The Properties and Facilities Committee of Pitt’s Board of Trustees held a public meeting last Thursday to discuss resolutions to construct two new branch campus buildings, as well as improvements to an Oakland campus building.

After years of dealing with the series of boarded up and uninhabited Bates Street row houses, Oakland community members are making sure the pending owner of the parcel — Walnut Capital — has definitive plans to fix up the area.

The Oakland Planning and Development Corp.’s monthly public meeting consisted of a property owner seeking community input on property construction and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority explaining the process of replacing water mains.

The properties and facilities committee of Pitt’s Board of Trustees held a public meeting Thursday morning to approve several projects involving campus buildings. Pitt will also acquire a series of properties around Bates Street, Boulevard of the Allies and Zulema Street.

For Oakland residents, additional construction projects in the neighborhood may loom ahead. Residents voiced concerns at Tuesday evening’s Oakland Planning and Development Corp. meeting about a new...

Parts of Bigelow Boulevard will reopen next Saturday as the University's massive construction project moves into its fourth phase.

Since then, Walnut Capital, a local property management company, has acquired the building and is currently renovating it. Construction began in late summer 2018 and was expected to last 18-24 months, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the state halted nonessential construction. Todd Reidbord, president and founding partner of Walnut Capital, said he expects the building to be ready for occupancy in spring 2021.

The Oakland Planning and Development Corp. held a community meeting online Tuesday night, providing a space to give updates on projects happening around the neighborhood as well as allowing community members to give their feedback. Clark Street Holdings presented its plan to develop a multi-use space, similar to the recently constructed Bridge on Forbes building, on the former site of the Marathon gas station at 3500 Forbes Ave.

The construction on Bigelow Boulevard is now set to finish its third and final phase in October. It originally had an August completion date, before Welcome Week for incoming first-year students.

As businesses shutter across Pennsylvania in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the roaring sounds of construction normally heard across Pitt have gone silent as well.