The University intends to leverage the existing Pitt-owned Oakwood Apartments and the Franklin apartment complex to satisfy additional housing demand of upperclassmen and potentially graduate students. In concert with the redevelopment of Bouquet Gardens, the development will create a vibrant south campus gateway that links off-campus students to the campus core. The housing node will add student beds and will include amenities on the ground floor such as retail, fitness, and meeting spaces. It is envisioned that many of these amenities can also help service the local community. This mid-rise residential redevelopment will enhance street presence, facing outward to the community to provide a transition zone to Central Oakland.
300,000 ft2 (does not include below grade basement or garage)
Oakland Avenue: 0-15 ft (complies with Residential Compatibility height and setback standards); Sennott Street: 5 ft (contextual to existing conditions);
Portions abutting OPR-A designation: 0-20’; (complies with Residential Compatibility height and setback standards).
Portions abutting R1A-H designation: 15-20 ft (complies with Residential Compatibility height and setback standards).
The development will include a landscaped pedestrian passage. The space should provide places for people to gather and allow pedestrian circulation though the site.
A new pedestrian connection will be created to connect Louisa Street and Roberto Clemente Drive, to enhance east west circulation. Main building entries shall address the public street or the new pedestrian circulation. Service should be screened or incorporated into the building to minimize impact on the pedestrian environment.
The building should respect the adjacent neighborhood and comply with the Residential Compatibility height and setback standards.
The building should create a connection between Atwood Street and Oakland Avenue to facilitate pedestrian movement. Changes in material and plane, as well as inset and projecting bays and balconies, should be used to break down long facades. Pedestrian entries should be articulated with material changes, increased transparency, and/ or prominent architectural features such as canopies, inset or projecting volumes, or towers.
Active and retail uses shall be oriented along the public streets. The ground floors of the building should be highly transparent to create a visual connection between interior and exterior spaces.
