Cranberry Planning Officials Get First Glimpse of UPMC-Pens Sports Complex Drawings

Cranberry planning officials on Monday got their first glimpse at detailed renderings for the Village of Cranberry Woods, including the proposed UPMC-Pittsburgh Penguins sports medicine facility and ice rink.

Located off Route 228 near the Westinghouse headquarters, the complex aims to be similar to the UPMC sports performance facility on Pittsburgh's South Side, which is used by the Pittsburgh Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh. 

The proposed 150,000 square-foot sports facility would offer hockey-related training and injury treatment and prevention.

When ice isn't available at the Consol Energy Center, the Penguins would use the new rink. Development camps for Penguins hockey prospects, skating classes, public skating sessions and other programs also would take place at the complex.

The five-phase Village of Cranberry Woods plan also includes two hotels, apartments, conventional townhouses, “live-work” townhouses, retail and office space.

UPMC would build and own the complex and the Penguins will lease the ice rink and other facilities from the hospital. Don Rodgers and FRA Development are developing the property.

At Monday’s planning commission meeting, officials reviewed comprehensive drawings for the sports complex, which showed a large, brick structure with a glass front.

Roger Altmeyer, director of community project development for UPMC, said at a prior planning meeting that one portion of the facility would be a two-story medical office space similar to UPMC’s space on the South Side. 

The Penguins training facility would be located in the top half of that same building.

“The balance of the building is the arena area, which has two rinks,” Altmeyer said at the time.

One rink will have about 1,500 seats, he said. There also will be a dedicated area for the Penguins.

Planning officials also viewed plans for a six-story apartment complex with varying rooftops and an integral parking garage. 

Ron Henshaw, Cranberry’s director of community development, noted the developers would need a waiver for the apartment complex, which includes about 300 units, because it surpasses the township’s four-story limit on height for apartment buildings.

Planning commission member Susan Rusnak expressed concern there was only one entrance for the complex’s parking garage, which she feared could create a traffic tie-up for residents returning to and from work. 

“That’s a heck of a traffic jam,” agreed board member Sharon Beck.

Henshaw noted developers worked hard to integrate the apartment structure, which will be located across the way from the Hilton Garden Inn, with rest of the Village of Cranberry Woods. The apartment also will include a park and swimming pool.

“You can’t just have a towering building standing and lurking over the street,” Henshaw said. “It has to fit in, and they believe it fits in with the Hilton Garden Inn across the street.”

Officials also examined grading plans for the property, which included numerous walls consisting of different materials, including vegetative walls made out of greenery and block walls. One of the attractions shown with the grading was a pond with a fountain.

Henshaw said the water feature originally was a storm detention pond only, but developers sought to turn it into an attraction. The water feature will be surrounded by pedestrian trails. 

Henshaw said he hopes the pond will become a lively attraction for shoppers, workers and residents of the Village of Cranberry Woods.

“Let’s give those folks a reason to come here up in here,” he said. “Let’s make this nice enough that it becomes an attraction and make it nice enough for them to have lunch or to play chess there.”

The Village of Cranberry Woods developers, including representatives from UPMC, will attend the next planning commission meeting on July 1 to make a presentation and answer questions.

Henshaw said he expects any recommendations the commission makes on the development to be continued to the next planning meeting.

If planning officials green light the plans, they would next move on to the Cranberry Board of supervisors for a public hearing on the modifications needed for the height of the apartment complex. 

The developers also will need a waiver on the size of the sports complex and ice rink. Henshaw said the township ordinance limits structures in Community Character Development such as the one on Route 228 to 75,000 square feet.   

Henshaw said final approval for the development could be wrapped up before the end of the year.   

To check out renderings for the Village of Cranberry Woods, including the UPMC-Penguins sports complex, click on the drawings in this article.