The Pittsburgh Press
Sunday, June 13, 1976


Bower Hill Becoming Co-op
The first major apartment here to convert from a rental unit to a cooperative is the 277-unit Bower Hill Apartments in Mt. Lebanon.
Since the owner, General Investment and Development Co. of Boston decided to make the change earlier this year, about 25 per cent of the existing tenants have decided to buy into the cooperative, said Bob Karp, a vice president of the Boston firm.
Karp added that the remaining tenants were offered a one-year lease before they would have to vacate, thus giving tenants the opportunity to buy or relocate elsewhere.

Karp, who has the dual role of executive vice president of Bower Hill Apartments, said 15 sales were recorded in May. And he anticipates greater sales activity this summer.

Being offered are studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apart-
ments and penthouses, priced from $21,000 to about $100,000. Some apartments are multi-level, with bedrooms on the second floor and kitchen and dining-living on the first. Apartments offer from about 1,000 square feet in the one-bedroom to 1,750 square feet in the three-bedrooms.
Karp said under a cooperative, owners are provided a main-tenance-free apartment, both indoors and out. All repairs and maintenance are handled through the cooperative.

A gatehouse, manned by a guard, provides 24-hour sec-urity with visitors unable to enter without approval of the owner being visited. Entry into the building is through an intercom system.

The two 11-story buildings, containing about139 apartments each, are located on a 26 acre site along Bower Hill Road,
adjacent to St. Clair Hospital. The buildings have two indoor (underground) parking levels for 180 cars, and there is outdoor parking for about 250 more autos.

Also included are lighted tennis courts and an outdoor swimming pool. There is a party room and sun decks on the roof, plus a laundry-recreation lounge on the fourth floor.

Financing is available with a 10 percent down payment, Karp added. Various decorating plans are also available.

When about 30 per cent of the units are sold, a cooperative association will be organized among the owners. This could occur in early September.

The first apartment at Bower Hill was opened in 1968, and the second in 1970. Karp expects the cooperative sales program to be completed within two years.


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