Developer building houses, preserving history on Mt. Washington

Developer Jeff Paul has already built more than 40 homes on Mt. Washington, but his new project includes an especially historic touch.

Tentatively called the Bradley Street Redoubt, Paul’s plan to construct 26 housing units and a park includes the preservation of Pittsburgh’s last known Civil War fortification.

“The cool thing about it now is that nobody really knows it’s there. It’s private property in heavily wooded land you can’t even get to,” Paul says.

When Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia toward Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863, there was local concern he’d try to invade Pittsburgh. Working at a frenetic pace, the city constructed 19 earthen fortifications on high ground around the area. Called redoubts, Mt. Washington’s is the last standing Civil War fortification in Pittsburgh.

“The cool thing about it is that we’re going to be able to create another park for Mt. Washington and a cool space for people to live,” Paul says, adding that eventually, the park and fort will be connected to Emerald View Park through its Greenleaf Street trailhead.

“I think it’s a really interesting case study about how development and preservation can go hand-in-hand,” says Ilyssa Manspeizer, the Mt. Washington Community Development Corporation’s director of park development.

Paul says his company, Pomo Development, will work with local historians and archaeologists to preserve and refurbish the redoubt, and that the housing won’t interfere.

“We’re giving them free reign to preserve and recreate it,” he said, adding that Pomo will be happily footing the bill.

Paul has enlisted the services of architect Ed Pope, with whom he worked on Sweetbriar Village, to design the new homes, each of which will have garages and front porches to create a city-type feel.

“We’re trying to create something like Summerset at Frick here in Mt. Washington,” Paul says.

Writer: Matthew Wein
Sources: Jeff Paul, Ilyssa Manspeizer