District 31 Townhomes: 23 Rowhouses Coming to the Strip District
What does it take to turn an old industrial corridor into a real neighborhood? In Pittsburgh’s Strip District, the answer is taking shape one block at a time. On July 14, 2026, the Pittsburgh Planning Commission reviewed the District 31 Townhomes proposal. The project would bring 23 four-story rowhouses to a long-vacant site near Smallman Street, Mulberry Way, the 31st Street Bridge, and 32nd Street. It marks another step in the Strip District’s housing growth. If you own property in or near the area, this project shows where the local market is heading.
What Is Being Proposed and Where
The District 31 Townhomes site has sat vacant for many years. It sits in a slice of the Strip District bounded on four sides by Smallman Street to the north, Mulberry Way to the south, the 31st Street Bridge to the west, and 32nd Street to the east. The property is owned by Smallman Street Holdings LLC.
The civil engineer on the project is PVEDI, the same firm currently working on the Wegmans and Meijer grocery projects in Cranberry Township. The project architect is Rothschild Doyno Collaborative, a Pittsburgh firm known for community-centered design work across the region.
What the Buildings Will Look Like
Each of the 23 townhomes will rise four stories high. One parking spot is allotted to each home. Street-level trees will line the Smallman Street frontage, giving the block a residential feel that is currently absent from this stretch of the corridor.
The units are planned in two rows. One row faces Smallman Street, directly across from the Studebaker Building. The second row runs along Mulberry Way. Between the two rows sits what the design team called an “interior drive,” a shared space intended as a gathering area where residents can interact from their porches and garages, walk dogs, and let children play. Geoff Campbell, a principal with Rothschild Doyno Collaborative, told the Planning Commission: “The last thing we wanted to do was make it feel like the Mulberry Way units were looking to the back of somebody else’s home.” Designers chose brick and metal as the primary materials to build homes that feel genuinely rooted in this industrial neighborhood.
Where the Project Stands in the Approval Process
Campbell presented the District 31 Townhomes proposal at a Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. He described the briefing as “unofficial.” That means it was an informational presentation before a formal vote, not an approval hearing. The project still requires public feedback periods, design revisions, and City Council votes before it can reach the permitting and development phases.
One portion of the existing structures on the site will remain, at least for now. Campbell said most of the buildings would require demolition to make way for the rowhouses. However, those closest to 32nd Street will stay standing. He described them as part of a future phase of development, separate from the current 23-unit proposal.
What Comes After the Briefing
The Planning Commission briefing is the first formal step in Pittsburgh’s development review process. After feedback is gathered from the public and the commission, the developer revises plans as needed. Then the project goes back to the commission for an official vote. After that, it moves to City Council. A project like this typically takes several months to move through each stage. Construction timelines have not been publicly announced.
Why the Strip District Is Seeing This Kind of Development
The Strip District has been Pittsburgh’s most active residential development corridor for the past several years. The neighborhood earned its name from the narrow strip of land between Penn Avenue and the Allegheny River, historically packed with food distributors, produce markets, and light industrial uses. As those businesses have shifted, the available land has attracted residential developers at a scale few Pittsburgh neighborhoods have seen.
Strip District Neighbors, the nonprofit that tracks development in the area, estimated 3,235 people were living in the neighborhood as of its most recent count. That population could double again within two to three years if the full pipeline of planned projects moves forward, according to the organization’s own projections. The pipeline includes at least 1,961 planned residential units beyond the 2,297 already counted in the neighborhood.
What Other Projects Are Moving at the Same Time
Station 28, a six-story, 224-unit apartment building along Railroad Street, is already under construction. W Lofts is expected to begin work in the near future inside the converted Bittner Building. A two-building Midwood Investment and Development project on Railroad Street would add 441 apartments and 23 riverfront townhomes alongside a 37,000 square-foot grocery store on an unused riverfront plot. That project went before the Planning Commission in November 2025. Brickworks at 2121 Smallman Street, developed by McCaffery Interests, is bringing 228 apartments plus townhouse-style units to the block immediately nearby.
Furthermore, the broader Strip District redevelopment story covers years of transformation on this corridor, from warehouse conversion to active residential neighborhood.
What Makes Rowhouses Different From Everything Else Going Up
Almost every residential project in the Strip District is an apartment building. Towers, mid-rises, warehouse conversions, and stacked lofts dominate the Strip District housing boom. What the neighborhood lacks is for-sale townhomes that feel like houses. The District 31 Townhomes proposal fills that gap.
Campbell put it plainly at the Planning Commission briefing: “This is very quickly becoming an area that needs its own neighborhood. This is a highly industrial area historically, but it is converting to residential.” The project’s design choices, stoops, porches, balconies, walkways, plant beds, and a shared interior drive, all point toward a vision of the Strip District as a place where people put down roots rather than simply rent for a year or two.
Who Is Likely to Buy These Homes
Four-story rowhouses with one parking space each, designed with architectural materials meant to honor the neighborhood’s industrial past, are likely to attract urban buyers who want ownership rather than rental. Pittsburgh buyers in this category have historically been underserved in the Strip District, where nearly all new development has been rental apartments. A project that offers fee-simple ownership with a true neighborhood feel is a different product from anything currently available on this block.
Pricing has not been announced as of the July 2026 Planning Commission briefing.
The Demolition That Has to Come First
The District 31 Townhomes site is not vacant land. It holds existing structures that will need to come down before construction can begin. Campbell told the commission that most of the buildings on the site require demolition to make way for the rowhouses. Demolition will not happen until the project clears the full city approval process, which means public comment, planning commission vote, and City Council approval all have to happen first.
The structures near 32nd Street are the exception. Campbell said those will be preserved for now, as they are planned to be part of a future development phase separate from the current proposal. That phased approach suggests Smallman Street Holdings LLC sees the District 31 site as a longer-term opportunity, not a one-time build.
What Other Pittsburgh Neighborhoods Were Building While the Strip Grew
The Strip District’s housing boom is part of a larger trend across Pittsburgh. On July 14, 2026, the Pittsburgh Planning Commission reviewed four major housing proposals, including District 31 Townhomes.
The proposals included Pittsburgh’s first active adult 55-plus community in Banksville with 124 attached townhomes. The commission also reviewed plans for a nine-story University of Pittsburgh residence hall for first-year students at Fifth Avenue and Ruskin Avenue in Oakland. Another proposal would bring a four-story apartment building with 200 units to the former UPMC hospital site on Mary Street in the South Side. Together, these projects show that Pittsburgh continues to add housing across different neighborhoods and price points.
What This Means for Buyers and Homeowners Near the Strip District
A 23-unit rowhouse development is not a large project by Strip District standards. However, it matters as a signal. Developers do not propose for-sale townhomes in a neighborhood unless they believe buyers exist at a price point that justifies the cost. The fact that Smallman Street Holdings LLC and Rothschild Doyno Collaborative are moving forward with this proposal tells you something about where buyer demand in the Strip District is heading.
For homeowners in neighborhoods adjacent to the Strip Lawrenceville, Polish Hill, the Central Northside, and parts of the North Shore, this kind of development creates spillover demand. Buyers who cannot afford Strip District pricing or who want more space than a Strip tower offers often look one neighborhood out. That pattern has already played out in Lawrenceville and the Strip’s eastern edges over the past several years, and it is likely to continue as the pipeline of residential projects progresses.
Thinking About Selling a Property Near the Strip District?
Not every homeowner near the Strip wants to wait for a multi-year development pipeline to fully play out. Some own older properties that need significant work. Others are dealing with inherited homes that have been sitting empty. Some simply want to move on without the time and effort a traditional listing requires in a market that is transitioning rather than fully arrived. For homeowners in that position, selling directly to a cash buyer is often the most practical path.
FAQs
What are District 31 Townhomes?
District 31 Townhomes is a proposed residential development in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. The project includes 23 four-story rowhouses on a long-vacant site near the 31st Street Bridge. Developers presented the plan to the Pittsburgh Planning Commission on July 14, 2026. The project would bring ownership-style housing to the neighborhood.
Has District 31 Townhomes been approved?
No. The Pittsburgh Planning Commission held an informal briefing on July 14, 2026. The project still needs public feedback, design updates, a formal commission vote, and City Council approval before construction can begin.
Will existing buildings on the site be demolished?
The developer cannot start demolition until the city approves the project. After approval, crews will remove most buildings on the site. They will keep the buildings near 32nd Street for a future phase. The site could see more development later.
Who is the architect for District 31 Townhomes?
Rothschild Doyno Collaborative designed the project. The firm focused on community-centered design. Its plan includes front stoops, porches, shared outdoor spaces, and materials that match the Strip District’s industrial character.
How does this fit into the Strip District’s broader housing boom?
The Strip District already has 2,297 completed homes and nearly 2,000 more in development. District 31 Townhomes adds 23 ownership-style rowhouses. Unlike many recent projects, it focuses on homeownership instead of rental apartments.
Conclusion
Geoff Campbell made it clear during the Planning Commission meeting. The Strip District is quickly becoming a true neighborhood. That is a major change for an area that spent most of the 20th century as an industrial and distribution hub. If approved, District 31 Townhomes will add something apartment buildings cannot. The project will create owner-occupied rowhouses with front stoops and tree-lined streets that support long-term neighborhood growth.
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