PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – If you’re looking for an alternative to hotels, a European lodging trend may be coming soon to Pittsburgh.

The future site of a new hostel is on East Carson Street in the South Side, above the Beehive Coffeehouse.

Organizers said it’s a 10,000 square-foot space that has previously gone unused for 100 years.

Hostels are very popular across Europe with travelers. Organizers said Pittsburgh is behind on establishing a successful hostel.

“We’re trying to fill a niche market where younger people can come and stay at an affordable rate. They’ll have more money to spend here in Pittsburgh,” Brad Maloney of the Pittsburgh Hostel Project said.

While it’s not the first hostel in Pittsburgh, members of the Pittsburgh Hostel Project said location is key to the success of their proposed hostel, which will have anywhere from 60 to 70 beds. While still in the planning phases, the hostel is already getting attention.

“A couple of weeks ago, we got a call out of nowhere from Hostelling International and they said can we come out and talk with you. When they got out here and saw the space, they were totally enchanted, the way we are. They immediately saw how great the location is, the proximity to downtown, to Oakland,” Anne Marie Toccket said.

The South Side Chamber of Commerce also gave their approval and even applied for grants to help with signage along the Great Allegheny Passage to lead bikers to the hostel once it’s open. The space, which will need to be totally renovated, will feature artwork from local artists, community gathering spaces and several kitchens.

Toccket describes it almost like a boutique hotel, and said it’ll be a great way to showcase Pittsburgh.

While the Pittsburgh Hostel Project knows there is much work to be done over the next year, they hope to start welcoming visitors by early 2014.

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