Biomed tower approved

Pitt received permission from the city planning commission to build its $188 million… Pitt received permission from the city planning commission to build its $188 million biomedical tower last week, after having the initial vote postponed because the building provided no additional parking for the people who will work in it.

Chairman Tom Armstrong requested at a Jan. 14 meeting that the commission delay its vote to approve moving forward with the tower’s construction so the city planning commission’s staff could further investigate the parking situation in Oakland. After the investigation, the commission approved Pitt’s project, according to Susan Golomb, the commission’s director.

She added that many of the people who will work in the tower already work on Pitt’s campus so no additional parking is needed to account for them.

Upon its completion, about 500 people will work in the tower, which Pitt is building on Fifth Avenue between Darragh and Lothrop streets. Only 200 to 250 of the people who will work in the tower do not currently work on Pitt’s campus, she said.

Pitt allotted the new employees 100 spots in Victoria Hall’s garage, which will be connected to the tower by a bridge. The other 100 to 150 people will park off-campus, according to Golomb.

Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Robert Hill said the commission’s voting delay did not affect the construction’s schedule or costs.

Pitt addressed the parking situation in the plans it presented to the commission originally, according to Hill. “We brought that to their attention that we had addressed it [to get their approval],” he said.