Alpha Residential Plans Pittsburgh-Area Project
The community will include 300 apartments and more than 50 built-to-rent townhomes.
Alpha Residential, a Pittsburgh-based multifamily developer, is moving forward with plans for Apex Diamond Ridge, a 352-unit community with apartments and built-to-rent townhomes in Moonship Township, Pa. It will be the second multifamily development for the firm in the Pittsburgh suburbs.
Apex Diamond Ridge will feature 300 apartments and 52 BTR townhomes. The initial townhome deliveries are expected in summer 2026. The full development is slated for completion in spring 2027.
Located on Market Place Boulevard, the community will be 6 miles from the Pittsburgh International Airport and 13 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. The development will be part of the emerging Diamond Ridge district, a mixed-use district that includes Class A office space, retail and residential communities. The project will provide a mix of housing options for the growing Western Pittsburgh suburb and Airport Corridor following a $1.5 billion investment to expand the airport.
Community features
Apex Diamond Ridge will have a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments as well as three-bedroom townhomes with attached garages. Residential units will include 9-foot ceilings, stainless steel appliances and quartz countertops. The homes have floorplans ranging from 500 square feet to 1,700 square feet.
The property is set to feature two floors of amenities featuring a fitness center and swimming pool. The firm is exploring the possibility of integrating geothermal energy technology within the development, which could enhance energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Apex Diamond Ridge will also be situated near key amenities in the region including the Robinson Town Centre, a retail power center in Robinson Township, Pa., and the Montour Trail, a multi-use recreational pathway around Pittsburgh that is the country’s longest suburban rail-trail.
Alpha Residential growth
The vertically integrated real estate investment firm Alpha Residential acquires, develops and manages multifamily communities. The firm currently owns more than 20 communities in strategic growth markets, primarily in the Midwest and Southeast.
Apex Diamond Ridge will be the second property built in Alpha Residential’s home territory. Apex Newbury, a 416-unit multifamily community in South Fayette, Pa., is scheduled to open in August. Alpha Residential broke ground on that project in July 2023.
The firm’s Apex-branded properties are new, ground-up projects in select markets with access to city centers. Other residential brands in the Alpha Residential portfolio include The Genesis for its student housing properties and The Monarch, which features units ranging from 600 to 1,500 square feet.
Pittsburgh market highlights
While Alpha Residential has been busy in the region, overall multifamily construction slowed in the Pittsburgh market late last year, with 2,824 units added to the pipeline in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 3,064 in the third quarter, according to Colliers’ Q4 market report. However, 942 units came online during the fourth quarter compared to 289 in the third quarter of last year.
Rental rates rose slightly in the fourth quarter, reflecting a broader trend of stable occupancy and market resilience in the region and beyond, Colliers reported. Average monthly effective rent increased slightly from $1,271 per unit in the third quarter to $1,273 in the fourth quarter. Occupancy rates also showed resilience in the fourth quarter, decreasing slightly from 94.7 percent in Q3 to 94.3 percent in Q4.
Earlier in 2024, market fundamentals for the Pittsburgh region were above national averages, including advertised asking rents which were up 0.4 percent on a trailing three-month basis through August, to $1,388. Pittsburgh rates were up 2.4 percent year-over-year, significantly above the 0.8 national percent.
Over the 12-month period through July of last year, the occupancy rate for stabilized properties in the market was up 10 basis points to 95.5 percent compared to the 94.7 percent national rate, according to Yardi Matrix.
