Pittsburgh's East Ohio Street is getting a 96-room hotel, bike lanes, sidewalks
A hotel, restaurant and apartment building are coming to a dilapidated section of Pittsburgh's East Ohio Street, officials announced on Friday.
North Side-based October Development has secured financing to cover the $17.5 million cost of building a Comfort Inn on vacant land east of Route 279.
In addition to loans from various local banks and the North Side Community Development Fund, it includes $7 million in federal tax credits and state grants totaling about $3.3 million.
John Elash, a partner in October Development, said the project has been eight years in the making and required the company to acquire 33 adjoining properties over 2.2 acres.
“I can't express how wonderful it is,” Elash said. “Eight years is a very long time.”
Work is scheduled to begin early next year on the six-story, 96-room hotel with a rooftop deck. The hotel is expected to open in 2019 with room rates ranging from $130 to $150 per night, Elash said.
The Priory Hospitality Group, owner of the nearby Priory Hotel, will operate the Comfort inn.
Plans include bike lanes along East Ohio and upgrades to a vacant grassy area across the street from the hotel, including a sidewalk leading to the 16th Street Bridge and gardens.
“I think this is the thing that's going to be the linchpin that turns everything around in the North Side,” Elash said. “I think the North Side is going to be that next hot spot in Pittsburgh.”
Elash said future plans include renovations of the long-vacant Workingmen's Bank at East Street and East Ohio, which October Development owns, and a 24-unit apartment building and townhouses on vacant property along East Ohio next to the hotel.
The bank building would become a restaurant operated by Priory Hospitality Group.
“Right now what you have is a major entry point to the whole North Side that 100,000 cars a day go through,” said Mark Fatla, director of the Northside Leadership Conference. “What they see right now is a vacant building and empty lots. In 16 months they're going to have a drastically different vision. It's going to help the overall image of the whole North Side.”
Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-765-2312, bbauder@tribweb.com or on Twitter @bobbauder.
