[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06122/686733-53.stm

5th Avenue developer asks for bus rerouting
Feels smog, loitering could hinder plans for residences, retail
Tuesday, May 02, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



A Washington County developer would like to remove hundreds of Port Authority buses from Fifth Avenue as part of its plan to revitalize the Fifth and Forbes retail corridor Downtown.

Millcraft Industries Inc. fears that smog from the buses, loitering in front of buildings, and traffic congestion could hinder its plans for residential and retail development on Fifth, one of the main bus corridors through Downtown.

"It seems to be kind of a dangerous situation right now, especially since we're going to have more people, more shoppers, on the street," said Lucas Piatt, Millcraft vice president of real estate.

But owners or managers of the few remaining businesses on Fifth between Wood Street and Liberty Avenue almost universally panned the idea yesterday, saying it would further erode what little foot traffic is left in the downtrodden stretch.

"That would be the next step to ruining the city. [Former Mayor Tom] Murphy started it and they can finish it," said David Kashi, owner of Kashi Jewelers at Fifth and Wood.

Like other business owners, Mr. Kashi said the bus traffic "brings people. It brings life" to Downtown.

"That would be bad for us. We get a lot of people running in, saying my bus is coming, and buying candy," added Sherri Schrader, manager of the Candy-Rama store on Fifth. "It's not a good idea at all. That would take business from us."

Millcraft already has talked to Mayor Bob O'Connor's office about the idea and also plans to discuss it with Port Authority, Mr. Piatt said. Dick Skrinjar, Mr. O'Connor's spokesman, said transportation-related issues likely would be discussed in meetings Urban Design Associates is putting together with Downtown stakeholders related to the corridor.

"We're look at all the proposals, all the studies, all the input from various sources," he said.

Millcraft is proposing $269 million in development in the Fifth and Forbes corridor. It has started a $52 million makeover of the Lazarus-Macy's building, the former department store being transformed into townhouses, condominiums, offices, and retail shops.

It also has presented the mayor with plans for $217 million in development in other parts of the Fifth and Forbes corridor, utilizing nearly 20 city-owned structures. One would be the old G.C. Murphy's store, where apartments would be built. There also would be housing and retail situated along Forbes Avenue and in Market Square.

Millcraft is one of several developer pitching proposals to Mr. O'Connor, who hopes to make a selection in two to three weeks.

Mr. Piatt said Millcraft would like to see some kind of loop and connector system established for buses Downtown to ease some of the congestion on the streets.

He said that Fifth represents a "challenge" to the developer's plans because of the heavy congestion, exhaust fumes and loitering.

"It doesn't promote a good image down there right now," he said. "It's terrible when you get behind one of the buses driving. You can't see around them."

He added that Millcraft supports "any way to better the transportation system" Downtown and is willing to work with the mayor, the Port Authority, businesses, and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to develop solutions.

As far as removing buses from Fifth, "It would aid in the success of the project, that's for sure. We just need to look at overall transportation issues Downtown and find a way to do things," Mr. Piatt said.

In all, 917 buses a day currently chug along Fifth Avenue -- 551 outbound and 366 inbound.

Port Authority spokesman Bob Grove said the authority would look at removing buses from Fifth if a request came from the mayor's office, but he added it would be no easy task.

Oakland and East Busway bound buses now use Fifth. Moving them to Sixth, for example, most likely would mean rerouting South Hills buses from Sixth to Oliver, which would "significantly increase" bus traffic on that street, Mr. Grove said. Oliver, coincidentally, runs past the Lazarus-Macy's building.

Liberty probably would be impacted "in a big way" as well, Mr. Grove said. In some cases, there also may be a need for turn restrictions and to eliminate on-street parking in some areas.

"It can be done but it would be quite a challenge," he said.

Mr. O'Connor also has talked about possibly removing buses from Forbes Avenue, another of Downtown's busiest loops, as part of his idea for closing off Market Square and making it a park.

However, to Boubacar Diallo, owner of a clothing store on Fifth, all those buses keep the cash register ringing.

"Anywhere you have traffic, you're making money. Traffic is good for business," he said.

Samantha Harari, manager of My Lady Boutique on Fifth, and Mr. Kashi said that if the city really wanted to do something to help shop owners Downtown, they would offer free or more convenient parking.

Both said people are turned off by high parking rates and restrictive parking rules Downtown.

"They're very rough on people Downtown," Ms. Harari said. "That's the main problem we have Downtown, parking."

As Mr. Kashi complained about the way motorists are treated, a police officer on a motorcycle seemed to serve up an example as if on cue, pulling behind a car parked on Wood and writing a ticket.

"It's wrong," Mr. Kashi said of the restrictions.

Bus riders had mixed emotions about a possible move. One, Karen Scansaroli of Highland Park, said a block or so wouldn't make much of a difference.

"If I had to walk to Grant Street to catch a bus, I probably would be angry about that," she added as she ran off to board her ride home.


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

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06122/686862-100.stm

City planners OK $52 million project for former Lazarus-Macy's
Tuesday, May 02, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



The city Planning Commission gave its thumbs up today to the proposed $52 million redevelopment of the former Lazarus-Macy's department store Downtown.

Commission members voted unanimously to approve Millcraft Industries development plans for the project, which will feature 25 condominiums, 22 luxury rooftop townhouses, three floors of office space, and a gourmet market on the first floor.

"I'm very happy to see residential development Downtown," commission Chairwoman Wrenna Watson said. "I think that will also help bring back some of the shopping."

At the same time, Jack Piatt, Millcraft chairman, announced that Heartland Homes will lead the sales and marketing for Piatt Place, as the redevelopment is known. Lucas Piatt, Millcraft vice president of real estate, said Heartland Homes will be a partner in the deal with his firm.

Once complete, the refurbished department store will feature 50,000 square feet of retail space and 180,000 square feet of office space to go along with the condo and townhouse space. The townhouses will be three levels, with a great room with 13-foot ceilings, terraces in the front and back, and lots of windows with views of Downtown. The first units should be ready in spring or summer 2007.

The market should be open by the end of the year. Millcraft also is searching for a restaurant to occupy a premium spot at Fifth and Wood.



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

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/5858Beacon.aspx

14 of 28 condos at 5859 Beacon pre-sold
Pre-sales have reached 50% at 5859 Beacon, a $14 million, 28-unit condominium project by S&W investment properties.


5859 Beacon is one of several new construction developments in Squirrel Hill over the last several years, including the Mosites Company’s condominium project at Forbes and Murray, Cozza Enterprise’s three-story retail and office development at Forbes and Murray, and the renovation to the Squirrel Hill branch of the Carnegie Library.


Prices for the units at 5859 Beacon range between $375,000 and $691,000. Buyers can select between a wide variety of one, two and three bedroom floor plans, ranging in size from 1,400 to 2,400 s.f. Buyers will also have the opportunity to customize the finishes in their space. “We wanted to design a building that both Squirrel Hill and the city as a whole could be proud of,” said Charles Staley, the project’s developer.


Staley expects the sales office to be ready for the public in September, and to have units ready for buyers by November of this year.


The project boasts a wide range of amenities, including on-site parking, an exercise room, bike storage, wine storage, balconies, and granite counters. Additionally, S&W is offering to buyers one year of free movies at the Squirrel Hill and Manor theaters. “Squirrel Hill is such a great walk-able neighborhood that we wanted to provide an amenity that would encourage people to take advantage of all that the neighborhood has to offer,” said Staley.



For more information on this project, call Charles Staley at 412-897-2599, or visit 5859beacon.com.







Source: Charles Staley, S&W Investment Properties



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photo caption:


5859 Beacon Condominiums


photograph copyrighted by Jonathan Greene

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2010/beaconcondos02.jpg

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/ssworks.aspx

75 new condos, new H&M store at Southside Works
Southside Works continues to grow with the addition of new retail--the hip H&M, for the latest international styles in men, women's and children's clothes opens in June--and its first residential project: two new condominium buildings by the Soffer Organization on South Water St.

Plans for Phase One of the condos call for a 180,000 square foot, 75-unit building designed by Cambridge Seven Architects and the Pittsburgh firm of Perfido Weiskopf Architects. Completion is expected in late 2008. Phase Two, also by Soffer is not yet designed. Price range has not been established for the condos.

Although the Southside Works has 84 rental lofts and flats, and there are condos nearby, this is the first within the development. Demand is high as the area continues to grow with a mix of offices, retail and residential.

"It's a wonderful place to live within the Southside Works and the vibrant South Side community," said Christine Fulton of the Soffer Organization.

H&M will join retailers such as BCBG, MAZ Azra, American Eagel Outfitters, Cole Haan, Kenneth Cole New York, Roberta Weissberg Leather, Steve Madden Urban Outfitters and Forever 21, among others.


Source: Christine Fulton, Soffer Organization

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photo caption:

South Side Works


photograph copyrighted by Jonathan Greene

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2010/southsideworks01.jpg

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/wallnutphase2.aspx

New 6000 square foot office condo building planned for Baum corridor
Walnut Capital announced the planned construction of a new, 6,000 square foot office building for office condos at the corner of S. Millvale and Baum Blvd., next to the building owned by the same company which is now leasing and ready to occupy.


The three-story office building will be the second phase of the project, said Tony Dolan of Walnut Capital. “There’s not a lot of office condos in this market, let alone the Baum corridor,” he said, adding that they know the demand for office condos in this market is is high.


The two existing buildings, once single-family residents that were converted to offices, will be razed in the fall and construction will start soon after. Architect David Morgan of Morgan and Associates will design the building. A contractor has not yet been named.


Meanwhile, at the one-story retail building next door also owned by Walnut Capital, Aspen Dental, Super Cuts and a drycleaner will be opening followed by Qdoba in mid-May then a Verizon store sometime in June.



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photo caption:


Walnut retail shops on Centre Avenue


photograph copyrighted by Jonathan Greene

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2010/walnutretail03.jpg

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/striphotel.aspx

143-room hotel first in the Strip District
The Strip District will soon have its first hotel with construction underway for the 143-room Hampton Inn and Suites scheduled to open May, 2007. Unlike other Hampton Inns, this eight-story hotel at 1247 Smallman St. will feature a brick façade to blend in with its neighbors, The Senator John Heinz Regional History Center and One Waterfront Place, home of Seagate.


"We’re hoping to create a better business environment for our office tenants and enhance the area,” said Bill Doring, executive vp and treasurer of the Buncher Company, the general contractor for the project. Indovina and Associates is the architect.

The intent, Doring said, is to feature a more moderately priced hotel as an amenity to the existing office buildings. The Buncher Company owns the Strip-based One Waterfront Place and Penn Liberty Plaza One and Two.


Not only is the hotel the first for the Strip District, but “it fills a niche in the Pittsburgh hotel system,” said Becky Rodgers, executive director of Neighbors in the Strip. “Currently the hotels downtown rates range from 139 to $359 dollars but the Hampton Inn will probably have a $110 price point,” she estimated, “which will make coming to the convention center more accessible.”


Another plus? Aside from its standard breakfast buffet, the hotel won’t have a restaurant so guests will “have to experience the Strip and downtown,” said Rodgers.


Source: Bill Doring, The Buncher Company



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photo caption:


Hampton Inn construction site


photograph copyrighted by Jonathan Greene

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2010/striphotel03.jpg

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/930penn.aspx

20 units now leasing at 930 Penn downtown
930 Penn Avenue, a 20 unit, $6.5 million downtown loft project in the heart of the Cultural District, has begun signing leases. The project is the partnership of no wall productions and Rugby Realty.


Lofts in the building range from 1550 ro 1725 square feet and each unit has two bedrooms, two-baths, and an office. Rent is $2,400 per month.


The project is a conversion of the warehouse that was built in 1901 by the Phipps family to house a variety of furniture companies. “The renovation was sensitive to the building’s historic roots,” said Project Manager Francisco Escalante. The lofts include such details as original historic windows, wood floors, freight elevator doors, and a restored Art-Deco façade.


The building also includes a host of current amenities, most notably in-building parking. “This is an unusual and highly desirable feature for a renovation project downtown,” said Escalante. Other amenities include balconies, high-speed internet and cable wiring, 12- to 17-foot ceilings, urban views, in-unit washer and dryer, and large designer kitchens.


The project was made possible by investment of First Commonwealth Bank, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the ERECT Funds, and National City Community Development Corporation.


The property is being offered for lease exclusively by we do property management, inc. For more information on leasing the property, please call Ann Paul at 412-434-7080, or visit wedoproperty.com.



Source: Francisco Escalante, no wall productions, inc.



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photo caption:

930 Penn Avenue


photograph copyrighted by Jonathan Greene

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2010/930penn.jpg

[Wheelingman04]

Pittsburgh has so many quality urban projects going on. I love it.

[PA Pride]

^Not enough yet though.... Every midsized city in the country has a good amount of projects... If anything, we are merely maintaining construction speed with some other small cities but we are certainly not in a serious building boom. Were definitely on a good roll, but as far as I'm concerned, we need 3-4 times as much total amount of construction and development as we have now to really be making some progress and perhaps gaining ground on other metros that have been growing for decades while our metro has consistently shrunk and deflated in both population and built environment.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06125/687651-53.stm

Borders bookstore signs lease for East Liberty location
Friday, May 05, 2006

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060505bizBordersCentreAveFINA_450.jpg

Artist's rendering of proposed Borders Bookstore at Centre and Highland avenues in East Liberty.
Cutline
Bookstore chain Borders Group has signed a lease for a two-level store in East Liberty, a company spokeswoman said.

The 24,000-square-foot store, seen in an artist's rendering, is scheduled to open this fall.

< The store will join Whole Foods Market and Walgreens in the Eastside development of The Mosites Co. Borders will have entrances on Centre and Highland avenues.

In addition to books and music, the store will include a Seattle's Best Coffee shop and a Paperchase shop selling notebooks, cards and stationery.

[themaguffin]

need 3-4 times as much total amount of construction and development as we have now to really be making some progress and perhaps gaining ground on other metros that have been growing for decades while our metro has consistently shrunk and deflated in both population and built environment.


True, but we need 3-4 times as many people moving into the metro as well. There simply has to be an increase in migration.

[Wheelingman04]

East Liberty is really starting to boom.

[Evergrey]

Here's an interesting loft development in Bellevue, which is adjacent to the city's Brighton Heights neighborhood

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06126/687483-30.stm

School's in -- really in: New loft-style condos make their mark in Bellevue
The bell rings for a new class at an old school
Saturday, May 06, 2006

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060507ttlofts0501c_450.jpg
The grand double staircase dresses up the 35-foot-tall main entry of the old Grant School in Bellevue.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060507ttlofts0501a_450.jpg
Lofts in the old Grant School in Bellevue will cost between $165,000 to $370,000.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060507ttlofts0501b_450.jpg
At the former Grant School in Bellevue, the kitchens come with stainless steel appliances. Throughout the lofts are the original hardwood floors.

By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For the first 18 years of our lives, school evokes emotions ranging from excitement to dread, embarrassment to elation.

But few people spend much time thinking about their school as a building. And it's safe to say that not many pupils -- current or former -- think about actually living in a school, especially one in the suburbs.

That's what makes the Grant School Lofts in Bellevue so much fun.

The old Grant School at the corner of Grant and Jefferson avenues was designed by architect William J. Shaw and opened in September 1905. This grand three-story building once housed as many as 450 students in grades one to six. A large north wing was tacked on in 1933.

Closed for many years, the school has been converted by Grant School Associates into 21 upscale loft-style condominiums. Prices will average about $150 per square foot with a $200 monthly condo fee, or from $165,000 for an 1,020-square-foot unit on the third level to $370,000 for a 2,700-square-foot, multilevel unit. That premium space incorporates the original oak-paneled principal's office as a study or bedroom and is graced with an optional mezzanine loft.

If the prices seem a little, well, lofty for this quiet Ohio River community, that's because they are. The median price of a home in Bellevue in 2005, according to RealStats, was $90,000, and a multifamily Colonial across the street on South Bryant Avenue is listed by Northwood Realty at $104,900.

But Casey Steiner, a partner with Grant School Associates, would argue you're actually getting a pretty good value for the money. For starters, the units feature Eagle windows and all-new mechanical systems, including individual heating and air conditioning. Thanks to a marked absence of walls and hallways (a hallmark of loft design), almost every inch is usable space, and many of the units will have access to private patios. And because it's new construction, buyers get a three-year abatement of county taxes.

It's not the first old Bellevue school converted to condominiums. The old Jackson elementary school at the corner of Jackson and Orchard avenues was renovated as condos in the late '70s and later became the 20-unit Jacksonian School House apartments. But the idea of lofts is just starting to take off in the suburbs, says Mr. Steiner, who was also involved in the development of the 54-unit South Side Lofts on Mary Street in the South Side.

"There's such a demand for this type of space and not just because it's condo living," he says. "People want cool design."

Yet not all loft buyers are "gritty urban" types who wish to live in the city; some empty-nesters and young retirees value safety and green space as much as they do modern design, and count a walkable neighborhood pretty high up on the must-have list. Bellevue, with its quiet, tree-lined residential streets, business district and easy five-mile commute to Downtown, fills the bill on all counts.

The school-as-residence concept is becoming so popular that a few towns over, developer Rick Criscella, owner of Americo General Contractors of Etna, is converting the former Emsworth elementary school, constructed in 1881, into 12 condominiums called Walnut Ridge. The units will have between 1,200 and 1,800 square feet and are being designed by Gerald Lee Morosco Architects. They will be priced between $150,000 and $180,000.

Conversion of the red-brick Grant School building took 18 months, but the project has been much longer in the making. After the Northgate School District closed the school's doors in 1982, it served as the Northgate Grant Community Center, housing a food bank, thrift shop, the Staunton Clinic, a Head Start program, private day-care center and boxing club. The Allegheny Intermediate Unit also used it for an alternate high school program and in its early years, Community College of Allegheny County offered classes there.

The expense of maintenance and upkeep has always been an issue and the building gradually fell into disrepair. In 2004, the district sold the school and its nearly 2 acres to the developers for $175,000.

Mr. Steiner was drawn to the project for several reasons. Like most turn-of-the-century schools, the building was solidly built, had gorgeous high ceilings -- including a few that soared as much as 16 feet -- and boasted extremely large classrooms. In contrast to his former project in the South Side, which involved carving a big box of a building into similarly sized square units, it had a dozen uniquely different layouts.

There were also many architectural details, including built-in bookshelves and coat closets, blackboards, ornate plaster trim and original maple and pine hardwood floors. One of the most stunning is the grand double staircase that dresses up the 35-foot-tall main entry off Jefferson; school children used to line up on the stairs to sing Christmas carols. With three eyebrow windows and blood-red walls, the foyer is every bit as fabulous as the one Rhett Butler carried Scarlett O'Hara up in "Gone With The Wind."

To maintain the building's sense of history and turn-of-the-century charm, many of those features will find their way into the individual units. No. 308, for instance, has all of its original oak trim and maple floors, which have been refinished to a golden honey color. The 1,600-square-foot unit, priced at $240,000, also features two sets of original built-in bookcases in the corners.

This model unit boasts an open floor plan, with few interior walls and a wide-open feel. Seven 9-foot windows assure plenty of natural light and even a partial view of Downtown's tallest skyscrapers. A set of French doors open onto a small wrought-iron balcony overlooking what will eventually be a landscaped yard. A spiral staircase winds its way to a 530-square foot mezzanine loft, which features two distinct areas for bedrooms and a bedroom and study. The ceramic tile master bath is unique in that it's also open to the floor below; "floating" mirrors will be suspended above the double sink vanity.


The upscale kitchen is tucked beneath a bulkhead and is outfitted with stainless-steel appliances and solid-surface counter tops. Solid cherry cabinets offer a pleasing contrast to the light maple floors. There's also a large closet by the front door and around the corner, a powder room and utility closet with washer and dryer hookups. Additional storage is provided in a private locker in the basement.

Unit 306, offered for $225,000, is a little more traditional. Painted a sunny yellow, with the same honey-colored maple floors, its two bedrooms and two baths are hidden behind traditional walls. The all-white kitchen, however, is completely open to the main living space and features a double sink in a large center island.

The unit's cranberry-colored master bath has a glass-block, walk-in shower with white subway tile walls. The carpeted master bedroom overlooks Grant Avenue and is painted two colors -- light yellow on the bottom and white on the top. But it's the main room of this 1,300-square-foot model unit that draws the most attention. With 12 1/2-foot-high ceilings and seven windows, it feels exceptionally light and airy.

Looking for something a little larger and more dramatic? The project includes four bi-level units ranging in size from about 1,935 to 2,700 square feet. No. 208 has close to 1,000 square feet on the first level and includes an elevated kitchen area overlooking the main room. Two bedrooms and two full baths are on the lower level, and the master bedroom will open onto a private sunken patio enclosed by a wall of glass. Price: $325,000.

Units 210 and 201 are even grander. The first floor of each of these corner residences will feature a large living area, bedroom, full bath and kitchen with 14 1/2-foot coffered ceilings and two floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcases. The lower levels will hold two additional bedrooms and baths and large walk-in closets. Upstairs, via a spiral staircase, 300-square-foot mezzanine lofts provide space for a home office or den. Each unit also includes private patio access and an original paneled office once used by the school's principal and secretary that could be converted into a fourth bedroom or study.

Or maybe you'd rather design something completely different. Each unit can be customized to the buyers' particular taste.

"We know the loft buyer like to make their own decisions," Mr. Steiner says.



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(Gretchen McKay can be reached at gmckay@post-gazette.com or 412-761-4670. )


More information
An open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at Grant School Lofts, 216 Jefferson Ave., Bellevue. Information: Casey Steiner of Steiner Realty at 412-242-4711. You can view floor plans and artist renderings of the interiors at www.grantschoollofts.com.

[Evergrey]

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/05/08/story4.html

Developers pursue residential project on former Edgewater Steel site
Pittsburgh Business Times - May 5, 2006by Robert Sandler
Almost five years after it shut down, the former Edgewater Steel mill in Oakmont is about to get new life as a residential community.

A developer has submitted plans to the borough to redevelop a 28-acre portion of the former mill site into 170 houses, condominiums and townhouses. The frontage along the Allegheny River will be turned into a walking trail, and the southern tip will have a dock for residents to use.

Some small retail shops, such as a dry cleaners or coffee or ice cream shops, will be located toward the front of the community, said developer Daniel Mancosh.

The majority of the community, however, will be made up of townhouses. Its tallest buildings, focused toward the river, could be four stories high, he said.

"I view Oakmont as very much like a Sewickley," Mancosh said. "It has that Main Street appeal of a small town, a good, strong community."

Mancosh and John Thompson Jr., partners in Brooks and Blair Waterfront Property LP, are spearheading the project. Mancosh and Thompson are also executives at AR Building Co., which has developed numerous residential and commercial properties in the area but is not involved in the Oakmont project.

The project is one of two residential developments planned for the former Edgewater Steel site. The remaining 34 acres is being redeveloped by the Kacin Cos. of Murrysville, which is expected to also build condominiums and houses but has not yet announced its specific plans.

Earlier this year, Kacin purchased its portion of the Edgewater Steel parcel from the Regional Industrial Development Corp. of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Kacin representatives could not be reached this week for comment.

Bill Burroughs, vice president of project development for RIDC, said he's hoping the state Department of Environmental Protection clears the way for Kacin's project this year. He said Kacin will build primarily condominium and single-family homes.

The Brooks and Blair site, which was purchased a year ago from S&F Partners LLC of Oakmont, didn't have as much environmental cleanup to complete and doesn't need any further government approvals.

Ken Royko, principal of Regent Square-based Rothschild Doyno Architects PC, which is working on the Brooks and Blair site plan, said he's looking forward to adding to the character of the homes and businesses in the surrounding community.

"We feel that this is an extremely important project for the region because of its relationship to the river," Doyno said.

The Brooks and Blair proposal is scheduled to be reviewed by the Oakmont Planning Commission later this month.

"It's a great deal of riverfront and an undeveloped area," Mancosh said. "When you come to these sites, you won't be gazing out at other industrial sites that you find in so many of the communities that have been developed as riverfront housing. You look across the river at a very, very attractive green hillside."

New riverfront housing in Oakmont probably would be in pretty high demand, said Bill Dietrich, director of new home sales for Coldwell Banker Pittsburgh.

"People that grew up in that area tend to stay there," he said. "You could see some people looking to move into newer, more contemporary townhomes on the river, (or) you could see young professionals because it's not too bad a drive from there into town."

Overall, residential properties on the rivers are in high demand throughout the region, he said. For instance, some Washington's Landing homes on Herr's Island that were purchased for about $200,000 are listed now, about 10 years after they were built, for close to $500,000, Dietrich said.

Oakmont officials hope the redevelopment adds to the local tax base. "Being that it's riverfront property, there are some exciting opportunities ... (to) create some nice public and private amenities there," said borough manager Roger Dunlap.

rsandler@bizjournals.com | (412) 481-6397 x223

[Wheelingman04]

^ I love to see old industrial sites being turned into great projects.

[ArchMadness]

This is an awesome thread. I love Pittsburgh and seeing all this development really makes me happy.

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/corkfactory.aspx

May 10, 2006
$60 million cork factory pre-leases first 30 luxury lofts
Pittsburgh’s latest pioneer in factory-turned-loft living announces pre-leasing of 30 of its 297 units. The Cork Factory, located at 2349 Railroad Street in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Strip District, boasts river and urban views, an easy stroll to eclectic merchants, boutiques, restaurants, nightclubs, and museums, and many amenities.

Set within one of the region’s most significant landmarks, the Cork Factory’s chic comfortable spaces marry past and present. Once a thriving cork-cutting enterprise founded by Thomas Armstrong in 1860, the historic complex features sections designed by turn-of-the-century master Frederick Osterling.

Prospective tenants can choose from 35 modern floor plans, including one, two or three bedroom units from 682 to 2247 square feet. The Cork Factory is now leasing 47,000 square feet of retail space with a goal to attract a restaurant, dry cleaner and coffeehouse.

Lofts feature 14-foot ceilings, washer/dryer, and naturally exposed brick and finished concrete. Select units contain stainless steel sinks, garden-style tubs and eight-foot windows. Tenants will enjoy an outdoor inground pool, patios, gas grills, internet access, full fitness center, peninsula kitchens and garage parking across the street. The original Engine Room has been converted into a community center for residential gatherings.

Reflecting our region’s marriage of industry and innovation, the Cork Factory features a Business Center, complete with computer stations, conference space and fax, printer and copier service. Just announced is the addition of a private marina for residents. The Cork Factory is pet-friendly and offers 24-hour concierge service.

“Our first tenants are those with foresight who watched this building for years and wanted their choice for this prime location,” says Debbie Roberts of McCaffery Interests. Underscoring the Cork Factory’s relationship to the city, Roberts adds, “It is amazing how we have been welcomed with open arms. Neighbors in the Strip has been phenomenal in assisting us.”

(Source: Debbie Roberts, McCaffery Interests)

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue11/cork_factory_living_dining.jpg

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/mrsmalls.aspx

Mr. Smalls completes $120,000 rehab of North Side recording studio
Mr. Smalls Funhouse thinks even bigger on Pittsburgh’s North Side. With the addition of a new state-of-the-art recording studio to expand its complex of music, entertainment and recreation facilities, Mr. Smalls draws a diverse pool of local and national talent.

Linking its Millvale presence to the central North Side, the music and skatepark pioneers have switched the sound back on at 922 West North Avenue, previously AAM Studios, and new home to Mr. Smalls Funhouse Studios.

The project required a $20,000 facility investment and a $100,000 equipment expense. Rehabilitation commenced March 3 and the studio welcomed its first client on March 22. The overhaul involved replacing a console, revamping wiring, amassing new gear and cosmetic alterations.

“No one would invest in this space and art form, especially not in a market like Pittsburgh. This studio is a historic location for artists and the move represents a great investment in our future here. We are trying to profile Mr. Smalls as a comprehensive artist support network,” remarks owner Mike Speranzo.

“We dealt with David Bjornson and AAM Studios for as long as I can remember. We were friends and competitors and a vacancy at that property was an opportunity. The isolated setting provides an environment sheltered from the distractions of the Millvale venue. It allows clients to focus on recording.”

“Maintaining this studio impacts Pittsburgh’s music community and keeps business on the North Side. We planned to create Pittsburgh’s premiere recording studio and this saved us from having to build a new facility. Everyone who has returned is blown away by how we renovated the studio,” explains Larry Luther, head audio engineer and owner.

Mr. Smalls employs 30 staff, and annually welcomes 65,000 patrons to its
theater and 80,000 to its music and skatepark venues combined.

(Source: Mike Speranzo, owner and Larry Luther, head audio engineer and owner, Mr. Smalls Funhouse)

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/artinstitute.aspx

May 10, 2006
Art institute on target with $20 million student housing
The Art Institute of Pittsburgh is partnering with Try Street Associates, Massaro Corporation, Langholz Wilson Ellis and TK Architects, to complete a $20 million student housing facility downtown.

Located at 620 Second Avenue, the project reflects the Art Institute’s commitment to position student life downtown. With an entrance on Try Street, the turn-of-the-century, 210,000 square-foot structure will house 650 students and resident assistants.

The ten-story historic building requires a complete overhaul and is set to open in June 2007. The dormitory will feature one, two and three bedroom apartments, laundry facilities, a central atrium, sport court and spacious lounges.

George Pry, President of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, comments, “The biggest thing we have talked about for five years is creating an ‘education alley,’ with Point Park University on one side, us in the middle and Duquesne not far away.”

Pry and Nadine Josephs, Director of Student Affairs, are thrilled with the building’s proximity to river trails, Station Square, the T and the 1st Avenue garage: “We really like this new approach because we want to bring student life to the campus itself, to have more events tie in with the dorms. We are so close to the South Side, and we look to that to know what students do on weekends.” Pry also points to the area’s low crime rate as a benefit.

“We are looking for tenants for available retail space,” Pry adds. “We are on target as far as our time-table and everything is going in the right direction.” Pry and Josephs envision food, coffee and school supply merchants occupying the 7,500 square-foot retail space. The school has entered into a 10-year lease that includes a number of five-year options.

”People will be wonderfully surprised as this building takes shape,” promises Pry.

(Source: George Pry, President, and Nadine Josephs, Director of Student Affairs, Art Institute of Pittsburgh)

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/carshare0510.aspx

$450,000 to be invested in Downtown car-sharing program
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP) is applying for a $360,000 CMAQ grant to help fund an innovative two-year pilot car-sharing program. The program will be launched in Downtown, Oakland, and the Hill District for residents, employers and employees. The PDP will provide the remainder of the funding. If successful, it may be expanded to include other city neighborhoods. The CMAQ program is a congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program jointly administered by the Federal Highway and Federal Transit Administrations.

Car-sharing, a member-based, “time-share” car service, started in Switzerland 15 years ago and quickly spread to other countries in Europe. According to Community Car, Inc of Madison, Wisconsin, “In the U.S. today, there are more than 20,000 members of 19 carsharing organizations sharing over 700 cars on the east and west coasts.” Participants can reserve a car on-line or by phone, walk a short distance to a car parked in their neighborhood, drive away and then return the car to its parking location at a later time. Members are only charged for the hours and/or miles they actually drive.

Pittsburgh is ripe for a car-sharing program for several reasons, says the PDP, including a rapidly increasing residential population of more than 12,000 downtown, 20,000 residents tightly packed into Oakland and 138,000 people who commute into Downtown every day—not to mention rising gas and car ownership costs and limited and expensive parking alternatives.

An informational meeting on the car-sharing program will be hosted by the PDP on May 17 at 7:30 am on the 31st floor of the Regional Enterprise Tower, Downtown.

Source: Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/rivertech.aspx

May 10, 2006
Rivertech Office Works Brings $4 Million Investment to South Side
Rivertech Office Works, the last development piece of the LTV South Side Works project, is now leasing a unique brand of loft-style workspace. Conveniently located along South Water Street on Pittsburgh’s vibrant South Side, Rivertech Office Works comprises 3 ½ acres of land and seven loft-style office properties.

Available units include four buildings consisting of 5,200 square feet and two buildings totaling 7,200 square feet. Properties are flexible and can be divided into 1,300 square foot suites. All units feature a first floor office area with polished concrete floors, loft space with spiral staircase access, ceiling fans, and a kitchenette and restroom.

Distinct South Side amenities make Rivertech Office Works a prime location for prospective tenants, as the property sits adjacent to scenic walking trails, abundant free parking and an impressive array of restaurants, businesses and shops. Tenants will enjoy tranquil river views, lunch in the Steelers cafeteria and a convenient proximity to access points throughout the city, including downtown and Oakland.

Rivertech Office Works has already attracted notable tenants such as the FBI Crime Investment Lab, PRC Commercial, the National Center for Juvenile Justice, marketing company Agnew Moyer Smith and law firm Brabender Mascetta, LLC. Architects for the project are Penner & Associates.

"The location is very convenient. We are close to downtown; our lawyers head back and forth to the courthouse. They are completing beautiful landscaping; everyone is pleased to be here," notes Donna Hogan, Receptionist for Brabender Mascetta.

Barry Lhomer, a Principal with Lhormer Real Estate Agency Inc, explains, “Rivertech Office Works is a unique project in that it offers seven individual loft-style office buildings. The project represents a $4 million investment in Pittsburgh’s South Side.”

Tours of Rivertech Office Works can be arranged through David Hanley, Associate Broker, PRC Commercial.

(Source: Barry Lhormer, Principal, Lhormer Real Estate Agency,
and David Hanley, Associate Broker, PRC Commercial).

[hi123]

From ohpenn on skyscrapercity:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06130/688849-28.stm

Council clears way for PNC tower work to begin
Wednesday, May 10, 2006

By Mark Belko and Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

One effort to revitalize the downtrodden Fifth and Forbes corridor, Downtown, advanced yesterday, while the number of developers interested in other projects fell to two with the pullout of a national company.

City Council gave final approval to an $18 million subsidy for a new PNC Financial Services Group tower planned for Fifth Avenue.

Its action allows PNC to begin demolition of 13 buildings along the north side of Fifth, from Wood Street to Liberty Avenue, in July to make way for Three PNC Plaza, the city's first new skyscraper in almost two decades.

PNC and city officials are hoping the new building, which will house the Reed Smith law firm, a 150-room luxury hotel, and 30 or so top-floor condominiums, will help to jump-start the redevelopment of the corridor.

The approval of the $18 million in tax increment financing will allow the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority to borrow the money, and the city, Allegheny County and Pittsburgh Public Schools will forego most of the new taxes on the tower to pay off the debt. The county and school district have already approved the plan.

The state will provide another $30 million toward the $169.5 million project.

Only Councilman William Peduto opposed the plan. He has said PNC doesn't need the help.

PNC plans to begin "de-constructing" the buildings that will be demolished within the next month. A local contractor will be removing doors, fixtures, finishes, plumbing, moldings and other building parts for recycling before tearing down the structures.

Gary Saulson, PNC director of corporate real estate, said the financial institution took the same approach in demolishing the city's old Public Safety Building a couple of years ago. In that project, 98 percent of all building materials ended up being recycled.

The few tenants still in PNC-owned buildings to be torn down have been working under month-to-month leases and will be notified immediately that the company does not intend to renew them, Mr. Saulson said.

"We will work with them to provide some kind of orderly transition out of the space," he said.

PNC hopes to have the 23-story office tower completed in 2008 in time for the celebration of Pittsburgh's 250th birthday.

The project was advanced on the same day the city learned that Washington, D.C., developer Madison Marquette no longer was interested in redeveloping nearly 20 city-owned structures in the corridor.

Madison Marquette founder and Chief Executive Officer Amer Hammour notified city URA Executive Director Jerome Dettore of the decision in a telephone call yesterday. Mr. Hammour tied the decision in part to a recent reorganization by the firm.

"Madison Marquette had big plans for the corridor six months ago, but its interest appeared to wane more recently. Mayor Bob O'Connor balked at the $24 million in public subsidies the firm wanted for its proposed $50 million to $60 million residential and retail complex on lower Fifth, that would have included the old G.C. Murphy's store.

It wanted to build 150 to 200 for-rent apartments and bring in upscale retailers like Crate and Barrel and Tiffany & Co. to attract shoppers.

Mr. O'Connor refused, however, to give the company exclusive rights to redevelop city owned properties, choosing instead to open the competition to other developers.

The decision leaves two local developers -- Millcraft Industries Inc. of Washington County and Ralph Falbo Inc. of Downtown -- in the running to redevelop nearly 20 city-owned buildings in the corridor, including Murphy's.

With the local interest in Fifth and Forbes, the loss of Madison Marquette "doesn't faze us at all," Mr. O'Connor said.

"I think [Madison Marquette] looked at the competition and probably realized they were up against some very stiff competition," he said.

Millcraft Industries, which is engaged in a $52 million redevelopment of the former Lazarus-Macy's store, is proposing $217 million in work involving 45,000 square feet of offices, 200,000 square feet of retail space, and 805 residences.

Mr. Falbo, who is developing the 151 First Side condominium tower under construction on Fort Pitt Boulevard, is pitching a $90 million project that would include a marketplace and a 280-unit residential high-rise on Forbes, and creation of a destination-type outlet for diamond wholesalers and retailers.

The mayor said there is a possibility that other developers could become involved before he makes his selection by the end of the month.

Madison Marquette is the fourth national developer to pass on redeveloping Fifth and Forbes, a once-thriving corridor.

It follows two Philadelphia developers, Carl Dranoff and Kravco Co., and Chicago developer Urban Retail Properties out of town. All were recruited by former Mayor Tom Murphy.

Mr. Dettore said he doesn't see the latest pullout as another blow to the corridor.

"Frankly, I don't see any great impact. We have two very interested and committed and enthusiastic developers. Things are happening there already," he said.

[beachdoc06]

I've been saying all along that the E. Liberty development by Whole Foods was the perfect place for a bookstore. Damn excited about a Borders that's only a 15 min. walk away. Anyone hear anything about a grocery store for Southside works? It seems to be something missing with all these residential units popping up.

[UrbaniDesDev]

Anyone hear anything about a grocery store for Southside works? It seems to be something missing with all these residential units popping up.


The Giant Eagle is just blocks away, though I'm sure there will be more gourmet type places moving in as more units are introduced and rents go up in the surrounding area

[Evergrey]

Schwartz Market is also on Carson St. (on right of picture)
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/57470438.100_4950.jpg

I doubt another Giant Eagle type place will locate in the area... but I could see some "gourmet/speciality" type places... or even a Trader Joe's locating in the South Side

[Wheelingman04]

Welcome, new forumers.:)

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06134/689741-109.stm

Forum: Bright lights, big city
Downtown Pittsburgh is on the move. HERB BURGER recounts how the ball got rolling again
Sunday, May 14, 2006

Approximately 18 months ago, I was invited to a meeting of concerned executives from the Allegheny Conference, the RIDC, Strategic Investment Fund and the Downtown Partnership and asked to head up a task force to restart the Fifth and Forbes redevelopment project. The basic objective: Start a private initiative, cooperative with the city, but not directed by the administration. Based on those experiences, there were some problems that needed to be solved as we worked through the process. I believe that understanding how we got to this point will help us as Downtown enters a new phase.

1) You need a comprehensive plan that is based upon market realities, with people who are willing to invest.

A developer was chosen before I arrived, Carl Dranoff, from Philadelphia. He had skills, was a "big picture" developer. However, his interest was slow (10 months from start to a plan) and flagged further when he heard that PNC would do its own development. Carl was soon gone from the scene and we had to start all over.

We looked for developers who would see Pittsburgh as an opportunity, as the economic center of the region, and would have the capacity and resources to do the job. We interviewed local developers -- many were too busy, did not have the resources or wanted to "cherry pick" a few of the URA-owned buildings. We needed a lead developer.

2) Search out regional or national developers who understand how to remake a city and brought strong resources and skills to the effort.

I had lunch with the charming and flamboyant Damian Soffer, who suggested a national firm by the name of Madison Marquette. He helped set up my contact and Madison Marquette people spent several months here studying the market. They had skills, resources, and retail contacts and were interested. At the time, they enthusiastically saw great potential in the city. We knew that the state, foundation and other funding sources would require a lead developer who could assume financial responsibility. This option changed with the election of a new mayor who wanted to review proposals by Pittsburgh firms, not national companies. Faced with this decision, Madison Marquette decided to focus their attention on more immediate projects and withdraw their involvement.

3) The final choice of a developer is the mayor's prerogative, so the development has taken a new turn. We now needed to find a local developer.

At the same time we talked to Madison Marquette, we had a stroke of good fortune. A developer my wife and I had worked with on another project invited me to a lunch with Jack Piatt, a Washington County developer. If you want imagination, and courage, Jack Piatt fits the bill. This distinguished looking entrepreneur -- silver hair, sparkling blue eyes -- was clearly a man of action. When he saw an aerial photo of the Downtown he said, "What's for sale?" I said that the Lazarus building was available. He responded with, "How much?" I gave him an estimate and he said, "I'll buy it and make it my signature building."

After numerous complications were resolved, parking, air rights, etc., the Lazarus sale was completed. Mr. Piatt planned retail and a supermarket on the first floor, offices on two and three and four, and then adding three floors of upscale condos to the top of the building. The Fifth and Forbes project was now jump-started.

Shortly after the Piatt announcement, Jim Rohr, CEO of PNC, announced an exciting $172 million project adjacent to the headquarters building.

4) Mr. Piatt and Mr. Rohr, both Pittsburghers, are committed to the city and the region. That's what was needed to get the process moving.

Since that time Mr. Piatt has made a comprehensive proposal to also develop the other side of Fifth Avenue and the Forbes area behind it. He has the skills, resources, and background to undertake such a project and would be a strong candidate. We now know that Madison Marquette has withdrawn, to favor the mayor's desire to have a local developer. But add to that the Cultural Trust's future development plans, the new Piatt Place and PNC's development and you have an attractive, exciting and vibrant city center.






So now can we rest on our laurels and consider the development job done? No, not quite.

Development and new buildings do not necessarily make for an appealing, inviting city, a place where young professionals and empty nesters will want to live, regardless of which developer is chosen for the final piece of Fifth and Forbes.

We need to sort out more qualities that will add warmth and charm to the new Downtown -- make it attractive physically and economically. Here are a few thoughts:

Developers visiting Pittsburgh find the prospects here interesting. Instead of the outer fringes of the city needing development, they're healthy. It's the center or the hole of the donut that needs help. They see opportunities we don't see.

The corporate community needs to commit to a continuing presence in the Downtown as "the place to be," reducing the office churn, which, of late, has reached serious proportions. We need people working in offices, as well as living there.

City Council, city and county government need to band together to reduce taxes for residents and businesses in the Downtown. There is no choice but to make the city core more competitive, not only with the suburbs, but also with other metro areas.

To be competitive and inviting, we need to offer moderate-priced parking for shoppers and visitors, and residential units must offer parking.

We need to focus on attractive retail and entertainment activities, not readily available in nearby malls. This will require aggressive, focused contacts and work.

It is part of the Pittsburgh culture to love "process" and "vision-making". We can discuss plans ad infinitum. Everyone enjoys talking about development ideas and to prepare guidelines etc. But, our dreams often have little connection to market realities and what investors would be willing to invest in. It is time for less process and more market-oriented action.

Let's focus on making our city interesting and attractive -- turn on some charm and make it more of a destination. For example, how about statutes of the great musical entertainers who began here? Or attract one of today's cinema complexes that have varied forms of entertainment? How can we better showcase a high-tech city? Is it a high-tech sign, a la Times Square, or as we have at the Pittsburgh airport? Maybe we should ask our young professionals in the tech arena for their ideas.

We need to encourage immigration. New blood, new cultures, new ideas will enrich our city. Help it to grow and prosper.

My role in the Pittsburgh Task Force having been completed, I want to thank all those who helped -- the RIDC, Strategic Investment Fund, URA, city government, Allegheny Conference, the Elmhurst Group and others. To all who go the next steps, I say good luck and Godspeed. Pittsburgh is a wonderful city and deserves your good work.

Herb Burger, a retired marketing executive, was chairman of the Pittsburgh Task Force.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06134/690031-53.stm

Downtown is humming with new developments
Sunday, May 14, 2006







By Mark Belko, Ed Yozwick and James Hilston
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A new office tower is going up on Fifth, developers are competing to remake the retail district, and housing is popping up everywhere -- from an old warehouse to a former department store.
And don't forget about ongoing efforts to reshape shorelines and rejuvenate historic Point State Park.

The projects potentially could be worth as much as $1.2 billion and could add more than 2,000 housing units, making Downtown as much a neighborhood as corporate domain.





dudes... click this link to see a map of all the developments downtown!
http://www.post-gazette.com/downloads/20060514Downtown_devgraphicAQ.pdf

[Evergrey]

Here's the Try Street Terminal Warehouse that the Art Institute is converting into housing for 650 students.

http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/55788850.100_4403.jpg

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2005-07-14/0715bart-a.jpg

[PA Pride]

^That is great! I remember a couple years ago I thought, boy that cork factory building in the strip and alos this building downtown would both make for great loft developments... But I figured these old decrepid buildings would be torn down; Now in the last few months finding out both of these are being rehabbed; + The old Heinz buildings plus all the other exciting projects: I just couldn't be happier that pittsburgh is building new condo towers and office scrapers + still paying attention to all the old buildings and just fixing every damn thing up... It's truly great... This city is gonna be awesome once we get these thousands of new city dwellers living together... Finally our great downtown will be great to live work and play also.....

[RamsayHank]

So it's Millcraft after all...

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/05/15/daily20.html

Millcraft gets Mayor's OK for Downtown development
Pittsburgh Business Times - 12:52 PM EDT Wednesdayby Robert Sandler
Millcraft Industries Inc. got Mayor Bob O'Connor's approval Wednesday to go ahead with a revamp of the beleaguered Fifth and Forbes avenues retail district.

O'Connor said he would recommend to the board of the Urban Redevelopment Authority that Millcraft get the right to redevelop some 20 properties the URA manages in the area, which O'Connor referred to as the Market and Fifth corridor.

Among plans announced Wednesday were the construction of about 200 apartments and condominiums, some at the former site of the G.C. Murphy store, and 55,000-square feet of retail space in the area of lower Fifth Avenue.

Cost of the projects is estimated at about $71 million.

O'Connor choose Millcraft, of Washington County, over Downtown developer Ralph Falbo.

In April, Millcraft unveiled plans for a European market-style grocery in the Lazarus building, and has said publicly it wants to include a 1,000-seat live music venue near Market Square, among other development possibilities.

Falbo and Millcraft's Lucas Piatt pushed the mayor to choose a developer in advance of the International Council of Shopping Centers' annual convention in Las Vegas, which begins Sunday.

Within the past 10 years, there have been a least a half-dozen studies covering the Fifth and Forbes corridor, including a controversial one at the beginning from Chicago-based Urban Retail Properties, and a competing study sponsored by Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, among others.

rsandler@bizjournals.com | (412) 481-6397 x223

[Evergrey]

good... other than the bus issue... I think their plan was clearly superior to Falbo's (which was also a nice plan)

[Evergrey]

Looks like Pittsburgh is about to be introduced to a radical new concept in personal transportation

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06138/691143-147.stm

Group rolls out car-share concept
Benefits touted for Pittsburgh market
Thursday, May 18, 2006

By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Barbara McMahon had two reasons for attending an informational session that the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership held yesterday on the prospects of bringing a car-sharing program to town.

As general manager of the Pittsburgh Renaissance Hotel, it piques her interest that some boutique hotels can provide guests enrolled in the program access to a vehicle for a few hours with no hassle while they travel.

"My daughter is enrolled in Washington, D.C., and loves it," she said of Flexcar, a private company whose national sales manager, Steve Gutmann, explained how car-sharing operates and can benefit people, businesses and public agencies.

Marjorie McMahon, a graduate student, joined Flexcar two years ago to avoid the high cost of car ownership in Washington and to supplement getting around on the METRO rail transit system.

She uses her computer to reserve a time and day, receives confirmation where a car is available nearby and uses a "smart card" with embedded computer chip to unlock the door. The keys are stored in the glove compartment. Insurance, maintenance, fuel, unlimited mileage and computerized billing are all part of the cost -- about $9 an hour or $60 for a full day, on average.

If she doesn't return the car to the same place and on time, or if there's less than a quarter-tank of gas, she's "fined" $20 by the company.

Is Pittsburgh ready for car-sharing?

"It's pay-as-you drive, by the hour or the day, without waiting in line, without the paperwork (of rental cars)," said Mr. Gutmann.

Nationwide, car-sharing programs have grown to 92,000 members with access to about 1,750 vehicles, from hybrids to mini-vans. Members tend to be well-educated, live in the city and have little use for full-time car ownership or a second vehicle. Car-sharing is typically combined with trips made by transit, bicycle and foot.

"Why pay $20 or $25 a day to own a car used only part time?" Mr. Gutmann said. "People want to do things with their money other than feeding the monster in the garage."

Those who participate in Flexcar are organized and judicious, he said, like the woman who reserves a car from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays to shop and run errands for the week. It's her way to drive without owning.

In addition, Mr. Gutmann said that a growing number of businesses, institutions and government agencies are finding car-sharing to be cheaper than operating their own fleets. They make up 40 percent of Flexcar's revenues.

Residual benefits to a city are significant. A Transportation Research Board study shows 14 fewer cars on the road for every car-sharing vehicle. The strain on parking is lowered. Former car owners travel 70 percent fewer miles.

Federal funds are available to subsidize start-ups. Flexcar requires commitments from enough customers to bring 70 to 80 vehicles to a city and about five hours a day of use in order to break even; generally, it takes 18 months for revenues to offset expenses.

Cities in the U.S. that offer the program include Portland, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Boston, San Diego, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Mr. Gutmann called Pittsburgh a good prospect for car-sharing, given its geographic layout, transit service and heightened interest in city living.

For more information on car-sharing, visit these Web sites: www.flexcar.com; www.zipcar.com;

www.phillycarshare.org.


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

(Joe Grata can be reached at jgrata@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1985. )

[Evergrey]

here's the followup article on Millcraft's plans

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06138/691140-53.stm

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060518ds_piatt_450.jpg
Lucas Piatt, vice president of Millcraft Industries, describes his firm's plans for Downtown during a news conference yesterday. At right is Mayor Bob O'Connor.

Mayor picks Canonsburg firm to tackle Fifth/Forbes redevelopment
Thursday, May 18, 2006

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Downtown's latest white knights won Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor's blessing yesterday to transform 19 outmoded Downtown properties into stores and homes.

Canonsburg-based Millcraft Industries aims to build 200 apartments and condominiums and 45,000 square feet of stores, for $71 million. The firm portrayed that as a start toward, rather than a retreat from, a bigger plan it proposed last month.

The mayor said he wants to give Millcraft and Squirrel Hill developer Ira M. Morgan exclusive rights to buy and revamp properties the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority owns in the Fifth and Forbes district. The URA board must approve that, and may vote to do so on June 8.

Millcraft is "on the move," the mayor said. "They have the vision, the capability, and the love of Pittsburgh that we all share."

Mr. Morgan, who was not at the mayor's news conference, lent $120,000 to Mr. O'Connor's two losing bids for the office, and it was paid back. He gave a modest $2,000 to the mayor's campaign last year.

Millcraft isn't seeking any city or Allegheny County subsidies.

"I'm not ruling out [asking for help from] the state," said Millcraft Vice President Lucas Piatt.

Mayoral spokesman Dick Skrinjar said, "The fair market would determine" what the developers would pay for the properties.

The mayor said the city would put a timetable on the development. Mr. Piatt said the two elements detailed yesterday would take about two years to complete.

Millcraft already is building stores and 47 homes in a former Lazarus store at Fifth Avenue and Wood Street -- now called Piatt Place -- at a cost of $52 million. Last month the firm said that was part of a $269 million plan to bring stores, plus 852 new apartments, condominiums and student suites to Downtown.

Yesterday, Mr. Piatt detailed some of that, and said the rest was more speculative.

Millcraft plans to spend $21 million to restore the former G.C. Murphy's store between Fifth and Forbes Avenue at Market Square. Called Marketplace Square, it would include 50 apartments and condos, 25,000 square feet of stores, and 50 parking spaces.

Empty buildings across Forbes, running to Fourth Avenue, would be replaced by the $50 million Forbes Village. It would include 150 apartments and condos, and 20,000 square feet of stores, all certified as environmentally friendly.

Some of the housing would be "affordable," Mr. Piatt said, though he did not know exactly how much those units would cost. "We're going to do it, [even] if we have to take a loss on it."

Mr. Piatt said that the firm hasn't changed its Downtown goals, but that much of the housing and investment fall in a later phase. That would involve private partners, including Point Park University, he said.

Mr. O'Connor said the later phase might involve buying or leasing privately held properties. The developer might build loft apartments in vacant floors above stores, like the CVS Pharmacy on Forbes, he said.

The mayor picked Millcraft over Downtown-based developer Ralph Falbo. Mr. Falbo said he "presented a very good plan. ... But I respect the mayor, and support him in his selection."

A developer that former Mayor Tom Murphy courted faded from the picture. Madison Marquette of Washington, D.C., had pitched a $50 million to $60 million plan featuring trendy retailers, but Mr. O'Connor balked at the $24 million in proposed public subsidies involved.

Herb Burger, head of a task force on Downtown development that had lured Madison Marquette to the city, lauded the mayor's choice.

Millcraft is "the only local or regional candidate who, I believe, could pull off this kind of thing," he said.

A next step is a brainstorming session, to be held tomorrow and Saturday at the Gulf Tower offices of Urban Design Associates. Most of the session is open only to 75 invited guests.

The mayor's office has added two open houses, at 1 and 5 p.m. tomorrow, at which residents can chime in.

The city will release a master design for Downtown in early June, Mr. O'Connor said.

Neither he nor Mr. Piatt would say what kind of stores they hope to attract. The mayor said existing retailers won't be uprooted.

Representatives of two real estate brokers picked to market the properties, CB Richard Ellis and Langholz Wilson Ellis, will pitch the project to retailers at the International Council of Shopping Centers convention, which starts Sunday in Las Vegas. The mayor will not attend.

The properties the mayor wants to sell to Millcraft are 441 Market St.; 600 and 604 Liberty Ave.; 12 McMasters Way; 212, 214, 220, 225, 226, 230, 236 and 339 Fifth Ave.; 218, 228, 230, 238 and 240 Forbes Ave.; 434 Wood St.; and a Fourth Avenue lot with no street number.

Millcraft's is the latest in a series of efforts to revamp Downtown's shopping district. Others collapsed when developers pulled out.


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

(Rich Lord can be reached at rlord@post-gazette


http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060518Fifth_Forbes_map.gif

[UrbaniDesDev]

June should be an exciting month in Pittsburgh! The city releasing a master plan of downtown and the finalists of the cultural District Development competition due to be presented.
Way to go Pittsburgh!!!

[EventHorizon]

This is the latest news I could find about the North Shore Rail extension. I can only hope now that they'll work on better connecting other communities in the this County.

North Shore extension appears on track
FTA signals it will give Port Authority more cash for project

Saturday, April 22, 2006
By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Port Authority officials appear ready to move ahead with a light-rail extension to the North Shore and may have found the extra money to cover soaring, inflation-driven costs.

Clues about their intentions for the multimillion-dollar undertaking surfaced at authority board committee meetings yesterday.

Henry Nutbrown, manager of engineering-construction, said the Federal Transit Administration is ready to sign a full-funding agreement for its share of the costs; that a pre-award meeting is scheduled next week with the low bidder to bore twin tunnels beneath the Allegheny River, an indication that a contract is pending; and that the project will be submitted to Congress in June for a 60-day review, typically little more than a bureaucratic formality.

He said he expects to hear good news.

But, he cautioned, "I'm the eternal optimist. The board makes the final decision, and the board has not done that."

If all goes as Mr. Nutbrown outlined, the board is expected to approve a $156.5 million contract to launch construction at its May 26 meeting, five days before a 120-day limit expires on a joint bid by West Mifflin-based Trumbull Corp. and Japan-based Obayashi Corp.

The bid was $21.5 million over engineering estimates. But the Federal Transit Administration, reacting to unprecedented impacts on construction brought about by high energy, cement and steel costs on projects across the nation, is said to be willing to provide more money.

The last cost estimate for extending the light-rail system to the North Shore and building three stations stood at $393 million, with $314.4 million from the FTA and other federal sources. The money cannot be used for operating expenses or transferred to other capital projects.

Mr. Nutbrown refused to divulge the latest estimate or discuss how much extra federal funding the authority may receive.

"These are sensitive issues" still in various stages of negotiations and approvals, he said.

The pending contract covers about half of the civil work needed to build the 1.5-mile extension north of Gateway Center station, Downtown. It includes boring twin tunnels under the Allegheny and constructing 1,200 feet of cut-and-cover tunnel along the western side of PNC Park and a station shell there.

Mr. Nutbrown said the project has to be run past Congress again because of changes that included dropping a spur from Steel Plaza station to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and "right-sizing" on the North Shore Connector to bring costs closer to budget.

The authority rejected a first round of bids for the twin tunnels last September as too high. The contract was repackaged, but the bids opened in February also exceeded budget.

On May 26, the board can award the $156.5 million contract "conditionally," with an understanding that the Federal Transit Administration will come through with approvals and funding as anticipated. Another option is to get the low bidder to agree to an extension, not likely given rapid inflationary increases in the construction industry.

While twin tunnels and the North Shore alignment have triggered some criticism, proponents of the project argue it is a key to continuing development and interest in the North Shore and tying it to Downtown, similar to how the T has helped shape Station Square.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06112/684244-147.stm

[Evergrey]

This is the latest news I could find about the North Shore Rail extension. I can only hope now that they'll work on better connecting other communities in the this County.



http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06112/684244-147.stm

my dream is for a T extension traveling east from Station Square along an exisiting right-of-way seperating the South Side Flats from the Slopes... following the Monongahela through communities like Homestead and Duquesne and eventually ending up in McKeesport... in addition to the Oakland/East End line everybody wants


here's more on the Millcraft project

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_454379.html

Millcraft gets stab at city's heart

By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, May 18, 2006


Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor has tapped a Washington County developer to spearhead a $121 million residential and retail revitalization in the heart of Downtown.
O'Connor said he would recommend that Millcraft Industries' father-and-son team of Jack and Lucas Piatt have exclusive rights to develop 19 vacant and dilapidated properties owned by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

"I believe Jack Piatt and his son, Lucas, have the same vision I do," O'Connor said. "I believe what's happening today will reaffirm that this is a city on the move."

The project will include:







A $21 million rehabilitation of the G.C. Murphy Building, to include 50 apartments and condominiums, 25,000 square feet of retail space and 50 parking spots. The historic building at Fifth Avenue and Market Square would be called "Marketplace."

A new $50 million Forbes Avenue building, to be called "Forbes Village," with 150 residential units and 20,000 square feet of retail space.

A previously announced $52 million renovation of the former Lazarus-Macy's building, which will house a specialty grocery store, other retailers, office space and upscale condominiums.

Squirrel Hill developer Ira Morgan, O'Connor's former campaign treasurer and financial backer, and retail brokers CB Richard Ellis and Langholz Wilson Ellis, will work with the Piatts to attract retailers and plan construction, which could be finished within two years.
The URA is scheduled to vote on O'Connor's recommendation June 8.

Authority officials will negotiate purchase prices for the properties.

"We see this as a great opportunity to get on the bandwagon of the positive momentum that's here in Pittsburgh," Lucas Piatt said. "We know that the mayor made the right decision."

Millcraft's plans are less grandiose than what the Piatts offered O'Connor during a meeting April 18, when Piatt detailed a renovation effort calling for the construction of 850 residential units and 250,000 square feet of retail space. That could still happen, Lucas Piatt said.

O'Connor said a key factor in his choice of Millcraft over competing developer Ralph Falbo was the Piatts' financial wherewithal to work fast.

"I want to move quickly. I think it's been sitting too long," O'Connor said.

Falbo said he will continue to develop properties Downtown. He said the Piatts' plan seems to emphasize housing - something he believes is critical to long-term economic success. "Unless you have people, the retail won't last," he said.

Falbo said he's pulling for the Piatts.

"We don't want to see anybody fail," he said. "The most important thing is to come out of the chute with a success. A black eye for Downtown wouldn't help anyone."

Hugh "Herky" Pollock of CB Richard Ellis said the mayor's endorsement strengthens Millcraft's chances of attracting top retailers. The Piatts wanted O'Connor's OK in time for this month's International Shopping Center Convention in Las Vegas, where they plan to court retailers.

Pollock said it's premature to guess what stores might come to Pittsburgh.

O'Connor said the URA will establish a series of development and construction deadlines that Millcraft must meet. O'Connor and other Downtown development officials plan to meet Friday and Saturday with Downtown-based Urban Design Associates to work on a master development plan.

Michael Edwards, CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, applauded the Piatts' plans and said the mayor and the partnership are committed to making the city's Downtown the most robust in the nation.

"It's a great day for Pittsburgh," Edwards said.



Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.com or (412) 765-2312.

[EventHorizon]

Here's a streaming video courtesy of KDKA, talking about the rise of downtown living options.

http://kdka.com/local/local_story_137231836.html

my dream is for a T extension traveling east from Station Square along an exisiting right-of-way seperating the South Side Flats from the Slopes... following the Monongahela through communities like Homestead and Duquesne and eventually ending up in McKeesport... in addition to the Oakland/East End line everybody wants

Great Dream! One can only hope!
Mckeesport and it's neighbors have been through a lot over the past several decades... anything that gives a boost to our collective self confidence will help! We're still pretty depressed.
I just hope they don't forget about us little misfits along the muddy Mon -- and give everything to the more "fit" communties. We gave a lot to our region and don't deserve to be left out in the cold. As dishevled as we may be at the moment we deserve better.:(

http://mckeesport.dementia.org/photos/images/0412ostrosky_peoplemurphy.jpg
http://mckeesport.dementia.org/photos/images/0412ostrosky_peoples.jpg
http://mckeesport.dementia.org/photos/images/0412ostrosky_church.jpg

[UrbaniDesDev]

Speaking of lines through the South Side this is how I see it

The GREEN is the METRO line and the PINK are the stations
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/SouthSide.jpg
It would connect downtown and the North Shore to the South Side, The Southside Works, the proposed Palisades Park Raceway, Sandcastles, The Waterfront/Homestead, Kennywood and all the communities down the Mon.
It would hug the existing rail lines.

Here, below, it is combined with my vision of the Mon Valley Expressway
The PINK is the Metro line and stations
The RED is the Mon Valley Expressway
and the YELLOW is the path of the Mon Valley Expressway but as an "urban boulevard" into the city
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/MonValleySouthShoreDetails.jpg
Just dreamin? Perhaps
Doable?
I think so.

[Evergrey]

Great Dream! One can only hope!



Perhaps this is not such a dream after all, EventHorizon! :banana:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_454912.html

Public can affect eastern transit service

By Jim Ritchie
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, May 22, 2006


Transit leaders want to get input on improving service in the densely populated eastern suburbs during five hearings scheduled for today and Tuesday.
Officials intend to narrow the list of five proposals -- including commuter rail service, extending the T or building the East Busway beyond Swissvale -- within six months. They say the decision will be based largely on what the public has to say.

"I think it's extremely important for people to show up," said Charles Martoni, a member of the Port Authority of Allegheny County's board and an Allegheny County councilman. "We need fresh ideas."

The Port Authority is participating in the study, which is spearheaded by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, a Downtown-based regional planning agency. The Westmoreland County Transit Authority and Allegheny County also are participating.





The five alternatives under consideration are:


Allegheny Valley Railroad: Add commuter or light rail from Downtown to New Kensington, Westmoreland County, along the Allegheny River.

Greensburg: Add commuter rail along the Norfolk Southern line from Downtown along the East Busway to Greensburg.

Oakland: Extend the T system from Downtown to Oakland and possibly into Wilkinsburg or Homestead.

Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway: Extend the busway from Swissvale to Monroeville or convert it to light rail.

Mon Valley: Build a commuter rail line from Downtown to McKeesport and Etna along the CSX railroad tracks.
Expanding transit service in the eastern suburbs is important because the area is packed with public transit riders. About 40 percent of Port Authority's 68 million annual riders come from the eastern suburbs.

"Public transportation, especially in the east, is vitally important," Martoni said. "It's not just because of getting people to the city, but also because along the transit routes there's the possibility for economic development."

A large part of the push for more transit service in the eastern corridors is an attempt to reduce severe congestion on the area's roadways, including the Parkway East and Route 28. Transportation officials say the roads can't handle projected demands and thus could inhibit economic development opportunities.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said he has not made up his mind about which options are best. He also chairs a transportation committee within the commission that's looking at similar options.

"They're looking at the same projects and some other ones, and he is going to listen to what they have to say and the input from (this) week before he makes some sort of endorsement," Onorato spokesman Kevin Evanto said.

Onorato previously has discussed his desire to link Downtown with Oakland by light rail and improve transit service to the Allegheny Valley.



Jim Ritchie can be reached at jritchie@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7933.


Transit schedule

Five public meetings on improving mass transit service between Pittsburgh and its eastern suburbs are scheduled today and Tuesday. Each includes a 45-minute presentation and a 45-minute discussion period. For details, call Carol Uminski, of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, at 412-391-5590, ext. 363.
Greensburg: Today, 6-7:30 p.m., Westmoreland County Courthouse, 2 North Main St.

McKeesport: Today, 6-7:30 p.m., YMCA, 523 Sinclair St.

Oakland: Tuesday, 12:30-2 p.m., University of Pittsburgh's William Pitt Union, 3959 Fifth Ave.

New Kensington: Tuesday, 6-7:30 p.m., New Kensington Municipal Building, 301 11th St.

East Pittsburgh: Tuesday, 6-7:30 p.m., Keystone Health Club and Cafe, 655 Braddock Ave.

[Phillydude]

Hey everyone. I pop in here every now and then. I've been in Philly since 1980 but I'm originally from McKeesport. Nice photos -- brings back memories.

[Evergrey]

how bout an apartment above primanti's downtown? yum!

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/marketsquare.aspx

May 24, 2006
Two New Apartments Welcome First Tenants to Market Square
With millions of dollars channeled into redeveloping Pittsburgh’s Fifth-Forbes corridor, some are adding to the momentum by taking small but significant steps toward investing in downtown housing.

Two newly-renovated residential units located at 2 Market Place are now welcoming tenants from the region as well as from around the U.S.

Michael Kratsas of Nicholas and Patrinas Properties recently completed work on the two-story, turn-of-the-century structure. “Housing is something that downtown Pittsburgh has needed for so long. It is what was missing," says Kratsas.

With Pittsburgh favorite Primanti Brothers on the ground floor, the apartments are surrounded by an array of both well-established and up-and-coming businesses including Nicholas Coffee Company, Jenny Lee Bakery, Ciao Baby, and Oyster House.

Kratsas transformed the abandoned offices into two 1,300 square-foot apartments. Each floor features two bedrooms, two bathrooms, ample closet space and a twenty-by-eight foot open kitchen, dining room and living room area. Amenities include six-foot windows, panoramic views, full sprinkler system and an L-shaped eat-in kitchen. Kratsas, trained in cabinetry, created the cherry wood kitchen cabinets. With ten-foot ceilings and exposed mechanicals, the apartments suggest loft-style living.

Kratsas, whose father worked as a butcher in the original Diamond Market, is energized by Market Square’s residential and commercial potential. “Market Square is an interactive community. Some existing merchants are strong-hearted about the Square and have been here for years. That is our foundation. This is a unique historic section of the city.”

Source: Michael Kratsas, Nicholas and Patrinas Properties

Photo copyright © Jonathan Greene

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2013/primantis_bldg_market_squar.jpg

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/downtown.aspx

May 24, 2006
Downtown transformation takes flight
With Pittsburgh newspapers announcing that “change is bursting out all over,” the focus is now on efforts to redevelop the city’s long-contested Fifth and Forbes urban corridor. Potentially a $1 billion project, the initiative could add more than 2,000 housing units downtown.

On May 17, Mayor O’Connor announced that Canonsburg firm Millcraft Industries, whose vice president is Lucas Piatt, would act as lead developer for the area.

“We are working with developers who have a lot of energy and enthusiasm. We hit bottom with downtown and it is only going to get better quickly,” says Jerry Dettore, executive director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

At a May 19th Open House at Urban Design Associates, the firm charged with developing a draft plan, Andrew Dresdner of UDA walked-through “x-ray” maps of the area, showing mixed use, commercial and residential buildings, historic districts and other elements of downtown.

On view were architectural renderings of proposals for the $50 million Forbes Village, including 20,000 square feet of retail, Piatt’s former Lazarus and Murphy Mart plan, and a $170 million PNC project that will house a hotel, shops and offices. Proposals also include a gourmet grocery, mixed income housing, outdoor plaza and vendor market.

Participants voiced concerns about such things as bus routes, the status of historic structures such as the early 20th-century Alden & Harlow building and the need for affordable amenities and housing. A proposal for utilizing Boulevard of the Allies, the city’s widest roadway, for overflow bus traffic was also presented.

On May 19 and 20, more than 60 people attended private focus groups led by Don Carter for developers, preservationists and downtown merchants and residents.

“The public will have an opportunity to make recommendations on the draft plan, most likely in June,” adds Dettore.

Source: Jerry Dettore, executive director, Urban Redevelopment Authority and Andrew Dresdner, Urban Design Associates.

Photo copyright © Jonathan Greene

[EventHorizon]

Perhaps this is not such a dream after all, EventHorizon!

Absolutely wonderful news! Great to see them including the mon valley!

It sucks for me that the meeting in McK was today. It was my birthday and I wasn't in town all day today. :( There are a lot of people who use public trans here -- so I hope people showed up given the short notice. I didn't even know about this!
I hope for all of them... but obviously I have a fave! :tup:


Hey everyone. I pop in here every now and then. I've been in Philly since 1980 but I'm originally from McKeesport. Nice photos -- brings back memories.

WOW! Another McKeesporter!:cheers:
What neighborhood are you from? I come from Highland Grove.

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/angelsarms.aspx

May 24, 2006
Angel's Arms Condos and South Side on Network TV and House Tour
Angel’s Arms, located at One Pius Street, was recently featured on Fine Living Network’s “What You Get for the Money.” The national TV spot praised the property and its urban environs. Those craving city living can tour Angel’s Arms during the Historic South Side Home Tour, presented by Howard Hanna and Station Square, on June 3.

Touting Pittsburgh as a “once again up-and-coming metropolis,” and Angel’s Arms as a “historic church converted to hip digs,” the program boasts that $200,000 will fetch “contemporary style and rich history” and a “sound investment in a neighborhood on the move.”

Viewers worldwide learn that Angel’s Arms once housed St. Michael’s—built in 1863 as Pittsburgh’s first Roman Catholic Church. Located in a stable residential neighborhood, the building is a five-minute descent to lively Carson Street. Amenities include expansive windows, roof patio, vaulted ceilings, and mosaic and terrazzo floors.

The June 3rd tour showcases seven residences, including the former Duquesne Brewery and Birmingham School.

“One thousand people attend the tour. The direct economic impact is huge,” says Amy Camp, manager of marketing for the South Side Local Development Company.

“Our first ticket sold was to a Waynesburg resident coming into the city for the first time in 22 years. She sold a 1950s truck to Pittsburgh Jeans Company and hopes to visit the store,” says Camp, underscoring a community connection. The tour encourages “detours” to South Side business, including treks up city steps.

“This is more than a house tour. We show how people live in a variety of ways in a wonderful live-work community,” adds Camp.


Source: Amy Camp, manager of marketing and communications for the South Side Local Development Company (SSLDC).

Photo copyright © Jonathan Greene

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2013/angel_arms_04.jpg

http://www.angelsarms.net/

[Evergrey]

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/05/22/daily3.html?t=printable

Rosebud to be reborn as 'ultralounge'
Pittsburgh Business Times - 10:37 AM EDT Mondayby Tim Schooley
A few years after it closed, the longtime Strip District nightclub Rosebud finally is being replaced.

A local company called the Executive Nightclub Group will open a new nightclub in the 10,000-square foot facility next month called Prive, French for "secret" or "private".

The new ownership is billing the club at 1650 Smallman Street as an "ultralounge," featuring more than 50 varieties of martinis along with a selection of fine wine and other liquors.

David Lander, a veteran nightclub DJ who uses the handle Digital Dave, is developing Prive with a $40,000 sound-and-computer system.

The club is expected to include a cherrywood dance floor and oak-stained walls in a former warehouse facility, which Rosebud, in its heyday, shared a wall with its companion club, Metropol.

When club owner Robin Fernandez closed both Metropol and Rosebud a few years ago, others have attempted to follow.

Local concert promoter Jon Rinaldo took over the Metropol space and attempt to resurrect it as The World. The club was not long-lived, however.

In recent years, the Strip District's reputation for nightclubs has suffered at the hands of other city hotspots such as Station Square and the Waterfront in Homestead.

Prive's opening comes shortly after nearby club operator Clint Pohl reopened his former club Sanctuary in a former Catholic church as a new video club called Altar Bar.

tschooley@bizjournals.com | (412) 481-6397 x244

[Phillydude]

WOW! Another McKeesporter!:cheers:
What neighborhood are you from? I come from Highland Grove.

I'm from all over that area but I claim Union and Versailles. I lived in Liberty Boro until I was 10.

[Evergrey]

this article gives some insights into the region's growing Latino community

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06144/692560-28.stm

More local grocery stores warm up to Hispanic food
New flavor to savor
Wednesday, May 24, 2006

By Bob Batz Jr., Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Lourdes Sanchez Ridge is a Cuban-American, who for most of her 15 years here has been disappointed at the lack of Hispanic food in Pittsburgh supermarkets.

And by Hispanic she means not just Mexican, and certainly not Tex-Mex. As she put it, "I do not like spicy foods and I do not eat tortillas."

A mother of three and an attorney for Thorp Reed & Armstrong, Ms. Ridge has been active in the local Latino community and knew other immigrants from various parts of Central and South America who also missed a variety of foods they grew up on.

She tried to get supermarkets to add products, even complimenting the one where she shops for adding some Mexican brands, but mostly kept getting lip service -- all talk and no action.

Last June, Ms. Ridge, then vice president of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, met with David Atkins, director of natural and specialty foods for Giant Eagle. He said changes were in the works at some stores and welcomed her input.

So Ms. Ridge sent e-mails to all her contacts asking what kind of foods they'd like to see offered.

They flooded her with lists of items and brands, which she compiled and sent on to Giant Eagle.

When nothing seemed to happen, she said, "I thought this is more lip service."

Then, shopping at the Village Square Giant Eagle earlier this month, Ms. Ridge, the new president of the Hispanic Chamber, happened past the frozen entrees and saw Latino specialties such as papas rellenas, or mashed potatoes stuffed with seasoned ground beef.

"I was in complete shock," she recalled. "I said, 'My gosh, these people actually listened!' "

So again she sent out an e-mail to all her contacts, sharing the good news: "The Hispanic food section has more than doubled! If you haven't seen the frozen foods, please go for a treat," such as empanadas (filled pastries) and empanada pastry discs, tostones (fried green plantains), ready-to-serve ropa vieja (or "old clothes" shredded beef).

Ms. Ridge doesn't buy many prepared foods, but was "ecstatic" to be able to buy the Brazilian soft drink guarana -- and in diet no less -- jarred sofrito, the base for many Caribbean dishes, and even round Cuban crackers.

"I would say it's basically almost everything we asked for," she said, noting that others in the community are noticing, too, and are as thrilled as she is.

Giant Eagle's Mr. Atkins also is pleased and calls this the first phase in what he wants to be a continuing dialogue on "how can we do a much better job of understanding Hispanic consumers and meet their needs." The chamber and Ms. Ridge are on board with that.

He lauded her "diligence" and said her lists figured directly into the configuration of the "sets," or aisle displays, of Hispanic foods at Giant Eagle stores.

The Village Square store and the store on Centre Avenue in Shadyside have the biggest selections, but Hispanic and other international categories are being added at other stores as Giant Eagle creates "Worldwide Food" aisles.

Mr. Atkins said sales figures at the Shadyside store have been strong in international foods.

"We're finding there's a lot of growth there. Not only because we're becoming more of a melting pot ... but also because people are becoming food enthusiasts."

Pittsburgh may be a bit behind, but it's sure to see more effects of the booming Hispanic market. The nation's largest minority group (about 14 percent of the total), the Hispanic population in the U.S. has grown four times as fast as the general population since 2000.

As noted in the press coverage around the big Fispal "Taste Latino" food trade show in Miami Beach earlier this month, researchers say that the 43 million-plus Hispanics in the United States now spend $700 billion a year and a good chunk of that on food to be consumed at home.

Pittsburgh's not as big a Hispanic market -- Ms. Ridge estimates that, including substantial numbers of undocumented Latinos, the metropolitan area's Latino population has doubled since 2000. That's when the Census counted 17,100 Hispanics in Allegheny and six surrounding counties. (County estimates for 2005 are to be released in July; the 2004 estimates for the metro area total 19,598, which would be an increase of 2,498 or 14.6 percent in four years.)

More Hispanic offerings are showing up at some other supermarkets. In Beechview, where many Mexicans have settled, the Foodland store has an end-of-aisle display of products including nopales (cactus) and menudo (tripe stew). The Banksville Plaza Kuhn's Market's Mexican array has widened to nearly half an aisle, including masa and mole. (Store officials did not return calls for comment.)

Many Foodlands and Shop 'n Saves are independently owned and operated. Jim Hurley, a manager at the Shop 'n Save store in South Fayette, said it and its four sibling stores have Hispanic items in their international sections for customers who want them, but hasn't needed to expand them lately. "As things change and as the market demands, we're flexible and we have to meet those demands."

So far here, the shift seems to be gradual. As recently noted in this section, you can find queso fresco, or Mexican fresh cheese, at the North Versailles Wal-Mart Supercenter, which has a large display of Hispanic food (a manager says stores survey customers and stock what they want).

More small Mexican stores have popped up, including Veracruz Tienda Mexicana in Dormont, and there's a burgeoning Latin selection at Reyna Foods in the Strip District.

But supermarkets can be most convenient, Ms. Ridge said. She doesn't plan to contact other supermarkets but hope more will follow Giant Eagle's lead.

The private company, with $5.5 billion in sales, is the region's No. 1 supermarket retailer, with 140 corporate and 74 independent supermarkets. Hispanic Chamber chair Joe Manich commended it reaching out to the community, saying, "Pittsburgh needs this. We need the rest of the country to know that we are open for business and that we are much more cosmopolitan that our reputation would lead you to believe."

"The best thing about this whole thing," Ms. Ridge said, "is my mother, when she comes up from Miami, she doesn't have to bring a whole suitcase full of stuff.

"Now she can just come with her clothes."

[Evergrey]

this article talks about the evolution of one of Pittsburgh's most exciting neighborhoods... Shadyside... click the link to see the pictures and links to cool businesses

http://www.popcitymedia.com/features/shadyside.aspx

A Guide to the New Shadyside
By: Robert Isenberg

May 24, 2006
726 Bellefonte Street has a storied – some might say cursed – history of hosting restaurants. In years past, it has housed The Gaslight, the Cheese Cellar, Pasta Piatta and Bikki’s Lounge. Late last year, it enjoyed the brief but splendid eatery known as Plate 736, where the kitchen provided heaping plates of fusion cuisine and the service won accolades from all kinds of restaurant critics. And then, in early 2006, Plate tanked.


The brave new tenant is Flair, an expansive two-dining-room establishment that boasts all the dim lighting, potent cocktails, flavorful entrees and slick minimalist decor that a foodie could desire. And with the opening of its subterranean doors (it’s tucked into the basement, at the bottom of an elegant steel staircase), Flair brings more than, well, flair: It speaks volumes of Shadyside’s ever-evolving culture scene, where the more things stay the same, the more they change.


Shadyside has always been a classy little neighborhood, a quaint little wedge of well-kept Victorian mansions, manicured lawns, brick facades and tree-lined side-streets. Its proximity to Carnegie-Mellon makes it convenient for well-to-do students, who can depend on well-managed apartments. And while Shadyside is a nice place to live, it’s an even better place to visit – if only for its two main commercial streets, Walnut and Ellsworth, whose merchants quietly compete for the attention of visitors.


Unlike other Pittsburgh neighborhoods, Shadyside has a tradition of slow, comfortable evolution – the luxury of a former “streetcar suburb” that has never been significantly hit by fire or financial crisis. While Lawrenceville has hurried to install galleries and cafés, and Downtown arts organizations have tirelessly labored to create the noteworthy Cultural District, regular visitors to Shadyside barely notice the subtle additions – a new hookah bar, an Apple computer store, a homey back-alley bar, and an entourage of new restaurants, which are gradually changing the face of Pittsburgh’s most fashionable neighborhood.


Extra-Fine Dining

If you’re looking to sink your teeth into a good burger, Walnut Street is a good start. There’s Max & Erma’s, Cappy’s, Doc’s, Shady Grove – literally enough places to eat a different chef’s burger every day for over a week (and if you decide to do this, UPMC Shadyside is conveniently close by).


But for a particularly nice date, or birthday, or classy business meeting, Shadyside has become just as crammed with cloth-napkin restaurants. Bikki is an all-American restaurant that claims “innovative modern cuisine, prepared meticulously and presented by true culinary artists.” Café Zinho offers Portuguese fare in a beautiful little space – which, not long ago, was a garage. Casbah is built like a stuccoed North African bazaar and houses one of the finest wine selections in the city. And then there are the new kids on the block: Typhoon, Soba and the Walnut Grill aren’t just exceptional restaurants; they’re also designed like mini-art galleries, with special attention given to color, lighting and every piece of furniture, like architects hoping to win the cover of Domus Magazine.

Fine dining can start in the early morning at Crepes Parisiennes, or end in the early morning with Eno Paninoteca’s “relaxing contemporary atmosphere,” where the bar menu keeps the kitchen open until 2 a.m.


And of course there’s Flair, which, with any luck, will survive the curse of 726 Bellefonte Street.


New Neighborhood, New Pastimes

Shadyside has long been a magnet for artists, coffee-lovers and, especially on Ellsworth, gay culture. But every few months, a new pastime is added to the neighborhood: La Havana, the hoppin’ little martini bar, hosts regular Latin dance parties; no matter where you’re headed if you’re passing by La Havana and see the salsa dancers bouncing inside, it’s too enticing to pass up. The Pittsburgh Deli Company has never been a mere sandwich shop, what with the second-story bar, but it has recently come alive with live bands, invited DJ’s, open mic nights and variety shows, including stand-up comedy. Local musicians frequently share bills with bands from Philadelphia and New York, and hip-hop artists have made regular appearances on the Deli Company’s improvised, speakeasy-like stage.


The most exotic new addition is Om Shiva, an upscale hookah bar that occupies the second story of 731 Filbert Street. Hidden at the top of a clumsy elevator, Om Shiva is like a souped-up, hangar-like coffee shop, where every flavor of tobacco can be smoked from shisha water pipes (the shisha craze began in Southside, with the arrival of the Sphinx Café and HKAN, but Om Shiva has a character all its own – and prices to match its quality).


Health and fitness are longtime Shadyside traditions: X Shadyside and the Fitness Factory vie for bodybuilding patrons, while Jacques Dessange, Tantrum Tanning, Salon Destefino and the Skin Center can sculpt every muscle, hair and patch of skin to the customer’s desire – and last month Shadyside added another to the list, the Studio Bleu Salon, advertising itself with a massive banner hanging over the Ann Taylor store.


If Pittsburgh were just slightly bigger, it might have a full-fledged gay district, akin to Philadelphia, New York and, of course, San Francisco. En lieu of this, Ellsworth has a certain welcoming vibe, mostly as a result of New York New York, one of city’s premier gay bars. As it happens, New York New York has fallen, replaced in name and tone by 5801, which has joined the name-your-establishment-after-the-street-address fad (the trend travels as far as Uniontown, with the super-swank 30 East Main Restaurant). The eastern end of the street has an East Village flavor, thanks to Gallerie Chiz, the Dancing Goat café, and a row of vintage clothing shops.


The Discriminating Shopper

Shadyside is a shoppers’ hub that has resisted becoming a chain-store neighborhood. Walnut has its GAP, J. Crew and Starbucks, but they’re rivaled by independent shops like the Peruvian food and crafts store, La Feria, or The Dress Circle, Jitters and Coffee Tree Roasters – and Ellsworth boasts almost entirely independent businesses. Some novelty stores have fallen by the wayside, probably because their wares were a little too novel (Asian antiques, stone statuettes), but for the most part, if a business can sustain itself in Shadyside, it’s there to stay – even specialty gift shops like Kards Unlimited, the Eureka! chocolatiers, and Journeys of Life, where shoppers can stock up on crystals and Tibetan statuary. As the Southside Works cultivates its generic retail stores, and the Waterfront continues to push theirs, its nice to know that Pittsburgh’s most fashionable neighborhood can be satisfied just being itself.


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Robert Isenberg is a freelance writer, actor and playwright. Originally from Vermont, he lives in Polish Hill.

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Trader Joe's is coming to E. Liberty as part of a mixed-use project in the former Wheeler Paints / post office facility.

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06146/693278-28.stm

Business news briefs: 5/26/06
Friday, May 26, 2006

Staff and wire reports


Oakland office building to rise
The Elmhurst Group announced plans to develop a second office building in Oakland. Schenley Place, a nine-story, 143,000-square-foot medical office building, will be located on what is now the parking lot of the First Baptist Church at Bayard Street and Ruskin Avenue. The building also will include three levels of parking. The Elmhurst Group recently completed the Rand Corp. Building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Craig Street.

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06146/693389-53.stm

Developer has big plans for North Shore complex
North Shore Live! would feature glass-roofed concert venue, restaurants, shops
Friday, May 26, 2006

By Mark Belko and Teresa F. Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



A proposed entertainment district near Heinz Field on the North Shore would feature an open air concert venue with a glass top, restaurants and shops, and an outdoor "performance plaza."

The new details were included in a handout distributed at the International Council of Shopping Centers show in Las Vegas this week by the Cordish Co., the entertainment and retail developer involved in the redevelopment of the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.

Cordish is working with the Steelers and Continental Real Estate Cos. to develop the entertainment complex, dubbed North Shore Live! The company, which also developed similar districts in Louisville, Kansas City and other cities, is teaming with Continental to buy and lease property between Heinz Field and PNC Park for the project.

The proposed concert venue, long part of the Steelers vision for land adjacent to Heinz Field, would be open air with a glass roof to protect patrons from the elements.

"Having a roof is such an advantage. It offers weather protection but is open at the sides. It allows you to never have to cancel an event," said Reed Cordish, a Cordish Co. vice president. "That's an element we want to bring to North Shore Live!"

The concert area would be surrounded by restaurants, clubs and shops, with entrances facing in so that patrons would have access to them from the event space. During colder months, smaller concerts and other entertainment would move inside, to clubs and restaurants, which would be open year-round.

"What this offers the North Shore is the possibility of being a yearlong venue," Continental Chairman Frank Kass said earlier this week in Las Vegas.

Mr. Cordish said the glass roof has become one of the trademarks of Live! districts developed by his firm.

"Our Live! districts change very much from location to location," he said. "However, one thing we're sold on and is a staple now is the glass roof structure. It gives us some flexibility and allows us to activate the district to its fullest."

Fourth Street Live! in Louisville also has a concert area covered by a glass roof. From that area, patrons have access to bars, restaurants and shops, including Hard Rock Cafe, T.G.I. Friday's and Borders bookstore.

The North Shore project also would feature an outdoor "performance plaza" area between the Live! district and Heinz Field to be used for smaller concerts and entertainment, as a gathering spot, and for Steeler-related activities.

While renderings made available in Las Vegas showed four large buildings surrounding the open air concert plaza, Mr. Cordish said the design is not written in stone.

"The plans we had out there were truly conceptual plans," he said. "They will change 100 times. It was to give people an idea."

The Steelers have wanted to build a 5,600-seat outdoor amphitheater at the site for several years but have been repeatedly delayed trying to negotiate a deal with a promoter and finalizing the economics of the project. At one time they also had plans for an indoor nightclub.

Mr. Cordish did not know how many people the open air North Shore Live! concert area would hold. Venues in other cities have accommodated more than 5,600 people, however. He would not discuss prospective retail or restaurant tenants, saying it was too early for that.

But he added Cordish tries to find restaurants, shops and entertainment unique to the market.

In Louisville, some Fourth Street Live! offerings such as Borders, Hard Rock Cafe, T.G.I. Friday's, Lucky Strike bowling lanes, Red Star tavern, and Saddle Ridge rock-n-country saloon already have a presence in the Pittsburgh area.

"We very rarely replicate tenants from project to project. Fourth Street Live! is 100 percent different than Power Plant Live! (in Baltimore)," he said. "In Pittsburgh, North Shore Live! will be markedly different than any other one we've done."

Mr. Cordish said his firm was still in the process of "working through final documents" with the Steelers and the city Stadium Authority on the project but added the company hopes to get started "in the not too distant future."

A North Shore concert venue potentially could compete with the Chevrolet Amphitheater at Station Square. However, that could change if Station Square owner Forest City Enterprises wins the state license for the Pittsburgh slot machine casino.

The amphitheater would be done away with to make way for a $512 million Harrah's casino, and Forest City has no plans to relocate the tent-like structure on Station Square property.


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

(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. Teresa F. Lindeman can be reached at tlindeman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2018. )

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06147/693168-30.stm

Over the store: Shadyside condos linked to Giant Eagle
Saturday, May 27, 2006

By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060528mrmarkethouse3_450.jpg
The living area in the Negley model was decorated by Perlora and includes an abstract painting by local artist Allison Hoge.

For centuries, shopkeepers and others have lived above retail shops. A new development in Shadyside embraces this centuries-old concept and takes it to another level, allowing residents to shop for groceries and run errands without ever stepping outside.

Market House, a 54-unit condominium building, begins where the newly expanded Giant Eagle at the corner of Centre and South Negley avenues ends -- a whole five floors above it, in fact.

As with most high-end condos, Market House offers many other amenities. Every unit has high ceilings, at least one balcony, large walk-in closets, sleek maple cabinetry and stainless-steel KitchenAid appliances. Ten floor plans keep it all from feeling too cookie-cutter, and buyers can upgrade to hardwood floor, granite counter tops and a gas fireplace.

But Market House's biggest perk is the most obvious -- full access to a 70,000-square-foot gourmet supermarket, and a dry cleaner, pharmacy, bank and photo lab. And residents may not have to even ride the elevator; details are also being worked out for door-to-door delivery from the grocery's prepared food section.

"It's really about a lifestyle," says Bill Krahe, managing partner for ECHO Real Estate Services Co., a development firm owned by the principals of Giant Eagle. "Just about every facet of your life can be managed there."

Prices for the one- and two-bedroom condos originally started in the $160,000s. But those bargain residences almost immediately sold out, says new housing manager Tom King of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. The six first-floor units with private terraces on the "green" roof of Giant Eagle have also sold.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060528mrmarkethouse2_450.jpg
Jim Bonner's master bedroom in his top floor condo looks westward over Shadyside and Oakland.

Prices now begin at about $275,900 for 1,300-square-foot, two-bedroom/two-bath units and run as high as $410,900 for a two-bedroom unit with 1,826 square feet of living space, including a separate den/study area. It all depends on location and view.

Though the combination of grocery and residential space is new to Pittsburgh, it's already succeeded in other parts of the country. In New York, a Whole Foods Market graces the bottom floor of the Time Warner Center and the organic powerhouse also anchors a large condo-and-hotel complex known as 2200 Westlake in Seattle.

Grocery store construction is already a complex process. Integrating housing -- and accounting for factors such as traffic flow and security -- only makes it more difficult, said Mr. Krahe. Of course, $2 million in tax increment financing from the city made the process a little easier.

Construction on the glass-and-brick building, designed by TKA Architects, started last August. To date, nearly half of the units have sold, most without the benefit of a furnished model, Mr. King said.

The condominium's close proximity to Shadyside's business district is undoubtedly part of the appeal; it's also within walking distance of the busway, making it an easy commute to Downtown.

Accessibility is what drew 22-year-old Jim Bonner, a finance manager for Howard Hanna, and convinced him to pony up $310,000 for a two-bedroom/two-bath penthouse on the fifth floor.

"You can walk to Walnut Street," he says.

Mr. Bonner also appreciated the sprawling view from his bedroom window, which includes both Shadyside Hospital and in the distance, Pitt's Cathedral of Learning.

"You feel like you're right in the city," he says.

Location, though, is only part of the equation. Mr. Krahe also credits the building's clean, contemporary design. William Kolano of Kolano Designs in East Liberty is responsible for all of the interior public spaces, including the vibrant two-story lobby and the reverse coloring in the halls. The recently completed model unit was decorated by Julie Docherty and Janelle Spillman of Perlora.

"It's sophisticated, but not trendy," Mr. Krahe says. "We think it will withstand the test of time and appeal to a broad range of buyers."

The elegantly appointed Negley model, which measures 1,620 square feet and includes two balconies overlooking hundreds of Shadyside rooftops, would certainly appeal to both the young and old urban buyer. Clean and simple, it features "Navaho white" walls and bright-white trim, artful furniture with a modern edge and commercial-grade Centiva vinyl flooring that mimics stained concrete. It sells for $337,900.

"We wanted to play off the space, which has a nice openness and natural sources of light," says Ms. Docherty.

A cream-colored linen sofa from Cachet in the living area is topped by a vibrant, three-paneled abstract painting by Allison Hoge of ASH Galleries in Lawrenceville, one of several local artists whose work is on the walls.

A few feet away in the dining area, a multicolored rug made from Flor carpet tiles accents an Italian modern dining table. The adjoining den has bright red walls and a view of the bus line.

The galley kitchen is just as sleek: light cherry cabinetry with brushed nickel hardware complements the stainless-steel appliances and black granite counter tops. A taupe-colored mosaic backsplash repeats the square motif that runs throughout the house. A large breakfast bar has room for four benches and is lighted by two glass halogen fixtures; it also holds the double sink. A closet across from the professional-style range hides a Bosch stackable washer and dryer.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060528mrmarkethouse5_450.jpg
The kitchen in the Market House's Negley two-bedroom model has maple cabinets and a granite counter top.

The minimalist master bedroom has an oyster-colored Metropolitan bed from American Leather beneath floating black shelves. The adjoining bath has dark faux bamboo Centiva floors and a walk-in shower with a mocha-colored raw silk curtain. There's also a bathtub, a large walk-in closet and a separate alcove for the toilet.

Pet-friendly and maintenance-free, Market House also includes a fitness room with exercise equipment, free weights and a Body Master machine. A private party room across the hall has a family room with a big-screen TV, full kitchen and bath and a library area with tables for playing cards or holding meetings. An adjoining guest room with a private bath (currently the sales office) will eventually be available to residents for a fee for weekend guests. Each unit also comes with a 6- by 9-foot storage locker in the basement.

Condo fees range from $188 to $410 a month, depending on square footage, and the one-time parking fee will set you back $14,500 for an indoor secure space, $7,500 for an outdoor covered space or $4,000 for an outdoor uncovered space.



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(Gretchen McKay can be reached at gmckay@post-gazette.com or 412-761-4670. )


More information
The model unit at Market House, 5570 Centre Ave, Shadyside, is open from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Information: Jason Kaney at 412-683-1980 or www.howardhanna.com, under "New Construction."

[Wheelingman04]

^ Man, the view of the Cathedral of Learning is awesome. What a cool place that would be to live.

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http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/05/29/story3.html

Rugby Realty planning condos, retail in Strip
Pittsburgh Business Times - May 26, 2006by Tim Schooley
If a door of new development opportunity is swinging open in the Strip District, then Aaron Stauber and his company may be buying the hinge.

President of New Rochelle, N.Y.-based Rugby Realty Co. Inc., Stauber confirmed that his company has an agreement to buy the Ayoob-Acme Banana Co. property, a 58,000-square-foot parcel next to Benkovitz Seafood at 21st and Smallman streets.

The property sits at a pivot point between a $50 million apartment complex project and a five-block span of property owned by the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority that soon could be turned into a public market.

Currently, the parcel is occupied by two small refrigerated warehouses, one of which is leased on a month-to-month basis to produce concern Tom Ayoob Inc.

Stauber expects to tear down the buildings. He is exploring the possibility of building a mixed-use development that would include retail and condominium units.

"It's the highest and best use of the site," he said.

Stauber wouldn't divulge what his company is paying for the property. According to county records, it's valued at $1.2 million. He expects to close on the sale in the next 75 days.

The seller is an entity called SEP Real Estate I LLC, which bought the buildings in February as part of a larger acquisition that included the Benkovitz facilities. R.J. McSorley, a principal of SEP, which is now a majority owner of Benkovitz as well, said the company doesn't need the property and wants to focus on its core business.

"We're in the fish business. We are not in the real estate business," he said. "Rugby, Aaron Stauber and Larry Walsh (a senior vice president with Rugby) have a very good reputation. I know that I can trust them."

Going to market
For years, the Strip District has been in a stalemate, Stauber said, as property owners waited for their neighbors to make improvements before invested themselves.

He sees that changing.

The property he is acquiring sits across the street from the landmark St. Stanislaw Church and neighbors the five-block-long Pennsylvania Railroad Fruit Auction Building. The Fruit Auction building, which still serves as a produce terminal, is owned by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and is under consideration as the site of a new 25,000-square-foot public market that advocates hope will be a major shopping draw.

The public market house is still in the development phase, as Neighbors in the Strip, a community development company, pursues a feasibility study.

On the other side of the building and just past Benkovitz, Chicago-based McCaffery Interests Inc. is redeveloping the former Armstrong Cork Factory into 297 riverfront apartments. That $50 million jolt of new investment includes a parking structure designed to include more than 40,000 square feet of new street-level retail.

New mixed-use, old neighborhood
After years of Rugby acquiring a portfolio of mature office buildings mostly within Downtown, Stauber is hoping the Strip District property will become the company's first ground-up development.

He said the project is still in the planning stages and estimated it will range in size from seven to 18 stories and cost anywhere from $15 million to $25 million.

Stauber expects to form his plans in conjunction with NITS and the URA. Stauber is a supporter of NITS' public market plan.

"I think the public market would be phenomenal," he said. "If they do that, then the project is a no-brainer," he added, further noting that if the market doesn't happen, his project will need more consideration.

NITS executive director Becky Rodgers didn't have specific information about Stauber's proposal but said she believes a new project that includes residential units could complement a new market. She also said the two 1930s-era warehouses are considered points of historic interest in the neighborhood but have been underused.

Gregg Perelman, a principal of Shadyside-based Walnut Capital Partners, said he isn't sure how much need there is for more new residential development in the Strip. He suspects it will take time for the Cork Factory and even the Heinz Lofts, just across the 16th Street Bridge on the North Side, to absorb demand for housing.

Yet, Walnut Capital redeveloped a nearby warehouse at 1400 Smallman St. into an entertainment property that now hosts Lidia's Pittsburgh and Sports Rock Cafe. Overall, Perelman is hopeful for new development nearby.

"It's great for the area," he said. "New life and new development help everybody."

tschooley@bizjournals.com | (412) 481-6397 x244

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http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/05/29/story1.html

Conversion of brownfield into office park making progress
Construction expected to start in Canonsburg by end of year
Pittsburgh Business Times - May 26, 2006by Robert Sandler
The transformation of a Canonsburg brownfield into a 360,000-square-foot office park is getting much closer to fruition.

More than three years after developer David Stoehr first announced plans to build a complex of eight light industrial buildings on the site of the former Fort Pitt Bridgeworks, construction is expected to start by the end of the year.

Stoehr has been working with the Washington County Redevelopment Authority to do planning, engineering and environmental assessments, paid for through a $134,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Community and Economic Development Dennis Yablonsky is scheduled to visit the site next week for an undisclosed announcement, and the redevelopment authority in June will submit another grant application to the state, seeking $5.4 million for demolition, environmental remediation and construction of new infrastructure at the site.

It was unclear whether Yablonsky's visit is tied to the grant request.

Momentum on the office park is helping to kickstart redevelopment in other parts of Canonsburg as well, according to borough manager Terry Hazlett.

The borough's downtown area is getting a $1.7 million face-lift with new sidewalks, curbs, street lighting, trees and benches. In August, the borough will break ground on the new 30,000-square-foot Sarris Public Library at a cost of $5 million. And the Apple Hill housing plan is working on its last 130 new homes.

All of those projects should be complete in 2008, when Stoehr and borough officials hope the business park is up and running as well. Hazlett said he's hoping all of the activity rejuvenates the aging borough.

"I don't see any downside to this whatsoever -- except for traffic jams, and traffic jams are good. That means we're doing something right," Hazlett said. "That means there's activity."

Not another Southpointe
Stoehr said officials have told him that getting the state grants approved is "almost a shoo-in."

Assuming the grant money is allocated later this summer or fall, and the parcel's environmental remediation progresses as scheduled, two 40,000-square-foot light industrial buildings will open in summer 2007, he said.

But the project won't be patterned after Southpointe, the corporate campus a few miles north that focuses on large office buildings, Stoehr said.

"We're accommodating the small- to medium-sized companies that need the flex space," he said.

After the state grants pay to remediate the environmental problems on the site, Stoehr estimated he would invest about $17 million to $20 million to get the business park up and running. The park also will receive a five-year tax abatement from Canonsburg.

The former Fort Pitt Bridgeworks has been shuttered since 1990. A handful of small tenants currently lease space there, but Stoehr said they will leave once the grants for his project are approved.

The bridgeworks left behind major environmental contamination, but most of it is inorganic, meaning it isn't likely to spread to nearby land, so it can simply be covered by clay or concrete, he said.

"We do have a lot of environmental problems there, but what's good about it is they can stay on site with a parking lot and buildings on top," said Stoehr, who also owns Washington-based pollution control equipment manufacturer Chem-Trade International Inc.

As part of the development of the business park, Stoehr is planning to build a walking trail along Chartiers Creek, which runs along one edge of the site.

Canonsburg Council President Rich Russo said the project would be one of the biggest developments in the borough since the redevelopment of East Pike Street more than 20 years ago.

Russo said he's excited about the 300 jobs the project is expected to generate and the property's eventual relisting on the tax rolls.

"Those are all pluses," Russo said. "It's very much an eyesore if you're looking at it from Canonsburg."

rsandler@bizjournals.com | (412) 481-6397 x223

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I drove past the new Schenley Plaza a couple days ago and was impressed by what I saw... even though it's not open yet... it was being utilized by a lot of sunbathers.

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/schenplaz.aspx

May 31, 2006
Parking lot to park: $10 million Schenley Plaza restores and reinvents Pittsburgh’s village green

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2014/park_eateries_03.jpg

Schenley Plaza is gearing up for its grand opening on June 8. Operated by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (PPC), and located between Carnegie and Hillman Libraries along Forbes Avenue, the five-acre site has been part of the 456-acre Schenley Park for more than 100 years. Originally intended as a park entrance, the Plaza served for many years as a parking lot.

The idea to restore Schenley Plaza grew out of a public process and was a collaborative effort of many groups including the Oakland Task Force and Community Council, the Oakland Investment Committee and the Allegheny Conference.

Plaza highlights include food kiosks, a Victorian-style carousel, one-acre lawn, Spanish cedar benches, and flexible café seating. A plaza centerpiece is the 48-ft tent structure inspired by Anish Kapoor's 2002 installation at London’s Tate Museum. All food vendors, including Atria’s, set to open in 2007, were selected through a public RFP process. Plaza amenities include free wireless, handicap-accessible restrooms and 24-hour security. Plaza partners envision revenue-generating activities for the site.

Designed by Sasaki Associates, Schenley Plaza is loosely modeled after New York City’s Bryant Park, touted as one of America’s “great urban redevelopment success stories.” “Schenley Plaza is designed to be a place that the entire community can use and enjoy. It was created to serve and reflect the cultural diversity and energy of Oakland. With the many educational, cultural and family attractions in close proximity to the Plaza, we know that Oakland will be a true destination for visitors and residents alike,” says Meg Cheever, president and CEO, PPC.

Opening festivities include jazz, reggae and steel drum concerts and performances by Zany Umbrella Circus, while summer events feature a National Geographic Film Series and park tours.

Source: Meg Cheever, president and CEO, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Reynolds Clark, vice chancellor for community and governmental relations, University of Pittsburgh, Jim Frantz, President, Tedco Construction, Ronald Liebow, project manager, University of Pittbsurgh Facilities Department.

Photo copyright © Jonathan Greene

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I took a look at these Market House Condos this weekend as well... the structure definately looks better in person than in the photos I've seen

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/marketcondo.aspx

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2014/giant_eagle_market_lofts_02.jpg

May 31, 2006
$15 million dollar Market House Condos sells 27 of its 54 units
Located at 5570 Centre Avenue in Shadyside, the new Market House Condominiums have sold 27 of its 54 units. TK Architects of Kansas City and Mascaro Construction of Pittsburgh created the 80,00 square-foot building.

The only residential property of its kind in Pittsburgh, the condos are uniquely situated above a Giant Eagle. The grocer, currently under renovation, reopens in June. The full-service metropolitan market will include a dry cleaner, bank, pharmacy, and photo lab.

Condos include one bedroom/one bathroom 850-1800 square feet units, and two bedroom/two bathroom 1200, 1600 or 1800 square feet units. Local furniture company Perlora designed the units, while Kolano Design created the common space.

“The space is very clean and bright. Every unit has incredible views. The architecture has longevity,” remarks Bill Krahe, managing partner with Echo Real Estate Services Company.

Amenities include a fitness center, library and guest suite. The building’s brick, metal and glass structure is integrated within environmentally friendly and energy efficient elements including a rooftop garden, wind power and skylights.

Tenants enjoy close proximity to restaurants, galleries and boutiques and can purchase indoor or outdoor parking space. "We have a broad range of tenants, from younger to older, single to married, professionals, doctors and graduate students and some new to Pittsburgh,” notes Krahe.

An open house featuring tours of Market House model units takes place on Thursday, June 1, 4:30 -7:30 p.m.

Source: Bill Krahe, managing partner, Echo Real Estate Services Company

Photo copyright © Jonathan Greene

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http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/baumlofts.aspx

May 31, 2006
$10 million dollar Lofts on Baum gears up for open house


http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2014/crossgates_lofts_02.jpg

The eight-story Lofts on Baum is set to break ground late summer at 5848 Baum Boulevard. Developed by Crossgates Realty, the loft-style condominiums are located within the core of Shadyside’s expansion into the Baum-Centre business corridor.

Crossgates offers one- and two-bedroom units--ranging from 1005 to 1517 square feet--designed to reflect an open, sophisticated approach to urban loft living with a convenient location to Whole Foods, Walgreens, Home Depot, numerous restaurants and bus lines.

“The Lofts on Baum will be built for people to experience the neighborhood,” says Cliff Schultz, manager with Howard Hanna.

“The project has received great response and support from community based organizations. The East Liberty Development group and the Chamber provided a big booster,” remarks Arthur Schwotzer, chairman of the board of Crossgates, Inc.

Described as a “soft loft” style, units will feature granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and French balconies. Building amenities will include grilling areas, storage space, nine-foot ceilings, and enclosed parking.

Project architects are Pittsburgh-based Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel. Meadeworth Interiors, located on Penn Circle West, will provide design expertise and furnishings.

An open house and tours of the Lofts on Baum model unit are offered in conjunction with the Howard Hanna sales center opening June 8 from 4 to 7 p.m. and June 10-11, from noon to 5 p.m.

Source: Arthur Schwotzer, chairman of the board of Crossgates, Inc., and Cliff Schultz, manager, Howard Hanna.

Photo copyright © Jonathan Greene

[Evergrey]

and the "Evergrey talks to himself" thread reaches a fevered pitch of excitement! Here's an article from late last year that I don't remember reading... it has a lot of downtown residential conversion projects that either I never knew about... or have forgotten about... so here we go

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2005/09/26/story4.html?t=printable

Trading Spaces
Residential conversions chip away at city office vacancies
Pittsburgh Business Times - September 23, 2005by Tim Schooley
Even before beginning construction to convert his 120,000-square-foot Union Bank Building into a new 60-unit condo tower called the Carlyle, David Bishoff is preparing to do the same right next door.

There, he expects to convert the 20-story Commonwealth building, also on Fourth Avenue, from its current office use into another condo development.

He's making that decision based in part on the early presale activity -- the period of a condo project used to gauge a project's market potential --of the 21-story Carlyle.

Bishoff, whose EV Bishoff Co. is based in Columbus, Ohio, wouldn't say how many presales for the Carlyle have been made yet. But he was happy with the progress and hopes to begin construction on the Carlyle conversion in the next few months.

"I will say that millions and millions and millions of dollars of condos have been sold with hard contracts in place," he said, with smaller units priced between $189,000 and $270,000 and larger condos selling for more than $300,000.

The Carlyle project and the proposed Commonwealth conversion would eliminate nearly 240,000 square feet of Class B office space from the Downtown. With the central business district's office market still mired in double-digit vacancy rates, some building owners are now eyeing whether such new residential conversions are beginning to chip away at Downtown's high office vacancy rates.

But in a district with 30 million square feet of office space, most don't see a substantial impact from new residential conversion on the overall office market yet.

Surprised at the amount of residential development happening Downtown, Michael Edwards, executive director of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, was one who didn't see any great impact on the office market. His organization has discussed residential conversion as a strategy to decrease Downtown office vacancy and create demand.

"I think it's a legitimate strategy that needs to be investigated further," said Edwards, noting that residential plans to bring a few hundred units of residential housing to the Fifth-Forbes district would replace old office space as well.

'STRETCHES AND CHANGES'
Strategy or no strategy, there is growing evidence that it at least is beginning to happen. Down Fourth Avenue from Bishoff's buildings, developer Dean McHolme plans to convert the 37,800-square-foot Standard Life building into 44 residential units as he had already done with the 24,000-square-foot Fidelity building next door.

McHolme also is converting two former office buildings on Wood Street into residential units, one being the 60,000-square-foot Arrott Building, the other the 30,000-square-foot Conestoga building.

With other developers scouting out other residential projects, building owner Rugby Realty, working with no wall productions, is converting the 30,000-square-foot 930 Penn Ave. into 23 residential units.

All totaled, those projects combined could subtract more than 400,000 square feet of office space from the Downtown market. Add already completed conversions such as the Penn-Garrison on Penn Avenue and it doesn't take long to total between 500,000 and 1 million square feet of office space either converted or expected to be converted out of existence.

Patty Burk, executive director of the Downtown Living Initiative, said the organization hopes to track such a trend in a study in the next six months.

"That's pretty typical for Downtowns to go through those stretches and changes," she said. "Real estate will always gravitate toward its highest and best use."

Pam Lowery, research manager for Grubb & Ellis Pittsburgh, noted the distinction that most of the buildings being converted to residential use where older Class B and Class C buildings. Meanwhile, the kinds of larger Class A buildings used by major corporations still struggle with high vacancy levels. Lowery said the US Steel Building had more than 400,000 square feet available.

Bishoff agreed in theory that the removal Class B and C office space can have a trickle-

down effect that would eventually impact the rest of the office market. But he was doubtful conversion projects such as his will have much positive influence on occupancy levels in Downtown's major Class A buildings.

"Those buildings didn't cater to corporate America to begin with," he said of the Union Bank and Commonwealth buildings. "So the supply of office space to corporate America probably hasn't changed a whole lot."

LOOKING FOR THE TIPPING POINT
Yet for some, the elimination of such buildings from the office market can have an impact, particularly for owners of Downtown's stock of mature buildings.

Aaron Stauber, president of Rugby Realty, which owns a variety of long-established Downtown office buildings, noted that the conversion of the Arrott Building rids him of a major competitor for office tenants.

"If those buildings aren't on the market and available anymore, then it pushes up the rates for everybody," he said.

He noted that just 300,000 square feet of office represents 1 percent of Downtown's total --a percentage he saw as substantial.

"If 5 percent of the available space comes off the market, it'll tip," he predicted, suggesting the office market will be spurred to new strength and higher occupancy levels. "When it happens, it'll be an immediate change."

He also took a longer-term view of the trend. To the handful of recent projects, he added other Downtown adaptive reuse projects such as the Renaissance Pittsburgh and Courtyard Marriott hotels Downtown, the Heinz Loft conversion, among others.

"There is this trend happening," he said. "Whether it ever reaches a critical mass, I don't know."

Bill Hunt, chairman of the board of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, believed the trend needed to be viewed with patience.

"When you start to talk about 300, 400 or 500 units a year, that's a lot," said Hunt, president of the Downtown-based Elmhurst Group. "But it takes time."

Bishoff emphasized how a strong office market was needed to complement a growing Downtown housing market. Nearly everyone who has bought a Carlyle condo so far works in an office within about six blocks of the building, he added.

"What the city has to do is understand that their future hinges on making this conversion from a 9-to-5 Downtown, to a 24-hour, live-work-play environment," said Bishoff.

TIM SCHOOLEY may be contacted at tschooley@bizjournals.com.




Now we all knew about the Carlyle conversion on 4th and Wood
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/59120208.100_5445.jpg

but I didn't know about the Carlyle developer's plan to convert the Commonwealth Building into condos (middle building, right of the arch thingie)
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/54261621.100_3705.jpg

I knew that the Standard Life Building was undergoing conversion to student housing... but I did not know the adjacent Fidelity Building had already undergone conversion (Fidelity Bldg is to the right of the columns, Standard Life is red building on far right)
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/59120202.100_5437.jpg

the beautiful Arrott Building is going condo... I had no idea!
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/59120206.100_5442.jpg

The Conestoga Building... the most prominent building in the Mon Wharf... is going condo too! it's also quite close to the 4th St. properties

detail
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/55789333.100_4442.jpg

Conestoga is the 7-story brown building right above the boat
http://i.pbase.com/g4/86/571686/2/61055564.100_6233.jpg

Also mentioned in the article is 930 Penn Ave.... it's the wider building with all the lights on in the windows
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/53712380.100_3417.jpg

Across the street is the Penn-Garrison... which has been completed for a couple years I think
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/53712379.100_3415.jpg

[Evergrey]

Here are some shots of the emerging 4th Avenue residential district

the red building is remaining office
http://i.pbase.com/g4/86/571686/2/59151171.100_5453.jpg

a canyon of residential skyscrapers... the columns at left is the base of the Commonwealth Building
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/59120203.100_5439.jpg

a slice of the Commonwealth Building at far left... connected to the Carlyle... the red Bank Center remains office... the tower to the right of Bank Center with horizontal striping is the Arrott... which is turning condo
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/54261620.100_3704.jpg

Here's another shot of 930 Penn Ave... which is also a booming area for residential conversion... the property is on the left of the picture
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/54261383.100_3676.jpg

work has begun on the Try St. Terminal Bldg which is being converted to student housing for the Art Institute of Pittsburgh
http://i.pbase.com/g4/86/571686/2/61055569.100_6245.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/g4/86/571686/2/61055566.100_6240.jpg

the crane for 151 First Side... 18 story condo tower... it's currently working on the subterranean portion of the structure
http://i.pbase.com/g4/86/571686/2/61055447.100_6219.jpg

The Encore on 7th has recently opened its doors to its first tenents... it really has a great skyline presence
http://i.pbase.com/g4/86/571686/2/61065978.100_6333.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/g4/86/571686/2/61065979.100_6334.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/g4/86/571686/2/61065975.100_6328.jpg

[UrbaniDesDev]

This is my dream come true (of course in my dream I'm the developer) I've told everyone that would
listen that Fourth Avenue would make a GREAT residential spine. Now, I can't believe the absolute
turn around. This rather neglected strip is going to be instantly transformed. I don't think anyone
can truly estimate the impact this will have to downtown's, well, downtown's everything. Street life,
shopping, restaurants, ....it's a whole new ball game in this city!

more pics of my favorite street in town

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/FourthAvenue2.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/FourthFifthAvenues.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/FourthAvenue.jpg

I personally think the Standard Life Building could do better than just student housing, but hey
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/345FourthAvenueLLC.jpg

Now you know it's just a matter of time the Bank Center turns
It and the Arrott have to be the MOST ornate buildings downtown
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/307FourthAvenueBTPropertiesLLC.jpg

I would love to see this building be converted
I know it is already housing but not very nice and not what it could be
It would make a great boutique hotel
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/MidtownTowers2.jpg

Student Housing on First/Second Avenues
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/6202ndAvenueCrescentRealtyInv.jpg

This building down from the above student housing would also make great student housing. It could be
connected directly to Duquesne University via a pedestrian bridge over the Boulevard of the Allies right off
the roof eh?
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/7042ndAvenueRenewalInc.jpg

I thank you Evergrey for being so diligent in keeping us up to date
I do surely appreciate it. I always know I can find the latest develpment in town by checking here. I did not
know of the Fidelity or the Commonwealth Buildings. great news.

Whats next?
The Lawyers Building and the old Pittburgher Hotel between Fourth and Third?
hmmm
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/LawyersBuilding.jpg
(thanks to "PittsburghSkyline.com for this pic, great as always)

Penn Avenue and now Fourth Avenue (along with First Side) will influence all of downtown

[Evergrey]

some more info on Schlenley Plaza... it's a lovely project... but I am worried about the possibility of the carousel being destroyed by drunk college students...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06155/694995-51.stm

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060604jbPlazaa_450.jpg

Parking lot to become paradise at Schenley Plaza

By Patricia Lowry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pitt students have been tossing footballs and Frisbees on it for weeks, but when Schenley Plaza has its official opening this week, it will invite a wider range of characters and activities to a space where not so long ago the chief activity was parking cars.

Schenley Plaza's $10 million transformation from parking lot to park-like plaza is complete, and to mark the occasion, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is hosting a four-day party. The opening celebration begins Thursday at 8 a.m. with a marching band, a stilt walker, human statues, a caricature artist and balloons.

Long after the festivities end, the plaza, designed by Sasaki Associates and modeled on New York's Bryant Park, still will offer something for just about everyone: food and drink, movable tables and chairs and a 1-acre lawn to put them on, small gardens for quiet conversations, wireless Internet access, a big tent for shelter and shade, restrooms and even a carousel.

The carousel was inspired both by Schenley Park's long-vanished one at the corner of Panther Hollow and Greenfield roads and the one in Bryant Park. Schenley Plaza's PNC Carousel was made by Chance Rides Manufacturing of Wichita, Kan., and funded by the PNC Financial Services Group. It holds 20 people, on 15 1950s-style animals or in a handicapped-accessible chariot and a spinning tub suitable for small children and their parents.

Most of the animals have been adopted by supporters who paid $20,000 each to help fund annual operating costs. Carousel rides will be free during the four-day opening event and $1.25 per ride thereafter. It will be open seven days a week from May through October.

Schenley Plaza's four food kiosks are the Bagel Factory, The Dog House, Schenley Pizza Company and Asia Tea House. Atria's restaurant is expected to open in a new building in 2007.

Major funding for the plaza came from a $5 million state grant and $3.1 million raised by the Oakland Investment Committee, comprising the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Heinz Endowments, Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Kennametal Inc., University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and University of Pittsburgh. Additional support came from the Buhl Foundation, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Dominion, Duquesne Light Company, Eden Hall Foundation, Hillman Foundation, Oakland Task Force, the PNC Financial Services Group, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy raised an additional $2 million to support the construction and subsequent operations, which includes 24-hour security. After the opening celebration, ongoing summer programming in the plaza includes Zany Umbrella Circus performances, live jazz, docent-led tours of Schenley Park and a National Geographic film series.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schenley Plaza festivities
Grand Opening celebration schedule


Thursday
8 a.m.: Opening entertainment: marching pep band, Uncle Sam stilt walker, balloon distributors, human statues, caricature artist (ongoing).

8:45 a.m.: Grand opening ceremony.

9:30 a.m.: PNC Carousel First Ride Ceremony for sponsors of PNC Carousel animals.

10:30 a.m.: PNC Carousel opens to the public; free rides through next Sunday.

10:30 to 11:30 a.m.: Zany Umbrella Circus performing "The Enchanted Toy Box."

Noon to 1 p.m.: Zany Umbrella Circus performing "The Enchanted Toy Box"; Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and Oakland Business Improvement District provide historic tours around Schenley Plaza.

1 to 4 p.m.: Jazz with Betsy Lawrence.

1:30 to 3:30 p.m.: Human statues.

7 to 8 p.m.: Zany Umbrella Circus performing "The Enchanted Toy Box."


Friday
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Balloons, Human Statues, Caricature Artist.

Noon to 1 p.m.: Zany Umbrella Circus performing "The Enchanted Toy Box."

1 to 4 p.m.: Freedom Band (reggae).

7 to 8 p.m.: Zany Umbrella Circus.


Saturday
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Balloon artists; Human Statues; Caricature artist face painting; strolling entertainment.

11 a.m. to noon: Zany Umbrella Circus performing "The Magic Toy Box."

Noon to 3 p.m.: Kenny Blake jazz band.

3 to 4 p.m.: Zany Umbrella Circus performing "The Magic Toy Box."

3 to 4 p.m.: Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Historic Walk through Plaza and Schenley Park.

4 to 6 p.m.: Steel drum band.

7 to 8 p.m.: Zany Umbrella Circus performing "The Magic Toy Box."


Sunday
Noon to 5 p.m.: Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales: 6th Annual Summer Reading Extravaganza, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

1 to 2 p.m.: Zany Umbrella Circus performing "The Magic Toy Box."

12:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Human Statues.

3 to 4 p.m.: Zany Umbrella Circus performing "The Magic Toy Box."


Summer programming
Zany Umbrella Circus: Thursday at 10:30 a.m., noon and 7 p.m.; Friday at noon and 7 p.m.; Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 and 7 p.m.; next Sunday at 1 and 3 p.m.; June 15 at noon and 7 p.m.; June 16 at noon and 7 p.m.; June 17 at 11 a.m., and 3 and 7 p.m.; June 18 at 1 and 3 p.m.

National Geographic Outdoor Film Festival: Films begin at sunset, weather permitting, on July 13 and 27 and Aug. 10 and 24.

Live jazz: From 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. weekdays and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturdays, through October.

Carousel Story Time Readings, Puppet Show and Balloon Fun: 1 p.m. on June 18, July 3 and 16, Aug. 20 and Sept. 17.

Docent-led Park Walks of Schenley Park: Every Sunday from June 11 to Oct. 29, leaving from the oval in the plaza (not Schenley Oval) at 1 p.m.


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

(Patricia Lowry can be reached at plowry@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1590. )

[Evergrey]

UrbaniDesDev: The Bank Center (or Pittsburgh National Bank) has an interesting history I didn't know about. It is easily one of my favorite skyscrapers downtown... and i love its unique red appearance with the random "bricks" jutting out from the shaft... however... it used to be covered in terra cotta

http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/wt/html/fourth_avenue_map.html#d
Pittsburgh National Bank 1901-02 Architects: Alden and Harlow (no picture)

"One of the earliest skyscrapers in the city, this banking house features a heavily rusticated granite base with a brick and terra cotta shaft. Unfortunately, much of the terra cotta was removed in the 1960s, which gives the building a strange mottled appearance. The three-story base was extended in 1926 with a composition stone addition along Wood Street. Alden and Harlow designed a number of Pittsburgh's institutions including the Carnegie, the Duquesne Club and the Market House in Market Square (now demolished), as well as homes for many of the city's industrial leaders in the East End and suburban Sewickley."


http://i.pbase.com/g4/86/571686/2/59151171.100_5453.jpg

Here's a picture from just after completion around 1902 or so... you can see the difference in the facade
http://www.abbott-lavalle.info/photos/postcards/4thWood.jpg

Here's a picture of the Mon Wharf in 1908... you can see the Conestoga Building on the right... which is going residential!
http://www.abbott-lavalle.info/photos/postcards/WharfPacket-grayscale-c1908.jpg

and here's what Market Square gets it name from... the old Market House... featured in this 1938 postcard
http://www.abbott-lavalle.info/photos/postcards/MarketHouse.jpg

what does the future hold for the fabled Market Square?

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/realestate/s_456176.html

Major companies consider downtown locations

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, June 4, 2006


Major moves by big companies into vacant office space in the Pittsburgh commercial real estate market have been few and far between recently. But at least two plum candidates are mulling their options.
One is the H.J. Heinz Co., which has its world headquarters in the U.S. Steel Tower, Downtown.

"We're looking. We've been looking as there have been changes made at the Steel Building," said Heinz CEO William R. Johnson, in a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

There is some vacant space available in Heinz 57 Center -- the former Gimbels department store building on Smithfield Street -- where Heinz maintains the offices of its North America unit, Johnson said.





But it's not enough to accommodate the 250 or so headquarters employees who work at the 64-story U.S. Steel Tower on Grant Street, where Heinz occupies about 120,000 square feet.

Among the buildings under consideration is the 32-story Dominion Tower on Liberty Avenue, which has had substantial empty space since the departure of a number of tenants and the downsizing of local staff by its namesake tenant, Dominion Resources Inc.

However, Johnson did not specify any particular building the company has in mind, nor did he indicate a decision is imminent.

"We've probably looked at virtually every building in town, and we've looked out by the Innovation & Quality Center (the company's research facility) in Marshall," he said. "We have time on our lease at the Steel Building," which does not expire until 2010.

A decision may come sooner from another company looking for space.

Equitable Resources Inc. is in the process of acquiring from Dominion Resources its Downtown-based Dominion Peoples Gas unit and its Dominion Hope unit, a sister gas distribution company in Clarksburg, W.Va.

From that deal, Equitable has said it expects to bring on board a "minimum" of 350 additional employees, including about 200 new hires.

Equitable last year moved into its own new headquarters building, a 180,000-square-foot facility near PNC Park on Pittsburgh's North Shore. But that structure doesn't have enough room to accommodate the new staff.

"We have almost 400 employees at our existing North Shore location and will be seeking real estate options to fulfill our expanded space requirements," Murry S. Gerber, Equitable's chairman, said earlier this year.

Since that time, the company has recently accelerated its search, said Pat Kornick, spokeswoman for Equitable.

One possibility could be in the same North Shore area. Continental Real Estate Cos., of Columbus, Ohio, is looking for tenants to occupy a third office building planned on land between PNC Park and Heinz Field. The second building is Del Monte Food's new local headquarters, which opened recently.

Frank Kass, Continental's chairman, hopes Equitable will consider this project, and has said that a commitment of space for 350 employees might be enough to justify construction of a new building.

Still another could be the Dominion Tower space that was mentioned above as a possibility for Heinz. Dominion Resources is not expected to renew its lease for most or all of its eight floors when its agreement expires in 2007.

"We are considering options on the North Shore and several other locations," said Equitable's Kornick.

Real estate notes:

• Landau Building Co. of the North Hills has been awarded a contract for the 32,000-square-foot Trilogy Office Building, at Crider Road and Rt. 228, Adams Township, Butler County, by Trilogy Partners LLC. Landau also received a $1 million contract to renovate the Same Day Surgery Department at Weirton Medical Center, and UPMC Shadyside/Presbyterian selected Landau for renovations at an expansion at UPMC Shadyside. The firm recently completed a major plant addition for F.S. Elliott Co. LLC in Export and renovations to the Allegheny Country Club, Sewickley.

• A new Long-term Acute Care Center will occupy about 25,000 square feet of lease space within Allegheny General Hospital's suburban campus in Bellevue. The 41-bed center will be operated by Lifecare Hospitals of Pittsburgh to serve patients in a medically stable condition but who require observation and care. Valentour English Bodnar & Howell architects is designing the facility. Lifecare operates a 155-bed Acute Care Hospital in Wilkinsburg and a similar 35-bed facility within the Medical Center, Beaver.

• Sweden Kaffe & Arts Shoppe, a art gallery and gift shop with a Swedish style bistro serving cookies, chocolates, Swedish coffee and silken herb teas, has opened on Filbert Street, off Walnut, in Shadyside.

• The recent grand opening of Pleasant Ridge, a complex of 181 townhome rental units and 15 single-family houses, was held in Stowe Township and marks completion of the $50 million development by the Allegheny County Housing Authority. The complex, which replaced the former Ohioview Acres public housing community, also has a community center.

• Pennsylvania municipalities have the power to purchase and hold land for open space uses. The Legislature passed House Bill 87, and Gov. Ed Rendell signed it into law, giving municipal corporations the right to purchase certain types of real property without reselling it within a given time period, mainly to preserve open space and prevent sprawl. The new law amends Act 422 of 1968.

• Loans are available for home repairs and improvements under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Section 504 program for low-income and persons with disabilities. The loans, up to $20,000 with a 1 percent interest rate payable over 20 years, are for individuals who are 62 older. The loan may become a grant for persons who lack the financial ability to repay the loan. Information is available by calling 724-482-4800, ext. 100, or visiting the Web site, www.rurdev.usda.gov/pa.

• Homeowners looking for advice on where to turn for remodeling help can get a free brochure to help them find and evaluate professional home remodelers. The National Association of Home Builders Remodelers Council is offering "How to Find a Professional Remodeler" that provides tips on locating candidates and assessing their business, technical and customer service expertise. The brochure is available on the Internet at www.nahb.org/remodel, or by calling 800-368-5242, ext. 8216, to request a copy by mail.

Contributors: Rick Stouffer and Sam Spatter



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

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pennmanor.aspx

June 7, 2006
$7.78 million Penn Manor to bring 55 apartments to East Liberty


http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2015/penn_manor_apartments_04.jpg

Penn Manor is now leasing apartments at 125 N. St. Clair, across from Garland Park in East Liberty. Developed by Community Builders and slated for completion this fall, Penn Manor features one- and two-bedroom units ranging from 644 to 1,158 square feet. Of the 55 units, 39 are affordable and 16 are at market rate. The total square footage for the three-story elevator building is 36,890 with a development cost of $7.78 million.

“This is an unusual project because it is part of the redevelopment initiated by the demolition of the East Liberty high rises. It is a collaboration between East Liberty Development Inc (ELDI) and the Coalition of Organized Residents of East Liberty (CORE) representing 300 families who resided in all three high rises,” says Tamara Dudukovich, director of development for Community Builders.

Located in the heart of East Liberty, close to Friendship and Highland Park, the apartments are in an area with a growing number of groceries and retail, hip restaurants and cultural venues and churches. Building amenities include an outdoor courtyard and professional management services.

“Everyone wants the same thing from Penn Manor—high quality, safe and well-managed housing in a better neighborhood,” says Dudukovich.

Architects are the Design Collective from Baltimore and the contractor is Mystick Management. PNC is the project’s key financier.

In conjunction with ELDI, CORE, McCormack Baron and the URA, Community Builders hosts a series of workshops at the Kingsley Center the week of June 19. Former East Liberty residents will learn about new housing, view visuals and make preliminary decisions.

Writer: Jennifer Baron

Source: Tamara Dudukovich, Director of Development, Pittsburgh office, Community Builders

Photo copyright © Jonathan Greene

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/blackbird.aspx

June 7, 2006
Blackbird artist studios and residential units take flight

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2015/blackbird_lofts_06.jpg

To celebrate the completion of Blackbird Artist Studios, the city’s innovative open studio-residential project, the Lawrenceville Corporation is hosting a reception for Pittsburgh's arts and economic development communities.

The open house, which takes place on June 8, 4-7 PM at 3583 Butler Street in Lawrenceville, will showcase the new visual arts center while highlighting opportunities for artists and the project’s contributions to the region's creative economy.

Artists interested in leasing space and community members interested in this new development are encouraged to attend.

Blackbird Artist Studios feature ten loft-style units available for rent that range from 414 to 550 square feet. The three-story building also houses 15 owner-occupied residential units with 14 of the 15 already sold. The Studios offer green, affordable work/sell space to professional artists in a neighborhood known for its active arts community and vibrant business district.

“Our goal is to have artists creating work in their studios and invite the public to observe on a regular basis,” says Lisa Pilewski, manager of operations and outreach with the Lawrenceville Corporation. Viewers can ask questions about the artistic methods and materials and purchase work directly from artists.

A new economic opportunity for artists as well as a new arts experience for the region, Blackbird Artists Studios is in the city’s thriving 16:62 Design Zone, and is positioned to become a visitor destination as well as an economic engine driving the area’s growth.

Lawrenceville Corporation is now accepting tenant applications from artists hoping to introduce their work to a larger audience and participate in the creation of this new arts venue.

Writer: Jennifer Baron

Source: Lisa Pilewski, Manager of Operations and Outreach, Lawrenceville Corporation

Photo copyright © Jonathan Greene

[Evergrey]

one of my favorite buildings in the Strip is going condo!

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pink.aspx

June 7, 2006
$2.5 million condo project to bring 14 residential units to the Pink Building

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2015/pink_house_06.jpg

Pittsburgh’s Pink Building is headed for a facelift and a new name. Built in 1871, the structure served as a public school until it was sold to Crucible Steel becoming the company’s headquarters in the 1940s.

Located at 3052 Smallman Street, adjacent to the 31st Street Bridge, the affectionately dubbed Pink Building links Lawrenceville with the Strip District, and has housed a variety of tenants, including Schoolhouse Yoga, furniture retailers and Jackson/Clark Partners.

“There are multiple reasons we wanted to do this project. The building is historic and lends itself to residential use, with open cheery spaces inside,” says Art McSorley, owner of Pittsburgh Decorative Center. He bought the building six years ago and still feels that “there are not a lot of condos for sale in the Strip District."

With construction to start within 90 days, plans for the transformation include creating 14 condo units, nine of which will be multi-story and ranging in size from 1,200 to 2,600 square feet. The majority of the open floor plan condos will be two-bedroom units with an integral parking space provided per unit.

Building amenities include spacious common and lobby areas, 10-foot high hallways, and patio space. Each unit will have exterior space. Architect is Vince Finizio of Pittsburgh.

The Pink Building is within walking distance to the Strip District, a mecca for those seeking fresh seafood and produce, baked goods, and gourmet items at reasonable prices.

Writer: Jennifer Baron

Source: Art McSorley, Owner, Pittsburgh Decorative Center

Photo copyright © Jonathan Greene

http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/56560555.100_4706.jpg

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/hothouse.aspx

June 7, 2006
HOTHOUSE activates $30 million EastSide development

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2015/eastside_08.jpg

On Saturday, June 17, the Sprout Fund will present HOTHOUSE 06, its fourth annual showcase of the diverse and innovative talent in Pittsburgh supported by the Sprout Fund. The event, named "top fundrasier of 2005" by the City Paper, features live music and performance, art exhibitions and an eclectic mix of the young leaders of Pittsburgh's “unscene.”

Billed as a "live annual report,” the fundraiser typically draws 1,500 and raises $80,000.

This year, HOTHOUSE calls attention to major transformation occurring in the East Liberty-Shadyside corridor. With 5.3 acres of land, the development includes four key properties in addition to the highly successful Whole Foods.

Border’s is set to open November 2 in a multi-level, 24,000 square foot space. A second site includes Walgreens, a wine store, Trek Bikes and 2,500 square feet of leasable retail space. A third complex will house PNC, Starbucks, a gelato shop and Eva Szabo Spa. A fourth building will wrap around Highland Avenue and lease 17,000 square feet of available space.

“This year’s location for Hothouse represents one of the most exciting developments in this city. Eastside is an urban infill development that integrates two neighborhoods—East Liberty and Shadyside," says Cathy Lewis, executive director of the Sprout Fund. "Sprout was interested in EastSide because of the literal connection it creates bridging two city neighborhoods but also, because of its design aesthetic, green practices, and approach to commercial development."

“This project is a linkage, connecting Ellsworth, Highland and Centre. There will be free parking and a pedestrian bridge,” says Steve Mosites, president of Mosites Construction Company, project builder. The Design Alliance is the architectural firm.


Writer: Jennifer Baron

Sources: Cathy Lewis, executive director, and Matt Hannigan, manager of programs and business operations, The Sprout Fund and Steve Mosites, president, Mosites Construction Company.

http://www.sproutfund.org/Default.aspx?page=hothouse.home

[Evergrey]

The Post-Gazette just did a "Cultural Top 50" for the last decade in Pittsburgh... the No. 1 in the Cultural Trust.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06157/695904-42.stm

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06157/695906-42.stm

This article talks about how the Cultural Trust has created a powerful cultural district downtown, home to many theaters and venues. It also talks about their plans for residential development. They are in the design phase of a project that will bring 700-900 units downtown.

The cultural Top 50: No 1 is Cultural Trust
Organization has polished the Cultural District into the jewel of Downtown
Tuesday, June 06, 2006

By Timothy McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It is not so much the dozen arts-related spaces beating at the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh, the $47 million budget, or the unusual use of arts and culture to drive the economic revitalization of the old city that makes the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust special. The Trust is the single greatest creative force in Pittsburgh because of its spirit of reinvention.

In the past 10 years that this newspaper has compiled lists of the Top 50 creative forces in Pittsburgh, the Cultural Trust has built the O'Reilly Theater, the adjacent Theater Square (with a 250-seat cabaret theater, bar, box office, parking garage, restaurant and radio studio), Katz Plaza and an arty riverfront park.

It created smaller performance spaces and galleries, forged a shared services and ticketing apparatus with other nonprofits and got into the promotional game, bringing world-class acts, such as the Globe Theater and the International Festival of Firsts, to town.

So it is no wonder that the Post-Gazette has named the leaders of the Trust either the No. 1 influence or among the city's top five cultural influences almost every year its arts and entertainment staff has put the list together. (Only in 2001, after the Trust's legendary president Carol Brown retired, did it drop. Even then, Brown was No. 10.)

This year, with the newspaper looking back on the greatest creative forces and events in Pittsburgh across a decade, the Trust had to be No. 1 again. What makes the pick notable is the promise the 22-year-old nonprofit holds for the next 10 years.

Already having a hand in the renewal of Downtown Pittsburgh -- which is remarkable for a nonprofit arts institution -- the Cultural Trust is about to reinvent a part of itself and its proven formula for promoting arts and culture in the city by ... building condos?

"It's the capstone to everything else we're doing," said the Trust's president, Kevin McMahon, who was the Top 50's No. 1 in 2005. "The Cultural Trust is all about bringing more people to live, work and play here. And the live part has been lacking."

Any week now, the Trust is supposed to unfurl redevelopment plans for a nearly 6-acre chunk of riverfront land along Fort Duquesne Boulevard between Seventh and Ninth streets, across the Allegheny River from Alcoa's headquarters. It is the last major development spot in the Golden Triangle and would be one of the biggest Downtown projects in decades.

It plans roughly 700-900 housing units, anchored with street-level shops and other amenities -- all green-certified, using renewable and recycled resources, like the nearby David L. Lawrence Convention Center -- and likely including some small arts components. The rental and for-sale units are expected to include pricey riverfront models and more affordable ones for artists and Cultural District workers. Construction, which is planned in phases, is expected to continue for several years before the entire project is finished.

The past few years, the Trust has been focused largely on smaller-scale cultural projects (such as the opening of the SPACE and Future Tenant galleries), the come-one-come-all free gallery tours it has hosted since 2004 and the business of programming events into its performance spaces.

Even one of the Trust's major building projects, 2004's Theater Square, was a pragmatic, street-level move. Its box office serves as a host for cultural groups, its cabaret targets a broad audience and its garage makes money. Diving headfirst into the residential construction market -- on a site directly between the Cultural District and the river -- is another thing entirely.

"It's very clear that the building phase -- which, perhaps, some thought was over -- is not over at all," McMahon said. "In fact, the footprint of the Cultural District continues to grow, in small ways and very grand ways."

But this is not a list of Pittsburgh's Top 50 Real Estate Developers. What does this arts group think it's doing?

Think back to how Pittsburgh's Cultural District, and later the Trust, started.

H.J. Heinz II, president of the Heinz Co., led the renovation of a vacant movie theater into the swanky home for the Pittsburgh Symphony, Heinz Hall, in 1971. More properties were collected in the shoddy Penn-Liberty corridor nearby, including the Stanley Theatre, which a $43 million remodeling turned into the Benedum. Reclamation of the Byham and Harris theaters followed.

All along, Jack Heinz's theory was that arts and culture would help boost real estate, and vice versa. A 1979 urban design study called for the corridor to be turned into an arts district and led to the creation of the (then) Pittsburgh Trust for Cultural Resources in 1984.

Since then, the Cultural Trust has succeeded in drawing people and money to town, even as the city lost population and flirted with fiscal ruin. In the past five years, it generated an estimated $9 million in amusement and parking taxes, and last year, nearly 1 million people attended Trust-affiliated events.

The Trust could play a quasi-governmental role. Led by Brown, it would be instrumental in helping create the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (which uses a 1996 building tax to fund Downtown cleanup and promotion) and in pushing the "Plan B" drive for the two new sports stadiums and expanded convention center, approved in 1999.

The efforts helped, slowly, to make at least a part of Downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods bubbling hot. Right now, up to 2,000 new housing units are on the drawing board, worth up to an estimated $1.2 billion.

The leaders of the Cultural Trust "were, more than any other organization, responsible for the continued revitalization of Downtown. ... They have created a level of activity, night after night after night, that central business districts need," said Steve Leeper, who led the Plan B construction drive and served as Mayor Tom Murphy's development director from 1994-98.

"It's not something new," Brown said last week of the Trust's taste for big projects that have an impact on both Pittsburgh and its arts.

"From the beginning the Trust was conceived of as a cultural institution engaged in the development of its own area. ... One of the things Jack Heinz and I talked often about was having some control over the adjacent real estate so we could control what happened to our own theaters and cultural institutions, and at the same time potentially turn our real estate holdings not only into improvements for the community, but potential revenue streams for the arts."

So in turning its attention to housing, the Trust is tapping into the same entrepreneurial spirit Heinz had 40 years ago, with his plans to leverage a decrepit movie theater into the slow revitalization of the city. That spirit is now reinventing the Trust itself and the ways that arts and culture, of all things, are changing Pittsburgh.


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

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

[UrbaniDesDev]

Interesting info on the Bank Center. I love that building and I can still remember when they the "Bank Center Mall".
The "Pink Building" had very ornate windows until about 10-15 years ago

[Evergrey]

another hotel for the north shore

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_456803.html

By Rick Stouffer
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, June 6, 2006


Continental Real Estate's master plan for Pittsburgh's North Shore moved Monday from office space to the planned construction of a 150-room, extended-stay hotel.
Continental will construct a minimum six-floor Embassy Suites or Hyatt brand hotel to the west of the Equitable Gas Co. building, said Continental Chairman Frank Kass. It will be built in partnership with real estate investor RockBridge Capital LLC, another firm in Columbus, Ohio.

"It probably will have a restaurant and a health club on the first floor, and it will be higher priced with a higher presentation than the properties there or planned," Kass said. The hotel is projected to be open for business in 2008.

Kass, who admits he loves to do deals, already is past the hotel portion of his North Shore master plan, looking to begin condominiums in partnership with Nationwide Realty Investors, the real estate development arm of Columbus-based Nationwide Insurance Co.

"Nationwide's development people will be in town next week to talk to the LRT's development people (Port Authority of Allegheny County) because we would like the condo development to be ongoing while the dig is going on for the LRT," Kass said. He was referring to the proposed under-the-Allegheny-River extension of Downtown's T system to the North Shore.

"We're working with the URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) and the city concerning parking for the condos," Kass said. "You can't have upscale residential without parking."

Once the new Embassy Suites or Hyatt is open in 2008, Kass and his partners, including the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cordish Co. of Baltimore expect to be moving on the previously disclosed amphitheater/entertainment complex near Heinz Field tentatively known as North Shore Live!



Rick Stouffer can be reached at rstouffer@tribweb.com.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_456962.html

Realty company grabs Strip District property for housing

By Sam Spatter
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 7, 2006


Pittsburgh's Strip District continues to attract more housing, as shown by Rugby Realty Co.'s announcement that it wants to construct a multimillion-dollar retail-residential complex at 21st and Smallman streets.
Rugby has a sales agreement to purchase two warehouses leased to Ayoob-Acme Banana Co. The buildings would be demolished to make way for the complex. No sales price was disclosed.

Aaron Stauber, Rugby Realty president, said the development could cost between $15 million and $25 million.

Plans are to build from 50 to 100 condominium units that would sit above a first-level retail area. The size of the building is still undetermined although Stauber estimates it could range from seven to 18 stories.





Stauber said this would be Rugby's first project involving new construction.

New Rochelle, N.Y.-based Rugby has been a major investor in Pittsburgh, owning in excess of 1.5 million square feet in Downtown buildings. Among its properties are the 38-story Gulf Tower, the 20-story Frick Building and the Manor Building, plus eight smaller buildings on Penn and Liberty avenues.

Recently, it opened its first residential facility in a former office building at 930 Penn Ave.

Among other new residential units in the Strip District are the 295-unit Cork Factory (former Armstrong Cork) rental apartments, the Strip Lofts, a condominium at 29th and Smallman streets, the 18-unit Brake House Lofts in the former Kerotest building at 2501 Liberty Ave., and the new "Pink Building" 14-unit condominium at 30th and Smallman streets.

"We plan to close on the property in July, and depending on city approvals, could begin construction within one year to 18 months," said Larry Walsh, Rugby's senior vice president.

The seller is SEP Real Estate 1 LLC, which bought the buildings in February as part of an acquisition that included the Benkovitz Seafood complex, located adjacent to the site. The property is opposite St. Stanislaw Church.



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

[Paintballer1708]

See you gotta love all this new development in Pittsburgh. I go to Pittsburgh every other weekend to see family and friends. I have already been to two Pirates games this year. PNC Park is definatly one of the best ballparks out there. But i am actually looking into moving back to Pittsburgh. So far the last 2 months that i have been going back to Pittsburgh i have been looking into apartments and housing. Around Bethel Park, and Mount Lebanon. I miss being home. Cleveland just doesnt cut it anymore. But im really looking forward on moving back to Pittsburgh.

[Evergrey]

Mt. Lebanon's really nice... it has a really cool business district ... and you'll have quick access to the light rail line.

[Paintballer1708]

Yes i really like Mount Lebanon. I really know Pittsburgh and its suburbs. I dont want to live in the eastern suburbs like i did my whole life. Its a shame that i had to spend 2 years of my life here in Cleveland. I mean i have made some great friends and i will always come back and visit them, but i miss Pittsburgh. Theres no change going on here in Cleveland. If there is its going on away from the downtown I mean dont get me wrong Cleveland is a great city. But Pittsburgh is home.

[Evergrey]

The most interesting part of this article is towards the end

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06160/696871-53.stm
URA turns down plan for lab building in South Oakland
Friday, June 09, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city Urban Redevelopment Authority board has rejected a proposal by Madison Acquisition Co. to build a 160,000-square-foot laboratory and office building at the Pittsburgh Technology Center and now will entertain offers from other developers.

Board members voted unanimously yesterday to turn down the proposal based on a staff recommendation.

URA general counsel Don Kortlandt said Madison had presented "insufficient evidence of financing" for the building, which would have been built on a 5.9-acre parcel.

The Pittsburgh-based developer was proposing to erect the lab and office building on speculation, without any signed tenants to take the space.

Without firm financing in place, the URA felt the project was too risky.

"It was just our professional judgment that we needed to entertain other possibilities," Mr. Kortlandt said.

Madison still will be able to pursue the project, but no longer will have exclusive control over the site. Other developers will be able to bid for it.

Madison had been given a six-month option on the land, offering to pay $300,000 an acre. With the rejection of the proposal yesterday, however, that option no longer is in place.

Blaise Larkin, principal in Madison Acquisition Co., told the board his firm had submitted a term sheet from a lender outlining possible financing. He said that was the best a developer could hope for at this early stage of the process.

He said after the meeting he wasn't sure whether Madison would continue to pursue the project.

"It's tough to continue to spend time and money on a project that you're not sure that you're going to have a piece of land to build on at the end of the day," he said.

He said he may continue to work with prospective tenants, however, to see if he can "drum up some additional support in terms of occupancy."

Despite the trouble Madison had securing firm commitments from a tenant and for financing, Mr. Kortlandt said he believes there are other developers interested in pursuing a possible project.

"I'd say we're optimistic. But we haven't been in the position to talk to other developers, so we'll find out in the near future if that interest exists," he said.

The URA views development of the parcel as the first step in a major expansion of the Pittsburgh Technology Center off Second Avenue in South Oakland.

It is hoping to add as many as 11 buildings to capitalize on the high demand for research and lab space in the region.

"We think there's a marketplace for this land and we think it has a high calling in Pittsburgh's economy for development of lab space. We think there's a need for lab space," Mr. Kortlandt said.



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

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

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06160/696902-336.stm

Deal approved with casino operator
Friday, June 09, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



The city's Urban Redevelopment Authority could make $5.2 million on the sale of four properties in the Uptown area if Isle of Capri Inc. wins the license for the Pittsburgh slot machine casino.

URA board members approved an option agreement with Isle of Capri yesterday that would pay the agency $65 a square foot, or $5.2 million in all, for the parcels, two on Colwell Street and two on Fifth Avenue.

The sale would take place only if Isle of Capri wins the license for the Pittsburgh casino. It is competing against two others -- Forest City Enterprises and PITG Gaming LLC.

As part of the agreement, the URA will receive an immediate payment of $180,000 in exchange for giving Isle of Capri an option on the parcels. If the casino operator wins the license, that money will be applied to the $5.2 million purchase price. If it does not win, the URA keeps the $180,000.

Don Kortlandt, URA general counsel, said the purchase price for the parcels is in line with appraisals for properties in that area.

"It's a very handsome price," he said.

The URA paid $250,000 each for the two Fifth Avenue properties in 2004.

The deal will run for a year, with the option of extending beyond that time depending on whether the slots license has been awarded. The same terms are available to the other casino operators, Mr. Kortlandt said.

While PITG Gaming had inquired about possible options several weeks ago, it has not taken the discussion any further, he said. PITG Gaming is proposing a casino on the North Shore near Carnegie Science Center. Forest City is planning a casino at Station Square.

Isle of Capri needs the four parcels for its proposed casino.

Allan Solomon, Isle of Capri executive vice president and general counsel, said that with the agreement, the operator has all the site control it needs to build the casino should it win the license. He said it also has options with seven or eight other property owners.

He said the company wants to be in the position to move immediately to begin demolition and construction if it wins the competition.


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

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

[themaguffin]

I saw the lab article this morning and do agree that the precious available land should be used wisely and that Oakland must make land available for this growth (and for more traditional office space as well - there's probably a market for some office space in Oakland of non research fields).

[Wheelingman04]

I am so glad they are going to renovate and turn the Try Street Terminal Building into student housing.

[Evergrey]

There's a lot of interesting stuff in this article... especially the mention of the plans to convert the Nabisco Plant into 250 luxury apartments

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06161/697152-96.stm

Bits&Bytes: Insiders betting on Ferchill Group to build lab
Saturday, June 10, 2006

By Corilyn Shropshire, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Local biotech and real estate insiders are betting that John Ferchill, who heads the Cleveland-based Ferchill Group, will step in where Madison Acquisition Co. left off to develop a 160,000-square-foot laboratory and office building at the Pittsburgh Technology Center in South Oakland.

Madison's proposal was turned down last week by the Urban Redevelopment Authority because of "insufficient evidence of financing." While the Downtown-based firm still can pursue the project, some people expect Mr. Ferchill, who already has developed a lab-ready building on the site, to make a bid.

In March, Mr. Ferchill told the Post-Gazette that he was awaiting approval from the URA to build a 150,000 square-foot facility on the Technology Center site, because "we're guys that take risks -- we did this before, we'll do it again."

The "before" Mr. Ferchill was referring to was the lab-ready Cellomics building near the Hot Metal Bridge on Technology Drive. The building houses the Life Sciences Greenhouse and the 12 life science firms it incubates. Greenhouse lab space leases for about $30 to $42 per-square-foot, a price tag that some in the local biotech industry said is too steep for an upstart firm.

With Madison likely to bow out of developing the space, Mr. Ferchill could have more than 300,000 square feet to develop, insiders said, and he's shown he'll do it. Mr. Ferchill already has erected the North Side-based Heinz Lofts and is planning to convert the former Nabisco plant to a 250-unit luxury apartment complex.

Neither Mr. Ferchill nor officials at the Urban Redevelopment Authority returned calls for comment.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06163/697613-53.stm

Squirrel Hill housing developer ramps up marketing
Monday, June 12, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



With interest in Downtown living sky high these days, those selling luxury homes at Summerset at Frick Park in Squirrel Hill don't want buyers to forget about them.

As the developer prepares to embark on a major expansion of the housing development, it is cranking up the marketing as well, distributing sleek brochures in regional editions of The New York Times, in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and in other newspapers, touting the benefits of Summerset living.

Craig A. Dunham, principal in the Rubinoff Co., managing general partner of the development team, said officials launched the new marketing campaign to counter suburban competition and to remind potential buyers that city living doesn't necessarily mean Downtown.

"We live in a challenging marketplace. It's not the influx that Scottsdale [Ariz.] and some other places are experiencing. So you have to make sure that all the opportunities are made available in the marketplace," he said.

The campaign comes as Rubinoff and its partners get ready to launch a major expansion of the development, built on top of an old slag dump overlooking Nine Mile Run.

Summerset Land Development Associates, the partnership formed to undertake Summerset, received approval last week from the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority, which owns the land, to begin the work.

The second phase will involve the construction of 287 units in all, including 50 townhouses, 20 condominiums, 34 "cottage" homes, 67 "village" homes, and eight estate homes. The cottage homes are the smallest, at roughly 1,800 to 2,400 square feet, and the estates the largest, at roughly 3,500 to 6,500 square feet.

Also planned are 108 to 110 rental apartments, a 100- to 150-room hotel, and a 50- to 75-room senior assisted living center. There also may be a small bank attached to the hotel.

The entire second phase is expected to take four years from start to completion. It will stretch from the Summerset community center to Browns Hill Road. Summerset Land Development hopes to begin building the first of the new units in late winter or spring.

Mr. Dunham said one of the reasons the developer decided to do the marketing campaign was to correct an impression that Summerset "was sold out." While phase one is close to selling out, with only 25 Crescent Court condominiums remaining, the developer wanted to remind people that additional houses would be built.

The new phase will be getting started just about the same time as the residential building Downtown moves into full gear. That's another reason Mr. Dunham wanted to get the word out about Summerset.

"I don't think that the person that decides to live in the Crescent Court condominium, a two-story building nestled and surrounded by trees, is the same person that's wanting to live in a high-rise Downtown. So you have to make sure you're getting as much messaging out there as possible," he said.

The first phase featured 125 houses, 40 apartments and about three dozen condos. About 75 percent of those living at Summerset relocated from other sections of the city. Another 10 percent came from the suburbs and 12 percent to 15 percent moved from outside the region. The housing, officials said, has become particularly attractive to those working in the hospitals and universities in Oakland.

Mr. Dunham said Summerset is planning additional advertising this summer to market the Crescent Court condos. That will be followed by a campaign announcing phase two of the development.



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

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

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com

June 14, 2006

Downtown's 151 First Side sells over 50% of its 82 condominiums
Downtown’s 151 First Side, luxury condominiums now under construction along the Monongahela River, have just passed the 50% sold mark.

“We are elated by the positive response to 151 First Side and its success. We are thrilled to be part of the revitalization of the downtown neighborhood, ” says Brett Malky, partner with EQA Landmark Communities.

Last week, the development’s milestone was celebrated with an I-beam signing at the construction site. More than 40 people attended, including new and prospective condo owners. “The event allowed us to show our gratitude to buyers and to those who have supported this project,” adds Malky.

Malky confirmed that half of 151 First Side’s buyers are urban dwellers, many relocating from other metropolitan areas, such as New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. Buyers include retirees, academics and UPMC residents.

One of two penthouses has already sold, as have many one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The earliest condos to sell were those featuring river views. The building features 82 residences ranging from 1,000 to 3,400 square feet. Amenities include concierge service, fitness and business center and a secure lobby. All units include one parking space and a private outdoor balcony or terrace. Tenants are expected to begin moving in spring 2007.

The First Side neighborhood runs from the Mon River waterfront to the Boulevard of the Allies, and from Point State Park to the Eliza Furnace Trail.The property’s location is a convenient walk to the Cultural District, city parks, Market and Station Square and business districts.

151 First Side is the first new condominium constructed in the Golden Triangle since 1968.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Brett Malky, partner, EQA Landmark Communities.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06164/697775-53.stm

Firm's winning design for West End Bridge uses suspended walkways
Tuesday, June 13, 2006

By Patricia Lowry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060613hobridge_450.jpg

A sketch shows how architectural firm Endres Ware of Berkeley, Calif., envisions walkways suspended from the West End Bridge.

A California architecture and engineering firm has won the competition to design a pedestrian walkway for the West End Bridge with a simple solution that jurors say respects the historic character of the bridge.

The new steel and aluminum walkways, to be located on both the upstream and downstream sides of the bridge, will be suspended from its arches and level with its deck.

The winning design was submitted by Endres Ware, one of seven finalists in the competition. The firm will receive a $7,500 cash prize, funded by the $413,000 Alcoa Foundation grant that supports the competition.

The entire length of the pedestrian walkways will function as overlooks, with benches for seating lining one side of both the upstream and downstream bridges.

"We analyzed the existing structure and utilized where there was excess capacity and strength to create the new design," said Paul Endres, a principal in Endres Ware of Berkeley.

"Viewed from the city, the West End Bridge will appear to be unchanged, but as you approach the new pedestrian bridge and pass through it, the bridge will take on new life and a new meaning. The views from the bridge are going to be spectacular to the east and to the west."

"The judges described the Endres Ware design as elegant because of its simplicity but with a geometric variety that will be visually exciting to see as people approach from the riverbanks," said Lisa Schroeder, executive director of the Riverlife Task Force, which sponsored the competition. "As you approach, the pedestrian path is a ribbon that undulates, and the cables create a beautiful arcing design that changes as you move.

"The feedback that the judges gave indicated that this design respects and enhances the existing West End Bridge and builds on a very distinguished history that is unique to Pittsburgh, while it creates new opportunities for people to stroll, sit and linger."

In the second stage of the competition, for which each of the finalists was given $15,000 to visit Pittsburgh and advance their designs, Mr. Endres said his team tried to make theirs more subtle and invisible.

They also made stronger connections to the north and south shores, defining pathways through neighborhoods that would appear as markers by day and lights by night. Although those components are not yet fully designed, the pedestrian bridges' decks would be illuminated from below, with translucent rods penetrating the decks and creating "pebbles of light" on the tops of the decks. A similar treatment could be introduced in communities adjacent to the bridge to guide people to it.

"The jury was impressed with the range of ways this design connected to the shore and communities," Ms. Schroeder said. "There are ample possibilities to maximize and amplify those connections on a number of different levels, literally. It's a flexible and fluid way of marking a path."

Riverlife asked for a design that blends the historic bridge, completed in 1932, with a contemporary addition so that together they become "a new iconic landmark . . . a symbol of the future and of urban life centered on the rivers."

The bridge's existing sidewalks are narrow and harrowing to cross, and its steep steps are impediments to bike riders. The new pedestrian bridge will provide ramps to the riverfront trails that eventually will define the 10-mile-long Three Rivers Park, proposed by Riverlife consultant Alex Krieger in 2001.

There is not yet a budget or timeline for completion of the walkways.

"All of the teams who submitted [designs] gave cost estimates," Ms. Schroeder said. "We have some work to do to finalize those estimates and make them public. We will be working diligently and immediately to put together a strategy for advancing design and engineering and also fund-raising."

Endres Ware's entry was among 85 submitted in the open competition launched last fall. The competition also included an invitational component, with 24 firms or teams responding. The 109 total entrants were narrowed to a field of seven.

The Endres Ware team also includes the Olin Partnership of Philadelphia, for landscape architecture and urban design; Auerbach Glasow of San Francisco for lighting design; RWDI of Ontario, Canada, for wind engineering; and Amman & Whitney, of Pittsburgh, as consulting engineers.

The second- and third-place winners came from the invited competition; they are La Dallman Architects of Milwaukee, and West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. They will receive prizes of $5,000 and $2,500 respectively.

Images of the winning entries will be posted on www.riverlifecompetition.org.


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

(Patricia Lowry can be reached at plowry@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1590. )

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/colab.aspx

June 14, 2006
$106 million Co-Lab receives LEED certification, spotlighted as model development
On June 16, the Green Building Alliance (GBA) announces LEED CS Gold certification for the Collaborative Innovation Center (Co-Lab) during a public open house. Located on the Carnegie Mellon University campus, the four-story, 260,000 square-foot Co-Lab was designed by Davis Gardner Gannon Pope.

“What is special about this building is that it is a LEED-certified core and shell building, designed for speculative developers,” says Ryan.

The property’s open spaces provide cost-effective, healthy and flexible workspace. Accommodating 400 employees, Co-Lab employs green design principles--some developed at CMU’s Center for Building Performance Diagnostics--that ensure sustainability and maximize employee productivity.

Tenants include Google, Apple and Intel. “This building makes a better transfer of research and development into the marketplace,” says Ryan Snow with the Green Building Alliance.

Green features include recycled materials, insulated terra cotta rainscreen, individual climate control and indirect lighting. 52% of material used was manufactured locally and 36.4% of that material was locally harvested. A parking garage below the building features a recharging station for electric vehicles.

Amenities include changing rooms, bike stations and a close proximity to bus lines and Oakland business districts.

The open house serves as a way for the GBA to educate developers about how green practices offer high-performance, energy-efficient properties with long-term benefits.

“The tenants are so excited to be in the space. We see green building as an economic development tool in our region. It is amazing to see the impact it has had,” adds Snow, who annually conducts tours of Pittsburgh's green buildings to thousands of international visitors.

Western PA is a leader in the field, with more than 400 green building product manufacturers, and five million square feet of green building space.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Ryan Snow, director of education and special projects, Green Building Alliance.

[PittPenn 03]

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/pp/06166/698541.stm

Contracts awarded for Greyhound station, garage
Thursday, June 15, 2006

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh Parking Authority today awarded $36.8 million in key contracts on the Grant Street Transportation Center, which will include a new Greyhound bus station and a 1,050-space parking garage.

"What we did today means this is going to be built, one way or the other," said authority board Chairman Steve Irwin.

The biggest contract, $29.2 million, goes to Massaro Corp., of O'Hara,

for building the concrete structure. Authority Executive Director David Onorato said the firm had already guaranteed it would do the job for that price, and then it beat out three other bidders who would have charged $31 million to $35 million.

The contracts push the total price of the complex, at Liberty Avenue and 11th Street, Downtown, to $42 million, he said. That is up from $25 million when the plan was unveiled in early 2003.

"It's a trend in the industry," he said, noting that materials prices have pushed up the cost of projects like the pedestrian part of the Hot Metal Bridge between South Side and South Oakland. Last week bids on that project came in 41 percent above budget.

He said footing and foundations are already going in, even as demolition is wrapping up. Construction of the concrete structure is to start in August. The garage is expected to open in late 2007, the station in 2008.

The other three contracts went to Lighthouse Electric, for $3.6 million, for electrical work; Climatech Inc., for $2.1 million, for mechanical work; and W.G. Tomko Inc., for $1.9 million, for plumbing and fire protection. All were the lowest bidders.

The only remaining contract to be bid is for collections equipment.

[Evergrey]

do you have a rendering for the greyhound station? i think i remember seeing one before and thinking it looked pretty sleek

[EventHorizon]

Here's an older (2003) news link which contains an article about the awarding of the contract to IKM Inc., to design the new station. The "Grant Street Transportation Center"
http://www.neighborsinthestrip.com/news/news.html

Here's a rendering I found at the IKM Inc website.
http://www.ikminc.com/portfolio/transportation/projects/greyhound/exterior1.jpg
http://www.ikminc.com/portfolio/transportation/index.html#

[PittPenn 03]

Here's an older (2003) news link which contains an article about the awarding of the contract to IKM Inc., to design the new station. The "Grant Street Transportation Center"
http://www.neighborsinthestrip.com/news/news.html

Here's a rendering I found at the IKM Inc website.
http://www.ikminc.com/portfolio/transportation/projects/greyhound/exterior1.jpg
http://www.ikminc.com/portfolio/transportation/index.html#

Yuck! I hope this isn't the final design - it is so modern and cheap looking. Looks like a ride at an amusement park. I could have sworn I saw a rendering about a year ago that had a more tasteful design and more substantial building. This is going to look horrible next to the Pennsylvanian.

[PittPenn 03]

Keep an eye out for the latest Pittsburgh Business Times issue that should hit the web on Sunday evening.

There are two 17 story buildings announced for North Oakland! One on the corner of N. Craig and Centre Ave (in the metered parking lot across from Thirsty's) and one near Schenley High School. Both are condo and the one on Craig and Centre is to be mixed-use with "neighborhood serving" retail space.

This will be in addition to the 9 story building to be built on Bigelow Blvd, and a soon to be announced 250,000 to 800,000 mixed use project on 5th Avenue in Oakland.

A very cool article that talks about how a "new generation of tall buildings" could be coming to the Oakland area.

[PA Pride]

^Wow! thats really exciting... I cant wait to see those. Thanks pittpenn.

Also, I don't think that is the final design for the greyhound station; I have seen two other renderings that were different and frankly, none of them looked very good but that photo above is extra ugly!! Hopefully they can pick a design that isn't quite so hideous.

[EventHorizon]

Here's a rendering from a 2003 PG article that looks some what different.
http://www.post-gazette.com/neigh_city/20030221greyhound2.asp

http://www.post-gazette.com/images2/20030221hohoundPJ_230.jpg

I agree that the design will change from any renderings that we see now. And yes, hopefully they won't be as ugly as any of the current renderings.

[PittPenn 03]

^Much better. I still think I have seen a better one than this, but let's hope if it is between the two that this is the one they use!

[themaguffin]

Keep an eye out for the latest Pittsburgh Business Times issue that should hit the web on Sunday evening.

There are two 17 story buildings announced for North Oakland! One on the corner of N. Craig and Centre Ave (in the metered parking lot across from Thirsty's) and one near Schenley High School. Both are condo and the one on Craig and Centre is to be mixed-use with "neighborhood serving" retail space.

This will be in addition to the 9 story building to be built on Bigelow Blvd, and a soon to be announced 250,000 to 800,000 mixed use project on 5th Avenue in Oakland.

A very cool article that talks about how a "new generation of tall buildings" could be coming to the Oakland area.




Excellent - it's about time Oakland started to take off - there is demand - and it's its own growing city of sorts.

[Wheelingman04]

^ Thanks, guys for posting those renderings.:)

[UrbaniDesDev]

I think it's ashame that Pittsburgh's grand boulevard of Grant Street will end with a parking garage. It is an anti-climatic focal point of Grant Street. Though the current market wouldn't permit it, it deserves a tall, class A office tower or a tall residential tower with views down the boulevard. Directly across 12th Street is a much larger and less visible parcel that would be so much more suited for a parking garage. It's Buncher's property that stretches to 14th Street and would make a perfect location for a transportation center. Frankly the original art deco Greyhound Station was better looking than these plans I've seen. All it needed was some updating and dramatic lighting and it would have served as a temporary resolution until market would have allowed a more appropriate solution to the ending of Grant Street.

Oh well
Here's arendering at night I found

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/GreyhoundStationnight.jpg

[Evergrey]

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/06/19/story4.html?t=printable

Warehouse property for sale, ripe for industrial park
Vacancy rates low, particularly in city's West submarket
Pittsburgh Business Times - June 16, 2006by Robert Sandler
A 207,000-square-foot warehouse in Pittsburgh's Fairywood neighborhood is going up for sale, but the large building might not be the property's most attractive feature.

The building sits on a 27-acre parcel that can be developed as an entire industrial park, according to Ned Doran, a broker with Downtown-based GVA Oxford who is marketing the property.

WRS Motion Picture and Video Laboratory had occupied the building since 1987. Before that, the building was used as an Armour meat-packing plant. The current owner, Sun Life Assurance Co., foreclosed on WRS's mortgage, Doran said.

The property's location just off Pennsylvania Route 60 and three miles from Interstate 79 makes it an attractive spot for industrial users, Doran said. A railroad spur also runs to the property, increasing the value for an industrial tenant.

It's located in Pittsburgh's Fairywood neighborhood, part of the city that edges into the suburbs between I-79 and Crafton.

Doran speculated that the undeveloped land would make the property attractive to a buyer who would put up new buildings there. The existing building also could be subdivided into spaces for smaller users, he said.

"It's a developer (probably) that's going to buy it," Doran said. "I think it's going to be a local developer that's familiar with the marketplace."

Industrial space throughout the Pittsburgh region has been tight for about the past year, with the most recent report from Grubb and Ellis Co., Downtown, showing an 8.6 percent vacancy through the first quarter. In the West submarket, industrial vacancy is even lower, at 7.6 percent.

Mark Schneider, president of North Side-based Fourth River Development LLC, who is developing the Starpointe industrial park in Hanover Township, Washington County, noted the large warehouses of Giant Eagle Inc. and other companies near the former WRS building.

"Those folks are smart people logistically, and it's a good location for serving the region," Schneider said.

"It's a great location. The question is how flexible the real estate is, what has to be done to the building to make it adaptable for today's user?"

Bob Cornell, president of Downtown-based Colliers Penn Global Real Estate Services, suggested that the existing building is so large, it would need to be divided into space for multiple tenants. He agreed the location would lend itself nicely to further development into an industrial park.

"It's a very good idea," Cornell said. "It's hard to find flat sites near the interstate. It should be a winner."

rsandler@bizjournals.com | (412) 481-6397 x223

[Evergrey]

here's the article PittPenn was talking about... i'm gonna post it as its own thread in the Northeast forum too since it's such a big deal... let the rest of the Northeast know what's going on in Pittsburgh

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/06/19/story1.html?t=printable

High-rises coming
Developers plan mixed-use towers for Oakland
Pittsburgh Business Times - June 16, 2006by Tim Schooley
Guy Totino wants to park something much larger than cars on the public parking lot at the corner of Craig Street and Centre Avenue in North Oakland.

Totino plans to replace the 35-space metered parking lot and five nearby houses with a 17-story, mixed-use development expected to cost between $50 million and $60 million. He said the project, called The Chelsea, is expected to include 156 apartments outfitted with hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances, a parking garage and 9,000 square feet of first-floor "neighborhood-serving" retail space.

"Oakland is obviously a bustling community that's undergoing a huge redevelopment," said Totino, a Duquesne grad and Brookline native pursuing the project through his Cleveland-based Polaris Real Estate Equities LLC.

The proposal is one of a growing number of development projects in Oakland that could bring a new generation of tall buildings to the burgeoning university district. Along with The Chelsea, a similar-sized condo tower is planned nearby. Also, Green Tree-based Fransol LLC soon is expected to announce a major mixed-use project on Oakland's Fifth Avenue that could include between 250,000 and 800,000 square feet of new office space. In addition, Downtown-based The Elmhurst Group is planning a nine-story office building that would front on Bigelow Boulevard.

Polaris already has the five Centre Avenue houses under agreement and is negotiating with the Pittsburgh Parking Authority over acquiring the parking lot. Polaris is also considering acquiring other nearby properties.

Parking Authority director Dave Onorato said the authority is still working to determine the asking price for the property and expects its board to make a decision on the sale within the next few weeks.

Totino emphasized the project will make 35 parking spaces available to the public, with garage parking on three floors.

The public parking lot -- as is typical of most of the authority's surface lots -- is not financially self-supporting, Onorato said.

"Sometimes the development of an area is better use than a surface parking lot," Onorato said. "We'll look to see if that's the case with this one."

Totino hopes to establish control of the parcel within 90 days and begin construction on the project sometime next year.

The Bellefield Area Citizens Association, a local community group which recently got a preview of the Polaris project, likes what it has seen so far.

Dan Rossi, BACA's board president and associate executive director of United Cerebral Palsy of Pittsburgh, a nonprofit located near Polaris' planned development, said his organization has one minor issue with the project: plans to include four-bedroom units that could function as student housing and might deter other residents from moving in. The Chelsea is likely to include two- and three-bedroom units, as well.

But Rossi praised the developer's plan for the site and for meeting with BACA early in the process.

"Overall, we're really excited," he said.

Rossi added that the "value of land in North Oakland has gone up dramatically and that really is a prime corner. Its current status as a metered lot is dreadfully underused."

The Baum-Centre Planning Initiative, a two-year community planning process establishing development guidelines for an area stretching from North Oakland to East Liberty, calls for high-density residential development in the area, Totino said. He credited city councilman Bill Peduto for spearheading the Baum-Centre plan and helping to create a vision for the area.

"He's been instrumental in introducing the project to the neighborhood groups," Totino said.

Rossi noted the Polaris project would be comparable in scale to other projects proposed nearby. Within the same block as the Polaris proposal, Springdale-based R.E. Crawford Construction has acquired six single-family houses and has sought zoning approval to redevelop the site into a 17-story condominium development, with 56 units expected to cost more than $300,000 each, said Rossi, whose organization has met with R.E. Crawford officials. R.E. Crawford declined comment on the project.

Also in the vicinity, Downtown-based Elmhurst Group plans a 140,000-square-foot office building on what is now a parking lot of the First Baptist Church of Pittsburgh.

"We're happy to see these higher-end places going in," Rossi said.

He added that the parking lot Totino plans to develop on Centre Avenue was previously occupied by an apartment building decades ago.

tschooley@bizjournals.com | (412) 481-6397 x244




http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/06/19/editorial1.html?t=printable

East End Rising
Pittsburgh Business Times - June 16, 2006
Two developers are planning 17-story residential towers within a block of each other in Oakland.

One project includes first-floor retail and would sit across from a shuttered Giant Eagle grocery, at the corner of Craig Street and Centre Avenue. The other is near Schenley High School, which could be slated for closure, as well.

Nearby, another developer is planning a nine-story, 140,000-square-foot office tower.

The three projects fit right in with the Baum-Center Planning Initiative, a two-year community development blueprint backed by the city planning department, that calls for high-density growth in the area stretching from North Oakland to East Liberty.

These developments could breathe new life into a heavily traveled, but underutilized, urban corridor in need of investment and redevelopment. Here's hoping there's even more to come.











by the way... I think it would absolutely suck if Schenley High School was closed down due to "asbestos hysteria". It's an architectural marvel, historically significant and was designed to maximize the learning environment (as opposed to modern schools which look like medium security prisons).

[PittPenn 03]

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/pp/06171/699744.stm

Point Park announces plans for new dance facility Downtown

Tuesday, June 20, 2006
By Patricia Lowry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Point Park University today announced plans for a new dance facility in the 300 block of Boulevard of the Allies Downtown. The site, which had been occupied by three buildings, is presently a large hole in the ground.

The $15.4 million brick and limestone building, designed by the Design Alliance, will provide more and bigger studios for the university's dance program, as well as a first-floor performance space.

The university hopes to stage a new production there about every six weeks.

"This building will allow us to have a 12-month dance presence in the city," said Ron Lindblom, dean of the school's Conservatory of Performing Arts.

The new building will not have front doors on the boulevard; entrance will be through the university's Lawrence Hall at the corner of Wood Street and the boulevard.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

[Evergrey]

I've seen that big hole in the ground

I think it's a huge mistake for the building to not have an entrance on the Boulevard. Haven't we learned anything from 60 years of modernist blunders?