[JAM1218]

I am so happy Pittsburgh is finally getting a downtown grocery store.:banana:

dude, not as much as I am.

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Yes, that is a rendering.

Biz Times has an article today about the URA's renewed effort to convert the Fruit Auction building on Smallman in the Strip into an indoor marketplace ala Reading Terminal in Philly. However, this plan is being met with resistance from the wholesalers who presently reside in the building and would be forced to move. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

anyways... suprised nobody posted this yet:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07215/806601-85.stm

Penguins delay arena opening until 2010

Friday, August 03, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



There won't be any hockey nights -- or anything else -- in the new Pittsburgh arena until the fall of 2010.

The Penguins have decided to delay the opening of the building until the start of the 2010-11 season rather than rush to have it completed for at least a portion of the 2009-10 campaign.

Spokesman Tom McMillan said yesterday the team will lose a couple of months of revenue from the new building by delaying the opening, but in the end felt it was prudent to ensure quality design and construction.

"The right thing to do is to do it the right way," he said. "The matter of a few more months will enable us to do that."

After reaching agreement with state and local leaders in March to build a new arena and stay in Pittsburgh, team officials said they hoped to have the building ready during the 2009-10 season.

But Mr. McMillan said the more the team looked at it, the more it realized a more reasonable goal was the start of the 2010-11 season.

He said the additional time would allow the Penguins to check out more arenas for ideas and continue to participate in the process set up by the city to get public comment on the project and the development expected to take place around it.

The Penguins plan to break ground on the new arena next spring.

There's a chance it could open for an event or two before the hockey season, just as Heinz Field hosted an 'N Sync concert in August 2001 before the start of the Steelers season.

The new timetable isn't expected to increase the cost of the $290 million building. The city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority board has authorized a $325 million bond issue for the project. The authority hopes to close on the financing soon.

Authority Executive Director Mary Conturo said yesterday that most site preparation work for the new building, to be built between Fifth and Centre avenues near Mellon Arena, should be completed by October.

The exception will be St. Francis Central Hospital, which is undergoing asbestos abatement. Demolition is expected to start by November.

Ms. Conturo said it is possible to begin arena construction even while the hospital is being demolished, although that may not be an issue now that the Penguins don't anticipate a groundbreaking until the spring.

Authority board members authorized the hiring of Oxford Development Co. and the Chester Engineers yesterday to serve as their watchdog during the arena's design and construction.

The contract for the Oxford-Chester joint venture is estimated at $1.75 million. The Penguins, who will be the lead tenant in the new building, will be responsible for design and construction. They also will be responsible for operating and maintaining the arena and booking events. In exchange, they will get to keep all revenues. The sports authority will own the building.

Ms. Conturo said Oxford and Chester were selected from among seven firms that submitted proposals.

"They will be our oversight through the whole project," she said.

Also yesterday, the board approved a $478,000 contract, plus expenses, with Graves Architects Inc. to design a 500-space parking garage adjacent to the new arena. Ms. Conturo said the authority is anticipating that the Penguins will opt for the garage rather than a surface parking lot.

Under the March agreement to build the arena, the team had the option to increase its $3.6 million annual contribution toward construction by $500,000 a year to finance the garage.

Although the team has yet to make a final decision, it appears to be leaning toward the garage, Ms. Conturo said.

The board also authorized a $1 million change order in a contract with Abmech Inc. for additional asbestos removal work at the St. Francis hospital. The firm received a $1.5 million contract last March to remove asbestos and other environmental hazards from the building.




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

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07216/806473-30.stm

Prices on the rise in tight-knit Morningside
Saturday, August 04, 2007

By Caitlin Price, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Nestled between the neighborhoods of Stanton Heights and Highland Park, Morningside is sometimes overlooked by home buyers who want to live close to Downtown.

But recent sales and a steady increase in median house prices suggest it's a new day in Morningside.

Connie Zimmer, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Real Estate, said the neighborhood's proximity to the new Children's Hospital is a big selling point for people who work there. It's also a 15-minute drive from Downtown and within walking distance of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070805rrmorningside4_450.jpg
Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette photos
The porch at 6929 Standish St. in Morningside provides a shady spot for socializing.

Morningside's streets of close-together brick and wood-framed houses are dotted with For Sale signs, and some properties are selling fast.

Matt Ohlsson, another Coldwell Banker agent, said it took only five days to sell 6929 Standish St., which was priced at $179,900.

The four-bedroom, two-bath home has been extensively remodeled over the past few years and is "probably the nicest house in Morningside right now," he said.

Ms. Zimmer said one of her listings in Stanton Heights sold in five weeks, and a three-bedroom, three-bath house in Morningside is now under contract after 2 1/2 months on the market.

Morningside is part of Pittsburgh's 10th Ward, along with Upper Lawrenceville and Stanton Heights. While the number of houses there sold each year has remained fairly steady -- between 200 and 250 -- the median price has risen from $41,450 in 2000 to $68,370 for a one-year period ending in June, according to RealSTATS.

Though the neighborhood's houses often have little space in between, a surprising number have grassy front lawns and sizable back yards. From the back porch of the Standish Street house, you can admire the professional landscaping, including a stone patio that would be perfect as an outdoor dining area. There is a small front yard with flowers in containers.

Many houses on Standish and surrounding streets have full-length front porches, adding opportunities to socialize in warm weather. The porch of 6929 Standish is shaded by custom-made canvas awnings. Metal awnings, some brightly painted, are found on many of the houses in Morningside.

Among the houses currently on the market is a three-bedroom, one-bathroom Colonial at 1611 Chislett St. It's priced at $119,000 through RE/MAX Realty Brokers.

The house, which was built in 1900, has curb appeal, with a full-length covered porch made from brick, a white metal awning shading the second-story windows and a well-kept yard and landscaping. Realtor Jill Portland said neighborhood residents take great pride in upkeep of their houses and yards.

The living room, the largest room in the house, measures 20 by 13 feet and has white wall-to-wall carpeting laid less than two years ago. The room's focal point is a decorative fireplace with a mirror wall above it. The carpet continues into the adjacent dining room. There are hardwood floors in both rooms.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070805rrmorningside5_450.jpg
This three-bedroom home on Chislett Street in Morningside is on the market for $119,000.

A 10-by-10-foot eat-in kitchen runs off the dining room. Dark wood cabinets offer storage, and the table is attached to the wall, creating a cozy dining area. The refrigerator, which is tucked into an alcove by the back door, stove, dishwasher and other appliances are not new but functional.

The hardwood flooring continues on the second floor, which holds three bedrooms and a full bathroom. The 15-by-11-foot master bedroom is the largest and has wide windows overlooking Chislett Street.

The two other bedrooms -- one converted to a sitting room and the other to an office/gym -- measure 10 by 10 feet. Both rooms feature tall windows that allow plenty of light.

The second floor has lots of storage. The master bedroom includes two deep, walk-in closets, and a tall linen closet is in the hall. The other two bedrooms have deep closets as well.

Other amenities include a fenced-in back lawn and central air conditioning, a bonus in a century-old house, especially during these hot August days.

For more information on 1611 Chislett St., Morningside, call Jill Portland of RE/MAX Realty Brokers at 412-521-1000, ext. 20, or go to www.pittsburgh-homes.com/remaxrb/, MLS No. 676687.



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Caitlin Price can be reached at cprice@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1419.

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07216/806912-85.stm

Onorato: Use tax on drinks, rental cars to fund transit

Saturday, August 04, 2007

By James O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato's October budget proposal will ask County Council to shift the total local revenue burden for transit to new levies on car rentals and drinks served in bars and restaurants.

While the local transit subsidy relies on property taxes now, Mr. Onorato said he would like to completely divorce Port Authority funding from that controversial levy. To do that, he said, he would ask council to enact a drink tax rate of 10 percent, the maximum permitted under new state legislation when he submits his 2008 budget in mid-October.

The new rental car tax would be $2 a day.

During a taping of the KD/PG Sunday edition, the Democrat said that sharing the Port Authority costs between the property tax and the new taxes at lower rates was unacceptable in that it would be a recipe for future property tax hikes.

"Unfortunately, we don't have the leeway to do that," he said. "If you leave even part of it on property taxes, you're going to have to raise property taxes eventually for transit. This is a chance to fix transit once and for all."

Mr. Onorato has the political luxury of going into his re-election campaign unopposed, but his funding proposal ensures a contentious fall and winter.

The new taxes authorized by the state Legislature have already sparked an intense lobbying campaign from restaurant owners along with the opposition of several members of council's GOP minority.

During a wide-ranging interview, the incumbent also acknowledged that he and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl are "not on the same page yet'' on proposals to merge city and county operations or governmental structure, while saying that he would be open to the appointment of state lawmakers to the Port Authority board.

The show, taped yesterday morning, airs tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. on KDKA television.

Allegheny County currently provides roughly $25 million in annual transit funding. In most years, the county's subsidy has come solely from property tax revenues, although the county tapped $8 million from a special reserve account for part of this year's outlay. Legislation enacted in conjunction with the new state budget increases state funding for the struggling transit agency but that new cash comes with a requirement for an increase in the level of local support.

"What Harrisburg has done is given us the tools, with a drink tax of 10 percent and a car rental tax that would actually take the entire $30 million obligation that we're required to put up ... away from the property taxes and shift it to those other two," Onorato said.

While enactment of the two new taxes would ease the pressure on property tax revenue, Kevin Evanto, spokesman for the chief executive, said it would not allow the county to cut property taxes in the new budget year because of the natural increase in county costs, particularly for health care.

Mr. Onorato repeated his pledge to link his call for new revenue with cost-cutting at the Port Authority. He noted that the agency has already imposed cuts in management benefits and said the county continued to seek savings in talks with union officials.

Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, a critic of Port Authority finances, has proposed legislation that would give legislative leaders the power to appoint four of the authority's nine board members. The chief executive now appoints all nine. Mr. Onorato said he was open to legislative representation but contended that could be accomplished without any change in the law.

"I am not opposed at all to talking with the delegation -- and that's both the Rs and the Ds in Allegheny County. If they would like to suggest names to put on the board, I will do that tomorrow," he said.

The Orie legislation would allow the leaders of each of the four legislative caucuses to appoint board members.

On other issues, Mr. Onorato dismissed a recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report suggesting increasing estrangement between him and Mr. Ravenstahl.

"There's absolutely no truth to it," he said.

Referring to the difficult issues surrounding the proposal to consolidate aspects of city and county government, however, Mr. Onorato said. "What they were seeing is that the mayor and I might not be on the same page yet on the details of what something like this might look like. He has certain issues, representing the city. I have certain issues representing both the city and the county ... and hopefully this leads to a consensus where the two of us say, 'Here's what's good for the region, we're both on board with that.'

"We're not there yet,'' he acknowledged. "Hopefully we get there soon."



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Politics Editor James O'Toole can be reached at jotoole@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1562.

[PA Pride]

^What does everyone think about this large tax on alcohol?? As a frequent nightclub and bar patron, it does not favor me very well. But does it have merit or is it unfair?

[hyperion1110]

I think the tax on alcohol is completely fair. The revenue has to come from somewhere, and, unfortunately, home owners are the ones who have been footing the bill for the government...People pay like $5 or more for a single drink at a bar or a club...what's 50 cents on top of that?

Growth in Pgh and Allegheny Co starts with shifting the tax burden away from property tax. Personally, I favor a raise in the state sales tax to lessen the outrageous millage rates.

[PA Pride]

^Hmm perhaps... I think consolidating local governments would be much more efficient and fruitful than charging an extra .10 cents per beer. But I can only imagine what a huge undertaking that would be and how many people would fight that to the bitter end.

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^Hmm perhaps... I think consolidating local governments would be much more efficient and fruitful than charging an extra .10 cents per beer. But I can only imagine what a huge undertaking that would be and how many people would fight that to the bitter end.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07217/806874-28.stm

Regional Insight: Too many towns spoil the economy


Sunday, August 05, 2007

By Harold D. Miller

If you like government, the Pittsburgh region is the place to be. We have more than 1,000 separate governmental entities in the 10-county region: 10 counties, 286 cities and boroughs, 262 townships, 126 school districts, and 389 "special districts," i.e., water and sewer authorities, airport authorities, etc.

More than 900 of these governmental units are in the seven-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA). That's the fifth-largest number of governments among the 40 biggest metropolitan areas in the country. On a per capita basis, we're No. 1, with more governments per person than any other major region.

If you just look at general purpose municipal governments -- cities, boroughs and townships -- we have 457 of them in the MSA. That's 19 municipal governments for every 100,000 people, four times more than average among the top 40 regions, and 30 percent more than the next highest region (Kansas City).

As you might imagine, most of these municipalities are small. Of the 457 municipalities, 72 percent (331) have fewer than 5,000 residents, 43 percent (198) have fewer than 2,000 residents, and 26 percent (119) have fewer than 1,000 residents.

What is even more striking is that nearly half (47 percent) of southwestern Pennsylvanians live in a municipality with fewer than 10,000 residents; that's the highest percentage by far among the top 40 regions. In fact, in most of the top 40 regions, fewer than 6 percent of the people live in municipalities that small, and 50 percent live in municipalities with more than 50,000 residents.

Should we celebrate the fact that we're the Small Town Capital of America? No, and here's why:

It's hard for small municipalities to deliver a full range of quality services to their residents and businesses. It's even harder if many of their residents are poor, since municipalities depend primarily on earned income and property taxes to pay for services. Some of our small municipalities have discovered they can no longer afford to provide essentials such as a police force.

Many of these small municipalities aren't in rural areas, but in the heart of the urbanized area, and what they do or don't do can affect a lot of other people. When Kilbuck, the 10th smallest municipality in Allegheny County (with only 723 residents), made decisions about how to develop land along Ohio River Boulevard, it resulted in a landslide that affected thousands of residents and businesses throughout the region.

When a business is considering locating in our region, it faces a crazy quilt of taxes and regulations. Having more than 400 municipalities means more than 400 tax rates, 400 sets of zoning ordinances, building permit requirements and other regulations, etc. And none of the municipalities may be large enough to make the kinds of investments in industrial sites and infrastructure that large firms need. The result can be fewer jobs for everybody in the region.

In the private sector, a company that's too small to be competitive either goes out of business or merges with another company. But in Pennsylvania, state law won't allow a municipality to go out of business -- even if it wants to. (In a number of other states, many people live in unincorporated areas where municipal services are provided by counties or neighboring municipalities.)

And Pennsylvania law doesn't give enough flexibility to municipalities that want to consolidate. Our region is so fragmented that we could eliminate 100 municipalities with fewer than 5,000 residents and still have more small towns that size than 37 of the other 39 top regions.

With one of the slowest job growth rates in the country, we can't afford to be this fragmented. The state laws for consolidation and dissolution need to change, and citizens and municipal officials need to support those changes.

How much does all this small government cost us? And how much could we save if we had fewer municipalities? Read next month's column for the (surprising) answers.

For more insight on the region's economy, visit www.PittsburghFuture.com and www.PittsburghToday.org.

Harold D. Miller is president of Future Strategies LLC, a management and policy consulting firm based in Pittsburgh. He also publishes www.PittsburghFuture.com, an Internet resource on regional economic development issues. His column looking beyond local statistics for insights into the regional economy appears monthly.

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This is an awesome article about the misguided attempt by a couple northern PA congressmen to derail PA's I-80 tolling plan... which would pay for transit, highway and bridge improvements. It really details the provincialism and hypocrisy of English and Peterson... and destroys their argument about how rural folks subsidize urban transit. It also mentions how Peterson and English are hurting their own constituents with their actions.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07217/807144-147.stm

Toll plans forging ahead for I-80

Sunday, August 05, 2007

By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



A message crawling across the Internet home page of U.S. Rep. John Peterson says:

"Peterson, English amendment stops federal funds for I-80 toll program."

Not yet.

Mr. Peterson, R-Venango County, and U.S. Rep. Phil English, R-Erie, have tacked an amendment onto a proposed federal transportation bill that would prohibit tolls on the interstate highway across Pennsylvania, thereby scuttling state plans to raise more money for roads, bridges and transit.

But the bill has to pass both the U.S. House and Senate and be signed into law by President Bush to take effect.

High-ranking state transportation officials are already saying the measure is doomed.

"The folks we've talked to believe any chance of passage is slim," Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler said.

"We're proceeding as if English's and Peterson's irresponsible amendment doesn't exist," Pennsylvania Turnpike Chief Executive Officer Joe Brimmeier said.

The Turnpike Commission -- in consortium with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation -- is moving ahead to toll the 311-mile highway, raise rates on the existing turnpike in 2009, float bonds and turn over other new revenue to the state.

The goal is to generate $750 million this fiscal year, $850 million in 2008-09, and $950 million a year for the next eight years. In the first year, about $300 million will go to transit; the rest will be used for a backlog of road work and bridge repairs, including $35 million more for counties and municipalities.

Mr. Peterson said the move to forge ahead with plans to toll I-80 displays the arrogance of the Turnpike Commission. And Mr. English chided PennDOT and the Turnpike Commission for not approaching the state's congressional delegation before pushing the tolling plan.

"These folks to date haven't done their homework. They shouldn't have been surprised there was opposition to tolling I-80," Mr. English said. "I feel that in some ways we're getting blamed for their sloppiness."

Mr. Brimmeier said the turnpike will transfer $62.5 million to PennDOT this week, a down payment on $300 million to be deposited in a new Public Transportation Trust Fund to increase subsidies to the Port Authority and six dozen other urban and rural public transportation systems.

Other steps are already under way.

Turnpike and PennDOT officials met last week to discuss the recently passed state transportation funding legislation and identifying steps to implement it.

They authorized Wilbur Smith Associates, a national traffic consulting firm with an "as needed" contract with the turnpike, to conduct a traffic and revenue study on I-80. Its work will include preliminary recommendations about the location of toll barriers.

Mr. Biehler and Mr. Brimmeier jointly sent a letter July 27 to the Federal Highway Administration formally notifying the agency of the state's intent to toll I-80.

The turnpike is looking for an engineering firm to coordinate the I-80 tolling project, prepare the formal federal application and submit it by the end of October.

State officials' hopes for approval have been raised by a U.S. House-Senate report from 1998 that identified I-80 as a "prime example of an interstate that could and should be tolled."

Mr. Peterson, however, said the report placed tolling in the context of maintaining I-80, which was in poor condition at the time. A PennDOT report from 2005, he said, described the interstate as being in good shape.

"I don't think anybody envisioned that you would toll your major highway and then just use the money for anything," Mr. Peterson said.

The anti-tolling effort by Reps. English and Peterson has become a distraction, if not a threat, in the aftermath of a year-long battle involving Gov. Ed Rendell, the state Legislature and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission about raising more revenue for transportation.

Mr. Brimmeier called the two congressmen "political opportunists and hypocrites." He noted that both had voted for federal transportation funding programs that encourage initiatives to toll interstate highways. Mr. Peterson was a co-sponsor of the 1998 Transportation Equity Act 21, known as TEA-21.

"We're doing exactly what they and the federal government told us to do," the turnpike CEO said. "If they don't like our plan, what's their plan to raise transportation money for their constituents and their state?"

Mr. English called Mr. Brimmeier's argument "cartoonish" and a "canard." He said he enthusiastically voted for TEA-21, but opposed what he described as last-minute language about tolling.

"I made very clear at the time that I was opposed to tolling 80 and had spoken out against it,'' Mr. English said. "I think they should just concede that Peterson and I have always been opponents of tolling."

Mr. Brimmeier said he's confident that other U.S. House members and Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey "will do the right thing and cut this (amendment) out" of the transportation bill. "They know how important this is to Pennsylvania."

Mr. Peterson lamented the impact of creating an I-80 toll road, saying it would cost truckers at least $150 to cross the state one way.

In a joint news release announcing the amendment to stop the plan to toll I-80, Reps. English and Peterson said rural Pennsylvanians should not be responsible for solving statewide transportation problems.

And in a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, they wrote: "Essentially, the new transportation plan would impose excessive tolls on economically challenged rural communities which are already paying their full share of gas taxes and other fees, and transfer that revenue to more prosperous suburban communities to fund transit programs that should be supported by the communities they serve."

A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examination of state transportation statistics shows the opposite to be true: Money collected from the densely populated Pittsburgh and Philadelphia urban areas generates the bulk of revenue that's spread statewide to pay for road, bridge and transit programs.

For example, Allegheny County, with 909,000, has the highest number of registered motor vehicles in the state. That also is 50 percent more than the 601,654 registered vehicles in Mercer, Venango, Clarion, Jefferson, Clearfield, Centre, Clinton and Lycoming counties combined, where I-80 passes through the 2nd and 5th Congressional Districts represented by Mr. English and Mr. Peterson.

The nearly $44 million that PennDOT collected last year from Allegheny County vehicle owners in registration fees for the state's Motor License Fund also was about 50 percent more than the total collected in all of those counties.

On the other hand, I-80 alone eats up 22 percent of all federal interstate maintenance money allocated to the state. That statewide total last year was $211.9 million.

When revenues generated by Allegheny County are combined with the five-county Philadelphia area, where transit is provided by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the urban areas are generating about 33 percent of all transportation money that is shared with the other 61 counties.

"They're paying the lion's share of the program, which is why I get frustrated with such parochialism," Mr. Brimmeier said. "Besides state taxes, people around Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have been paying tolls for more than 60 years" to use the turnpike, including commuters who pay daily.

He and Mr. Biehler pointed out that the 20 counties that Reps. English and Peterson represent in all or part will benefit from increased highway funding, including resurfacing roads and starting some long-promised bridge repairs such as the Route 5 bridge over Walnut Creek in Fairview outside Erie.

Also, about two dozen public transit systems lie within their districts, including the State College-based Centre Area Transportation Authority, the third biggest system in the state, and the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority, with more than 2 million boardings a year. Soon, the state's Persons with Disabilities transportation program will be expanded to all rural counties.

"We've put together a plan that will generate $57 billion over the next 40 years, a plan that doesn't include raising the gas tax one cent," Mr. Brimmeier said. "It's a plan that fixes roads, bridges and transit for everyone for a long time, with a steady stream of money."

Because of the English-Peterson amendment, Mr. Rendell said he's considering returning to his earlier plan to lease the turnpike to an international investment firm.

"If they persist," he said in a recent statement, "the provincial actions of two congressmen could doom our citizens to decades of more riding on deteriorating roads and bridges and delay economic growth by driving away business investment."

The English-Peterson amendment would extend beyond Pennsylvania.

Their Free Highway Protection Act of 2007 would require all tolls to be paid to the federal government, thereby negating any state benefit from tolls.



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Staff writer Jonathan D. Silver contributed. Joe Grata can be reached at jgrata@post-gazette.com.

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07217/806882-28.stm

Westinghouse decision a win for state, region

Sunday, August 05, 2007

By Dan Fitzpatrick and Karen Kane, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On Aug. 14, Gov. Ed Rendell will travel to Cranberry to celebrate the ground breaking of Westinghouse Electric's new 772,000-square-foot campus, marking the biggest relocation project in the country this year and hailing the thousands of jobs it is designed to create.
Equally remarkable is that a year ago Pennsylvania was in serious danger of losing this blockbuster deal -- and one of its most storied corporate names -- when South Carolina offered the nuclear power firm more than $70 million in tax incentives to move its headquarters there.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070805HO_westinghouse_render_450.jpg

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070805Westinghouse_campus.gif

The package was at least $60 million more than what Pennsylvania initially was offering.

Such a large gap presented local economic development officials with an "incredible challenge," said Jay Coster, managing principal of The Staubach Co., which assisted Westinghouse with the competition for Project Growth, the name Westinghouse attached to its project.

Pennsylvania's come-from-behind win involved a little luck, major legislative action, intervention from Mr. Rendell, an extra $35 million and a tense competition between Allegheny and Butler counties that tested the bonds of regional cooperation.

Clearly, a lot was at stake.

"This is the biggest deal I've ever done," said Frank Horrigan of the state Governor's Action Team. "Everybody knew how big this was and everybody knew the importance of winning it."

The remnant of an industrial conglomerate formed in the late 1800s by inventor George Westinghouse, Westinghouse is a "legacy company" in Pennsylvania, added Mr. Horrigan, and "we are not willing to let it go."


The bidding


It all started with a trip to China.

In November 2003, Westinghouse Chief Executive Officer Steve Tritch and Senior Vice President Tony Greco traveled to Beijing and met with senior government officials who had expressed an interest in Westinghouse's new nuclear plant design, the AP1000.

It was Mr. Tritch's first visit to China as CEO. It was also the first hint of an uptick in demand for nuclear energy that would spread to the United States (Westinghouse is now in line for 12 U.S. plants) and a sign that the company, based in Monroeville, would have to plan for more employees. It eventually would hire 300 to 400 workers in 2004, 850 in 2005, 850 in 2006 and 1,300 in 2007 and expects to hire at least 1,000 and as many as 2,000 over the next five years.

The company might never have looked beyond Monroeville had its landlord been more accommodating, according to Mr. Greco. With Westinghouse's lease at the 138-acre Westinghouse Energy Center set to expire in 2010, the company in 2004 expressed an interest in extending its stay another 15 years if the landlord would grant rent relief on the remaining years of its agreement.

But the landlord said no, according to Mr. Greco, and so the company took a "step back" and reevaluated. In 2006, Westinghouse hired a nationally-known real estate consultant, The Staubach Co., which suggested that Westinghouse look outside Pennsylvania.

Seven states emerged as possibilities, and other than Pennsylvania and Connecticut, all were in the South: Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Representatives from all seven states attended a meeting in Monroeville during the early part of 2006 where the company asked for initial offers based on what the states could provide immediately, without any new legislation.

From the beginning, South Carolina was a clear No. 1 -- with $70 million in tax breaks, no strings attached. And Pennsylvania was a clear laggard. With only $10 million in incentives, it began in last place. Much of what Pennsylvania offered -- low interest loans and training credits -- Westinghouse did not want.

When he saw the first bids, Mr. Greco called Dennis Yablonsky, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and a former Pittsburgh technology company executive. "I told Dennis ... Pennsylvania was nowhere near competitive ... and I left it at that."

When the states came back for another round of meetings, Mr. Yablonsky raised the subject of a legislative solution -- the creation of a special district for energy-related companies to operate free of local and state taxes. Problem was, there was no approval from the Legislature for such action.

And this is where Pennsylvania got lucky. Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp. happened to be in the process of acquiring Westinghouse from a British owner for $5.4 billion, and the new owner wanted to know all about Project Growth, which slowed the search for a new campus. The delay was "probably to the benefit of Pennsylvania," said Mr. Greco. "Had we not been in the midst of a sale of the company, we probably would have made our decision a heck of a lot sooner, and I don't know if Pennsylvania would have had the opportunity to be in the game."

Sometimes, he said, "it's good to be lucky."

In the summer of 2006, Westinghouse cut its list to four states -- and kept Pennsylvania on the list. The other three were South and North Carolina, and Connecticut.

Gov. Rendell also did his part to keep Pennsylvania in the running. During the Major League Baseball All-Star Game week in July 2006 in Pittsburgh, he met with Masao Niwano, a director on the Toshiba board and a senior executive vice president. Over a conversation at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, the governor assured Mr. Niwano that both parties in the state Legislature were "working very hard" to ensure that Westinghouse would stay in the state, according to Mr. Greco.

By the end of 2006, it looked like the legislative measure would pass with broad support. Calculations showed it would save Westinghouse about $3 million a year. Over 15 years that amounted to $45 million, good for second place but still tens of millions behind South Carolina, which had sweetened its original $70 million bid.

In this case, though, second place was good enough.

Westinghouse wanted to make it work here, given its history in southwestern Pennsylvania. And it had major reservations about the costs of moving hundreds of people -- at $100,000 per person -- to South Carolina. There also was the danger of some people leaving the company altogether. Toshiba recalled what happened when a partner, General Electric, moved its nuclear business to North Carolina and then "experienced the heartache of losing that talent," Mr. Greco said. Toshiba was "concerned" the same would happen if Westinghouse moved.

It was a "judgement call," Mr. Greco said.

The counties

It was a hot summer day in 2006 when Mr. Greco and Russ Bussard, Westinghouse's manager of facilities and real estate, boarded a bus bound for the North Hills. They wanted to see in person the sites that could accommodate a new 772,000-square-foot headquarters.

On that day, Cranberry Manager Jerry Andree got his first call about Project Growth. Real estate representatives for the township's largest office park, Cranberry Woods, wanted Mr. Andree to be on hand for a visit from the top-secret search team. When the bus pulled up, it didn't take long for Mr. Andree to decode the name. On the bus were officials from the Governor's Action Team, the Allegheny Conference and representatives of Westinghouse.

"We knew that this facility was exactly what they wanted," he said.

Mr. Greco agreed afterward that the site was as good as any they toured in the Carolinas. By December, with the legislative tax exemption in place, Westinghouse had ruled out the Carolinas. Now the question was: Would the company stay in Monroeville?

The prospect of Monroeville losing a key tenant upset some officials in that area. In December 2006, Sen. Sean Logan announced that he would lead more than 20 Allegheny County politicians, municipal, school and economic development officials to Harrisburg to sell their case. "I think it is bad public policy to use tax dollars to shift jobs," he said at the time. Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato also said then that the prospect of a move north "doesn't make sense to me."

The day that Mr. Logan announced his bus trip, Sen. Jane Orie coordinated a conference call with Butler power brokers and an agreement was made: "Our public statement would be that it was a business decision for Westinghouse to make and we would let the company make it," said Diane Sheetz, executive director of Butler County Community Development Corporation.

She knows Mr. Logan and Mr. Onorato needed to promote Monroeville and Allegheny County, but she believes that "things got to a level that was unfair. I can't believe it made Monroeville or Allegheny County any more attractive. It wasn't a productive exercise."

Butler County Commissioner James Kennedy recalls the situation getting "hairy." So he and Mr. Onorato tracked each other down and had a phone conversation. "We were both on the same page," Mr. Kennedy said. "If it was in Cranberry, it would be OK with him; and if it was in Monroeville, it'd be OK with me. We didn't it want it to be us versus them,'' But Mr. Onorato, he said, still chose to "advocate for Allegheny County," whereas Mr. Kennedy and those to the north decided to stay mum.

Mr. Onorato could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Logan now emphasizes the victory of keeping Westinghouse in the state and notes how hard he worked to get the tax exemption passed in Harrisburg. "I am celebrating the fact that Westinghouse is staying in southwestern Pennsylvania and I think everybody should do that," Mr. Logan said.


The real estate


In Jeremy Kronman's office at Downtown commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, a shelf of hard hats speaks to his biggest deals: American Eagle's new headquarters on the South Side, a FBI building, Piatt Place, the old Gimbels department store Downtown. Last Monday, a blue Westinghouse hard hat sat to the side, waiting to join the others.

"It's nerve wracking," Mr. Kronman said, pointing to a stack of Westinghouse documents that still needed approval.

Mr. Kronman played a key part in the final piece to the Westinghouse puzzle: the land and the lease. Originally, Mr. Kronman tried to steer the company to Tech 21, another office park in the North Hills. When that didn't work, he was able to sell Westinghouse on the idea of having Altanta-based Wells Real Estate Funds buy the land at Cranberry Woods (paying $14 million) and pay for the Westinghouse corporate campus to be developed (another $175 million). Once the three-building complex is up, Wells will lease the space to Westinghouse for at least $330 million over 15 years.

A future expansion could push the project to 1.2 million square feet.

It took until Wednesday evening for the transactions to close and then out went the press releases touting the project as the largest of its kind in state history. On Thursday, Mr. Kronman moved his Westinghouse hard hat to its new spot on the shelf of trophy deals.

"This is as sophisticated as big real estate gets," he said.

"They don't get much bigger."



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

Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752. Karen Kane can be reached at kkane@post-gazette.com or 724-772-9180.

[xyagentguy]

Evergrey, what are your thoughts on the garbage problem that the city is facing? There is trash and little everywhere it seems, no thanks to scale backs and budget cuts. I think it is really disgusting to see so much crap everywhere including dirty diapers (I've seen more than once).

[themaguffin]

Here's the article on the market:

Public market's plans grow
Wholesalers worry they'll be pushed out
Pittsburgh Business Times - August 3, 2007by Tim Schooley
Joe Wojcik
J.E. Corcoran co-owners Tony Vivirito and Linda Sasinoski say a new market will force some to move.
View Larger Plans for an expanded public market in the Pennsylvania Railroad Fruit Auction & Sales Building have some of the Strip District facility's wholesale produce tenants feeling squeezed.

The community group Neighbors in the Strip proposed the project two years ago as a 15,000- to 30,000-square-foot market, but it had stalled as the group considered alternative locations. Now the project is seeing renewed interest, in a larger form, from the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority, which owns the building.

NITS, which plans to operate the market, was scheduled to meet with the URA on Aug. 3 to discuss possible lease options for a project, to be called Strip Market Hall, that could take as much as 45,000 square feet. The organization's goal is to open it in time for Pittsburgh's 250th birthday celebration next year.

With 90 percent of the 130,000-square-foot building currently leased, the plan -- revealed informally to tenants in recent weeks by NITS members and URA representatives -- is being met with opposition from some current tenants who say they'll be displaced from their long-time homes.

The building currently houses four major wholesalers and a handful of smaller businesses.

"None of the tenants really had any problem with it as long as they weren't pushed out. To make this work, you're going to displace some of the businesses," Linda Sasinoski, co-owner of 90-year-old J.E. Corcoran Co., said of the market plan. "I think if (the URA) is behind this plan, then they need to take care of the tenants in the building first."

The URA bought the building in 1981 to help maintain the Strip's produce industry. In the past, the URA has granted requests for early lease extensions quickly, but the group has yet to offer the wholesalers extensions for leases set to expire in 2009.

First opened in 1926, the five-block-long spine of a structure that stretches along Smallman Street has long been the Strip's wholesale heart.

Along with J.E. Corcoran, a tenant for more than 60 years, other wholesalers that expressed concern about the plan this week included Superior Produce Co. and Premier Produce Co. Other tenants that could be affected include Coosemans Worldwide, La Prima and a few smaller operators.

Envisioned by NITS as a local version of such well-known public markets as Pike Place Market in Seattle and the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Strip Market Hall would feature an array of small vendors selling specialty food items, arts and crafts and other merchandise.

Its size was increased to 45,000 square feet last year, at the recommendation of a research study by Portland, Maine-based Market Ventures Inc.

"The rentable space for vendors is only going to be about 20,000 square feet and change," said NITS Executive Director Becky Rodgers. "We need that amount to make it self-sustaining."

The rest of the space will be used for storage, offices and a stage, she said.

NITS has gained support for the plan, claiming letters of intent to locate there from 30 potential vendors. The organization also says it has raised $8 million for the project, including a $700,000 federal Health and Human Services grant, $1.8 million in local donations and $4 million in state funding it would have to match to access.

Don Kortlandt, newly appointed acting executive director of the URA, described plans for the Strip Market Hall as a "front-and-center" priority for the URA and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

"We're at the juncture now where we really need to make a decision if and how that market place can be accommodated in a way that minimizes the cost to existing businesses and maximizes the benefits to the consumer and to the sense of the atmosphere in the Strip," he said.

While expressing appreciation for the wholesalers already based in the building, Kortlandt said the URA has no immediate plans to meet with the tenants and offered no specifics regarding possible lease extensions.

Sasinoski, whose company could lose 4,000 square feet under the current market proposal, said former URA Executive Director Jerry Dettore, whose last day with the agency was this week, sent wholesalers a letter in August 2005 assuring them of having a priority place in the building.

"With the new mayor in office and Jerry Dettore leaving the URA, I'm more concerned than I have been," she said.

Sasinoski believes revenue from all the businesses currently in the Pennsylvania Railroad building would dwarf the sales of any public market tenants that might displace them.

The market has been projected to employ 200 people and generate between $13 million and $19 million in annual revenue.

J.E. Corcoran employs 26 people each paid between $40,000 and $55,000 a year. Annual revenue for the company is more than $22 million. Overall, the building's tenants employ 117 union workers and 42 nonunion workers.

While J.E. Corcoran faces losing some of its space, Premiere Produce and Superior Produce could see their businesses displaced entirely.

Premier Produce owner John Ferguson worried about being displaced and complained about a lack of communication regarding the public market plan.

"We're kind of in the dark," he said, noting the challenge of making business decisions under such uncertainty. "How can you expand your business if you don't know if you're going to be here much longer?"

"It's grown and grown and grown, and now they want to push out existing companies that have been here for generations?" added Superior Produce owner Brad Kowkoski.

Also rankling the wholesalers is the possibility that Strip Market Hall would be rent-free. Rodgers said NITS is seeking six years of free rent in exchange for the group's investment in the market's construction.

Two months ago, wholesalers who might be displaced by the new market were shown a warehouse further down Smallman owned by Buncher Co. as a potential new location for their businesses, Sasinoski said. However, the plan was dropped by Buncher and the URA due to the cost of moving industrial-scale refrigeration equipment, she said.

Long interested in acquiring the terminal building, Buncher owns between 12 and 15 acres of riverfront property behind it for which it has plans for some mixed-use development, according to Rodgers, Kortlandt and others. Buncher did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

State Sen. Jim Ferlo, a URA board member, sees a need to establish a master plan for the Strip to best understand the competing needs involved.

"That swath of land is really the next big challenge for the city," Ferlo said.

[PA Pride]

That article about Westinghouse evokes both happiness and disappointment I think. It is really exciting that they are staying in this area and going to provide many years of great jobs and prestige for this region. But of course, I think in all SSPer's hearts we wish such a large company would translate into urban development instead of such a gargantuan suburban project in an area already disgustingly packed full of traffic and character-less sprawl. I mean, 1.2 million sq ft of office space at build out translates into a skyscraper the size of Liberty Place in Philly!

Oh well; What can you do.. City taxes and government make it completely uncompetitive for large corporations trying to compete globally to be in the city when suburban townships will suck their dicks and give such great incentives to build in an empty field.

[BMikeSci]

Here it comes. Uptown and the Hill get ready for real change:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_520926.html

[BMikeSci]

Downtown grocery happening really fast - opening in October:

http://kdka.com/topstories/local_story_212122933.html

[Evergrey]

Downtown grocery happening really fast - opening in October:

http://kdka.com/topstories/local_story_212122933.html

oh god... if i could just get Mayor Luke to stop using the phrase "some way, shape or form" in every public comment he makes...


Get ready for a few years of "concerned neighborhood residents" whining about parking and traffic congestion while the arena is built... I think some people would prefer it if the city was one giant parking lot... or perhaps that there is nothing of importance in the city that would generate any traffic

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07219/807494-53.stm

Arena parking no worry, studies say

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



The new arena should not significantly increase traffic congestion or create major parking problems for Hill District residents or others, two studies have concluded.

By 2020, the studies say, there still should be a surplus of spaces available at garages and lots Downtown and near the new arena even during sold-out events in the building, which will have 1,300 more seats than the 16,900-seat Mellon Arena.

And while traffic congestion may increase on Forbes and Fifth avenues and Bedford Avenue and Washington Place near the new arena, there won't be a need for major street improvements, other than a new traffic light on Centre Avenue near a proposed parking garage and the tweaking of the timing and phasing of traffic signals in the Hill and Uptown.

The results of the studies, paid for by the Penguins and done by Walker Parking Consultants and Trans Associates, with city oversight, were detailed yesterday during the first two focus group meetings involving the new arena, both of which generated considerable discussion.

Walker estimated that, even with the elimination of 2,400 spaces at Mellon Arena, once the site is redeveloped, there still should be a surplus of 1,938 spaces in the vicinity of the new building during a sold-out weeknight event.

And while residents in the Hill may see an increase in parking in their neighborhood during arena events, the impact should be "negligible" and "mitigated quite easily," city transportation planner Sidney Kaikai said.

Toward that end, the Walker study recommended that the city beef up enforcement of residential parking permit programs in the Hill adjacent to the arena and shorten or eliminate the grace period extended to nonresidents who park in the neighborhood.

The study not only took into account a new 500-car garage planned by the Penguins at the arena site between Centre and Fifth avenues, but also counted nearby garages, including those at the Marriott Hotel, U.S. Steel Tower and Manor Building.

It estimated there are 11,256 spaces near Mellon Arena and "fringe" garages and lots. That will drop to 11,033 after the new building is completed and the Mellon Arena site is developed.

Don Carter, president of Urban Design Associates, the architectural firm spearheading the focus group sessions, said one advantage to the new arena site is that it is about a block and a half closer to Downtown.

As a result, planners are expecting more Penguins fans and others attending events to park at garages Downtown because of the relatively short walk to the venue, making up for many of the spaces lost at Mellon Arena.

"We're expecting that more people will park in Downtown than park now. So that will take the pressure off the Hill District and account for some of the spaces you lose on the existing arena lot," Mr. Carter said.

Some people were skeptical.

Jet Lafean of the Schenley Farms Neighborhood Watch said illegal parking has increased in the Schenley Farms area and other parts of Oakland after the construction of Schenley Plaza eliminated a parking lot between the Hillman and Carnegie libraries. He fears the same will happen in the Hill.

Bette Lloyd, a Hill resident, said that the city's residential permit parking program needed to be extended deeper into her neighborhood to prevent illegal parking during events.

Bomani Howze, vice chairman of the One Hill CBA Coalition, also urged planners and consultants to expand the traffic study to include all of the Hill, not just the area around the arena, and to consider the impact on Fifth up to the Birmingham Bridge.

Others raised concerns about current congestion -- and the potential for more -- on Bedford Avenue near Mellon Arena and other parts of the Hill. George Moses, a member of the Hill District Consensus Group, said an independent traffic study should be done.

The Trans Associates study said "no significant increases in congestion" were expected from the new arena, adding that the new traffic light, tweaking the timing and phasing of existing lights, and other minor improvements should be enough to mitigate problems.

Nonetheless, Marimba Milliones, a Hill resident representing community interests in the planning process, suggested that another study be done after the arena opens "so we can measure results against what was projected."

Yesterday's two focus meetings drew almost 100 people, with nearly 60 of those attending an evening session at Duquesne University. There will be five more focus group meetings, followed by a public meeting Aug. 28 to discuss results of the seven sessions.

Besides traffic, other issues discussed yesterday ranged from pedestrian and disabled access, to possible retail space on Fifth and Centre avenues, to minority employment and potential community benefits.



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

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

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghfirstside0808.aspx

Downtown's 151 First Side reaches 75% sales mark, unveils furnished model

Downtown condominium 151 First Side has sold 75% of its 78 units. On August 2nd, the development unveiled its first furnished model. With a second model on the way, 151 First Side is welcoming its first residents, hosting tours for potential buyers, and completing its first round of closings.

Recent buyers are from the Pittsburgh area, as well as from Connecticut, Florida and Philadelphia. “The interest by Pittsburgh has picked up significantly. We’ve proven to Pittsburgh that this is real, as evidenced by our sales. We’re very happy that we’re part of the Downtown renaissance,” says Melissa Watts with EQA Landmark Communities. “We get a lot of Internet hits from out of towners searching for Downtown living. There’s a nice market from suburban communities and people wanting a lifestyle change. It’s a broad mix, which is the right thing for a Downtown building.”

The condo’s lobby will feature furnishings selected by interior designer Margaret Ringle Baker. “People are elated with moving Downtown. After all of the talk and ideas, the day has finally arrived--people are moving in as we speak. They can rent a car, bike, go to the new market, get a latte--the dream is real,” says project partner Brett Malky, president of EQA Landmark Communities. “We always viewed the city as the lifestyle. The amenities are literally the street and the neighborhood. We're all part of the revitalization.”

151 First Side will host a grand opening this fall.“Buyers who have closed in the last week are founding pioneers. They bought a unit when it was parking lot,” says Watts.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Sources: Brett Malky and Melissa Titus Watts, EQA Landmark Communities

Photograph copyright © Jonathan Greene

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2072/151_firstside_300.jpg

[Evergrey]

more good news for this ragged end of Butler St.

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghcondos0808.aspx

$3M Shannopin's Village to bring new townhouses, commercial space to Lawrenceville

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2072/shannopin_village_300.jpg

Plans are being finalized for the construction of Shannopin’s Village along the 3800 block of of Lawrenceville’s bustling Butler St. corridor.

Shannopin's Village will feature two new commercial buildings, two rental apartments and eight high-end townhouses. Each 1,350 square-foot storefront will feature a 1,350 square-foot second-floor apartment. The project will also include the construction of Shannopin Lane, a new street that will run perpendicular to Butler St., in between the Village's two commercial buildings.

“The foot traffic is a plus. In between the two Butler buildings will be the entrance to the new development,” says Sandy DeTemple, with Prudential Preferred Realty. "I am committed to the project and as a Lawrenceville resident, committed to the neighborhood.”

The 1,800 square-foot townhouses will feature two and three bedrooms, 3 ½ bathrooms, integral garages, and decks. Townhouses, which will be located along both sides of Shannopin Lane, will sell for $300,000. Architect Cherie Moshier is designing Shannopin's Village to complement the architectural character of Lawrenceville.

Project developer and contractor is Sansom and Senko Real Estate.
Shannopin’s Village is the company’s first Lawrenceville project. “They're very excited about Lawrenceville and wanted to pay homage to the neighborhood by researching its history, which is why the name was chosen,” says DeTemple, of the project’s namesake, a Native American chief who once lived in the area. The project is expected to break ground by October 1st.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Sandy DeTemple, Prudential Preferred Realty

Image courtesy of Prudential Preferred Realty

[biscuit]

more good news for this ragged end of Butler St.

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghcondos0808.aspx

$3M Shannopin's Village to bring new townhouses, commercial space to Lawrenceville

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2072/shannopin_village_300.jpg

Plans are being finalized for the construction of Shannopin’s Village along the 3800 block of of Lawrenceville’s bustling Butler St. corridor.

Shannopin's Village will feature two new commercial buildings, two rental apartments and eight high-end townhouses. Each 1,350 square-foot storefront will feature a 1,350 square-foot second-floor apartment. The project will also include the construction of Shannopin Lane, a new street that will run perpendicular to Butler St., in between the Village's two commercial buildings.

“The foot traffic is a plus. In between the two Butler buildings will be the entrance to the new development,” says Sandy DeTemple, with Prudential Preferred Realty. "I am committed to the project and as a Lawrenceville resident, committed to the neighborhood.”

Image courtesy of Prudential Preferred Realty
Dammit! Now I'll never be able to get a table at Coca for Sunday brunch! ;)

Also, in regards to the article about Morningside real estate in Sunday's PG, in what was a fortuitous coincidence in timing, Urban Hike (http://www.urbanhike.org/) did a walking tour of that neighborhood on that very same day. I hear it helped them on their way. Although, I'm not sure what someone would do for three hours in Morningside and Stanton Heights?

[Evergrey]

Dammit! Now I'll never be able to get a table at Coca for Sunday brunch! ;)

Also, in regards to the Morningside rel estate article in Sundays PG, in what was a fortuitous coincidence in timing, Urban Hike (http://www.urbanhike.org/) did a walking tour of that neighborhood on that very same day. I hear it helped them on their way. Although, I'm not sure what someone would do for three hours in Morningside and Stanton Heights?

The St. Rocco festival took place in Morningside that day.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2003-08-04/PH_2003-08-04_proc-a.jpg

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07221/808065-336.stm

Station Square explores life without slots on 5-acre site

Thursday, August 09, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After losing its bid for Pittsburgh's lone slot machine casino, Station Square's owner is preparing to move on.

Forest City Enterprises, which owns the South Side riverfront complex, is marketing for redevelopment the five-acre site that once housed the Chevrolet Amphitheatre.

The company put up signs last week advertising it as a "development site."

Tom Schneck II, director of marketing for Station Square, said that virtually everything is on the table, from residential housing, to offices, to more restaurant and entertainment options, maybe even a hotel.

"It's pretty much an open game at this point," he said.

He added there is no timetable for making a decision.

"This is all really exploratory. We want to gauge interest and develop a master plan for the undeveloped part of the property," he said.

Not so long ago, the site was a key part of Forest City's bid for the city casino. A $500 million slots palace, to be operated by gambling power Harrah's Entertainment, and a parking garage would have occupied the site.

Those plans evaporated in December when the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board picked PITG Gaming LLC, headed by Detroit businessman Don Barden, over Station Square Gaming and Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. to get the casino license. The state Supreme Court upheld the award last month.

Now, Forest City is looking to develop a "plan B" for the prime riverfront property west of the Sheraton Station Square Hotel, Mr. Schneck said.

It is interested in leasing or perhaps even selling all or part of the five-acre parcel to a developer or partnering with another company in a redevelopment.

"We're definitely looking for the right opportunity, not just anything at this point, but something that would mix with the current development of the land," Mr. Schneck said.

Besides residential, office, entertainment and retail options, he noted there also may be further potential to expand the Sheraton, where 104 rooms were added earlier in the decade. Another option is to build a new hotel to complement the Sheraton, he said.

The Chevrolet Amphitheatre was shut down after the 2006 season, leaving the large tract of vacant land. At the end of this year, Harrah's, which sold its interest in Station Square to Forest City in 1998, will lose its option to build a casino east or west of the Sheraton. The option effectively tied up land that otherwise could have been used for development.

With the option expiring, Forest City will have the chance to start fresh, and perhaps do something "even more dynamic" than the $25 million Bessemer Court project which opened in 2002, Mr. Schneck said.

It added a 100-foot-wide dancing fountain, the Hard Rock Cafe, Bar Louie, the Red Star Tavern, Joe's Crab Shack and other amenities to Station Square.

"Bessemer Court was done five years ago and it's time to take the next step. We've never been allowed to do that next step [because of the option]," Mr. Schneck said.

Kevin Langholz, principal in Langholz Wilson Ellis Inc., a local real estate company, does not believe Forest City will have any trouble attracting interest in the property, given that it's prime riverfront real estate.

Mr. Langholz said the site offers a variety of potential uses, from high-end residential with a possible marina, to office development similar to that occurring on the North Shore, to an extension of the Station Square entertainment mix.

"I think that the historical success and the attractiveness of Station Square and the quality of the development would attract other regional and national entertainment venues, including restaurants, potentially hotels, retail," he said.

Mr. Schneck said interest in other vacant Station Square properties, such as the former Cheese Cellar and Rebecca Tambellini's restaurants and unused space behind Joe's Crab Shack, has increased now that the uncertainty over the casino has dissipated.

"The question mark isn't there," he said.

As part of its casino plan, Forest City had proposed as many as 1,200 condominium units on the east side of Station Square, where a former warehouse now houses several clubs and restaurants.


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

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

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070809station_sq_development.gif

[Evergrey]

development plans for Metro Pittsburgh other casino

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07221/808066-336.stm

Meadows' casino/hotel off to the races

Meadows will level grandstand at race track to make room for facilities to open in 2009

Thursday, August 09, 2007

By Bill Toland and Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Gray, cracking and having outlived any architectural utility it once possessed, the grandstand at The Meadows harness racing track will be razed in coming weeks. In its place will be built a $155 million casino and hotel, scheduled to open in early 2009.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070808trackview1_brk_800.jpg
Climans Green Liang Architects Inc.
An artist's conception of the new hotel at The Meadows racetrack in Washington County.

"A lot of glass," said Jay Boyd, marketing director at The Meadows and a veteran of four casino openings, in Las Vegas and elsewhere. "A lot of good-looking stuff." The "stuff" will include a multi-use theater, three bars, a lounge with a racetrack view, a covered grandstand, a 425-seat restaurant and a food court -- in addition to the 3,000 slot machines.
The casino also could accommodate table games, if the need ever arose, by removing several hundred slots.

Meadows officials and Washington County politicians revealed the plans for the casino yesterday. But the big news was the adjacent 200-room hotel, a feature common at casinos across the country, that would compete for guests with the Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center, which has a 150-room hotel.

The attachment of a hotel to The Meadows' plans isn't necessarily a surprise, since casinos like to keep their gamblers on site for days at a time, but the casino and track, owned by Cannery Casino Resorts of Las Vegas, hadn't mentioned the possibility of a hotel until Tuesday morning.

The hotel wasn't part of the original casino plan, but a two step-process isn't unusual -- a casino often waits to gauge demand before committing to a hotel, or a specific room allotment. The developers of the Majestic Star Casino on Pittsburgh's North Shore have said that they'll build a hotel "when demand dictates." At Station Square, plans were fluid too -- the proposed Harrah's casino would have been accompanied by either an expanded Sheraton hotel, or a new hotel tower, depending on casino turnout.

The Meadows had been contemplating a hotel, but only committed to it after the temporary casino opened in June.

The hotel and spa will add instant room capacity to the developing retail corridor along Washington County's Racetrack Road, which will soon be home to a Tanger Outlet Center, a Bass Pro Outdoor World and another hotel, Hampton Inn & Suites, which is set to open this summer. Already nearby are a Holiday Inn and a Comfort Inn.

The addition of 200 more rooms is welcome, said Rod Piatt, president of Cecil Township-based Horizon Properties, which is building the Hampton Inn.

"I always fully expected Bill Paulos to have a hotel component to his casino. I think there's plenty of demand. I think you'll see more hotels in that corridor in the next couple years," said Mr. Piatt. Bill Paulos is of two principal owners of Cannery Resorts (the other is Bill Wortman).

The removal of the 44-year-old grandstand will begin shortly after this Saturday's racing event, and live racing will be suspended for two months as a result.

Casino executives expect that the hotel and permanent casino, which will replace the temporary tent-style casino already up and running, will employ more than 1,400. The casino is being designed by Climans Green Liang Architect, a Canadian firm that has racetrack casinos in New York, Ontario and New Mexico. LPCiminelli, based in Buffalo, will be the lead contractor on the casino, and also is building a casino in the Poconos.

That project, the Mount Airy Resort and Casino, is being developed by Louis DeNaples, the subject of a grand jury probe, investigating whether Mr. DeNaples lied about alleged ties to a reputed Scranton mob boss. Mr. DeNaples made an appearance in Harrisburg yesterday before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to give an update on the progress at his site, as did representatives from five other casinos.

The $412 million Mount Airy project will open this fall, around Oct. 15, with a hotel, meeting rooms and some retail shops opening about a month later. Eventually the number of slots will be 3,000.

Mohegan Sun Chief Executive Officer Robert Soper said construction began in May on his $180 million permanent casino at Pocono Downs near Wilkes-Barre, which should be open by fall 2008. It will contain 2,500 slots, twice as many as are now in the temporary casino, which opened last November.

Philadelphia Park Chairman Bob Green said his new master plan, with details of the permanent casino, will be completed in two months. A casino with a Hollywood movie theme, located at the Penn National racetrack, is due to open in February or March, the board was told. There will be 2,000 slots at first in the $310 million project, 20 miles east of Harrisburg, with another 1,000 to be added later. Penn National decided to build just a permanent casino, not a temporary one.

Meanwhile, Sands Bethworks in Bethlehem has much work to do in razing an old steel mill, which is on the land where it will be located. It hopes to open with 3,000 slots in the spring of 2009, with a hotel, restaurant and retail shops opening a few months later. It could add an additional 2,000 slots by late 2009.


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

Bill Toland can be reached at btoland@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2625. Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tom Barnes can be reached at tbarnes@post-gazette.com or 717-787-4254.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07221/808019-53.stm

State grant boosts South Oakland Technology Center

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Gov. Ed Rendell has announced a $7.25 million grant toward construction of Bridgeside Point II in South Oakland's Pittsburgh Technology Center.

The grant goes toward construction of a $46 million, 165,000-square-foot mix of labs and offices, meant to serve biotechnology companies. It is larger than the $2.25 million state investment anticipated at the February announcement of the facility's construction.

"This new biotechnology facility will be a great addition to southwestern Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh Technology Center," Mr. Rendell said in a press release.

The funding comes from the state's $150 million Building PA Program for real estate development.

The building's developer is Cleveland-based The Ferchill Group. The city of Pittsburgh and its Urban Redevelopment Authority are hoping it will be one of several new buildings near the north end of the Hot Metal Bridge, and are spending $19 million on road improvements and a parking garage to support the development.

[PA Pride]

Hmmm... I am VERRRY interested to see what kind of proposals the old chevrolet ampitheatre spot will draw.. I would love to see a whole wall of dense buildings and businesses down the riverfront from one incline all the way down past the other incline to the terminal warehouse building. That would bring such a cohesive, built-out feel to this side of the river... Time will tell, I guess.

[Evergrey]

Hmmm... I am VERRRY interested to see what kind of proposals the old chevrolet ampitheatre spot will draw.. I would love to see a whole wall of dense buildings and businesses down the riverfront from one incline all the way down past the other incline to the terminal warehouse building. That would bring such a cohesive, built-out feel to this side of the river... Time will tell, I guess.

yeah... but then you'd have 700,000 "concerned residents" complaining about parking and traffic... and the Mt. Washington neighborhood group complaining about potential noise lol

[themaguffin]

Maybe now Forest City will work on that devlopment that they said they would likely do even if they didn't get the casino.

:haha:

[PA Pride]

^Right. Their condo plan with mutliple midrise condos looked pretty good...

By the way, speaking of San Rocco festivals: The Aliquippa San Rocco festival is this weekend. I think I am gonna go if anybody wants to join me!! (Evergrey?)

[Evergrey]

sorry, I have to go to State College this weekend :(

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07222/808453-53.stm

URA gives SouthSide Works developer 3 more years

Friday, August 10, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

With several major projects in the pipeline, the Soffer Organization is getting another three years to fill out its eclectic SouthSide Works complex.

The city Urban Redevelopment Authority board unanimously approved the extension of its exclusive development rights at its meeting yesterday.

Without the additional time, Soffer's exclusive rights to the property would have expired in July 2009. They now will run until July 2012.

URA acting Executive Director Don Kortlandt said the extension was needed to give Soffer enough time to complete the planning and construction of several proposed projects, including a riverfront hotel and condominium tower and conference center, the Hofbrauhaus restaurant, two other condo towers and a 70-unit apartment building.

The apartment building, to be erected at 26th Street and Tunnel Boulevard, is the latest wrinkle in Soffer's plans for the site.

Mark Dellana, vice president of development, said it was added as part of a redesign of the block. Soffer hopes to have it done by the second quarter of 2010, with rents there running from $1,000 to more than $3,000 a month.

"More people living on the site is always a good thing," he said.

In that vein, the two condo towers planned by Soffer would add 150 new units to the Monongahela riverfront. Mr. Dellana said, however, he does not expect the design of those buildings, with an estimated combined cost of $60 million, to be completed until 2009, with pre-sales running through 2011.

Without the extension, Soffer's development rights would expire before the buildings would be completed, he said.

Construction of the $48 million, 13-story hotel and condo building may get started later this year and will take two years. It will feature 140 hotel rooms and 23 condos, separated by a two-story spa.

American Eagle Outfitters started moving its employees into its new headquarters within the complex last month. Soffer already has started work on a second $24 million office building for the retailer, to open in 2009.

Mr. Kortlandt said Soffer has brought more than $100 million in private investment to the 34-acre site over the past decade and continues to be "an important engine of economic development" in the city.

"They've been a very reliable partner in terms of bringing projects along incrementally at a nice pace. They have a reputation for taking their time but getting it right," he said.

"I believe it's not an exaggeration to say that the Soffer Organization has been a blessing to the city of Pittsburgh."

Soffer got exclusive development rights until 2009 as part of another three-year extension awarded by the URA in 2005.

Also yesterday, the board approved:

A $20,000 grant to Point Park University to help pay for a $158,340 study to be done by the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Land Institute. Experts from the institute will help the school develop ideas for retail opportunities, street improvements and better integration into the Downtown neighborhood.

The study area will run along Wood Street, from Fort Pitt Boulevard to Fifth Avenue.

Although former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy works for Urban Land Institute, he will not be part of the team that will help with the Point Park study, university officials said.

With 13 parcels, Point Park is the second largest property owner Downtown, behind the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. It also is seeking money from the state and Allegheny County for the study.

A $10 million tax-increment financing plan for the $113 million Bakery Square project at the old Nabisco plant in Larimer.

The URA estimates the project will generate more than $2 million a year in property and parking tax revenue, with 60 percent of that diverted to pay off the TIF, or tax increment financing, which will be used for a parking garage and infrastructure improvements, including modifications to Penn Circle.

The TIF plan still must be approved by the city, the county and the Pittsburgh school board.

The appointment of Mr. Kortlandt, the URA's general counsel, as acting executive director, replacing Jerome Dettore, who resigned.



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

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

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_521464.html

East Liberty's Bakery Square project will receive $10M

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, August 10, 2007


The Bakery Square project in East Liberty received a major financial boost Thursday, with approval of $10 million in tax-exempt financing by the city Urban Redevelopment Authority for development of the 6.5-acre former Nabisco plant site.
The approval is the first step toward final approval of the financing. City Council, the Pittsburgh Public Schools board and Allegheny County Council also must approve the plan, which is expected to occur this year.

Todd Reidbord, a partner of Walnut Capital in Shadyside, said groundbreaking for the $113 million project could happen in February or March.

He said although a local hotel developer, Concord Hospitality, is interested in developing a hotel just outside the property, it would not be part of the tax-increment financing plan. Such financing, known as a TIF, allows a government entity to borrow money to help pay for a project, and then redirect property taxes generated by that development to pay down the debt.

Reidbord said negotiations are under way with potential tenants, but declined to identify them.
The Bakery Square plans call for new and renovated retail space, along with office space, and an 850-car parking garage.

Negotiations are ongoing with the Port Authority to establish a station opposite the development, on the East busway.

In another East Liberty project, the URA approved a $155,000 interest-only, 18-month loan, at 4 percent, for East Liberty Development Inc. to demolish the former PNC Bank building at 6000 Penn Ave., after ELDI obtains a buyer for the site and approves a new project there.

In other action, the URA board:


Agreed to help Point Park University secure a $25,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development. About $20,000 would pay for a portion of a study the university will arrange with the Urban Land Institute to look at the area from the Monongahela River to Fifth Avenue, on Wood Street, for development. Point Park owns 13 buildings Downtown.

Extended the agreement with Soffer Organization as developer of the 34-acre SouthSide Works, to July 2012. It was to expire in July 2009, but Soffer said it needed more time to work on projects and tenants.


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

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_521663.html

Longtime wholesalers find plan for boutique shops rotten.

By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, August 11, 2007


The no-frills wholesalers of the Strip District's produce terminal building are afraid a haute marketplace concept could destroy 90 years of fruit-and-vegetable-fueled tradition.
Much of the iconic Pennsylvania Railroad Fruit Auction and Sales Building -- the long, one-story building along Smallman Street -- could become the Strip Market Hall, a 45,000-square-foot public market and restaurant space.

That's if nonprofit group Neighbors in the Strip can convince the Urban Redevelopment Authority to embrace the idea and fend off protests from the building's successful produce wholesalers, who don't want to relinquish space for an untested business venture.

"They don't realize what they're taking away from us here," said Linda Sasinoski, of Shaler, co-owner of J.E. Corcoran, which has been in her family 40 years.

As the largest tenant in the building, J.E. Corcoran employs 29 people and does $23 million worth of business a year. It receives 3,000 tractor-trailers of produce each year and supplies 150 to 200 clients, many of them restaurants and other wholesalers in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
Corcoran and other tenants routinely have renewed 5- to 7-year leases with the URA, which has owned the building since 1981, after the first year of the agreement.

"We've been asking for extensions for a year now and have not received them," Sasinoski said. The lease expires at the end of 2009.

The refusal to renew the leases is the most ominous sign to Brad Kokowski, 50, of Shaler, who has run Superior Produce for 16 years.

"There's no space for this marketplace right now without expelling people who are here," Kokowski said, although he's not ruling out a compromise that would "keep the integrity of the building" and allow development nearby.

Becky Rodgers, president of Neighbors in the Strip, said she believes a place for the produce vendors can be found to make way for the public market.

"Produce has historically been a very important part of the neighborhood," she said. "But it's changed a little over the years. It used to be a lot bigger than it is now."

Rodgers' group argues the terminal could be used more efficiently and that an $8.1 million investment in it would leave space for 34 small vendors and create 200 jobs.

Money for the renovation would come from a combination of state and local grants, Rodgers said. The high-cost items would be installing an air-conditioning and heating system into what is essentially an open-air warehouse, and making the building accessible to those with disabilities.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said he's still listening to tenants' concerns.

"I think the job for me is to facilitate and determine what's in the best interest of the community," he said. "We haven't made any determination, as an administration, as of yet."

Jay Miller, 57, of Zelienople, has run Premier Produce Co. for 20 years. It has 13 employees and does about $18 million in annual business. He said the politics at play will doom the space that his company and nine others occupy.

"They're going to take a thriving business, throw people out of here and set up a bunch of small vendor shops," Miller said. "Does that make sense to you?"



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

[PittPenn 03]

This project is totally wrong! If completed it is going to (at least to me) feel so contrived and out of place in the Strip. The Strip is already a destination that should not be tampered with. It has taken on its characteristics fairly naturally to reflect its market demands. We do not need to try replicating some tourist trap market in some other city. I will be sickened if they build this. These 200 jobs they talk of, how many will be new I wonder? Will they be ending 200 presumably decent paying labor intensive jobs just to create 200 low paying retail jobs? Ridiculous - just ridiculous!


http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_521663.html

Longtime wholesalers find plan for boutique shops rotten.

By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, August 11, 2007


The no-frills wholesalers of the Strip District's produce terminal building are afraid a haute marketplace concept could destroy 90 years of fruit-and-vegetable-fueled tradition.
Much of the iconic Pennsylvania Railroad Fruit Auction and Sales Building -- the long, one-story building along Smallman Street -- could become the Strip Market Hall, a 45,000-square-foot public market and restaurant space.

That's if nonprofit group Neighbors in the Strip can convince the Urban Redevelopment Authority to embrace the idea and fend off protests from the building's successful produce wholesalers, who don't want to relinquish space for an untested business venture.

"They don't realize what they're taking away from us here," said Linda Sasinoski, of Shaler, co-owner of J.E. Corcoran, which has been in her family 40 years.

As the largest tenant in the building, J.E. Corcoran employs 29 people and does $23 million worth of business a year. It receives 3,000 tractor-trailers of produce each year and supplies 150 to 200 clients, many of them restaurants and other wholesalers in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
Corcoran and other tenants routinely have renewed 5- to 7-year leases with the URA, which has owned the building since 1981, after the first year of the agreement.

"We've been asking for extensions for a year now and have not received them," Sasinoski said. The lease expires at the end of 2009.

The refusal to renew the leases is the most ominous sign to Brad Kokowski, 50, of Shaler, who has run Superior Produce for 16 years.

"There's no space for this marketplace right now without expelling people who are here," Kokowski said, although he's not ruling out a compromise that would "keep the integrity of the building" and allow development nearby.

Becky Rodgers, president of Neighbors in the Strip, said she believes a place for the produce vendors can be found to make way for the public market.

"Produce has historically been a very important part of the neighborhood," she said. "But it's changed a little over the years. It used to be a lot bigger than it is now."

Rodgers' group argues the terminal could be used more efficiently and that an $8.1 million investment in it would leave space for 34 small vendors and create 200 jobs.

Money for the renovation would come from a combination of state and local grants, Rodgers said. The high-cost items would be installing an air-conditioning and heating system into what is essentially an open-air warehouse, and making the building accessible to those with disabilities.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said he's still listening to tenants' concerns.

"I think the job for me is to facilitate and determine what's in the best interest of the community," he said. "We haven't made any determination, as an administration, as of yet."

Jay Miller, 57, of Zelienople, has run Premier Produce Co. for 20 years. It has 13 employees and does about $18 million in annual business. He said the politics at play will doom the space that his company and nine others occupy.

"They're going to take a thriving business, throw people out of here and set up a bunch of small vendor shops," Miller said. "Does that make sense to you?"



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

[Johnland]

This project is totally wrong! If completed it is going to (at least to me) feel so contrived and out of place in the Strip. The Strip is already a destination that should not be tampered with. It has taken on its characteristics fairly naturally to reflect its market demands. We do not need to try replicating some tourist trap market in some other city. I will be sickened if they build this. These 200 jobs they talk of, how many will be new I wonder? Will they be ending 200 presumably decent paying labor intensive jobs just to create 200 low paying retail jobs? Ridiculous - just ridiculous!

I agree. The Strip is authentically Pittsburgh as it is. I'm all for new development, cleaning it up, repairing streets, etc., but I don't think it serves a real purpose to start creating touristy-type places. As PittPenn said, it's already a destination. I was upset when they asphalted over the cobblestones. I love those cobblestone streets in Pittsburgh. If they chip away and chip away at the unique things about the Strip, eventually it will not be the Strip anymore.

[themaguffin]

I disagree and the other shop owners are idiots for fighting this.

Many cities have markets and they are wonderful as a tourist attraction and place for locals.

As great as the Strip is, it is not the same thing exactly and this would complement it well - if they do it right and they very well could.

If done right, it will enhance the Strip - for both the Penn Ave folks and for the customers.

[BMikeSci]

The problem is, there is a history here in Pittsburgh of destroying going businesses to create large development projects that may or may not work out. There are so many empty buildings that can be redeveloped; why dispossess going concerns? If Pittsburgh needs a market, put it in Market Square or in Allegheny Center or on fifth by the new arena.

[Evergrey]

I have mixed feelings on the Strip District marketplace myself... BMikeSci is right about the URA's mixed history when it comes to projects like this... while I believe there's room for A LOT of improvement in the Strip... we also must be careful not to destroy what we have there now.

Anyways... here's an interesting article on the architecture of the new Children's Hospital

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07224/808620-53.stm

Building new Children's Hospital changes community and how patients are cared for

Sunday, August 12, 2007

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mullions of green, blue, yellow and orange frame the windows of the new Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, all designed to flood the building and the surrounding neighborhood with light and color. Inside Children's President Roger Oxendale is explaining how the region's largest construction project came to be and how much more still needs to be done before the 1.5 million-square-foot pediatric complex can open in May 2009.

Wearing a purple hard hat and dark suit, Mr. Oxendale walks onto a wide platform jutting from the sixth floor, the space framed by copper checkerboard panels and a four-story glass atrium. This, he said, will be an outdoor garden allowing sick children and their parents to experience the sun and the open sky without leaving the building. There are no plants or benches yet, but spreading out below is a hilltop panorama of Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, the Cathedral of Learning and the largest office towers Downtown.

"It's incredible," Mr. Oxendale said of the view children will have once Children's is complete. "It's a really great site. Almost every aspect of the site, you have got ... very, very unique views."

The excitement and anticipation from hospital officials is palpable as a new home for the region's sole pediatric specialty hospital rises above the dense landscape of Pittsburgh's East End, the 10-acre site bordered by Penn Avenue and the Allegheny Cemetery.

What is missing, at least visibly, is any of the rancor, doubt and public wrangling that characterized the project at its start.

When the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Children's merged in 2002, they agreed to build a new structure jointly, replacing Children's cramped, warren-like headquarters in Oakland. But soon after construction began on the site of the old St. Francis Medical Center, costs began to balloon well above $400 million, and UPMC balked at the escalating price tag and scope. The dispute went public in the summer of 2004, with former Children's Chief Executive Officer Ron Violi reminding UPMC that it had pledged a "world-class, state-of-the-art" facility -- without putting a ceiling on costs.

"We want what we were promised," he told reporters.

UPMC and Children's finally agreed to cap the budget at $475 million and shifted the day-to-day construction process away from a "fast track" method that had contributed to the expense. Then Mr. Violi left the hospital amid some speculation that he had been forced out (Mr. Violi could not be reached for comment last week).

Costs about to go up again


But after Mr. Oxendale arrived, the price escalated again to $575 million ($525 million of that being paid by UPMC and $50 million by the Children's Hospital Foundation) as other features were added, including an 800-space staff parking garage, an on-site day car center, a fitness center and the outdoor garden -- now known in planning documents as the "Howard Hanna Healing Garden," thanks to a contribution from the O'Hara-based residential real estate agency of the same name.

Last week, on a tour, Mr. Oxendale disclosed that project costs were about to go up yet again -- by about $50 million -- due to a decision to build out the eighth floor of the hospital with 40 additional beds, bringing the total bed count to 296 and the total price to $625 million, an amount higher than PNC Park and Heinz Field combined. Add the $80 million contributed by Highmark Inc. to help UPMC acquire the St. Francis site and the total exceeds $700 million.

Mr. Oxendale does not appear concerned about winning support for the extra $50 million or that it will trigger another dispute, saying, "We felt and obviously UPMC and our board agreed that it made sense now to build those additional, bedrooms," and noting that the Children's Hospital Foundation would raise the additional money. A spokesman later emphasized that the boards of the foundation and UPMC still needed to sign off on the increase.

The need for an eighth-floor expansion and more beds can be attributed, Mr. Oxendale said, to surging patient volumes at Children's 263-bed facility in Oakland, where admissions and observation cases have risen 33 percent in the last five fiscal years.

"When the planning began, what you don't know is where your sense of trajectory is going," added Dr. Andy Urbach, Children's medical director for clinical excellence and service. "And ours just continues to climb. I won't say unexpectedly; but it's climbing pretty significantly and steadily."


Transformation and control


The new Children's is part of a larger health care construction boom across southwestern Pennsylvania, with 1 million square feet being added between 2006 and 2009 -- including a $109 million expansion at UPMC Passavant in Cranberry, a $31 million expansion of the Magee-Womens Research Institute in Oakland and the planned $60 million in improvements at Mercy Hospital if UPMC receives merger approval from the federal government.

The trend is a concern to some observers who worry that capital investments can mean higher premiums for health care purchasers.

But with Children's, "I think the case was made in the greater Pittsburgh area that a new, modernized and expanded facility that focused on children's health care was necessary," said Marc Volavka, executive director of the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.

It is clear from a tour of the Children's construction site last week that doctors, administrators and faculty feel they have one chance to get it right and that a new Children's should reflect the best interests not only of doctors and nurses, but patients and families, as well. The architect, Downtown-based Astorino, based its recommendations on a "deep-design filter process" that involved patients, families and staff members in a round of in-depth interviews, observation, storytelling and journaling, collages, sensory analysis, color theory and spatial and form analysis.

Two main themes emerged: the need for patients to feel transformed and for patients and staff to have greater control over their surroundings.

The bold strokes of purple and green and orange and yellow and blue that dot and bisect the exterior -- perhaps the hospital's signature architectural feature -- are the most visible indications of the transformative feeling Children's officials hope to create inside.

"The parents are apprehensive, the kids are apprehensive when they are coming to the hospital," Mr. Oxendale said. "If there is something right away that can catch their attention and make it feel like, 'Hey, this is a cool place we are going to,' that is what we wanted to accomplish."


'Let us feel uplifted'


The new visual angles -- a contrast to the windowless spaces in Oakland -- and the multitude of natural light also play to the need for a distraction from illness and the emotional challenges that accompany any prolonged hospital stay. A four-story Eat n' Park Atrium launches upward on the sixth floor, anchoring a part of the building officials refer to as a "Children's Town Square." Here will be a chapel, a library, a business center for working parents -- all leading outside to the garden and a sprawling city vista.

"We wanted families who were really stressed and under tension to come here and feel uplifted, hence the views and the light," said Dr. Urbach of Children's. "We also wanted ... the wow factor. You walk in and you go, 'Wow!' It truly distracts you from what you are here for."

The long hallways leading from a parking garage to the main lobby will be known as the "Transformation Corridor," and illustrations lining the terrazzo floor will chronicle the changing of seasons from winter to summer to spring to fall, perhaps with cocoon-to-butterfly iconography on the walls and in the main lobby.

"Butterflies are about as good a metaphor for transformation as anyone can come up with," said Dr. Urbach, who stops in the hallway and points out the spaciousness and light that exists amid the piles of construction materials, beams and dust. "That is what patients and families have been telling us over and over and over again. 'Don't close us in; let us see the community; let us see the light; let us feel uplifted.' "

Another architectural effect emphasized by hospital officials is the layout of patient rooms. The 300-square-foot spaces will be 1 1/2 times larger than the rooms in Oakland and completely private (one child per room), with overnight couch and pull-out bed for parents. A nearby nursing work station and "pass-through" cabinets will allow the hospital to stock the room from the hallway and clear soiled linen or food trays without entering the room -- a system Children's predicts will keep infection rates down. Rooms in the 36-bed intensive care unit will feature breakaway glass doors in case of emergency and alarms that are passed to nurses via wireless phones -- meaning no more noisy bells and alarms at the bedside.

"We are really pushing to get everything set up the way we want it," said Dr. Urbach.


'A neighborhood to be part of'


Completing Children's by May 2009 and moving everyone from Oakland will mark one of the most challenging city construction projects in recent memory -- on the outside as well as inside. In all, five buildings from the old St. Francis were demolished and five new ones will have been built. Some of the old hospital was kept intact, including the operating rooms and intensive care units, and construction workers are blending old and new by matching floor and ceiling heights.

The 12-story, 900,000-square-foot hospital will sit closest to Penn, albeit set back from the road a bit, and surrounding it will be a 10-story research tower, a 130,000-square-foot faculty building, a 75,000-square-foot administration building, a family housing/day care building and three garages with 1,400 spaces -- the maximum amount allowed by the city. Children's also is purchasing another 13-acre site near 55th and Butler streets to provide an additional 557 parking spaces.

The hospital expects to have about 2,700 employees when it opens in May 2009, but not all will be descending on the site at the same time since people work in shifts seven days a week, 24 hours a day. To help with the flow of traffic in Lawrenceville and Bloomfield, Children's widened sections of 44th and 45th streets, Penn Avenue and Garwood Way and added turning lanes and new traffic signals, storm pipe, manholes, pavement markings, sidewalks and curbs.

"We have a neighborhood to be a part of," said Eric Hess, assistant to the CEO at Children's, "and we wanted to respect that."



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

Staff writer Joe Fahy contributed to this story. Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070812_L_Hospital.gif

[Evergrey]

How long until JetBlue leaves Pittsburgh and USAir reasserts its bizarre "shrinking dominance" and sky-high fares?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07224/808298-243.stm

JetBlue sings 'Burgh blues as fliers can't shake US Airways' habit

Sunday, August 12, 2007

By David Bear, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Every silver lining has a cloud around it.

Back when US Airways operated more than 500 daily flights from Pittsburgh International, area passengers paid a considerable premium over average fares available at more competitive airports around the country.

The good news is that over the past six years, local air fares have fallen dramatically. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, our fares now average $322 per round trip, down 12 percent since last year's $368 and 26 percent from $437 in 2001. Furthermore, our average fares now rank well below the national figure of $380.

Of course, during this same period US Airways has reduced the number of departures from Pittsburgh by nearly 60 percent, and dramatically reduced the number of destinations it serves nonstop from here. At the same time, the airline has re-cast itself as a low-cost carrier.

Still, from Pittsburgh at least, its cheapest fares seem to be predicated on two factors: the presence of a competing carrier offering low-cost service to that particular destination and a passenger's willingness and ability to make reservations at least seven days in advance and fly at off-peak hours.

Even during its strategic retreat from Pittsburgh, US Airways has responded each time a low-cost competitor has moved into this market, matching or even undercutting its lowest fare. And the strategy has worked in every case, with the exception of Southwest Airlines. The bulk of the traveling public has stuck with US Airways, whether from habit, loyalty or addiction to its frequent flier program. That last justification is somewhat strange, considering how many people have reported difficulty cashing in their accumulated mileage for free flights of their choosing.

In the face of this stiff competition, upstart carriers eventually decided to fold up their tents (although several, such as Independence Air, did so for larger, systemic reasons rather than failure at Pittsburgh International), and then US Airways bumped back up its fares.

And although US Airways' average prices are generally lower than before, finding a low fare for a trip on the airline is a matter of persistence, timing and good luck. For example, its price for an economy seat on a nonstop flight from Pittsburgh to LaGuardia, booked in the short-term, varies from $79 to $618 each way. Given those variables, the simpler fare structures of low-cost carriers should give them a leg up, especially for flights booked at the last minute.

Consider the most recent entry into the market, JetBlue, which in June 2006 began offering nonstop flights from Pittsburgh to New York (JFK) for $59 and to Boston for $79. Almost immediately, average ticket prices to those markets fell by 46 percent and 62 percent, respectively. And not surprisingly, traffic to those markets also grew.

Yet a year later, JetBlue can claim just 20 percent of the Pittsburgh-New York market and 26.6 percent of Pittsburgh-Boston traffic. Apparently that's not good enough, because last month JetBlue executives hinted about cutting back service from Pittsburgh.

That ole US Airways black magic might be part of JetBlue's dilemma, but so are some significant fumbles of its own, such as a winter service meltdown that made it fodder for late night comedians and tarnished its polished reputation for passenger service and financial excellence. Also, JetBlue's service to JFK is probably more appealing for passengers making international connections, while LaGuardia remains the preferred port of entry for Manhattan-bound travelers, which is probably the bulk of Pittsburgh-originating traffic.

Also, a four-day sales promotion JetBlue set up at the end of June to boost traffic from Pittsburgh hit some turbulence. Intended only for passengers enrolled in its TrueBlue frequent-flier program, the two-for-one offer also required accessing a special Web address, a fact that apparently wasn't adequately promoted. That resulted in a number of frustrated fliers, not exactly the best way to win new customers.

Still, JetBlue, with five daily departures, does offer good service and flight times to both Boston and New York, as well as a wide array of connecting flights from there. And although US Airways may still claim the lowest fare to both markets, maintaining that can be tough.

For example, the previously mentioned US Airways Pittsburgh-to-New York economy fare booked on three days' notice means a round trip could cost anywhere from $158 to $1,236. JetBlue's walk-up fares also vary, but only from $198 to $318. It also has great prices on connections through New York to Florida markets, as low as $79 each way.

According to Ken Zapinski, senior vice president with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and director of the Regional Air Service Partnership, attracting alternative carriers is why average fares at Pittsburgh International are lower than five years ago, while the number of passengers passing through is now higher. That's why the partnership is working to get local businesses to think about using alternative carriers such as JetBlue and Southwest. "Changing habits was easier when more businesses had a centralized travel function making reservations," he explained. "Now business travelers make their own bookings on-line, so the education process is more of a grassroots effort."

The bottom line: Consider the alternatives and be willing to give one a try. Fares may be lower now, but there's no guarantee for the future. It's safe to say that brand loyalty doesn't offer the same advantages it once did, and unless we patronize the competition, there won't be any competition at all.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07224/808779-109.stm

The Next Page: They come, they go

Migration & the Pittsburgh region

Sunday, August 12, 2007

By Christopher Briem, graphics by James Hilston

When people leave the Pittsburgh area, where do they go?

And where do those new people come from?

Click on the link below the map to view a larger pdf version of the maps adapted from "Migration Trends in the Pittsburgh Region," a new report from the University Center for Social and Urban Research at the University of Pittsburgh. The complete report is on the Publications section of www.ucsur.pitt.edu.

It is hard to imagine there is any other region in the United States that obsesses over population loss and migration as much as Pittsburgh. That people move out of Pittsburgh really isn't news. That we take it so personally whenever we learn of someone leaving town borders on one of the region's core values.

What we seem to forget is that even as many leave, each year thousands of new Pittsburghers arrive here and begin to reshape the region.

Is the Pittsburgh region's population loss excessive? Certainly not compared with where we have been. Twenty-five years ago, the compounded job destruction here eliminated the economic opportunities here for much of a generation. The rational choice for many was to leave, and leave they did.

Net loss of population due to migration exceeded 50,000 people a year across the Pittsburgh region in the early 1980s. That exodus was concentrated among the region's youngest workers, which exacerbated the impact on the region. Those young workers took with them their not only their skills but their families, and their future families which otherwise would have stayed and grown here, a legacy that impacts our population trends to this day.

Today, net migration from the region is a small fraction of that rate: It's closer to 5,000 people per year.

Even that number does not reflect the fundamentally different circumstances of today. A higher proportion of current migration is made up of older retirees moving toward more temperate climes, a pattern that does not have the same long-term impact as the loss of younger families.

The slow population loss due to migration does not begin to reflect the changes going on in the region. Roughly 100,000 people move into or out of the Pittsburgh region each year. Thousands more move within Southwestern Pennsylvania annually.

Both of these numbers dwarf the net migration number, which is usually the only statistic that makes it into the news. These flows of people moving in and out are a major force reshaping our local communities.

Even if the flow of migrants moving into a community balances those leaving, the change that is taking place can be startling.

Why do people move? There is no single answer.

The American work force is one of the most mobile on the planet. Workers young and old find that their skills match best to jobs located across the country. Some of those jobs bring people to Pittsburgh, others require them to leave. Many move, either for the season or permanently, when they retire. Students are likely to move both as they enter college or graduate school and then again when they graduate.

All of these factors affect every region in the country and Pittsburgh is no exception.


Is the pattern of migration from the Pittsburgh area atypicial?

The fact is that large metro regions nearest to Pittsburgh are the source of the largest migration flows is surprising only in its consistency.

It was well over a century ago that British economist Edward Ravenstein noted that most migrations were short distances, with proportionally fewer people moving longer distances. That observation could explain much the pattern of migration from Pittsburgh today.

Many are surprised to learn that our largest competitors for people are not concentrated in the fastest growing regions, but actually Philadelphia, New York and Washington, D.C.

Within the region, the movement of population is reshaping the region. The continuing movement of population away from urban cores is true for regions across the country. Suburbanization and exurbanization is a trend almost everywhere. Allegheny County has long been the concentration of population and employment in Southwestern Pennsylvania. That it bears the brunt of population loss as residents move ever farther out is almost unavoidable.

Yet even though more people leave Allegheny County each year than arrive, there are still thousands who move into the county from the suburbs each year. It is not a one-way flow

The movement of population within the region has its consequences as well. New infrastructure is needed even as regional population is stagnant. Jobs are not moving out from the core at the same rate as residents showing that workers are willing to endure ever-longer commutes. Today, thousands travel into the region daily from Ohio, West Virginia and beyond.

Take all of these factors together and individual communities are growing or declining at rates far different from the regional average. Communities that are gateways for new residents, or attractive to residents moving within the region are growing almost as fast as possible. Likewise we have to deal with many local municipalities which are experiencing ongoing rates of decline far higher than the region as a whole.


Migration matters -- but maybe not in the way we think it does.

Many want to subsume all that they think is bad about the region into each story we hear about someone leaving town. At the same time, we don't notice our new neighbors arriving every day.

Overall migration flows are built upon thousands of individual decisions, each one based on different circumstances and choices. The overall migration rate does not necessarily say much about our relative quality of life -- nor our prospects for growth in the future.

The despondency we exhibit when learning of yet another person leaving town has an odd corollary many know about. As any new resident to Pittsburgh will tell you, when the subject of where they are from comes up, there will always be a native Pittsburgher who asks incredulously "Why would you move here?" I bet they had a reason to come -- and I bet they have a reason to stay.




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

Christopher Briem is a regional economist at University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research and the research director for the Pittsburgh Regional Indicators Project (www.pittsburghtoday.org). James Hilston is a Post-Gazette editorial artist jhilston@post-gazette.com.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070812migration_allegheny.gif


CLICK HERE FOR PDF MAP OF DOMESTIC MIGRATION:
http://www.post-gazette.com/downloads/20070812_nextpage.pdf

[BMikeSci]

Another NY buyer

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/briefs/s_521673.html

[Johnland]

Another NY buyer

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/briefs/s_521673.html

This just underscrores my own personal (totally non-professional) view that Pittsburgh is a great value investment for real estate. It's a beautiful city with wonderful architecture and just so much upside for growth somewhere in the future. Whether commercial or residential, I really think it's a good buy now. I am currently in Florida and I am so outta here when the time is right. I loved it 15 years ago. But with unending growth tipping towards unmanagable congestion and no real urban character - it's all just sprawling metropolitan suburbanism mostly. Add in hurricane threats and insurance chaos, increasing road congestion and property taxes, the bloom is off the rose.

[Preserve & Restore]

Philly-based Solera Ventures, which is doing the luxury condo project on Penn Ave. downtown... is planning 70 condos for the Strip District's iconic Otto Milk building

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/56560544.jpg


My reply: I'm thrilled that this incredible building isn't being demolished. It's good that its being turned into condos. I'd like to live there.

However, in my DREAMWORLD FANTASY, this building should be turned into a museum of turn-of-the-century artifacts. There should be grammophone players playing ragtime music, there should be historical displays of the local neighborhood, with an archive of any 80-100 year old books that can be found, there should be a room for kids with black and white POPEYE films being played, etc... because this building looks wicked!

You know that the condos will rip out anything historical which may still exist in there.

I understand that this would not be economically feasible. Our society does not have the imagination, education, or desire to cherish these things which I am envisioning. It would be a big flop and money-loser.

The romantic side of me sees this building and I'd love to go experience this building in its true context.

[Evergrey]

My reply: I'm thrilled that this incredible building isn't being demolished. It's good that its being turned into condos. I'd like to live there.

However, in my DREAMWORLD FANTASY, this building should be turned into a museum of turn-of-the-century artifacts. There should be grammophone players playing ragtime music, there should be historical displays of the local neighborhood, with an archive of any 80-100 year old books that can be found, there should be a room for kids with black and white POPEYE films being played, etc... because this building looks wicked!

You know that the condos will rip out anything historical which may still exist in there.

I understand that this would not be economically feasible. Our society does not have the imagination, education, or desire to cherish these things which I am envisioning. It would be a big flop and money-loser.

The romantic side of me sees this building and I'd love to go experience this building in its true context.

We already have a local history museum a couple blocks down the street. People living in this building will have a much greater positive impact on this neighborhood and the core of the city than a museum.

[BMikeSci]

This just underscrores my own personal (totally non-professional) view that Pittsburgh is a great value investment for real estate. ...


I think that the coming spring - 2008 will be a great year for Pittsburgh. It is the 250th anniversary, and loads of development projects have been scheduled to complete in 2008. There will be all kinds of public events and Pittsburgh will show its very best. I wouldn't be too surprised to see PGH buck the national trend and see its home prices rise again.

[EventHorizon]

I think that the coming spring - 2008 will be a great year for Pittsburgh. It is the 250th anniversary, and loads of development projects have been scheduled to complete in 2008. There will be all kinds of public events and Pittsburgh will show its very best. I wouldn't be too surprised to see PGH buck the national trend and see its home prices rise again.

One important project that will continue throughout '08, will be the renovation of Point State Park.

I found the website of PSP, and it gives a good schedule of the different phases of construction for the project.
Here it is: Point State Park Construction (http://www.pointstatepark.com/construction/)

Also, I hope the Mon wharf landing project starts soon. The Riverlife (http://www.riverlifetaskforce.org/projects/monwharf/) site seems to say that it's fully funded by various sources ... so I don't think funding is an issue. I would just like to see a schedule of some sort for when this planned development is set to begin.

[Preserve & Restore]

We already have a local history museum a couple blocks down the street. People living in this building will have a much greater positive impact on this neighborhood and the core of the city than a museum.

Hi Evergrey, Yeah, I agree with you... I can see a positive side of this condo conversion. I would love to live there myself.

I didn't realize that there was already a nearby musuem. Actually I've never even been to Pittsburgh before! :blush:

When I first saw that tower it really looked iconic, far more than a typical loft conversion warehouse. I felt that it deserved some consideration. Is anything left of the interior? If its totally lost then there's no harm done. But if a 100+ year old interior filled with surprises is going to be demolished... mmm... that bothers me.

[Evergrey]

Hi Evergrey, Yeah, I agree with you... I can see a positive side of this condo conversion. I would love to live there myself.

I didn't realize that there was already a nearby musuem. Actually I've never even been to Pittsburgh before! :blush:

When I first saw that tower it really looked iconic, far more than a typical loft conversion warehouse. I felt that it deserved some consideration. Is anything left of the interior? If its totally lost then there's no harm done. But if a 100+ year old interior filled with surprises is going to be demolished... mmm... that bothers me.

It's a long-vacant 19th-century milk warehouse that just happens to have that iconic brick tower portion (why... i don't know). I've never been inside... but I am not sure how much there would be to "destroy" in a long-vacant milk warehouse. I'm pretty confident a lot of the unique architectural features will find new life as they add flavor to the new residential units.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/27179916_aed8e9a6ea.jpg

Across the street, a 100-year old cork factory was converted to 297 apartments last year. It sat vacant for 30 years... but is now a beautiful beacon of life in a long-desolate area.

http://www.thecorkfactory.com/
Before:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/47/154726821_c34cbeb71b.jpg

After:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/474139787_6089d245d0.jpg

The history museum I spoke of is the Heinz History Museum... which is devoted to local history. It's located in the forumer Chatauqua Lake Ice Company building.
http://www.pghhistory.org/
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/98/264487097_e459a1d0d8.jpg

Anyways... nice to see you're so interested in Pittsburgh despite never visiting. You should remedy that sometime.

[PittPenn 03]

I disagree and the other shop owners are idiots for fighting this.

Many cities have markets and they are wonderful as a tourist attraction and place for locals.

As great as the Strip is, it is not the same thing exactly and this would complement it well - if they do it right and they very well could.

If done right, it will enhance the Strip - for both the Penn Ave folks and for the customers.

Since the Strip District is pretty busy and has been successful for a very long time, I am not sure why the shop owners would be idiots for fighting this. I can totally envision what will happen if this becomes a reality. Human nature's need for something shiny and new will draw most business over to the proposed Hall leaving the Penn Avenue businesses to languish. The buildings on Penn will fall into further decline and become less appealing to shop in furthering all business being driven to the Hall. What is left of the wholesale business will be driven out to make room for addtional shops and the entire Strip will be driven to the Hall. What we used to know as the Strip will become a bunch of collapsing buildings that people park around until the demand for parking makes the city decide to tear down entire blocks so people can park near the Hall. In the end, another piece of Pittsburgh down the tubes. It seems to me that the shop owners who want this do not like the Strip District and want something else, something they saw in a city where the grass is greener. They should just move to another part of town rather than destroy established urban fabric to create what will end-up being a caricature of what they think a 'true' market should be. The Strip is already a 'true' market the way it evolved to the city of Pittsburgh's needs. If they want improvements, spend money to clean-up the streetscape and to restore buildings that need repair.

It might be different if we had a booming economy with population growth where both the Hall and the Penn Avenue businesses could have a growing customer base, but this will really be just moving largely thriving businesses to a new building with the same customers much like if they built a mall right beside it.

[themaguffin]

Since the Strip District is pretty busy and has been successful for a very long time, I am not sure why the shop owners would be idiots for fighting this.

Because they are jumping the gun assuming that this is nothing more than a newer version of them under one roof. It doesn't have to be that and shouldn't be another version of Penn, but it can be nice addition to the Strip.

This can be handled properly. I don't understand the drama here over something that can very well help them.

This shouldn't be PennMac somewhere else, it can and should be a market with other vendors, smaller vendors, of various other products.


I'm guessing, that oddly none of the owners have been to many markets to see the different possibilities for a market that would go well with Penn Ave. It's a really exciting prospect and the rest of the Strip won't be levled for parking.

[PittPenn 03]

Because they are jumping the gun assuming that this is nothing more than a newer version of them under one roof. It doesn't have to be that and shouldn't be another version of Penn, but it can be nice addition to the Strip.

This can be handled properly. I don't understand the drama here over something that can very well help them.

This shouldn't be PennMac somewhere else, it can and should be a market with other vendors, smaller vendors, of various other products.


I'm guessing, that oddly none of the owners have been to many markets to see the different possibilities for a market that would go well with Penn Ave. It's a really exciting prospect and the rest of the Strip won't be levled for parking.

"Can" and "Should" doesn't mean that will be what happens. Given the history of retail over the last 50 years I do not think it is worth the risk.

[themaguffin]

"Can" and "Should" doesn't mean that will be what happens.

Why do assume otherwise. You don't have a basis for this other than shop owners complaining without seeing the merits of this done right. It is shortsighted.

Given the history of retail over the last 50 years I do not think it is worth the risk.

This isn't a department store. There's an opportunity to enhance the Strip for locals and solidify its appeal to tourists.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07226/809221-53.stm

For architects, Pittsburgh poses unique challenges

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In the midst of Pittsburgh's latest development boom, a score of architects has found a niche reclaiming the nooks and crannies of neighborhoods, making redesign of old structures and filling gaps between them a revitalization buzz of their own.

Every architect takes on the occasional mess. These architects, working mainly with small developers and nonprofits on gritty, quirky, stubborn, skinny and sometimes nightmarish projects, thrive on it.

"We often say our motto is '20 feet wide, 100 feet deep, horrible conditions and no money,' " said Karen Loysen of Loysen + Kreuthmeier.

Firms get paid roughly 10 percent of construction cost, but these most troubling projects usually come with voracious mechanical, electrical and plumbing budgets. That means they have little of the client's money left to create a good design.

"Creativity is even more critical when there are no dollars to spare," said Eve Picker, the pioneer developer of Downtown lofts in "sliver" buildings. They include Firstside, a former paper warehouse at 429 First Ave., the Bruno Building at 945 Liberty Ave. and an in-fill sliver in the 20-foot-wide lot beside it. She has hired Edge Studio for all of her projects over 10 years. Of the polished concrete floors in the Firstside project they did together, she said, "we couldn't afford to cover them with anything."

The Carnegie Library is also doing lean projects that don't look lean. The Brookline branch was a complete and dramatic makeover, a doubling of library space and infusion of daylight for just over $1 million.

The yellow brick rectangle, between a bakery and barber shop, had a leaky roof and a "pretty creepy" basement that had to be reinvented, said Ms. Loysen. By pulling the floor and roof plates back from one side and adding a continuous skylight, the sun shines even in the basement.

The library system has favored Loysen + Kreuthmeier, Edge Studio and Pfaffmann + Associates for its recent projects because of their designs, their generosity with neighborhood groups, their vision and their interest in the common good.

"It's a significant responsibility to integrate the needs of the community," said Barbara Mistick, director of the Carnegie Library, which is planning new construction in the Hill and the North Side. "It's a far more complex process dealing with a neighborhood that is frustrated from disappointment."

North Side mavens of the neighborhood's historical districts rejected the design Ms. Loysen and Sallyann Kluz presented at a recent meeting because it was contemporary -- a tall, one-story building of textured stone and huge windows.

The lot, a former gas station on Federal Street, was chosen for its centrality to library users and in expectation of other development, but it's a tough spot. The building will have to be stuffed into 14,000-square-foot lot on a slope, with few clues to follow. The rest of the street suggests only muddle as context.

"It's a challenge to figure out what building would present the civic image in the midst of all that," said Ms. Loysen. "We haven't quite solved it yet."

The architects will return to the neighborhood with a new presentation this fall.

Rick Swartz, executive director of the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp., has worked with Ms. Loysen and Dutch MacDonald of Edge Studio on buildings that, in other hands, might have been demolished, he said.

"These folks are vital to pushing the agenda for neighborhoods," said Mr. Swartz, whose offices are in the same four-block area as the offices of Loysen + Kreuthmeier and Edge.

In 2000, Ms. Loysen decided to take on a dilapidated building on Penn Avenue that the BGC owned. It had no windows, water was running through the basement, parts of it were crumbling, it had no roof membrane and there was other interior damage.

"We decided to put our money where our mouth is," said Ms. Loysen. "We all have similar ideas about reusing, and we walk to work, so it was like helping rebuild our neighborhood."

Five years later, the brightly lit, 20-by-100-foot studio with 13-foot ceilings and an interior courtyard shares a building with two loft apartments.

"Saving something is compelling," said Mr. Kreuthmeier. "It's like a cool found object that makes you think, 'What could you do to make it cooler?' "

Four blocks east, Edge Studio revamped and occupied a 1920s era commercial garage four years ago.

Mr. MacDonald said his firm is committed to the challenge of reclaiming and "working with the ghosts of an old building." He and his firm have worked with numerous nonprofits in the area, including revamping a building for use by some of its neighbors, including Dance Alloy and the Friendship Development Associates.

The firm could afford to buy where it did because investment so close to Graham Street was risky. A nuisance bar, now closed, held down the corner. Drug dealers and their customers still roam the area, but the violence associated with the bar has abated.

Changes in demographics and values have come to the rescue of cities in the last decade, said David Dixon, a principal at Goody Clancy in Boston and a spokesman for the American Institute of Architects. "Demand is growing even in cities that are shrinking." He cited the call for a new neighborhood in New Orleans, which lost half its population after Hurricane Katrina.

"Your little band of architects is doing the kind of work that has never been done to this extent. In fact, we haven't seen this demand for cities since the Depression, and now we are wealthier, so the impact is amplified."

Pat Ford, Pittsburgh's economic and development director, said he is arguing for the need to preserve building stock and small places for small businesses that can't afford more than 400 to 600 square feet, precisely to cater to the people on shoestring budgets who are valuable to a city.

"The city should be a steward in trying to retain these spaces and adapt them for future uses -- for the shoe repair guy, the dry cleaner, the florist," he said.

One of the most challenging jobs is to fill a narrow gap between buildings.

Daniel Rothschild, president of Rothschild Doyno Architects of Regent Square, took a commission from Hillel to build the Jewish University Center on Forbes Avenue, which was completed in 2001. It was his firm's "quintessential shoehorn job," he said -- a 40-foot-wide lot surrounded by three buildings with basements.

The sleek three-story result sits between a Starbucks on the corner, and a Chinese restaurant. It abuts Union Grill in the back.

"We had no ability to store materials and had to take out one lane of traffic," he said. "We had our sign up, so I got phone calls from people in their cars berating me."

Andrew Moss of Moss Architects has something old and something new in the works in East Liberty. With Rob Pfaffmann, he is designing prototypes for East Liberty Development Inc. to build in-fill houses. He also has a 90-year-old ghost to resurrect at Whitfield Street on Penn. It's a two-story rectangle that used to house a showroom for cars.

"It's fun to do something new," he said, "but it's more interesting to recreate an existing building, to be part of the evolution of an old building.

"One reason I came back from Denver was the architectural heritage and building stock here," he said. "Pittsburgh is rich with it, and there's more money going into it now than in the last 50 years."


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

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

[Evergrey]

I think both PittPenn and themaguffin make good points concerning the proposed Strip Market... the URA and city have made some huge errors in the past... and there's the possibility of destroying something special... however... the Strip IMO is definately not maximizing its potential (especially due to Buncher's gigantic vacant properties and surface lots)... and sometimes we in Pittsburgh are paralyzed with fear when it comes to trying something innovative... and sometimes we let a few loud voices take over (such as Cozza's Mt. Washington NIMBY quagmire or the Downtown residents who complained about Forest City's Station Square condo proposal because it would eliminate a gas station). I think we need more details on what the URA has planned before passing judgment on this project. There probably is a way for this new market to be sensitive to present businesses and to create a synergy that strengthens the entire district.

A side grievance: Due to Birmingham Bridge work... it appears there is no way for a pedestrian to travel from Oakland to the adjacent neighborhood of South Side... since the pedestrian portion of the Hot Metal Bridge won't be completed until later this year. While much of this city is walkable... there are some embarrassing lapses... such as this temporary lack of Monongahela River crossing ability. The sidewalks along such key corridors as Fifth Ave. connecting Oakland to SoHo are deplorable. It's too bad Pennsylvania's archaic system of municipal governance keeps the City in a state of eternal paralysis... unable to address its crumbling sidewalk network.

[Evergrey]

i wonder how many units the Piatts need to pre-sell before beginning construction on the condo portion of Piatt Place

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghgrill0815.aspx

Downtown's Piatt Place reaches 35% sales mark, welcomes 10,000 sf Capital Grille

After being named anchor tenant last summer, The Capital Grille is set to open at Piatt Place on August 27th.

Located Downtown at 310 Fifth Ave., the 10,000 square-foot restaurant was designed by Peter Niemitz. With seating for 230, as well as three private dining rooms, the restaurant features mahogany-paneled interiors and portraits of prominent Pennsylvanians like Nellie Bly, Andrew Carnegie and August Wilson. Executive Chef is Donato Coluccio.

“To have the number one steakhouse and seafood place in the country in your building just a 15 second elevator ride away is great for the residents. That is huge when we’re trying to sell condos,” says Brian Walker with Canonsburg-based developer Millcraft Industries. “We're pushing thirty-five percent in residential sales. We’re seeing a mix of buyers—locals as well as folks moving to the region from out of state and the suburbs.”

Piatt Place will feature 65 condos, 60,000 square feet of retail space and 180,000 square feet of office space. “Leasing has been great. We have a tremendous amount of proposals under discussion,” says Walker. “We're as excited as can be to have Capital Grille in Pittsburgh. From a leasing perspective, it’s already attracted additional tenants. It’s great for the continued redevelopment of Downtown, another step in the right direction.”

Atlanta-based Captial Grille is known nationally for its dry-aged, hand-cut beef, fresh seafood and extensive wine list. Menu highlights include Kona crusted dry-aged sirloin with caramelized shallot butter and pan-fried calamari with hot cherry peppers. The restaurant boasts 350 wine selections and offers private wine lockers.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Brian Walker, Millcraft Industries

Photograph copyright © Jonathan Greene

[Evergrey]

I was wondering if the Pink Building residential conversion was ever going to go forward. It's in the Strip... but in a rather harsh part of it... surrounded by rusty warehouse and quasi-industrial buildings. It's being converted to apartments... I believe it was originally a condo project. The developer may have switched to apartments due to "historic tax credits"... which are only available to apartments (recall Piatt's apartment project in the Murphy building). These are rather expensive apartments... and I wouldn't be suprised if the developer was looking toward the future towards the possibility of converting these into condos when the "historic tax credit" time period expires.

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghrentals0815.aspx

$1.7M residential development planned for Strip District's historic Pink Building

A new residential development is underway at 3052 Smallman St. in the Strip District. The three-story “Pink Building,” which was built in 1871 and is listed on the national register of historic places, is being converted into 14 rental apartments.

One- and two-bedroom units will range in size from 850 to 1,700 square feet, and will feature refinished original floors, large windows and 14-foot ceilings. The market-rate units will rent for between $1,300 and $1,800. “We’re excited about adding more residential. We’re a nice option to the Cork Factory. We’re hoping that Children’s Hospital would be somebody that would be interested in our building,” says project developer Art McSorley, who purchased the property in 2000.

Architect Vince Finizio is designing the project; contractor is Bridges Construction. “We’re trying to be as green as possible. We're reusing and recycling as much as we can, which has made this work for us,” says McSorley. “We’re using very efficient lighting.”

Building amenities will include a fitness facility, wine cellar and spacious lobby. The residential building will also feature up to 20 parking spaces. “It’s right on the bus routes. The 31st Street will be completed this summer, so there’s easy access by bike to the stadiums and North Side, and a straight shot to downtown. The local restaurants add to that downtown piece,” adds McSorley, who says the building’s exterior will definitely receive a new coat--and a new color—of paint.

Construction is slated to start within 60 days. The project is expected to take seven months to complete.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Art McSorley, General Nutrition Centers, Inc.

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2073/pink_bldg_300.jpg

[timmydogg91]

Westinghouse Electric broke ground Tuesday on its new research center and western Pennsylvania headquarters.

The new $200 million campus will be constructed in Cranberry Woods and consist of three wings totaling 800,000 square feet. It will serve as the headquarters and technology center for the worldwide hub of Westinghouse Electric Company.

Westinghouse is a nuclear power plant designer and builder. It had considered expanding its current headquarters in Monroeville in Allegheny County, but decided to move to Butler County instead.

Within five years, Westinghouse expects to add at least 1,000 employees to the more than 3,400 it already employs in the region.

Attending the groundbreaking was Gov. Ed Rendell, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Cranberry Township officials.

Westinghouse, which is owned by Japan's Toshiba Corporation, needs to expand to meet the demand for four nuclear power plants in China and 12 reactors it will build in the United States.


http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/money/13888140/detail.html?rss=pit&psp=news#

[EventHorizon]

I emailed the Riverlife taskforce and requested a timetable for when the Mon wharf landing development was set to begin - because the website said 2006 - and they responded: "The Mon Wharf Improvement Project will start construction this year and will be completed in summer 2008."

So, just lettin' yinz know. :)

[Evergrey]

Thanks for the independent research, EventHorizon!

Anyways... here's an article on "green neighborhood" development in Pittsburgh. There's a lot of stuff going on in East Liberty... but I don't remember if we've discussed Mellon's Orchards South yet.

http://www.popcitymedia.com/features/greenneighb0815.aspx

Greening the Neighborhoods
By: Jennifer McGuiggan

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Features/Issue%2073/New%20Urbanist%20Future/CDRD_day_450.jpg

August 16, 2007




Perhaps you long for a greener, more cosmopolitan lifestyle; say, a diverse urban setting where you can shop, play, eat and even work within short distances of your home. Fewer trips in the car. An energy efficient home. A community that values sound environmental practices. In a movement called “Green Urbanism”, greening whole neighborhoods is catching on in cities such as Portland and Denver—and now, Pittsburgh. A LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) pilot project is about to certify neighborhoods that define sustainable living and two projects in Pittsburgh have qualified for it.

While other LEED programs have centered on designing environmentally-friendly buildings, the new rating system goes a step further to deem whole neighborhoods green. LEED-ND (for neighborhood development) integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into the first national standard for neighborhood design.

The goal is to create more walkable, livable communities while incorporating green design, says Rebecca Flora of the Green Bulding Alliance who is also a member of the national core committee for LEED-ND and the chair elect for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

While the mainstream emphasis on green today is on smaller measures such as reusable grocery bags and recycling, this movement is more about wholesale lifestyle changes that result in big energy savings.

The LEED-ND certification system will officially launch in 2009, but the pilot program is already underway. According to Flora, over 300 sites across the country applied to be part of the pilot program. While USGBC initially planned to limit participation to 150 sites, the organization reports that due to the overwhelming response, all qualified applicants will be part of the pilot.

Two local development projects, one in East Liberty and one in the Cultural District, aim to combine the good from the “old days” with modern urbanite must-haves, such as retail shops, restaurants, green spaces, and public art projects. And both projects are focused on using sustainable practices.

Neighborhoods to Really Live In

While some call it Green Urbanism or “New Urbanism” to Flora, “It’s really old urbanism.” Whatever you call it, it makes for great, livable communities. And Pittsburgh is on the brink of development projects that could become national models of sustainable planning.

At the core of such development are mixed-use neighborhoods instead of the single-use zonings that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Pittsburgh is already home to such mixed-use neighborhoods, such as the South Side and Lawrenceville . What’s missing, says Flora, are modern day energy efficiencies and green building practices. But that may soon change in East Liberty with a new project, Mellon’s Orchards South, which has been accepted as part of the national LEED-ND pilot program, a joint effort of the Congress for the New Urbanism, the United States Green Building Council and National Resource Defense Council.

Mellon’s Orchards South

The plans for Mellon’s Orchards South draw on much of the urban revitalization and improved quality of life programs already happening in East Liberty. The former site of the Mellon family orchards sits blocks from the neighborhood’s growing business district and is centered on the northwest corner of Penn Circle. It encompasses nine acres of abandoned parking lots and buildings, as well as Garland Park, which has fallen into decline and lost about a third of its space to the adjacent police station parking lot.

According to Nathan Wildfire, sustainable policy coordinator at East Liberty Development, Inc., Mellon’s Orchards South will include 79-85 housing units, including a mix of for-sale, detached, single-family homes as well as town homes. All of the houses will be designed to fit into the context of the surrounding houses to maintain the historic and architectural integrity of the neighborhood. The new residences will be based on prototype homes that are set to go up in another part of East Liberty in the near future. Plus, they’ll face the crown jewel of the project: the reclaimed, revitalized, and re-greened Garland Park.

A unique element of the plan calls for the new homes to be heated and cooled by a geothermal heat pump placed underneath the park, resulting in zero heating and cooling bills for residents. That’s right: zero! Positioning the park as the plan’s centerpiece will give kids a safe place to play and community members a place to congregate. Wildfire promises that “this will be no cookie-cutter park,” but rather something “truly amazing and very special.”

Now that Mellon’s Orchards South is part of the LEED-ND pilot program, Wildfire says that it’s time to continue the community planning process that originally started back in 1999. He notes that ELDI will also work with the City to implement the best development strategy while remaining consistent with the community plan.

While this project is out of the ordinary, the challenges facing it are the usual suspects: funding and planning. Parks are traditionally difficult to fund because they generate no onsite taxes. But they do improve quality of life and increase the value of surrounding, tax-generating businesses and properties.

The other challenge is changing the status quo of infrastructure development, which Wildfire describes as a “big machine that does everything the same way.” Perceptions need to change, because “we’re proposing something totally different that’s not seen in Pittsburgh,” he notes. “We hope that this model proves to be successful and then moves to other neighborhoods. It makes the community healthier and adds value to the region.”

Downtown Riverfront Property


Plans for the Cultural District’s Riverfront Development call for six-acres of a green, mixed-use arts/residential neighborhood with approximately 700 new residential units (including a street of townhouses), a four-star hotel, a performing arts venue, retail spaces, and new parking structures. The project, known as RiverParc, is set to be bounded by Fort Duquesne Boulevard overlooking the Allegheny River, Penn Avenue, and Seventh and Ninth Streets.

As part of the LEED-ND pilot program, RiverParc’s plans call for environmentally sensitive buildings, a variety of parks and green spaces both inside and out, as well as vertical winter terraces and roof gardens.
“The RiverParc project is the extension of the continued work of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to revitalize downtown through the development of its cultural district, not only through the arts but also through real estate development. RiverParc is a milestone project of our 5-year strategic plan to create a 24-7 atmosphere where we have residents, visitors, workers, and students,” says Veronica Corpuz from the Trust.

Andrew Klamon, the development director for the Washington D.C.-based developer Concord Eastridge, says that the next step is a series of three public meetings to open up the development – and planning – to citizens. “We hope this will be a very transparent planning and design process,” Klamon says.

He notes that government officials have shown great support for this public-private project – something that will continue to be essential as the project progresses. To date, the state has contributed $12.3 million toward the estimated $460 million project.

“This is a place with significant public space – truly public in that citizens can use it. Our design team very clearly thought about urban microclimates – how to make this more comfortable in the winter and summer time – and not just for the residents, but for the public spaces as well. RiverParc will help to confirm a long-standing sustainable approach with an outstanding urban revitalization project,” says Klamon.


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


Jennifer McGuiggan, a freelance writer and editor, is owner of The Word Cellar . Her last article for Pop City was about the legacy of FORE Systems.

[BMikeSci]

I agree that a lot of things could be done in the strip. The sidewalks could be fixed. Facades could be improved. Empty stores could be developed. Empty lots could be developed too. I just don't like the idea of displacing going businesses. Is there a good plan to move them first? If they get a new space, maybe they won't mind moving. I don't know the area well enough to suggest a new spot, but I know that there is empty warehouse and industrial space around town. The only thing I would worry about is ruining a lot of businesses in the strip. Don't the markets that are there depend on the auction? It would truly be a great tragedy to see markets closing because their supplier was gone.

[BMikeSci]

BTW, a public parking structure would really help in the strip too. Parking should be easy to attract shoppers.

[BMikeSci]

How about this idea? Spend a thousand dollars fixing your sidewalk and get a five hundred dollar property tax credit. It might be a good way to increase the purchasing power of the tax dollar. Even better, give the credit per foot of sidewalk. Then handy people could fix more sidewalk for less money.

How about, fix a pothole, fix a parking ticket? :-)

[Evergrey]

looks like the Hot Metal Bridge area might be turning into the city's new "hospitality district"

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07227/809556-53.stm

URA calling for proposals for hotel at Pittsburgh Technology Center

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A hotel could be in the works as part of the latest phase of development at the Pittsburgh Technology Center in South Oakland.

The city's Urban Redevelopment Authority is seeking proposals from developers interested in building a hotel on a 1.6-acre parcel at Second Avenue and Bates Street, the main entrance to the technology center.

URA acting Executive Director Don Kortlandt said yesterday he is expecting some developers to bid on the project by the Aug. 30 deadline.

The hotel would be built fairly close to the Hot Metal Bridge, which takes traffic across the Monongahela River to the SouthSide Works complex, where two hotels -- a 115-room Marriott SpringHill Suites and another with 140 rooms and 23 condominiums -- are planned.

Nonetheless, Mr. Kortlandt said he believes there's room for another hotel on the Downtown side of the Mon.

Mr. Kortlandt sees the new hotel serving not only the Pittsburgh Technology Center, but the South Side, the Downtown business district, and Oakland and its universities and medical facilities.

The hotel is part of a major expansion of the technology center that could include the construction of three garages and as many as five office buildings on some 30 acres.

It also would supplement the development of the 150,000-square-foot Bridgeside Point II project, a $46 million lab and office building being built by The Ferchill Group of Cleveland, with the help of $7.25 million in state money. The city and URA are spending another $19 million for road improvements and a 750-space parking garage.

Mr. Kortlandt said he expects Ferchill to complete its purchase of 1.6 acres for its project within the next 30 days. It is paying $300,000 an acre for the property.

The development will be The Ferchill Group's second at the site. It also built the lab-ready Bridgeside Point building near the Hot Metal Bridge on Technology Drive. It houses the Life Sciences Greenhouse and the 12 life science firms it incubates.



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

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

[cdc]

How about this idea? Spend a thousand dollars fixing your sidewalk and get a five hundred dollar property tax credit. It might be a good way to increase the purchasing power of the tax dollar. Even better, give the credit per foot of sidewalk. Then handy people could fix more sidewalk for less money.


The city can ticket you (and eventually take you to court) if you do not maintain your sidewalk. They will even do it in January, despite the winter weather. (Who is going to pour concrete sidewalks in January unless they absoultely have to?)

If the reason for your sidewalk damage is because a city tree's roots damaged it, then the city will reimburse for the repair at the rate of $4/sq ft. This is highly unlikely to cover your costs, but it is better than nothing. The city makes you do all the arragements. That means you have to spend your time finding a contractor, call the city foresty department to trim the roots, get a sidewalk repair permit from the department of public works ($30), and finally file a claim with the city to get the $4/sq ft reimbursement (which takes up to 10 weeks to "process").

see: http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/law/assets/06_procedures_sidewalk_reimb_tree_roots.pdf

We spent over $2000 and alot of our time calling contractors and various city departments to fix the damage the city's trees did to the sidewalks in front of our house. I figure we may get about reimbursement $500 back from the city (but I'm still waiting the 10 weeks for the city to "process" the claim).

One thing I learned from this is just how inefficiently the city of Pittsburgh operates. None of the departments talk to each other (often we had to relay messages --- e.g. the foresty people don't talk to the inspectors). If we had a more efficient city government, alot of these people could be laid off and no one would know the difference.

[BMikeSci]

CDC,

I agree, and thanks for the interesting info. I just came back from the UPMC Dental School. I took my handicapped dad, and the sidewalk in front is a mess. Given the state of the sidewalks in PGH, I guess that not too many tickets are given out. Why are standards so low?

[hyperion1110]

Maybe I missed the boat somewhere, but I hadn't heard about Mellon's Orchard South before. It's such a wonderful project...I don't know why there is not more buzz about it.

Geothermal power?! Finally, some engineers paid attention in physics class! :banana:

[cdc]

CDC,

I agree, and thanks for the interesting info. I just came back from the UPMC Dental School. I took my handicapped dad, and the sidewalk in front is a mess. Given the state of the sidewalks in PGH, I guess that not too many tickets are given out. Why are standards so low?

From talking to the inspector, I don't think they issue citations unless they get complaints. (This is what happened to us --- there is a guy in a motorized wheelchair that lives near us who complained).

If you contact the PGH Bureau of Building Inspection and complain that UPMC has a sidewalk in disrepair and is a "tripping hazard" that might trigger an inspector to go out and look at it. But it may take multiple calls --- we talked to BBI several times and found them to be quite disorganized and poorly managed. The BBI people were definitely worse than the forestry and public works people.

http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/BBI/

[BMikeSci]

CDC,

Thank you. I don't want to cause anyone trouble; so I don't think I'll complain. There should be inspections of this kind of thing, however. I mean, sidewalks, roads, and bridges should get looked at once in a while. ;-)

[hyperion1110]

Here's a link to a good video about the future of Pittsburgh. It was produced by UPMC and Pitt, and I am sure many of you local folk have seen bits and pieces of it on TV. I'm sure the first thing you will notice is the familiar performance of Cinema Paradiso.

It's a perfect advertisement for the city. Enjoy!

http://www.health.pitt.edu/video.htm

[PA Pride]

^Great video!! I loved it... I like Pgh promo videos that are actually intelligent and impressive.

The best one ever was the couple minute long intro video shot with HD cameras that they used to show at the IMAX theatre before all their shows... I wish I could find that video.....

[Evergrey]

^Great video!! I loved it... I like Pgh promo videos that are actually intelligent and impressive.

The best one ever was the couple minute long intro video shot with HD cameras that they used to show at the IMAX theatre before all their shows... I wish I could find that video.....

I don't know... I think it falls far short of this high-energy promo from 1985:

1_Qp6amEGLo

[PA Pride]

^WTF!!!!!!!!!!!! Did they have a contest to make the worst song in the history of music for that video?? Ouch.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_522662.html

$500K grant to explore Pittsburgh-Westmoreland commuter line

By Rich Cholodofsky
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, August 17, 2007


Efforts to start commuter rail service from Westmoreland County into Pittsburgh keep chugging along as local transit officials this week received a $500,000 state grant to study whether the project is feasible.
Officials announced Thursday they likely will hire a consultant later this year to determine whether there are enough potential riders to justify rail service as well as peg cost estimates for the project.

The Westmoreland County Transit Authority is exploring a two-phase project that would offer commuter rail service between Latrobe and downtown Pittsburgh as well as from Arnold to the Strip District.

"We want to get this study done as quickly as we can, maybe within a year. Then a decision to go forward or not will be made," said authority Executive Director Larry Morris.

The state grant will pay for the feasibility study. Transit officials have been waiting for nearly six months for the money.
In the meantime, plans for the commuter rail project have been tweaked as officials moved to extend the proposed Greensburg-to-Pittsburgh line eastward toward Latrobe.

"It made sense to extend it out to Latrobe because Latrobe has a train station that has been remodeled and is being used now by Amtrak. It only made sense to extend it out a little bit," Morris said.

Transit officials also want to explore building a maintenance facility in Derry for the proposed commuter rail system.

Commuter service from Westmoreland County to Pittsburgh was a top recommendation of a study completed last year by a regional planning agency that explored improving transportation needs in the region.

Initial plans suggested the proposed Latrobe-Greensburg line could use existing tracks and train stations and include stops in Jeannette, Irwin, Trafford, Wilmerding, East Pittsburgh, Braddock, Swissvale and Wilkinsburg.

Early cost estimates ranged from $190 million for a limited-service system to a more ambitious $300 million line that would operate every 30 minutes during peak commuting times.

Preliminary studies have indicated that the more expensive system could carry about 8,800 passengers every day for the 49-minute trip between Greensburg and downtown Pittsburgh.

The proposed rail line from Arnold to Pittsburgh's Strip District would stop in New Kensington, Oakmont, Verona and Lawrenceville and utilize existing train tracks.

Projected costs for the Arnold line are about $140 million. By initial estimates, the proposed Allegheny Valley rail line would service as many as 6,700 daily riders making the 34-minute commute.

And transit officials learned earlier this year that for the first time there is a pool of money available to pay for the rail projects.

As part of the comprehensive state transportation bill approved in July by state lawmakers, $50 million a year was allocated to finance commuter rail projects throughout the state.



Rich Cholodofsky can be reached at rcholodofsky@tribweb.com or 724-837-0240.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_522603.html

Housing slide mild in region

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, August 17, 2007


The five-county Pittsburgh region may be bucking the national slowdown in home sales, declining about 1 percent in July.
The latest national figures from the National Association of Realtors showed an 11.4 percent decline in sales in June, compared to June 2006. National home sales figures for July on existing houses won't be available until Aug. 27.

The sales decline in the Pittsburgh region in July followed a 13.4 percent decline in June compared to June 2006, according to figures from RealSTATs, a South Side-based real estate information company.

But that could be changing.

"There are two fundamental reasons that favor house sales in Western Pennsylvania," said Howard "Hoddy" Hanna III, CEO of Howard Hanna Holdings Inc., Pittsburgh, the nation's fifth largest full-service real estate company.
There is not an oversupply of properties for sale -- perhaps 4 percent to 5 percent more listings than the same period last year, Hanna said. And the area did not experience the runaway price increases other regions had, which means affordable houses are available.

For the rest of 2007, Hanna expects the industry's sales figures to continue the same trends.

During July, 3,203 sales were recorded in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties, down 34 from the 3,237 sales for the same month last year, according to RealSTATs.

Butler and Washington counties recorded increased sales. Butler, with 271 last year compared to 241 a year ago, was up 11 percent in July, while Washington, with 322 this year versus 307 a year ago, was up 4.6 percent.

Allegheny and Westmoreland counties showed a slight drop in sales. There were 1,972 recorded home sales in Allegheny in July, down 16 from the 1,988 a year ago. Westmoreland did even better, with 448 sales in July, down 1 from the 449 a year ago.

Beaver experienced a decline with 190 sales for July compared to 241 a year ago, or 21 percent.

The average sales price for the five counties in July was $160,886, up 1.7 percent from $158,204, according to RealSTATs.

Much of that increase can be attributed to Allegheny County, which had an average increase of 5.9 percent, reaching $164,140 compared to $154,391 in July 2006.

The four other counties showed declines. Westmoreland averaged $138,871 compared to $145,391; Butler averaged $205,788 as opposed to $219,007; Beaver was $116,516 down from $117,651; and Washington sustained the highest decline, $159,984 this year compared to $183,561.



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

[PA Pride]

^Interesting article ( for me). Yes, here in Beaver County our home sales are down from the last year and '05 also, but me and my mother's sales aren't down 21%... Maybe like 10% or so...

[hyperion1110]

Some of you guys might be interested that, tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM, the History Channel is going to air a show set in Pittsburgh about the move towards energy and environmental conservation. I saw a bit of this program the other day, and it seemed interested.

[themaguffin]

Point Park University's enrollment growth spurs expansion
Real estate purchases make school a key player in redevelopment of Downtown corridor
Sunday, August 19, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

From its humble roots as a secretarial school 74 years ago, Point Park University could be poised to become a prime-time player in Downtown's ongoing redevelopment.

With at least 16 properties under its control, Point Park has the opportunity to reshape the Wood Street corridor from Fort Pitt Boulevard to Forbes Avenue in much the same way the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has transformed Penn Avenue on the other side of the Golden Triangle. It is the second largest property holder Downtown, behind the Cultural Trust.

Among those holdings are four properties on Forbes and two on Fourth Avenue in the heart of the Downtown retail corridor that could give the university a strong voice in the Fifth and Forbes redevelopment, either alone or in partnership with other developers.

Some believe Point Park could end up moving its Pittsburgh Playhouse, now in Oakland, to that area, creating more of a synergy between the retail corridor and the bustling Cultural District.

The acquisitions have been driven in large part by an enrollment boom that has seen the private university go from 2,305 students 10 years ago to 3,600 this fall.

As it grows, Point Park undoubtedly will look to the acquisitions to fill the need for more dormitory and classroom space. But at the same time, many believe the property holdings position Point Park to be a key player in Downtown's revitalization.

The university will pay the Washington D.C.-based Urban Land Institute $158,340 for help in mapping the future of its campus -- and perhaps Downtown as well.

Land Institute experts will be in Pittsburgh next month to study ways to better integrate the Point Park campus into the Downtown neighborhood, to make recommendations for street improvements and to study street-level retail opportunities.

"Basically what they're trying to do for us is to get a unified look for our properties so we truly have a campus presence Downtown," said Angela Burrows, Point Park senior director of marketing and communications.

The Land Institute study is one of three initiatives under way looking at the university's future. A master space plan is analyzing interior needs and a strategic plan is looking at the academic end.

Point Park President Paul Hennigan was not available last week, and other university officials declined to talk about plans for the properties Downtown.

But Mariann Geyer, Point Park vice president for institutional advancement, told city Urban Redevelopment Authority board members earlier this month that the school sees the Land Institute study as a "wonderful opportunity to bring the neighborhood together in this part of Downtown."

Former URA Executive Director Jerome Dettore said its property holdings give Point Park a unique opportunity to create a "university district" along Wood Street much like the Trust has shaped the Cultural District.

"They're going to create a university district Downtown that will have its own image, which will be interesting to tourists and others. It's going to become a new area of Downtown," he said. "It's going to be part of the new vitality of Downtown, I think."

Point Park's most recent acquisitions involved the West Penn Building at the south end of Wood Street for $9.5 million and the former Stock Exchange Building on Fourth Avenue for $645,000. The university also is in the midst of closing on a building at 100 Wood next to a parking lot it already owns. The earlier Forbes purchases and a parking lot on Fourth cost Point Park $2.45 million.

The purchases expanded the university's footprint Downtown. With the acquisition of the Stock Exchange Building, Point Park now has a mass of properties on Forbes and Fourth to tie into its University Center on Wood in the same block. University Center is the former Bank Center retail complex, which houses the university's library, screening rooms in former movie theaters and conference space.

With the West Penn Building and the pending purchase of 100 Wood, the school will own or lease nearly all the property along Wood from Fort Pitt Boulevard to Third Avenue, including its Academic and Lawrence halls.

It currently leases the Conestoga Building, the location of a new Starbucks, on Wood across from the West Penn Building, and Pioneer Hall at 111 Wood for dormitory space. It also leases the Patterson Building on Third Avenue behind Academic and Thayer halls and recently began leasing two floors in the Bank Tower on Fourth.

This fall, Point Park also is expected to open a new $15.4 million dance and performing arts building on the Boulevard of the Allies next to refurbished Lawrence Hall.

And some believe it also has an interest in the YMCA building across the street, which is up for sale because the Y has decided to move into the old G.C. Murphy's store in Market Square in late 2008 or early 2009. The building seems like a prime opportunity for Point Park, which has long had a need for gym and recreational space.

There's also talk that Point Park may be eyeing the Wood Street Commons building on Wood next to Lawrence Hall. That building, also an old YMCA, provides bridge housing for formerly homeless people and other social services.

The school already has indicated it would be interested in the Honus Wagner sporting goods building on Forbes next to its other properties if it ever becomes available.

Ms. Geyer would not speculate on the YMCA building or any other potential acquisitions after the URA meeting but said university officials "continue to always keep our eyes open" for expansion opportunities.

Herb Burger, who headed the task force that lured Millcraft Industries to Pittsburgh to redevelop the former Lazarus-Macy's and Murphy's buildings, said Point Park could be "a major factor" in Downtown's redevelopment.

"I think Paul Hennigan is a very forward-looking, intelligent executive who, I think, is determined to build and strengthen Point Park as a factor in the city," he said.

Washington County-based Millcraft has had some preliminary talks with university officials about possible partnerships, particularly involving the Forbes Avenue properties, but no recent conversations, said Lucas Piatt, the company's vice president of real estate.

He said more in-depth discussions probably won't occur until after Point Park has completed its master planning process, but added he definitely sees the potential for some partnerships.

Whatever Point Park ends up doing with its properties could affect overall development on Fifth and Forbes and in Market Square, he said.

"We see their campus as having great possibilities to drive economic development. It's really the right type of crowd. It's an energetic crowd, that type of thing you want Downtown," he said.

Herky Pollock, executive vice president of real estate firm CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, said he sees Point Park converting more buildings Downtown into dorm space as enrollment and the demand for housing increases.

He believes Point Park and other Pittsburgh colleges and universities are "growth engines for the region. Medical institutions and educational institutions are all rapidly growing, which is the impetus for new development success throughout our region," he said.

Point Park has not been very specific about potential uses for its more recent property acquisitions, one of the issues the Land Institute study and master space plan likely will address.

The university eventually may move its business school to the West Penn Building. Mr. Hennigan also has said the university would look at the Forbes and Fourth properties for classrooms, housing and perhaps even athletic facilities.

In announcing the opening of the Starbucks in the Conestoga building, Mr. Hennigan said it represented Point Park's "commitment to look at other possible retail opportunities at street level within the university footprint."

"Our goal is to be a good neighbor, adding vibrancy to the neighborhood while at the same time providing our students with a quality academic experience," he said.

Tom Sullivan, a commercial broker with Pennsylvania Commercial Real Estate who sold the Stock Exchange Building to Point Park, said the university indicated that it was interested in using the space for administrative offices.

Mr. Sullivan sees both good and bad in the university's expansion Downtown. On one hand, converting office buildings to housing helps to ease the glut of office space on the market. But the purchases also could end up taking more properties off the tax rolls because of the school's tax-exempt status.

And while some see the growing student population Downtown as a blessing, Mr. Sullivan questioned whether it would attract much development. He said that students, generally speaking, don't have a lot of money to spend and there may not be enough of them.

"Development wise, I don't think you're going to get enough regional and national retailers to care," he said.

Ralph Falbo, developer of the 151 First Side condo tower Downtown, sees all those students as a plus. "My theory is that live bodies Downtown at night are good," he said.

[PA Pride]

That was a good article about point park. I hope they do something useful with all those key properties.

[PA Pride]

Hey, I was on the North Shore a couple days ago and they had a sign up with a rendering of a new office building they are about to contruct next to the Equitable HQ.. But I didnt have a camera to take a picture. Does anyone have that rendering or know where to find it?

[JackStraw]

Hey, I was on the North Shore a couple days ago and they had a sign up with a rendering of a new office building they are about to contruct next to the Equitable HQ.. But I didnt have a camera to take a picture. Does anyone have that rendering or know where to find it?

Could you be talking about this maybe?

http://www.jsa-architects.com/portfolio_ats_chester.htm

[SJPhillyBoy]

^WTF!!!!!!!!!!!! Did they have a contest to make the worst song in the history of music for that video?? Ouch.
Ouch. That song hurt my ears.

[Evergrey]

Typically craptastic Trib article (can't believe they have a daily circulation about 2/3 that of the P/G)... and featuring a painfully awkward comment from Sala Udin... but what the hey... here's some immigration "news"... 100 a year from Africa to live and study doesn't sound too impressive


http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_523049.html

African immigrants celebrated in Pittsburgh

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2007-08-19/0820pafrika-a.jpg
Attendees at an event celebrating African immigrants gather Sunday outside St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church in the Hill District.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review

By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, August 20, 2007


About 200 people joined a celebration Sunday honoring African immigrants who have settled in the Pittsburgh region.
"Africans are coming to America -- to Pittsburgh -- not on a slave ship, but with a purpose," former City Councilman Sala Udin said during a ceremony in which the names of those who came before were shouted out loud at Freedom Corner in the Hill District.

About 100 Africans come to Pittsburgh each year to work or study, said Elie Kihonia, founder of Afrika Yetu and Umoja African Arts Company.

"We want them to stay here," said Kihonia, who came to Pittsburgh in 1989 as a missionary with the African Musical Bridge to help Americans understand the culture of Africa.

Winny Benaiah, 16, is one of the new wave of immigrants. She left her home in Sudan seven years ago and now lives in Baldwin Borough.
She said the ceremony made her "feel wanted, not like an outcast."

Dressed in traditional clothing, participants moved into St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church for an African Mass that featured traditional hymns from various African ethnic groups.

The drum rhythms and upbeat vocals brought many to their feet.

"We are people who celebrate life, everyday, all the time," said Yinka Aganga Williams, who lives in Brookline.

The music attracted Val and Madonna Petrik, of Buffalo, who were in town celebrating their 28th wedding anniversary. They were on their way to another church.

"We followed the music," Madonna Petick said.

Africans learn about Pittsburgh in their history books, reading about the city with the three rivers and many bridges.

The idea of honoring their ancestors was an important project that fit with this weekend's PNC DiverseCity Festival, organizers said.

"Our ancestors are important. We all stand on their shoulders," said Marilyn Dunson, of the Hill District.

The ceremony helped show Zedueh Doerve, 46, who came from Liberia six years ago, that he was part of Pittsburgh.

"You don't feel isolated," he said. "You don't feel homesick."



Craig Smith can be reached at csmith@tribweb.com or (412) 380-5646.

[Evergrey]

this type of thing just drives me nuts... and I believe it's a reflection of the poor political leadership we have in this reason due to the hyper-fragmentation (a government for every 5,000 people or so).

A developer has plans for a "new urbanist" neighborhood along the riverfront in the "old urbanist" suburb of Oakmont... a perfect fit for a community like this you'd think. But no... the urban principles in the design offend the government officials of Oakmont. They'd like a more sprawl-esque development like the shiny developments out in Murrysville. Kacin has apparently failed to meet Oakmont zoning requirements. While Oakmont is a traditional community... I wouldn't be suprised if the zoning requirements they have now are your typical stock zoning ordinances that restrict the construction of anything resembling a real town.

Hopefully Kacin can knock some sense into these small-minded people. A dense urban neighborhood will mesh seamlessly with existing Oakmont and will provide a greater tax boost. A typical sprawl development would be a huge missed opportunity for this riverfront parcel and a permenant scar on Oakmont.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_523044.html

Oakmont, developers to meet

By Holly Usher
TRIBUNE-REVIEW NEWS SERVICE
Monday, August 20, 2007


Oakmont officials are to meet Wednesday with representatives of Kacin Companies about a plan for a housing development on a portion of the former Edgewater Steel site.
Council members said the biggest disagreement is about how many units should be built.

Oakmont officials contend the development would be too crowded at Kacin's proposed 255 units. Kacin architects argue that they can remove levels from tall buildings, but the plan would look the same but generate less in taxes.

Local government officials, including state Rep. Frank Dermody, have urged Oakmont Council to help get the project moving.

The company expects tax revenue from the new development to bring $5 million a year to Allegheny County, $2.2 million to Riverview School District and nearly $500,000 to the borough.
"It's exactly what the school district needs," said Sue Caldwell, Allegheny County Council member. "It will be a boom for the county budget."

The borough wants to take care with Oakmont's last big development, said Tom Bland, council vice president.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we want it to work," he said.

River's Edge at Oakmont, a proposed development by Brooks and Blair Waterfront Properties, would add 169 dwellings on another part of the former Edgewater property.

Last week, Kacin architects explained their reasoning for requests on density, front yard setback and rear yard size. Council members said they understood the reasoning behind having houses close to sidewalks, a method Kacin has used in developments such as Summerset at Frick Park in Squirrel Hill.

Developers also asked that smaller back yards be allowed in sections of the 34-acre parcel because some people prefer to have little yard work. Several council members were receptive to the idea.

Kacin, based in Murrysville, filed a lawsuit against Oakmont in June, saying the borough failed to decide whether to approve the company's application within the required time period. Borough officials said Kacin failed to meet several zoning requirements.

...


I hadn't heard about the other riverfront development in Oakmont... River's Edge at Oakmont... featuring 169 units... I would be interested in seeing how its design compares to Kacin's Edgewater proposal.

Here's an article on the River's Edge at Oakmont development from last year:
http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/05/08/story4.html

here's the website for Kacin's Edgewater proposal:
http://www.liveatedgewater.com/

renderings:
http://www.liveatedgewater.com/images/main_about.jpg

sooo crowded:
http://www.liveatedgewater.com/images/main_contact.jpg

River's Edge plan:
http://www.rdarch.com/image/oakmont/4_plan_oak_p01.jpg

http://www.rdarch.com/image/oakmont/4_plan_oak_p02.jpg

http://www.rdarch.com/image/oakmont/4_plan_oak_p03.jpg

http://www.rdarch.com/image/oakmont/4_plan_oak_p04.jpg

River's Edge architects: http://www.rdarch.com

That River's Edge plan looks pretty kickass... but I'm wondering how Oakmont officials could consider Edgewater "too crowded" but not River's Edge? Oh well... hope they both come through... that will be a huge population boost for Oakmont.

[Evergrey]

Out-of-towners came to Downtown Pittsburgh and saw potential for a high-end fashion boutique... after a few more residential projects come online (like Phase 1 of Riverparc)... Downtown should be much more fertile ground for ventures like this.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07232/810730-28.stm

Intimate Downtown boutique is determined to succeed

First of an occasional series following the opening of an independent boutique Downtown

Monday, August 20, 2007

By LaMont Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070818smsm_chick01_450.jpg
Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette photos
Amy Reed, center, owner of the boutique Chick at 717 Liberty Ave., Downtown, helps with model Maggie Malenock's hair during a photo shoot at the Clark Building last week

"Chick" has a ring of smallness.
Indeed, the new Downtown women's boutique bearing that name is rather compact -- fashionistas would say "intimate" -- at about 2,500 square feet.

Yet, Chick may have the most ambitious launch of any independent specialty store in Pittsburgh in recent years.

There are billboards at the Birmingham Bridge, on Bigelow Boulevard and in other prime locations across the city.

Large advertisements jump out from the pages of a dozen local magazines and newspapers.

There are radio spots and an extensive boutique "look" book, a feature usually developed by larger stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue or major designers.

A Web site, chickdowntown.com, allows customers to buy without setting foot in the store -- and awards one lucky person each month a $2,000 shopping spree for writing an essay on fashion.

Then there was the June 5 preview party, where a fleet of black stretch limousines ferried invitation-only guests from the store at 717 Liberty Ave. to a nearby bar.

Owner Amy Reed, 28, and her husband, Ira Gorman, 46, are working overtime to make their fledgling fashion enterprise thrive in a region where the economy is struggling, in a downtown where fashion retailers are disappearing, and on a block not known as a fashion destination.

The boutique opened May 15.

"Things are going amazing with the store," said Ms. Reed, a Seattle native who notes that customer traffic has picked up on Saturdays and lunchtime. "It is just getting busier and busier all the time."

Chick carries more than 100 different fashion brands, and counting, from New York, Los Angeles, England and Europe. Belts, bags, bling and other accessories are stocked, along with shoes and scarves. So there may be something of a space squeeze, she acknowledged, while they try to maximize space until the street-level store is able to expand.

Designed by Los Angeles interior designer Amy Thogmartin, the clean modern space is dominated by racks of clothes. In the rear, two giant mirrors lean against a wall outside three dressing rooms.

Like other independent specialty stores, Chick carries popular big-name lines while angling for some local exclusivity. In stock now -- or on their way -- are pieces from the latest collections by Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Kors, Betsey Johnson, M Missoni, See by Chloe, McQ by Alexander McQueen, Theory, Tibi, Trina Turk, Alice + Olivia and European lines such as Superfine Denim and Margo London.

Clothing prices range from $59 to roughly $900.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070818sm_chick03_450.jpg
Richard Bryan, manager of Chick, adjusts clothing on a mannequin at the boutique.

Offering something different and memorable is a strategy followed by other independents that have been able to survive Downtown. Larrimor's, which opened on Grant Street in 1939, continues to thrive on its reputation of providing superior merchandise and service. Joseph Orlando, a men's store on Liberty Avenue that celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, credits its survival to diversifying merchandise to meet changing customer tastes.

The availability of upscale pickings for women have been slim for years, so Chick is looking to fill a niche.

"I really want people to like the store," said Ms. Reed. "I want it to be a place where I would shop. I feel like I'm close to that goal. It will be as nice as any of the best stores in New York. I want it to be a store I'm proud of that reflects my taste."

She wants it to be a place where women of all ages can shop for every purpose, so there's a mix of daywear, sportswear and special occasion. She said mothers and daughters sometimes shop together at the store, which is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

Opening a fashion retail store isn't cheap, especially in prime real estate. They declined to say how much money has been invested in the venture. While it clearly is substantial -- Mr. Gorman would say only "a very high number" -- rent is a tough budget line that may not be an issue for Chick. He owns the Clark Building, where the store is located.

Because most of the customer base has been people working Downtown, pricey parking hasn't been an issue, Ms. Reed said.

Not surprisingly, there were naysayers when she talked about her plans to open a boutique Downtown.

"Everybody said it wouldn't work," she said. "My answer to them is, the store is going really great. People are happy for another place in the city to shop. In other cities, downtown is the best place to shop. And I think it will be in Pittsburgh, too."

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is optimistic that the climate Downtown is improving to help stores such as Chick succeed.

"More and more people will be living Downtown, working Downtown, playing Downtown and now doing business Downtown. Pittsburgh's 89th neighborhood is realizing over $3 billion worth of investment, residential living is on the rise, and a new grocery store is opening -- all of this making for a ripe retail environment," said Joanna Doven, the mayor's spokeswoman.

Although fashion retail rivals can be ruthlessly cutthroat, competing businesses have been hospitable, Ms. Reed said.

"Saks has been very nice," she said. "They've been very welcoming. And Larrimor's."

Chick's manager, Richard Bryan, was working in visual merchandising at Saks -- until Ms. Reed heard glowing reports about him and hired him away.

She and her husband live primarily in New York, his hometown, where they regularly make buying trips and visit showrooms. Every item in the store is photographed and placed on the Web site, which requires photo shoots every few days.

The store's opening comes at an interesting time for the husband-and-wife team. They expect a baby boy in November.

"I pretty much work and sleep," said Ms. Reed. "But it's fun work."

"The way progress is going at this point has exceeded my expectations," she said. "And we've only been open three months."



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

Post-Gazette fashion editor LaMont Jones can be reached at ljones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1469.

[UrbaniDesDev]

Hey, I was on the North Shore a couple days ago and they had a sign up with a rendering of a new office building they are about to contruct next to the Equitable HQ.. But I didnt have a camera to take a picture. Does anyone have that rendering or know where to find it?
I thought they were planning a second hotel for that location.

Could you be talking about this maybe?

http://www.jsa-architects.com/portfolio_ats_chester.htm


http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Riverfrontdev.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Riverfrontdev2.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Riverfrontdev3.jpg
Ugh! I hope not. This is awful. A building on a park facing the river with the entire first floor to be used as parking. How unimaginable. I have to assume this is to counter flood problems. A project with no imagination. Suburban-like.
Im not a huge fan of the Technology Park in South Oakland, where Im guessing this will be going. The entire development appears to be in a bubble with no reference to it's urban or riverfront setting. It could as easily be out by the airport, but Im sure glad they are in the city.
The building in this article really doesn't seem to be a part of the original plan of the North Shore, such as restaurant space on the ground floor, parking hidden underground and masonry that coordinates with the surrounding new buildings. The massive wall and the reference to brownfields makes me think this will be @ SouthSide Works or more likely the Technology Park at South Oakland. Notice it says a view of Pittsburgh's Riverfront and not Pittsburgh's skyline.

I was really hoping for something with a lot more height than what is existing there (North Shore) now. I understood a 15 story hotel was to go there. Does that look like the case?
I think the lot would make for a truly one of a kind condo tower. The views from that point are phenomenal

[Johnland]

this type of thing just drives me nuts... and I believe it's a reflection of the poor political leadership we have in this reason due to the hyper-fragmentation (a government for every 5,000 people or so).

A developer has plans for a "new urbanist" neighborhood along the riverfront in the "old urbanist" suburb of Oakmont... a perfect fit for a community like this you'd think. But no... the urban principles in the design offend the government officials of Oakmont. They'd like a more sprawl-esque development like the shiny developments out in Murrysville. Kacin has apparently failed to meet Oakmont zoning requirements. While Oakmont is a traditional community... I wouldn't be suprised if the zoning requirements they have now are your typical stock zoning ordinances that restrict the construction of anything resembling a real town.

Hopefully Kacin can knock some sense into these small-minded people. A dense urban neighborhood will mesh seamlessly with existing Oakmont and will provide a greater tax boost. A typical sprawl development would be a huge missed opportunity for this riverfront parcel and a permenant scar on Oakmont.

Yes, that's highly irritating to see a mindset against dense urbanism. I've been to Oakmont several times and found it to have very appealing small-town kind of feel. I also can see that with just the right development, a dense, new-urbanism type area would be a perfect compliment. And with the (admittedly long shot) chance of rail service into the city, it would all fit together. Personally, I find it appalling that Pittsburgh's metro area continues to consume land as the result of sprawl - IN SPITE OF DECLINING OVERALL POPULATION. I know new housing, even in declining population areas, will always be needed due to demand for replacement housing. However, it's better to concentrate it in already developed areas. I know that's my opinion, and certainly not the prevailing thought in the US. Most people will willingly buy more house ever farther out and drive ever longer commutes without much thought.

[Evergrey]

I thought they were planning a second hotel for that location.


We probably have a North Shore master plan map somewhere in this thread... there is at least one more hotel slated for the area... as well as another office building (which may satiate Equitable's needs if they decide not to bolt for Cranberry). In addition, there is an 18-story mixed-use tower planned for a parking lot behind PNC Park.


Ugh! I hope not. This is awful. A building on a park facing the river with the entire first floor to be used as parking. How unimaginable. I have to assume this is to counter flood problems. A project with no imagination. Suburban-like.
Im not a huge fan of the Technology Park in South Oakland, where Im guessing this will be going. The entire development appears to be in a bubble with no reference to it's urban or riverfront setting. It could as easily be out by the airport, but Im sure glad they are in the city.
The building in this article really doesn't seem to be a part of the original plan of the North Shore, such as restaurant space on the ground floor, parking hidden underground and masonry that coordinates with the surrounding new buildings. The massive wall and the reference to brownfields makes me think this will be @ SouthSide Works or more likely the Technology Park at South Oakland. Notice it says a view of Pittsburgh's Riverfront and not Pittsburgh's skyline.

I was really hoping for something with a lot more height than what is existing there (North Shore) now. I understood a 15 story hotel was to go there. Does that look like the case?
I think the lot would make for a truly one of a kind condo tower. The views from that point are phenomenal

That ATS-Chester building does look hideous and uber-sprawlburban. I think I remember hearing a couple years ago that ATS-Chester would relocate from Moon to the City... but I'm not sure where this buildling would be located. I believe Ferchill's spec wet lab building Bridgepoint II (or whatever it's called) will occupy the last undeveloped parcel of the Technology Park... though officials want to build a hotel near the Hot Metal Bridge as well. However, I think the URA wants to "densify" the Tech Park, adding another million square feet of office/lab space in the near future. This ATS-Chester building doesn't look like something that would be in the plans for the Tech Park. In addition, the SouthSide Works area only has a couple small parcels left... and I've heard nothing about this building going there. I think there's another office building going up for American Eagle. And Dick Corp. is relocating their HQ to SSW as well.

The Tech Park is a disaster from a design perspecitve... though it's good that there's a couple thousand high-paying jobs there. However, it doesn't matter much since the City of Pittsburgh has no wage tax... so these ample salaries are going back to Collier Township anyways. Pittsburgh definately took a page out of Cranberry's playbook with this tech park design.

[themaguffin]

Typically craptastic Trib article (can't believe they have a daily circulation about 2/3 that of the P/G)...

most likely the Westmoreland base.

As for Oakmont, the residental component looks to have traditional housing. You can't recreate 1920 or 1940, anything made now will have some element of modern design or characteristics. I agree on the other aspects though.

Then again look how many river towns had an ugly ass mill next door......

[Evergrey]

Yes, that's highly irritating to see a mindset against dense urbanism. I've been to Oakmont several times and found it to have very appealing small-town kind of feel. I also can see that with just the right development, a dense, new-urbanism type area would be a perfect compliment. And with the (admittedly long shot) chance of rail service into the city, it would all fit together. Personally, I find it appalling that Pittsburgh's metro area continues to consume land as the result of sprawl - IN SPITE OF DECLINING OVERALL POPULATION. I know new housing, even in declining population areas, will always be needed due to demand for replacement housing. However, it's better to concentrate it in already developed areas. I know that's my opinion, and certainly not the prevailing thought in the US. Most people will willingly buy more house ever farther out and drive ever longer commutes without much thought.

From 1982-1997, Metro Pittsburgh was the most sprawling metro in terms of acres consumed per net household gained (while population fell, households increased slightly due to evolving demographic trends such as increased nonfamily households and smaller household sizes) at an amazing 8.3 acres developed per net household. I haven't seen this statistic for the past 10 years... but we're probably still at or near the top. While Pittsburgh has an incredible urban core... and an incredible network of older established small cities and suburbs throughout the metro... nobody around here cares. The ruling Yinzer Class that occupies most Council seats throughout the metro's 1000 local governments is about 15 years behind on everything... and still sees auto-centric sprawl as "progress". And there is no adequate political leadership to reverse this trend due to municipal hyper-fragmentation. We have a head-exploding number of tiny governments that cannot adequately deal with the issues facing a metro of 2.5 million people... and that constantly quarrel with each other. This is why the ever-shrinking economic heart... the City of Pittsburgh... is broke with no chance to turn around... because while it hosts the two primary job centers... and most of the major non-profit and cultural institutions (1/3 of its property value is tax-exempt)... it only comprises 13% of the metro population... and all those people with the sweet jobs downtown take their fat paychecks back to Peters Township. Those wages generated in the City do nothing to help the City. Due to our corrupt and idiotic state government, the city of Pittsburgh does not have the tools it needs to remain fiscally solvent while providing necessary services and infrastructure (a state-mandated reduction in City parking taxes will depress revenues significantly). In a few years, some seriously frightening economic realities are going to hit the city government like a ton of bricks. Unless the state updates the rules for its cities... Pittsburgh is going to be in a dire situation with no hope for escape. There... you got me on one of my government rants again. lol

[PA Pride]

^Yeah, it's all a big beurocratic gangbang, Evergrey. I hate politicians. They are so concerned about their little territories and the small amounts of power they have, they usually could care less about the region as a whole.

[PA Pride]

And no, that is not the building with a rendering up at the location.... The rendering up on the North Shore depicts a building that looks very similar in size and style to the equitable 6 story office, only the new one appears slightly smaller. They look like brother and sister though. With that modern style even including the little circular architectural piece at the top corner.

[BMikeSci]

I thought they were planning a second hotel for that location.




http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Riverfrontdev.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Riverfrontdev2.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Riverfrontdev3.jpg
Ugh! I hope not. This is awful. A building on a park facing the river with the entire first floor to be used as parking. How unimaginable. I have to assume this is to counter flood problems. A project with no imagination. Suburban-like.
Im not a huge fan of the Technology Park in South Oakland, where Im guessing this will be going. The entire development appears to be in a bubble with no reference to it's urban or riverfront setting. It could as easily be out by the airport, but Im sure glad they are in the city.
The building in this article really doesn't seem to be a part of the original plan of the North Shore, such as restaurant space on the ground floor, parking hidden underground and masonry that coordinates with the surrounding new buildings. The massive wall and the reference to brownfields makes me think this will be @ SouthSide Works or more likely the Technology Park at South Oakland. Notice it says a view of Pittsburgh's Riverfront and not Pittsburgh's skyline.

I was really hoping for something with a lot more height than what is existing there (North Shore) now. I understood a 15 story hotel was to go there. Does that look like the case?
I think the lot would make for a truly one of a kind condo tower. The views from that point are phenomenal

I don't think the parking under the building is so bad. I think it's better than a big parking lot with nothing overtop. Plus as you state, this would help offset any flooding problems. I like all the glass too. IMO it's not a great building, but not bad either.

[themaguffin]

The ruling Yinzer Class that occupies most Council seats throughout the metro's 1000 local governments is about 15 years behind on everything... and still sees auto-centric sprawl as "progress

Then 98% of the U.S. local governments is made up of Yinzers? And most Americans in general since many want the sprawling suburban house in a cul du sac, not a traditional street grid or most certainly not an older.

As long as we ignore what America wants, we can't address the issue correctly. It's not enough to be right. It won't convince others or change the suburban attitude. And it certainly not a Yinzer thing, as most Yinzers are in fact, the ones who live in the beat up older communities.

[PA Pride]

I never even heard about Yinzers until i was like 18-20 yrs old... I think people talk about it way more than it actually matters... I've hung out and met soo many people from the Pittsburgh area and in the city and suburbs also and very rarely do I hear the notorious accents...

Is it because I grew up in a middle class suburb in beaver county? I dont hang around in the run down mill towns... Maybe that is where it is most prevalent?

[EventHorizon]

I don't hear that many people speaking in full blown Pittsburgh accents (myron cope-like). Mostly older people. Although, the people that I know who I wouldn't say speak in the accent, still say yinz. I use it too (informally with friends and family). If that makes me a "yinzer", so be it. http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_roll.gif

[PA Pride]

^Yeah, that's about the only word I hear fairly common. All the other words like "gumband", "sah-side", "dahntahn" i never hear....

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghcoffee0822.aspx

Crazy Mocha plans further expansion into Downtown Pittsburgh market

With two new locations in the works, Crazy Mocha Coffee Company is expanding its Downtown presence. After opening shops in Gateway Center, Steel Plaza and the Allegheny Building, owner Ken Zeff identified additional markets in two key locations. “It’s been good enough that we felt we need to open more Downtown,” says Zeff, who will open shops at PPG Two and 801 Liberty Ave. this year.

The 1,000 square-foot PPG location will seat 40 patrons in indoor and outdoor dining areas. Jared Imperatore of Grant Street Associates served as tenant representative.

Crazy Mocha’s second new shop will be located in the same building that houses The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “We’ve been working diligently with them for two and a half years. It’s a very interesting space,” says Zeff, who is working with Rebecca White, the Trust's director of real estate development. The 2,200 square-foot coffeehouse will be Crazy Mocha’s largest location.

“There’s a lot going on there. It’s a good exposure corner for us,” adds Zeff, who says the coffeehouse ties in to a master plan for property rehabilitation projects along the block. “It’s the one space Downtown where you have an eclectic mix of people--students, business people and entertainers. It really represents what our neighborhood stores are all about.”

Future growth is brewing at Crazy Mocha. “We’re trying to grow at a pace we can handle. Downtown will take creativity and a hands-on approach. We’ll get these open and then hopefully look for something else in the spring. We’ve got feelers out--anything’s possible,” says Zeff, who employs 50 people.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Ken Zeff, Crazy Mocha

Photograph copyright © Jonathan Greene

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2074/crazy_mocha_300.jpg

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghrental0822.aspx

$1M Boggs Ave. development brings rental units to Mt. Washington, welcomes tenants

Mt. Washington’s latest residential development is welcoming its first tenants at 411 Boggs Ave. Attracting young professionals and graduate students—many new to the area—the
$1 million project has already filled 11 of its 13 units.

Located in a former Lutheran church and school, the 12,000 square-foot project features 13 one- and two-bedroom rental units that range in size from 600 to 1,200 square feet. Rents range from $500 to $1,100. The property also features a four bedroom, single-family home that once served as a rectory. The 3,000 square-foot, two-and-a-half-story home is also for rent.

Project developer John Bazari, of J.B. Properties, oversaw a complete renovation of the two-story property, which was built in 1929. “I tried to keep some of the things from the church, like the beams. The stained glass is still intact in five of the bigger loft-like units,” says Bazari, who purchased the property in 2005. “I added tent skylights. Every unit has their own furnace, hot water tank and central air conditioning.” Building amenities include a laundry room, storage and an 18-space parking lot.

“Boggs Avenue is right in the heart of Mt. Washington. You can walk to everything and the bus stop is right in front of the building,” says Bazari, who next plans to develop a 12-unit townhouse project at the end of Grandview Ave.

“The area this church is in has suffered from a lack of investment in years past. This project has attracted a demographic to our neighborhood that as of late has not been very represented,” says Greg Panza, with Mt. Washington Community Development Corporation.


Writer: Jennifer Baron
Sources: John Bazari, J.B. Properties; Greg Panza, MWCDC

Photograph copyright © Jonathan Greene

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2074/411_boggs_300.jpg

[cdc]

^Yeah, that's about the only word I hear fairly common. All the other words like "gumband", "sah-side", "dahntahn" i never hear....

how about "needs fixed" vs "needs TO BE fixed"...

[EventHorizon]

^Yeah, that's about the only word I hear fairly common. All the other words like "gumband", "sah-side", "dahntahn" i never hear....

I say gumband ... and apparently it's used in parts of Australia as well. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_band) I guess because they're made of gum-rubber. I don't say sahside or dahntahn.

I also call a closet a cupboard and a vacuum cleaner a sweeper ... and of course I say redd up ... which comes from the region's scots-irish heritage. see:Shetland Redd Up (http://www.zetnet.co.uk/foe/sfoeredd.htm)

[Grego43]

... and of course I say redd up ... which comes from the region's scots-irish heritage. see:Shetland Redd Up (http://www.zetnet.co.uk/foe/sfoeredd.htm)


Wow, I always thought Redd Up came from getting "ready" for company, etc.

By the way, lose the "yinz" In my humble opinion, it sounds much more uneducated than "y'all", "yous", or "yaas". My 10th grade English teacher said on the first day of class that if she taught us only one thing that year, it would be for us to stop using "yinz"....Thank you Mrs. Monaghan!


Sorry for going off on a tangent.

I've been searching for Three PNC progress images, to no avail. Can anyone report on it?

Thanks

[EventHorizon]

Wow, I always thought Redd Up came from getting "ready" for company, etc.

By the way, lose the "yinz" In my humble opinion, it sounds much more uneducated than "y'all", "yous", or "yaas". My 10th grade English teacher said on the first day of class that if she taught us only one thing that year, it would be for us to stop using "yinz"....Thank you Mrs. Monaghan!


Sorry for going off on a tangent.

I've been searching for Three PNC progress images, to no avail. Can anyone report on it?

Thanks

I think evergrey might have snapped a few pictures of Three PNC in one of his picture threads a bit ago. I've searched flickr to no avail. I wish they had a web cam fixed to the site, so we could watch the progress.

I'll finish up this vocabulary sidetrack by saying that yinz/yins/yunz/you'unz is just an evolution of "you ones". Really, it's the same as y'all, yous, etc. - and I only say it informally. I know when not to use it, and use the proper plural "you". :)

[Evergrey]

The problem is that in the English language... "you" is the second person pronoun in both singular and plural forms... which can often lead to confusion in conversion when you want to use it plurally. This results in the many forms of informal plural second person pronouns that have cropped up around the English speaking world.

The most recent picture of 3 PNC I've seen is one I took myself 2 months ago. It looks pretty much the same... but about 4 times as tall.

http://www.pbase.com/image/80670376.jpg