VISION PLANNING

How about a sneak peek at some of our economic development projects in a pre-development phase?

As you may know, the PNC Bank building at 421 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks, is one of the McKees Rocks Community Development Corporation’s focus projects.

MRCDC has been working with Rothschild Doyno Collaborative‘s architecture and urban design team on proposals for the two-story building and attached parking lot. SOTA Construction Services has given a rough estimate of cost with estimates ranging from $2.8 million to $9 million.

Work with Food 21 was initially geared for use in the PNC space, but over time, it was found the proposed food hall project would not work within the current building footprint. Instead, Food 21 suggests creating a food hall on one of the available spaces on Lower Chartiers Ave.

Food21 has been an active partner in developing two food venues serving other communities in transition, the Hill District with Smoketown at Sankofa Square and Celebration Hall in Larimer. These two projects are in a phase where they secure development funding, while McKees Rocks is in a pre-development phase. Both are similar to the proposal MRCDC provided to Food 21 for redevelopment in McKees Rocks’ Lower Chartiers Avenue area using food ventures as a catalyst.

What’s a Food Hall?

A food hall is a large indoor space with multiple food vendors, bars, and seating areas, oftentimes with counter service. Food halls often feature local restaurants, food-focused shops, and live entertainment. 

Local to the Pittsburgh area, are the following food halls:

• Federal Galley – North Side
• Novo Asian Food Hall – Strip District
• Lawrence Hall – Lawrenceville

Why a Food Hall?

Startup costs are lower than opening a standalone restaurant. One of the reasons for the lower cost is that many landlords provide the foundation for the mini-restaurant: fixtures, furniture, and equipment. A food hall restaurant owner will only have to customize their spot.

Other perks:

• Costs like general maintenance are shared among tenants of the food hall.
• Electricity, water/sewage, and some other utilities are covered.
• Shorter contracts with more flexible terms than at a standalone eatery.
• Restaurants can set up shop faster because they have a foundation, fewer things to worry about, and require less upfront capital.

There are also many reasons a retail developer or customer would be interested in a food hall such as unique food experiences, affordability, higher chance of success and more.

As always, we are working hard on acquiring funding, investors, and partners to move these types of projects forward. Interested investment partners should email us here.