New Mt. Washington Lofts Complex Plans Unveiled

PITTSBURGH, PA — The former Bishop Leonard-St. Mary of the Mount Elementary School in Mt. Washington, vacant for the past eight years, will be converted into a 34-unit loft apartment building.

The Pittsburgh Planning Commission next week will be briefed on the project, which will be developed on a prominent piece of Grandview Avenue at Bigham Street.

The building renovations will include a new ground-level entry and lobby, business and fitness centers, an ADA tenant apartment, building manager office, tenant storage and bike storage areas.

Classrooms will be converted into a mix of studio and two-bedroom lofts, a lounge area and laundry rooms. A roof deck will be added to provide a 360-degree view of Downtown Pittsburgh, the North Side, Grandview Avenue and Mt. Washington.

The school was sold in 2018 to Mindful Grandview LLC, according to the Allegheny County real estate website. Mindful Grandview also purchased an adjacent property, the site of Sullivan Hall, the St. Mary of the Mount church social hall.

The church, a Pittsburgh landmark located two blocks from the old school on Grandview, can be seen miles away because of its location atop Mt. Washington.

Bishop Leonard-St. Mary of the Mount Academy, known simply as St. Mary for most of its decades-long history, was a K-8 school that closed in 2012. Plans to transform the building into condominiums were unveiled in 2014 but failed to materialize.