A proposal to bring what’s billed as luxury living for older adults is creeping forward in Frazer.
Described as the “Pittsburgh Mills Active Adult” community, it would target those 55 and older in a five-parcel area along Butler-Logan Road adjacent to the Pittsburgh Mills mall.
Foxlane Homes at Pittsburgh LLC is the developer.
“Frazer has somewhat untapped potential. The completion of Route 28 makes the area very accessible from areas like Aspinwall and Fox Chapel,” said Foxlane President Eric Nicholl.
The next hurdle for the development is a public hearing next month before township supervisors for preliminary plan approval. The project already has passed through township conditional use hearings.
Frazer Township Secretary and Supervisor Lori Ziencik declined to comment on the proposal prior to the hearing.
The community would prioritize first-floor living in what is proposed to be about 80 to 90 units, ranging from 1,600 to 2,500 square feet each.
Prices for the single-family homes are not yet available. Should the township supervisors approve preliminary plans, Nicholl said, there still would be a number of permits required before the development could proceed.
Foxlane Homes has a large footprint throughout the state, but specifically the Pittsburgh region, according to Nicholl. The company was founded in 2017.
“Historically, you add ‘rooftops,’ and commercial and retail will come. It will increase tax revenue for the town while also not adding stress on the school system,” he said. “There are many benefits that the community might have on the town.”
The development could be a bright spot in the Mills mall area.
While businesses in the Village at Pittsburgh Mills — the strip mall and free-standing business area at the Mills — appear to be flourishing, the enclosed mall has a 75% vacancy rate, according to some estimates.
The mall could be in danger of losing its last two major anchor stores as Macy’s listed its building at the mall for sale and Dick’s Sporting Goods is developing a new store at the nearby Waterworks shopping center near Aspinwall.
Neither company, however, has announced plans to leave the Mills.
The property also is plagued by potholes, with the mall owner, New York-Based Namdar Realty, facing criminal charges from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office that claim the poor road conditions there are a public nuisance and a growing pile of civil citations from Frazer for the same potholes.
