Plans unveiled for shuttered Shadyside Giant Eagle property

A proposed development would bring an updated Giant Eagle store, additional retailers and restaurants and over 200 new housing units to Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood.

The development, owned by O’Hara Township-based ECHO Realty, is proposed for a site on Penn Avenue and Shakespeare Street that had previously housed a Giant Eagle.

The proposal calls for a new Giant Eagle Market District on the site, according to plans presented to the Planning Commission Tuesday. It also plans for 231 new residential units, 10 ground level commercial spaces for retailers and restaurants and a parking garage for residents and customers.

Some of the apartments will be earmarked as affordable housing, said Tom Price, who is leading the project with Pittsburgh-based Strada Architecture, the architect on the project.

Of those apartments, 10% will be designated as affordable housing for people making no more than 50% of the area median income, while 5%will be designated for people making no more than 80% of the area median income.

Plans call for five stories of apartments, which will directly connect to a parking garage. There will be two elevated courtyards for residents, Price said. Some apartments also will have balconies.

Sidewalks around the development will be at least 13 feet wide, Price said. Restaurants housed in the development could potentially utilize some of that space for sidewalk cafes.

A bus stop located at the site will be upgraded with a canopy, lighting and seating, Price said.

The development also will include a 17,000 square-foot parklet on Aurelia Street that will be open to the public, Price said. It will be “well-lit and safe” and is slated to include seating, landscaping and a play area.

The Giant Eagle that was previously on the property is already being demolished, Price said.

As a “temporary measure until the (new) building is open to the public,” Giant Eagle has launched a mobile market to serve nearby residents, Price said. A temporary pharmacy has been set up across the street at the Village of Eastside on Penn Avenue.

Permanent grocery and pharmacy services will be reimplemented when the development is completed.

A timetable for completion of the project was not discussed during Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting.

The Planning Commission is expected to vote on the proposal at their next meeting in two weeks.