From the Pittsburgh Business Times by Tim Schooley – Reporter, Jan 2, 2025
Hudson Cos.’ three-project residential conversion of an industrial stretch of Melwood Avenue in Oakland has taken another step forward.
An affiliate of the Mercer County-based company has closed on buying the two parcels on which its next high-rise, to be called The Parker, is approved to be built.
According to real estate records, an affiliate called Hudson Melwood II LP/Melwood Investment II LLC has closed on buying two modest buildings, one mixed-use, the other a small warehouse, at 435 and 445 Melwood.
The affiliate paid $1.5 million for the two properties county records indicate was owned by O Brother LLC/O Brother LP.
One of the buildings has been used as a warehouse for the local T-shirt retailerSteel City, the owner of which indicated the business has established a new location elsewhere in the East End.
The ownership of Hudson wasn’t immediately available for an update on thereal estate buy.
Hudson is far along in building out the Julian, a 10-story, 148-unit project on Melwood, expected to be finished in the spring, and the company’s designs to keep going with a project on the parcels it just officially bought resulted in a third project across the street as well.
The Parker, approved last year, is slated to be a 12-story, 166-unit project to be built on an 18-month construction schedule on the 435 and 445 Melwood parcels.
To meet the parking needs for the Parker project, Hudson was approved by the Pittsburgh Planning Commission in October to also convert a UPMC-used building at 450 Melwood into 42 apartments as well.
The conversion of what is now an office address at 450 Melwood enables the Hudson to use the 153-space parking deck to meet the parking requirements for both the on-site residential conversion and the Parker project across the street.
Hudson, which builds its own projects, has indicated it expects to pursue both the Parker and the 450 Melwood conversion in similar time frames.
The three Melwood projects will add a total of 357 apartments by Hudson once completed. The block of Melwood includes no apartments in the vicinity now.completed. The block of Melwood includes no apartments in the vicinity now.
Hudson’s is pursuing the three Melwood projects as it also builds two companion apartment projects on Smallman Street in the Strip.