Beacon is very interested in adding this historic asset, as renovated, to our growing portfolio in the Pittsburgh area,” said Jennifer DiNardo, senior project developer with Beacon Communities. “We think it’s going to be a great-looking development, serving many levels of affordable residents.”