Pittsburgh officials say long-discussed plans for two city-owned properties are finally moving. The former Office of Municipal Investigations building in the Strip District and a vacant storefront at 604 Liberty Avenue in Downtown are both on deck for redevelopment that would combine ground-floor small-business space with new market-rate housing and a possible pocket of green in the form of a small public garden or parklet. City leaders are pitching the projects as part of a broader push to get more people living, shopping, and lingering along the city’s busiest downtown corridors.
According to a URA press release, the agency is entering exclusive negotiations with TAGYLZ LLC to redevelop the OMI building and plans to present both proposals to the URA Board at its regular meeting this afternoon. The release states that MK Liberty Partners will purchase 604 Liberty Avenue and that the 604 Liberty renewal project is expected to invest over $480,000 to rehabilitate the first-floor commercial space for local tenants.
Today, @urapgh and @CoreyOConnorPA the redevelopment of 2 City-owned properties in the Strip District and Downtown to bring new small business space, housing & renewed energy to two of our busiest business corridors. See the full press release: https://t.co/pT19Lv4HNv https://t.co/TA9tJtJcN7
- City of Pittsburgh (@CoreyOConnorPA) July 9, 2026
Plans for the OMI building
The City of Pittsburgh’s post on X describes TAGYLZ’s proposal for a $4.35 million mixed-use conversion at 2608 Penn Avenue. The plan calls for adaptively reusing the existing façade, adding a third story, creating two ground-floor commercial spaces, and putting ten market-rate apartments on the top two floors. The proposal also leaves open the possibility of turning the existing surface parking into a small public garden or parklet as part of the streetscape activation, which officials hope will keep more people on the block instead of just passing through.
TAGYLZ will have a six-month exclusive negotiation period to test site conditions and determine feasibility before any final agreement is reached, giving the developer time to confirm whether the concept actually pencils out before shovels ever hit the ground.
604 Liberty and small-business activation
Over on Liberty Avenue, MK Liberty Partners plans to rehabilitate the first-floor storefront at 604 Liberty and lease it to a local business on the busy corner near Heinz Hall and Market Square, according to the URA. The purchase price is listed at $200,000, and officials say the renewal project will inject more than $480,000 into storefront repairs and upgrades aimed at supporting pedestrian activity in the area.
Why this matters
Adding residents and active storefronts is central to efforts to revive Downtown and make commercial corridors more resilient. Axios has reported that a wave of office-to-housing conversions and public-space investments is already reshaping Downtown, and city officials hope smaller, targeted projects like these will help extend that momentum along streets such as Liberty and Penn.
Next up, the URA Board will review the proposals, TAGYLZ will move ahead with site testing during the exclusive negotiation window, and MK Liberty Partners will proceed with acquisition and rehabilitation once approvals are in place. City officials say the combined moves are intended to bring more customers to downtown businesses and increase the number of residents who live within walking distance of key corridors, one building at a time.
