Tishman Speyer Selected as Master Developer of 178-Acre Innovation Hub

PITTSBURGH, PA – The Almono Limited Partnership and Carnegie Mellon University have reached agreements with developer, owner and operator Tishman Speyer to transform Almono’s 178-acre site, Hazelwood Green, in Pittsburgh, PA into a global innovation hub.

Almono, a joint-venture between the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the Heinz Endowments and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, will work with Tishman Speyer to convert the historic, former Jones & Laughlin steel-mill site into a center of innovation, sustainability and community.

The new riverside neighborhood will be anchored by research facilities for science and engineering, while aiming to honor the community’s history. The companies will create an environment and infrastructure that support advances in robotics, AI, life sciences and other 21^st century fields.

As Hazelwood Green’s master developer, Tishman Speyer will additionally develop affordable and market-rate apartments, parks, open spaces, local shops and restaurants, and other community amenities. The developments will be in accordance with the site’s approved Preliminary Land Development Plan.

Over the next decade, Almono and Tishman Speyer plan to deliver millions of square feet of new mixed-use space at the site, which is surrounded by the historic Hazelwood neighborhood.

Tishman Speyer will additionally assist Carnegie Mellon University with the siting, design, construction and programming of the university’s robotics innovation center, which will be situated in Hazelwood Green’s historic Mill District. Richard King Mellon Foundation awarded $75 million to Carnegie Mellon University in May 2021 to construct the new facility and to provide ongoing support for its manufacturing futures institute, which is also located at Hazelwood Green.

Almono has already renovated and redeveloped two historic structures on the site, including Mill 19, which is now owned and operated by RIDC and is occupied by Carnegie Mellon University’s advanced robotics for manufacturing and manufacturing futures initiative, catalyst connection and motional. The partnership has additionally redeveloped the Roundhouse, which still features 10 bays and a turntable, is aiming for LEED Gold certification, and is now tenanted by Silicon Valley-based entrepreneurship platform OneValley.

“This is a huge milestone for Hazelwood and for Pittsburgh,” states Grant Oliphant, president of the Heinz Endowments. “The vision for Hazelwood Green is breathtakingly ambitious, because it envisions the reinvention of this massive site as the key to unlocking a more inclusive and sustainable future for everyone in Pittsburgh, and to make sure the neighborhood around it shares in what happens here.”

Oliphant adds, “As we looked around to find a master developer who could take on a challenge of this magnitude, Tishman Speyer quickly emerged as the logical choice. The firm is one of the most accomplished developers of transformative, mixed-use spaces in the world, and its team has the expertise, creativity, resources and depth to deliver on the goals we have set for this site. We look forward to working alongside them and our local and community partners to create a place that will drive Pittsburgh’s continued renewal and benefit all in our community.”

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey states, “We know the vision for Hazelwood Green has always been to rebuild a part of the neighborhood, while lifting up the surrounding community and creating opportunities for existing residents. With a developer of the caliber of Tishman Speyer at the table, we are excited to begin working towards achieving these shared goals. We look forward to this partnership and are thankful to build off the foundation laid by the community and the Almono Partners that centers the social and economic needs of our city.”

“The Almono foundations have been committed to this moment for over twenty years: the moment when the various parts fall into place to create an achievable vision for growth, equity and sustainability on a prominent former steel mill site,” says Jen Giovannitti, president of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. “Now Pittsburgh’s bold leaders from academia, community, business and philanthropy join a global developer who has aspirations as audacious as our own. I want to thank our predecessors, our Boards of Trustees and the select group of elected officials that believed in this project and lent their support in meaningful ways since we purchased the property in 2002.”

“We are thrilled by this opportunity to collaborate with world renowned innovators and local community members to create a thriving, sustainable neighborhood at Hazelwood Green,” states Tishman Speyer senior managing director Jeffrey Mandel.

“Pittsburgh has long been a global model for urban reinvention, thanks in large part to the support of its bedrock local institutions, including Mellon, Heinz and Benedum,” says Tishman Speyer president and CEO Rob Speyer. “We look forward to delivering on a shared vision for Hazelwood Green as a sustainable, equitable hub of innovation, discovery and community.”