Summerset At Frick Park
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Summerset at Frick Park is a residential development located in the
Squirrel Hill Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated ...
and Swisshelm Park neighborhoods within the City of Pittsburgh and
Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...
. This project is one of the nation's first
brownfield Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...
sites to be remediated for residential purposes. The $250 million public-project began in 1997 and is the City of Pittsburgh's largest residential development since
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. At completion, Summerset at Frick Park will have over 700 residences and its annual property tax revenue is anticipated to be in the range of $5.7 million to $6.3 million.


History

Summerset at Frick Park is located along the
Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , ), sometimes referred to locally as the Mon (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in nor ...
on the eastern side of Pittsburgh. The brownfield site sits on the edge of Squirrel Hill and from the 1920s to the 1970s was used to dump
slag The general term slag may be a by-product or co-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and recycled metals depending on the type of material being produced. Slag is mainly a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. Broadly, it can be c ...
, a by-product of the steelmaking process. The development is adjacent to
Frick Park Frick Park is the largest municipal park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, covering . It is one of Pittsburgh's four historic large parks. History The park began when the industrialist Henry Clay Frick, upon his death in 1919, bequeat ...
, a 644-acre refuge that contains the area's largest urban stream, Nine Mile Run, which has been restored as part of the development. Phase 3 of the project, currently (2014) under construction, will be located primarily within the Swisshelm Park neighborhood. Summerset at Frick Park's proximity to
Downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River an ...
and
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, where many hospitals, medical facilities and universities are located, makes the reclamation of this area an important development for the city. The project was spearheaded by 3-term Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy. Mayor Murphy worked with the
Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (Singapore), Ministry of National De ...
to begin the project in 1995 with the purchase of the land by the URA from a private entity for $3.8 million. A group of investors, developers and builders named the Summerset Land Development Association (SLDA) was formed, led by the locally based Rubinoff Company. The Rubinoff Company was given exclusive rights to create a master plan for the site and partnered with Montgomery & Rust, Pennrose Properties, Ralph A Falbo Inc. and EQA Landmark Communities to develop and build the community. Planning, engineering, architectural layout, landscape design and consulting services were provided by IBACOS, Kacin Company, LaQuatra Bonci Associates, Looney Ricks Kiss, GAI Consultants,
Urban Design Associates Urban Design Associates (UDA; formerly known as UDA Architects) is an international urban design and architecture firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. History Urban Design Associates (UDA) was founded in 1964 by David Le ...
and Zimmerman/Volk Associates. Building began in 2001 and was guided by principles of
New Urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating Walkability, walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has ...
as well as a model of the Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) type. Some of the features of the neighborhood include shared green spaces and parks, rear alleyways, front porches on most structures, old-fashioned street lamps and picturesque stone walls. A community center, swimming pool, playground and basketball court create an urban community feel in the development.


Building standards

Utilizing the standards for
Green Building Green building (also known as green construction, sustainable building, or eco-friendly building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's li ...
, the developers required that every unit built be at least 30 percent more efficient than typical new homes built in the Pittsburgh area. Summerset at Frick Park's standards became instrumental in creating the base standards for both
Energy Star Energy Star (trademarked ENERGY STAR) is an Efficient energy use, energy-efficiency program established in 1992. It is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The EPA ...
and the EPA's “Build America” program. About 60 million dollars in public funds have been used for site preparation, water and sewer line installation, and road construction. SLDA purchases the lots from the URA and sells them to homebuilders.


Future Development

In September 2014, the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority sent a request for proposal to companies to assist the URA in preparing the third phase of the development. The project will be the final phase of the development, adding more homes and related infrastructure to the site, located in the Swisshelm Park neighborhood.


References


External links


Summerset at Frick Park website

Summerset Living - Online Magazine

Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh

National Brownfield Association

EPA Brownfield Program

US Green Building Council

Pittsburgh Economic Quarterly, June 2012

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh's Summerset at Frick Park hosts 'porch party'

Summerset celebrates the season of the porch with a new kind of neighborhood block party
{{authority control New Urbanism communities Populated places established in 1995 Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania