Cranberry Woods Development might Include Apartment Complex

While Cranberry Woods is known primarily as an office park, living space also could be part of the park’s future.

At Monday’s Planning Advisory Commission meeting, James Murray-Coleman of Trammell Crow Company, which is partnered with Mine Safety Appliances in the development of Cranberry Woods, introduced preliminary plans for a 250-unit apartment complex and a separate office building with 250,000 square feet worth of space.

Murray-Coleman said the buildings would be the final additions to the last available space left at the park, which also is home to Westinghouse Electric Company headquarters.  

He described the proposed garden-style, three-story units as upscale yet affordable. 

“The design also is going to be a high-end design,” he told officials.

He said the units might be attractive to the many young engineers and other employees who work within the park but who are not looking to buy a home yet. He said a one-year lease likely would be required for the units.

Developers also will adhere to Cranberry’s zoning, which allows a mix of residential and commercial uses. The zoning also requires benches, streetlights, sidewalks and other landscaping. Bob Genter of Mackin Engineering Company in Pittsburgh said the preliminary designs include wooded walking trails.

“We’re trying to keep the woods in Cranberry Woods,” he said.

Developers will partner with the township on road improvements, including a that will take motorists over busy Route 228 in the hopes of easing traffic. 

Murray-Coleman said developers would return to the planning commission when they had more detailed plans to share.