PITTSBURGH | Rundown [Archive] - Page 21

Evergrey

05-30-2007, 05:54 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07150/790004-336.stm

North Shore casino wins planners' OK

A key hurdle for Barden effort; Pirates, Steelers, science center still unhappy; 16 traffic conditions outlined

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Don Barden's quest to build his North Shore casino cleared a key hurdle yesterday with city planning commission approval of his master plan, but the decision did little to appease his powerful neighbors.

After a contentious three-hour hearing, the commission voted unanimously to approve PITG Gaming's casino master plan, a first step toward construction, but it came over the objections of the Steelers, the Pirates and the Carnegie Science Center.

While the decision allows Mr. Barden to continue planning for his casino, it also could set up another state Supreme Court battle if the Steelers and the science center follow through with threats of legal action.

Mr. Barden currently is awaiting a ruling from the court on appeals filed by the two losing bidders over the award of the city's casino license. Appeals of local planning and zoning issues related to the casino also bypass lower-level courts and go directly to the high court.

In recommending approval of the master plan, city planners sought to address concerns by the Steelers and Pirates over the casino's impact on games and other events at Heinz Field and PNC Park.

Among the 16 traffic-related conditions the casino must meet, one involves completion of a game day study using "the worst-case event scenario" at PNC Park and Heinz Field with the results to be used in development of a traffic and parking management plan for events.

Representatives for the two teams pressed the commission to require such a study before the master plan approval, arguing that the casino had the potential to throw the North Shore road network "into chaos," as Steelers consultant Robert Brooks put it.

Walter Heintzleman, a Pirates consultant, said the addition of casino traffic could create 90-minute delays in getting to games.

"Without an in-depth study, we could be set back some 20 years when traffic backed up on the Fort Duquesne Bridge," said Dennis DaPra, Pirates senior vice president and general manager of PNC Park.

But city transportation planner Sidney Kaikai said there wasn't time to do the study before the master plan approval. He argued that the casino might add 20 minutes to game-day waits, but added that the city is working to develop alternate routes to take gambling traffic away from the stadiums on game days.

The other major objection came from the science center, which hasn't been able to reach agreement with Mr. Barden on improvements related to bus access, lighting and pedestrian safety. The casino would be built next to its property.

The key issue is bus access, with the two sides at odds over exactly how to funnel bus traffic into the science center property from a nearby parking lot. While the two sides sniped at each other during the hearing, Mr. Kaikai told the commission he believed a compromise was possible.

"I think we're almost there," he said.

Commission members refused to adopt the science center's concerns as conditions of master plan approval. Center Director Joanna Haas said their vote "leaves us every bit as uncertain as we were coming in," adding an appeal was still an option.

But she also said the center would to try to work with Mr. Barden to get an agreement. "It's still our hope that we'll get this issue resolved because it's the right thing to do," she said.

Mark Hart, Steelers director of business, said the team would evaluate the traffic mitigation measures proposed by Mr. Kaikai before deciding its next step. That does not mean the team was happy with the result.

"We've been saying that we wanted a realistic traffic management plan, traffic impact study, and this is not what we received," he said.

He added, "Let's call it a piecemeal master plan. I think we need a comprehensive master plan for the entire North Shore and until we have that nothing's going to get solved."

Mr. DaPra said the Pirates were "extremely disappointed" with the decision. He said the requirement for a game day study before the casino opened was inadequate.

"We stand by our position that as it sits today this is a negative impact to our customers," he said.

On the other side, PITG Gaming spokesman Bob Oltmanns said the casino was "delighted" with the unanimous master plan approval. At the same time, he took some shots at casino opponents.

"This is a public process for property tax reform, and the process has been hijacked by a couple of special interests that in my opinion are an abuse of the process," he said.

Commission member Todd Reidbord urged the parties to set aside their differences and work together to find solutions. He noted the planning process for the casino was just beginning, with various approvals still needed before construction can begin.

Besides the requirement for the game-day study, other traffic-related conditions ordered as part of the approval were a casino post-opening traffic and parking impact study, signal and sign modifications to address pedestrian safety, and a design for the casino's main entrance that minimizes the impact on the science center. It must also employ a transportation coordinator to manage all casino traffic and parking issues.

Mr. Barden is proposing $10 million in traffic improvements to intersections and roads near the casino that must be completed by the opening in summer 2008.

The commission also is asking Mr. Barden to give priority to keeping the North Shore riverfront trail, which will run through his property, open and accessible at all times and to include best-practice green building initiatives in the $435 million construction.

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

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

Evergrey

05-30-2007, 05:05 PM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_510170.html

Pittsburgh office space takes on an old-school industrial look in RiverTech

By Rob Amen
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Howard Engelberg quickly endeared himself to his neighbors after opening the Rivertech Office Works beside the Steelers practice facility on the South Side five years ago.
He had little choice -- The Jaw was staring him down.

"Coach (Bill) Cowher was a little more paranoid than he should have been," Engelberg, chief operating partner of Pittsburgh-based Prudential Realty, said with a laugh. "One time, Mr. Rooney said, 'You wouldn't lease to the Cleveland Browns, would you?' I said, 'I'm looking for a five-year lease, not a five-day lease.' "

Engelberg and his partners are always looking for tenants, but, while Downtown office buildings fight a nearly 20 percent vacancy rate, this hip South Side facility is quickly filling up.

Rivertech sits on the former LTV South Side Works site and its tributary buildings sport a rugged, industrial look reminiscent of a steel mill.
It's a unique -- but logical -- twist to office space in Pittsburgh.

The complex's anchor building, which houses Engelberg's office, is filled to capacity. Two steel row buildings -- one red, the other green -- went up a little more than a year ago. Half of the units already are occupied.

No wonder. Selling points abound -- free parking, views of the Monongahela River, a walking path, at least one kitchenette in every unit and outdoor seating/eating areas.

"Downtown, there's more (office space) than they need," Engelberg said. "There are (real estate) submarkets. This is a very hot submarket.

"If you pick the right submarket, you're a winner."

Engelberg and his partners -- Barry Lhormer of Lhormer Real Estate and Bob Crawford of R.E. Crawford Construction -- must feel like they've hit the jackpot.

They've gotten positive feedback from tenants and recently completed a deal with Jack Horner Communications to fill another unit.

Engelberg and Lhormer credit Crawford for pushing the industrial look.

It was a natural fit.

"On one side, you have the river with barges and boats," Lhormer said. "On the other side, you have the (railroad) tracks."

Gerald Lee Morosco, a South Side architect, said the industrial look is not exclusive to commercial buildings.

"I think that whole industrial asthetic has found its way into a lot of other designs," Morosco said. "The Rivertech buildings have a smaller scale, which is appealing. It's almost a residential (feel)."

The office space is catered to smaller firms -- such as lawyers -- or branches of larger companies; UPMC has an office.

"We are targeting companies that need anywhere from 1,000 square feet to 1,500 square feet," said David Hanley, associate broker with PRC Commercial, a subsidiary of Prudential Realty. "It's very difficult to find that kind of suite and office space in a larger office building."

But Rivertech can accommodate larger businesses, too. The FBI occupies a building at the far end of the complex, and plans are in the works to erect another multi-floor building.

The offices, most of which are open-air lofts, offer a balanced mix of industrial and modern tastes. Walls of windows provide plenty of natural light.

"We are more productive here," said Dick Brabender, an attorney with Brabender Mascetta. "Looking at the river, people passing by, it's just upbeat."

Scott Tashman, director of the University of Pittsburgh's biodynamics laboratory whose office is at Rivertech, said he prefers the environment on the South Side over the congestion in Oakland.

"Being here is great," he said. "We all go out for walks. ... I love being near the river."

Rob Amen can be reached at ramen@tribweb.com or (412)-320-7982.

themaguffin

05-30-2007, 05:52 PM

They need to improve the area from SSW to the Waterfront. Clean it up and where possible, continue that submarket inbetween the two developments.

Evergrey

05-30-2007, 06:55 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07150/790098-100.stm

After debate, council gives 1st nod to tax break

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh City Council gave initial approval to a sweeping residential tax break today after a lengthy debate about which neighborhoods should be included.

If it gets final approval Tuesday, the plan would waive the first $2,700 in city property taxes, for 10 years, on units of new housing built Downtown and in 28 other neighborhoods.

"If we see some neighborhoods that are still not performing, hopefully we can add those neighborhoods down the road," said Council Finance Chairman Dan Deasy.

Council members Len Bodack, Twanda Carlisle and William Peduto abstained, while all other members voted yes.

Councilman Jim Motznik asked why none of his South Hills neighborhoods are eligible for the program.

"Here's another program that's going to go into place, that's a good program, but it doesn't include my neighborhoods," he said, noting that federal funds geared to low-income neighborhoods can't be spent in Beechview, Brookline and Overbrook. "The people that live in my district pay the majority of taxes" but get the least in city aid.

He held off on introducing an amendment he wrote that would expand the abatement to all neighborhoods.

Administration representatives said that neighborhood eligibility is based on two factors. One is the neighborhood's score on a "vitality index" that factors in population losses, education levels, single-parent families, poverty, low home ownership, high vacancy, tax delinquency, violent crime and other factors. Another is a low level of new private building permits in 2005 and 2006.

Going to a citywide tax break would mean giving up tax revenue in areas "where market-driven development activities are occurring," said city Finance Director Scott Kunka. "When you go citywide, we expect the program will cost the city $75 million over the life of the program." The abatement is, instead, designed so that new property revenue the city gives up is offset by gains in wage and other taxes.

Council President Doug Shields added that the city has other programs geared to helping neighborhoods that are seeing some growth, including a three-year tax abatement on all new housing construction.

"Doing it citywide would draw investment to areas where we already have significant investment," he said.

"I think that all city residents should be eligible for at least some portion of this program," said Councilman Len Bodack. He proposed that the city create a sliding scale of abatement based on the neighborhood's performance.

Other members asked why certain areas in their districts did not make the cut, but there were no efforts to change the bill to add specific neighborhoods.

"The intent was to go into certain neighborhoods to target growth," said Councilwoman Tonya Payne, defending the choice of neighborhoods. "How do we grow these neighborhoods if there's no incentive to do that? . . . Why not give the neediest neighborhoods some way to grow, also?"

"I think Downtown is going to have a big spark from this," said Mr. Peduto, who had proposed an abatement for Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods. He said the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority already has home ownership subsidies for struggling neighborhoods.

Neighborhoods that would be eligible for the abatement are Allentown, Arlington, Beltzhoover, Bluff/Uptown, California-Kirkbride, Downtown, East Allegheny, Elliott, Esplen, Fineview, Hays, Hazelwood, Homewood North, Homewood South, Homewood West, Knoxville, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar, Lower Lawrenceville, Manchester, Marshall-Shadeland, Perry South/Perry Hilltop, Sheraden, Spring Garden, the Strip District, the Upper Hill District, Upper Lawrenceville, the West End, and the Mount Oliver neighborhood, which is next to the separate municipality of Mount Oliver.

PA Pride

05-30-2007, 08:23 PM

BMikeSci

05-30-2007, 09:19 PM

Three Rivers Art Festival moves downtown:

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/13413898/detail.html

Evergrey

05-31-2007, 05:43 PM

honestly this doesn't seem like a big "win" for Downtown... as YMCA already has a facility downtown

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07151/790482-100.stm

New YMCA planned for Murphy building

Thursday, May 31, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh will move to the old G.C. Murphy's building Downtown as part of efforts to revitalize the Fifth and Forbes corridor.

It is teaming up with Washington County developer Millcraft Industries to open a 38,000-square-foot facility in the old building. The new facility at Market Square Place will include a 25-meter five-lane pool, men's and women's locker rooms, wellness facilities with cardiovascular and strength equipment, and exercise rooms.

As part of the move, the organization plans to sell its current building on the Boulevard of the Allies, where it has been for more than 20 years. The YMCA plans to make the official announcement at a banquet this evening.

The YMCA's administrative offices, which are at its current site, also will be moved to a yet-to-be-determined location.

"The YMCA has made a major commitment to the revitalization of the Fifth and Market District and to making Downtown a much better place to live and work," said Lucas Piatt, Millcraft vice president of real estate.

themaguffin

05-31-2007, 10:12 PM

AaronPGH

05-31-2007, 11:21 PM

Evergrey

06-01-2007, 01:54 AM

I saw something on CNN.com about "America's favorite cities" and then I saw you can vote, but then I see that you can vote from a predetermined list, and guess what...

Screwed again (http://www.cnn.com/exchange/ireports/topics/forms/2007/04/americas.favorite.cities.html)

I know that this is not a "development" but I am posting for Pittsburgh purposes and really not that of the whole forum... but I had to vent.

Big deal... no cities of our "type" are included in this list... it's all huge metros or smaller metros that have acquired some sort of glamourous reputation (Charleston, Nashville, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, etc.). There's no 2nd tier Northeastern/Midwestern cities like Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Kansas City, etc. Heck, Detroit isn't even included and that's twice our size. Do I think Pittsburgh is one of the the country's greatest cities? Yeah... I think we're right up there with the Boston's and San Francisco's (but much much cheaper)... but the rest of the country obviously doesn't know and thinks we're another rust belt basketcase. Now if we could actually generate some serious job growth that forces people to move here... then we could start to generate some real buzz. Atlanta of 5 million people barely qualifies as a city IMO... yet of course people think highly of it because it has one of the country's most explosive economies.

Grego43

06-01-2007, 03:31 AM

Evergrey, you hit the nail squarely on the head!

Evergrey

06-01-2007, 05:35 AM

i know this isn't exactly "sexy" news...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_510466.html

Sewage flow into Western Pa. streams to stop

By Allison M. Heinrichs
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, June 1, 2007

If you flush a toilet, wash dishes or run a bath, prepare to pay.
If you live near a river, stream or creek, get ready to play.

Western Pennsylvania -- on which the federal government has bestowed the title of having the nation's worst sewage-dumping problem -- took a landmark step toward cleaning up its water Thursday when federal, state and local environmental regulators filed a long-anticipated settlement in federal court with the region's biggest sewer authority.

"Today we're marking a significant milestone," said Donald Welsh, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator. "Much hard work remains ahead, but we're proud to see the beginning."

Stopping the 22 billion gallons of sewage that flow into the region's rivers, streams and creeks each year reduces the amount of potentially deadly bacteria in the water. Last summer, the Allegheny County Health Department cautioned on 55 days that contact with the water -- particularly by people with cuts and weakened immune systems -- could be risky.
Sewage reduces oxygen in the water, which can kill fish and other aquatic critters, said Ken Bowman, regional director of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The nearly 300-page consent decree fines the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority $1.2 million for almost two decades of violations to the federal Clean Water Act and requires the authority to invest $3 million during the next three years in environmental projects, such as stream restoration, to help control storm water run-off.

It stipulates that Alcosan submit a wet weather plan by Sept. 30, 2012, to eliminate overflows into rivers or streams from 53 points within sanitary sewer systems.

The plan must cut the volume of wastewater discharged at 259 points in systems that carry sewage and storm water. Wet weather discharges must be cut by 85 percent. There can be no discharges during dry weather.

The plan must be fully implemented by Sept. 30, 2026. Alcosan has no current estimate of the cost, although in 1998 it put the price at $3 billion.

Paying the fine and implementing the plan will mean higher sewer rates in the 83 municipalities that Alcosan serves in Allegheny, Westmoreland and Washington counties, said Arletta Scott Williams, executive director of Alcosan.

"We are really trying to take our commitment to the environment to the next level," she said. "And we're all going to pay a lot more money."

An analysis to estimate rate increases should be completed late this year, Williams said. Alcosan has pledged to raise rates incrementally and does not expect the first increase until 2009.

Communities that run streams through their sewer systems must divert the streams. Alcosan has identified 11 streams that must be reconfigured.

Alcosan will try to contain any overflows by building new satellite treatment and sewage storage plants along the Allegheny River at Washington's Landing and Monongahela River in Munhall.

It has either completed or begun three dozen smaller projects to help bring the region into compliance.

The authority must monitor the flow of wastewater through sewers owned by the municipalities in its system, which will help them make plans to comply with their consent decrees to cut overflows, which were signed in 2003.

"It was inevitable," said Tim Rogers, manager for Shaler. "I'm sure Alcosan got the best deal they could."

Allison M. Heinrichs can be reached at aheinrichs@tribweb.com or (412) 380-5607.

Evergrey

06-01-2007, 06:05 AM

hmmm... I'm not too jazzed about the loss of racquetball and basketball courts from downtown

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_510478.html

YMCA to anchor Market Square Place

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, June 1, 2007

The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh will cut the size of its Downtown facility by more than half when it moves to the vacant G.C. Murphy store complex on Fifth Avenue on the edge of Market Square, officials said Thursday.
The nonprofit organization will lease space at the Murphy structure and the neighboring former D&K retail store building, with the move expected by late next year.

The two buildings are being developed by Washington County-based Millcraft Industries Inc. as part of its Market Square Place project, a $32 million complex that will include retail stores, restaurants and apartments.

In November, the YMCA disclosed to its nearly 2,500 full-time and 500 seasonal members that it planned to sell its seven-story headquarters building on the Boulevard of the Allies and seek another Downtown site.

"The YMCA has made a major commitment to the revitalization of the Fifth and Market District and to making Downtown a much better place to live and work," said Lucas Piatt, vice president of Millcraft Industries.
"As the lead tenant in the Market Square Place project, the YMCA will provide a sought-after amenity to the residential aspect of the project and provide essential foot traffic to help support the additional ... retail use within the development."

The move will bring 200 staffers, including 50 new hires, and the 500 to 1,000 people who use the Downtown Y's facilities each day into the heart of the city's deteriorated retail corridor along Fifth and Forbes avenues.

In addition to its members, the YMCA serves hundreds of others through its wellness programs.

"In our new Downtown location, we will provide wellness and other services that match the needs of our Downtown members at a convenient central location," said Dan Lebish, board chairman of the Downtown YMCA branch.

The facility at Market Square Place will include a 25-meter, five-lane pool, men's and women's locker rooms, wellness facilities with cardiovascular and strength equipment and exercise rooms.

However, it will not have the basketball court, running track and other court game facilities offered at the current site.

The YMCA signed a long-term lease at the Murphy site, but terms of the deal were not disclosed. Because it is a leased facility, the new YMCA will be fully taxable property, said Piatt and John Cardone, the Downtown Y's executive director.

Over the years, the Downtown Y attempted to secure tax-free status for its land and building at 330 Blvd. of the Allies, which drew objections from private health clubs in the city.

The organization will not move from its current location until the new complex is ready, said Cardone. He said efforts continue to sell the building, which has been home to the YMCA for 20 years.

"Our new YMCA will not only help us serve our Downtown members better, it will also enable us to invest more in YMCA programming throughout the greater Pittsburgh community," said Cardone.

The building will be substantially more cost-effective to operate, and Cardone said savings will be returned to the community in the form of scholarships and enhanced services.

The majority of the YMCA's new facilities and offices will be on the second floor of the former G.C. Murphy complex, about 30,000 square feet of its 38,000-square-foot space, Piatt said.

However, its main entrance will be on the ground-level floor of the seven-story D&K building, across from PNC Financial Services Group's Three PNC Plaza project under construction. The connection between the D&K and Murphy complex will be on the second level of the two structures.

The five floors above the Y's facilities in the D&K structure will be developed as rental apartments. Other apartment units will be located on the upper levels of the former G.C. Murphy complex, which is a combination of several adjoining buildings.

The Piatt project is being built with the aid of about $6 million in state funds. Additional help is being sought in historic tax credits.

Possibilities for ground-level retail space include a high-end spa and salon, restaurants, clothing shops and a bank, Piatt said.

News of the YMCA's decision was welcomed by Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, which has been concerned about preservation of historic and architecturally significant structures Downtown.

"We've worked closely with the Piatts and their architect to ensure that the entire complex of buildings could be saved and made workable," Ziegler said. "We've been pleased with the uses they are creating."

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YMCA on the move

New site

Location: Former G.C. Murphy complex and D&K Store building

Size: 38,000 square feet

Pool: 25-meter, five lanes

Facilities: Men's and women's locker rooms; wellness facilities, with cardiovascular and strength equipment and exercise rooms; whirlpool, sauna and steam room

Current site

Location: 330 Blvd. of the Allies

Size: 97,000 square feet on seven stories

Pool: 25-meter, six lanes

Not moving from old site: Gymnasium, racquetball courts, walking/running track

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

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

...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07152/790753-53.stm

YMCA moving to Market Square

New facility in former G.C. Murphy is cornerstone of renewal

Friday, June 01, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Millcraft Industries wanted foot traffic to help support its revitalization of the old G.C. Murphy's store. The YMCA wanted a more central location Downtown.

The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh announced yesterday that it will open a new Downtown facility in the Murphy's building as part of Millcraft's $32 million Market Square Place project.

With the decision, the YMCA plans to sell its current Downtown building on the Boulevard of the Allies, but won't be moving out until its new facility is completed. There will be no interruption in services or programs, said John Cardone, vice president of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh.

"This is a seamless transition. There won't be any break in services at all," he said.

The new facility will be 38,000 square feet. The Downtown YMCA will occupy about 30,000 square feet of the old Murphy's building and become the lead tenant of the Market Square Place project, which also will feature shops and apartments. It also will use about 8,000 square feet of an adjacent property that's part of the Millcraft project.

At the new location there will be a 25-meter, five-lane swimming pool, men's and women's locker rooms, wellness facilities with cardiovascular and strength equipment and exercise rooms, and a multitude of services and programs, including nutrition, smoke cessation, weight management, physical therapy and cardiac rehabilitation.

Programs and services will be spread over three floors, from the basement to the second floor, rather than seven as at the current location. The new facility also will house Activate Pittsburgh's staff and wellness programs.

Mr. Cardone said the YMCA had been looking for a more central location Downtown and has been seeking to consolidate space and programs. He said it has found that people generally won't walk more than three blocks to an exercise program. Navigating seven floors in the current building also has proved to be inconvenient for members.

"Quite frankly, it's really just too much space. The way it's designed, it's really broken up," he said.

Moving to the Murphy's building more in the heart of the Downtown business district should make it more convenient for existing members, some 2,000 to 2,500 strong, and help recruit new ones.

Mr. Cardone said the YMCA also is excited about being part of the resurgence in the Downtown business corridor, with the Murphy's project, the construction of the Three PNC Plaza skyscraper and the conversion of the Lazarus-Macy's store to office space and housing.

For Millcraft, the move will provide a steady diet of foot traffic, about 1,000 people a day, and a great amenity for residents of the 50 loft apartments it is planning as part of the Murphy's conversion, said Lucas Piatt, vice president of real estate.

"It's really going to activate Market Square and the whole Fifth and Market district," he said.

Even with the YMCA, Millcraft will have 27,000 to 30,000 square feet of ground-level space to offer retailers and others. It sees that as potential homes for restaurants, spas, salons, and lounges. It also has plans for a market catering to the needs of residents and office workers.

The YMCA hopes to open the new facility in late 2008 or early 2009. Millcraft plans to begin taking reservations for apartments by mid-2008. A non-profit, the YMCA pays property taxes on a small portion of its current building. The Murphy's building will become taxable once Millcraft completes its purchase. The move of the YMCA won't affect that.

The Downtown YMCA expects to add about 50 to its 150-member staff with the move.With the sale of the Boulevard of the Allies building, about 30 administrative staff members for the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh will move to another location.

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

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

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070601ymca_new_location.gif

moving a YMCA a couple blocks and cutting its space in half is the cornerstone of downtown's revitalization???

YMCA can be seen in the bottom center of this pic
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/78980552.jpg

Evergrey

06-01-2007, 06:18 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07152/790681-53.stm

Historic groups see opportunity in Rt. 28 project

Friday, June 01, 2007

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation begins its final design plans to widen and upgrade Route 28, several organizations are working with PennDot to not only preserve the oldest existing Roman Catholic Croatian church building in the country, but also to beautify the entrance to Troy Hill and attract tourists.

The St. Nicholas Church, unused since 2004, is at the heart of the efforts of Preservation Pittsburgh and the Preserve Croatian Heritage Foundation. They want to turn the 106-year old church into a national shrine and museum to tell the story of the original St. Nicholas, the model for Santa Claus, and the story of the Croatian community that was established in the neighborhood.

"We're trying to make the church a destination and to find a way to make this venture financially practical," said Jack Schmitt, a board member of Preservation Pittsburgh.

One of the earliest Croatian settlements in the country grew up along the canal that used to parallel the river and provide a means for Allegheny City -- which became the North Side after Pittsburgh annexed it in 1907 -- to receive goods off-loaded from the Allegheny River. It is a history few Pittsburghers know, "but it was one of the greatest things that happened," said Mr. Schmitt. "It was key to Pittsburgh's development."

He said the preservation effort began seven years ago "to save all the green hillsides and homes and mitigate the loss of historic fabric" along the North Side portal. The group has since accepted that it will lose many structures along the 21/2-mile section between the 16th Street Bridge and the Millvale interchange.

A collection of nonprofits are lined up to complement PennDot's redesign, including the Riverlife Task Force, Friends of the Riverfront, and the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.

"As a North Sider, I looked at the possibilities and thought, 'Hey, this is the entrance [to the neighborhood]," said Mr. Schmitt, a resident of Allegheny West. "We can have walls with bolts sticking out of them or we can do something creative and save some of our history. It would be interesting and uplifting. If we don't do something good, we'll have to live with what is done."

Goals include connecting the Allegheny River trail, via its footpath across the highway, to a green space that would run from the Pennsylvania Brewing Co. at Troy Hill and Finial streets to the church; to provide access to the church from the roadway; and to present the area's history by posting canal stones and interpretive plaques along the river trail.

The road redesign will be a compromise of green space and concrete, but the retaining walls present an opportunity, he said. The preservation groups have asked PennDot to imitate the lock stone walls of the old canal that once followed the same course as the road. They also propose bronze outlines of canal boats against the wall as a whimsical experience for Route 28 travelers.

Dan Cessna, PennDot's district executive, said the canal boats would have to be paid for by state enhancement funds, not from the Route 28 redesign budget, if PennDot approves their installation.

"We haven't investigated to determine whether it would be feasible from a safety standpoint," he said. "We haven't determined the exact limits of rights of way." He said PennDot wants the result "to look pleasing" and would consider the suggested hillside plantings and stone wall texture of the old canal.

In one of many options in its most recent design report, PennDot proposes to regrade the church parking lot to be level with Route 28 and to expand the road "primarily to the east to minimize hillside impacts."

Arthur Ziegler of Landmarks said that though "nothing is definite, we are interested" in creating the interpretive plaques. "They would tell the physical history of the area, and it's a history of transportation -- canal, railroad, river and road."

Other stories could include those of Indian trails and settlements, George Washington's crossing, Herr's Island, canal houses, the Croatian community, and the Heinz and Pittsburgh Wool factories.

Mr. Ziegler said Landmarks has been "very interested in saving [the church], and we like the idea that it might be a Croatian shrine. We were involved in getting a roadway to access the church with parking."

In March, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh had all religious objects removed from the church, as canon requires. The Follieri Group of New York City has a sales agreement to buy the church, said Victor Kamber, a Follieri spokesman. "We should close within the month."

Mr. Kamber said the Follieri Group has been in contact with the preservationists and expects to lease the church back to them.

"We're sort of excited about their plans and hope they will be able to" make them succeed, he said.

The Follieri Group, a real-estate development company, targets unused Catholic churches for preservation, said Mr. Kamber, "rather than see them destroyed or developed as something that isn't representative of the community."

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

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

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/06032007St_Nick_locater.gif

cdc

06-01-2007, 06:48 PM

^That is huge, huge, huge...... If a quality tax abatement does get put into effect, the visible impact will be huge and impressive... That is one of the main steps taken in other successful city markets such as downtown Philadelphia..

That is really exciting. I hope it gets passes... There will be all kinds of new residential projects announced overnight. Just watch.

Disagree. The abatement stuff is just a political gimmick of minimal
benefit to current city residents. Check out Chris Briem's latest
posting:

http://nullspace2.blogspot.com/2007/06/abatements-again.html

where he calls the plan "the wrong tool for the wrong neighborhoods
fixing the wrong problem" ... he is absoultely correct.

themaguffin

06-01-2007, 08:11 PM

I do have trouble with the abatements as the entire city and region (and state) need relief. However if you can argue that setting them up to encourage repopulating areas, then there is a benefit, but downtown is already set to gain residents. I think that overall, it's a postive move, but it's only part of many things that help.

The state really needs to seriously evaluate ways to provide tax relief.

Evergrey

06-02-2007, 05:32 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_510617.html

Ohio developer builds on Pittsburgh success

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, June 2, 2007

Buoyed by success developing historic properties in Pittsburgh and other cities, developer John Ferchill is taking on what he terms his biggest challenge yet -- a $180 million building revitalization project in Detroit.
Ferchill is deeply involved in an effort to turn the abandoned 33-story Book-Cadillac hotel in the "Motor City" into a luxury hotel and condominium project. He hopes to use some lessons learned here to aid in that effort, he said in an interview Friday.

"Pittsburgh has been just terrific for us," said Ferchill, whose Cleveland-based company, the Ferchill Group, found success here in 2002 when he built Bridgeside Point, a five-story, 153,000-square-foot office building at the Pittsburgh Technology Center industrial park in South Oakland. In 2005, he added to his local resume with historic conversion of former H.J. Heinz Co. buildings on the North Shore into the Heinz Lofts, a 267-unit luxury apartment complex that is 95 percent leased.

And by the end of June, a development team that includes Ferchill will be reopening the Bedford Springs Resort, in Bedford County, a historic restoration project in the range of $100 million.
"We are going to use some things we learned in Pittsburgh and apply them in Detroit," he said. "We used a couple of things with historic development that we had never used before that brought significant money for our projects."

Tools used in Pittsburgh include historic tax credits and easements, said Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. The South Side foundation worked with Ferchill to secure the historic financing help he needed for the Heinz Lofts and Bedford Springs projects.

"John is one of the most experienced and focused developers, whether it involves new construction or restoration," Ziegler said. "He knows how to harness together a wide variety of funding sources that make projects that seem to be impossible, possible."

That includes the Detroit project, according to Ziegler, who became familiar with the Book-Cadillac building about a year ago while conducting a study of the site on the city's West Side.

"It is a wonderful, historic building that will be very difficult financially to restore to make usable again," Ziegler said. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that Ferchill is the man to take on such a task.

"I think he can operate it very well," Ziegler said.

"I've got a lot on the line here," said Ferchill in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. His company has assumed more than $80 million in loans and other debt associated with the project, he said.

Plans are to open the building in the fall of 2008 as a 455-room Westin hotel. The top eight floors will house 67 upscale condo units, most of which already have been sold. Penthouses commanded as much as $1 million.

"I'm counting on the city of Detroit reviving itself in a manner that nobody expected to happen," he said. Ferchill said he thinks the start of a turnaround is under way, as the city's new ballparks, casinos and housing developments are luring more tourists and investors.

Despite his involvement in the Detroit project, Ferchill's plans for Pittsburgh projects won't be affected, he said.

"We have completely different teams of people working in Detroit and in Pittsburgh," he said.

In late 2005, Ferchill sold the Bridgeside Point building at the Pittsburgh Technology Center for $31.5 million, with plans to use some of the proceeds to build a second building at the industrial park.

Plans are to break ground for that $30 million, 150,000-square-foot project within the next 30 days.

"We're targeting technology companies, some that will have laboratory space," he said.

Recently, local economic development officials have expressed the need for such facilities for fledgling technology firms in the region.

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

Evergrey

06-02-2007, 05:42 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_510666.html

Planning to delay Pens' arena '09 opening

By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, June 2, 2007

The Penguins won't move into a new Uptown arena at the start of the 2009 season -- and maybe not until a year after that, officials said Friday.

That doesn't bother team officials, who prefer to take a long-term view of getting the right arena instead of hurrying to build, Penguins spokesman Tom McMillan said.

"There's an obligation to the community here to do this the right way," he said. "This is a necessary part of the process. You can't get ahead of yourself. If you're not ready, then you don't do it to just hit a deadline."

The city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority expected to break ground on the $290 million arena in September and open the building 24 months later. But construction will not start until later this year or early 2008, because the design process has just begun, Executive Director Mary Conturo said.
"We're just now sitting down with the architects and trying to work out a realistic plan for the design of the building," she said. "The planning and design has to be done before we break ground."

The Department of City Planning, sports authority and Penguins will have a community meeting Monday evening to explain a strategy for seeking public input on a design.

The City Planning Commission needs to approve a master development plan for the arena and will consider issues such as traffic congestion, said Planning Director Noor Ismail. A traffic study will be completed this month.

The planning phase could take until September or October.

Incorporating public comments, finalizing plans and setting a guaranteed maximum price for construction could take longer. The sports authority has not hired a construction manager to oversee the project.

Final designs for the arena likely will look different from renderings the team has used for years. It could have more glass to accentuate views of Downtown, and bricks that complement existing architecture.

The Penguins have hired HOK Sport of Kansas City to oversee design. The company provided blueprints for PNC Park and Heinz Field.

At Monday's meeting, officials will lay out a three-step design process. A series of focus group meetings will follow in June and July, and then a second public meeting that hasn't been scheduled.

People who attend can sign up for one of six focus groups: residents; churches and social organizations; community organizations; city and public agencies; business and land owners, and developers; and historic preservation groups.

"It's in everyone's interest," said Greg Weimerskirch, a designer with Urban Design Associates, which was hired to help run the meetings. "The Penguins and city want to bring everybody on board from the beginning."

Andrew Conte can be reached at aconte@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7835.

Evergrey

06-02-2007, 05:55 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07153/791017-147.stm

Test takes buses out of Market Square

Saturday, June 02, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city began a one-month test run yesterday that could lead to the permanent rerouting of all buses from Market Square as part of proposed revitalization efforts.

Until July 1, all Port Authority buses will be detoured from Market Square to allow planners to assess the impact, not only on the square but on other areas of Downtown as well.

Depending on the results, buses could end up being moved permanently as part of an effort by the city to spruce up the square and to make it a more inviting environment for workers, visitors, children and businesses.

"Our one-month bus rerouting will tell us if the long-term implementation of the traffic diversion will restore the market back into Market Square and ultimately enhance the overall atmosphere in Pittsburgh's 89th neighborhood, Downtown," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said in a statement.

But the experiment also will have a big impact on bus riders, affecting 21 routes. On weekdays, nearly 600 buses a day go through the square. Some 3,000 riders daily board at stops near Market Square.

While the Port Authority is cooperating with the city on the test, there are "negative impacts to both our customers and us," spokesman Bob Grove said.

The detours make for longer trips and less convenience, not exactly a good combination for the financially strapped authority, which is cutting service 15 percent this month.

"It's the city's prerogative to take these measures and we have pledged to cooperate with them. There's no question it's not really the best thing for our customers because of the delays inherent in this," Mr. Grove said.

The square has been closed off to bus traffic -- and other vehicles -- for much of the past two weeks for the filming of the upcoming Spike TV series "The Kill Point."

Buses were detoured from Forbes onto Wood Street and then to the Boulevard of the Allies. Mr. Grove said the results varied, depending on how diligent city police were in helping buses to make the turn onto Wood Street from Forbes.

On some days, delays ran 30 to 40 minutes but on others they were 10 to 15 minutes, Mr. Grove said. The city has promised to provide adequate police support during the afternoon peak throughout the trial period.

Mr. Grove added the rerouting -- temporary or permanent -- could create ripple effects throughout Downtown, potentially affecting tens of thousands of commuters.

"One of the things we really have to think about is not only the impact on bus patterns but traffic patterns in general," he said. "There are going to be ripple effects throughout the Downtown street grid and we've got to monitor that."

The experiment is an outgrowth of the preliminary plan to revitalize Market Square by adding public art, a play area, a seasonal garden and market area, and kiosks and tables for outdoor dining.

Jeff Joyce, owner of the 1902 Landmark Tavern and president of the Market Square Association, said he and many other business owners in the area support the move of the buses, at least temporarily, to judge the effects.

"I think what we're trying to do with Market Square is to make it more friendly to pedestrians," he said.

Mr. Joyce said buses destroy the cobblestone streets in the square, making them more difficult for pedestrians to navigate, particularly women in high heels.

Through June, affected buses will turn onto Wood Street from Forbes and again onto the Boulevard of the Allies. They then will turn onto either Commonwealth Place or Stanwix Street. For more information, riders can call 412-442-2000.

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

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

Johnland

06-03-2007, 02:04 AM

hyperion1110

06-03-2007, 06:56 AM

:previous: I can't say I like the North Shore as a casino site, and I don't pretend to understand the slots law here completely. However, PA should have casinos. The state looses billions in revenues from gambling in NJ and WV. It's only right that PA should gain from PA's wealth.

Evergrey

06-03-2007, 07:50 AM

I just have to say the whole casino thing must be embarassing for Pittsburgh. I mean, how pathetic does a state economy have to be, and how lacking the state government has to be, or city government for that matter, to choose the lowest form of revenue generation possible. Casinos just smack of throwing in the towel when it comes to economic basics. rather than actually try to fix the fundamental problems of the state and get it growing jobs across the board, PA has decided to put these low-brow ventures in several cities. Oh I know they are supposed to be all gussied up by the renderings. But you know what folks, they are basically just big boxes. They will not contribute to the urban fabric or vitality. And now I see the other big civic 'neighbors' of the proposed casinos are balking at the traffic impact, etc. So all the money that went to the stadiums and the Science Center may not be enhanced by the casinos. It's the same mess in Philly - big blank box structures to be plunked down in old established neighborhoods on the Delaware. Again, prime waterfront real estate, something both cities should count as assets to be wisely used, is going to be marred by dull, boring boxes whose purpose is to extract coins from the local population.

Exactly what I've been saying all along...

instead of doing things that would actually move PA into the 21st century... like reforming its fragmented, outdated system of municipal governance... or lowering the highest corporate net income tax in the country... our state politicians are giving themselves raises and opening slots barns in our cities

BMikeSci

06-03-2007, 03:37 PM

hyperion1110

06-03-2007, 08:06 PM

cdc

06-04-2007, 03:06 PM

Criticizing the slots law makes no sense at all. The people that will be going to the PA casinos are the same ones going to WV and NJ right now. So by creating the PA casinos, you're not robbing anyone of anything. On the contrary, you're keeping the money IN STATE, a move towards the efficiency and reason that everyone seems to be asking for.

The government in PA needs reforming, yes...but you are flat wrong if you think the slots law was a bad move.

Do you really think that slots are a move towards efficiency and
reason? I certainly don't. Increasing government revenue through
gambling is highly unlikely to lead to reforms --- instead it is much
more likely that the government will use the additional revenue to
make itself even bigger and more wasteful than it already is. It may
also increase corruption within government as well.

But if we are going to have casinos around here, I would much prefer
them to be located outside the city near a major transportation hub
(e.g. the intersection of two major interstates, e.g. 76/79 ) so that
they can more easily target people from outside the area, and so that
they are away from attractions like the science center and the
childrens museum.

Finally, there is nothing reasonable about slot machines. They are
computers specifically programmed to addict people and take away their
money. It is a dirty business that the government wants to get into,
but given the way things are run around here the politicians should
feel right at home in a casino.

designer3d712

06-04-2007, 03:47 PM

Finally, there is nothing reasonable about slot machines. They are
computers specifically programmed to addict people and take away their
money. It is a dirty business that the government wants to get into,
but given the way things are run around here the politicians should
feel right at home in a casino.
Do you play the Lottery? If so, then there is no difference.

I agree with what hyperion1110 said.

Also Casinos are " big black boxes "? Sure doesn't look like it in the Renderings. I know that the final Design will not look exacty like them. How many Casinos have glazing in their designs?

themaguffin

06-04-2007, 04:05 PM

Are casinos the great economic saviors? No. Are they an attraction for many people? Yes. Is it boring to me? Yes (at least slots, but people like 'em). Will it keep some money instate instead of WV and NJ. Yes. Will some out of state money be spent at this one? Yes. Will it generate some tax revenue? Yes. Is the casino ugly? It looks ok, even nice-ish.

Does it make sense for it to be in the city? Yes, it's attraction that should be centrally located. Believe it or not, a few people might actually spend money elsewhere in the city as well.

cdc

06-04-2007, 05:47 PM

Do you play the Lottery? If so, then there is no difference.

I agree with what hyperion1110 said.

Also Casinos are " big black boxes "? Sure doesn't look like it in the Renderings. I know that the final Design will not look exacty like them. How many Casinos have glazing in their designs?

Play the Lottery? Never! Look at the odds and do the math. The
Lottery is a government run fool's games designed to take advantage of
people who do not understand math.

I never said anything about big black boxes... my gripe with casinos
has to do with what goes on inside them and the government's role in
their management, not with the buildings themselves. Glaze the design
all you want, but you are still going to end up with a casino and all
the social ills associated with one.

maguffin: "it's attraction that should be centrally located" ---
maybe, but let the situation in Atlantic City serve as a cautionary
tale. There was an article in the New York Times back on Feb 11th
titled "Betrayal in Atlantic City" that detailed how the gaming
industry fought the NJ Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and
derailed government efforts to use casino revenue to reduce blight in
AC. (I'd post a link to the article, but there isn't a free version
online anymore.)

When you say the casino should be located in the city just because it
is an "attraction" you are glossing over the risks of having it
located in the city. We could very well end up with the PG having to
write "Betrayal in Pittsburgh" articles and a blight on the north
side. I believe you are too optimistic, especially given our
government's track record. But only time will tell...

BMikeSci

06-04-2007, 07:22 PM

Of course everyone shouldn't gamble in casinos, play the lottery, etc. The best way to build wealth is through diligent work. On the other hand, if people are going to be stupid about their money, let them be stupid in Pennsylvania. So long as people are going to gamble, let them do it here. If you could assure me that people would stop gambling if we outlawed the casinos, I would go along with you, but people willl always go out of their way to lose their money gambling.

I agree that gambling houses are often currupting influences, but the amount of revenue the state would lose by not competing in the gambling industry is too great. I believe that a portion of the gambling revenue should be spent on a "gambling is dumb" campaign. If people understood their odds better, maybe they wouldn't gamble so much. Instead of Sean Connery at the tables, show demented seniors in wheel chairs throwing money away at the slots. Then show them dying because they have nothing left for medications. Set the billboards up around the casinos. Then, if people still want to throw their money away, at least they have been shown the stupidity of it. Dumb losers are the norm, not the shills in tuxedos.

themaguffin

06-04-2007, 08:02 PM

maguffin: "it's attraction that should be centrally located" ---
maybe, but let the situation in Atlantic City serve as a cautionary
tale. There was an article in the New York Times back on Feb 11th
titled "Betrayal in Atlantic City" that detailed how the gaming
industry fought the NJ Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and
derailed government efforts to use casino revenue to reduce blight in
AC. (I'd post a link to the article, but there isn't a free version
online anymore.)

The AC ones were supposed to reduce blight, but they didn't. Pittsburgh's one does not have that goal. The only duty other than the separate Hill development etc, is to provide revenue.

I don't believe in the hypebole for casinos (which frankly I honestly don't think in the recent bidding process, that the casinos were ever protrayed as super-economic salvation), nor do I believe that one casino will extraordinary negative impact.

I think it would have if in a location like the Hill which would have been a horrible idea, but not in its isolated planned location.

Grego43

06-04-2007, 09:30 PM

Perhaps someday, in the not-too-distant future, we in the U.S. will give casinos the same amount of import that they deserve...and that they are given around the world. One can travel to London, Athens, Madrid, Cape Town, Vienna, and many other cities the world over and not even know a casino exists there, but they do. They just aren't that high on most people's must-do lists. Hopefully when the novelty of losing money on games of chance designed to make you lose, we americans will focus again on the things that really make a city great...theatre, music, art, sports, education, the buzz of a busy cafe, the beauty of a park, people watching, history, ARCHITECTURE.

Johnland

06-05-2007, 01:32 AM

Criticizing the slots law makes no sense at all. The people that will be going to the PA casinos are the same ones going to WV and NJ right now. So by creating the PA casinos, you're not robbing anyone of anything. On the contrary, you're keeping the money IN STATE, a move towards the efficiency and reason that everyone seems to be asking for.

The government in PA needs reforming, yes...but you are flat wrong if you think the slots law was a bad move.

While I don't profess an understanding of casino laws either, I can say it's common knowledge that in gambling, it is the 'house' that always wins. The house would be the corporation that signed the agreement. The state would get a 'cut' or a 'percentage' I would assume. And as for the amount of the cut, I can assure it is not the 'billions' that you allude to. If it were, I'd say go ahead and close the schools, forget hospitals, skip road repair, etc, just do casinos. But in reality, I would figure the amount of the cut to the state to be more in the neighborhood of several millions, maybe a few tens of millions at most. In other words, a fraction of what could be coming in from a healthy growing economy that was creating jobs (and I don't mean waiters or bartenders at casino), retaining college graduates and attracting in migration from other states and countries.

designer3d712

06-05-2007, 02:17 PM

Play the Lottery? Never! Look at the odds and do the math. The
Lottery is a government run fool's games designed to take advantage of
people who do not understand math.
I'm not dumb, I know the odds, but since I play occassionally I'm a fool? I went to Vegas a couple of years ago, won a jackpot for a few thousand on a $10 bet. Was I lucky? Absolutely. Was it fun and exciting? Absolutely. Do I go to Vegas every year? Nope.. Just because you don't like it, don't deny it to the people who do.

I never said anything about big black boxes... my gripe with casinos
has to do with what goes on inside them and the government's role in
their management, not with the buildings themselves. Glaze the design
all you want, but you are still going to end up with a casino and all
the social ills associated with one.
Did I quote you as saying that? No. So what else is new? It happens every where.

Everyday is a gamble in life.

hyperion1110

06-05-2007, 02:46 PM

Haha...as embarrassing as this is, I still haven't figured out how to quote others on this forum :)

At any rate, Johnland, in PA, the state is receiving, I believe, 40% of the revenue from the casinos. Given that there will be 16 (14 at racetracks, two stand alone), the state is projected to raise around 1 billion dollars a year in tax revenue, most of which it was conceding to NJ and WV by not having slots.

On a related note, if more gambling is allowed in this state, whether in the forms of other games or more casinos, I would advocate for riverboat gambling, personally (with the provision that these "riverboats" not be permanently docked, as they are in many cities). I think taking a riverboat cruise, while being able to gambling, would be a major tourist attraction, especially for a city like Pittsburgh (indeed, I think Pgh would be the primary beneficiary of such an allowance).

And I agree that the Majestic Star actually will be a very nice facility, one that will well compliment, archecturally, its North Side neighbors.

Evergrey

06-05-2007, 05:00 PM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_510997.html

Steelers' Batch to renovate vacant Homestead space

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Charlie Batch doesn't just want to score on the gridiron; he wants to score in real estate development, too.
Batch, a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, wants to convert the vacant Homestead Bakery Co. building in his hometown into 16 loft-style apartments, office space and six first-floor commercial stores, to be operated by small business owners.

"I want to help in the redevelopment" of Homestead, Batch said.

It's also a continuation of the real estate business he plans to have when he retires from professional football. He's played nine years with the Steelers and Detroit Lions, and realizes he won't be playing for another decade. "I've already started the transition," said Batch, 32.

The building is located at 235 Seventh Ave., between the successful Waterfront shopping complex and Eighth Avenue, the main street through town. The renovated building can serve as a "connection" between the Waterfront and Eighth Avenue, Batch said.
To help make the $4.6 million project feasible, the Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority board last week approved four funding requests to state agencies -- totaling $1.53 million -- for the rehabilitation of the building.

Included are grants for $500,000 under a redevelopment assistance capital program through State Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hill, and $250,000 under the Main Street Anchor Building Program operated by the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

The other requests are a $480,000 loan under the Mixed Used Facilities Financing Initiative from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, and a $300,000 Housing and Redevelopment Assistance Program grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

The state funds, if approved, will help in the restoration of the building and an adjacent parking lot, said Dennis Davin, director of the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development.

"We are absolutely behind Charlie on this. We feel it is a perfect fit for the state programs," said Robert Hurley, deputy director of the county agency. Making improvements to Seventh Avenue property is the "next step" for redevelopment in the town, Hurley said.

Getting financial support from the government is a key element in the project because "with that kind of backing behind the project, it has a very good chance to succeed," Batch said. He said he will be the lone private investor in the project.

Plans are to begin construction in the fall with an opening in 2008, said Latasha Wilson, chief operating officer for Batch Development Co.

"We think he is going to have a product that is unique in the market," with lofts looking similar to those being developed in Pittsburgh's Strip District, Hurley said.

Homestead Baking was the original tenant. It was followed more recently by Stumpf Moving & Storage.

Batch has been active over the past few years in the redevelopment of single-family housing in Homestead for low- and moderate-income families. The Bakery project is his first involving commercial tenants.

Sam Spatter can be reached at sspatter@tribweb.com or 412-320-7843.

cdc

06-05-2007, 05:19 PM

I'm not dumb, I know the odds, but since I play occassionally I'm a fool? I went to Vegas a couple of years ago, won a jackpot for a few thousand on a $10 bet. Was I lucky? Absolutely. Was it fun and exciting? Absolutely. Do I go to Vegas every year? Nope.. Just because you don't like it, don't deny it to the people who do.

You don't have to be a fool to play a fool's game.

Citing a single instance of winning a jackpot a couple of years ago
does not say much, since it does not take into account the aggregate
statistics that ultimately make up the odds.

But don't be silly, there are alot of things that you make like to do
that are denied to you (or should be denied --- e.g. smoking in public
places).

designer3d712

06-05-2007, 06:01 PM

You don't have to be a fool to play a fool's game.

Citing a single instance of winning a jackpot a couple of years ago
does not say much, since it does not take into account the aggregate
statistics that ultimately make up the odds.

But don't be silly, there are alot of things that you make like to do
that are denied to you (or should be denied --- e.g. smoking in public
places).You're just a bitter old man, woman, young man, woman...whatever. You can go in the corner and pout all you want about anything.. You don't agree with me and I don't agree with you.. Even. Let's get this thread back to where it belongs.

p.s. I've won more then that single instance.. Good day..:koko:

themaguffin

06-05-2007, 07:06 PM

Gambling is denied on most circumstances. This casino is one of the few occasions on can legally gamble. So you there you go, you win in 99.9% of Allegheny county you can't go to a casino and you can't see a casino.

in the other less than a percent, you don't have to go there either.

hyperion1110

06-05-2007, 09:35 PM

I found this looking for information on the Carnegie Science Center explansion. I can't really tell if this is an actual project or a potential one. A group at CMU is in the early stages of something called the American Music Crossroads Center. Does anyone know anything about this project, if it is actual rather than potential?

Here is the link:
http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/lbe/S07/clients2.php?Client=amc

BMikeSci

06-05-2007, 10:47 PM

Braddock development

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/braddockhomes0606.aspx

Evergrey

06-06-2007, 05:35 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_511191.html

There's room for change at Downtown's Westin

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 6, 2007

With hundreds of hotel rooms built or planned in the Downtown area since 2000, changes are in the works for the city's second-largest hotel, the 616-room Westin Convention Center.
They include a new general manager, a $3 million renovation to create a new second-floor ballroom, and, possibly, a tweaking of plans for a major addition designed to create a long-sought 1,000-room hotel connected to David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Changes under discussion by local officials and developer Forest City Enterprises Inc., of Cleveland, could reduce the number of rooms in the expanded hotel below the desired 1,000-room level, said Tom Martini, who will take over as general manager July 1.

Martini believes the reduction can be made without sacrificing the number of rooms the Westin can make available for major conventions and meetings.

"I'm pretty optimistic about it," said Martini, the hotel's operations manager. At month's end, he will replace his mentor, veteran hotelier Joseph Kane, who is ending a 46-year career in the industry, including the past 12 at the Westin.
"I think it eventually will be built," said Kane, of the addition to the Westin. His tenure dates to when plans for a 600-room addition to the hotel's existing 616 were introduced in 1994.

Since then, the proposal has been the subject of significant debate.

Opponents, including local hotel operators, believe it's not worth spending up to $34 million from casino gambling revenues to subsidize the new facility and further dilute the existing local hotel market.

Proponents, including VisitPittsburgh, the city's convention bureau, say it is needed to attract larger conventions and meetings. That will enable the expanded $373 million convention center to boost tourism dollars and the region's economy.

VisitPittsburgh estimates local hotels lost as many as 90,000 room nights last year from convention groups. They rejected Pittsburgh because it doesn't have 1,000 rooms connected to the convention center, said Joseph McGrath, VisitPittsburgh president.

But the thinking is that a hotel addition as low as 300 rooms would keep construction costs under control, Kane and Martini say.

"I think the last plan was to add 400 rooms, because that would get to that magic 1,000 number," Martini said. "But there is a gap in financing ... Maybe to bridge that financial gap, the focus has to be on how many committable rooms there are, rather than how big is the hotel.

"As long as we can deliver 700 or 750, and 800 rooms, I don't think the hotel needs to be larger than 1,000 rooms, or 800 to 900 rooms," he said.

The change in thinking has prompted VisitPittsburgh to initiate a study to determine whether reducing the size of the hotel could affect business.

"We're doing some research in response to a request from our board of directors," McGrath said. "We want to do some marketing analysis to review what the difference would mean in terms of lost opportunities."

Martini has not been involved in the talks between Forest City and the Sports & Exhibition Authority, the owner of the Convention Center.

But Forest City remains firmly committed to the project, he said.

Mary Conturo, the authority's executive director, recently confirmed the ongoing talks, without providing specifics.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato supports the plan to build the hotel addition, but said it will be up to the experts to decide how large the facility must be to effectively increase the region's convention business, said Kevin Evanto, Onorato's spokesman.

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

Growing market

A sampling of hotels built or planned in Downtown, with the number of rooms and opening date.

• Renaissance, Downtown, 300 rooms, opened 2001
• Sheraton Station Square*, 104, South Side, 2002
• Holiday Inn Express, 120, South Side, 2003
• Courtyard by Marriott, 182, Cultural District, 2005
• Marriott Springhill Suites, 198, North Shore, 2005
• Hampton Inn & Suites, 143, Strip District, 2007
• Marriott Residence Inn, 177, North Shore, 2008
• Embassy Suites/Hyatt, 150, North Shore, 2008
• Fairmont Pittsburgh at Three PNC Plaza, 185, Downtown, 2009
• SpringHill Suites by Marriott, 115, South Side, 2008
* In addition to 292 existing rooms

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

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

Profiling the Westin

Year opened: 1986

Original name: Vista International

Owner: Forest City Enterprises Inc.

Location: 1000 Penn Ave. (at Liberty Center Complex)

Rooms: 616 (city's second-largest hotel)

New general manager: Tom Martini (as of June 30)

Evergrey

06-06-2007, 05:42 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07157/791804-53.stm

City approves tax break for new housing in 29 areas

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

City Council approved tax breaks yesterday designed to spur new housing Downtown even as it expressed misgivings about excluding some neighborhoods from the program.

The measure, approved 8-0, will waive the first $2,700 in city property taxes for 10 years on new housing units built Downtown and in 28 other city neighborhoods.

"It's symbolic of our effort to prioritize and give incentives for people to move back Downtown and to create incentives for people to move back into neighborhoods that haven't seen investment for some time," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said.

Approval came even though several council members complained about neighborhoods being excluded from the program, which based eligibility in part on a "vitality index" that factored in population losses, education levels, single-parent families, poverty, low home ownership, high vacancy, tax delinquency, violent crime and other factors.

In fact, several Fairywood residents made a last-ditch appeal to council to be added among the eligible neighborhoods, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

"We never get anything in our neighborhood. We're always left out, except for things that don't work," Donna Washington, a member of the Fairywood Citizens Council, said afterwards.

Councilman William Peduto, who had proposed a competing tax break that would have applied to Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods, said the residents had a point.

"When you choose 29 neighborhoods to be the winner, you're also choosing 60 neighborhoods to be the loser," he said.

Several other council members, including Daniel Deasy, who represents Fairywood, also expressed disappointment about neighborhoods being left out but at the same time expressed hope that the program could be expanded in the future.

The Ravenstahl administration has said that going citywide would have cost the city $75 million over the life of the program. As structured, the abatement is designed to replace the new property tax revenue the city is giving up with gains in wage and other taxes.

Mr. Peduto said one possible avenue to explore in years ahead would be income-based property tax breaks as well as incentives built around green buildings, historic preservation and public art.

While the program isn't perfect, it does lend assistance to efforts to bring more housing Downtown, he said.

Lucas Piatt, vice president of real estate for Millcraft Industries, the Washington County developer bringing condominiums to the former Lazarus-Macy's building and apartments to the old G.C. Murphy's store Downtown, described the abatements as a "good start."

"I think it's definitely going to help us," he said.

He said he was also hoping that Allegheny County and the city school district would adopt similar measures. He said abatements in Philadelphia have helped to revitalize that city.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato expects to have an announcement soon relating to a possible county tax abatement program, spokesman Kevin Evanto said. For the initiative to be successful, Mr. Onorato believes the city, county and school district all must participate, he said.

While Fairywood residents complained about being left out, representatives from several other neighborhood groups spoke in favor of the program before the vote.

Cindy Cassell, who heads up economic development and project management for Neighbors in the Strip, said the program could help to stimulate the redevelopment of about 100 vacant properties in the Strip District.

"It makes urban living in Pittsburgh more affordable for more people," she said.

The city is still writing regulations for the program, a process that could take at least a month. Abatement applications will be accepted for five years.

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

(Rich Lord contributed to this story. Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. )

Evergrey

06-06-2007, 05:45 AM

cdc

06-06-2007, 03:14 PM

You're just a bitter old man, woman, young man, woman...whatever. You can go in the corner and pout all you want about anything..

That's an ad hominem argument.

From my reading of this thread, there is minimal enthusiasm for slot
machines. Most folks are taking the pragmatic "we need it for the
revenue" point of view. Given the circumstances, that's a reasonable
position to take. My main concern with the revenue, if it turns out
to be large, is that it will reduce pressure on the government to
reform itself.

Where I differ from a number of you is my opinion of where a casino
should be located. I view it in the same way as I view a truck stop.
I believe the casino should be located outside the city on a main
transportation artery away from residental areas and attractions
targeting children (science center and childrens museum). Just like a
truck stop (or a glazed truck stop, if you must).

designer3d712

06-06-2007, 03:57 PM

That's an ad hominem argument. Sorry I directed it to you personally. Please don't lose sleep over it. I'm just a fool anyway, right? There's bars all around PNC Park, and working their way down to Heinz Field. Maybe we should close them so they don't influence the kids. They should close the Jerome Bettis Grille before it opens because they serve alcohol. It's too close to the Science Center. See how dumb that sounds.

Anyways... I'm going to finish my " Glazed " Donut.

cdc

06-06-2007, 05:16 PM

Sorry I directed it to you personally. Please don't lose sleep over it. I'm just a fool anyway, right? There's bars all around PNC Park, and working their way down to Heinz Field. Maybe we should close them so they don't influence the kids. They should close the Jerome Bettis Grille before it opens because they serve alcohol. It's too close to the Science Center. See how dumb that sounds.

Anyways... I'm going to finish my " Glazed " Donut.

Yummy!

There are two differences between the bars and the casino. First,
there is a difference in scale --- the casino is a huge complex while
the bars are relatively small. If a bar becomes a "nuisance bar" the
city will shut it down and something else can easily take its place.
It is not so easy to shutdown something as large as the casino, and if
you did you'd have a huge hole on the north side (*). Second, unlike
the bars, the government is is basically a co-investor in the casino
so there is a conflict of interest --- try and punish the casino and
you reduce your own revenue.

(*) I wonder how much jurisdiction the city government has over the
casino vs. the state government?

Anyway, enough of that. Let us celebrate the big news of the day:
Judge Wettick has thrown out the county's base year property
assessment system. If his ruling stands on appeal, it could force
statewide property tax reform...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07157/791874-100.stm

Evergrey

06-06-2007, 05:56 PM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_511318.html

Grandview Avenue street lights to be replaced

By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 6, 2007

The eye-catching street lights that adorn Mt. Washington's Grandview Avenue are in line for a much-needed makeover.
The Mt. Washington Community Development Corp. plans to use part of a $400,000 state development grant to replace the 85 decorative street lights that line both sides of Grandview between Wyoming Street and P.J. McArdle Roadway, said Ethan Raup, the group's executive director.

Some of the lights don't work. All of them are old and do not use electricity efficiently, he said.

"They were installed back in the late 1970s, many of them are in bad shape and the style is outdated," he said.

The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program money secured by state Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, will be matched with money the Mt. Washington group already has raised to improve other parts of Grandview, which Raup calls "the showcase street of Pittsburgh."
The city will work with the Mt. Washington group to choose a new energy-efficient design for the lights, said Guy Costa, director of public works. The department could contribute $50,000 to the design effort if City Council approves. Companies will be asked to submit bids to install the lights, which could be in place by next year.

It's unclear how much the work will cost.

Replacing the lights is part of a recent string of improvements to Grandview, Raup said.

Public works crews recently completed renovations of the street's concrete scenic overlooks, which are popular destinations for tourists, newlyweds, prom-goers and others seeking breathtaking views of Downtown.

"The lights are very noticeable; they're very dated, they're shabby," Raup said. "This is one of the last critical pieces to upgrading the streetscape along Grandview Avenue."

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

the lights in all their 70s glory are seen here during the day
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/79759210.jpg

nighttime lights with revamped overlook
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/78700994.jpg

Johnland

06-07-2007, 01:37 AM

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghcollege0606.aspx

Art Institute unveils $20M residence hall, adds to downtown redevelopment

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh (AIP) has opened Shannon Hall, a new $20 million, 230,000 square-foot student apartment complex located downtown at 615 First Ave.

Shannon Hall, which will house 637 students, features 140 fully furnished one-, two- and three-bedroom units, an 11,000 square-foot activities lounge, sport court and recreation space, and vending areas. The complex also includes new elevators, heating and air conditioning systems, 24-hour security and laundry facilities. Occupancy of Shannon Hall will begin in July.

“It’s a perfect solution to our need for more of a campus environment to intermingle our housing and non-housing students,” says AIP’s president George Pry. “The larger context is that it fulfills a mission we’ve had all along to bring more vitality to this section of town.”

Built in 1910, the nine-story concrete property formerly housed a warehouse. Part of the ongoing redevelopment of downtown’s First Side area, Shannon Hall was designed by TKA Architects. Contractor is Massaro Corporation. The building’s atrium features a 17-foot mosaic constructed by Jessica McMillan, a 2003 AIP graduate, and designed by artists Jacob Thomas and Norman Huelsman. Developed by Try Street Associates, Shannon Hall is managed by Langholz Wilson Ellis.

AIP is also developing additional student housing on Fourth Ave. and Smithfield St. The historic Standard Life Building will house 147 students and open in August; Miller Hall will accommodate 90 students and open in October. “Nine hundred students will live within three blocks of the Art Institute. That kind of density will bring a much-needed lift to this section of the city,” says Pry.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: George Pry, AIP

Shannon Hall (former Try St. Terminal)
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/78225949.jpg

This is such good news for Pittsburgh. Turning a former warehouse into student housing is just about as 'organic' of a rehabilitation as you can get. It's a great re-use of an existing building to meet the changing needs of downtown. In this case, providing living space for students. This will increase the number of younger people in downtown, which helps improve the age diversity. A healthy downtown should have people of all ages to keep things lively and interesting. The fact that the existing building was re-worked to accomodate the new use is great because I'm sure it causes less carbon emmissions to rehab than to tear down, pour all new concrete, make new steel, etc. I gues this just strikes the recycling cord in me (I'm really into recycling, wasting less, etc).

Now, if the darn jail would ever move ( and hopefully that would come to be), maybe some savy developer could rehab that prime close_to_waterfront property to some non-criminal use.

Evergrey

06-07-2007, 02:03 AM

Now, if the darn jail would ever move ( and hopefully that would come to be), maybe some savy developer could rehab that prime close_to_waterfront property to some non-criminal use.

Agreed... the location of the jail is idiotic (would've made prime condo space today)... it's a pox on all of my skyline photos from across the Mon

pitdesi

06-07-2007, 11:33 AM

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07158/792099-28.stm
Firm unveils plans for $40 million E. Liberty restoration, development
Thursday, June 07, 2007

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Washington, D.C., firm presented plans yesterday for The Montrose Exchange, a $40 million hotel, office and retail development in the heart of East Liberty, at a meeting with the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Six buildings would be restored and one built on the site of nine existing buildings, said architect Andrew Moss. Montrose Exchange refers to the name of East Liberty's former telephone exchange.

The Morgan Development Group began securing land four years ago. It has a franchise agreement with the Hotel Indigo, a member of the Intercontinental Group, for a 135-room boutique hotel. It would consist of four buildings in the block bounded by Highland Avenue and Broad, Kirkwood and Whitfield streets, said Nigel Parkinson, the firm's principal.

The now-dilapidated six-story Kirkwood Hotel would be restored as the historic reference and the tallest building of the multistory hotel, said Mr. Moss. The hotel components would be connected and a new public plaza created in the block.

A large, modern office building beside the Kirkwood Hotel would be completely redesigned and reconfigured. Two buildings across Highland and one across Broad from the hotel would become two stories of retail and office space.

The plan includes restorations of a former American Legion building and the old Rittenhouse Hotel, the proposed location of a sister restaurant of Latin Concepts in Washington, D.C., said Mr. Parkinson.

He said Pittsburgh's character and "great institutions" beckoned him to invest here.

"Last year, I was at a class reunion, and one of my professors was from Carnegie Mellon," he said. "When I told him about my project, his wife's eyebrows shot up and she said, 'I'm from Shadyside!' "

Jerome Dettore, executive director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, said the plan "is very, very solid, very impressive."

"These guys have put their money where their mouth is. They have assembled the property, they have agreements in place and are ready to move," he said.

From the URA, the developer is requesting gap-financing assistance, grants for facade restoration and help with public rights of way, infrastructure and parking areas.

"When there's simply financing in the way, that's the best role we can play," said Mr. Dettore, whose staff often has to assemble sites for developers. "The chances of this [project] happening are extremely good."

Mr. Moss said local businesses would have opportunities to locate in the retail spaces, which include seven in one building, three in another and an undetermined number in an additional 6,900 square feet.

Besides offices, a ballroom, meeting space or a nightclub are possibilities for a portion of the second floors, said Mr. Moss.

Part of the plan is to redesign an open space on Broad Street as a public green space "with a kiosk, a cafe with outdoor tables and an area for small events," he said.

A Marriott Spring Hill Suites being planned two blocks up Highland made the agreement easier for the Hotel Indigo, said Mr. Moss. "They didn't want to be the only one. There's a lack of hotels" in the East End neighborhoods compared with demand, mainly because of nearby medical facilities.

Mr. Moss said the plan was to restore the hotel for certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Evergrey

06-07-2007, 12:18 PM

wow wow wow! This sounds like an AWESOME project... also... the nearby 13-story Highland Building is being converted to condos by the people doing the Marriott... these two developments will radically transform the heart of East Liberty...

UrbaniDesDev

06-07-2007, 12:37 PM

I would love to see plans for this EL project. Im uncertain which parcels they are talking about. It sounds very exciting. East Liberty will be unrecognisable in a couple of years. I could have never predicted this amazing transformation

hyperion1110

06-07-2007, 01:34 PM

That is wonderful news! East Liberty will be amazing in the next couple of years.

themaguffin

06-07-2007, 02:30 PM

The jail was built in the 90s, so it ain't going anywhere unfortunately.

BANKofMANHATTAN

06-07-2007, 03:24 PM

The building to the upper left corner as well as the Manor Building (the eyesore next to it that they just painted black) would really be a good spot for some highrise development. Too bad we have to fill the old spaces before getting the demand for new space.

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/78225949.jpg

Also, as was suggested before, something adjacent to Oxford Center in that parking lot there.

http://ic1.deviantart.com/fs7/i/2005/213/d/a/PGH_TOWER_COMP_3_by_BURZUM.jpg

Evergrey

06-07-2007, 06:53 PM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_511504.html

Bettis' Grille 36 has grand opening

By Rochelle Hentges
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 7, 2007

"We can't devote the entire North Shore to 12 Steelers games and 80 Pirates games... It's going to be more and more of a 365-day-a-year district."
--Mark Fatla, executive director, Northside Leadership Conference

As Jason Bay goes to bat, Sean Crummie starts slinging drinks at Finnigan's Wake. Game days have always brought the largest crowds to the North Shore, Crummie said, but a new slew of developments are making the North Shore more than a pre- or post-game hot spot.

Last night, while the Pirates played in Washington, D.C., about 350 people were packed into the Jerome Bettis' Grille 36 for its grand opening in the Del Monte Center.
"It's great. I mean it's really crowded, so I'm excited," said Jerome Bettis, who showed up around 8 p.m., when there was about a 40-minute wait for tables.

"We're a little more crowded than we thought we were going to be," said waitress Sophia Gielarowski as she rattled off the four items the kitchen ran out of, including the fried Italian hoagie.

If last night was any indication, three decades of unfulfilled promises for North Shore development might be coming to an end. The North Shore scored its first major tenant in 1970 with Three Rivers Stadium, but even the '71 and '79 World Series winners and '70s powerhouse Steelers teams couldn't bring further development.

"There wasn't much else but parking lots," said Crummie, 27, a life-long North Side resident.

In 2001, each sports team got its own stadium, PNC Park for the Pirates and Heinz Field for the Steelers. The Continental Real Estate Companies, of Columbus, Ohio, was chosen in 2002 to develop the land between the two stadiums.

As Continental, which developed The Waterfront in Homestead, made plans for a 1.2 million-square-foot complex on North Shore Drive, restaurants began to line Federal Street, and Spring Hill Suites by Marriott opened across from the ballpark.

The newly built Del Monte Center and Equitable Resources Headquarters along North Shore Drive boast diverse eateries like Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, McFadden's Restaurant and Saloon, Calico Jack's Cantina and the Jerome Bettis' Grille 36.

On a recent Friday, hundreds of people packed into McFadden's, challenging the restaurant's self-described distinction of being the largest bar in the city. McFadden's can hold up to 1,000 people if the patio is open, and it's not uncommon for the bar to fill to capacity, said Elizabeth Wittels, spokeswoman for East Coast Saloons, which owns the restaurant along with Calico Jack's, which opens tonight. "Thursday, Friday and Saturday, there are typically lines around the block."

Calico Jack's becomes the third restaurant to open on the North Shore in as many months. It's a completely different scene from the early days of PNC Park, said Hi-Tops manager Stephanie Wagoner. "A couple of years ago, it was just like us and Firewaters," Wagoner said.

"In two, three, five years, this is going to be where everyone comes," Bettis said of the North Shore.

In addition to more restaurants, future plans include a Hyatt hotel, office buildings, condominiums, a casino and an amphitheater, said Barry Ford, president of development at the Pittsburgh office of Continental Real Estate.

"It's going to be more and more of a 365-day-a-year district," said Mark Fatla, executive director for the Northside Leadership Conference. Developers hope it can rival other hot-spot venues, like the South Side and Station Square.

"The idea would be to make the North Shore the newest popular entertainment destination area in the city," said Wittels, of East Coast Saloons.

It's working for at least one couple.

Kathleen Pesce, 51, and her husband chose the newly opened Hyde Park as their Christmas party venue in December, even though they work in Moon and live in Robinson. And when McFadden's opened March 29, they were there.

"Oh my gosh, it was packed, but it was so cool because ... they had 30 bagpipe players come in the door," said Pesce, adding that she and her husband have been hitting the North Shore more often, going to SoHo and making plans to eat at Jerome Bettis' Grille 36.

Developers of the Bettis-themed restaurant -- which features a one-way mirror above the urinals in the men's bathroom -- looked at the SouthSide Works and Robinson Town Centre as possible locations but chose the North Shore, said Bob McCarthy, co-owner of Celebrity Ventures, which has teamed with other sports celebrities for restaurant concepts, including the Eddie George's Sports Grille in Nashville.

The proximity to Heinz Field, ample parking and burgeoning development all clinched the deal, McCarthy said. "We thought this was the best place for our first restaurant in Pittsburgh," he said.

Established North Shore restaurants generally seem optimistic about the newer eateries popping up on the other side of the ballpark.

"It's nice that there's other stuff opening up in the area. It's more like a destination spot," said Wagoner, of Hi-Tops, which filed for bankruptcy in April under its previous owners but said it has no plans of shutting its doors. "Within the last couple of weeks, the North Shore has been getting busier."

Crummie, of Finnigan's Wake, echoed the sentiment, but added that business tends to drop off the first week or so of a new opening, and he's adopting a wait-and-see attitude for Steelers' games.

"Football season should be pretty interesting, because they're much closer to Heinz Field than we are," he said.

What about the casino?

News of Majestic Star winning a gaming license for a North Shore casino has had mixed reactions. The Steelers, Pirates and Carnegie Science Center have all spoken out against the idea, complaining the casino will cause traffic jams and take away valuable parking spaces. The Pirates and Steelers have estimated casino traffic could cause delays of 90 minutes or longer for fans traveling to and from the stadiums.

North Shore businesses, however, consider the casino, which won approval for its development plan May 29, a potential boon.

"We welcome it," said Bob McCarthy, co-owner of the Jerome Bettis' Grille 36, which held its grand opening last night. McCarthy, who lives in Hollywood, Fla., pointed to the addition of a Hard Rock casino in his town. The casino has "been a very positive thing down there," he said.

East Coast Saloons considered the casino an added attraction to making the North Shore a destination spot.

"The North Shore at this point is just so up and coming, with the casino coming in and it's right on the water. It was just perfect for us," said Elizabeth Wittels, spokeswoman for East Coast Saloons, which owns McFadden's and Calico Jack's.

"Our main concern is that traffic be handled properly," said Barry Ford, president of development at the Pittsburgh office of Continental Real Estate, which has been developing the land between PNC Park and Heinz Field. "The city's made a huge investment in this project. We don't want (the casino) to interfere with this."

In addition to the planned office buildings and residential space, construction of what is known as the North Shore Live entertainment complex and amphitheater could begin by the end of the year, Steelers President Art Rooney II told the Trib in late January.

The Northside Leadership Conference is "neither here nor there" on the casino, said executive director Mark Fatla, but the goal is to make the North Shore a 365-day-a-year district.

"We can't devote the entire North Shore to 12 Steelers games and 80 Pirates games," Fatla said. "The casino's going to be here. It's time we start dealing with it rather than placing obstacles to it."

Ridin' with the Bus

Former Steeler running back Jerome Bettis said he has wanted to own a restaurant since former Steeler cornerback Rod Woodson opened his in Station Square in the spot now occupied by Margarita Mama's.

"I wanted to do it, but I wanted to wait until my football career was over," said Bettis, who doesn't live in Pittsburgh anymore (Evergrey's note: He lives in the Atlanta suburb of Roswell) but "plans to be here quite a bit." While The Bus can't exactly say he's fully retired -- between sports commentator appearances and his new restaurant venture -- Bettis still makes the time to relax.

"I'm playing golf a lot," he said.

Bettis partnered with Celebrity Ventures to open Jerome Bettis' Grille 36 and two other sports-celebrity-themed venues. And he'll be more than a figurehead.

Last night at the Grille's grand opening, Bettis made the rounds with customers, asking them about the food and service, between posing for camera phones.

"I need to know, because I need to stay on top of things," he said. And that one-way mirror in the men's bathroom? Thank Bettis for that. He stole the idea from Celebrity Venture's Eddie George's Grille 27 in Columbus, Ohio.

"It was such a great success there, I said, 'You've got to have this here,'" Bettis said. "I said, 'I need it. I've got to have it.'"

Another thing you can thank Bettis for is the portions, which leave you with at least two meals.

"We don't want you to leave here hungry," said Bettis, who weighed in at 255 pounds before retirement. "We'd rather give you too much than too little, that's for sure."

But has The Bus managed to devour the 36-ounce steak on the menu?

"I was working on it, but I haven't finished it yet," he admitted. "It was a little much for me."

Rochelle Hentges can be reached at rhentges@tribweb.com or 412-380-5670.

Evergrey

06-07-2007, 07:03 PM

and what the heck... how bout some sprawlnews

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07158/792027-57.stm

Developer unveils plans for 323 residential units at former Koppers site

Thursday, June 07, 2007

By Brian David, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A hilltop overlooking Interstate 79 in South Fayette soon will be the site of 198 residential units, if plans for Newbury Village win approval from commissioners.

Eric Newhouse, of developer EQA Properties, and architect David Hager, of Burt Hill, Monday night showed the commissioners plans for 133 single-family homes and 65 townhouse and duplex units on 170 acres off Presto-Sygan Road. The land was formerly owned by Koppers Inc., which had a chemical plant in the valley below.

EQA and Beazer East Inc., the Koppers successor which owns the site, are also developing Newbury Market, a commercial site on 80 acres where the factory used to be. That plan got preliminary approval from the commissioners last month, and is in final design.

The final piece of the puzzle is a 20-acre parcel at the western end of the site. Mr. Newhouse said EQA and Beazer are planning 125 multifamily housing units there, though those plans have not yet been submitted to the township.

Altogether, the residential part of the plan calls for 323 units, not the 550 once planned for the site. And more than half of the 270-acre site will be left as open space of one sort or another.

Newbury Village itself will be tightly clustered in what's called the traditional neighborhood development style, with sidewalks, small lots, 25-foot front yards, required front porches and garages set back from the street. The townhouses and duplexes are designed with garages in the back, accessed through alleys.

"We want the street to be a place to walk and bike, not just for cars," Mr. Newhouse said. "We want to create a place with a real sense of community."

To that end, there is a 1.7-acre park where the access road enters the community, and the townhouses are at the center, with duplexes around them and single-family homes around the perimeter.

The commissioners' questions focused largely on the alleys, on overflow parking and on the entrance road, which is designed for 25-mph travel rather than the 35 called for in the township ordinance.

The road will have two 20-foot-wide lanes separated by a 10-foot grass median. In normal use, that will provide bicycle lanes along each side. And if an emergency blocked one lane, two-way traffic could be maintained in the other lane, Mr. Hager said -- an important safety measure because there is only one access to the development.

As for the alleys, Mr. Newhouse said they are designed as standard 22-foot-wide roadways, but he wants to have no right-of-way, with privately owned lots running out to the curb.

"In our experience, those areas will be better maintained, more in keeping with the kind of community we're trying for" if they are privately owned, he said.

Commissioner Sue Caffrey expressed hesitation, though, wondering if there should be rights-of-way along the alleys which could be used for parking.

The townhouses are designed with one-car garages and driveway space for second cars, and there are small scattered parking areas for guests -- one extra space for every two units.

The commissioners expressed concerns whether that was enough extra parking -- would visitors end up parking in the street if someone had a party? Mr. Newhouse noted that the parking meets the requirements of the township's ordinances -- and said larger parking lots would be contrary to the nature of the community.

He said Summerset at Frick Park is a comparable recent development, and also compared the concept to older neighborhoods like Pittsburgh's North Side, where alleys are commonplace and, in some areas, anyway, generally well-maintained.

The other major concern with the plan is the presence of two high-pressure natural gas lines running through the property. They will be rerouted around the property's perimeter before any other work begins.

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

(Brian David can be reached at bdavid@post-gazette.com or 724-375-6816. )

...

and i missed this one...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07137/786636-55.stm

Housing boom comes to Jefferson Hills

As the South Hills fill up, home builders move into Jefferson Hills

Thursday, May 17, 2007

By Jan Ackerman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The transformation of Jefferson Hills from a sleepy, semirural community into a choice location to build upscale new houses began slowly, but it appears to be moving into high gear.

"It is exploding," said Don Housley, an engineer, developer and real estate agent who is developing four subdivisions and has engineering work on a dozen or more.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070517sboom_450.jpg
Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette
Houses of Chamberlin Ridge being built on Chamberlin and Old Clairton roads in Jefferson Hills.

According to a list compiled by borough officials, more than 1,500 houses are planned for Jefferson Hills over the next decade. Many already are under construction, including upscale single-family houses, duplexes and carriage houses.

In many cases, prices start at about $200,000.

The median price of 36 houses sold in Jefferson Hills last year was $229,488, according to information compiled by RealSTATs. The highest-priced new house sold last year was $532,000.

By comparison, existing houses in Jefferson Hills sold for a median price of $103,000 last year.

Seeing a demand for more expensive housing, Mr. Housley subdivided property in his new South Heights plan on Ridge Road into large lots for 11 single-family houses.

He's doing the same at his other new development, Castor Farms, on Ridge Road.

"Because of the demand for upscale housing, we are dropping to 28 lots instead of 43," he said.

He said Castor Farms was named for the previous owners, the Castor family, who owned the property for more than 200 years.

"The original deed for the property was dated July 1778, when it was part of the state of Virginia," Mr. Housley said.

At Chamberlin Ridge, a development of 115 single-family houses off Old Clairton Road, next to Thomas Jefferson High School, Rindy Bliss, the ReMax South realtor who is marketing the development, said houses start at $260,000 and go to $400,000.

"Seven are sold and we just started to market it," Ms. Bliss said.

Among the offerings are 2,000-square-foot ranch houses with basements, which, she said, often appeal to older people.

Mr. Housley said the DiMarco plan of lots on Worthington Avenue would be 112,000-square-foot ranches, with no basements. He said prices start about $259,900.

Brian Cummings, a realtor with Prudential Preferred Realty who is marketing carriage houses, duplexes and single-family houses on Gill Hall Road, said new-home buyers were gravitating to Jefferson Hills from other South Hills communities, especially Brentwood, Baldwin, Pleasant Hills and West Mifflin.

"Jefferson is a community in the South Hills that has available land to build on," he said. "So many communities, such as Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon, are highly saturated."

Mr. Housley said most people who want to build or buy a new house in Jefferson Hills already live in the South Hills.

"Ninety-five percent come from Clairton, Munhall, West Mifflin, Castle Shannon, Baldwin, Whitehall, Brentwood and South Park," he said.

Ms. Bliss, on the other hand, said she was seeing Jefferson Hills as an increasingly popular place for people who relocate to the South Hills, especially those who come to work at Jefferson Regional Medical Center, or at Bombardier Transportation and Bechtel Bettis Inc. in West Mifflin.

Sales slowed in the first quarter of this year, probably reflecting the national real estate slump. But, as always, the local real estate market never seems to experience the wild swings of the national market.

Mr. Housley said houses were under construction in all four quadrants of Jefferson Hills: on the Route 885 side, along Old Clairton Road, in neighborhoods off Gill Hall Road and in the southern part of the borough, off Ridge Road and Worthington Avenue.

Mr. Housley, president of Triangle Engineering & Planning Service on McNeilly Road, lives in the borough and sees its potential.

"Jefferson Hills has the only property left," he said, unless you cross the Monongahela River into Elizabeth Township and Forward. "But as soon as you cross the river, people think it is too far," he said.

Ann Stewart, of Southersby Development in Sewickley, said Patriot Pointe, a subdivision being developed on Gill Hall Road, will offer 72 single-family house sites starting at $169,900. Construction will begin this summer.

She said the development of Phase I of the development had about 14 carriage houses and three single-family houses completed, built by Ryan Homes. A few sites for carriage houses still are available.

Mr. Cummings said the Estates at Jefferson and Jefferson Estates on Gill Hall was a planned residential development that offers both carriage houses and single family houses with a community center and swimming pool.

Prices start at $199,900 for the carriage houses and the low $200,000s for the single-family houses.

Several other large housing developments have received borough approval and construction soon will get under way.

One is the development of the old Barati farm on Cochran Mill and West Bruceton, on the edge of Pleasant Hills and South Park.

Mr. Housley, who did engineering for the project, said Maronda Homes planned two developments on the property: an 82-unit multifamily development called Mill School subdivision and 334 single-family houses in a subdivision to be called Hunters Field. The developments have been approved, but construction hasn't started.

Officials from Maronda Homes did not return calls.

Another major development, about 225 single-family houses, is being planned for a large parcel on Wray Large Drive that stretches from the Blue Flame restaurant on Route 51 to Jefferson Hospital, said Mr. Housley, who did the engineering work.

Tentatively called Scarlet Oaks, it is to be 225 single-family houses. Mr. Housley said a road would be cut from Route 51 to the development.

The development is awaiting approval from the borough.

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

(Jan Ackerman can be reached at jackerman@post-gazette.com or 412-851-1512. )

Wheelingman04

06-08-2007, 12:37 AM

Pittsburgh's suburbs look better because it is so hilly. The suburbs of cities that are flat are just disgusting.

Evergrey

06-08-2007, 05:20 AM

more East Liberty progress...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07159/792463-53.stm

URA marks milestone in facade program

Friday, June 08, 2007

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city's Urban Redevelopment Authority celebrated a milestone in commercial facade renovation yesterday on Broad Street in East Liberty, one of 32 neighborhoods that has benefited from the authority's Streetface loan-to-grant program.

Ed Lesoon's three-story yellow-brick building at 6022-24 is the 1,200th facade to have been spruced up with help from the URA, according to records that date to 1983. But his own investment in the neighborhood goes back to the 1970s and has figured in the millions.

Broad Street, between Highland and Sheridan avenues, is heavily traveled, with diagonal head-in parking on one side and a cropped curb on the other. Its facades are largely stale, but that is changing.

Yesterday, a day after Washington, D.C. developer Nigel Parkinson announced plans for a $40 million renovation and a construction complex involving half of that block, the URA saluted the investment Mr. Lesoon has made on much of the other half.

The property that drew about 50 people yesterday -- including Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park -- once was a furniture store. It was caving in and needed a new parapet wall when Mr. Lesoon bought it in 2000. Besides having sustained fire damage, the building was bricked up except for two little windows in front.

After a complete gutting, it is massive and airy. Each 5,000-square-foot floor has a large bank of windows and elevator access. The interior reconstruction created tie-ins to both upstairs floors of the building beside it, which fronts on Sheridan Avenue and houses a Family Dollar store.

Mr. Lesoon said he wants to rent the first floor of the old furniture store as restaurant or retail space and the upstairs as offices.

Working with architect Cherie Moshier, he and his crews have converted four of seven properties on the block.

They gutted the former Veterans of Foreign Wars club at 6020 Broad and added a partial second-floor overlook that suggests a bistro or club.

Next door is the former Walsh's Lounge & Bar, which Mr. Lesoon bought last year.

"We removed 500 gallons of grease and dirt out of there," he said yesterday, adding that he plans to remove the glass-block front and open up the facade.

All told, Mr. Lesoon has restored and renovated 20 of 23 buildings in East Liberty with $208,825 in Streetface grants, said URA spokesman Julie Deseyn.

The facade money, even when it's a relatively small portion of some of his facade costs, "is such a good incentive that I have been doing this for 20 years," Mr. Lesoon said. "But I get hooked on buildings. I think of them as my Eliza Doolittles."

Building owners in qualifying commercial corridors can get 40 percent of the project cost, up to $30,000, said Anita Stec, business development specialist at the URA. The money starts as a loan, but for each of five years that the property is maintained as approved, the URA converts 20 percent of the loan to a grant, she said.

In 25 years, the URA's $13 million investment in facades has leveraged an additional $50 million in investments by private interests, said Jerome Dettore, executive director of the URA.

Mr. Lesoon said he and his father were inspired by Ward Olander and his company, Real Estate Enterprises, which has been investing in East Liberty properties since 1970. Today, Mr. Lesoon and his son develop properties as the Wedgwood Group.

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

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

...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_511624.html

East Liberty's Broad Street getting face-lift

By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, June 8, 2007

East Liberty's Broad Street once was little more than a drug-trafficking depot sandwiched between two nuisance bars and a few tumble-down buildings, city officials said Thursday.
But that's changing with new attention from police, Pittsburgh's Urban Redevelopment Authority and developers such as Edward Lesoon of The Wedgwood Group, which is renovating five Broad Street buildings in hopes of attracting retailers and restaurateurs.

"What we have done is taken the seed, or the core of East Liberty, and we're going to make it blossom," said Lesoon, as he stood yesterday in the partially renovated, three-story Hart Building.

He hopes the building will attract a company that wants to put in office space or a store once he completes more than $250,000 in improvements to the facade and interior, including a new elevator.

The key is to beautify Broad Street with building renovations and more than $300,000 in public and private money for street resurfacing and sidewalk amenities such as decorative lamp posts, lights and trees, city officials said.
"It's so someone doing a curb check won't be scared away," said Robert Rubenstein, URA economic development director. "There's a lot of (potential) business owners who don't know about this yet."

Lesoon hopes a second building he's renovating -- which once held Walsh's Bar, a nuisance bar with an art-deco theme -- will turn into a family restaurant.

Pittsburgh real estate marketer CB Richard Ellis is looking for businesses to move into buildings in a three-block section of Broad Street renovated by Wedgwood and other companies.

State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Lawrenceville, was on hand yesterday with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to dedicate the URA's facade-improvement program. He applauded the street's building owners for agreeing to contribute money to fixing the crumbling street and sidewalks.

Finding people to patronize a new restaurant or clothing store in East Liberty's core likely won't be difficult, said Rob Stephany, East Liberty Development Inc.'s director of commercial development.

Stephany said there will be many new residents living nearby soon in two large mixed-income housing developments planned for either side of the improved section of Broad Street, which is between North Sheridan Avenue and North Beatty Street.

Developer McCormick Barrons is working on leasing 120 homes in what will be a 200-home residential development; and ELDI will begin construction next year on Mellon's Orchard South, an 80-home mixed-income development.

"Broad Street is going to be more defined by the people who can walk it," Stephany said.

People will want to shop there now that crime is under control and new development is coming, he said.

"It was for a long time completely miserable," Stephany said. "It's a totally different place."

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

Evergrey

06-08-2007, 05:27 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07159/792509-85.stm

Arena gains on several fronts

Authority OKs bond issue, signs lease with Pens

Friday, June 08, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority board authorized a $325 million bond issue for a new arena that will keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh for nearly 30 years.

Yesterday's action was among several significant steps taken by the SEA board to move the arena construction into full gear and to cement the March agreement reached between the Penguins and state and local leaders that kept the team here.

Meeting less than an hour, the board authorized the SEA to:

Enter into a lease with the Penguins on the new arena, one that will run 29 years and 11 months, based on the terms agreed to in March, plus an accompanying agreement that will bind the team to Pittsburgh for at least that long. The formal lease documents are still being finalized.

Buy the former St. Francis Central Hospital from the team for $8.5 million, $500,000 more than the Penguins paid for it in 2000. The property is needed for the arena construction.

Enter into an extension with the Penguins covering the time the team will play at Mellon Arena until their home is ready. Under the extension, the Penguins could take over from SMG as master tenant of the building in July, giving them more control over revenue.

SEA Executive Director Mary Conturo said the $325 million bond issue will cover the $290 million construction cost plus a possible parking garage, a $3 million contribution to an arena capital improvement fund, and expenses and reserves associated with the borrowing.

The SEA expects to close on the financing in the next month, freeing up money for the construction. Site preparation should be completed before the end of the year, though construction may not start until early next year.

The Penguins hope to move into their new home during the 2009-10 season, but it is still too early to tell whether that will be possible.

"I don't think anybody knows the answer to that," Ms. Conturo said.

Among yesterday's authorizations was one giving the Penguins responsibility over the arena construction, with oversight by the SEA and the state. The team has hired HOK Sport, the nationally renowned architectural firm, to design the building, which will be built behind Epiphany Church between Centre and Fifth avenues. HOK also designed Heinz Field and PNC Park.

The arena bond issue will be funded through two slots gambling-related pots and rent from the Penguins.

Pittsburgh casino winner Don Barden is providing $7.5 million a year. The state is contributing $7.5 million a year from a gambling-backed economic development fund.

The team's share will be $3.6 million a year, but that could increase by $500,000 annually if the Penguins decide to build a 500-space parking garage as part of the arena complex.

With the way the bond issue is structured, Mr. Barden won't have to start paying his $7.5 million-a-year share until Oct. 1, 2009, to give him time to get his North Shore casino up and running.

Mr. Barden was awarded the Pittsburgh license by the state Gaming Control Board in December, but the two losing bidders appealed the award to the state Supreme Court, which has yet to issue a ruling. If the award is upheld, Mr. Barden hopes to open his casino in summer 2008.

If by some chance Mr. Barden wasn't able to make his payment or another of the funding sources fell short of the amount needed to pay off the bonds, the state would be obligated to make up the difference. It would be reimbursed if the money became available.

While the board authorized the SEA to enter into a new arena lease with the Penguins, Ms. Conturo said the final document still is being completed.

"Physically we're not quite ready to sign. We're a few days away from doing that," she said.

The lease gives the Penguins control over all revenue sources from the new arena, worth millions of dollars each year, but also holds them responsible for all operating and maintenance costs. They also would be responsible for booking all non-hockey events.

As part of yesterday's actions, the board also authorized the creation of a new parking surcharge related to the arena. The actual amount has yet to be set. The surcharge is designed to generate $400,000 a year to be deposited into a capital reserve fund to maintain and improve the new arena. Any amounts collected in excess of that would go to the Penguins.

The board also authorized the continuation of existing ticket surcharges of 5 percent on non-hockey tickets and 3 percent on hockey tickets and existing parking surcharges of $1 for events and 50 cents for non-events.

It also gave Ms. Conturo authority to enter into an option agreement with the team for the development rights to the 28-acre Mellon Arena site. However, Ms. Conturo said that won't be finalized for at least six months.

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

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

Evergrey

06-08-2007, 05:35 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_511597.html

Jones Day law firm to move up Downtown

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, June 8, 2007

The Jones Day law firm is on the way up at the One Mellon Center office tower Downtown.
The international firm, which is expanding, said Thursday that it's moving its 115 Pittsburgh employees, including 55 lawyers, from their existing 64,000 square feet of space on floors 30, 31 and 32 at One Mellon to about 70,000 square feet on floors 43, 44 and 45 of the city's second tallest skyscraper, at 500 Grant St.

Jones Day signed a letter of intent for a 11-year lease renewal that provides an option for at least one additional floor to provide space for growth, said Roy A. Powell, a partner in the firm.

"We've been growing our practice across the board," Powell said. Seven lawyers and additional support staff are expected to be added this summer.

"We increasingly are seeing Pittsburgh-based clients call upon us for assistance in Europe, China and India," said Laura Ellsworth, partner in charge of the Pittsburgh office. "Reciprocally, we are seeing increased interest from our European and Asian clients in Pittsburgh-region investments."
Once finalized, the lease will run thorugh 2018, with a move-in date expected by May.

The decision ends a spirited competition among building owners in the soft Golden Triangle office market. About 20 percent of the space Downtown remains vacant.

Buildings considered by Jones Day included Piatt Place, the $65 million project being developed by Washington County's Millcraft Industries Inc. in the former Lazarus-Macy's department store, Powell said.

Millcraft was courting Jones Day as a potential anchor tenant for the 180,000 of office space it has available in its Piatt Place project, a cornerstone of the city's plan to revitalize the Fifth-Forbes retail corridor Downtown.

Also on the list were the vacant former Lord & Taylor department store that J.J. Gumberg Co. purchased about two years ago; the PPG Place office complex; and the 625 Liberty Ave. building, last known as the Dominion Tower, Powell said.

Jones Day has 30 offices worldwide. With more than 2,200 lawyers, including more than 400 in Europe and 150 in Asia, Jones Day ranks among the largest law firms in the world.

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

Evergrey

06-09-2007, 05:36 AM

PAT is looking into radical changes...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07160/792855-147.stm

Port Authority eyes 'smart card' for customers

Saturday, June 09, 2007

By Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Port Authority plans to streamline and simplify its fare-collection system with the introduction of "smart card" technology that will make life easier for customers and provide the agency with a wealth of information about ridership.

Steve Bland, the Port Authority's chief executive, announced the multimillion-dollar project yesterday as part of an initiative dubbed Connect '09 that will eventually lead to a major overhaul of bus service in Allegheny County.

"I don't want to oversell people that, oh yeah, in five years you won't recognize the place. Well in five years maybe 15 percent of the place might be fundamentally changed or redeployed," Mr. Bland said. "The service between Oakland and Downtown will always be a big route. We're not looking at picking up rail tracks on the 'T' and moving them somewhere else."

Such a significant system redesign had not been done in "many, many years," Mr. Bland said. It will likely lead the agency to rethink its current hub-and-spoke system that funnels most buses into Downtown and make fundamental changes to account for shifts in population throughout the county.

One type of replacement might be a so-called trunk-and-feeder system. For example, buses that have traditionally taken riders from the South Hills to Downtown might one day stop at a light rail transit station and discharge passengers who would then take the "T." Also on the horizon might be more localized bus routes serving neighborhoods.

"What it really means is sort of a ground-up look at our entire service structure, how that service works together, how it can be made more effective," Mr. Bland said.

On hand for the announcement were state Department of Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler and James Hassinger, executive director of the 10-county Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. Both men praised the initiative.

For years, PAT has focused its planning on things such as busway projects or the North Shore Connector, Mr. Bland said.

"We haven't spent as much effort looking at the system as a whole and saying, 'Well, how do the pieces fit together? How might they fit together better?' "

Changes in demographics are driving the exhaustive look at the bus system, and while the busways, the light rail system and major bus corridors -- such as Downtown to Oakland -- will remain, everything else is fair game for change.

As an example, Mr. Bland noted the explosive growth in Cranberry and said PAT must examine its service in northern Allegheny County as a result. He also mentioned PAT's service to Pittsburgh International Airport.

"We have an airport route. You can get to the airport, but what do you do once you get there? How might we design service better for that?" Mr. Bland said.

Mr. Bland promised extensive public participation and said PAT would work with other regional transit agencies in crafting its plans.

That spirit of regional cooperation was on display in several other ways yesterday. As of June 17, when a 15 percent service cut will take place because of funding problems, PAT will allow other transit agencies to pick up passengers in Allegheny County.

Ken Zapinski, senior vice president, transportation and infrastructure for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, applauded Mr. Bland's news, particularly the willingness to cooperate with other transit agencies.

"We think these are absolutely the right steps in the right direction, and these are the sorts of moves that Port Authority should have been moving towards years ago," Mr. Zapinski said.

Mr. Bland said $34 million in federal funds available to PAT will be shared with other regional transit agencies who want to participate in buying new fare-collection equipment for buses.

That money will cover 80 percent of the agencies' costs for a smart-card system. PAT will use $6 million in state funds and some county money to make up the other 20 percent to outfit its 1,000 buses. Other agencies will be on their own to finance the remainder of their costs.

PAT will have to find a separate revenue stream to pay for smart-card technology on its 83 light rail transit vehicles, since the $34 million is earmarked for only bus-related expenses.

Smart cards -- plastic cards that can either be swiped or waved over a reader -- will provide PAT with information about how often and when people use bus routes.

PAT's current fare collection system is about 17 years old, labor intensive for drivers and provides limited information to the agency about how buses are being utilized.

New fare machines should be rolled out within a year after a contract is awarded, which should take between six and eight months.

Passengers will still be able to use cash and will likely have other payment methods at their disposal if they choose not to buy a smart card.

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

(Jonathan D. Silver can be reached at jsilver@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1962. )

Evergrey

06-09-2007, 05:37 AM

more East Liberty details...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_511761.html

$40M development would create public plaza for East Liberty

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, June 9, 2007

A proposed $40 million development will bring a second new hotel, another ethnic-style restaurant and other amenities to the city's rebounding East Liberty neighborhood.
Montrose Exchange, a mixed-use project proposed by Morgan Development Group, will be centered on a new public plaza called Kirkwood Square at North Highland Avenue and Broad Street, according to plans presented to the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority this week.

"We will be seeking about $12 million in funding through the URA, both in low-interest loans and grants," said Nigel Parkinson, managing partner at Morgan, a firm with offices in Washington and Pittsburgh.

He hopes to begin construction early next year on the project, which will be located in an area bounded by Highland Avenue and Broad, Kirkwood and Whitfield streets.

The Montrose project comprises new construction and renovation of nine properties on three blocks along Broad and Highland. All properties are owned by his firm, Parkinson said.
Designed by local architect Andrew Moss of Moss Architects in East Liberty, the development will build on other projects already under way and planned in the East Liberty neighborhood.

It will tie into three blocks of Broad Street being improved with new sidewalks, street trees, pedestrian lighting and parking.

The new 135-room hotel, named Hotel Indigo, is planned at a site at 129-31 N. Highland. Two vacant buildings there are to be demolished, Parkinson said.

The restaurant, Latin Concepts, would be across the street from the hotel, at the site of the former American Legion Post building.

Hotel Indigo will include a lobby that will tie into the 126 North Whitfield St. building and the historic Kirkwood (Governor's) Hotel building that is to be renovated. Hotel Indigo will incorporate a garden area that will provide a semi-public green space for outdoor dining and special events, Moss said.

Latin Concepts will bring three new establishments to East Liberty. They are the Chi Cha Lounge, offering Modern Andean Cuisine; Agua, with items originating from Peru and Ecuador's Andean grains, fruits and seafood; and Menta, a planned dance destination.

"If the Montrose development comes to fruition, it will have a tremendous impact on revitalizating the community and serve as the heartbeat of East Liberty," said Paul Brecht, executive director, East Liberty Quarter Chamber of Commerce.

Already planned for East Liberty is a $20 million Marriott SpringHill Suites to be developed by Kratsa Properties of Harmar at the corner of Highland and Centre avenues. That proposed hotel is adjacent to the Highland Building, which the Pittsburgh-based Zambrano Corp. plans to retrofit into residential units, either condominiums or apartments.

Sam Spatter can be reached at sspatter@tribweb.com or 412-320-7843.

Evergrey

06-11-2007, 06:21 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_511975.html

Former X-rated Garden Theatre set for a porn-free play

By Bonnie Pfister
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, June 11, 2007

The infamous Garden Theatre on the North Side will have its first post-porn performance this week.
Quantum Theatre, a group noted for its offbeat choice of venues, will produce a new play, "The Collected Works of Billy the Kid," from Thursday through July 1 in the space at 12 W. North Ave. that until March was an X-rated movie theater.

The city's Urban Redevelopment Authority acquired the 93-year-old theater, capping a decade-long legal battle with the Garden's New York-based former owner. The URA purchased the building -- long seen as a major barrier to redevelopment of the North Side -- for $1.1 million.

Quantum Theatre is best known for staging its productions in distinctly nontraditional spaces, such as a midnight performance in Allegheny Cemetery or in an empty swimming pool in Braddock.

The play, based on a book by Booker Prize-winning writer Michael Ondaatje, specifically calls for an abandoned theater space, Quantum director Karla Boos said. The sudden availability of the Garden was a felicitous piece of timing, she said.
"The community is not really going to see a renovated theater," Boos said. "But I hope that they're going to feel, as we do, that there is a lot that should be preserved about the building."

Quantum has built a massive platform of seating over the heavily stained vinyl folding seats. "It made sense from both a hygienic standpoint and an artistic standpoint," Boos said, laughing.

Despite grimy carpets, a peeling black ceiling and red walls, URA director Jerry Dettore described the space as "surprisingly intact."

"It's an interesting old theater," he said. "I hope it can play a role in the arts and theater scene on the North Side, which is pretty cool when you think about it. The art museums, the Children's Theater, the New Hazlett. It could be part of that chain, the linkage between all those institutions."

The URA received 11 proposals to redevelop the Garden Theatre and surrounding block and will discuss plans with community groups in the next month, Dettore said. His staff plans to present proposals for a URA board vote this fall.

Among those submitting bids was Aaron Stubna, owner of the Lincoln Barber Shop in Bellevue and an independent filmmaker. Stubna, 36, said he has partnered with theater contractor Bill Porco to plan a refurbished space seating about 300, to regularly show independent and foreign films, as well as concerts and locally made movies. He proposed a wine bar and art gallery.

Stubna said he expects the URA to "mix and match and patch people together" who have plans for the Garden's future.

Another bidder is The Rubinoff Co., developer of the North Side's Alcoa Business Services Center, Washington's Landing and Summerset at Frick Park. Rubinoff Principal Craig Dunham said the company has tapped Eve Picker's No Wall Productions as well as artistic managers from the New Hazlett and Pittsburgh Filmmakers for advice on a plan.

"We are working with a team .... to figure out how to first refurbish, reuse and rejuvenate it as an anchor for the block," Dunham said. "Our whole proposal is figuring that out."

Other development under way in the North Side includes a branch of the Carnegie Library on Federal Avenue; a branch near the Children's Museum closed in April 2006 after being struck by lightning. Library spokeswoman Suzanne Thinnes said a fall groundbreaking is planned.

At its meeting Thursday, the URA board is to consider the final design and financing of Federal Hill, a 60-unit mixed income housing development nearby.

Bonnie Pfister can be reached at bpfister@tribweb.com or 412-320-7886.

Evergrey

06-11-2007, 06:25 AM

more downtown grocery news

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07162/793218-53.stm

Smithfield News to expand, offer groceries

Monday, June 11, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For years, Smithfield News has been a popular spot to pick up magazines, out-of-town newspapers and snacks. Now it wants to be the go-to place for Downtown residents to buy staples like bread, milk and eggs.

The store, at the corner of Smithfield Street and Boulevard of the Allies, plans to expand into a vacant building next door and to offer a greater selection of prepackaged foods and groceries to take advantage of the blossoming residential market Downtown.

"I think town needs this and we need to be doing this before someone else does it," said Eddie Weiss, former Smithfield News owner and father of current owner Brian Weiss.

Weiss Enterprises Inc. plans to spend more than $400,000 to renovate and expand into an old flower shop at 113 Smithfield St.

The expansion will just about double the size of the store.

Smithfield News plans to provide more cereals, breads, eggs, pastries, condiments, paper products, soaps, detergents, and other staples.

It also will be greatly expanding its selection of prepackaged sandwiches, salads and frozen foods. There also will be a larger coffee section that Eddie Weiss likened to a "little Starbucks."

The store will continue to offer snacks, sodas, and magazines, with the space devoted to those items increasing as well. It also will continue to offer out-of-town newspapers.

While the store will not rival the type of markets planned at the old G.C. Murphy's building or the Encore on 7th apartment complex, both of which are expected to offer freshly prepared meals as well as staples, Eddie Weiss believes it will find a niche.

"These are going to be items conducive to meeting peoples' needs," he said.

He also believes the store, which opened in 1968, will be well positioned to serve students at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and Point Park University, both of which have housing Downtown.

Weiss Enterprises plans to start the construction within four weeks and hopes to be completed in November or December. The store, which operates 24 hours a day, will remain open during the work.

The company also has been looking at a building on Wood Street for possible purchase. It has been trying to expand its store on Fifth Avenue but hasn't been able to find the space. Weiss Enterprises also owns Gus Miller News Stand in Oakland.

Smithfield News has about 15 employees. That will expand to 20 or 25 with the expansion, Eddie Weiss said.

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

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

Evergrey

06-11-2007, 06:39 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07162/793215-85.stm

N.J. woman is to guide Grand View park project

Monday, June 11, 2007

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070611rad_L_2_Mt_Washingto_450.jpg
Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette
Ilyssa Manspeizer is the new park manager in Mount Washington. On the hillside below, workers for Eichenlaub Nursery Contractors are planting as part of the first phase of restoring native species to the upper hillside along Grandview Avenue.

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ilyssa Manspeizer jumped from elephant conservation in Zambia to park management in Pittsburgh with one transition: a doctorate in anthropology.

The move is not such a leap for the 41-year-old New Jersey native. She wanted to be part of the change in the way conservation efforts are made.

So much of the time, conservation measures are mandated instead of instilled among the people with their participation. In Kenya, Ethiopia and Zambia, she had worked on conservation projects amid tricky factional politics, where the people had no sense of kinship with endangered species.

Late last year, she was hired to manage the emergence of the Grand View Scenic Byway Park on Mount Washington, where factional politics are integral to the drama, as they are in most every Pittsburgh neighborhood. And like in all parts of the world, the ties between the land and its people could be stronger.

"It became apparent to me that the local people need to be brought into the conservation movement" if species and their habitat are to be saved, she said. Otherwise, where elephants roam, the everyday person might be a poacher. In a city park, he might be a contractor dumping home improvement waste along a wooded hillside.

The U-shaped greenway that rings Mount Washington and Duquesne Heights has its share of dump sites, trails damaged by mountain bikes and the same invasive flora that plague the entire city.

The park, which at 270 acres is aiming to become Pittsburgh's fifth "great" park -- along with Frick, Schenley, Riverview and Highland parks -- became an entity in 2003.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy provided the Mount Washington Community Development Corp. with an extensive land study for creating a plan to implement planting.

Over the weekend, John Buck and his crew from Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. planted native species over the first 200-yard strip of land it had cleared of invasive growth last year.

Now, people have a sidewalk view of the city, plus they will see woody and herbaceous native trees and shrubs that will grow to maximum heights at various levels over the hillside so that they won't compete with that view, said Mr. Buck.

Subsequent 200-yard strips, 35-feet in depth, will be completed as money is raised. More than a dozen foundations, nonprofit groups and government agencies have contributed expertise and about $500,000 in funding.

The bulk of the money has come from the Heinz Endowments, the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Federal Highways Administration.

Mr. Buck said the cost drops as the land flattens and that trees such as Norway maples would ideally be replaced by native sugar maple and cherry trees.

Native species make up 30 percent of the hillside growth between Grandview Avenue and Carson Street, he said, adding, "50 percent if you wear rose-colored glasses."

In all, the hillside will contain 750 new native trees.

So far, they include mountain laurel, sylvania, Canadian service berry and a flowering raspberry.

The team prepared the land by killing undesirable growth with herbicide applied to the stems, then blowing on a layer of compost to hold the hill over the winter.

Fescue and winter rye grew up in the meantime, holding the soil and boosting the sod's ability to resist invasive plants, said Mr. Buck.

Besides managing the park's resources and directing the steps as it evolves, Ms. Manspeizer will write for grants, build a network of trail advocates and other recreation groups, speak at grade schools and bring residents into discussions about potential park uses.

Calling her family "Pittsburghers by choice," she said she and her husband "fell in love with the city during a visit to see an old friend."

She was worked on her doctorate at the State University of New York in Binghamton at the time.

She began driving to Pittsburgh from Binghamton every three or four weeks to network.

"The more I came down, the more I became excited about what was going on here, such energy and good stuff happening," she said.

The family bought a house in Greenfield and moved in August.

Of the Grand View Scenic Byway, she said, "It's very appealing to go from urban space into forested and back out into the urban. It's like how we live today."

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

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

Evergrey

06-11-2007, 03:31 PM

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2007/06/11/story1.html?b=1181534400^1474047

Developers aim for urban core

$40M project leads Broad Street revamp

Pittsburgh Business Times - June 8, 2007by Tim Schooley

http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/85603-400-0.jpg?rev=2
Joe Wojcik
Morgan Development’s Nigel Parkinson, left, and mossArchitects principal Andrew Moss plan a $40 million mixed-used development at Broad and Whitfield Streets.

After years of new development revitalizing the edges of East Liberty, a major development project is preparing to invest in the heart of its Broad Street business district.

Long a largely hidden pedestrian-scale corridor tucked behind the main Penn Avenue business district, Broad Street now finds itself a four-block blank slate of mostly unoccupied buildings and a focal point for a new mixed-use redevelopment.

This week, Washington, D.C.-based developer Nigel Parkinson, working through the firm Morgan Development, announced his $40 million Montrose Exchange, a plan calling for a 135-room boutique Hotel Indigo, as well as two new restaurants and a club. All told, the properties under development add up to 179,000 square feet of renovated building space and 34,028 square feet of new construction spanning nine properties along Broad, from Whitfield Street to Highland Avenue.

Morgan Development is pursuing its project in collaboration with Edward Lesoon, the owner of Asia Carpet who has acquired a host of nearby properties. Through his Wedgewood Group, Lesoon's property encompasses another nearly 200,000 square feet of mixed-use space that extends along the other side of Highland Avenue.

Jason Cannon, a vice president for CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, is helping to market the nearly 400,000 square feet of combined mixed-use space along four blocks of Broad Street.

"This is a major neighborhood development," Cannon said. "I believe we're at the center of what's happening in East Liberty."

While Broad Street has battled blight and crime, Cannon believes the street's virtues are becoming too obvious to ignore. The appeal: strong urban density; high-income users from nearby East End neighborhoods; a Home Depot store a block away in one direction; and a Whole Foods Market about four blocks in the other.

Also nearby, a Target store may replace the Penn Circle high-rise complex within the next few years, joining a growing roster of retailers, including specialty grocer Trader Joe's and a Borders bookstore.

Andrew Moss, the architect for the Morgan Development project, sees the Target as an anchor on one end of the Broad business district, with the new hotel on the other.

"One of the challenges that East Liberty is currently facing is a lot of the development activity has been around the periphery of the core," said Moss, whose mossArchitects has done master planning work for East Liberty's commercial district. "This is the first one in the core."

Montrose Exchange will incorporate the redevelopment of established buildings, including the former Governor's Hotel, along with the construction of a five-story addition to the corner of Broad and Highland Avenue. Slated for completion in 2009, the project will be centered by a new public plaza, called Kirkland Square.

Parkinson, a native of Sierra Leone, has been quietly assembling properties and establishing his plan for the past few years. He was drawn to East Liberty's resurgence, as well as Pittsburgh's lower real estate prices.

"We want people to know East Liberty the way it was, to appreciate East Liberty ... and to just enjoy the city and quality of life," Parkinson said.

Joining him in the project will be Washington-based Latin Concepts, a restaurant firm known in the Beltway for successfully pioneering Nuevo Latino restaurants in struggling urban neighborhoods.

Jerry Dettore, director of Pittsburgh's Urban Redevelopment Authority, was impressed by a presentation of Morgan Development's plans earlier this week. The fact that it already controls a significant amount of property improves the odds of success for its project, he said.

"They have the capacity for significant revitalization," Dettore said. "What's happening on Broad with Eddie Lesoon probably sparked the interest."

While some East Liberty business owners remember a time not long ago when its commercial vitality seemed to stop at the Shadyside border, they now see a neighborhood with expanding possibilities.

Jim Aiello Jr., who is opening Pizza Sola restaurant in a building he owns on the corner of South Highland and Centre avenues, believes another major new project will further improve the value of his property.

Robert Reese, who's preparing to expand his Red Room Cafe by 2,200 square feet, believes Broad Street is a natural progression of East Liberty's ongoing revitalization.

"You can only tippy toe around the borders for so long," Reese said. "It puts us more at the center of what's going on, rather than on the edge."

tschooley@bizjournals.com | (412) 208-3826

themaguffin

06-11-2007, 04:16 PM

Did someone print this?

pitdesi

06-12-2007, 06:29 AM

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07163/793364-336.stm

Students push for 'green' arena, casino
Tuesday, June 12, 2007

By Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A pair of local high school students concerned about global warming presented a petition yesterday to city and county officials asking them to ensure that the proposed Penguins arena and the planned North Shore casino are constructed as green buildings.

Students for a Greener Pittsburgh, a project started by two students at The Ellis School, collected 700 signatures requesting that the facilities be LEED-certified.

LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, establishes strict requirements for environmentally friendly construction designated by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Students Daniela Valdes, 16, and Sandra Hartkopf, 17, founders of the student group, delivered the petition to council, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, county Chief Executive Dan Onorato, the governor's office and Don Barden, owner of the proposed Majestic Star casino.

The two girls, who have used a blog and the Facebook site to spread the word about global warming, collected names for the petition at their school and four others: Central Catholic, Oakland Catholic, North Allegheny and Allderdice.

"I think we could have gotten more if we had more time," said Ms. Valdes, a volunteer with the Sierra Club. "Not one person turned us down."

Pittsburgh already has the largest LEED-certified building in the world, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

City Councilman William Peduto, who was on hand at the City-County Building to accept the petition, said he plans to introduce a resolution calling for the new facilities to follow suit.

He and members of the Sierra Club, who also attended, said the development of two major projects at the same time gives the city an opportunity "to do the right thing" in setting high standards.

"That's what we're requesting," he said. "I think it's important to understand that many cities around the world are requiring LEED certification on all new development."

Mr. Peduto said he met with the Penguins in April to discuss a comprehensive plan for green site preparation, such as recycling demolished buildings to use for new construction. That didn't happen, he said, but now a petition will help raise public awareness and give the idea some momentum.

Ms. Valdes, whose student group is supported by the Sierra Club and the community organization Pittsburgh UNITED, said it's important to get the initiative started now while both facilities are in the planning stage.

Ms. Valdes said the petition is the most ambitious attempt by Students for a Greener Pittsburgh.

Previously, her group has planted trees, contributed to a "Clean Up Homestead" rally to pick up trash in the borough and conducted a campaign for energy conservation in city schools by posting signs asking people to turn out unneeded lights.

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

(Torsten Ove can be reached at tove@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1510. )

pitdesi

06-13-2007, 05:25 AM

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07164/793655-28.stm

City panel nixes UPMC logo atop skyscraper
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

By Ann Belser, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

UPMC is not giving up the quest to put its initials atop the U.S. Steel Tower, Downtown.

After the city planning commission yesterday rejected the proposed 20-foot-tall sign, the health care giant issued a statement saying it would "continue to pursue this matter."

"We believe that this sign is important to both UPMC and the city as tangible evidence of Pittsburgh's transformation into an international center of medicine, technology and education," the statement said.

The proposed sign was defeated in a tie vote of the six commission members who were present.

Chairwoman Wrenna Watson, who voted in favor of the proposal, said she likes signs, and likes looking down from her home in Crawford Square to see the city skyline twinkling at night.

In that, she was in agreement with William Kolano, who designed the sign that UPMC wants to put at the top of the city's tallest building.

"We're just trying to add another star to the twinkle," Mr. Kolano said.

To do that, the medical center is either going to have to go to court or submit a design that has smaller letters.

The UPMC logo, which was proposed to be 1,900 square feet, was half of what the city code allows.

City planner Susan Tymoczko said the sign took up 1 percent of the building's face, where 2 percent is allowed.

Mr. Kolano said the letters were half the height of those on One Mellon Center next door. The proposed UPMC sign would be readable from the West End Bridge, he said.

Just before the vote, Kyra Strausman, who voted against the proposal, said she would like to see the sign a bit smaller, which was the recommendation of the Riverlife Task Force.

Frederick C. Watts, a project manager for the task force, said the members thought the sign should be about 20 percent smaller, which would lessen its impact on the architectural design of the building's facade.

"UPMC is disappointed by the city planning commission's decision. The city code is clear on the issue of signage size, and our proposed sign is significantly smaller than what is allowed," the statement from the medical center said.

After the vote, when Mr. Kolano asked commission members for guidance, he was told they needed to continue the meeting, but he could meet with planning staff members at a later date, or appeal the decision to Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

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

(Ann Belser can be reached at abelser@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1699. )

Evergrey

06-13-2007, 05:36 AM

I wish we could see a rendering of the proposed UPMC sign on the US Steel Tower

...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07164/793553-53.stm

Penguins to get Melody Tent development rights

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Penguins' bid to develop 28 acres adjacent to the Hill District as part of the new arena deal could clear a key hurdle this week with an action by the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority board.

Board members are expected to vote tomorrow on a 10-year option agreement with Pittsburgh Arena Real Estate Redevelopment, a Penguins affiliate, that would give the team control over the URA-owned Melody Tent site, now used as a parking lot.

The parcel is part of the 28 acres the Penguins won the right to develop in the agreement reached with state and local leaders in March to build a new arena. Those 28 acres include the land on which Mellon Arena sits and the arena's lower and upper parking lots.

Under the March deal and the proposed URA agreement, the Penguins' 10-year option on the land would start one year after the new arena is completed.

The team is required to develop 10 percent of the land each year, or face the risk of losing all or a portion of it. The Penguins must pay fair market value for the land, but will have access to $15 million in credits to offset the purchase price as a "further incentive to development," according to a URA report discussing the Melody Tent site.

"This agreement reflects a material part of the overall agreement reached to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh and to finance the new arena," the report says.

As part of the March deal, the team also must negotiate in good faith with Pittsburgh casino license winner Don Barden about his potential participation in development of the 28 acres. Those talks have yet to start.

Last week, the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority board gave Executive Director Mary Conturo authorization to enter an option agreement with the team regarding development of the Mellon Arena site. Ms. Conturo said, however, that probably won't be finalized for at least six months, as officials focus first on arena construction.

The development rights could provide the Penguins with another revenue stream once the new arena is up. The team also has the option of using some of the land for parking before it is developed.

As part of the Isle of Capri Inc. bid for the Pittsburgh casino, the Penguins had teamed with Nationwide Realty Investors of Columbus, Ohio, to redevelop the 28-acre site with offices, housing, restaurants, retail and entertainment facilities, and to re-establish a street grid to reconnect the Hill with Downtown.

Nationwide dropped out of the picture after Mr. Barden won the casino license.

The Penguins have yet to select a new developer as part of the arena deal, but are expected to look at similar uses for the land.

Hill groups and residents are pushing for a say in the redevelopment and a community benefits agreement with the Penguins on issues that could include jobs, housing and givebacks.

In other matters tomorrow, the URA board is expected to consider:

$910,000 in Pittsburgh Development Fund loans to the Ferchill Group as part of the financing for the $46 million Bridgeside Point II wet lab/office building at the Pittsburgh Technology Center in South Oakland.

An agreement with the Soffer Organization and Development Opportunity Corp. for development of a 140-room hotel, plus 23 condominiums, in a building of up to 13 floors at the SouthSide Works complex.

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

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070613melody_tent.gif

Evergrey

06-13-2007, 05:51 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07164/793610-53.stm

Artists bring flourish to Penn Avenue

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Nine years ago, two nonprofits designated a 12-block stretch of Penn Avenue through Bloomfield, Garfield and Friendship as a destination for artists. Some local residents ridiculed the idea. The corridor was pestilent.

Bloomfield-Garfield Corp. and Friendship Development Associates teamed up to pitch empty storefronts to artists. They attached big colorful banners over doorways between Mathilda Street and Negley Avenue in a 16-building strategy. Vandals and several seasons of weather had their way with the banners for a few years.

Fast forward to the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater at 5941 Penn Ave., where at 6 p.m. tomorrow, the Penn Avenue Arts Initiative will throw a release party for its new 20-minute video that documents the turn of events since 2001. The event, celebrating "Electric Avenue," is free and open to the public and will include live music, refreshments and art for sale.

Despite many ills remaining, the nonprofits feel vindicated. Nearly a dozen arts groups have clustered along the corridor in the past six years, many of whom perform and offer classes, including the Pittsburgh Glass Center, Dance Alloy and Attack Theatre. More than a dozen arts-related businesses and individual artists who live upstairs and work downstairs also have invested in the corridor, as did two architecture studios, Edge Architects in 2003 and Loysen + Kreuthmeier in 2005. Some of the artists and arts groups offer workshops and classes to all age groups.

Garfield Artworks was the lone gallery, and Dance Alloy had just moved into the neighborhood when artist Jeffrey Dorsey began volunteering with the Penn Avenue Arts Initiative. It started in 1998 as a joint project of Bloomfield-Garfield Corp. and Friendship Development Associates. Both are nonprofits that provide neighborhood services and develop real estate. They compiled a database of more than 400 artists in three immediate ZIP codes.

Mr. Dorsey served on the steering committee to get the initiative on its feet, then was hired the next year to run it. He was instrumental in establishing the Unblurred event that draws the public to artist spaces the first Friday evening of every month and is now executive director of FDA.

"Artists were interested" in the corridor early on, he said, but it took a few years for momentum to build. "We would have an artist ready to buy, and then there would be trouble with financing, or a contractor and the artist at the last minute decided not to buy." On two buildings in particular, "the banners were up way too long, but we got a lot of response."

On the new video, the second the arts initiative has made to document its progress, Mr. Dorsey said artists were the target to jump-start revitalization "because artists are connectors."

A revival of Penn Avenue is radiating to some of its troubled side streets. Recently, two new homeowners relocated here from other cities, one a young family, the other a young couple, and bought blighted, abandoned homes to renovate and live in north of Penn, said Becky Mingo, real estate specialist for Friendship Development.

Aggie Brose, deputy director of Bloomfield-Garfield, said BGC has sold 22 of 23 new single-family homes of a 50-house plan that will occupy a four-by-four block area. Eight more are being built now, and 19 will be started next summer, she said.

The BGC also owns seven homes being rehabbed this and next year on North Fairmount.

The arts initiative has had "minimal impact on the sale of new houses in Garfield," she said, "but I'm hoping that unconsciously, all the excitement on Penn Avenue in general fed into buyers' decisions."

She said the BGC and FDA "labored for years" to fill small storefronts that continued to lie dormant until the groups met with Artists in Cities, an organization that was finishing construction of the Spinning Plate Artists Lofts and Galleries on Friendship Avenue in 1998.

"They had a waiting list," said Ms. Brose. "So Rob Stephany, [commercial real estate specialist for East Liberty Development, who was then on the BGC staff] jumped in and said, 'We have places on Penn Avenue. Let me take you on a tour.' That's how the Arts Initiative was born, and a movement started."

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

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070613penn_ave_arts.gif

Evergrey

06-13-2007, 05:57 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07164/793499-85.stm

City's 250th party events to come in threes

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

By Len Barcousky, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

To highlight Pittsburgh as the home to three rivers, the city's celebration of next year's 250th anniversary of its naming will be marked by signature projects and grand openings that also will come in threes: new trails and sight-seeing guides; a bike race and grand openings led by a madeover Point State Park; and range of local projects aimed at boosting the region's spirits and health.

An update on birthday events was part of a planning summit yesterday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, sponsored by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. Conference Chairman James Rohr called the planned multi-county approach to celebrating the anniversary "the best idea we've had as a region."

Pittsburgh was so named in November 1758 when a British and colonial army, led by Gen. John Forbes, occupied the ruins of Fort Duquesne. He named the new settlement at the Point for his superior, British Secretary of State William Pitt.

"Pittsburgh 250" is a two-year, $65 million undertaking that extends across Pennsylvania, executive director Bill Flanagan said.

The projects and grand openings chosen as prime elements in the celebration are not new undertakings, but efforts that will be completed as part of the anniversary, he said.

The projects are:

The Great Allegheny Passage, a biking and hiking trail that begins near McKeesport and connects to the C&O Canal National Historic Park in Cumberland, Md. When the last nine miles between McKeesport and Pittsburgh are finished next year, it will provide a seamless connection between Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., completing "the most accessible great trail experience in the world."

A new Forbes Trail Driving Guide. The book will allow motorists not only to rediscover the route that the British army blazed on its way to what became Pittsburgh, but also to find information on other historic spots along the way. "When you are driving on parts of Route 30 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, you are traveling along the Forbes Trail," Mr. Flanagan said.

He said an east-west journey through Pennsylvania brings visitors to sites important not only in the French and Indian War, but in the American Revolution (Independence Hall), the Civil War (Gettysburg) and the War on Terror (Flight 93 Memorial).

The $35 million renovation of Point State Park.

The second group of three includes the 450-mile, cross-state American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania bicycle race, June 24-29, 2008, covering much of the Forbes Trail. Also included will be yet-to-be scheduled grand openings of the completed trail and Point State Park.

The third trio of Pittsburgh 250 activities includes "grass roots initiatives," Mr. Flanagan said. They are "Community Connections," a $1 million investment in local projects; "Reunions & Homecomings," bringing family reunions and business meetings to southwestern Pennsylvania; and "250 and Fit," a joint effort with the YMCA of Pittsburgh to sign up 250,000 participants in a health and wellness program. More information about Pittsburgh 250 events is available at www.imaginepittsburgh.com.

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

(Len Barcousky can be reached at lbarcousky@post-gazette.com or 724-772-0184.)

Evergrey

06-13-2007, 06:33 AM

I ventured over to Oakmont this evening to "soak up the vibe" of the U.S. Open...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8b/2007USOpenLogo.gif

...and I noticed some interesting renderings on the side of a building... I'm not sure if we've talked about this project in this thread before...

It's called Edgewater... and the tagline is: "The historic community of Oakmont will soon be home to a beautiful new residential neighborhood!"
http://www.liveatedgewater.com/

"Edgewater is an exciting new property that will feature 34 acres of serene, waterfront living located within the former home of Edgewater Steel. This traditional neighborhood will include sidewalks, tree-lined streets, pocket parks, access to the river and diverse housing opportunities. The plan currently includes four housing types: metro-flats, mid-rise condominiums, townhomes and single-family homes, and a retail/commercial district.

Providing more than simply a place to live, Edgewater also works to build a sense of community. As a part of the Oakmont neighborhood Edgewater is committed to blending the charm and history of Oakmont into its rich streetscapes. Connected to both the residential streets and commercial/retail district of Oakmont, a riverfront trail and park will also encourage activity and recreation at Edgewater."

Sounds like a fantastic development that will employ the techniques of the new urbanist trend. Oakmont is a fantastic old-timey suburb that I assume has a high demand for residency... this should help satiate that demand... I'm glad that it will have different types of housing and commercial properties.

http://www.liveatedgewater.com/images/main_about.jpg

PittPenn 03

06-13-2007, 04:51 PM

This is rather surprising. Hopefully it will spur some more development and hopefully in town.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_512436.html

Pittsburgh's rental market among tightest in the nation
By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Pittsburgh's rental market -- along with that in Northern New Jersey -- is the tightest in the nation with a 2.3 percent vacancy rate, according to a report released today by the National Association of Realtors.

The real estate trade group believes the tightness is due to demand exceeding supply.

"New supply is not keeping up with demand," according to the report.

It notes that first time homebuyers have been on the sidelines lately as mortgage interest rates creep up, adding to the number of individuals seeking rental apartments instead of buying houses.

Pittsburgh's newest apartment complexes -- the Cork Factory in the Strip District and the Encore on Seventh -- have experienced strong occupancy since they opened in 2006.

Evergrey

06-13-2007, 09:15 PM

That is very suprising... and I don't believe it... I wouldn't be suprised if the Trib screwed something up when "researching" this topic...

2005 Census Estimates claim a rental vacancy rate of 12.2% for Allegheny County and 10.5% for the city of Pittsburgh.

Here's a link that mentions the number the Trib cited...

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2007061301?OpenDocument

4. Multifamily Markets

In many areas, buildings constructed as condos are now being turned into rental projects. The demand for apartments remains strong, but new supply is essentially matching leasing activity. Multifamily transactions in the first four months of this year totaled $23.2 billion, down 25 percent from the same period in 2006. Essentially half of the purchases were by private investors; condo converters accounted for only 5 percent of acquisitions.

The Forecast:
In the apartment rental market — multifamily housing — vacancy rates are projected to average 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter, almost unchanged from 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Average rent should increase 2.1 percent in 2007, after a 4.1 percent rise last year.
Multifamily net absorption is likely to total 212,300 units in 59 tracked metro areas this year, down from 229,300 in 2006.

Areas with the lowest apartment vacancies: Northern New Jersey; Pittsburgh; Salt Lake City; San Jose; San Francisco and Norfolk, Va., all with vacancy rates of 2.7 percent or less.

— REALTOR® Magazine Online

PittPenn 03

06-13-2007, 10:11 PM

I would not be surprised at all if a local expert came out tomorrow and disputed this, but at the same time I guess it is possible for a city like Pittsburgh to fill available apartments rather quickly since we do not have companies like Post Properties slapping up huge apartment complexes left and right. I was talking to a former landlord a couple of years ago, and they said the market was just then (2004-05 timeframe) recovering from the lack of foreign students from 9/11 restrictions. Perhaps it has fully recovered and then some. Likely wishful thinking, but lately I have been allowing my mind to go to something that I believe was Ed Rendell who recently said, (paraphrasing)that Pittsburgh is on the verge of an upswing that is going to be very surprising to people. He may have been just blowing smoke up his Pittsburgh constituents, but I think the signs are starting to show good things to come and this could be another one of them.

That is very suprising... and I don't believe it... I wouldn't be suprised if the Trib screwed something up when "researching" this topic...

2005 Census Estimates claim a rental vacancy rate of 12.2% for Allegheny County and 10.5% for the city of Pittsburgh.

Here's a link that mentions the number the Trib cited...

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2007061301?OpenDocument

4. Multifamily Markets

In many areas, buildings constructed as condos are now being turned into rental projects. The demand for apartments remains strong, but new supply is essentially matching leasing activity. Multifamily transactions in the first four months of this year totaled $23.2 billion, down 25 percent from the same period in 2006. Essentially half of the purchases were by private investors; condo converters accounted for only 5 percent of acquisitions.

The Forecast:
In the apartment rental market — multifamily housing — vacancy rates are projected to average 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter, almost unchanged from 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Average rent should increase 2.1 percent in 2007, after a 4.1 percent rise last year.
Multifamily net absorption is likely to total 212,300 units in 59 tracked metro areas this year, down from 229,300 in 2006.

Areas with the lowest apartment vacancies: Northern New Jersey; Pittsburgh; Salt Lake City; San Jose; San Francisco and Norfolk, Va., all with vacancy rates of 2.7 percent or less.

— REALTOR® Magazine Online

hyperion1110

06-14-2007, 12:20 AM

:previous: I don't understand why either of you are surprised. The Pittsburgh job market is VERY strong. There are many thousands of jobs waiting to be filled, and there are not nearly enough people to fill them. Even in the medical field, where Pittsburgh is training people by the thousands, seems to be insatiable. And I don't base any of this off of reports from marketing agencies or economic development think tanks. I know from experience, having just graduated from college and spent the last few months applying for positions. There are SO many jobs, a good bit of which are right in the city. I was offered several positions with two weeks of graduating.

With such a strong job market, it is no surprise that the rental market is so tight. I'll bet most of the people taking up the rental space are young professionals, fresh out of college (the demographic Pgh really needs to retain). Also consider Pgh's enormous student population, The student population within the city hovers around the 60K mark, and I'm willing to bet those kids are renting.

So take a minute to enjoy some good news about the city we love. Don't fall into the trap of being suspect of anything good published about Pittsburgh simply because it's good and it's about Pittsburgh.

I think Rendell is right, and I don't think it was lip-service, either.

BMikeSci

06-14-2007, 04:54 AM

Soup nazi comes to PGH

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--soupnazi0613jun13,0,5197170.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

Evergrey

06-14-2007, 12:30 PM

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2007/06/11/story4.html?b=1181534400^1473755

Natural foods market, Italian restaurant aim to feed Cork Factory

Pittsburgh Business Times - June 8, 2007by Tim Schooley

http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/85514-400-0.jpg?rev=2
File photo by Joe Wojcik
With a grocery and Italian restaurant committed, the Cork Factory is still hoping to land a bakery, wine shop and boutique restaurant.

McCaffery Interests Inc. is close to bringing a 15,000- to 18,000-square-foot grocery to The Cork Factory, its 297-unit residential redevelopment of the Armstrong Cork Factory in the Strip District.

Katie Pliscott, leasing director for the 47,000 square feet of retail space in the new 427-space garage across the street, confirmed the market, specializing in natural foods, and a 10,000-square-foot Italian restaurant are committed to the project. Pliscott wouldn't divulge the names of the tenants, pending the signing of final lease agreements. She expects those will come within the next few weeks.

And she's working to lease the remaining space to a specialty bakery, a wine shop and a boutique restaurant. Pliscott emphasized that all the building's tenants will be local operators.

Beyond the 500 people expected to eventually reside in the building, Pliscott sees demand for the new retailers coming from throughout the city.

"That whole area is underserved, in terms of where people can go to get specialty items," Pliscott said.

So far, about 50 percent of the residential units at the Cork Factory, a $50 million-plus redevelopment of a long-empty industrial building, have been leased. Its high-end units cost between $1,200 and $2,600 per month.

Describing the apartment leasing as ahead of schedule, Pliscott was confident the remaining retail space would be leased soon, as well."It's people we're very confident signing 10-year leases with," she said.

Small markets have become highly coveted in new mixed-use developments throughout the city. Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co. expects to open a small market in its completed Encore building in the Cultural District, as does Millcraft Industries as part of its Fifth and Forbes redevelopment plan.

The Cork Factory's new market would find itself amid a long-established mix of food retailers and wholesalers, including Wholey's Market, Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. and Benkovitz Seafood.

"It will be wonderful for people to walk out their door and have more food shopping choices. Any project would love to have that as part of their site plan," said Patty Burk, vice president of housing and economic development for the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

Burk's group and others have been working for some time to land such a market close to Downtown.

"A grocery store is an icon of the neighborhood," she said. "That's why it's been so important for us to focus on a grocery store."

tschooley@bizjournals.com | (412) 208-3826

Evergrey

06-14-2007, 12:42 PM

An expanded article on the rental market... I'd like to see the NAR's methodology for how they came up with that impossible 2.3% vacancy rate...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_512509.html

Pittsburgh rental market squeezed

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 14, 2007

When Brandon Carson decided to accept a scholarship to Carnegie Mellon University last year, the Atlanta resident started checking the Internet for apartments in Pittsburgh with two bedrooms, two baths.
"Usually what we found in the eight or 10 apartments we checked were two bedrooms, one bath, or two bedrooms with a bath and a half. I was in one apartment, which wasn't exactly what I wanted, when I picked up a local publication listing apartments available in the region," he said.

The building that caught his eye was Highland Plaza in Shadyside, which is where he and his roommate decided to locate.

Carson didn't have the kind of trouble finding an apartment that the National Association of Realtors said he should.

In a report issued Wednesday, the trade group for real estate agents nationwide said the Pittsburgh apartment market is the tightest in the nation.
It pegged the rental apartment vacancy rate in Pittsburgh and northern New Jersey at 2.3 percent in the period including April, May and June. Compared to other major cities, in Pittsburgh, "the level of new supply in the market is not keeping pace with demand," the report stated.

The national apartment vacancy rate is 5.6 percent during the period. And it is expected to rise slightly to 5.8 percent by the end of the year. The trade organization used figures supplied by Torte Wheaton Research, a Boston-based division of CB Richard Ellis Real Estate, which has an office in Pittsburgh.

Most area landlords said yesterday they found the figure for Pittsburgh hard to believe.

"I believe the vacancy is more in the 7 to 8 percent range, not 2.3 percent as reported by the association," said Jerry Speer, a partner in Equity Realty Co. of Squirrel Hill, and 2007 president of the local Institute of Real Estate Management. The group consists of many of the area's landlords or firms that manage apartments.

"Perhaps the 2.3 percent figure is possible in certain areas of the region, such as Squirrel Hill or Shadyside, but not for the entire region," he said.

The 2.3 percent vacancy figure could be correct for certain Pittsburgh neighborhoods such as Oakland, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, South Side and the Friendship area, said Howard Engelberg, a partner at Prudential Realty Co. which owns or manages more than 5,000 rental apartments.

"But that percentage is not generally true in the suburban market, except perhaps in the northern area," he said.

Sam Rockwell, owner of Colebrook Management, who serves as president of the Apartment Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, agreed that the Squirrel Hill-Shadyside areas are tight apartment markets.

Sam Spatter can be reached at sspatter@tribweb.com or 412-320-7843.

pitdesi

06-15-2007, 06:05 AM

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07166/794367-53.stm

Penguins get rights to develop land by arena
Hill residents upset over deal with URA
Friday, June 15, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city's Urban Redevelopment Authority board approved an agreement yesterday that gives the Penguins development rights to land above Mellon Arena over the objections of a group of Hill District residents concerned about its impact on a proposed community agreement.

Led by state Rep. Jake Wheatley, the group wanted the board to delay approval until the team committed to a community benefits agreement as part of its lease for a new arena.

Despite the protests, board members opted to press ahead with the 10-year option agreement on the 9.5-acre Melody Tent site, saying it was an important element of the deal to build a new arena and keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

Don Kortlandt, the URA's general counsel, said the team would not sign the arena lease with the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority until agreements were in place regarding development rights.

The Penguins won the right to develop 28 acres of land adjacent to the Hill District and the new arena, and agreed to remain in Pittsburgh, in the deal reached in March with state and local leaders. The 28 acres include the Mellon Arena property and the Melody Tent site.

Mr. Kortlandt said the Penguins consider the development rights to be "an important part of the economics of their deal" and wanted agreements in place before the lease signing.

"That was part of the quid pro quo for them staying in Pittsburgh," he said.

A delay could affect the timing of a $325 million bond issue, possibly increase interest rates and potentially create a funding shortfall that could jeopardize the project, he said.

"I think the situation could spin out of control," he said.

URA board members also said there would be plenty of opportunities to hold the Penguins to a community benefits agreement through city master plan and project development approvals and future URA reviews.

"There are so many steps involved I don't see the need to delay," board Chairman Yarone Zober said.

The URA also released text of a letter signed by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, county Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Penguins President David Morehouse committing the politicians and the sports authority to working in "good faith toward a community benefits agreement" involving the new arena and the 28-acre redevelopment.

The Penguins, the letter says, "welcome the opportunity to actively participate in this process and enter into a community benefits agreement that would require the Penguins to be a party."

The benefits agreement may cover employment, minority contracts, business support and other issues that affect the community.

"At the end of the day, there will be a [community benefits agreement]," said URA board member Tonya Payne, a city councilwoman who represents the Hill.

Mr. Wheatley described the URA approval as a "slap in the face," saying he did not believe a delay would affect interest rates enough to cause a problem with the arena financing.

"For me, I think that's just a cover for them trying to move this process without really having to make the Penguins make a true commitment in writing," he said.

The letter is "not good enough," he said, arguing that a community benefits commitment must be part of the lease. Mr. Wheatley said he would seek to block any state funding for the arena until there is such a promise.

Suggestions that a delay could hamper or kill the arena deal are "totally bogus," he insisted.

"I think the Penguins have always used the fact that [they] will leave as [the] hammer to get everything they want," he said.

Carl Redwood, a spokesman for the One Hill CBA Coalition, also was skeptical of URA claims that the Penguins wanted to see the option agreement in place before they signed the lease.

"The Penguins have been twisting the arm of the city and the county and the state ... to get a good deal for themselves. We need to make sure there's a good deal for the community," he said.

Also yesterday, the URA board agreed to be a conduit for $30 million in state funding awarded as part of the financing for the construction of a $200 million cancer and biomedical research facility in the former Ford Assembly Plant on Baum Boulevard in Shadyside. The UPMC project, which is expected to take several years to complete, will create as many as 452 new jobs.

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

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

Evergrey

06-17-2007, 06:01 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07168/794844-147.stm

Allegheny River tunnel project awaits the arrival of a giant borer

UNDER THE RIVER / First in an occasional series

Sunday, June 17, 2007

By Mark Roth, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Amid dust, vibration and almost constant noise, the work to prepare for Pittsburgh's first underwater tunnels is marching forward on schedule.

In four more years, if all goes according to plan, Port Authority Transit will have two 2,400-foot-long tunnels snaking beneath the Allegheny River, carrying light rail passengers to the North Shore and back again.

The staging areas for the $435-million project are concentrated on Stanwix Street, Downtown, and along General Robinson Street on the North Side, between PNC Park and Heinz Field.

The Stanwix Street work is quiet right now, consisting mainly of utility line relocation carried out in the evening.

But the General Robinson portion of the project is booming.

The focal point is a giant hole, 55 feet deep and 80 feet long, that's being carved into the earth beneath the street.

This is the "launch pit," the point from which a $10-million tunnel-boring machine from Germany will start burrowing beneath the shore and then deep into riverbed beneath the Allegheny, probably in September.

The boring machine, built especially for the Pittsburgh project by Herrenknecht AG in southern Germany, is essentially a 22-foot-diameter worm with teeth.

The complex mechanical cylinder is being tested now at the Herrenknecht headquarters in Schwanau, and will be shipped here in August.

Guided by lasers, the machine will churn through about 20 to 40 feet of earth a day, which means the southbound tunnel should reach Downtown some time around February, and the northbound will hit the North Shore in July 2008.

At no point will the river water actually touch the tunnels, which will be at least 20 feet beneath the riverbed, and even deeper in the middle.

At this point, the launch pit is about halfway finished and on schedule to be completed by August, said Kirk L. Thompson, civil engineering manager at the Port Authority.

Stiffening the soil
One day last month, two huge excavators were chomping and disgorging earth from the launch pit, but as Mr. Thompson explained, it wasn't just soil they were moving.

To keep the pit from collapsing and to provide a firmer surface for the tunnel machine to bore into, cement grout was being injected into the soil to stiffen it.

Other parts of the job will use a milkshake-thick slurry of bentonite, a kind of absorbent clay.

During the tunnel boring itself, bentonite slurry will be injected in front of the cutting heads to help hold back the rock and soil and then to mix with it so it can be transported through pipes back to the surface.

One other part of the job will use a different type of bentonite slurry. The portion of the tunnels from General Robinson Street to the Heinz Field parking lot will actually be excavated from ground level rather than using the boring machine.

In that stretch, the walls of the pit will be made by injecting bentonite slurry into the excavations to hold the soil in place, and then pumping in concrete grout to slowly displace the lighter slurry.

To cut down on the dust on the North Shore, each truck entrance has been lined with stone, and the trucks' wheels are washed off before they head out onto the street.

Several of the supports beneath I-279 and its ramps also have solar-powered instruments attached to detect any shifting that might occur as the construction proceeds.

Underwater tunnels common
While a project of this type is a first for Pittsburgh, a city of bridges and through-the-hillside tunnels, underwater tunnels are common elsewhere.

The Lincoln and Holland automotive tunnels in New York City are underwater. So is the light rail Trans-Bay Tube from San Francisco to Oakland, and the Ted Williams Tunnel from Boston to Logan International Airport.

The Trans-Bay and Ted Williams tunnels were made by creating tunnel sections and then lowering them from the surface of the water into trenches that were then covered over.

The Port Authority considered that approach, said Henry Nutbrown, the authority's manager of engineering and construction, but decided against it.

Not only did the bored tunnel turn out to be cheaper, he said, but the immersion method would have endangered the habitats of several vulnerable species of fish, including the river redhorse and the mooneye.

The Port Authority did consider a bridge rather than tunnels, he said, but rejected that idea because the bridge would have had to rise so steeply Downtown to get above Fort Duquesne Boulevard that much of Stanwix Street would have been clogged by bridge supports, and a similarly large chunk of land would have been consumed by the bridge where it touched down on the North Shore.

Is it worth the cost?
The cost of the project, which will include a new Gateway Station Downtown and two new stations on the North Shore, works out to $355 for every man, woman and child in Allegheny County.

That has generated sharp criticism from some at a time when the Port Authority is paring routes, laying off employees and talking about raising fares to keep the system afloat.

Mr. Nutbrown has two answers to that complaint.

First, the money for the extension, including $348 million from the federal government and $72.5 million from the state, can be used only for this project, and would have to be given back if the tunnels were abandoned.

Second, and more importantly, he said, the extension will be vital in helping boost the development that is taking place around the two stadiums and the new casino on the North Shore, ferrying people in both directions for work and recreation.

Eventually, he said, the North Shore extension could be stretched all the way to Pittsburgh International Airport.

"We know there are still people out there who find this kind of a project unappealing," Mr. Nutbrown acknowledged, "but I don't think they're looking at how we've paid these dollars into the federal government and now this is our opportunity to get it back and turn it into something worthwhile."

The $156-million tunneling portion of the project is being supervised by a joint venture called North Shore Constructors, a pairing of Trumbull Corp., of West Mifflin, and Obayashi Corp., of San Francisco.

The southbound tunnel will run under one corner of the new Equitable Resources headquarters before worming beneath the river. The northbound tunnel will parallel its twin, slightly upriver.

New stations planned
Workers will build a new, glass-covered Gateway Station along Stanwix Street, as well as two new stations on the North Side -- an underground site next to the Sports & Exhibition Authority garage between PNC Park and Heinz Field, and an elevated station at Allegheny Avenue and Reedsdale Street.

All trains running into the new Gateway Station will head to the North Side and back again, eliminating the horseshoe turnaround at the current Gateway site.

Just as the current light rail line emerges into daylight near the Allegheny County Jail, the extension will do the same thing next to Heinz Field and then run on elevated tracks more than 20 feet above ground until reaching its final destination.

But the focus right now is on the launch pit, all in anticipation of the arrival of the Herrenknecht machine, which will be delivered to Pittsburgh on about 20 trucks.

The project's general contractors are leasing the machine, which the Port Authority insisted should be brand new.

Why?

"This is the first time it's ever been done in Pittsburgh," Mr. Thompson said, "and we wanted to get rid of as much risk as possible, so instead of having a rebuilt machine, we asked for a new one."

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

(Mark Roth can be reached at mroth@post-gazette.com or at 412-263-1130. )

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070617dsBIGDIG0627_450.jpg
Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette
Looking west toward Heinz Field from the Sports & Exhibition Authority parking garage roof, the mound of sand in the foreground is the point at which Port Authority light rail trains will emerge from their underground tunnels on the North Shore.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/north_shore_tunnelmap720.jpg

...

I love how PAT officials continue to tout the 1.2 mile North Shore Connector as potentially being the first step in a possible extension (to the airport or wherever)... I fear that PAT has no study or plans for this hypothetical future extension... but I guess they're too busy with layoffs and route cuts... I also think the "this will aid the construction of the North Shore" argument to be weak... we already have enormous job/population centers like Oakland, South Side, East End, etc. that could use LRT now... but yeah... the federal funding is there... so go with it... just come up with some better arguments to support it

Evergrey

06-17-2007, 06:05 AM

and oh yeah... my favorite topic... very embarrassing for Pittsburgh... I just rode the 501 a few days ago... I'll be sorry to see it go... if an additional 10% cut is implemented, I fear PAT's system will enter into a cycle of decline that will be very difficult to reverse

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07168/794522-147.stm

Cutbacks at strapped Port Authority take effect today

Service will be eliminated on 30 routes and reduced on another 104 in an attempt to cut a $44.6 million deficit

Sunday, June 17, 2007

By Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After much debate and dread, today some buses finally stop running.

Port Authority's long-heralded 15 percent service cut -- which eliminates 30 routes and reduces service on 104 -- takes effect today, part of an effort to close a projected $44.6 million budget deficit for the coming fiscal year.

No one is happy about the changes, but PAT said they were inevitable considering the authority's precarious financial state.

"We'll definitely miss it," Rose Rusiski, of Manchester, said Friday after getting off a Route 501 bus Downtown with her husband, Edward. As of today, the 501 no longer exists.

"It will hurt a lot of people, although we're not too bad yet," Mrs. Rusiski, 71, said. "It was very convenient."

More cuts are likely around the corner as PAT gears up for an additional 10 percent service reduction in the fall and a fare hike come January.

"It's a very difficult day for everybody at Port Authority to see these cuts actually going into effect," PAT spokesman Bob Grove said last week. "Our whole goal here is to attract people to public transportation, which not only saves them money and, we think, adds convenience to their lives, but makes our highways less congested and helps our environment.

"When you have to cut service 15 percent, it's very, very difficult to watch. It's the unfortunate financial reality right now."

In March, the PAT board ratified the cuts. They amount to eliminating 15 percent of the hours that buses are in service each year -- or paring the 2.5 million hours down to under 2.2 million hours.

Another cut in service hours is on the horizon if PAT cannot find funding. Although a 10 percent cut would be smaller than the current reduction, PAT Chief Executive Officer Steve Bland has warned that the cumulative effect would be devastating on the transit system.

"We're going to continue working very hard to ensure the other 10 percent doesn't occur this fall," Mr. Grove said.

As of today, 29 weekday routes and one Saturday-only route are gone.

Of the remaining 184 weekday routes, 104 have reduced service. Of the remaining 83 Saturday routes, 52 have scaled-back service. And of the remaining 68 Sunday routes, service is down on 35.

In light of cutbacks, PAT today is reducing the hours of operation of its Downtown Service Center during the week and the Customer Service Department on weekends by 90 minutes.

PAT customers can call 412-442-2000 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Customers who are speech or hearing impaired can call the TTY number, 412-231-7007. Weekday hours remain the same, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Downtown Service Center at 534 Smithfield St. is open from Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The service center will remain closed on weekends.

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

(Jonathan D. Silver can be reached at jsilver@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1962. Staff Writer Laura Yao contributed to this report. )

Port Authority service cuts
Starting today, the following 30 Port Authority routes are eliminated: 1B, 1C, 5C, 11A, 11F, 13D, 15A, 25C, 25D, 28F, 28G, 31A, 36B, 41A, 50B, 65E, 73B, 79B, 83B, 88A, 91S, 501, CL, CV, DB, F, GR, JL, SW, U

Evergrey

06-17-2007, 06:12 AM

too bad this link doesn't include the chart of municipalities and their property value growth and tax growth... residents of 75% of Allegheny County municipalities would have saved money if the 2006 assessments were used instead of 2002 historical assessments... most of the 25% that would have to pay more are tony suburbs with rapidly increasingly property values like Sewickley Heights, Edgeworth and Fox Chapel (basically the rich are not paying their share; are you suprised!?)... though the City of Pittsburgh is also included in this group... as well as Dormont... which fuels my speculation that that borough is becoming a hot relocation choice due to its walkable urban environment, quick T ride to downtown and its solid sturdy housing stock... a handful of Mon Valley municipalities actually had property value declines... led by Braddock at over 15% decline...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07168/794541-109.stm

Sunday Forum: The property tax, misperceived

CMU professor PAUL FISCHBECK analyzes the property assessment figures that Allegheny County refused to use and found that they would have saved money for taxpayers in most local communities
Sunday, June 17, 2007

Eleven days ago, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick ruled that it is unconstitutional to base property taxes on a historical base year. That's because homeowners who have seen their property values decrease end up paying more than their fair share while fortunate homeowners who have realized an increase in property value end up paying less than their share.

To illustrate how unfair the current system is, it is possible to use the county's discarded 2006 reassessment figures, which were released in the spring of 2005. These figures show that, on average, property values in the county had increased about 19 percent over previous assessments, with some individual properties jumping considerably more while others rose less or fell. These figures were posted on the Internet for a month until the outcries from county residents forced officials to take them down and propose the current "base-year" system pegged to assessed values from 2002. The 2006 reassessment hasn't been seen since.

But before identifying which homeowners are winners and which are losers, it is important to separate the two main questions about any property tax system: 1) how much tax revenue should be collected (the tax or millage rate), and 2) what is a fair share of taxes for each homeowner (based on the assessed value of his or her property).

Unfortunately, this distinction is seldom made. Just because property values increase does not necessarily mean that tax bills or total revenues should increase. A community whose values increase, but increase less than the average in the county, would see lower tax bills from the county if total revenues are held steady. A community also may see a sizable increase in property values but a decrease in the number of children attending school, so total collected taxes should go down.

The question of how much money should be collected is one that should be argued each election with government officials defending their proposed budgets and tax rates. However, determining the fair share of taxes for each homeowner should be done without politics. What would happen if the assessment process was revenue neutral -- which is essentially mandated by state law -- so that the total taxes collected did not increase automatically with increased property values?

Using the much maligned 2006 assessment figures and a revenue-neutral tax rate, 75 percent of the municipalities in the county would see a decrease in county taxes. This is true even though only five municipalities had a net decrease in property values. In fact, any homeowner whose assessed value went up less than 19.24 percent would see a tax cut.

Homeowners in Braddock would see an average decrease in their county property tax of 30 percent. Nineteen municipalities would have their taxes cut by more than 10 percent. Of course, some municipalities would see an increase in taxes, but nowhere near the percentage increase realized in their property values. Sewickley Hills and Edgeworth, whose property values increased an average of 40 percent, would have seen a tax increase of 18 percent. Only 14 communities would have seen tax increases of more than 5 percent.

It is time for the property tax process to be straightened out. Government officials should have to justify their budgets and tax rates, and county residents should pay their fair share.

Officials also should get assessment data out to the public so that the inequities buried in the current base-year system can be uncovered and discussed. With each passing year the base-year system becomes more and more unfair, rewarding those communities whose property values are escalating while punishing those with steady or falling values (which generally are less affluent communities).

With a revenue-neutral tax rate, the redistribution of tax burden that would occur with a true and accurate assessment becomes far more palatable and definitely more fair.

Paul Fischbeck is director of the Center for the Study and Improvement of Regulation at Carnegie Mellon University (fischbeck@cmu.edu).

Grego43

06-17-2007, 03:16 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07168/794844-147.stm

...

I love how PAT officials continue to tout the 1.2 mile North Shore Connector as potentially being the first step in a possible extension (to the airport or wherever)... I fear that PAT has no study or plans for this hypothetical future extension... but I guess they're too busy with layoffs and route cuts... I also think the "this will aid the construction of the North Shore" argument to be weak... we already have enormous job/population centers like Oakland, South Side, East End, etc. that could use LRT now... but yeah... the federal funding is there... so go with it... just come up with some better arguments to support it

I completely agree...don't forget that to get to the Airport from the Northside, another river crossing would need to be built. Another crossing would add huge $$$ to any route. This pipe dream will never (nor should it be at this point) be a reality.

themaguffin

06-17-2007, 04:05 PM

The possible routes have been detailed a while back in the PG. Yes this is the first step in that direction.

hyperion1110

06-17-2007, 04:23 PM

This project didn't make much sense to me in the beginning either. I definitely think there needs to be light rail to the East End and the South Side. However, there are two big points in favor of the North Shore project. One, most of the population growth is north of the city, not east. To accommodate that rising population (who need to commute to the city), there needs to be an extension onto the North Side first. And second, downtown needs to grow. It's adding jobs at a furious rate, and it needs to expand (Oakland, while also growing quickly, is still well-served by buses, and would need a MAJOR transportation overhaul to accommodate light rail). To a small extent, it can grow upward, but I think that option is unlikely. The Downtown skyline is breathtaking as it is, and an icon of Pittsburgh. I don't think there will be much impetus to change it significantly by adding more skyscrapers. But again, Downtown needs breathing room. The only reasonable places for expansion are the North Side and the Strip. For my money, I think the most reasonable choice is the North Side. And with the casino being built there, the area needs dedicated transportation through-ways to handle the congestion. LRT is the answer.

I think many at the Port Authority have been shortsighted...I make no excuse for that. But this project makes sense.

Evergrey

06-17-2007, 04:47 PM

The North Hills might be the "booming" area of Metro Pittsburgh... but despite its great population... its inherent design and structure limit the effectiveness of any potential LRT extension. LRT works best in dense urban environments where people can walk a few blocks to the nearest stop. Just look at the transit usage maps... Dormont and Mt. Lebanon... which are quite "urban" suburbs... have very high rates of transit use... while other communities served by LRT... like Bethel Park... which is pure post-war auto-centric suburbia... has relatively low ridership. The North Hills will always be a place where just about everybody drives to work alone.

And besides... I'd rather not see PAT encourage the continued growth of the leech that is the North Hills at the expense of the core. While every other region of suburban Pittsburgh actually has some "real authentic places"... the North Hills is nothing but the worst kind of sprawl (save for tiny West View). My apologies for my strong opinion on the North Hills... but I just tend to gag a little whenever someone mentions the North Hills.

This Wikipedia photo of Franklin Park perfectly sums up the North Hills:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Pennsylvania_Route_910.jpg/800px-Pennsylvania_Route_910.jpg

hyperion1110

06-17-2007, 11:59 PM

With the exception of a few corridors, notably along the rivers, all of Pittsburgh's suburbs are basically sprawl. The North Hills is no exception, but neither is it noticeably worse. And, believe me, I'm not a fan of sprawl, but there is nothing wrong with light rail to the North Hills, especially along Perry Highway and McKnight Rd. Those areas have significant population and shopping density. PAT would be foolish NOT to build an extension out that way. Also, connecting the North Hills with the city actually benefits the city, because increased connectivity gives people more options for living. They could opt to live in the city and work in the North Hills, which is something I did for years. Remember, Pittsburgh might have a lot of jobs in it, but it is only 1/4 the county population and 1/3 the jobs. The "us vs. them" attitude regarding the suburbs (and, by extension, suburbanites) will only cause further division in an already fractured county.

Also, do you have any idea what most of the East End of the city looked like a little over a hundred years ago? It didn't look much better (or more cohesive) than the North Hills do right now. But as the population grows, the density necessarily increases. Once critical mass is reached, the area will urbanize.

Remember that the North Side is home to between 1/5-1/4 the city's population. So light rail would serve that population as well. Indeed, a light rail system would be ideal for the for area. I don't understand why that isn't obvious?

Btw, religion isn't mind control. Dogmatism is, which can be found in equal measure in science as in organized religion.

UrbaniDesDev

06-18-2007, 03:46 AM

What concerns me of PAT is the lack of a cohesive plan. Everything, including the North Shore Connector has been a piecemeal effort. They have never put forward a plan for the future, that I have seen. Nothing saying, this is what we're looking at in 5 years, 10 years 15 etc. It seems whatever the project in fashion at the time that money is available gets the go ahead. There was federal money available at the time of the new stadii so there we are. There is mention of what it could lead to, but, a definate plan for the next step is not in place. PAT has been a mismanaged agency that appears to lack true leadership. They blow with the wind instaed of putting something down as the next goal to be met. It's a frustrating dance to watch. Most of the members here have more vision than what can be expected from PAT, and thats ashame.

Evergrey

06-18-2007, 12:18 PM

we need more people like these:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_513111.html

North Side coffeehouse fosters community

By Jodi Weigand
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, June 18, 2007

Kimberly Walkenhorst was studying in Australia when she found out she was moving to Pittsburgh.
The Rochester, Mich., native had never been here, but moved three years ago with her close-knit group of seven friends from Hope College, a private Christian college in western Michigan.

"We realized we had a common vision for social justice and for living in community, and as graduation approached, we asked how we could stay together," said Walkenhorst, 22. "I told them I like the idea of community. Pick a city and I'll go there."

The group settled in the North Side, and has grown to include more than 25 other young people who grew up in Michigan or went to school there. The seven original friends co-own Beleza Community Coffeehouse in the Mexican War Streets.

When they first arrived, the 22- to 26-year-old liberal arts majors asked residents what they thought their neighborhood needed. The response was "a place to hang out," Walkenhorst said.
Beleza has become a popular destination since it opened in February 2006. Holly Pultz said she and her friends walk 2 miles each morning, and changed their route through the neighborhood so they could stop at the coffee shop before heading home.

"It's like 'Cheers,' without the alcohol," said Pultz, 64, of Allegheny West. "Everybody knows everybody else, and it's full of interesting people with interesting ideas on life."

Other residents say the coffee shop has reduced problem behavior in the area, and given the North Side a renewed sense of community.

"The neighborhood already had a great sense of identity and connection, but it's coalesced in a different way" as Beleza became popular, said Sandra Kniess, community events chair for the Mexican War Streets Society. "It used to be our front door was down on the front street, and now this is our front door."

Beleza is a Portuguese term meaning "beautiful," but the word is commonly used as an intimate greeting among friends.

"It just really fit what we were trying to create: a very welcoming place and an intimate atmosphere," said co-owner Stephen Frey-Wagg, 25.

The friends said they chose Pittsburgh because a few worked here one summer and liked the city. They saw the city needed young people who were willing to invest in it.

"Pittsburgh needs young people who are going to stay here, and not just come to college," Walkenhorst said. "If you don't have young people who are entrepreneurs, or creating energy of ideas and trying to foster new things, I think that's one reason why Pittsburgh can't retain a young population."

The opportunity to open Beleza came when plans fell through for a coffee shop at the corner storefront on Buena Vista Street, Frey-Wagg said. It was partially renovated, so the group got a loan from the Northside Community Development Fund, and plenty of advice and training from experienced friends, and opened the shop, he said.

"It was fun to do a project like that, with an energetic group of folks who wanted to do something that would be a good business and provide a community gathering place," said Mark Masterson, Northside Community Development Fund executive director.

Evergrey

06-18-2007, 12:22 PM

article on the economic impact of the U.S. Open on the Pittsburgh region

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07169/795107-382.stm

Oakmont appears the winner after final putt

Monday, June 18, 2007

By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Things went so well from the perspective of tournament officials that the return of the U.S. Open to Oakmont for a ninth time is as certain as a tap-in putt.

"We'll certainly be back here for an Open," said Jim Hyler, chairman of the USGA's championship committee. "We're thrilled with the week. The golf course was right where we wanted it. It's a very stern test, which is what we like. And outside the ropes, everything worked well, including the traffic flow."

The USGA, the nonprofit organization that stages this national championship, must go through all the procedures before making an official decision. But Oakmont members are eager to have the tournament return as soon as possible.

"I thought we'd have operational hiccups every day. But on a scale of one to 10, it's been 11 to 15. It's been too good to be true. Everybody is tickled to death," said Mickey Pohl, an Oakmont member who was general chairman for the tournament. "There is big competition among clubs and cities to get this event. But if it's not back in 2015 or 2016, I'll be really disappointed."

What brought out the sterling silver smiles?

Attendance for three practice rounds and four tournament rounds was 258,907, more than the record 225,000 set at Winged Foot in New York last year. On Saturday, which had the largest turnout for the week, 46,521 spectators were on the course -- the most traffic on a single day on the course.

Merchandise sales were also unavailable, but the cash registers in a merchandise pavilion that had more square footage than a football field also surpassed the totals at Winged Foot. Souvenir white flags were sold out on Wednesday, the day before competition began. Red flags were off the shelves on Thursday.

Satellite parking lots and shuttle buses that used a special exit off the Pennsylvania Turnpike cut down congestion around the golf course, with the shuttle time clocked at 13 to 15 minutes in most cases. And guided by real-time reports, officials could direct spectators from the lot in Pittsburgh Mills to Hartwood Acres by changing computerized flashboards on the turnpike.

Tiger Woods, the No. 1 player in the world, was in the final pairing, ensuring the best ratings conditions possible for NBC even though he finished tied for second. Oakmont, rated the toughest and best golf course in the world by NBC's Johnny Miller, performed as advertised. The winning score of Argentina's Angel Cabrera was five over par, which is like saying the course won by five strokes. Cabrera, the first Argentinian and the 12th from outside the United States to win the U.S. Open, pocketed $1.26 million of the total purse of $7 million. He planned to sleep with the sterling silver trophy.

"The golf course was like a flower that blossomed at just the right time," Mr. Pohl said. "There should be no more than 10 years between Opens for a course of this quality."

No event of this magnitude comes without stress or inconvenience for some, however. Many businesses in Oakmont failed to enjoy a windfall because Open traffic was routed around the business district. Many commuters who use the Hulton Bridge to get to and from work inconvenienced themselves by finding alternative routes. And some local residents opted to take their vacations to avoid Open week.

But tournament officials balanced those concerns against the money spent on hotel rooms, rental cars, meals and the like -- an estimated economic impact of $60 million or more for the region.

"Anyone who thinks this is bad for the local economy isn't looking at the big picture," Mr. Pohl said.

The USGA likes to move the Open around to various parts of the country. Next year's event will be played at the municipal course at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Last week, it announced the 2014 Open will go back to Pinehurst, N.C.

Its criteria include enough land for operations, enough space for grandstands and merchandise tents, availability of hotels and airports, and the cooperation of local governments and the business community. (The coordination provided by Allegheny County, Oakmont and Plum boroughs, state police and the turnpike commission, among others, was vital in having the Open at Oakmont for the eighth time.)

But the top consideration is the quality and design of the golf course. Oakmont has its critics -- Phil Mickelson said the setup was "dangerous" when he missed the cut -- but when the USGA aims to identify its national champion, it wants the title earned on the toughest of courses.

In that regard, Oakmont played like Ogremont. During the tournament, not one of the 18 holes played at par. The average score over four rounds was 75.7, nearly six shots higher than the posted par of 70.

"We are absolutely delighted," said Marty Parkes, senior director of communications for the USGA. "The golf course played exactly as we had hoped. It was very tough but very fair."

When asked this week if there were any fun holes here, Tiger Woods deadpanned, "The 19th is great."

But he also paid tribute to the galleries, saying: "It couldn't have been a better or more professional atmosphere to play in."

Jim Furyk, who tied for second, respectfully said, "It's just a mean golf course."

Bubba Watson was among the many contestants who said it was the toughest course he ever played. "Just walking through the parking lot is hard enough," he said.

Such talk echoes as compliments at Oakmont, where 90 percent of the members favor keeping the course so tough that it can continue to stage major championships.

In the run-up to the Open, club president Bill Griffin said with a wicked grin that Oakmont is the kind of place that punishes its members and destroys its guests.

"I think we've had an element of destruction," he said yesterday. "I think the golf course has met the challenge. We like it to play tough and challenging. We like to see the best players in the world humbled by our golf course. It's always been extremely difficult. We're trying to preserve the traditions of the past. It's part of the culture of this club that the course is home to USGA championship events. And it's been great for Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania as another way to showcase our community."

In 2010, the USGA's Women's Open will be settled at Oakmont. And there have been ongoing talks between club officials and the USGA about bringing back the men's Open. While there is no commitment to a date, the welcome mat is out, and indications are nothing but positive.

"They've given us every signal that they want to return," Mr. Pohl said. "The USGA people are my friends, and I have told them individually we want them back. We'd have it every other year if they wanted. We'll tell them when we're tired of having it. I even said that if something happens, we'll leave the grandstands up and they can come back next year."

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

(Robert Dvorchak can be reached at bdvorchak@post-gazette.com or at 412-263-1959. )

Evergrey

06-18-2007, 12:27 PM

the lein buyback was a brilliant move... but I feel the city is making a mistake by not opening up these parcels to private developers

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_513112.html

Pittsburgh development drought a thing of the past

By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, June 18, 2007

Hazelwood's decade-long development drought ended last week with a groundbreaking for duplexes and single-family homes on land once saddled with tax liens.
"There was an absurdity to all the interest and fees the liens had accumulated," said Jim Richter, director of Hazelwood Initiative Inc., the nonprofit agency shepherding the two housing developments on Monongahela Street and Sylvan and Hazelwood avenues.

In December, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl teamed with Pittsburgh Public Schools to spend $6.5 million to retake control of 11,053 property liens -- including those hampering development in Hazelwood -- from Capital Assets Research Corp., a private company.

The liens, which are legal claims against a property for unpaid taxes, sat on properties constituting about 8 percent of the land in Pittsburgh. Most of the properties were vacant.

From 1996 through 1999, Capital Assets had paid the city $64 million to buy the liens in a deal with then-Mayor Tom Murphy, who needed the money to balance budgets.
The company failed to collect back taxes from property owners on most of the liens, and sold the liens back to the city at a loss.

Some vacant land that Hazelwood Initiative wants to develop has liens that have accumulated $10,000 in interest, but the land has a market value of only $800, Richter said.

"It was an excellent move on the part of the Ravenstahl administration to try to help the neighborhoods get some traction in housing redevelopment," he said.

Through a treasurer's sale and other measures, the city can erase those debts and allow nonprofit development groups to acquire the land at a lower cost.

Jerry Dettore, Urban Redevelopment Authority director, said the buyback eliminated a major roadblock facing most local development groups wanting to turn vacant land or tumble-down row houses into new homes.

"By regaining control of these tax liens, we took a giant leap in the elimination of blight in our neighborhoods," Ravenstahl said Thursday. "Already, development that was held up for years is now breaking ground."

"It happened just in time," said Rebecca Davidson-Wagner, the Central Northside Neighborhood Council's community development specialist.

The URA and the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group stepped in last year to remove expensive liens from lots that would have hampered the first phase of the Federal Hill project to build 11 affordable and 11 market-rate homes.

The North Side group hopes to build 38 more homes in two phases, for a total of 60 new dwellings on land that had been too expensive to buy because of the interest on the liens.

"Acquisition would have been a problem," she said. "If we weren't able to get the clear title on some of the properties, we wouldn't be able to build 60. We would only be able to build about 40."

Adriane Aul, the coordinator of the federal Weed and Seed anti-crime and redevelopment program in Pittsburgh, said the city has purchased liens only on those properties for which nonprofit groups have firm redevelopment plans. It has cleared 150 properties so far.

"It's only for community development organizations; it's not for speculators," she said.

Not everyone agrees with that restriction.

"We'd like to see these properties made available to developers, to realtors and the general public," said Anthony Cimino, president of the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh. "It doesn't make a lot of sense to buy these properties back using taxpayers' money and then reserve all of it for nonprofits, some of whom aren't going to pay taxes."

He said competition could spur the properties to return faster to the tax rolls.

Boosting Pittsburgh's property tax rolls is the goal, said Patrick Dowd, a Pittsburgh school board member who recently won the Democratic primary for City Council's District 7.

"The school district and the city are both interested in finding ways to improve and grow the tax base any way they can," Dowd said.

According to U.S. Census figures, 350,000 people lived in Pittsburgh in 1996 -- when Murphy sold the liens to Capital Assets. The estimate today is about 300,000.

New building permits -- one indicator of new homes and other structures -- fell from 2,793 in 1996 to 1,844 in 2006, according to city Bureau of Building Inspection figures.

Christopher Berdnik, executive director of finance for Pittsburgh Public Schools, said the district's $1.9 million investment in the buyback will likely pay dividends.

"Six months might be too soon to ultimately judge whether it's successful or not," said Berdnik. "But there's no question that there's improvement."

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

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/images/video/2007_pdfs/GX-Property-ch-06-17.pdf