Pitt expands apartment-style housing options through hotel acquisition

On Friday, Nov. 19, the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees’ Property and Facilities Committee approved proceeding with the purchase of the Residence Inn University Medical Center property.

Located within a 15-minute walk from the Cathedral of Learning, at 3896 Bigelow Blvd., the 171-unit property includes efficiency and one- and two-bedroom apartment-style layouts that will be available to rent on 12-month leases beginning in July.

“Pitt’s acquisition of the Residence Inn allows us to provide quality housing to our graduate students, and the purchase supports the University’s long-term enrollment growth laid out in the Campus Master Plan,” said Matthew Sterne, vice chancellor for business services.

Each residence will include a kitchenette, private bathroom and central air conditioning and will be furnished with a bed, dresser, desk, chair and table. Additional property amenities include a fitness facility, outdoor patio, basketball court, on-site laundry and parking garage.

The University has leased the recently renovated property for student use over the past two years to meet high enrollment needs this academic year and to reduce the density of campus housing the year prior. This purchase is a natural transition to permanently serving students at the property.

Students who currently live at the property will continue to do so until the end of the spring 2022 term. After these students depart, Pitt will adapt the property into furnished apartment-style residences and provide leasing information on its housing services website.

Other planned housing additions include a suite-style undergraduate student residence hall on the campus’s hillside development and nonstudent walk-to-work housing at the 3401 Boulevard of the Allies site in Oakland.

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