Walnut Capital Partners to Develop $119M Mixed Use Project

By Liviu Oltean, Associate Editor

Due to its former success, Walnut Capital Partners’ Bakery Square project might come to Penn Avenue.

Walnut Capital has bid $5.4 million to buy the Reizenstein property from the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Walnut Capital is planning to transform the property into 400,000 square feet of office and retail space and also add 90 new residential units. The company will fund a $119 million development, named Bakery Square 2.0, that will generate $1.7 million in new tax revenue and add about 1,000 employees, the Pittsburgh Business Times reported.

Todd Reidbord, Walnut Capital principal, commented that the demand for a new Bakery Square project is founded on the 100 percent occupancy rate of their previous 220,000-square-foot project. In addition, Bakery Square 2.0’s sustainability is due to the Shadyside neighborhood, one of the most prosperous areas in Pittsburgh. Reidbord added that the high demand for the initial Bakery Square project is founded on the desire of residents to live close to their offices.

Many of the details haven’t been established, but Reizenstein will function as a school until the end of this year. Founded in 1997, Walnut Capital is one of the largest and fastest growing companies in Pittsburgh, with expertise in residential and commercial real estate.

In regional news, new retailers, restaurants and a new hotel are coming to McCandless Crossing, the Pittsburgh Business Times reports. AdVenture Development sold to Widewaters a parcel of land, where the Syracuse-based company will develop a Hilton Home2 Suites hotel. The Hilton Home2 Suites hotel has gained popularity as a hotel that combines short- and long- term stay, the price per night of a room decreasing depending on the length of the visit.