PITTSBURGH | Rundown [Archive] - Page 10

Evergrey

12-18-2006, 04:17 PM

just a few tidbits from this week's Business Journal that haven't been posted by themaguffin yet:

1. IHOP is entering the Pittsburgh market with plans for about 2 dozen locations. Though I'll admit I don't really care about chain restaurants, I do think it's interesting that a lot of these more...uhh... "coveted"... chains keep entering the market all at once... such as Chipotle, Penn Station, Sonic, Cheesecake Factory, etc. I would think this says something positive about the socio-economic indeces of the region. And besides... I won't complain about another place to get pancakes at 2AM.

2. Pop City covered new gourmet cupcake retail bakery CoCo's in Shadyside last week... the Biz Journal covers Squirrel Hill cupcakery Dozen Cupcakes this week. This is kinda cutesy and novelty... but these upscale cupcake bakeries are the new rage in the nation's "status" urban areas (Boston, SF, etc)... and the entry of cupcake bakeries to Pittsburgh also says something good about the socio-economic trends of the city. Pittsburgh clearly has formed a critical mass of the "cupcake class" (as written about on Pittsblog). And I'm not gonna complain about another place to eat sugary baked goods at 2AM.

3. Despite accelerating industrial real estate development near the Airport, Pittsburgh continues to lag behind... well... every other city in the country (Cleveland, Harrisburg, Allentown, Columbus, etc.) in industrial growth. This is due to Pittsburgh's hilly topography and lack of a beltway. Someone was quoted in the article as saying, "that's the price you pay for living in a beautiful city". The hilly topography is one of the greatest things about the city and define its character moreso than any other attribute. If we don't land a few Wal-Mart distribution centers because of that... then so be it. This is why Pittsburgh must concentrate its economic growth on knowledge-based fields where the hills are a lifestyle advantage as opposed to an industrial hinderance.

Evergrey

12-18-2006, 04:49 PM

and how could we forget the never-ending Penguins saga:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06350/746642-61.stm

Balsillie refuses to buy Penguins
NHL may have had too many stipulations
Saturday, December 16, 2006

By Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie yesterday withdrew his offer to buy the Penguins after he and the National Hockey League reached a stalemate over terms in a last-minute consent agreement.

Among the NHL's several stipulations, sources close to the sale process said, are that Mr. Balsillie promise to keep the club in Pittsburgh regardless of the arena situation, and that he agree to contingencies for the NHL to step in and take over ownership or management of the team.

After receiving Mr. Balsillie's notice of termination, Penguins President and CEO Ken Sawyer said there was no dispute between Mr. Balsillie and the team. He declined to comment on what led to the withdrawal but confirmed there were "a number of points" of disagreement.

"There's a lot of work that's gone into it," Mr. Sawyer said. "It was almost there, and now it's not there."

The timing of the sale's breakdown could be critical, as gaming officials are scheduled to award the state's licenses for stand-alone slots casinos Wednesday. The prospects for a facility to replace Mellon Arena are tied to that announcement.

Mr. Sawyer said the Penguins will re-evaluate their sale process after that announcement.

The Penguins have a contract with Isle of Capri, which will provide $290 million toward construction of a new arena if it gets the license to build a casino in Uptown and ensure that the team stays.

If the license goes to one of the other two finalists, Forest City Enterprises or PITG Gaming LLC, the Penguins would be left to negotiate an alternate funding arrangement under what state officials have called Plan B. Initial plans call for the team to put up $8.5 million up front, plus about $4 million a year for 30 years, with contributions also coming from the state and casino owner.

If a buyer for the Penguins honors a consent agreement with the league to keep the team here under any circumstances, it might undermine their negotiating leverage if Plan B comes into play.

"There's no question there's a degree of uncertainty back here again, which makes the decision on Wednesday absolutely critical," Mr. Sawyer said. "If Isle of Capri should win, then the team's here and all that is settled. If they don't, then we'll just have to evaluate where we are at that point in time."

Mr. Sawyer declined to speculate whether the current ownership, which includes Hall of Fame player Mario Lemieux, might reconsider selling the team if Isle of Capri gets the license, thus settling the team's future.

"Today's development was unfortunate," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "If the Isle of Capri is not granted the license on Wednesday, then an already difficult and volatile situation will be aggravated. It is imperative that the Penguins have a new arena on economic terms that make sense for the franchise for the team to remain in Pittsburgh."

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said that if the NHL put conditions on the sale that would make it harder to move the team from Pittsburgh, "I think that's good news for Penguins fans and good news for the city."

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said:

"While news of Mr. Balsillie's decision to withdraw his offer to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins comes as a surprise, our goals remain the same -- to build a new multipurpose arena and to keep the Penguins here in Pittsburgh for a long time."

Mr. Balsillie was not available to elaborate. It is not known whether he might reinstate his offer, believed to be for about $175 million, if the league softens some language in the consent agreement.

Mr. Balsillie is chairman and co-CEO of Research in Motion, the company based in Waterloo, Ontario, that makes and markets the popular wireless Blackberry devices. He signed a purchase agreement with the Penguins Oct. 4 and was interviewed by the executive committee of the NHL's board of governors Dec. 2.

He apparently was on the verge of closing on the sale late last week or early this week when he received the consent agreement and declined to sign it.

If Mr. Balsillie does not reinstate his offer, it's likely that earlier bidders will re-enter the picture.

New York businessman Andrew Murstein counted among his partners Mt. Lebanon native and NBA Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Shadyside real estate development company Walnut Capital.

Sam Fingold, a Hartford real estate developer, got as far as signing a letter of intent with the Penguins last summer before things broke down.

Two other finalists were Hartford real estate developer Lawrence Gottesdiener and Ohio mayor and businessman Jim Renacci, a Ringgold High School graduate.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Shelly Anderson can be reached at shanderson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1721. )

...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06352/747042-61.stm

Toronto businessman interested in Penguins
Monday, December 18, 2006

By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Add Toronto businessman Frank D'Angelo and a billionaire partner, Dr. Barry Sherman, to the list of prospective buyers for the Penguins.

D'Angelo told Canadian Press yesterday that he and Sherman are considering making an offer for the franchise and hope to meet with Penguins CEO Ken Sawyer this week.

He also was adamant that he would keep the team in Pittsburgh, regardless of whether Isle of Capri, which has pledged $290 million to an arena if it gets the license to operate a slots parlor here, gets that license.

"We have absolutely no intention of moving the team," D'Angelo told CP.

D'Angelo said he and Sherman could finance an arena, if necessary, because one of his products, Steelback beer, would benefit from the rink's naming rights and being able to supply beverages for the facility.

D'Angelo and Sherman recently failed in an attempt to get a Canadian Football League franchise in Ottawa.

themaguffin

12-18-2006, 04:53 PM

There really wasn’t anything additionally in the Blattner Brunner article. And it doesn’t indicate what direction they might go for expansion (in terms of location). I don’t post the IHOP story, because it’s IHOP, which in my opinion, isn’t as good as local Eat N Park, or Cracker Barrel.
Sorry, I didn’t think it was worth mentioning regardless. Now the fact that Popeye’s is coming, with their surprisingly tasty jambalaya….

The industrial “laggin” and the reasons why have been documented so I was surprised (sort of) to see yet another headline on it.

The closures of Lord and Taylor and Lazarus were unfortunate, but that was an artificially created, government-subsidized market that was doomed to failure due to a lack of residential population

Those 2 buildings should NOT be included in the vacancy rate and the writer is an idiot for saying how worse it really is because of them. These buildings are a different situation, not small store fronts whose only purpose could be retail.

Barnes & Noble's recently-announced closure is a blow, but it will be short-lived as a new full-scale bookstore is destined to open downtown, perhaps as part of Millcraft's massive development.

I hadn't heard that Millcraft may get such a store, but B&N's decision has been explained and it wasn't due to any downtown negatives, but dynamics with the Uptown Duquesne location opening etc.

Yes the situation needs to be improved, but unprecended development is beginning.... this article was irritating for not really assessing things.

Evergrey

12-18-2006, 07:56 PM

though I pretty much hate everything about the casino boondoggle... this opinion piece sums up why I support the Isle of Capri plan

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06352/746928-109.stm

Perspectives: Isle of Capri would be great for the Hill
Monday, December 18, 2006

By the Rev. James Simms

Recently there has been a lot of talk about whether a casino is the right fit for the Hill District. Some believe it is and that the economic benefits are too great to pass up. Others don't want a casino, period.

Regardless of your philosophical opinion of gambling, the reality is a casino is coming to Pittsburgh. The question is how we turn this inevitability into a positive community benefit.

For more than 30 years I have dedicated my life to working in both public service and pastoral ministry. I have found both endeavors to be extremely complementary and rewarding. Therefore, I can understand the moral dilemma some face with gambling.

However, I also see a much more serious problem our community faces with poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities. I believe we need to focus on the moral obligation we have to provide our community with the same economic opportunities that every other community has to offer. We need to look beyond the casino and see the opportunity to put our community back on its feet.

The Pittsburgh First/Isle of Capri plan is more than just a casino -- it's a $1 billion-plus investment in the Hill District. The plan calls for a $450 million gaming entertainment facility, a $350 million mixed-income, mixed-use redevelopment of the Lower Hill and a $290 million multipurpose arena. It will bring 2,500 permanent jobs and 9,000 construction jobs.

The Isle of Capri also has committed to creating and funding the Pittsburgh First Foundation, dedicated specifically to the Hill/Uptown community, with an annual contribution of $1 million, as well as a Hill Entertainment Services District, which will ensure that the quality of life for our residents is not only maintained but also enhanced.

I have been intrigued by the number of groups that claim they speak for the Hill. I don't know where they get their information, but I do know that the residents have spoken and they have made their voices clear. I am proud to say that Pittsburgh First went door to door and spoke with more than 4,000 residents. Of those, more than 3,200 individuals said they support Pittsburgh First and Isle of Capri. That's over 80 percent support.

The people of the Hill support our plan because they know the casino would not be in the middle of their neighborhood, but at its doorstep. And they understand that the synergy among the casino, arena and 28-acre redevelopment with Downtown Pittsburgh will bring jobs and other opportunities that haven't been seen in this community in years.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid that some individuals are out there simply to put fear in the minds of our residents, or as Gov. Ed Rendell put it last week, "the fear of the unknown." They fear that a casino is the sign of the apocalypse. Well, if that's the case, then shouldn't every community in the city and, for that matter, in the commonwealth, be concerned, or is it just the economically depressed communities that need worry?

To those individuals who are opposed to our plan, I must ask two questions: 1) Have you seen how regional gaming was used as a catalyst for redeveloping communities similar to ours? 2) Aren't Hill District residents who want to gamble smart enough to find their way to the South Side or North Shore?

Finally, where is the moral indignation over the continued deterioration of the Hill? Where is the moral indignation over the lack of jobs, lack of opportunity and lack of private investment? I believe that more than $1 billion of private investment on the doorstep of our community will create opportunities and lead the way to a brighter future.

The Rev. James Simms is chairman of Pittsburgh First and lives in the Hill District (drjamessimms@hotmail.com).

Evergrey

12-18-2006, 09:01 PM

of interest to those following the casino sweepstakes... Harrah's has just been bought out... 2 days before the decision to award the Pittsburgh license... this will most likely weaken their chances substantially...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061218/ap_on_bi_ge/harrah_s_buyout

themaguffin

12-20-2006, 04:30 PM

Was listening on-line - Majestic appears to have won the bid....

Evergrey

12-20-2006, 04:49 PM

Barden's group slipped past the bigger players to win
Wednesday, December 20, 2006

By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06354/747582-336.stm

An artist's conception of PITG Gaming's North Side casino development. (Click on link to see this)

Initially viewed as the long shot in this three-horse race, Detroit businessman Don Barden emerged from the pack today by winning Pittsburgh's lone casino license and earning the rights to build a slots parlor on the North Shore.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted in Harrisburg today in favor of Mr. Barden's PITG Gaming, the local incarnation of his Majestic Star casino chain, which bested its two better-known competitors: Isle of Capri Casinos, which had teamed with the Pittsburgh Penguins to propose a casino and new arena in the Lower Hill, and Harrah's Entertainment, which partnered with Cleveland's Forest City Enterprises on a Station Square casino plan.

Harrah's had the biggest industry name, and Isle of Capri was the choice of thousands of sports fans because of its ties to the hockey franchise, but in the end it was Mr. Barden who had the best proposal, as judged by the gaming board.

While Harrah's and Isle of Capri made their splashes late last year, Mr. Barden waited until April of this year to fully unveil his plan, doing so in front of the gaming board. He recruited retired Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome Bettis to front the proposal, and announced that his parents, Johnnie and Gladys Bettis, neighbors to Mr. Barden, would be investors in the casino, as would Motown singer Smokey Robinson. (Johnnie Bettis has since died).

At the same meeting, Mr. Barden also pledged $7.5 million a year for 30 years to support construction of a new arena for the Penguins, taking away some of the leverage that had been held by Isle of Capri to that point. Also in counterpoint to the Isle of Capri plan, he offered $350 million for investment in the Lower Hill District.

PITG won't build a temporary casino, as Isle of Capri and Harrah's would have, instead opting to concentrate full bore on the permanent, $450 million facility between the Carnegie Science Center and the West End Bridge. Plans call for the 400,000 square-foot casino to house a cylindrical glass atrium, four restaurants, three lounges, bars, shops and, of course, rows and rows of slot machines. Construction should take 14 months, meaning it will be open by spring 2008, although the gaming board itself has questioned that ambitious timetable.

Matt Freed, Post-Gazette
Mr. Barden's plan was more palatable on a number of fronts than either the Hill or Station Square casino proposals. The traffic jams that may have come along with the Station Square casino won't be as much of a problem on the North Shore, except before and after Pirates and Steelers games. And by offering to spend development money on the Lower Hill, without putting a casino there, Mr. Barden extinguished the main complaint of Isle of Capri opponents -- that a casino so close to the Hill would spell disaster for the neighborhood and its residents.

Still, Mr. Barden had two high-profile opponents, namely the Steelers and the Pirates, neither of which favored the casino or wanted it to interfere with their own North Shore development plans.

But his legislative allies -- namely, Rep. Jake Wheatley and presumptive House Speaker H. William DeWeese -- may have been enough to offset the concerns of the two sports franchises. Both were guests of Mr. Barden at Super Bowl XL, which was played in Detroit in February. And Mr. Barden, who is black, is also the only minority applicant in the state, which was considered an advantage because the state wanted to include minority-owned businesses in its new casino enterprise.

Even though Mr. Barden has committed $7.5 million a year to a new arena, the issue isn't exactly settled. The Pittsburgh Penguins hockey franchise had hitched its wagon to Isle of Capri and its promise of $290 million in arena funding. Now the franchise, if it is to stay in Pittsburgh, will have to negotiate the terms of a "Plan B" financing arrangement. Jim Balsillie, the Canadian businessman who agreed to buy the Penguins then backed out at the last minute, seemed agreeable to "Plan B," but new owners, whoever they are, might not be as eager to contribute their own funds to a new arena.

themaguffin

12-20-2006, 04:51 PM

If you take away the arena prospect, there is no way in hell that that an Uptown casino would be taken seriously. Majestic had the best most feasible, sound casino proposal... for a casino.

AaronPGH

12-20-2006, 10:09 PM

If you take away the arena prospect, there is no way in hell that that an Uptown casino would be taken seriously. Majestic had the best most feasible, sound casino proposal... for a casino.

Agreed. If they now get the arena issue squared away I can truly say I'll be happy with this Casino.

chiaroscuro

12-21-2006, 12:33 AM

There are rumblings that Del Monte and Equitable (as well as the Steelers) are livid over the decision to put a casino on the North Shore. Apparently Del Monte and Equitable received assurances (promises?) on how that area would be developed in the future. I guess a tacky slot machine parlor doesn't sit well with them.

chiaroscuro

12-21-2006, 12:43 AM

Still, Mr. Barden had two high-profile opponents, namely the Steelers and the Pirates, neither of which favored the casino or wanted it to interfere with their own North Shore development plans.

But his legislative allies -- namely, Rep. Jake Wheatley and presumptive House Speaker H. William DeWeese -- may have been enough to offset the concerns of the two sports franchises. Both were guests of Mr. Barden at Super Bowl XL, which was played in Detroit in February. And Mr. Barden, who is black, is also the only minority applicant in the state, which was considered an advantage because the state wanted to include minority-owned businesses in its new casino enterprise.

Barden openly wined and dined Wheatley and DeWeese, even entertained them in his box at Super Bowl XL. As the Democratic whip, DeWeese was able to appoint 1 member of the Gaming Board.

Shocking how politics work.

UrbaniDesDev

12-21-2006, 01:41 AM

AND THE WINNER IS...
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/NorthShoreCasino-1.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/MajesticNorthShore.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/20060409barden_locater_160.gif

Yes, It's the North Shore Site

PITG Wins the casino vote. The underdog wins.
It seems to make sense. I was attached to the The Isle of Capri in the Hill only because of the promised development where the Mellon Arena is now. It may or may not have happened but the idea was great. Especially the park spanning over the Crosstown Boulevard. I now only hope the Penguins remain here. I think the will.

I think it's interesting how a casino will mesh perfectly with the North Shore plans that were talked about above. Did someone know the outcome already???

There will no doubt be pages of articles to post in the coming months.

EventHorizon

12-21-2006, 02:10 AM

I guess a tacky slot machine parlor doesn't sit well with them.

as opposed to the NASCAR restaurant that they want. :haha: :yuck:

I think this was ultimately the best choice.

chiaroscuro

12-21-2006, 02:37 AM

as opposed to the NASCAR restaurant that they want. :haha: :yuck:

LOL. I meant that Del Monte and Equitable have issues with the casino...but I'm sure you knew that.

If this forces the Pens to be sold and moved out of town (not saying it will), I wonder if any plans for a publicly funded arena (assuming they even get started) will be scrapped.

Although it's not the only factor, losing a sports franchise and not having an up-to-date multi-purpose arena can't be good for retaining young people. On the other hand, the slot machines should draw blue-haired grandmothers from 3 states.

EventHorizon

12-21-2006, 03:01 AM

LOL. I meant that Del Monte and Equitable have issues with the casino...but I'm sure you knew that

Yes, I knew you meant them :tup:

Evergrey

12-21-2006, 04:23 AM

Although it's not the only factor, losing a sports franchise and not having an up-to-date multi-purpose arena can't be good for retaining young people.

I really doubt the existence of a professional hockey franchise would have any affect on whether young people stay or leave Pittsburgh. Austin, TX doesn't seem to have any problem attracting young people despite a complete lack of major professional sports. It's all about jobs.

Wheelingman04

12-21-2006, 05:55 AM

^ It will definately have an effect on me chosing to live either in Pittsburgh. I could easily go to Columbus or Chicago if they lose the team. I am a big hockey fan and not having an NHL team is a big drawback. Big cities are supposed to have major sports franchises, including NHL teams. If Pittsburgh can't even get an arena built, which Lemieux has been trying to do for 7 years, than that says a lot about the city and its politicans. Mellon Arena should have been replaced years ago. It is by far the worst arena in the NHL for sure. I hate that dump and everyone I know does too. The city is going to lose lots of tourism dollars and national name recognition. The Penquins are a tradition in Pittsburgh. Lots of concerts and other events have already skipped Pittsburgh because the arena is too old and outdated. What a shame.

chiaroscuro

12-21-2006, 01:25 PM

There's more to having a state-of-the-art MULTI-purpose arena downtown that just a hockey team. Major concerts, touring shows, national events such as NCAA Final Four tournament, etc...

But if there is no major tenant (i.e., NHL or NBA team), why bother building one? Not having a new arena means less excitement and vitality.

BANKofMANHATTAN

12-21-2006, 03:06 PM

themaguffin

12-21-2006, 03:20 PM

I'll say it again and again, I hae no doubts that the arena will happen and you'll see progress at much faster pace with the slots deal done and the looming lease issue.

The county purchased land. The state already threw out $26 million to start work... it's already in motion. Thankfully county and state leaders kept on moving rather than living in fantasyland thinking that IOC was a given.

Evergrey

12-21-2006, 03:26 PM

Not having a new arena means less excitement and vitality.

yeah... that worked real well when we built our last arena... :sly:

Now I certainly do think Pittsburgh is in dire need of a new arena... not just for millionaires on ice... but for all sorts of events... but an arena does not make a great city... and an arena or a stadium does not guarantee "vitality"... these are huge monolithic projects that planned poorly have had dire consequences for the city (Lower Hill and North Shore after Three Rivers)...

I am pretty confident the arena issue gets done and the Penguins stay... the Isle of Capri potential gift of "free money" was just public financing through the back door... the public is going to pay for this arena no matter what... public financing is public financing is public financing (to borrow a phrase from Pittsblog)... Ravenstahl, Onorato, Rendell, etc. do not want to be the politicians that "let the Penguins get away"... and is it too much to ask for one of these billionaire suitors to donate some extra change to this new arena? Something is wrong with the way we do things...

there is a lot of posturing going on by the Penguins... and especially NHL commissioner Bettman (one day Pittsburgh is an "amazing" hockey market that will always have the Pens, next day he's going hysterical about how the Pens will move to some outpost like Waterloo or Kansas City)... they are trying to pressure the politicos... who admittedly... have been very slow over the years in making progress on the arena issue...

Also... the likelihood of the Penguins moving to glamourous cities like Kansas City is not as great as the Associated Press would have you believe... in Pittsburgh you have a proven NHL market with very high local TV ratings and a history of on-ice success... Kansas City is an unknown... it's also a smaller market... hockey is more of a "niche" sport that won't flourish everywhere...

Anyone remember the late 90s when the Pirates threatened (again) to leave town and the Steelers said their competitive future was in doubt due to obsolete Three Rivers Stadium? The politicians devised this elaborate scheme to increase taxes to pay for the stadiums, convention centers and other projects in a 10+ county area in SWPA. It was marketed as our only hope to save our pro sports and keep Pittsburgh from sliding into the abyss of obscurity. It was voted down by the people of SWPA in a landslide. The politicians then devised Plan B, which paid for this stuff anyways with public funds.

So breathe normally folks... the Penguins haven't left yet...

oh... and I echo BankOfManhattan's sentiments...

themaguffin

12-21-2006, 03:32 PM

I encourage everyone to find (if available) Dan Onorato's inverview with Savron from yesterday.

He gave datailed answers and sums up how things will happen. And without local taxes.

Oh yeah - a new arena would accomodate current tours that would have to skip Pittsburgh otherwise (McCartney etc).

themaguffin

12-21-2006, 03:34 PM

in Pittsburgh you have a proven NHL market with very high local TV ratings and a history of on-ice success...

The highest locals ratings in the country in fact.

jayheel

12-21-2006, 07:50 PM

Soren Petro from WHB Sportsradio in KC claims he has been told by unnamed sources that the deal to move the Penguins to KC has been done for about a year now. He says more than likely, NHL will suspend the Penguin brand and record book and offer an expansion or relocated team when the city of Pittsburg pulls its head out. He doesn't think their is a coincidence that KC's new Sprint Center grand opening is slated just days before the beginning of the 2007-08 NHL season. To draw more regional support, it is likely that preseason exhibition games could be played in Omaha, Wichita, DesMoines. The majority though would be played at Kemper.

Granted, Soren is a douchebag and an idiot but it makes you wonder a bit how far along in the process officials in KC really are in getting the Penguins. Even though hockey would be the 4th major sport in KC...5th if you consider KU/MU Basketball, the sports community is sure NHL will put a team here next year when the Sprint Center opens.

AaronPGH

12-22-2006, 02:03 AM

themaguffin

12-22-2006, 05:21 AM

Soren Petro from WHB Sportsradio in KC claims he has been told by unnamed sources that the deal to move the Penguins to KC has been done for about a year now

First off, this sportscaster is obviously full of it, the facts of the past year easily dismiss such nonsense.

Evergrey

12-22-2006, 02:22 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06356/748218-53.stm

Sports and Exhibition board making way for new arena
Friday, December 22, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

With the casino license awarded, the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority stepped up work toward the construction of a new arena yesterday, even as the Penguins' future in Pittsburgh remained uncertain.

The authority board authorized $1.7 million in contracts to clear asbestos from buildings to be demolished to make way for a new arena and to prevent work stoppages during construction.

The authority hopes to begin asbestos abatement on the former St. Francis Central Hospital and 12 other buildings in the Fifth and Centre avenue corridors by early January, Executive Director Mary Conturo said.

It plans to start demolishing buildings a month later, with the construction of the new arena scheduled to start in September. The goal is to have the building finished by fall 2009, the same timetable advanced by the Penguins. Money for the site work and demolition is coming through a $26.5 million advance from the state.

The sports authority intends to finance the construction through the Gov. Ed Rendell-crafted Plan B. It calls for $7.5 million a year for 30 years to come from winning casino bidder PITG Gaming LLC headed by businessman Don Barden, $7 million a year for 30 years from a slots-backed state economic development fund, and $4 million a year from the Penguins, plus $8.5 million up front.

Plan B is contingent on getting an agreement with the team, whose Mellon Arena lease expires at the end of June. The Penguins have not endorsed Plan B and pinned their hopes for a new arena on Isle of Capri winning the city slots license. The Isle had pledged $290 million toward construction.

With Isle of Capri's loss, Penguins owner Mario Lemieux said yesterday the team would begin discussions with other cities about relocating. However, he added he planned to begin discussions soon with leaders about a "viable Pittsburgh arena plan."

The sports authority still must acquire St. Francis Central Hospital from the Penguins, who acquired it for $8 million with an eye toward using it for an arena.

The authority board also took several steps yesterday toward a no-strike agreement for arena construction. Those actions included the hiring of Hill International Inc., which also worked on no-strike agreements for the construction of PNC Park, Heinz Field and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Other than the hospital, the sports authority has acquired all of the property it needs for the arena. The new facility would be built between Fifth and Centre avenues, across the street from Mellon Arena.

The two largest contracts awarded yesterday, for asbestos removal, went to Abmech for $1.5 million and Precision Environmental for $148,800.

In a separate action yesterday, the board approved a 2007 budget of $12.6 million. It includes a onetime allocation of $2 million from the Allegheny Regional Asset District to help cover a convention center deficit. In future years, the deficit is expected to be covered by slots revenue.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. )

Evergrey

12-22-2006, 02:45 PM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_485347.html

Barden vows to make good

By Andrew Conte and Brad Bumsted
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, December 22, 2006

Don Barden has a lot of promises to keep.
In his bid for Pittsburgh's slot machine license, he vowed to help pay for a new hockey arena, give money to a North Side community group and spur a $350 million redevelopment of the Hill District.

Local leaders expect him to make good.

"That's one thing you can count on," Barden said after winning the license. "We're going to do what we said we're going to do."

That includes agreeing to:

= Pay $7.5 million a year for 30 years for a new Uptown arena.

= Give the North Side Leadership Conference $1 million a year for three years.

= Work on redeveloping the Mellon Arena site in the Lower Hill District.

Barden had planned to appear today with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato to talk about paying for an arena but canceled those plans when Penguins officials said they could not yet discuss alternate proposals.

The Penguins had partnered with Isle of Capri Casinos, which had agreed to pay $290 million for a new arena if it won the license. The group has 30 days to file an appeal.

In the Hill District, Barden hired a Detroit-based firm, Hannah Murano Architecture, three months ago to start work on a master site plan. He has been talking with the Hill Community Development Corp. about giving at least $3 million to the group for work in the Hill, spokesman Bob Oltmanns said.

Barden does not have a contract with the development group, but should have a formal agreement within a month, said Marimba Milliones, the nonprofit's executive director.

"We want to ensure this is a partnership with the community," she said. "One of the things we are doing is walking through the details of that. It's a huge development, naturally."

At a minimum, she said, the project should include housing, retail and commercial space. The Hill District needs to take a broad look at preserving the community's historical buildings, she added.

"We're going to look at the entire landscape there," Barden said.

Barden agreed to donate money to the North Side Leadership Conference -- even though he did not receive the group's endorsement, said executive director Mark Fatla. The nonprofit did not back any of the bidders.

The group intends to split the money, with half going for housing projects and half supporting changes to three business districts: East Ohio Street, Federal North and Western Avenue. The money won't be paid until 10 months after the casino opens but will nearly double the group's annual $1.2 million budget.

"Don did not insist on an endorsement," Fatla said. "That's different than the way everybody else did it. ... It's an indication he's willing and able to be a real partner."

Separately, questions have been raised about Barden's only other property under the Majestic Star brand: two casino boats in Gary, Ind. Barden took over the Trump Casino boat in January.

Since then, it has posted lower monthly revenues, falling from $11 million in November 2005 to $8.8 million last month.

But in a bid to cut costs and make the boat profitable, Oltmanns said, Barden reduced the boat's number of table games to 37 from 66.

Andrew Conte and Brad Bumsted can be reached at aconte@tribweb.com or (412) 765-2312.

The take

How slots revenues will be split up: 34 percent, property tax relief; 10 percent, horse-racing industry fund; 5 percent, statewide economic development; 2 percent, Allegheny County; 2 percent or $10 million, whichever is greater, Pittsburgh.
For 10 years, city and county shares are earmarked for Pittsburgh International Airport; community infrastructure; city Urban Redevelopment Authority indebtedness; the David L. Lawrence Convention Center; a convention center hotel; county development debt.

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12-28-2006, 05:31 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_486027.html

Pens get ballpark figure for arena

By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, December 28, 2006

There's no such thing as a free lunch -- or a free arena.
But the deal Pittsburgh and Allegheny County are offering the Penguins would give them a new arena with team contributions similar to those made by the Steelers and Pirates for their North Shore stadiums.

Unlike those outdoor venues, an Uptown arena could make money for its operator throughout the year.

"I don't know why (the Penguins) are fussing so much about $3 million a year, if they can get the rental agreement the Steelers and Pirates have," said Jake Haulk, president of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, a Castle Shannon think tank. "A lot of this is just posturing."

Gov. Ed Rendell and local leaders have proposed the Penguins pay $8.5 million upfront and $2.9 million a year for 30 years, while forgoing $1.16 million a year in naming rights. The state would pay $7 million a year for 30 years from gambling money, and Majestic Star Casino would pay $7.5 million a year for 30 years.

A Penguins spokesman declined to comment. Team officials plan to talk with local leaders about building an arena, but said they will shop the team to other cities.

Pittsburgh needs the Penguins to stay in order for a new arena to work, said Megan Dardanell, spokeswoman for Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato. City and county leaders are working to set up a meeting with the team, she said.

"We need to have an anchor tenant, and we want that to be the Penguins," Dardanell said.

Political leaders are willing to negotiate such things as the rights to concessions, parking and advertising, Onorato has said.

The football and baseball teams helped pay for their stadiums, mostly by setting aside money they expected to make from the buildings.

That's common for sports construction, said Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp Ltd. in Chicago, which served as a consultant for Allegheny County on the stadium deals.

A professional hockey team does not make as much television money as a football or baseball team, and the Penguins have to compete for local sponsors and luxury seat holders with the stadiums and the University of Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center in Oakland.

But an arena could make more money from non-sporting events.

"It's a matter of how much, and it all comes down to a negotiation," Ganis said.

With cost overruns, the Steelers contributed more than $100 million to the $280.8 million cost of Heinz Field. The team paid $8.8 million in cash, and then raised $39.52 million from selling seat licenses, and more money from a ticket surcharge.

The Steelers made back $57 million in naming rights for Heinz Field.

Rendell based the Penguins arena offer on a deal the Pirates had for PNC Park. The baseball team kicked in about $50 million with cost overruns, including $8.5 million in cash and $2.9 million a year for 29.5 years.

The Pirates offset the annual payments with a ticket surcharge and a naming rights agreement that pays $30 million over 20 years.

On the public side, the state paid $75 million for each of the stadiums, and the Allegheny County Regional Asset District borrowed $173 million to retire the debt on Three Rivers Stadium and help pay for the new venues.

Collecting a 1 percent sales tax in the county, the district agreed to pay $13.4 million a year for 30 years to pay off the loans.

The district has not been asked to help pay for an arena, and Onorato has said RAD money should not be used. But the fund continues to help the Penguins anyway.

The district agreed to pay Mellon Arena's debts through 2018. The payments started out at $3.2 million a year and dropped to $2.4 million in 2006. They'll fall to $1 million next year, and smaller amounts in the future.

"The public sector regularly comes to the aid of the hockey team," said David Donahoe, RAD's executive director.

Andrew Conte can be reached at aconte@tribweb.com or (412) 765-2312.

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12-28-2006, 05:32 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06362/749555-336.stm

New casino had no 'not in my back yard' problem in Chateau; there are no back yards
A place with an identity crisis
Thursday, December 28, 2006

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Contrary to previous reports, the North Shore is not getting Don Barden's Majestic Star Casino. The lucky neighborhood is actually Chateau.

But it's easy to understand how the North Shore is the default setting for so many people. Chateau is a neighborhood with an identity problem.

In an exhaustive search of the neighborhood, using the map on the city's Web site, the Post-Gazette could scare up just five residences -- four year-round homes on the river, all associated with boat clubs, and one in what its resident used to call "the ward."

It was named for Chateau Street, which actually is in the adjoining neighborhood of Manchester. Chateau was once part of Manchester, but city planners designated it as a separate neighborhood after Route 65 was built and split them apart.

Chateau became further isolated from residential tradition as neighborhood support businesses gave way to light industry, warehouses and huge parking lots. The 2000 census counted 39 people as residents, but where they are or might have been is a mystery.

A paucity of habitation bodes well for a controversial development. Nary a peep was heard pro or con in Chateau while the Hill District exercised its voice in opposition to a casino. Considering what a not-in-my-back-yard issue the casino was, this may be a good time to mention that in Chateau, there are no back yards.

Its border with the North Shore is Allegheny Avenue. Heinz Field is on the North Shore side, the Carnegie Science Center is on the Chateau side.

Just beyond where the casino is slated to go, Chateau becomes its spooky-emptiest, a wasteland of lots surrounded by chain-link fences, mangled trees and overgrowth at the shoreline strewn with garbage, chunks of industrial waste covered in black soot that looks like coat dust over dirty lint, and rusted parts of old boats.

The Pittsburgh Annealing Box Co.'s warehouse of corrugated metal stretches like a stranded ghost train along the river, scrawled with the message, "Join the race to the bottom."

Dale Bartins has lived all 46 of his years in a grand, 120-year-old house in a part of Chateau on the other side of the highway. Once his house was surrounded by houses. His immediate neighbors now are Wendy's, McDonalds and the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society.

"Some people would say, 'Hey, you're surrounded by parking lots,' " he said. "But from the inside looking out, it's as far as the eye can see" -- views of the entire skyline and the hillside across the river.

"We always called this 'the ward,'" said Mr. Bartins. "But I know [now] it's Chateau." He said he became aware of the designation "maybe 20 years ago."

"I have always considered this Manchester," said Peggy Baust, the owner of Peggy's Harbor, one of three boat docks in Chateau. She and her husband, Eddie, live at the boat dock they own and operate. They moved there from Shaler in 1972 to live in a houseboat and started their dock business in the early 1980s.

Their mobile home, its side deck adorned with a red Christmas bow and pine garlands, sits several yards from the lapping Ohio River and along the trail that brings a stream of bicyclists, joggers and walkers in good weather.

Her neighbors are a refrigeration company, a company that makes metal grills and welding rods, and parking lots.

Neither she nor Mr. Bartins expressed concern about the casino.

"Absolutely not," said Ms. Baust. "I don't know what will happen to the part of the trail that runs beside it, but it can't hurt me." (Casino owner Don Barden plans improvements to the trail.)

She counts the other boat club owners who live in homes along the river as her neighbors, "good neighbors," she said, admitting that, "when 5 o'clock rolls around," the neighborhood is pretty empty.

Arthur Ziegler, executive director of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks and one of the preservationists who helped save much of Manchester from the wrecking ball in the 1960s, said Chateau is news to him: "I've never heard anyone use that name. It was all Manchester."

He said he and other activists in the late 1960s "went to meetings because we didn't want the highway."

Route 65 plunged Chateau into habitation crisis. Starting in 1960, the population declined severely: From 5,251 -- when it was still part of Manchester -- to 681 to 322 to 12 to 39, making it the least populated neighborhood in the city.

The highway that Mr. Ziegler called "typical of planning that uprooted people and severed a neighborhood so people could get to the suburbs more quickly," is now an asset for bringing people back, according to the state gaming board chairman. The Post-Gazette reported last week that Gov. Ed Rendell said the chairman cited access as one of the factors in Mr. Barden's selection.

Mr. Barden has predicted that the Majestic Star Casino, a two-story, glass and steel construction, will be built in a world-beating 15 months. And Chateau has some bragging rights, for what it's worth.

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(Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. )

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12-28-2006, 05:37 AM

one of the most beautiful buildings in the city...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_485994.html

Union Trust Building officially up for sale

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, December 28, 2006

The Union Trust Building, the ornate, block-long historic structure that sits almost vacant at 501 Grant St., Downtown, officially is for sale, and a local commercial real estate firm is starting a marketing campaign.
"This building has a tremendous upside potential for somebody," said Jeffrey Ackerman, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, the firm commissioned to sell the building most recently known as Two Mellon Bank Center.

"We're marketing it as an investment and-or redevelopment opportunity to local and out-of-town buyers," Ackerman said. "We are just in the preliminary stages, but we already have interest. ... It can be a great location for an office building or for residential or retail uses."

No asking price has been set, but the building has a market value of $30.75 million, including land, according to Allegheny County records.

As reported by the Tribune-Review, the few remaining tenants and potential buyers had expressed frustration over uncertainties surrounding the building since the major tenant, Mellon Financial Corp., moved out at the end of May.

By next week, CB Richard Ellis plans to distribute marketing materials and begin an Internet site to sell it.

The firm is representing the new owner, Teal Rock 501 Grant St. LP, a limited partnership owned by Philadelphia health-insurancer Cigna Corp.

Cigna held a mortgage on the property with longtime owner, Florida-based DeBartolo Property Group LLC, which defaulted on its loan.

Mellon separately owned the land under the structure. In October, Mellon announced a deal to transfer ownership of the land to Teal Rock.

The 11-story building has a mezzanine and two basement levels, with a total of 595,000-square-feet of useable space, Ackerman said.

"It is a substantial location, occupying a full city block, has large flexible floor plates, a unique arch and a beautiful rotunda."

The structure was designed in Flemish Gothic style by noted Pittsburgh architect F.J. Osterling, and built in 1916 for industrialist Henry Clay Frick.

In 1987, it underwent a substantial renovation when Mellon took occupancy.

Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/50566808.jpg

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12-28-2006, 05:38 AM

big news for the North Side

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06362/749472-53.stm

Court backs city in theater fight
URA didn't violate free-speech rights when it sought to demolish XXX Garden Theatre on North Side, justices say
Thursday, December 28, 2006

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The state Supreme Court yesterday handed the city a victory in its long-running battle to demolish an adult theater that has stalled a North Side redevelopment project.

The court ruled that the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority did not violate the free-speech rights of Garden Theatre Realty Corp. when it sought to seize the theater property on West North Avenue by eminent domain nearly 10 years ago.

"I don't yet know what it means to the URA except that it sounds like completely good news," said Donald Kortlandt, general counsel to the URA, who had not reviewed the ruling yesterday. "It does confirm that the URA has been vindicated and did not abuse its power."

"It's all good," said Mark Fatla, executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference. "Because it decided a federal constitutional question, there's still a possibility of an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. But it's pretty clear that at each level of review the court has upheld the URA's position and the community's redevelopment efforts."

The decision, affirming a Commonwealth Court decision, comes 17 years after the first effort to declare the Federal North corridor blighted and thus eligible for redevelopment. The adult movie house has been the sole holdout, and the Supreme Court decision has been awaited in the neighborhood for years.

The Garden Theatre itself is not a party in the case; the realty company, its landlord, is. George Androtsakis, owner of the building, who has resisted the URA's efforts and who took the First Amendment position on behalf of the theater, could not be reached last night.

From 1995 to 1997, the URA acquired 46 properties as part of a redevelopment effort in the works for 14 years.

Joan Kimmel, longtime member of the Central Northside Neighborhood Council, said the long legal battle "has been horrible for the neighborhood.

"We've watched buildings almost fall down, deteriorate, catch fire. The city has had to invest thousands and thousands to rebuild a wall because of our commitment to keep these buildings intact. Meanwhile, the rest of the area has stayed depressed. The few store owners who have managed to stick it out have been a small island in a sea of decay. Now, interest is beginning to percolate."

That activity, which includes new housing on Federal Street and the Carnegie Library system's interest in building a new branch on Federal, makes the timing of the court ruling sweet, Mr. Fatla said.

He said the neighborhood has been working on improvements to the Federal-North corridor, "not just this site but the entire corridor, for nearly 20 years. The owners of the Garden have resisted for a decade.

"Fortunately, community groups have the attitude that all things will happen in time if we just stay at it, stay dogged and unrelenting."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. )

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12-29-2006, 06:04 AM

more on the Garden Theatre saga and the redevelopment of the Central Northside

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06363/749767-53.stm

North Side adult theater exhausting its legal appeals
Garden Theater advocates could ask U.S. Supreme Court to review First Amendment case
Friday, December 29, 2006

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Garden Theater has one appeal left.

Advocates of the adult movie house at 12 W. North Ave., which has been under legal fire on the North Side for seven years, could ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review its First Amendment fight against eminent domain.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20061229jh_GARDEN02_450.jpg

But the neighborhood isn't waiting for that decision before it begins a redevelopment project. It had already started working around the lone hold-out in a 47-property revitalization effort when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed a lower court Wednesday.

The court ruled that the URA's effort to seize the property did not violate the theater's state or federal First Amendment rights.

The URA and North Side neighborhood groups have been working for more than 10 years on plans to transform the blight of three contiguous blocks that include the Garden -- the three that join at Federal Street and North Avenue.

"The philosophy used to be that we can't do anything until this case is solved," said Claudia Keys, president of the board of the Central Northside Neighborhood Council. "But now we're saying, 'let's develop regardless.' "

"Forget about the Garden, let's get it started," said Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, treasurer of the board of the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Some projects already have begun.

The Carnegie Library has committed to building a new library on Federal, and construction of a community of townhouses has begun just up the street. Former Steelers star Franco Harris is working with an architect on final drawings for a restaurant in a corner property that has been boarded up for years.

Mr. Harris's real estate agent, Lynne Bingham, said that plans call for the restaurant to open late in the spring of next year. "He is very interested in further development in the area," she added.

The neighborhood council has a list of interested developers for the URA properties, said Ms. Keys. No specific plans have been assigned to the buildings.

The court's decision gave ballast to the full-steam-ahead attitude in the neighborhood, said Joel Aaronson, the URA's attorney in the case. "If they [New Garden Realty Corp., the legal name of the appellant in the case] take this further, it would simply punish the community, which is uncalled for."

Mr. Aaronson said the Pennsylvania Constitution "has generally been considered more protective of free speech rights than the U.S. Constitution, so it's hard to imagine" the U.S. court would hear the case.

Peter Georgiades, the local attorney for the Garden property owner, George Androtsakis, of New York, could not be reached for comment about his client's intentions.

Mr. Aaronson said the Garden, as one of 47 properties the URA wanted, "was not singled out. That property would have been acquired under any circumstances. The reason this became muddied was because the URA wanted to try to preserve the buildings."

In fact, one of the Garden's arguments was that the URA's plan to keep it and use it as an entertainment venue made it clear the URA only wanted to eliminate the adult movies shown there. That would violate the theater owner's First Amendment rights, he said.

A dissenting opinion in the decision issued Wednesday supported this thinking, asserting that the URA's action to take the property "in order to alter the type of entertainment provided there, burdened protected expression."

But the court ruled 4-2 that the URA's motives were "content neutral" and rejected the free-expression argument. Commonwealth Court affirmed the lower court's decision five years later, in April 2002.

"It's a good day for the Central Northside, and we're excited about going forward," said Ms. Keys.

The struggle between the Garden's owner and the city has its roots in a January 1989 city report asking that properties at Federal-North be certified as blighted so that public money could be used for redevelopment. The planning commission and City Council approved and for six years, a task force of community advocates, planners and URA staff hammered out a plan to purchase all properties in three contiguous blocks.

City Council approved the plan and the URA began assembling properties. Between 1995 and 1997, it bought 46. The owner of the Garden, the lone hold-out, refused to sell and the URA filed a "declaration of taking" to take ownership of the property.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. )

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12-29-2006, 06:08 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_486208.html

City set to weed out Garden

By Bonnie Pfister
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, December 29, 2006

Ten years and nearly $750,000 later, the city is poised to shut down the X-rated theater it says has stymied development on the North Side.
While a lawyer for owner George Androtsakis said Thursday he will decide in a few days whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, even free-speech advocates doubt the success of such a gambit.

Clay Calvert, co-director of the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment, said the Supreme Court has felt a national backlash against its June 2005 eminent domain decision in favor of the seizure of private property. In addition, adult theaters are notoriously unsympathetic plaintiffs.

"This is not a local ice cream stand that's been there for years and kids are pleading" for its rescue, Calvert said. He wished the state's high court had explored the "secondary" negative effects a porn theater can have on a neighborhood, such as criminal activity in or near the building, or declining building values nearby.

The state Supreme Court panel skipped over those concerns, determining the Garden Theatre to be little different than any other of the 46 businesses the city acquired after 1995 to make way for then-Mayor Tom Murphy's ambitious "Federal North" redevelopment plan.

Urban Redevelopment Authority general counsel Don Kortlandt said the city spent more than $700,000 in legal fees on the case since Androtsakis filed suit in 1997 to prevent condemnation of the 850-seat theater, which began showing porn films in 1972.

The price tag is unfortunate, Kortlandt said, but it was the cost of protecting the public interest.

He plans to contact Androtsakis' lawyers to determine whether one last appeal is planned. If not, the URA will begin requesting proposals for a new use for the century-old building on West North Avenue, hoping to preserve many historic architectural details.

"This makes our quest for developers more optimistic, but we don't have anything teed up at the moment," he said.

Among ideas floated a decade ago was a loose proposal by Mattress Factory Art Museum founder Barbara Luderowski to renovate the space into a performing arts facility. Luderowski did not immediately return a phone call yesterday.

It's unclear how much the building is worth. The URA offered Androtsakis $214,000 for the building a decade ago. Although many Pittsburgh properties have appreciated since then, that has tended not to be the case on the North Side, where lack of commercial development and violent crime has persisted.

Lawyer Peter Georgiades, who represented Androtsakis through two trials and all but the most recent appeal, criticized the city for trying to push out a successful business without a firm plan in hand.

It's an argument that has some resonance in Pittsburgh. Murphy angered Downtown business owners when he threatened to use eminent domain to redevelop Fifth and Forbes avenues.

Georgiades said his client, who has amassed about $600,000 in legal bills, would happily operate a traditional movie theater if that made economic sense.

"People assume that he's some kind of adult theater kingpin. That's not the case," he said. "In 1997, he offered to redevelop that whole block in accordance with what URA said was its plan, at his own expense. He was going to make the theater into a four-plex showing an ordinary commercial fare.

"(The city) wouldn't even talk to him. We couldn't even get a meeting," Georgiades said. "The way the Murphy administration operated was, 'We decided to do this, take it or leave it.' They didn't want to hear from community groups, citizens, property owners."

Murphy, now a consultant to the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C., declined to comment when reached by phone.

Georgiades said the issue of pornographic content has confused the worries people should have about eminent domain abuse.

"The man on the street says, 'Porno theater: Bad. Close it,' " he said. "They don't understand that it could be their home, their business. Anything that's part of their life they're giving the government permission to take, because unelected bureaucrats decided that business would go better on the North Side if the theater showed a different kind of entertainment."

Bonnie Pfister can be reached at bpfister@tribweb.com.

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12-29-2006, 06:15 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06363/749815-61.stm

Lemieux agrees to meeting with Rendell on financing to keep team in Pittsburgh
Arena talks next week
Friday, December 29, 2006

By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

HARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell is coming to Pittsburgh next week to talk to Penguins' owner Mario Lemieux about financing for a new arena to anchor the team in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Rendell announced a goal of March 31 for completing a deal to finance a new $290 million arena with tax-exempt bonds. That target date is about a month later than the February deadline mentioned last week by Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

Mr. Rendell, joined by Mr. Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, sent a letter Wednesday to Mr. Lemieux, saying they are "solidly committed to keeping the Penguins at home in Pittsburgh." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obtained a copy of the letter yesterday.

"We believe the time has come for those [arena financing] discussions to begin and to proceed in an expeditious manner, as we would like to complete negotiations on a financial plan by no later than March 31, 2007," the three officials said.

Mr. Rendell proposed starting the arena talks in Pittsburgh on Thursday and, in a letter to the governor last night, Mr. Lemieux agreed. Also at the meeting will be team officials Ronald Burkle, Ken Sawyer, David Morehouse and Chuck Greenberg.

Mr. Lemieux said he wants to have a financing plan ready "well in advance" of March 31.

Mr. Lemieux, in his letter, said that when he and his partners bought the team seven years ago, "We made it clear that we needed a new arena to become economically viable and competitive in Pittsburgh."

State and local officials became nervous after Mr. Lemieux said last week he would begin talking to other cities about moving the team.

Kansas City, Mo., has a new but empty arena and would like to land a hockey team.

The Penguins' lease at Mellon Arena expires in June. The arena, which opened in 1961, is the oldest in the National Hockey League.

Mr. Onorato has called reaching a deal to build a new arena for the Penguins his No. 1 priority.

In his letter to Mr. Lemieux, Mr. Rendell said he'll be in Pittsburgh Thursday and would like to arrange "a mutually agreeable time" to begin talks on financing for a new arena. Mr. Lemieux said Thursday afternoon works for him.

The governor said he recognizes that Mr. Lemieux has had a contractual obligation with Isle of Capri casinos, a St. Louis-based gaming company that had offered to build a new $290 million arena for the Penguins if it received a state slots license.

But Isle of Capri didn't get the license. Instead, the state Gaming Control Board, on Dec. 20, awarded the sole slots license for Pittsburgh to Detroit casino entrepreneur Don Barden. He plans to build a Majestic Star casino in the Chateau neighborhood near the Carnegie Science Center.

Mr. Lemieux said that now that Isle of Capri's offer to build the arena "has been turned down" by the state, "We are in the process of exploring all of our options" for building an arena.

In the letter, the governor again outlined the details of his so-called Plan B, the backup plan for funding a new arena, under which a $290 million bond would be floated and paid off over 30 years with money from four sources.

Under the Rendell plan, the team would provide $8.5 million upfront and $2.9 million per year to pay off the bonds; Mr. Barden has agreed to provide $7.5 million a year; a new state economic development fund, fueled by casino revenue, would provide $7 million a year; and another $1.1 million annual contribution would come from selling the naming and advertising rights at the new multipurpose arena, whose major tenant would be the Penguins.

Mr. Lemieux told the governor he appreciated "the positive tone of your recent public comments." But he said he's hoping that a financing plan could be developed that "is significantly better than the original Plan B."

The governor, county executive and the mayor reminded Mr. Lemieux how they have "moved forward with planning for the new arena."

They said they have "acquired the necessary land within the footprint designated by the Penguins and have continued to work on the design and financing plans."

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(Bureau Chief Tom Barnes can be reached at tbarnes@post-gazette.com or 717-787-4254. )

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01-01-2007, 05:23 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07001/750434-53.stm

Housing Authority at odds with Oak Hill, developer
Monday, January 01, 2007

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh Housing Authority plans to start a process to determine the future of any expansion of the Oak Hill development.

That decision last week by authority Executive Director A. Fulton Meachem Jr. throws into deep doubt the future involvement of Oak Hill developer Beacon/Corcoran Jennison, which built the existing 639-unit community and has been asking for years for the approvals and financial backing to build more. Mr. Meachem said the developer has had time to make its case but hasn't been able to reach a deal with the authority to build a second phase.

"This has been going on three years prior to me getting here, and the developer and the Housing Authority have not been able to come to an agreement," Mr. Meachem said.

He said the authority would eventually invite developers nationwide to submit proposals, put them through a selection process and pick one.

The developer and Oak Hill Resident Council President Eloise McDonald said such a move would bring legal action.

"We've tried to do everything we can do to get this resolved," Ms. McDonald said. "Last go-around, we're going to sue."

The townhouses and apartments of Oak Hill replaced Allequippa Terrace, a barracks-like, crime-plagued 1,700-apartment public housing complex.

The first phase of Oak Hill left two parcels of the former complex undeveloped: Robinson Court near the University of Pittsburgh's Upper Campus, and Waring Court, which extends toward Kirkpatrick Street.

Beacon/Corcoran Jennison wants to build 200 more homes on Robinson Court, and since 2005 has sought authority approval to apply for $8 million in state tax credits.

The University of Pittsburgh wants to buy that site and build athletic facilities there.

Mr. Meachem wouldn't say what he thinks should happen to Robinson Court.

"My only concern is that we get with the Hill District and [Oak Hill] residents to see what they want," he said.

He said he has begun making calls to Hill District leaders, pushing to start a community process that would flesh out issues like whether to build single-family homes or apartments, which court to build on and how to connect Oak Hill to the surrounding neighborhood.

There already have been community processes, said Miles Byrne, the developer's project director. He cited a recent special City Council meeting on the future of Oak Hill, at which support for more housing throughout the neighborhood was overwhelming.

Asked about Boston-based Beacon/Corcoran Jennison's role going forward, Mr. Meachem said the firm "has an opportunity to bid" to build any future expansion. "So if they have the best deal, as they've said for three years, put it out on the street and we will see."

Ms. McDonald said she thinks the authority wants "to use their own developer" to build on the remaining portions, but the residents want to stick with Beacon/Corcoran Jennison. "We have a partnership with B/CJ until 2035," she said.

Bringing in a new developer would divide the community and make it more difficult to pursue the goal of a 50-50 split between low-income residents and tenants able to pay market rents. Right now, she said, the community is 71 percent low-income.

"We have an agreement that the community signed on to with the city and the Housing Authority in 1996 that said we were going to create a mixed-income community," said Mr. Byrne. So far, he said, they've only achieved "more segregation."

The authority and developer have been exchanging increasingly strident letters throughout the year, expressing divergent views on the scope of a deal made 11 years ago.

The developer -- backed by an elected residents' council -- maintains that it signed on to redevelop the entire site and has presented legal opinions saying that deal still holds.

The authority has said the deal has expired. In a Dec. 21 letter to the developer, Mr. Meachem wrote that "there is no currently existing contract" between the two, but if there is, "we hereby invoke the 'termination for convenience' clause in such contract and terminate it."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Rich Lord can be reached at rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542. )

themaguffin

01-01-2007, 04:17 PM

Apangea moving Downtown from Indiana County
Pittsburgh Business Times - December 29, 2006by Jennifer Curry

Apangea Learning Inc. is moving its headquarters from Blairsville, Indiana County, to Downtown Pittsburgh on Jan 1.

Company founder and CEO Louis Piconi said the move will give the company room to grow and help it attract workers from outside the region.

"We have a need to be able to recruit at a national level," he said. "Pittsburgh is a very attractive place to bring them into. ... People are going to be more attracted to being in the city than 40 miles outside it."

Apangea, which sells software that tutors grade school students in subjects such as math and language, has seen a 300 percent increase since 2005 in the number of contracts it's been awarded. The company, which declined to disclose revenue, won between $2 million and $2.5 million in contracts in 2006. Employment has increased to 30 from 11 in the past year, and the company expects to hire 20 to 30 employees in the next year. Apangea's new office, which will be located in 7,000 square feet of space at the Ewart Building on Liberty Avenue, is triple the size of its previous headquarters.

William Nicholsen, executive director of Emsworth-based Holy Family Learning, an Apangea client that uses its tutoring software to tutor students with learning problems, said the move will benefit his company and Apangea.

"It's going to make it significantly easier for them to provide that same level of customer service for us," Nicholsen said.

---

Evergrey

01-03-2007, 05:17 AM

I've always thought this was a terrible live music venue. It will be interesting to see what Forest City does with this space and the rest of Station Square not that the casino race is over. I wonder if their plan for condo towers will come to fruition.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07003/750831-85.stm

Chevrolet Amphitheatre on the move to West Homestead
Venue leaving Station Square site
Wednesday, January 03, 2007

By Timothy McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Chevrolet Amphitheatre is leaving one popular, if traffic-soaked, site for another.

Concert promoter Live Nation Pittsburgh announced yesterday that it is moving outdoor amphitheater productions from the longtime site in Station Square to a new facility east of the Sandcastle water park in West Homestead.

The new amphitheater will be between Sandcastle and the popular Waterfront shopping district, next to a new Costco store. It will feature a riverfront view for the audience, picnic areas, VIP areas, multipurpose areas for large festivals and parking, and will open in time for the 2007 concert season.

Designs were not available, but the partially outdoor facility will have a tent roof, much like at the Station Square site, and probably a similar 5,000-seat capacity. It is even off of the same road, Route 837/Carson Street, but about seven miles east.

Like Carson Street, The Waterfront has its own traffic issues, caused by shopping congestion and the partial though temporary closure of the Homestead Grays Bridge. Access to the music facility will be through The Waterfront complex.

Like concerts at the Station Square site, which at times sparked noise complaints from nearby Mount Washington residents, music from the new Chevrolet Amphitheatre may travel to residential areas, including parts of Squirrel Hill and Greenfield across the Monongahela River.

Live Nation said it will release concert dates later.

Sandcastle opened an amphitheater called Riverplex in 1995, but it never really got off the ground, mostly because park officials were not schooled in music promotion. Teaming with music industry giant Live Nation solves that problem.

In a statement, Peter J. McAneny, president of Sandcastle owner Kennywood Entertainment Co., said he was "delighted" to be working with the company and looked forward to cross-promoting music and water park events.

The switch provides Live Nation with a long-term venue after months of uncertainty over the Station Square site, where a Harrah's casino was proposed.

It was not clear yesterday what will happen to the current facility, which opened as the Melody Amphitheatre in 1989 and was named for I.C. Light beer a year later.

After losing the casino bid to Majestic Star on the North Side, Station Square owner Forest City Enterprises stated it is "taking a fresh look at Station Square as we continue to be the Pittsburgh region's most popular attraction and entertainment destination."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Tim McNulty can be reached at tmcnulty@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1581. )

Evergrey

01-03-2007, 05:20 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07003/750851-53.stm

City shifts money to support Pittsburgh Technology Center
Wednesday, January 03, 2007

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A proposed expansion of the Pittsburgh Technology Center could get a $13.5 million infusion of grants and loans under legislation submitted to City Council yesterday.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's administration has proposed that $2 million in federal grants for revitalizing old industrial sites be shifted to the South Oakland site from stalled development efforts in North Point Breeze and Chateau. That complements another $1 million in so-called brownfield grants already slated for the site.

Under federal rules, a condition for getting the grants is taking out around $11.5 million in loans from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city's Urban Redevelopment Authority is applying for those loans.

The money will go toward three parking garages and the relocation of a street to prepare for as many as five new office buildings on some 30 acres.

"It's absolutely in a place where Pittsburgh's new economy can grow," said URA Executive Director Jerome Dettore. "They're bursting at the seams in Oakland. ... This is the location where you can do the most economical building development to support research [companies] coming out of the universities and hospitals."

The URA continues to talk with Cleveland-based Ferchill Group, which wants to build a 160,000-square-foot lab and office building on the site. That would be a first step in the development of 1 million square feet of labs, offices, and supporting retail and services businesses.

URA board Chairman Yarone Zober said the agency has heard from other developers interested in building at the Technology Center, but they need more parking than currently exists.

The projects that would lose brownfield funding are the J. Allan Steel site in Chateau, for which the URA could not find a developer, and the renovation of a building at the Lexington Technology Park, which wasn't financially feasible, Mr. Dettore said. He said federal regulators would have to approve the shifts.

In March, council approved a plan to build some $43.3 million in new infrastructure at the Pittsburgh Technology Center, including the garages and road shift. Of that, $25 million is to be raised through tax-increment financing, or TIF, in which future property and parking tax revenue is pledged to pay for development.

Mr. Dettore said the proposed new grants and loans are part of that package, and that some of the TIF proceeds would pay off some of the HUD loans.

Council could vote tentatively on the grants and loans Jan. 10, with a final vote possible Jan. 16.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Rich Lord can be reached at rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542. )

Evergrey

01-03-2007, 10:50 AM

Experts like offer to Penguins

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_486775.html

By Andrew Conte and Rob Rossi
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, January 3, 2007

A new Uptown arena could mean millions of dollars a year for the Penguins -- and might be enough to keep the team from leaving Pittsburgh.
Compared to a building as old as Mellon Arena, a new one with luxury suites, concessions and non-sporting events could bring in as much as an extra $20 million a year, said Andrew Zimbalist, a sports economist at Smith College in Massachusetts.

That's not all profit, but that money should go a long way toward covering the team's contribution for the building, experts said. Under the current 30-year offer, the team would have to pay $8.5 million up front and $2.9 million a year, while forgoing $1.16 million a year in naming rights.

"It's rare that another city can make that offer," said Darren Rouvelle, a CNBC sports business analyst. "Even with that up-front fee, that's still very much a sweetheart deal."

Team officials have agreed to sit down late Thursday afternoon with Gov. Ed Rendell, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to talk about how to pay for an arena. Team owners also plan to look at relocating.

Although the Penguins likely would have to help pay for an Uptown building, the team could make more money from an arena here, too. All of the revenue from a new Pittsburgh arena is available to "help keep the team viable," Onorato said recently.

"We're going to be able to put together a very competitive package because we have that flexibility," Onorato said. "We know there are a lot of revenues that are going to come out of a new building."

That could be a better offer than those of so-called "free arenas" in cities such as Kansas City or Portland.

Scheduled to open in September, Kansas City's Sprint Center does not have a main tenant, and is offering a guarantee that all luxury boxes will be sold through the first season for a National Hockey League franchise.

But the operator, AEG, a subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, invested $54 million toward the cost of the $276 million Sprint Center, allowing it to determine how much money would go to a main tenant.

"Revenues are certainly key to the sports franchise," said Neil Irwin, a sports analyst at Bryan Cave in Phoenix. "If they're not able to tap into other revenue sources, the sports side of it will usually not support itself."

Even without counting new revenues, the public seems to be making a fair offer to the Penguins, experts said. An average deal would require the team to put up 35 to 40 percent of the arena cost, Zimbalist said.

Under the latest offer, often called Plan B, the team would have to come up with 20 percent.

The state would pay $7 million a year from an economic development fund backed by gambling money, and Majestic Star Casino would pay $7.5 million a year from its profits at a new North Shore slot machine parlor. That would allow the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority to borrow $230 million toward the $290 million arena cost.

"This is a better than average deal that the Penguins are being offered," Zimbalist said. "It's hard to imagine available cities out there that are better hockey cities than Pittsburgh. But I don't know what is the starting point for the Penguins."

The city offers the Penguins an established hockey market with a rich tradition and strong fan base. That can be a priceless commodity, especially in the National Hockey League.

"There is real concern when you have to start from zero season tickets," said Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp Ltd. in Chicago. "Pittsburgh doesn't need to be dollar-to-dollar with the other markets."

Help paying for an arena?

As the Penguins prepare to negotiate terms for a new arena, the public is still paying for the old one. The Allegheny County Regional Asset District is obligated to make the following payments for debt and improvements at Mellon Arena:

Year -- Amount

2007 -- $1,000,000

2008 -- $1,000,000

2009 -- $1,000,000

2010 -- $965,000

2011 -- $925,000

2012 -- $893,000

2013 -- $849,000

2014 -- $817,000

2015 -- $788,000

2016 -- $741,000

2017 -- $991,000

2018 -- $685,000

Total $10,654,000

Source: Allegheny County Regional Asset District

Andrew Conte and Rob Rossi can be reached at aconte@tribweb.com or (412) 765-2312.

themaguffin

01-03-2007, 02:39 PM

I'm glad that Mario is doing his KC stunt er uh trip today and that will be out of the way for Thursday's meeting with state officials.

Evergrey

01-04-2007, 05:48 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_486927.html

Lawyers deliberate on new office space

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, January 4, 2007

Two of the city's larger law firms, Cohen & Grigsby and Jones Day Reavis & Pogue, hope to decide on office space needs Downtown by the end of March.
The new Piatt Place development is among their options, but the firms say they have looked at other Downtown buildings with large amounts of vacant space. Otherwise, they might stay and expand at their existing locations.

"If there is a Class A building available, there's a good chance we've looked at it," said Roy Powell, a partner at the Jones Day office at One Mellon Center on Grant Street. Jones Day's 110 employees, including about 60 lawyers, occupy three floors under a lease due to expire in late 2008.

"We're taking a look at all of our options and, of course, one is to stay here," said Allan TeDesco, chief operating officer at Cohen & Grigsby, whose offices are located at 11 Stanwix St. building.

The 25-year-old firm, which started with nine lawyers in 1981, now has about 120 attorneys, and 260 employees overall, including about 220 in Pittsburgh, TeDesco said. Its lease also expires in 2008.

Attracting either firm would be significant for a number of buildings in the Downtown market, where more than 20 percent of the overall space is currently empty.

Each firm is looking for enough space to occupy about half of the 180,000 square feet Washington County developer Millcraft Industries Inc. is hoping to fill at its $65 million Piatt Place office-retail-condominium project at Fifth Avenue and Wood Street.

"Cohen and Jones Day are very prestigious tenants that will add value to Piatt Place and be a shot in the arm for the revitalization of Fifth and Forbes (avenues)," said Lucas B. Piatt, Millcraft's vice president of real estate.

Other Downtown buildings with significant amounts of vacant space include the 32-story Dominion Tower and the block-long Union Trust Building.

The city's largest office building, the 64-story U.S. Steel Tower, also has space available. But soon the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is expected to confirm a deal to occupy as much as half the 400,000 square feet of vacant space there, with an option to take more later.

That will narrow the list of options for larger tenants, said Jon Harrigan, CEO of Colliers Penn, a commercial real estate firm Downtown.

Despite the city's high vacancy rate, few structures would be able to bunch large amounts of contiguous space, he said.

"The UPMC deal will take a lot of space off the market," said Harrigan, who is representing the law firm of Babst Calland, Clements & Zomnir, currently located at Two Gateway Center, in a search for about 45,000-square feet of space.

Another law firm weighing space options is Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP, one of the city's two largest firms, long based in the Oliver Building, Downtown. However, officials so far have declined comment.

Other companies in the market include Equitable Resources Inc., H.J. Heinz Co. and Ariba Inc..

Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.

Evergrey

01-05-2007, 05:49 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_487163.html

Cup trickleth over to former mill towns

By Bonnie Pfister
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, January 5, 2007

Allegheny County officials are trying to coax some of the success of The Waterfront shopping area across the railroad tracks onto the struggling streets of Homestead, West Homestead and Munhall.
Located on the site of century-old mill that U.S. Steel shuttered in 1986, The Waterfront is booming with busy big-box retailers, as well as restaurants and upscale housing. Retailers have had few complaints despite the year-old reconstruction on the Homestead Grays Bridge that slowed holiday traffic to a two-lane crawl.

"I said at the ground-breaking, I hope this cup runneth over to the avenue," Homestead Mayor Betty Esper said about Eighth Avenue, the main commercial street running through the three boroughs. "It's seen worse days, but it's seen better days."

In hopes of spurring more development south of the tracks, the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County is accepting proposals through today for 45 county-owned properties on Eighth Avenue, as well as East Sixth and East Seventh avenues. The county is seeking private developers to purchase the properties and renovate the buildings, perhaps developing ground-floor commercial businesses with upper-level residential space.

"It will depend on the proposals we get," said Bob Hurley, the county's deputy economic development director. "We would like to find a way to complement the business and residential development of The Waterfront and to add to a tax base to Homestead."

Although the 265-acre development at The Waterfront was financed through tax-increment financing, some revenues are flowing to the boroughs. The TIF allowed developers to use about half of what they would have owed in local property taxes to pay off $21 million in infrastructure loans, according to Esper and Tribune-Review archives. Homestead has collected about $530,000 annually in property taxes from the development, Esper said.

Some entrepreneurs already have found Homestead.

Architect Walter Haglund and his son, Karl, moved their business, Urban Design Ventures, from Shadyside to East Seventh Street about a year ago. The rehabbed building features exposed brick and sunlight-grabbing windows. Two upper floors are being converted into block-wide loft apartments that each will rent for about $1,200 a month, Karl Haglund said. Historic district tax credits, as well as county grants, were essential.

"If we didn't have the county's help, it wouldn't have been feasible," Haglund added.

Despite the desire for more business, traffic in and out of Homestead from the north remains thick. The $35 million bridge reconstruction won't be complete until the end of May, and lanes will close through November for painting, said Tom Donatelli, county public works director. Discussions about adding a ramp to the Glenwood Bridge to help feed autos into The Waterworks have remained just that.

Congestion could get worse this spring, when operators of the Chevrolet Amphitheatre at Station Square plan to relocate to West Homestead, between the soon-to-open Costco at the western edge of The Waterfront and the Sandcastle water park. Todd Kravits, district traffic engineer with PennDOT, said the operators have yet to request a traffic study that would be required to funnel cars across Eighth Avenue, which doubles as State Highway 837.

Despite the congestion, West Homestead Mayor John Dindak is delighted with the growth.

"Traffic is out the (butt)," Dindak said Wednesday. "And it's coming to West Homestead, baby."

Bonnie Pfister can be reached at bpfister@tribweb.com.

Evergrey

01-05-2007, 05:56 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07005/751444-61.stm

Lemieux 'optimistic' on keeping Penguins in Pittsburgh
After meeting with team owners, city, county and state officials say their arena offer is competitive with Kansas City's
Friday, January 05, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

With an enticing offer from Kansas City before him, Penguins owner Mario Lemieux emerged from a closed-door meeting with local and state officials optimistic about the prospects for keeping the team in Pittsburgh.

In brief remarks afterward, Mr. Lemieux described yesterday's 75-minute session with Gov. Ed Rendell, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and county Chief Executive Dan Onorato at the State Office Building as "very positive."

When asked whether he was optimistic about keeping the team in Pittsburgh, he replied, "I've always been very optimistic. I've been here for 20-some years. But we have to evaluate all of our options, obviously. That's why we went to Kansas City ... to look at what they had to offer.

"But I'm optimistic with the meeting that we had today with the politicians here in town that they're willing to step up and talk about some issues that were a big concern for us going back seven years."

At the same time, Mr. Lemieux did not rule out a potential move, saying the team would take the next week or so to "really evaluate from our side where we're going."

Perhaps the most important faceoff of Mr. Lemieux's career, with the franchise's Pittsburgh future hanging in the balance, came on the heels of a visit to Kansas City during which the team was offered use of the new $276 million Sprint Center rent-free and a share of the profits from management of the venue.

State and local officials have countered with Plan B, the Rendell-crafted arena funding formula built around gambling revenues and contributions from the team. The team share was $8.5 million upfront, plus payments of $2.9 million a year for 30 years and $1.1 million a year from naming rights.

However, it is believed that Mr. Rendell, Mr. Ravenstahl and Mr. Onorato offered a somewhat sweetened version in their initial meeting with Mr. Lemieux, co-owner Ron Burkle, team President Ken Sawyer and other representatives yesterday.

None of the participants would discuss the details afterward. But Mr. Ravenstahl insisted the latest offer is "competitive with Kansas City."

"We're confident that we have a very competitive deal," he said.

Like Mr. Lemieux, the public officials described the session as a positive one, though it appeared there was still much work to do.

"It was very productive today," Mr. Onorato said.

No additional meetings have been scheduled so far, but Mr. Ravenstahl said the two sides expect to continue discussions and "get down to specifics" to try to craft a new arena deal and lease that would keep the team in Pittsburgh for years to come.

Mr. Rendell said before the meeting that the state, city and county would not offer a "free" arena to the Penguins. He said that all professional sports teams that have built new facilities in Pennsylvania contributed "significant" dollars to the projects.

"We just don't have the capacity to do that," he said, adding he was skeptical of the reports coming from Kansas City that the Penguins had a free arena waiting for them.

Nonetheless, Mr. Rendell, who did not meet with reporters afterward, said he was prepared to modify Plan B based on statements by the Penguins that they had significant losses since offering to provide $2.9 million a year and $8.5 million upfront as part of an arena funding plan several years ago.

"If that is true, and the [city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority] believes it is, we will restructure our offer and make it better and make it an aggressive one," he said.

The session was the first face-to-face meeting between Mr. Lemieux and local and state officials since Isle of Capri, in partnership with the Penguins, lost its bid for the Pittsburgh casino license. The Isle had pledged $290 million for an arena in its proposal.

Mr. Lemieux said after the loss that he would entertain offers from other cities about a possible relocation, and also talk to local and state officials about a new arena deal under Plan B. The team's lease at Mellon Arena, the oldest building in the NHL, expires at the end of June.

The visit to Kansas City Wednesday and yesterday was the first since his announcement, and team officials came away impressed with what they saw. Mr. Lemieux said he had two "great" meetings yesterday, one here and the other in Kansas City.

The Sprint Center won't open until October, but already all 72 suites in the arena have been sold. At a news conference yesterday, Tim Leiweke, president of Anschutz Entertainment Group, said the offer to the Penguins includes no rent and a portion of the profits from management of the center. The team would serve as partner with Anschutz, which invested $54 million in the Sprint Center, in overseeing the facility.

Initial reports indicated that the Penguins would have to pay $27 million to buy into the building, but that apparently changed overnight. Mr. Leiweke said yesterday there would be no buy-in. The Penguins also would get to keep at least some building revenue, although it was unclear how much.

"We are not here to steal the Penguins from Pittsburgh and have been very respectful of their process," Mr. Leiweke said. "We understand this is Pittsburgh's team to lose, and we respect that right. Should Pittsburgh and the state of Pennsylvania not be able to work out what is deemed to be a proper arrangement in the eyes of the Penguins and the NHL, we believe the best opportunity for the Penguins is Kansas City."

Mr. Onorato has said that local and state officials have a key advantage under Plan B in that none of the revenues from the arena would be used to finance construction. That presumably would leave most if not all of that money, millions of dollars a year, for the Penguins.

He said after the meeting with the team that he doesn't feel pressured by the Kansas City offer.

"I don't think that changes anything. Again, this was the first chance to sit down and the fact it was a productive meeting, I think, is a positive sign," he said.

Mr. Onorato has said that no Allegheny Regional Asset District money, the funding stream used to pay a large part of Heinz Field and PNC Park, would be earmarked for a new arena. Mr. Rendell said "very little public tax dollars" would be part of a deal.

Besides team contributions under Plan B, another $7.5 million a year for 30 years would come from Pittsburgh casino winner Don Barden and $7 million a year from a slots-financed state economic development fund.

Mr. Lemieux has expressed frustration at failing to secure a new arena over the past seven years, but none of the team owners and none of the political powers were in place when funding proposals were first bandied about in 1998.

"I know he's upset," said Mr. Onorato, who publicly reached out to Mr. Lemieux when the Isle of Capri deal fell through. "We have to get beyond that. Let's forget about the past."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Staff writer Robert Dvorchak contributed. Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. )

designer3d712

01-05-2007, 08:33 PM

I don't know if anyone posted these images of the Majestic Star Casino and if someone did, I apologize. I found these on the local Architects website that is designing the Casino. I was surprised that it was a local firm here in Pittsburgh.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/casino_2_1.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/casino_3.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/casino_4.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/casino_5.jpg

biscuit

01-05-2007, 08:43 PM

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/casino_4.jpg
Good lord, Allegheny West is going to have a royal fit over those neon light masts.

Evergrey

01-05-2007, 08:43 PM

thanks, designer... I don't believe I've seen most of those images besides the 1st one

the flower beds are a nice touch

designer3d712

01-05-2007, 08:53 PM

thanks, designer... I don't believe I've seen most of those images besides the 1st one

the flower beds are a nice touch

You're welcome. Yeah I surprised when I did a search on the Architect, and found out that it's a Pittsburgh firm. By the looks of their website www.stradallc.com it seems as if that is their first Casino job. It looks like is going to be an impressive building, and I get to see it being constructed going to and from work.

This sure is a busy website. You really can't navigate it unless you register and sign in.

designer3d712

01-05-2007, 08:57 PM

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/casino_4.jpg
Good lord, Allegheny West is going to have a royal fit over those neon light masts.
I agree, and with all the glazing, the whole building's going to glow at night. It's going to be really exciting watching this thing being built. I don't know about making it for the March 08 opening.

Evergrey

01-06-2007, 04:08 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07006/751739-61.stm

New arena hopes advance on 2 fronts
Site preparation work to begin while Penguins haggle with local officials
Saturday, January 06, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority is pressing ahead with preparations for a new arena even as state and local officials get down to the nitty-gritty of trying to cobble together a deal to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

A day after Penguins owner Mario Lemieux had a "very positive" meeting with state and local leaders on an arena funding plan, they must translate those sentiments into a package competitive enough to prevent the franchise from skating off to Kansas City, where a rent-free arena awaits.

No formal negotiations have been scheduled but the two sides already have started to exchange information and to follow up on issues raised at Thursday's 75-minute session at the State Office Building.

While the Penguins and representatives from the city, county and state get down to haggling out the details of a potential agreement, the SEA is starting the advance work to prepare the arena site, bordering Fifth and Centre avenues.

An SEA-hired contractor, Precision Environmental, begins work Monday removing asbestos from buildings in the corridor to clear the way for demolition, which is expected to start next month. In September, the arena construction is to start, with completion set for fall 2009.

One other point to be negotiated under Plan B is the sale of the St. Francis Central Hospital, which is needed by the SEA as part of the arena site. The building was purchased for $8 million by the Penguins to hold it for an arena.

Interestingly enough, if the Penguins were to get at least $8.5 million for the building in a sale, it would cover their upfront contribution under Plan B.

Following Thursday's meeting in Pittsburgh, Mr. Lemieux, who long has been at odds with local politicians over funding for an arena, called the session "very positive" and said he was optimistic about the prospects of keeping the team here. He added local elected leaders seem to be "willing to step up and talk about some issues that were a big concern for us going back seven years."

But whether that optimism can be transformed into a deal remains to be seen. Both sides are hoping to reach an agreement within the next two weeks, well in advance of the 30-day deadline set by the Penguins in deciding between Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

The Kansas City deal could be hard to beat.

It gives the Penguins a rent-free $276 million Sprint Center arena, no construction costs, no upfront payments, and a 50-50 partnership with Anschutz Entertainment Group to derive profits from all revenue streams, including suites, club seats, ticket sales, advertising, concessions, parking, and naming-rights fees, according to the Kansas City Star newspaper.

AEG, which invested $54 million in the Sprint Center, to open in October, also dropped a requirement for a $27 million buy-in by the Penguins to be equal partners in the building.

And during a breakfast meeting Thursday, more than a dozen Kansas City business leaders, including executives from Sprint, Farmland Industries and UMB Bank, turned out to pledge corporate support in ticket sales and sponsorships, the Star reported.

In Pittsburgh, Gov. Ed Rendell's Plan B is the starting point for negotiations. In its initial form it would have required the Penguins to contribute $8.5 million upfront and roughly $4 million a year, including $1.16 million annually in naming rights, toward construction.

But during Thursday's meeting, state and local officials offered a somewhat sweetened version of Plan B, although the exact details are not known.

Mr. Rendell had said before the session he was prepared to modify Plan B based on team financial losses over the last several years. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl characterized the offer as "very competitive" with Kansas City.

As part of negotiations, there's also a chance that local and state leaders may be willing to work out an arrangement that would give the Penguins more revenues from Mellon Arena during the interim period between the negotiation of a deal and the completion of the arena in 2009.

"Informally I know that point has been raised," said state Sen. Wayne Fontana, an SEA board member.

Such a concession may be important because the Penguins would have the ability in Kansas City to begin generating revenues from a new building as quickly as October, not two years from now.

At Mellon Arena, the team currently must share revenues with master tenant SMG. The arrangement would change at the end of June, when the Penguins would become master tenant and SMG the arena manager. Of course, the Penguins' arena lease expires at the same time, giving the team the ability to move elsewhere.

Nonetheless, despite the sweetheart deal being dangled by Kansas City, Mr. Fontana described himself as "real optimistic" about keeping the team in Pittsburgh.

"This is a hockey town. There's no question about it. It has the history and the track record. That in itself gives us the edge, but I think the deal itself is superior to Kansas City," he said.

"There might need to be some modifications here and there, but I think that when you look at the whole package, I don't see why you go to a town that had a hockey team and lost it."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.

themaguffin

01-08-2007, 02:16 PM

Residential projects Downtown face challenges of costs, parking
Some developers turn to rental apartments for tax credit
Pittsburgh Business Times - January 5, 2007by Ben Semmes

When Elizabeth Krichten moved from Washington, D.C., to Pittsburgh in 2004, she was excited by the low cost of living.

She looked at buying a condominium Downtown, but found the cost prohibitive -- in the neighborhood of $300,000 for most of the two-bedroom units she is interested in. She also was wary of the high cost of parking in two places.

"I don't want to have to be paying for parking (at the condo) and Downtown (at work)," she said.

Instead, she rents an apartment at the Pennsylvanian, where her employer, CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, pays for her to park, just a few blocks up Grant Street from her office at the U.S. Steel Tower.

As a new year rolls in, builders and buyers say they remain optimistic about ongoing condominium construction Downtown, still largely an unproven market.

Still, parking, the rapidly rising cost of construction and the lack of basic residential amenities such as grocery stores persist as challenges in persuading people to live Downtown, developers and potential buyers say.

Eve Picker, president of Downtown-based no wall productions development corp., which works on loft projects, said developers are being pulled in two directions as they deal with rising costs while trying to keep pricing competitive.

"It's unclear how healthy the market (currently) is and how deep it is," she said. "It looks pretty good at the moment."

Yet, she said, because of the amount of residential construction and the number of units coming on the market, "I ... know that discounts are being made."

Developers are dealing with several factors that are pushing costs up, she said.

"Construction costs have just spiraled upwards," she said, pointing to increasing competition for building materials with China as well as the disruptions and energy price spikes after Hurricane Katrina.

Some developers in the Downtown area, in an attempt to reduce construction costs, have decided on rental apartments instead of for-sale condos to obtain a federal historic tax credit that covers 20 percent of qualified renovations. Sale units are not eligible for the credit.

Most recently, Cecil Township-based Millcraft Industries Inc. decided on 42 loft-style apartments instead of condominiums for its redevelopment project at the former G.C. Murphy store buildings Downtown, to take advantage of the tax credit.

"It is pretty clear that you need that sort of subsidy," Picker said.

Across Forbes Avenue from the G.C. Murphy project, Millcraft has plans for a 200-plus unit residential building, called South of Forbes, which will feature condos starting in the high $100,000s, said Lucas Piatt, company vice president of real estate.

Ralph Falbo, the head of Downtown-based Ralph A. Falbo Inc., is making progress on a separate project, 151 First Side, an 18-story condo building his firm is developing Downtown. Falbo and his partners, Strip District-based EQA Landmark Properties and O'Hara-based Zambrano Corp., broke ground on the project in 2005.

Falbo said First Side has sold around 50 units out of a total of 80 in the complex, ranging from around $200,000 to nearly $2 million for the riverside penthouse.

The First Side building and Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co.'s Encore on Seventh high-rise apartment building, which opened last year, are the city's first large residential buildings since Gateway Towers was built in the late 1960s.

Falbo said he suggests some people rent for a year to get a feel for Downtown

before they buy.

"I really get the feeling that people are testing Pittsburgh out," Falbo said. "Some people really shouldn't buy a condo. But if you think you are going to be permanent for a while, it really makes sense."

themaguffin

01-08-2007, 02:17 PM

County looks to buy 10 properties to advance riverfront park plan
One site is being developed as self storage on Allegheny River
Pittsburgh Business Times - January 5, 2007by Ben Semmes

Seeking to realize the goal of a park lining Allegheny County's four major rivers, the county is taking steps toward purchasing 10 properties.

Councilman Dave Fawcett, an Oakmont Republican, said this week the county has zeroed in on 10 parcels of land between five acres and 50 acres in size, that are in greatest danger of being developed in a way that doesn't conform with the riverfront park vision. He said the county is working quickly to get appraisals on these properties.

Using eminent domain to take control of the properties is currently not an option, Fawcett said.

"We certainly want our initial acquisitions to be voluntary," he said.

Fawcett said the county is in discussions with Al Thomson, of North Hills-based Thomson Properties Inc., which is developing a 15-acre tract along the Allegheny River in Penn Hills into an Atlas Self Storage facility.

Thomson declined to comment on his firm's plans.

"He's laid some concrete pads already. That (project's) moving forward," Fawcett said. "That's why it is so critical."

While Thomson has shown willingness to allow the trail to continue through his property, Fawcett said, the county would like to acquire the property outright and use it as a park.

Directly north of the property is the office for the Steel City Rowing Club, which, Fawcett said, has shown some interest in managing the park if the county acquires the property. Fawcett said Steel City could then hold its rowing meets at the park.

'Groundswell of support'
Last month, the county approved a resolution, co-sponsored by Fawcett, calling for the establishment of a linear park along the fronts of the Allegheny, Monongahela, Ohio and Youghiogheny rivers.

Improving the 100 miles of riverfront would come at a steep price tag -- more than $100 million -- but it also would create what Fawcett said would be "the longest linear park of its kind in the world."

The plan has had success in galvanizing local business leaders, many of whom say they believe the park will spur further investment, push up real estate values and attract young talent to the region.

"It is great positive press for our area and pretty cost-effective," said Steve Plut, vice president and chief information officer of O'Hara-based Mine Safety Appliances. "There's certainly a groundswell of support for this initiative."

Plut recently sat in on a North American operations meeting for his firm -- which employs 4,400 people worldwide, including 1,300 locally -- and was asked to brainstorm ways to attract young talent to the area.

"They don't golf," Plut said, of the new generation of employees. "They mountain bike; they hike; they kayak."

Economic development issue
The park plan got a boost from the demise of steel and heavy industries in the 1980s and '90s, as the departure freed up potential park sites along the rivers.

"Originally, this started as 'Let's just connect the (existing riverfront) trails,'" Fawcett said. "This would include a comprehensive network of trails, but with amenities along the way. It is being proposed as a matter of economic development."

It's not just Fawcett who sees the potential of a such a park to raise the value of existing properties in the city.

Helen Hanna Casey, president of O'Hara-based Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, said such a park would only improve property values.

"The ability to integrate rivers into your personal life is wonderful," she said. "Waterfront living has always been most desirable."

themaguffin

01-08-2007, 02:18 PM

Having lost its bet for a casino, Forest City has decisions to make
Undeveloped land at Station Square could see major changes
Pittsburgh Business Times - January 5, 2007by Tim Schooley

At Station Square, all the chips have been raked off the wrong side of the table for Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises Inc., owner of the mixed-use development.

A few weeks ago, Forest City and Las Vegas-based partner Harrah's Entertainment Inc. lost in the bid to operate a slots casino at Station Square that for years had been a goal for the site.

Now, the company must figure out what to do next with the development.

"Our development team is taking a completely fresh look at the property," said Tom Schneck, marketing director for Station Square.

While Forest City first bought Station Square in 1994 with an eye toward gambling, the company may only now face its first real opportunity to develop on its own much of the development's 52 acres.

Forest City has maintained an agreement with Harrah's not to develop the property to the east and west of the main complex as part of their joint venture for a new casino development.

Since Detroit businessman Don Barden won the city's only slots license for the North Shore, Schneck said Forest City's agreement with Harrah's effectively should come to an end.

As a marketing professional, Schneck sees opportunity to improve a development that already draws 2.5 million people each year as one of the biggest tourist draws in Western Pennsylvania.

He estimates at least half of the Station Square property that includes a mile-long span of riverfront is still almost totally undeveloped.

"Now, we have a blank slate on 25 acres of land with the most spectacular views of the city of Pittsburgh in a well-established entertainment destination," Schneck said.

That's the sales pitch Forest City must persuade itself on now.

The company had plans for as many as 1,200 new condominiums at Station Square's east warehouse site as part of its overall casino redevelopment. Schneck suggested those plans could be reconsidered.

Others wonder whether Forest City will decide against developing more of its property.

In a region that has been whiplashed by decades of ongoing exodus by residents and companies alike, it can be habit here to suspect the company might want to sell.

Jon Harrigan, CEO of Downtown-based Colliers Penn, voiced a concern that could as easily apply to Forest City as it has to other companies that have left town.

"Maybe it's not a big enough operation for them," said Harrigan of Station Square and Forest City. "A lot of out-of-town owners look at Pittsburgh and say it's just not in our product mix anymore. They want to focus on larger metropolitan areas."

Despite Station Square's local prominence, the property is one of the smallest in Forest City's portfolio of mixed-use developments.

Forest City bought Station Square for $25 million from its original developer, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, and bought out Harrah's stake in the property when an earlier state proposal for riverboat gambling died in 1997.

To date, the company's largest investment at Station Square was its 2002 addition of Bessemer Court, a $27 million upgrade that added a host of new restaurants and clubs to a former parking lot.

Rick Belloli, executive director of the South Side Local Development Co., which championed Forest City's plan and worked closely with the company, expressed relief along with disappointment at Forest City's new challenge.

"They have indicated that they need to evaluate their development plan for Station Square," Belloli said. "Obviously, any decision is Forest City's to make. We'll work with Forest City as they work through that."

Evergrey

01-08-2007, 09:49 PM

I noticed a sign for a new building in N. Oakland on N. Craig St. between Centre and Bayard. At first I thought it was for one of those 17-story residential towers going up in that area... but this is for a 6-story office building I hadn't heard about previously. The design is pleasant but certainly not exciting. Adds another 120,000 sf of Class A office space to the hyperactive Oakland market. It's called Two Sterling Plaza. It will rise at the present site of a gravel parking lot (WTF!) adjacent to the ultra-bland 4-story One Sterling Plaza (constructed 1991).

Here's the link on Grubb & Ellis:
http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/LoopLink/Profile/Profile.aspx?LL=true&LID=14329513&STID=grubb

Rendering
http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/D/6/9/D69B5F48-02FB-4EC1-9316-34EF063B6539_or.jpg

Wheelingman04

01-09-2007, 03:26 PM

^ Looks like a decent building. It's better than a parking lot.

ColDayMan

01-09-2007, 03:36 PM

It's good...for Pittsburgh...

themaguffin

01-09-2007, 04:00 PM

It looks fine. Not every building is going to be something to wow over, and certainly not a 5 story one.

It will certainly make that block look nicer.

BANKofMANHATTAN

01-09-2007, 06:08 PM

BANKofMANHATTAN

01-09-2007, 06:09 PM

It looks fine. Not every building is going to be something to wow over, and certainly not a 5 story one.

It will certainly make that block look nicer.

I agree.

I think it's a decent looking 5 story...

Evergrey

01-10-2007, 03:28 PM

an article on the Grandview Scenic Byways Park
http://www.popcitymedia.com/features/43grandview.aspx

PittPenn 03

01-10-2007, 04:27 PM

I agree.

I think it's a decent looking 5 story...

I am getting excited about the change this area is going through. With parking lots being filled with mid to high rises all over North Oakland, it is going to begin to take on the same intensely urban character that South Oakland has around the Universities in a very short period of time. Though I have always liked it, North Oakland has always seemed rather residentially bland. The impact of these developments will likely add another vibrant area to a fairly non-descript section of Oakland, and could exponentially increase the vibrancy of Bloomfield/Friendship/Shadyside/East Liberty and perhaps beyond.

A very exciting time for the East End!

Evergrey

01-11-2007, 05:39 AM

I am getting excited about the change this area is going through. With parking lots being filled with mid to high rises all over North Oakland, it is going to begin to take on the same intensely urban character that South Oakland has around the Universities in a very short period of time. Though I have always liked it, North Oakland has always seemed rather residentially bland. The impact of these developments will likely add another vibrant area to a fairly non-descript section of Oakland, and could exponentially increase the vibrancy of Bloomfield/Friendship/Shadyside/East Liberty and perhaps beyond.

A very exciting time for the East End!

Have you seen the Baum-Centre Corridor plans?
http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/baumcentre/assets/05_BaumCentreTemplate_FinalDraft2.2.pdf

The city wants to develop this corridor into a high-density urban district. I think this would be the best place for taller buildings in the city (outside downtown) due to its central location in the East End and the relative absense of NIMBYs... even though it's a critical link... it's sort of a no-man's land between Bloomfield, Oakland, Shadyside, etc...

I travel through Baum-Centre every day... and it's a bit disappointing in its current state... it's got stuff to build on though... you basically have two major automobile corridors... the high amount of vehicular traffic has its benefits and drawbacks... it can seem like a bit of a speedway. There are some really gorgeous early 20th century mid-sized/large apartment buildings... and some bland mid-20th century apartment buildings... there are some ethnic restaurants... Whole Foods and Giant Eagle Market District... a lot of automotive businesses and automobile dealerships... most of which are thankfully designed in an urban fashion... could be MUCH worse... but the district right now feels a bit disjointed due to suburban-designed fast food joints and drive-through banks and the like... it can feel like a wasteland sometimes...

the plan linked above seems excellent... trees along the streets would make the vehicular traffic "less harsh"... desolate parking lots yield to urban buildings...

Evergrey

01-11-2007, 05:40 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07011/752934-53.stm

City to seek proposals for North Side
Thursday, January 11, 2007

By Diana Nelson Jones and Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and the Urban Redevelopment Authority will announce today a request for proposals for development of 11 properties surrounding the Garden Theater on the North Side.

The noon news conference will be held in front of the former Masonic Hall at 18 W. North Ave. The theater next door, which shows pornographic movies, has been the missing piece of the URA's assemblage of properties on three blighted blocks at Federal Street and North Avenue.

Mr. Ravenstahl said yesterday that Federal Street at North Avenue is key to the neighborhood's future.

"I obviously envision that area being the primary artery for the whole North Side," he said. "It has been for some time. The perception of the North Side has been the Federal-North corridor, and unfortunately at this point that is a negative perception, and that's something we need to change."

He said that, with the amenities of West Park and nearby attractions and Federal Hill town homes under construction, redevelopment of the blighted properties "will really complement and enable us to redevelop that corridor."

The Garden is not included in the development plans because its status is still pending.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled two weeks ago that the URA did not violate the theater's state or federal rights of free expression when it tried to seize the property through eminent domain proceedings. New Garden Realty, the appellant, could still appeal that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mark Fatla, executive director of the Northside Leadership Council, said he didn't see any reason not to include the Garden before its status is certain because appeals, like developments, drag on.

"Maybe we're not at the finish line," he said, "but we can see the tape."

The 11 properties to be offered to developers today include four contiguous buildings on the northwest corner of North Avenue at Federal; the former Masonic Hall on North Avenue; an apartment building behind it; two buildings on Federal; and two vacant lots.

Mr. Fatla said the Central North Side's neighborhood plan sets parameters that will guide developers.

"Nothing is going to happen without the involvement of that neighborhood. Developers interested in offering something that's not of the highest standards shouldn't look here."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Rich Lord can be reached at rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542. Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. )

Wheelingman04

01-11-2007, 07:01 PM

^ I think this will be one of the most exciting projects in the city. I have been waiting for years for that area to turn around.

Evergrey

01-12-2007, 12:27 AM

^ I think this will be one of the most exciting projects in the city. I have been waiting for years for that area to turn around.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07011/753097-100.stm

Ravenstahl asks developers to embrace Federal Street project
Friday, January 12, 2007

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Calling it "an exciting day for the North Side," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl yesterday invited developers to propose plans for any of 11 properties at and around the intersection of Federal Street and North Avenue on the North Side.

"Though encouraged by the recent news, the Garden Theatre is not included," he said to a crowd of 50 in front of a graffiti-covered doorway of the grand Masonic Hall next to the theater.

The city recently moved a step closer to securing the porn theater at 12 W. North. The state Supreme Court ruled in its favor Dec. 27. The property owner had appealed a lower court decision that the city's effort to take the property by eminent domain did not violate the theater's right to free expression.

New Garden Realty could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the meantime, "we're not waiting," said Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park. "We can't let the Garden be an excuse anymore."

An early investor at the intersection and a Central North Side homeowner, Franco Harris, joined the public officials at the podium. The former Steeler plans to turn a vacant tavern -- an uncharacteristic one-story building with a flat roof on the northeast corner -- into a restaurant. "I'm a newcomer to development here, and I'm glad to be part of it," he said.

Working now with an architect on designs, he said "all options are open," including to add a story. "But if we get busy, rooftop dining makes sense," he said with a grin. "There's a great view of the city."

Specifications of the city's request for proposals will be available Wednesday on the Web site of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, www.ura.org, with a link to the URA's project partner, the Central Northside Neighborhood Council, www.centralnorthside.com.

The council, over years of community input and planning, has a wish list and a hiss list. The latter includes fast food chains, box stores and businesses that prey on the desperate.

"We don't want fast check-cashing places, pawnshops or lottery windows," said Rebecca Davidson-Wagner, executive director of the neighborhood council. The list also nixes a bar unless it comes with a sit-down restaurant, she said. "At least until the area gets more stable."

"There are a lot of influences here that don't need to be here," said Mr. Ravenstahl.

Mr. Ferlo said: "It's what I characterize as squalor. I see great energy and synergy on this sidewalk, and it's that energy we're going to take into building back this neighborhood."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. )
.

themaguffin

01-17-2007, 03:04 PM

January 17, 2007 Pop City

Construction on $10M Lofts on Baum to start in February
Construction is set to start in February on new lofts at 5848 Baum Boulevard in East Liberty. Developed by Crossgates, the project is located near Whole Foods and EastSide, within the core of Shadyside’s expansion into the Baum-Centre corridor.

The eight-story project will feature 28 one- and two-bedroom units ranging from 1,005 to 1,517 square feet. A number of brand new features, including penthouses, a top-floor glass enclosed exercise facility and a 16-by-30-foot roof deck have been added to the project’s final design. Two 2,318-square-foot penthouses will feature three bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms and covered terraces. The property will also feature a gated outdoor pet area.

“We have people interested from as far away as California,” says Brian Galley with Howard Hanna, who has begun pre-sales. “A lot of people are coming back to the city from suburbs like Fox Chapel and Mt. Lebanon.”

Pittsburgh-based Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel designed the building and Meadeworth Interiors, located on Penn Circle West, is the interior designer.

“There’s been real public demand for the one-bedroom units with Shadyside views.” Galley says this interest led to the creation of additional one-bedroom lofts that start at $209,000; penthouses start at $579,000. "Everything is with within walking distance," says Galley of the project's central East End location.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Brian Galley

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2044/lob_building_300.jpg

Evergrey

01-17-2007, 03:40 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07017/754260-28.stm

Report: More Downtown offices empty last year
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

By Elwin Green, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The vacancy rate for office space Downtown surged in 2006 with businesses choosing to locate in suburban corridors to the east, north and west of the city, according to a year-end report on Pittsburgh's commercial real estate market.

The report, issued by Grubb & Ellis, notes that the vacancy rate for office space in the Golden Triangle grew to 20 percent during the last quarter, compared with 17.7 percent at the end of 2005.

Meanwhile, the average annual rent sought for top-tier space increased slightly to $21.50 per square foot, from $21.27. Citywide, the year-end vacancy rate was 19.2 percent, compared with 19.6 percent a year earlier, and asking rents rose from $20.56 to $20.72.

Pittsburgh's numbers were mirrored by those posted in Philadelphia, which also showed a vacancy rate of 20 percent for its central business district and 19.2 percent overall for the city.

Both are doing better than Detroit, where the downtown vacancy is 32.2 percent and the city's overall vacancy rate stands at 20.9 percent.

But Pittsburgh still lags between such pacesetters as Boston, where vacancy is 10.7 percent for downtown and 13.5 percent overall; Miami, with an 11.5 percent downtown vacancy rate and 8.7 percent overall; and Washington, D.C., where only 6.8 percent of office space downtown, and 11.6 percent of office space citywide, is available.

While office vacancy increased Downtown over the past year, it shrank in the eastern suburbs, to 13.9 percent from 20.1 percent; in the north, to 17.3 percent from 23.1 percent; and in the Parkway West corridor, to 22.3 percent from 25.3 percent.

But things could be improving Downtown, said Grubb & Ellis spokeswoman Pamela Lowery. "There are some large users looking."

One of those is the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which has expressed an interest in taking 200,000 square feet or more of Downtown space for administrative operations. Such a move could by itself shave a full percentage point from Downtown's vacancy rate.

Then there is the redevelopment of the Fifth-Forbes corridor, finally receiving a kickstart with the construction of PNC Financial Group's massive office/residential complex now under way. Together with Millcraft Industries' reworking of the former Lazarus and G.C. Murphy stores into mixed-use complexes, it could spark a Downtown resurgence that would make a 20 percent vacancy a thing of the past.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Elwin Green can be reached at egreen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1969. )

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070117officespace.gif

Evergrey

01-17-2007, 03:41 PM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_488862.html

Eatery slated for Piatt Place

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Developer Millcraft Industries Inc. said it expects to announce a third significant tenant -- a second restaurant -- for its $65 million Piatt Place project Downtown.
"We're within days of having an announcement of this 10,000-square-foot tenant," said Lucas B. Piatt, Millcraft's vice president of real estate, for the Washington County firm.

Piatt did not disclose the name or type of restaurant involved, but said word of a leasing deal could come as early as Thursday at ceremonies marking the official start of construction at Piatt Place.

The new tenant would join a previously announced Tresantis European Market and Capital Grille restaurant on the first floor level of the four-story former Lazarus-Macy's department store building at the corner Fifth Avenue and Wood Street.

Capital Grille is a national restaurant that is slated to open this summer.

Tresantis is a 12,000-square foot grocery store that Millcraft itself will operate, featuring prepared foods made by DeLallo Italian Foods of Jeannette, Westmoreland County, and special steaks from Omaha Steaks.

Piatt recently said Tresantis could be moved to the former G.C. Murphy store building that Milcraft is developing Downtown because interest in the retail space at Piatt Place has been so high.

Overall, what is known as Shoppes at Piatt Place has about 47,500 square feet of space for retail tenants.

"We have approximately 75 percent of the retail space committed at this point," said Piatt, who estimates the retail portion of the project will create 200 to 300 jobs.

Those interested include an financial services firm he did not identify.

Piatt Place is to include 180,000-square-feet of office space on the second, third and fourth floors, and up to 65 condominium units on three additional levels added on top of the existing building's roof.

No tenants have been announced for the office space, but Millcraft has secured commitments for 14 of the residential units at prices that have averaged about $450,000 and ranged from $320,000 to $1.25 million, Piatt said.

Although tomorrow's event is billed as a "groundbreaking," construction already is under way "from the ground up," Piatt said.

"We are improving the steel structure to support the residential units, creating the residential lobby and elevators, building out the Capital Grille space and other tenants, improving (heating ventilation and air conditioning) and electrical systems, etc.," he said.

"We are slightly ahead of schedule."

Meanwhile, the developer is continuing discussions with Saks Fifth Avenue concerning possible expansion of the upscale retailer's Downtown store.

As reported, Saks over the years has considered expanding its Smithfield Street site, possibly using the abandoned Revco building that has an entrance on Fifth Avenue. The Revco building stands between Saks and Piatt Place.

Last year city officials became concerned Saks could move to a suburban location, and initiated discussions with Millcraft about using the Revco site to provide a loading dock and additional access for Saks.

Millcraft has an option to purchase the Revco building from the city Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.

Evergrey

01-17-2007, 04:02 PM

double post

Evergrey

01-17-2007, 04:37 PM

http://www.popcitymedia.com/features/44archprojects.aspx

Changing the Landscape of Pittsburgh
By: Gordon Spencer and Pop City staff

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Features/Issue%2044/Shaping%20Pgh/fairmount_housing1_450.jpg
Fairmount Housing

January 17, 2007
In every direction, change is taking place in Pittsburgh.

Hotels and office buildings are popping up on the North Shore, the Cultural Trust’s RiverParc, a mixed-use new project on Eighth St. is on the horizon downtown along with PNC Three which has broken ground. Along the Mon River, South Side Works continues to expand with new condos going up. And in Bloomfield, the Children’s Hospital construction looms large, expected to greatly impact the surrounding areas, a promise of change to come.

Pittsburgh’s hilly topography, which so dramatically defines this city, also makes it harder to discern the many changes going on. But in the last few years alone, new built projects, such as Eastside in East Liberty or major renovations such as the $20 million redo of the Terminal Buildings, now River Walk Corporate Center, are changing the landscape of Pittsburgh..

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Features/Issue%2044/Shaping%20Pgh/trust_riverfront_project_30.jpg
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Riverparc

Context, Context Context

Ask any architect: context is everything. Gary Carlough, president of Edge Studios says, “Too often people think about buildings as objects in the landscape, but the powerful outcome of architecture is the residual space that it shapes. “

Think a great building is a great building anywhere? Think again. “You have to think about both the building and the city. That’s how you get better buildings. A city full of iconic architecture could be a horrible place to live, a sculptural museum,” he notes. “What’s more prevalent is expressing individuality while maintaining coherence.”

The new construction in East Liberty—the modern and inviting Eastside, most notably-- and along the Baum-Centre Corridor—with its mixed-use office buildings, both new and renovated—are good examples of new buildings creating change, says Pitt Professor Christopher Drew Armstrong, director of Architectural Studies in the History of Art and Architecture department. “Such construction is starting to knit together the fabric of this city, creating a continuity of neighborhoods where there hadn’t been any,” he says.

Fortunately for Pittsburgh, most projects are done with existing scale and style in mind, rather than trying to create something deliberately original for its own sake. “We see a good sensitivity to that in Pittsburgh,” says Dave Brennenberg, a partner in Brenenborg Brown Group. “Originality, things that visibly stand out, doesn’t necessarily mean good architecture. Good architecture is the stuff that services clients well and is a good neighbor.”

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Features/Issue%2044/Shaping%20Pgh/schenley_park_300.jpg
Schenley Park

A Welcome Green Space

One recent project worthy of good neighbor status is the transformation of a parking lot into the exceptional green space called Schenley Plaza. With its beautiful plantings, artful benches, pavilion and charming carousel, the former parking lot stands as a welcome oasis of green, lending an air of calm to a high-octane urban neighborhood.

Blocks away on Fifth, the Biomedical Science Tower 3 has added a welcome element of sophisticated design to the dense corridor, ultimately enhancing the neighborhood. The building, designed by local JSA Architects with Payette Associates, won a 2006 Design Award from AIA Pittsburgh as “an unusually handsome urban building.”

Jurors, who appreciated the open glass corners, commented: “They took a complex building and wove a series of handsome facades out of it. There is a good layering and bridging of interior and exterior spaces.” [EP7] A standout in a cluster of high-rises, the Tower could inspire more forward-thinking design in the corridor.

In Friendship, the sixty apartments and six retail spaces of the award-winning Penn Fairmont represents a refreshing diversity in the heart of the Arts District. Senior housing. Future lofts and artists workspaces. Retail. It’s one project that connects on a number of levels—a big leap from its former occupant, Eat n Park with its stretch of parking lot.

While these positive changes in neighborhoods benefit everyone, it is especially helpful for elderly and poorer residents, says Armstrong. It’s possible to live in a neighborhood such as Friendship and walk or bike places instead of relying on a car which benefits the environment as well.

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Features/Issue%2044/Shaping%20Pgh/biomedical_tower_300.jpg
Biomedical Science Tower 3

The Hottest Link

One of the more intriguing projects mentioned by an architect: the Hot Metal Bridge, now back in use. Jon Shimm, partner with Burt Hill points to this linkage as symbolic of change. Once used to transport metal across the river, today the restored bridge links two new and vital sections of the city—the Southside Works and the Technology Center, connecting people to technology. ”The effect is both physical and psychological,” says Shimm. “And this appeals to a new young, urban-oriented generation.”

Architects agree that exciting new architectural proects, from bridges to modern shopping centers, are drawing attention as well as people—such as families moving back from the suburbs. Brennenborg says, “The changes promote a sense of well-being, a desire to live in the city rather than on the periphery.”

Restoring the Past

It’s not just new projects reshaping the landscape. Restoration is the right blueprint, declares Ellis Schmidlapp, CEO of Landmark Design Associates which has offices in the 106-year old, recently renovated River Walk Corporate Center, previously the Terminal Building. Now housing nonprofits and tech companies, it's a good example of restoration that has breathed new life into a building as well as its surroundings. Restoration, says Schmidlapp, is "what makes Pittsburgh Pittsburgh. The town is building on its strengths. It’s the wave of the future. It’s fine to bring in new ideas but also to find what’s been known all along.”

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Features/Issue%2044/Shaping%20Pgh/hot_metal_bridge_300.jpg
Hot Metal Street Bridge walkway construction

Respecting the past while welcoming the future can be tricky but Pittsburgh has fared well in this respect. “Pittsburgh has always had a unique architectural character, consistent with the feel of the city, rather than just a hodge-podge,” says Ed Shriver, partner at STRADA. “There’s an overall coherence of style—sort of European working class stable, solid: bricks, mortar, steel, cut stone.” He adds that the best architecture is also sensitive to the styles and personalities of everything surrounding it. “It strengthens who and what we are.”

That matters more today than perhaps any other time in history. Unlike previous generations, Gen Y-ers are more likely to move to a city of choice and then find a suitable job. Given the Internet and telecommuting, people are mobile, able to work anywhere these days. “We have a lot more freedom choosing where we live,” says Anne J. Swager, executive director of AIA Pittsburgh. So cities have to work harder to attract workers. “Pittsburgh’s green hillsides and scenic rivers --combined with its architecture, from the skyline to the historic buildings-- present a most compelling case on why Pittsburgh is one of the best places to be.”

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Features/Issue%2044/Shaping%20Pgh/terminal_bldgs_300.jpg
Terminal Buildings

themaguffin

01-17-2007, 05:15 PM

The complete Grubb & Ellis report is here (http://www.grubb-ellis.com/pdf/metro_off_mkttrnd/pittsburgh.pdf)

designer3d712

01-18-2007, 04:31 PM

$65M Development Coming To Downtown

(KDKA) PITTSBURGH A multi-million dollar development is coming to downtown Pittsburgh.

Millcraft Investments, a company from Washington County, is developing a $65 million multipurpose space.

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl were on hand at the groundbreaking ceremony for Piatt Place at Fifth Avenue and Wood Street.

The 265,000 sq. ft. development will have office space, 65 luxury condos, and retail space.

PittPenn 03

01-18-2007, 05:46 PM

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07018/754845-100.stm

Piatt Place hooks seafood restaurant
Thursday, January 18, 2007

By Teresa F. Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant will open in the former Lazarus-Macy's department store Downtown.

The building, which is being converted into condominiums and retail space by Millcraft Industries Inc., a Washington County developer, also will house a Capital Grille restaurant and possibly a European-style market.

This is the second Pittsburgh location for McCormick & Schmick's, which also is open at the SouthSide Works.

The announcement came this morning at the formal groundbreaking for construction of Piatt Place, an office, retail and condominium complex in the former Lazarus store on Sixth Avenue. Millcraft has lined up tenants for the 50,000 square feet of stores and has said the first to open will be Capital Grill in July. It also has said the sale of 65 condominiums that will go in the building is going well.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

designer3d712

01-18-2007, 11:17 PM

I found some new images for the Majestic Star Casino..

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/image6.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/image5.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/image4.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/image3.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/image2.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/image1.jpg

EventHorizon

01-18-2007, 11:59 PM

^ Nice find. It appears that the giant glow sticks at the entrance have been nixed from the plans. Overall a decent design I think ... considering it could've been very tacky.

When Majestic Star won the license, I remember seeing a video of their rendering on KDKA that included a fairly large hotel behind the casino. Did anyone else see that too? It's not shown in any of the images of the casino renderings -- just in that video I saw.

designer3d712

01-19-2007, 03:49 AM

^ I remember the video but I don't remember seeing a Hotel. Check out this site. http://www.bwaltd.com/ This is the actual designer of the Casino. As I stated in an earlier post, I thought Strada out of Pittsburgh was the designer. They are probably just the local Architect, and they'll probably concentrate on the CD's.

Yeah I like the entrance better with out those neon poles, and also the waterfalls will be a nice touch. I don't know what to think of the parking garage. Don't really know if I like it or not. From what I remember from the site plan, I counted roughly 250 parking spaces, and according to the animation, seems there's going to be 1,000+ parking spaces.

I don't think they are going to build a Hotel on the site right now since there won't be any room. I'm thinking once the Casino is up and running, They'll acquire the lots to the West of the site and build it there. I think there's a business or 2 still there.

Evergrey

01-19-2007, 08:21 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07019/755006-28.stm

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant going into former Lazarus store
Friday, January 19, 2007

By Teresa F. Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant should be serving up grouper and halibut by the end of year in the former Lazarus-Macy's department store Downtown, adjacent to the spot where diners will be ordering steaks at a Capital Grille restaurant by summer.

Signing the two national restaurant chains to the $65 million redevelopment project bodes well for the success of the Piatt Place project and signals continued interest in Downtown, according to regional officials and representatives of Washington County developer Millcraft Industries Inc.

"Everyone thought this was going to be a white elephant when Lazarus left," said Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, before he and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl took sledge hammers to an interior wall to symbolically kick off construction work.

Federated Department Stores closed the department store in 2004, citing weak sales and the failure of city development efforts to bring other new tenants to the Fifth and Forbes area. Federated has since acquired the nearby Downtown Kaufmann's store and converted it to a Macy's, although there's been ongoing anxiety among Pittsburghers over the company's plans for that sprawling department store.

Lucas Piatt, vice president of real estate for Millcraft, said yesterday that the momentum at Piatt Place had contributed to an explosion of development activity in the city's core.

In addition to about 50,000 square feet of retail space, the former store on Fifth Avenue will feature 65 condominiums and about 200,000 square feet devoted to offices.

A European-style market featuring a mix of prepared foods, breads, produce and meat could take some of the retail space, although it may be shifted to one of the other Downtown buildings that Millcraft also is hoping to redevelop. Interest from retailers in Piatt Place has been strong, said Herky Pollock, with real estate brokerage firm CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh. He said more tenants should be named in the next few months.

The lease deal for the 10,000-square-foot McCormick & Schmick's was expected to be completed by the end of day yesterday, Mr. Piatt said. The site will be the second Pittsburgh location for the seafood chain, which also is open at the SouthSide Works.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Teresa F. Lindeman can be reached at tlindeman@post-gazette.com or at 412-263-2018.)

Evergrey

01-19-2007, 08:23 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_489270.html

Piatt Place breaks 'future' ground

By Ron DaParma and Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, January 19, 2007

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl smacked a makeshift wall with silver-headed sledgehammers Thursday to help Millcraft Industries Inc. mark the official start of construction of its Piatt Place project Downtown.
Washington County-based Millcraft used the occasion to welcome the latest tenant for the $65 million project, a McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant expected to open at the end of the year.

"Today we are breaking ground on the future," said Lucas B. Piatt, Millcraft's vice president for real estate, at a morning ceremony inside the former Lazarus-Macy's store building at Fifth Avenue and Wood Street.

With McCormick & Schmick's joining a previously announced Capital Grille restaurant and a Tresantis European Market in the first floor retail area of Piatt Place, the project is poised to help the city revitalize the Downtown's retail corridor and Market Square, Piatt said.

The location will be the second in this region for McCormick & Schmick's, a nationwide seafood restaurant chain based in Portland, Ore. The company opened its first Pittsburgh location at the SouthSide Works in October 2005.

It will occupy 10,000 square feet with its entrance at the Fifth and Wood corner of Piatt Place.

Millcraft, which started construction work at the site several months ago, is converting the structure into a retail-office-condominum complex, with three additional floors added to house 65 residential units.

Capital Grille is scheduled to open this summer, with the Tresantis grocery store due to follow by the end of the year, although it may be placed in the former G.C. Murphy store building Millcraft is redeveloping along Fifth Avenue because interest has been so high in Piatt Place, Piatt has said.

"We expect to have all 47,500 square feet of retail space on the first level of the building leased this year," said Herky Pollock, executive vice president of the CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh commercial real estate firm, who is marketing the space.

About 75 percent of the retail space is committed to tenants, including a financial service firm he declined to identify that is expected to occupy 3,500 square feet .

Heartland Homes is marketing the 65 condominiums and has secured commitments for 14 of the units, with prices ranging from $320,000 to $1.25 million, he said.

The building will have 180,000 square feet of office space on three floors.

"We have proposals out for more space than that's available, and expect two to four firms to sign leases this year," said Jeremy Z. Kronman, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis, who is handling office rentals.

With more than $3 billion in development planned or under way in and near Downtown, Ravenstahl said he sees an "old" Pittsburgh making way for a new city.

Downtown will offer people who live there entertainment, public safety with added police presence and a change in the traffic routes of buses, he and Onorato said.

"It's the beginning of this 24/7 neighborhood that we're trying to create," Piatt said.

Including Piatt Place, Millcraft is investing $150 million in several Downtown projects, including converting the vacant G.C. Murphy store along Fifth Avenue into Marketplace, with 50 residential units, 25,000 square feet of retail and 50 parking spaces.

themaguffin

01-19-2007, 06:29 PM

McCormick & Schmick's is the type of restaurant that makes sense. It is unfortunate that projects must pick these damn chains though. It's an ok place, but that's it, ok.

So it's an ok place that is also in how many other cities? :slob:

AaronPGH

01-19-2007, 11:16 PM

That will be the happy hour place to go downtown....for sure. McCormick has an insane happy hour. They're going to make BANK downtown.

Evergrey

01-20-2007, 05:29 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_489462.html

Hilton expansion to showcase pool

By Sam Spatter
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, January 20, 2007

The Pittsburgh Hilton & Towers, Downtown, is planning to add an indoor glass-enclosed swimming pool as part of a $20 million to $25 million renovation and expansion.
The pool will be on the top floor of a "sweeping" 17,000-square-foot addition built on the front of the hotel along Commonwealth Place facing Point State Park. It will connect into the fourth-floor guest room level where a health club will be located.

The wing will provide meeting and banquet space on the lower two levels, according to officials of Shubh Hotels, of Boca Raton, Fla.

Shubh purchased the hotel from Hilton Hotel Corp. for $28 million last spring.

"This gives us another tool to be able to bring additional group business and catered events to downtown Pittsburgh," said Timothy Zugger, the hotel's general manager.

Zugger noted that the meeting and banquet space will offer a dramatic view of Point State Park, which itself is undergoing a $25 million upgrade.

Details of the expansion and renovations will be presented at a briefing Tuesday before the City Planning Commission.

An architectural design prepared by Stephen Berry, principal architect for Architectural Design Inc., of Youngstown, Ohio, says the expansion "complements the original modernist tower, circa 1960, with a dynamic sculptural facade wrapping around and facing Liberty Avenue to the south."

The project includes complete renovation of all guest rooms and bathrooms, including a new heating and air-conditioning system, said Berry, who earned a degree in architecture from Carnegie Mellon University.

All the guest room windows are being replaced, and in some of the hotel's smaller rooms, walls will be removed to enlarge the space, Zugger said.

The Pittsburgh Hilton & Towers, which opened in 1959, has the largest number of guest rooms among hotels Downtown, with 713. Zugger said the number of rooms would decline slightly, probably to about 710, once the interior renovations are completed.

Work on the rooms has started, Zugger said, but approvals from the city are needed to begin the addition, which the company hopes to complete by year's end.

The ground-floor lobby level will be updated, including an expanded restaurant, lounge, lobby lounge and front desk.

A business center, additional meeting space and a grand staircase leading to one of the largest ballroom spaces are planned.

Sam Spatter can be reached at sspatter@tribweb.com.

UrbaniDesDev

01-22-2007, 06:15 AM

That is exciting news on the Hilton. It's about time. I've noticed they are trying different color samples around some of the windows on the back of the building, or so it appears. I hope this will look great. It is probably the most prominent building in the famous Mt Washington view. I hope it will be appropriately amazing

Evergrey

01-22-2007, 07:28 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070122ds_transitrally_1_580.jpg

Evergrey

01-23-2007, 05:33 AM

typical Pittsburgh... a proposed major mixed-use development site is instead going to be... hospital expansion... this is going to be the City of UPMC one of these days

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_489799.html

UPMC zeroes in on 2 more properties

By Sam Spatter
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's aggressive expansion in Shadyside continues with the acquisition of more property near its Hillman Cancer Center and plans to buy a parcel targeted for a major commercial development known as Luna Square.
UPMC, which has told community organizations it needs additional space for cancer research, recently completed purchase of a three-story building at 5001 Centre Ave. for $1.75 million, public records show.

And it recently signed an agreement to purchase the Luna Square site, which is across Baum Boulevard from the cancer center, said Frank Raczkiewicz, a UPMC spokesman, on Monday.

"We are currently in a 60-day due diligence period. We are not releasing a purchase price at this time," Raczkiewicz said. "The site will be used for future expansion of research at the Hillman Cancer Center."

Last week, a representative of the medical center told members of the Baum-Centre Corridor Initiative, a community group, that it had a deal to buy the eight-acre Luna Square site. A group of developers headed by Kratsa Properties had planned a mix of hotels, offices, residential units and a 2,000-space parking garage.

David Cocco, vice president of hotel operations for Kratsa, referred comments to UPMC.

"We're looking forward to working with them (UPMC)," said Lenore Williams, acting chairperson of the Baum-Centre Corridor Initiative. Any plans for the property would have to comply with parameters established for development of the corridor, Williams said.

UPMC has not yet developed definite plans for the 5001 Centre Ave. building, Raczkiewicz said.

"The purchase was made to support our future growth of health care and research in the immediate vicinity of UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside hospital and the Hillman Cancer Center," he said.

The property had been owned by H. Ward and Shirley Olander and their son, Kai, and his wife Josephine, according to documents filed at the Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds Office.

The building has two tenants, one on each of the second and third floors, said Lars Olander, a son not involved in the ownership group.

The building is adjacent to the former Ford Motor Building at the corner of Baum Boulevard and Morewood Avenue that UPMC bought last year for $10 million from the late Murray Reidbord.

UPMC, which operates 18 hospitals in the region, previously had discussed plans to renovate and possibly expand the Ford Motor Building for additional cancer research. But those attending the community group meeting were told UPMC has not yet developed plans for that building and could use it for offices.

Sam Spatter can be reached at sspatter@tribweb.com.

Recent property transactions by UPMC

* Land beneath the Boston Market at 5200 Baum Blvd., $1.3 million.
* Vacant land at 5210-16 Baum, owned by CCDR LLC, $485,000.

* The former Goodwill Industries Building on Liberty Avenue to LAV Associates, $1.5 million

* The former Ford Motor Building, corner Baum and Morewood, $10 million.

* 5001 Centre Ave. building for $1.75 million.

* A signed agreement purchase the Luna Square site across the street from the Hillman Cancer Center. No price reported.

PittPenn 03

01-23-2007, 02:02 PM

[QUOTE=Evergrey;2582927]typical Pittsburgh... a proposed major mixed-use development site is instead going to be... hospital expansion... this is going to be the City of UPMC one of these days

I have a feeling the Luna Square project has been dead for a long time. I think this will be better for the city anyway - without any population growth continual Luna Square type developments are just going to cannibalize the established neighborhood. Perhaps the cancer research jobs will create the need for a Luna Sq development in the future in an area that needs it more.

Evergrey

01-23-2007, 03:07 PM

i was thinking about tax revenues for this land-strapped city... while UPMC is a great asset for the city and region... the health care giant also causes some negative externalities

Evergrey

01-24-2007, 01:30 AM

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/45cherrext.aspx

January 24, 2007
County, state break ground on $14M Cherrington Parkway Extension
On Jan. 19, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Pennsylvania
Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Yablonsky joined Airport Authority and Moon Township officials to break ground on the new Cherrington Parkway Extension.

Creating a 60-acre development corridor, the $14 million project extends Cherrington Parkway to Ewing Road, and is expected to leverage $34 million in private development that could create 1,850 new jobs. Plans for the site include 480,000 square feet of office, commercial and research and development space. “Our efforts will have both short-term and long-term effects on the community and local economy,” says Yablonsky.

“Creating shovel-ready land is the key to jumpstarting development, stimulating job growth and attracting new business within the airport corridor and surrounding area,” says Onorato.

The state’s Business in Our Sites program is providing $6 million toward the project. Funding is also provided by the Airport Authority, Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County and Moon Township. Lead developer for the project is DiCicco Development. LLC.

“The Airport’s role as an economic generator is two-fold–providing high-quality, competitive air service in and out of Southwestern Pennsylvania and developing key properties to attract new industry and jobs,” says Airport Authority executive director Kent George.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Office of the Allegheny County Chief Executive

Evergrey

01-24-2007, 01:35 AM

small update on Riverparc

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/45rvrparc.aspx

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2045/cdrd_perspective_300.jpg

January 24, 2007
State pledges $12.3M toward downtown's RiverParc
The state has released $12.3 million to support phase one of the Cultural Trust’s RiverParc project. Coordinated through Gov. Rendell’s Community Action Team, the funds will assist with demolition and site preparation. Expected to cost $90 million, phase one will create 180-220 new residential units, townhouses along Eighth Street, new retail and public space, and 100 new parking spaces.

“This is a linchpin to developing downtown,” says Rendell, citing Pittsburgh’s vibrant arts community and architecture as having the potential to attract more visitors and residents to downtown. “It’s as exciting a project as any that an American city has seen in the last ten years.”

Designed to be the nation’s first master-planned, green, mixed-use neighborhood, RiverParc will break ground in mid 2007. The $460 million project will bring 700 new condos and townhouses, 159,000 square feet of retail, 1,500 new parking spaces and a four-star hotel to downtown. Bounded by Fort Duquesne Blvd., Penn Ave. and Seventh and Ninth Streets, the six-acre project also calls for a new 45,000 square-foot cultural arts venue and several parks and green spaces.

“It’s not hard to imagine 25,000 people living downtown,” says Rendell, citing additional residential projects being developed at Fifth-Forbes and on the Northside. “We need urban living to truly revitalize downtown.”
The ten-year project is expected to create 9,200 temporary and permanent jobs.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Governor Edward Rendell

Evergrey

01-24-2007, 01:38 AM

i normally wouldn't include the opening of a "nightclub"... but this sounds really interesting...

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/45pzare.aspx

January 24, 2007
New club and pizza eatery join Strip District's nightlife
After a successful opening in November, the Strip District’s Metropolis nightclub is expanding to include a new after hours club and pizza restaurant. Located at 1900-1960 Smallman St., the 26,000 square-foot property now features four venues, including Metropolis, Papa J’s Pizza Re, Gotham Athletic Association and The Daily Planet.

With a capacity of 600, the upscale Gotham Athletic Association will be open until 3:30 a.m. and will present comedy nights and battle of the band performances. “During the day it’s the glittery side of Superman, and at night, the darker side of Batman,” says owner Jules Troiani, of the Metropolis-Gotham concept. The club is also available for corporate events.

Located behind the clubs, Papa J’s Pizza Re specializes in fresh wood-fired pizzas. “Twelve-inch pizzas will be served uncut, which is typical in Italy--guests cut the pizzas themselves,” says Troiani, who also owns Papa J’s downtown and in Carnegie. Pizza Re, with seating for 60, will feature four pizza varieties, baked wings and wood-fired ham sandwiches.

“The jewel about it all is the Gotham Athletic Association,” says Troiani. ”It’ll be the urban hub of the city.” The private club features a dance floor with a checkerboard motif, marble-top bars and a mezzanine. Gotham will also offer entertainment such as a life-size chess game and a miniature basketball game called two bounce.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Jules Troiani

AaronPGH

01-24-2007, 04:16 AM

It sounds great on paper, but that club is one of the least notable club openings of the past couple of months. It's one of the worst designed ones at least.

</ club snobbery>

Evergrey

01-24-2007, 04:37 AM

It sounds great on paper, but that club is one of the least notable club openings of the past couple of months. It's one of the worst designed ones at least.

</ club snobbery>

please feel free to elaborate... i would appreciate your inside industry perspective

Evergrey

01-24-2007, 05:31 AM

btw, i don't think these renderings of Piatt Place have been posted yet

this shows the courtyard surrounded by 65 condos on 3 levels... the existing structure below the condos will house offices, retail, Capitol Grille, McCormick & Shmicks and potentially a European style grocer

http://www.stradallc.com/files/piatt_place_9.jpg

aerial perspective... condos on top
http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2045/piatt_300.jpg

AaronPGH

01-24-2007, 05:52 AM

Sorry, I had just woken up and was in a post-sleep funk so I didn't elaborate. :slob:

Basically, the place is really tacky. They didn't build it with nice materials, really cheaped out on everything. The musical format is nothing different from every other club in the city. An example of the terrible decor: in one of the rooms, there is this black marble bar with decorative clutter above (think like TGI fridays type of stuff) such as wooden barrels on the wall. It really doesn't make sense. Poorly designed. They are already feeling it because of this. There is too much competition when it comes to nightclubs here. I thought I would never say it but Pittsburgh got too many clubs too fast. Think about how many opened in the past year. Diesel, Elixir, Prive, Pure, Metropolis, Krobar, X-Bar, Palm Bar, Town Tavern.

When you add those into the already established places, you have a LOT of clubs, and the new ones aren't exactly small either. Most of them hold 500-1200 people! I hate to say it, but Pittsburgh can't support that, and there are going to be some very painful nightlife deaths this year. We will see some old favorites close (Deja Vu RIP soon), and some of the worst new ones die. If Prive and Pure are having a hard time surviving, then Metropolis is going to bite it much sooner.

The biggest problem is that they all try to do the same thing. They all play the same music and they all try to pull from the same market. Prive took a nice step in diversifying their crowd by picking up 80's night from The Upstage (which just closed permanently this month). Pure just started a gay night on Thursdays. While I think this stuff is great, it's a red flag for the clubs. It shows that they're not doing as well as they would like, so they're reaching out to markets they never thought they would be having to go after. These are clubs that have better interiors and better staff than Metropolis. They were clubs that were executed properly, but are suffering from an over-saturation of new venues.

If you want my pick for best of the bunch - a club that was actually done right and will survive because it's doing something completely different - it's Palm Bar in Station Square...the newest of the bunch. I think this club is going to have a much bigger impact overall on the nightlife around here than a Batmam/Superman themed nightclub. It holds only 350 people (a manageable size), yet it's going after a market that isn't even touched here. It's going after the supper club/house club market (which is a sign of a very sophisticated nightlife city). The interior is stunning, the food is out of this world, and the music is completely different than anything else in the city. They are bringing the world's biggest DJs to an intimate sell-out sized venue. Their owner is educated and has done his research. They will survive.

Metropolis, in a couple of months, is going to have to take a hard look at what type of club they are and what they stand for. Pittsburgh is not Vegas. Tacky movie/TV themed clubs won't fly here because that gets old fast. It works in Vegas because of the revolving door of customers - all tourists. Those clubs in Vegas are always fresh and new to everyone because they're constantly filled with different people.

Sorry to sound like a brat...lol. I didn't mean to come off like that. I am the king of over-analyzing the nightlife here since it's what I'm involved in.

Evergrey

01-24-2007, 05:59 AM

finally!

Car-sharing service to rev up in spring

By Allison M. Heinrichs
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, January 24, 2007

To Joe McGrath, enrolling VisitPittsburgh in a pilot car-sharing program was a "no-brainer."
"It just makes all the sense in the world," said McGrath, president of VisitPittsburgh, the area's tourism promotion agency, which recently became the first organization in the region to enroll in the program. "You have various cars to choose from and the parking, the maintenance, the insurance is all taken care of."

The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership announced Tuesday that it will be bringing the car-sharing service to the region this spring for an 18-month pilot program.

"The idea of car-sharing really came out of our housing initiative," said Mike Edwards, president of the partnership. "It's a way to decrease the costs associated with Downtown housing. It makes it so a car is not a requirement to live Downtown."

For a year, the partnership has courted various car-sharing companies and recently settled on Seattle-based Flexcar Inc. Beginning in April, the company will scatter about 30 vehicles in parking spots throughout Downtown and Oakland. Members can rent the vehicles for $9 per hour.

With $290,000 in federal transportation money and grants from several local foundations, the partnership "accelerated" the process of bringing Flexcar to Pittsburgh, Edwards said.

The partnership believes Flexcar will make living Downtown more affordable and attract companies that balk at locating Downtown because of the high cost of parking, he said.

Flexcar began in Seattle in 2000 and has expanded to eight other U.S. metropolitan areas. Before moving into a new market, the private company usually works with a transportation or development organization in the city, said Flexcar spokesman John Williams.

"Car-sharing is part of an overall civic transportation infrastructure," Williams said. In picking a location, Flexcar looks for areas with traffic congestion and an established public transportation system.

Companies and individuals can become Flexcar members for an annual fee, which is $40 for individuals and varies for companies.

The target audience includes people living Downtown or in Oakland who don't have vehicles, people who take public transportation to work and would like a vehicle to run errands during their lunch hours, and businesses that need to supply employees with vehicles during the work day, Edwards said.

Cars can be rented for as little as a half-hour up to several days. Vehicles range from small fuel-efficient cars to heavy-duty pick-up trucks. Flexcar boasts that each of its shared cars takes 15 other cars off the road.

Gas, insurance, maintenance and parking are all included. Members can use the service in any city that has Flexcar.

Allison M. Heinrichs can be reached at aheinrichs@tribweb.com or (412) 380-5607.

Flexcar

Flexcar is a car-sharing service that allows members to rent vehicles by the hour. In Pittsburgh, membership is $40 per year, and people can rent vehicles for $9 per hour.

How it works:

• Enroll for membership at www.flexcar.com. Members must be between 21 and 75 years of age with five years' driving experience and a valid driver's license. Members receive a "Flexcard" or keycard.

• Reserve a vehicle by selecting a location and time on the Web site or by calling 877-FLEXCAR.

• Go to the vehicle, which should be within walking distance from most Downtown and Oakland locations.

• Wave the Flexcard over the windshield to unlock the vehicle doors and retrieve the key from the glove box.

• Use the vehicle for the amount of time selected. When finished, return it to its original parking spot.

• Replace the key in the glove box and wave the keycard over the windshield to lock the doors and send trip information to the Flexcar billing department.

Evergrey

01-24-2007, 06:05 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07024/756173-28.stm

Region bucks trend as home sales, prices rise
Wednesday, January 24, 2007

By Elwin Green, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For cities such as Miami and Los Angeles, 2006 was the year that the housing merry-go-round stopped. Prices fell, sales slowed and builders began offering incentives to induce prospects to buy their homes.

In the Pittsburgh area, 2006 was a year of "steady as she goes."

According to West Penn Multi-List Inc., the listing service that tracks sales by area Realtors, the seven-county region registered a 1.24 percent increase in sales in 2006 over 2005, and a 5.64 percent increase in the average price of homes sold.

"It's pretty amazing when you hear so much about what's going on elsewhere," said George Hackett, president of the WPML board of directors and president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker's Pittsburgh offices. "Anything on the Atlantic or Pacific coasts was off at least 20 to 30 percent last year."

That was largely because prices in those markets had risen by 30 to 35 percent a year for the past five years or so, he said, creating what many have described as a "housing bubble." Such a bubble never formed in Pittsburgh, a market Mr. Hackett described as "Steady Eddie. Nothing fancy, but steady."

In Allegheny County, 23,972 homes went under agreement or contingency in 2006, a 3.2 percent increase over the 23,218 that did so in 2005. The average price of homes sold also held nearly even, at $145,512 versus $144,094.

In percentage terms, Armstrong had the largest increase in sales -- the 489 contracts signed in 2006 were 32.2 percent more than the 370 signed in 2005. The average price increased slightly, to $91,084 from $90,505.

Fayette County saw 275 homes go under agreement or contingency, a 2.2 percent increase from 269, while the average price increased to $91,013 from $87,715. Washington County contracts scarcely moved, totaling 3,399, versus 3,366 for 2005; the average price increased to $164,267 from $162,889.

The remaining three counties in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area -- Beaver, Butler and Westmoreland -- suffered slumps in the number of homes placed under contract last year, but they also saw increases in the average price of homes sold.

Beaver County contracts numbered 2,374, a 6.5 percent drop from 2005's 2,539, while the average price jumped by 4.8 percent, to $118,501 from $113,072. In Butler County, contracts fell to 3,142 from 3,241, a 3.1 percent drop, as the average price rose by 3.8 percent to $213,898 from $206,008, easily the highest average price in the seven-county area. And in Westmoreland County, buyers signed on the dotted line 4,791 times, 2.5 percent fewer times than the 4,916 contracts signed in 2005. Prices there rose by 1.3 percent to $146,645, from $144,803.

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(Elwin Green can be reached at egreen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1969.)

Evergrey

01-24-2007, 06:11 AM

double post

Evergrey

01-24-2007, 06:22 AM

hurrah! while i agree that the vibrant nightlife scene of the South Side has negative externalities... this legislation had its own set of negative externalities...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07024/756255-53.stm

City rejects a plan to limit bars; South Siders upset
Wednesday, January 24, 2007

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city planning commission disappointed nearly half of the standing-room crowd yesterday -- those from the South Side -- by rejecting a zoning change that would limit liquor licenses in Pittsburgh neighborhoods with commercial districts.

The commission, however, clearly sympathized with the pleas from residents desperate for help with the bar scene on the South Side, which commission member Kyra Straussman called "clearly in crisis."

City Councilman Jeffrey Koch's proposal would have placed a 150-foot restriction between an existing liquor license establishment and any new one.

That measure might stall the South Side's bar growth, but it also would limit bars in every city neighborhood, some opponents said, potentially freezing the opportunity for smaller commercial strips to change the dynamics of their street scenes.

Ms. Straussman proposed, and the commission requested, that planning Director Pat Ford meet with city officials and report back in two weeks on possible solutions for the South Side problem, including the possible creation of a special task force.

Long lines of South Side residents and merchants pled for the zoning change.

In recent years, they have testified before numerous panels, including the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, that the growth of East Carson Street's entertainment district over the past decade has taken its toll on their quality of life, especially along side streets, where crime swells on the weekends.

Many report their properties are damaged and their sleep deferred. They described themselves as desperate in a dense neighborhood of about 100 liquor licenses.

Almost an equal number of people, and the South Side Chamber of Commerce, spoke against Mr. Koch's legislation. Most of the opposition came from people in the West End and North Side, neither of which would have many chances for development with 150 feet limits.

"The passing of this ordinance would do nothing to improve the South Side's problem," said John Graf, speaking for the North Side Chamber of Commerce. "But it would inhibit development in other" neighborhoods.

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(Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. )

oh btw... the Pitt News reported that Steve Bland has decided to keep the 28X Airport Flyer and the 67C (Forest Hill) after the public hearing the other day... but I haven't seen this confirmed in other media...

Evergrey

01-24-2007, 06:25 AM

a better article on Rendell's aid to Riverparc... disappointed to hear the shovels won't hit earth until next year though...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07024/756178-53.stm

State gives Downtown housing a boost
Wednesday, January 24, 2007

By Timothy McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Gov. Ed Rendell issued the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust a $12.3 million check yesterday in support of its half-billion dollar, arts-driven riverfront housing project, which is set to be the biggest in Downtown history.

The state funds will support public infrastructure in the $90 million first phase of the RiverParc project. Overall construction of some 700 housing units on the Allegheny River at Eighth Street, adjacent to the Cultural District, could take a decade.

The governor called the project "one of the linchpins to the revitalization of the city of Pittsburgh," joining with other projects to possibly bring thousands of new residents to Downtown and the North Shore.

"This will be as exciting and well thought out a Downtown residential and retail project as any American city has had in the last 10 years," he said.

The $460 million project will follow environmentally friendly "green" building practices, and combine housing with public amenities such as performance spaces, parks, retail establishments and a link to the river. The hope is to boost 24-hour residential and cultural life Downtown, adjacent to existing Cultural Trust facilities, such as the Benedum Center and the O'Reilly Theater.

Developers planned to break ground at the development site between Seventh and Ninth streets this summer, but that may be pushed back to early 2008, said Phoenix-based lead developer Susan Eastridge. Construction should take 14 months, meaning the homes could open in early 2009.

Realtor Hoddy Hanna said pre-sales of the roughly 250 housing units in the first phase will begin before construction starts, in the late summer or fall of this year. The company has a list of 200 people who are tentatively interested, he said.

Prices are not set, but the bulk should be two- and three-bedroom units costing $300,000 to $400,000, Eastridge said. Some will cost less (about $180,000) and some grander condominiums more. The initial phase will include a high-rise and a mid-rise apartment building, and town-homes along Eighth Street, all of them interspersed with public spaces and a 420-space underground garage.

The public areas and the green-building plans were the key to the state support, Rendell said at a Benedum Center news conference.

The $12.3 million in state funding includes: $7 million in state capital funds for the parking garage; $3 million in tax credits for the two mixed-use buildings, which will have both housing and retail; $2 million in "Growing Greener" funds for demolishing two buildings on the site and other needs; and $300,000 for park spaces.

Rendell's office estimated the first construction phase would create 1,000 construction jobs, 90 retail jobs and 20 management positions.

Cultural Trust CEO Kevin McMahon said public meetings on the plans will be held in coming months, before they are refined and taken to city planners for formal approvals.

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(Tim McNulty can be reached at tmcnulty@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1581. )

Evergrey

01-24-2007, 06:44 AM