Pitt announced plans Monday to redevelop its property at 3401 Boulevard of the Allies. The University proposed bringing a grocery store and residential housing units to the property, which currently houses a Panera Bread and was formerly a Quality Inn and Suites.

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 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.

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.

Oakland community members gathered Wednesday night as representatives from three different institutions — Pitt, Shadyside developer Walnut Capital and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority — provided...

Walnut Capital, a Pittsburgh real estate developer, is currently constructing office spaces to advance Oakland and Pittsburgh as a medical and tech capital.