[BMikeSci]

http://www.thetartan.org/2007/9/10/news/zipcar

BTW, great news about the Not So Majestic Garage and Slots. The offered design was awful.

It seems to me that there is no way that this project will be finished anytime near the agreed upon date. Choosing MS will probably cost our state plenty. As planning goes, choosing MS rates right up there with building a hospital on some of the steepest inclines in the city. Way to plan!

On the other hand, for pure entertainment value, it's hard to beat watching cripples sliding down the UPMC sidewalks on cardiac hill in the winter time - cars too! Maybe, MS will offer up similar entertainment. Perhaps we will be able to watch loser drunks falling into the river or destitute recently broken people ending their lives by deciding to dive off the local bridges as they cross them walking to the bus station after losing their cars five bucks at a time in the slots.:shrug:

[AaronPGH]

Awesome news on the garage! I wasn't expecting that. I know I wrote a pretty angry email to a couple people about it.

[xyagentguy]

Awesome news on the garage! I wasn't expecting that. I know I wrote a pretty angry email to a couple people about it.
Am I missing something? lol, where is the awesome news on the garage? Last thing I see posted about it was the horrific giant box on the side of the casino.

BTW, welcome back everyone. :)

[PA Pride]

^Yeah, you're missing the article about 4 posts up that says "Panel rejects huge garage..."

[xyagentguy]

^Yeah, you're missing the article about 4 posts up that says "Panel rejects huge garage..."
Ah yes, the giant article now about 5 posts up that only an idiot would miss.

DOH

:(

[designer3d712]

http://www.rapidcityracing.com/forum/images/smiles/boohoo.gif

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghwarehouse0912.aspx

Renovation of 170,000 sf warehouse to bring new mixed-use space to Manchester

A 170,000 square-foot warehouse in Manchester is currently being renovated by South Side-based dggp Architecture. Located at 1,500 Preble Ave., the mixed-use Metro Center project will feature 52,000 square feet of open, flex office space, as well as light production and warehouse facilities.

The oldest section of the brick and timber frame building—once home to a mattress factory and storage facilities—was constructed in 1897. Dave Colaizzi of Metro Burgh Properties recently purchased the six-story property. Metro Center will also feature a 3,000 square-foot, first-floor space that may house a restaurant and coffee shop, much-needed amenities in Manchester. Offices will range in size from 1,000 to 10,000 square feet.

Located near the Pittsburgh Builders Exchange, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and a marina, Metro Center will feature exposed wood, restored brick and 12-14-foot ceilings. “We’re doing modern interventions to facilitate the reuse of a historic structure. It will be designed to meet LEED criteria,” says Kent Suhrbier, with dggp, who designed WYEP’s green studio. “People are pulling things together over there. Duquesne Light is adding new power feeds. They’re working to bring Verizon fiber optics and high-speed lines into that zone.” Metro Center will feature high R-value walls, a white reflective roof, and high-performance Keystone windows manufactured in Newcastle.

Completed spaces will be available for lease in early 2008. Anchor tenant Five Star Development, Inc. will occupy approximately 15,000 square feet. The project’s second phase may include residential units. “There’s the potential for large-scale live-work spaces, two or three thousand square-foot residences that are more raw," says Suhrbier.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Kent Suhrbier, dggp Architecture

Image courtesy of dggp Architecture

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2077/dgg_architecture_300.jpg

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghhomes0912.aspx

Summerset at Frick Park unveils new home designs, begins next residential phase

Kicking off its latest residential phase, Summerset at Frick Park unveiled new home designs and opened its sales center on Sept. 7th.

Construction is set to begin on 46 new residential units, including single-family houses and town homes in Summerset’s updated Cottage, Village and Estate styles. The Village Grant model, a three-bedroom, 2,470 square-foot plan, starts at $460,000. Summerset also debuted several two-bedroom Craftsman models that range in size from 1,520 to 1,768 square feet, and sell for between $298,000 and $329,900. Ten homes are already under agreement for sale.

“We had early excitement when houses were sold overnight; now it’s more of a steady progress. Given the national climate, which really isn’t a Pittsburgh issue, it’s still really strong,” says Craig Dunham, with The Rubinoff Company and Summerset Land Development Associates. He says they would love to have everything done by the end of 2008.

“If someone made a decision to live in the city and wants a new house with open space and amenities, this is as good as it gets,” says Dunham, who notes that Summerset features a community center and pool. While buyers have moved in from places such as Ohio, Illinois and Indiana, Dunham says, “It’s primarily Oakland employees—medical or academic—Downtown professionals, and people wanting second homes or downsizing for retirement.”

Summerset’s first phase, which included 36 condos, 40 rental units and
123 houses and town homes, is nearing completion and close to selling out. Located in Squirrel Hill near Frick Park, Summerset is being completed in three phases and will feature 700 homes.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Craig Dunham, The Rubinoff Company

Image courtesy of Summerset at Frick Park

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2077/summerset_300.jpg

[AaronPGH]

Surprised this didn't get noticed yet!

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07255/816838-100.stm

Affordable apartments planned in Downtown building
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A $16 million project to renovate the Century Building and bring more affordable housing into Downtown and the Cultural District will move forward with the help of $515,155 in federal tax credits.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl announced at a press conference today that the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency had approved the tax credits, enabling Trek Development Group to press ahead with its plans to convert the 100-year-old building on Seventh Street into housing.

The 60 units to be built will target young professionals, artists, and middle-income renters, with rents ranging from $550 to $1,150 a month, depending on income level. Trek plans to offer 12 efficiencies, 12 two-bedroom units, and 36 one-bedroom units.

Trek hopes to have construction in full bloom next year with apartments available in early 2009.

[Johnland]

[QUOTE=Evergrey;3050660]yay!

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07254/816495-52.stm

Panel rejects huge garage at casino site

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The massive parking garage to be built behind the North Shore casino is coming under fire from the gaming task force appointed by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

Thank God!! That huge, hideous box was a blight on the land. It smacked of monopolistic franchise planning, which is what the casino basically is - government hinders economic growth due to fragmented, outdated governmental models, unfriendly tax-structures, etc., so government decides to pander to lowest form of revenue generation above speed traps on local streets - it hands out a casino license to an individual (rather than actually handing out a license to print money). Thus annointed, franchise recipient directs design team to erect the cheapest, highest volume capacity garage possible in order maximize his bottom line. Who cares if the enormous, blank box is visible form space, not to mention everyone on Mt washington and in downtowns newly evolving residential neighborhood. I mean, my God, we have to park those cars. The cars! The cars. We need to park the cars. This is Pittsburgh and we want to show the world how we can park cars. Forget architecture, inducstry, finance, education and music. Built the world's biggest parking garage in plain site to show everyone what car parking palce Pittsburgh is. Link the city forever to parking garages. Every photo in the world of Pittsburgh will proudly show a great big box of a garage.

But thankfully, the above has been held off for the time being. City planners and leaders put the brakes on that monstrousity. The river shore will not blighted by that thing for now.

[BMikeSci]

If you must have a big garage, try something like this:

http://chatterbox.typepad.com/portlandarchitecture/2006/01/leebdesigned_ga.html

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_527158.html

CMU institute seeks more office space

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 13, 2007


Carnegie Mellon University and its Software Engineering Institute are growing, and that has led the university to seek proposals from developers for additional office space for the institute in Oakland.
CMU and the SEI are keeping mum on the reasons for the space search, but stress that the Department of Defense-funded institute will not be moving from its headquarters building at 4500 Fifth Ave.

"The Software Engineering Institute is considering some options for more office space, and we have asked for proposals to develop that space," said Teresa Thomas, a CMU spokeswoman. "A decision on a developer is probably about four to six weeks away."

Although CMU is not disclosing the amount of space it needs, developers say the request for proposals calls for about 75,000 square feet.

The institute, which opened in 1984, has about 500 employees, including at its headquarters and at CMU's 128,000-square-foot Collaborative Innovation Center building in the Junction Hollow section of its Oakland campus. The SEI's Internet site lists 42 open job positions.
At the Junction Hollow site, it operates its federally funded Network Systems Survivability program, including the CERT center, which works with federal law enforcement and defense agencies to protect computer networks against hackers, viruses and worms.

The search for additional space for the institute is unrelated to plans by CMU and the Carnegie Museums to build a Collaborative Innovation Center 2 office building in Junction Hollow. That 200,000- to 300,000-square-foot building will house the school's Nanotechnology Commercialization Center, facilities for biomedical engineering and possibly robotics, and companies that want to locate near the university's research and academic staff and resources.

Oakland developer Sterling Land Co. is among those vying to build the SEI project, said Dave McSorley, its president.

The company has submitted plans to the city for Sterling Plaza II, a six-story, 106,894-square-foot structure adjacent to Sterling Plaza on North Craig Street in Oakland. The building would have first-floor retail and two levels of underground parking for about 145 cars.

Although the new building would only be built if it is chosen by the institute or another tenant, Sterling Land will seek variances from the Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment at a public hearing scheduled for Sept. 27, McSorley said.

If Sterling Land is selected, construction could begin next February or March and be completed by September 2009, he said.

Also interested is the Elmhurst Group, which previously planned to build a nine-story building at Bigelow Boulevard and Ruskin Avenue in Oakland on a parking lot owned by and adjacent to the First Baptist Church.

The building would have 115,000 square feet and include not only offices but also a wet lab (for testing chemicals and other materials), said Bill Hunt, Elmhurst president.

Elmhurst in April received city Planning Commission approval to build its structure even though it lost its potential anchor tenant, Select Medical Corp. of Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, which planned to operate an 85,000-square-foot acute care center there.

Two others that received proposal requests were Echo Real Estate Services of O'Hara, and Gerdingedlen, an urban development firm based in Portland, Ore., said Ralph R. Horgan, CMU's associate vice provost, campus design and facility development.

"The ultimate decision on whether the institute needs additional expansion room will rest with the U.S. Department of Defense," he said.



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

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_527217.html

Work to start on ramp linking Route 28, I-279

By Jim Ritchie
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 13, 2007


Work starts Monday on a Route 28 ramp that will allow inbound drivers to move directly onto Interstate 279 toward Downtown.
PennDOT's $7.9 million ramp linking the two highways -- when completed next September -- would become a much faster alternative to exiting Route 28 at East Ohio Street in the North Side to connect with I-279.

Drivers will benefit, but Allegheny Sandwich Shoppe owner Nick Mastros said the situation is similar to PennDOT's construction of I-279 -- the Parkway North -- about 20 years ago.

Before I-279's construction, Western Avenue -- where Mastros' shop is located -- was a main artery for drivers heading to and from the West End Bridge. The bridge was a main route to reach southern destinations then, and many drivers stopped for a meal, he said.

"We did lose business," he said. "We lost a lot of salespeople who came through the area who would stop and have lunch. They didn't stop as frequently.
"I assume that ramp will do the same to East Ohio Street and other parts of the North Side as well."

The ramp is projected to carry up to 15,000 vehicles a day, PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi said Wednesday.

"When the project is completed next year, commuters will save time and money by using this direct connection to bypass three signalized intersections on East Ohio Street," he said.

PennDOT designed the ramp while planning its $130 million reconstruction of Route 28 between Millvale and the North Side. That project is scheduled to begin in 2009 after completion of the ramp.

The reconstruction project will eliminate traffic signals at the intersections at the 31st and 40th Street bridges.

When done, a driver could follow inbound Route 28 from Kittanning in Armstrong County to Pittsburgh International Airport without stopping.

The ability to bypass East Ohio Street might be a positive for businesses because it will unclog the daily traffic jams that could scare away potential customers, said Robin Rosemary Miller, executive director of the Northside Northshore Chamber of Commerce.

"I think there are people who want to come to the North Side as a destination, and the people who weren't going to come here to begin with are going to zip over the ramp," she said.

"It's inevitable. That Route 28 corridor is just awful. You're not doing anyone any favors by continuing to block up traffic and hope people come into the neighborhood."

The project will not hinder motorists until Sept. 24. Then, motorists on East Ohio Street and Madison Avenue will be delayed at times as contractor Brayman Corp. of Butler County brings material and equipment to the job site. There are no lane closings scheduled on Route 28.


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

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/images/video/2007_pdfs/GX-Route28-09-13.pdf

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07256/817090-28.stm

More airline cuts ahead?

US Airways chief says Pittsburgh lags in profitability

Thursday, September 13, 2007
By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

US Airways Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker, in a reversal, hinted yesterday that more flights could be cut from Pittsburgh International Airport as the airline pares unprofitable routes from its system -- yet another sign of how local air service has been altered both by a post-9/11 industry collapse and new competition from Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways.

"Pittsburgh is doing worse than the rest of the airline," the CEO said before the dedication of a new Steelers-themed plane in Moon, and "we have to find some solution to that."

The Tempe, Ariz.-based airline currently has 110 daily flights, down from a high of more than 542 before the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and it now serves 46 cities from Pittsburgh, down from a prior high of 112. It is still the region's largest carrier, but its share of total traffic continues to slip, falling below 45 percent in June. This summer the airline cut service to seven more cities -- Baltimore, San Diego, Seattle, Columbus, Buffalo, Altoona and Albany -- and reduced frequency of service to 12 other cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Providence, R.I., Toronto and Fort Lauderdale.

"There is not a whole lot more to go," Mr. Parker admitted, in an interview. But "we are going to have to do something about the unprofitable flying, which generally means cutting it to get it fixed."

The view of Pittsburgh as an unprofitable market conflicts with comments made by Mr. Parker in May 2006, when he referred to Pittsburgh as "marginally profitable" due to cutbacks resulting from a merger with America West Airlines in 2005. At the time, with daily Pittsburgh flights just dipping below 200, he did not predict any more dramatic reductions in local flights. "We feel good about where it is now," he said on May 17, 2006.

Asked about that yesterday, Mr. Parker admitted the results for Pittsburgh were "much improved" but that "the point of the matter is right now I know (Pittsburgh) is marginally unprofitable."

He also acknowledged that some of the carrier's problems in Pittsburgh can be attributed to a surge in competition from low-fare upstarts such as Southwest and JetBlue, both of which entered the market after US Airways pared back its presence. "The city did a really nice job of getting a lot of competition in, which is good," he said. In fact, the new competition "makes it easier" for US Airways to cut back.

"It is not as if we reduce 10-15 flights that means the community won't have service," he added.

Allegheny County Airport Authority Director Kent George, the man largely responsible for attracting the competing carriers, called US Airways' ongoing pullback "almost a self-fulfilling prophecy."

In 2004, before its second bankruptcy, US Airways decided to dismantle its long-standing hub in Pittsburgh and focus more on point-to-point flying up and down the East Coast -- meaning a shift of connecting passengers from Pittsburgh to its other hubs of Charlotte, N.C., and Philadelphia. That strategy, Mr. George said, sapped the profitability of US Airways' smaller feeder flights and invited competition from low-cost upstarts like Southwest, JetBlue, USA3000 and AirTran. Average air fares, traditionally among the highest in the country when US Airways had a monopoly here, dropped from $192 prior to 9/11 to $140 last year -- about $7 below the national average. Local traffic jumped to a record 8.2 million passengers last year, or 9 percent more than in 2001.

"We don't want (US Airways) to cut flights," Mr. George said. "We want them to be successful. But now that competition has been injected into the formula and their passengers have the choice of differing carriers, they are using those different carriers even to the point of connecting on those carriers so they don't have to connect through Philadelphia or Charlotte."

"A market place will dictate what happens ... there was a demand for Southwest; there was a demand for JetBlue, AirTran, United, Continental, Northwest. Those carriers are doing well, all of them are doing well. How come it's only US Airways not doing well?"

After Mr. Parker orchestrated US Airways' merger with America West and took over as CEO, there were predictions from some airline observers that he might shift some flying back to Pittsburgh International as a way of easing congestion in traffic-choked Philadelphia International Airport, which suffers from some of the longest delays in the country. But that has not happened, and in that sense Mr. Parker is honoring a strategy put in place by his predecessors, starting with former US Airways Chief Executive Officer David Siegel, who led the airline through its first bankruptcy and its painful recovery from the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

"We are always going to have some presence here, flying to all our hubs," Mr. Parker said. But "we have some unprofitable flights there today and we have to figure out what to do about them."

For Mr. Parker, figuring out what to cut in Pittsburgh appears to be the least of his problems.

The company is in the black again, and it announced yesterday the hiring of more than 350 new pilots, but two years after completing the merger of the old US Airways and America West, Mr. Parker still lacks single union contracts covering his pilots, flight attendants and mechanics.

Pilots have split among lines dividing east (the old US Airways) and west (the old America West). Within the east group, there are divisions as well. More than two dozen pilots have broken away to form a new in-house union, the US Airline Pilots Association. Their goal is to collect enough pilot signatures and win enough votes to decertify the Air Line Pilots Association as their national representative.

These pilots cite a series of events as reason for the split, from the loss of their pension to severe pay cuts to a recent seniority award favoring younger pilots at America West.

"We have had it," said pilot Scott Theuer, 51, of Cranberry, a volunteer involved in the new union effort.

Asked whether the union discord is more severe than he expected, Mr. Parker said, "we knew it was going to be difficult ... we are not coming together as one company and that's not enjoyable. You don't want to have a company with two factions."

As a result, Mr. Parker "can't imagine" completing single contracts by the end of the year. "The pilots have to agree they actually want to get it done."

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_527160.html

Developer talks up Oakland renaissance

By Bonnie Pfister
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 13, 2007


Oakland might be the heart of university research and development in Western Pennsylvania, but it's also well-known for rundown student apartments and trash-lined streets.
With the right mix of public, university and private efforts, it could be redeveloped for the many well-paid university faculty and other staffers craving quality homes close to their workplace, officials said Wednesday.

"Oakland is one of the rare work-live-walk communities in this region," said Bill Hunt, CEO of The Elmhurst Group, which developed the year-old RAND Corp. Building at Fifth Avenue and Craig Street. "That's an asset that every city and every market would like to have."

Hunt praised the "Redd Up" efforts by the mayor's office, but said cracking down on absentee landlords would be needed for sustained improvement. He pointed to the University of Pennsylvania's West Philadelphia Initiatives as a model to consider.

Penn officials say that in the past decade, the university has given mortgage incentives to nearly 400 faculty and staffers to purchase homes nearby; purchased and renovated 20 buildings before returning them to the market; and offered special loans to homeowners to repair and upgrade their lighting and facades.
"There isn't a neighborhood in Pittsburgh that would look worse than (West Philadelphia did) 15 or 20 years ago," Hunt said. "It is a different place today."

Hunt was among those talking up the demand for professional housing at a forum on Oakland's real estate development, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Business Times.

Eli Shorak, associate vice chancellor for business at Pitt, said the school increased university-owned student housing by 24 percent since 1998, to 6,800 beds this year, with 400 more units to come next year.

As the university pulls students out of the marketplace, some properties will stand vacant, Shorak said.

"This is a great opportunity for some developer to (revitalize) some of the housing in central and south Oakland," Shorak said, conceding that piecemeal redevelopment of individual homes is less attractive to large developers.

One landlord doing such small-scale revitalization is Nathan Hart, an architect with Desmone & Associates and president of the Oakland Community Council. A 10-year resident of South Oakland's Parkview Avenue, he said he has noticed less noise and debris from undergraduate students on his street since the university began building more student housing.

He rents three homes on the street to doctoral students, professors and professionals.

"It's taken the pressure off the market," Hart said. "The neighborhood is quieter and cleaner."



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

...

I guess "work-live-walk community" is the latest terminology for "city"/"town"/"urban neighborhood"? lol

[Evergrey]

more on the Century Building... and a rare mention of Riverparc... which was supposed to break ground in "late 2007"... well late 2007 is upon us

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07256/817122-53.stm

Tax credits lower costs of living Downtown

Thursday, September 13, 2007
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

People who want to live Downtown but can't afford the expensive condominiums or steep rents that now dominate the market finally may have an option.

It's a 100-year-old building on Seventh Street in the heart of Pittsburgh's Cultural District.

A plan to convert the 12-story Century Building into affordable apartments cleared a key hurdle this week when the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency awarded $515,155 in federal tax credits for the project.

The approval, announced at a news conference yesterday, will enable Trek Development Group to press ahead with the construction of 60 upper-floor apartments, including single-room studios and one- and two-bedroom lofts.

Rents will range from $550 to $1,150 a month, depending on income level, in a Downtown market where studio rents currently are $868 to $909 a month and two bedrooms go for $1,035 to $2,002 a month, based on whether there's one or two bathrooms.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said the $16 million Century Building project has been a priority for him since he got into office a year ago because of its potential to attract a broader mix of people into the Downtown residential scene.

"Downtown Pittsburgh is on its way back. It's revitalizing, and it's because of projects like this that we're going to be able to look at a significantly different Downtown, in my opinion, in the years to come," he said.

Until now the residential surge Downtown has been fueled in large part by luxury condominiums with price tags starting at roughly $230,000. Many units are selling for $300,000 or more, with a few topping $1 million.

Apartment rents at the Encore on 7th high-rise a few doors down from the Century Building are $1,400 to $3,275 a month.

While housing has helped to boost the fortunes of the Downtown district, it has been out of the reach of many people because of the price.

At the same time, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership research has found a "tremendous demand" for a middle range that includes young professional housing and work-force housing, said Patty Burk, vice president of housing and economic development.

"Delivering this building will be the first step in meeting that demand and helping Downtown be for everyone," she said.

Part of the problem in providing more affordable housing in downtowns, here and elsewhere, is the high cost of construction, which leads developers to focus on the high end to turn a profit. Lower pricing typically requires some form of subsidy.

For example, Washington County-based Millcraft Industries, another developer seeking to bring more affordable housing Downtown, sought federal historic tax credits to help make the numbers work. It is converting part of the old G.C. Murphy store into 46 loft apartments, with rents to range from about $775 for a 620-square-foot studio to $1,875 for a 1,500-square-foot penthouse.

William J. Gatti Jr., president of Trek Development Group, said the $515,155 in affordable tax credits was "vital" to the conversion of the upper floors of the Century Building into housing. He said the project could not have gone forward without them.

"The price point that we're attempting to make units available for would not be enough to amortize the debt necessary to develop the building and to carry the cost. So we absolutely need the tax credits to make it work," he said.

Trek plans to target young professionals, artists and middle-income renters. It plans to offer 12 single-room studios, 12 two-bedroom units and 36 one-bedroom units.

"It is fitting that exactly 100 years after its original construction we are announcing the rebirth of the Century Building as Downtown Pittsburgh's first truly affordable residential loft community," Mr. Gatti said.

Trek intends to pursue an environmentally friendly LEED certification for the building, which also will include a green roof and geothermal heating and cooling. There also will be a roof deck with city and Allegheny River views, an equipped exercise room, a community club room and a business center.

Apartment amenities include garbage disposals, dishwashers, and washer and dryer hook-ups.

Besides the PHFA tax credits, project funding includes nearly $3.2 million from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, $2.3 million in loans from the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority, $2.3 million in historic tax credits, $2.3 million in loans from the Strategic Investment Fund and $750,000 in loans from the county's economic development department.

Trek already has been doing preliminary demolition work within the building. Construction should be in full bloom next year, with apartments ready for occupancy in early 2009.

The Century Building conversion is considered another key addition to the thriving Cultural District. It's expected to complement the Cultural Trust's half-billion-dollar RiverParc project, the first phase of which involves the construction of some 700 units of housing on the Allegheny River at Eighth Street, at a cost of $90 million.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said Downtown will be "the place for the next decade or two where activity" will be growing. He said the county is committed to making sure the Golden Triangle, as the hub of the region, continues to move forward.

"We're on a roll. You can easily fall off that roll if you don't pay attention to what we have here and the assets that we have. So Downtown Pittsburgh's going to remain a focus for the next several years for all of us involved here," he said.




First published on September 13, 2007 at 12:00 am
Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.

[chiaroscuro]

Any pictures of the Century Building?

At first I thought it was part of the RiverParc project. Not so?

[PA Pride]

Here is the Century Building:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/CenturyBldg.jpg

60 affordable apartments. This is right next to the Katz Plaza park that you can see in the foreground and right across the street from Bossa Nova which is an upscale bar, i used to go there and it gets a really big after work business-happy-hour crowd. Also there is a bar on the 1st floor that I forget the name of but I've drank some booze there too. Just a little Martini bar with a large selection as I recall....

[PA Pride]

Edit

[PA Pride]

Here is the Century Building:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/CenturyBldg.jpg

60 affordable apartments. This is right next to the Katz Plaza park that you can see in the foreground and right across the street from Bossa Nova which is an upscale bar, i used to go there and it gets a really big after work business-happy-hour crowd. Also there is a bar on the 1st floor that I forget the name of but I've drank some booze there too. Just a little Martini bar with a large selection as I recall....

[Evergrey]

and right next to the Century Building... rents are getting a lot less "affordable"

is this a problem? or should it be celebrated as a sign that there is demand for downtown living?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07257/817454-53.stm

Rents rising for some residents Downtown

Friday, September 14, 2007
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Rich Sofranko has called Downtown Pittsburgh his home for the last 11 months. But he might be priced out of the neighborhood by a steep increase in his rent at the Encore on 7th.

Mr. Sofranko is one of a number of residents in the near sold-out high-rise at Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Seventh Street to receive notice that their rents are going up.

In Mr. Sofranko's case, the rent for his two-bedroom, two bath apartment is increasing 22.5 percent, pushing his monthly payment from $1,550 to $1,899. The 51-year-old photographer said he will have to downsize or move out altogether.

"I can't afford it right now. My income doesn't have that much flexibility. I'm self-employed. Yes, I can work harder, but I don't know that I'm going to be able to make up that difference," he said.

Kevin Keane, senior vice president and regional operating partner for Lincoln Property Co., the Encore owner, acknowledged that rents have increased for most residents in the building some 16 months after it opened.

He said many residents received discounts, either in the form of one to two months' free rent or some other concession, to move into the building to get it "leased up."

Now that the building is 95 percent occupied and the apartments are in demand, the Encore no longer needs to offer concessions and is raising rents, Mr. Keane said.

"We're just moving toward our pro forma. It shouldn't be a surprise to any residents because they knew what the concessions were, what the discounts were, when they took occupancy last year," he said.

Mr. Keane said the 22.5 percent jump Mr. Sofranko received "sounds like the upper range" for increases. He said his guess was that most increases ranged from 12 percent to 16 percent.

While Mr. Sofranko may be forced out of the building or into a one-bedroom unit because of his proposed increase, which takes effect at the start of the year, other residents have accepted the hikes, Mr. Keane said.

"By and large we're getting the increases we're looking for, or a substantial part of the increase. It's a very desirable building," he said.

A survey by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership found that, overall, rents on one-bedroom apartments with one bath and two-bedroom apartments with two baths Downtown have increased from the first and second quarters of the year. One bedrooms had rented for an average of $1,091 a month, while the two bedrooms, two baths -- the type Mr. Sofranko rented -- averaged $1,714.

The survey also showed that studios, one bedrooms with a den, and three-bedroom units had dropped in price.

Patty Burk, vice president of housing and economic development for the partnership, said she was not shocked to hear the Encore was raising rents.

"That's pricing. It adjusts to the market. I'm not surprised to hear that they have raised rents. It's a very successful project," she said.

Mr. Sofranko, who received free parking as an enticement to move into the Encore, feared, however, that the rent increases and pricey condos going up in other parts of the Golden Triangle could force out people of more moderate incomes and leave Downtown to the "homogeneous elite."

He was encouraged by news of the conversion of the Century Building, on Seventh Street just a few doors from the Encore, into affordable apartments with rents ranging from $550 to $1,150 a month. But that project, set for completion in early 2009, won't help him right now.

Mr. Sofranko said he now must decide whether to go for a one-bedroom in the Encore or look at other options Downtown or in other city neighborhoods. He's not happy about it.

"I think it's being unfair the way they're trying to get people Downtown and now that they're full, they're taking total advantage of us and sticking it to us," he said.

The Encore isn't the only apartment building Downtown to raise its rents. The Penn Garrison on Penn Avenue raised rents 5 percent across the board this year. Mary Donato, the property manager, said it was the first increase since the apartment building opened seven years ago.

[themaguffin]

The tax support of downtown housing only makes sense to me if it makes it possible where developers would not otherwise do it. One could argue, if there is money to be made, they would do it without zero tax money. As for middle class units... Fine, but downtown’s are not traditionally middle class as they are typically the highest real estate in a city, and by far. A reasonable rate for downtown Pittsburgh for a one bedroom should really be closer to a $1,000. $550? Tax dollars are invested so people can live in the highest real estate area for $550??? If people want to live in a prime area, they need to pay for it. People are going to get tax support to live in a virtually new apartment downtown, but if they opted to live in a new apartment at SSW, how much would they pay. Double.

Edit: Evergrey, actually I posted just before your article which also points out. What the Encore did is very common and nobody should have signed with the incentive to think that things would stay the same. That said that's a high increase.

[PA Pride]

That's why I have no desire to move into the city until i can afford to BUY a condo. I don't like raising rents.

[biscuit]

The tax support of downtown housing only makes sense to me if it makes it possible where developers would not otherwise do it. One could argue, if there is money to be made, they would do it without zero tax money. As for middle class units... Fine, but downtown’s are not traditionally middle class as they are typically the highest real estate in a city, and by far. A reasonable rate for downtown Pittsburgh for a one bedroom should really be closer to a $1,000. $550? Tax dollars are invested so people can live in the highest real estate area for $550??? If people want to live in a prime area, they need to pay for it. People are going to get tax support to live in a virtually new apartment downtown, but if they opted to live in a new apartment at SSW, how much would they pay. Double.

Agreed. I understand that a certain amount of tax dollars will be needed to add the incentive for developers to even venture into the downtown housing market, mostly in the form of tax credits and TIF's. However, now that we know that the developers can sustain themselves and get actual market rates for apartments and condos, I 'm not convinced that we should be using our taxes to subsidize housing for individuals who could otherwise afford a decent to very nice apartment in another neighborhood. One can draw a circle of one-mile circumference around downtown and encompass hundreds, if not thousands of housing units that are affordable to the middle class. I see the benifits for, and advocate housing subsidies for those who cannot afford decent housing, but as a member of that target middle class, I know I'd to find housing that was within my not-entirely-unsubstantial means.

I really wanted to live on Beechwood Blvd., but had to settle for a less less glamorous hood filled with other middle-class individuals. Where's my subsidy? [being facetious]

[BMikeSci]

Here is the Century Building:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/CenturyBldg.jpg

60 affordable apartments. This is right next to the Katz Plaza park that you can see in the foreground and right across the street from Bossa Nova which is an upscale bar, i used to go there and it gets a really big after work business-happy-hour crowd. Also there is a bar on the 1st floor that I forget the name of but I've drank some booze there too. Just a little Martini bar with a large selection as I recall....

Nice building, I should get on the waiting list now!

[Johnland]

If you must have a big garage, try something like this:

http://chatterbox.typepad.com/portlandarchitecture/2006/01/leebdesigned_ga.html

Great design. If there has to be a garage, make it something interesting. Not the atrocious box those cheapskates came up with.

[Evergrey]

The US Scareways abandonment continues... I think one of the most offensive things about this ongoing saga is that US Air was founded and HQed here as Allegheny Air... before moving to DC in 1978 or so... and the continue to stab their hometown in the back... the market can't support US Air because US Air has done so much to destroy confidence and customer satisfaction here in Pittsburgh... it's been a self-fulfilling prophecy

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_527588.html

US Airways' Pittsburgh market share under 40 percent

By Justin Vellucci
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, September 15, 2007


US Airways, once Pittsburgh International Airport's marquee carrier, flew fewer than 40 percent of the airport's passengers last month for the first time in its 15-year history, Allegheny County Airport Authority officials said Friday.
The airline handled 343,065 passengers -- just under 39 percent of the airport's total passengers -- in August, a 26.1-percent drop from the same time last year, officials said.

"What that number's reflecting is a reduction of frequency of flights," said Morgan Durrant, a US Airways spokesman.

US Airways, for example, flew three flights from Pittsburgh to Albany, N.Y., in July, but none in August, Durrant said.

Service also was cut in August from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Toronto. Service will be cut this month from Pittsburgh to Denver, Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio, among others.
The airline's decreased service, however, is part of a larger downward trend. In 2001, US Airways flew more than 500 daily flights out of Pittsburgh and employed more than 11,000 people. Today, it has 111 daily flights and employs 2,745, Durrant said.

Those numbers could continue to drop. Doug Parker, the airline's CEO, said Wednesday more flights might be cut if Pittsburgh remains unprofitable to US Airways.

"We still struggle to make a profit here," said Parker, during the dedication of a plane painted in a Pittsburgh Steelers theme.

While US Airways and Northwest posted passenger decreases in August, 10 of the airport's 12 carriers saw spikes in service. AirTran Airways traffic increased by 54.2 percent, to 42,121 passengers, and JetBlue jumped 39.7 percent to 30,083 passengers.

Southwest, Pittsburgh International Airport's second-busiest carrier, grew 28.5 percent, to 137,110 passengers, in August. The airline handled more than 15 percent of August's passengers and nearly 14 percent of the airport's passengers this year to date.


Justin Vellucci can be reached at jvellucci@tribweb.com or 412-320-7847.

[Rufus]

How is 3 PNC construction going? I haven't seen anything about it for a long time on here. Did we ever find out exactly how tall it will be?

Screw US Airways. We don't need them. I'm angrier that the governor gave them 300 million dollars or whatever it was. We need to invest in new companies, not old sucky ones.

[BMikeSci]

Yes, some airline will want to service PGH. Why cater to US Airways? They undercut all their competition to get a monopoly here. Do you really think they'd just walk away?

3PNC is moving like grits through a ninety year old man with a colostomy bag. As I've said before, if you want to slow down a construction project, just add government funding. It's been about two years now, and they're barely starting to build. I watched a program about a building in Sweden. The program was on the science channel. They built a whole floor a week. Here's some stuff about the building:

http://www.chiefengineer.org/content/content_display.cfm/seqnumber_content/2819.htm

Two years now, and not even a single floor is finished. What a joke!

[BMikeSci]

More turning torso tower

http://www.bizzbook.com/map/turningtorsonews.html

[xyagentguy]

Two years now, and not even a single floor is finished. What a joke!
What exactly is the problem? That is disgraceful. I am actually embarrassed for them. It has been little more than a hole in the ground for two years. What in gods name is the hold up??

[EventHorizon]

It has not been a hole in the ground for 2 years. The buildings that were there, were demolished earlier this year ... and the foundation hole was dug shortly there after.

[xyagentguy]

Those buildings were only demolished (actually they were more deconstructed for recycling purposes) earlier in the year? How can that be? It seems I've been driving past that hole in the ground for well over a year.

[Evergrey]

The deconstruction of the buildings on the site of 3 PNC started almost exactly 1 year ago... I took this picture on the second Friday of September last year

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/66650591.jpg

[Johnland]

The deconstruction of the buildings on the site of 3 PNC started almost exactly 1 year ago... I took this picture on the second Friday of September last year

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/66650591.jpg

Wow, as I look at that photo, the sense of time marching on really hits me. Back in the early 80's, there was an Atlantic Book Shop located on the block of Market St between Liberty and Fifth. I think the 'Road Closed' sign in the lower left marks the remains of Market St. It was one of those tiny little blocks that one would find sprinkled throughout the downtown - small street, short block, small old shops. Actually kind of quaint in way, the old Pittsburgh that dated back to even much, much earlier times.

The Atlantic Book Shop was one of several, there were about 5 or 6 in the city. At that time, the early 80's, I worked there the same time as Michael Chabon, and another Micheal, who was the basis for a character in the 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh'. The building wasn't historic, I'm sure. But as I see this new project has literally obliterated that entire block of Market, there won't be any remains of the street as it was. Again, it just time and prgress marching on. I think the new building will be great. This project just illustrates so personally for me how cities are really organic in a way, as growth wipes out the old to make way for the new. Everyone has a 'I remember when there was a _________ there' story. I guess this in one of mine.

[EventHorizon]

Those buildings were only demolished (actually they were more deconstructed for recycling purposes) earlier in the year? How can that be? It seems I've been driving past that hole in the ground for well over a year.

Well, the deconstruction of the site might have started earlier than I had remembered -- but it certainly hasn't been 2 years .. as EG's picture shows.

[PittPenn 03]

Wow, as I look at that photo, the sense of time marching on really hits me. Back in the early 80's, there was an Atlantic Book Shop located on the block of Market St between Liberty and Fifth. I think the 'Road Closed' sign in the lower left marks the remains of Market St. It was one of those tiny little blocks that one would find sprinkled throughout the downtown - small street, short block, small old shops. Actually kind of quaint in way, the old Pittsburgh that dated back to even much, much earlier times.

The Atlantic Book Shop was one of several, there were about 5 or 6 in the city. At that time, the early 80's, I worked there the same time as Michael Chabon, and another Micheal, who was the basis for a character in the 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh'. The building wasn't historic, I'm sure. But as I see this new project has literally obliterated that entire block of Market, there won't be any remains of the street as it was. Again, it just time and prgress marching on. I think the new building will be great. This project just illustrates so personally for me how cities are really organic in a way, as growth wipes out the old to make way for the new. Everyone has a 'I remember when there was a _________ there' story. I guess this in one of mine.

You probably also remember the Record Outlet chain then which was also located on this corner and in a few other locations including Oakland and Parkway Center Mall. I vaguely remember the Atlantic Book stores - I do no think they lasted long after I moved to Pittsburgh. I would guess they closed around 1989 or 1990? I love trying to remember what was around back then. I know Oakland is MUCH different than it was when I lived there. Kind of sad because it isn't necessarily for the better.

I am glad the two year thing was cleared up. I knew it couldn't have been that long - thought I was losing my mind.

[PA Pride]

Here is a drive-by pic I took yesterday evening. Only a few feet above ground at this point:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/IMG_5796.jpg

[PA Pride]

I've been meaning to take a photo of this rendering for the longest time. Now I can finally show everybody: This is the new office bldg on the North Shore going to be built right between the Equitable Bldg and the Del Monte Bldg:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/IMG_5791.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/IMG_5789.jpg

Looks to me like a solid design!

[BMikeSci]

3 PNC Plaza is scheduled to be done in a year:

http://www.pjdick.com/tpjwebsite.nsf/webItem/73EDD09E58218BC585257249006ADC81?opendocument&Navigator=All+Companies

[BMikeSci]

Looks like 3 PNC started July 18, 2006

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=100544&page=14

[BMikeSci]

I still think it's really slow going. Here's info on the almost finished Duquesne University Project stated a month later:

http://popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/24dubridge.aspx

[BMikeSci]

http://www.duq.edu/forbesproject/

http://www.duq.edu/forbesproject/news.html

[BMikeSci]

I've been meaning to take a photo of this rendering for the longest time. Now I can finally show everybody: This is the new office bldg on the North Shore going to be built right between the Equitable Bldg and the Del Monte Bldg:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/IMG_5791.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/IMG_5789.jpg

Looks to me like a solid design!

Looks good! It's almost a mirror image but with enough differences to add visual interest. Will the corridor between these two buildings lead to the new subway station? I can't quite picture the exact location.

[EventHorizon]

Looks good! It's almost a mirror image but with enough differences to add visual interest. Will the corridor between these two buildings lead to the new subway station? I can't quite picture the exact location.

from this picture I found on flickr, it definitely looks close to where the station will be.
Image courtesey of wyliepoon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wyliepoon/)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1335/1394313547_3db491246d_o.jpg

[xyagentguy]

BMikeSci, I'm actually a Duquesne student so you'd think I would know.. but I don't.

Doesn't Duquesne have more than one phase planned for the Forbes Development? For example, isn't that one building (a very nice building to say the least!) just part of a grand plan that involves more property and building along Forbes?

[BMikeSci]

Yes, phase II is a mixed use 10 story tower. I don't know when that phase is supposed to start, but it is supposed to be in the lot next to phase I and include a grocery store.

[BMikeSci]

from this picture I found on flickr, it definitely looks close to where the station will be.
Image courtesey of wyliepoon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wyliepoon/)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1335/1394313547_3db491246d_o.jpg

Thanks for the great picture. This shows the location perfectly. It looks as though these two "guardian" buildings will frame a corridor to the new subway station. Fantastic!

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07261/818399-85.stm

Tax help driving big rehab projects

Historical remakes use federal credits to raise money

Tuesday, September 18, 2007
By Marylynne Pitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Thursday's grand opening of Bedford Springs Resort marks a milestone in its $120 million rehabilitation, capping more than two decades of monumental efforts to revive the Bedford County mountain retreat.

It also represents one of the largest projects in Pennsylvania to take advantage of a federal tax credit program that has spurred nearly $300 million of investment in Pittsburgh the past decade.

Examples include Downtown's Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, Heinz Lofts on the North Side and the Armstrong Cork Factory, a $60 million project with three luxury apartment buildings that opened in May in the Strip District.

More recently, an 18-month renovation that cost upwards of $15 million transformed the former Keystone Grocery warehouse and Try Street Terminal into Shannon Hall, a nine-story Downtown building with 140 apartments that opened in July for Art Institute of Pittsburgh students.

And just last week, Trek Development announced plans to convert Downtown's Century Building on Seventh Street into affordable apartments, aided by $2.3 million in federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

Created three decades ago by Congress to spur preservation, the credits help developers clear financial hurdles that accompany the renovation of older structures, which cost more to rehabilitate than building anew. The credits allow lenders, banks and corporations to invest in the projects, while using the credits to reduce their tax liabilities dollar for dollar.

The developer first must qualify for the tax credits, which they then sell to the investors. The process requires developers to submit a detailed application outlining a project's scope, and the building must be on the National Register of Historic Places to qualify for the full 20 percent credit.

The buyer of the credit "virtually owns the building. They are not just buying the tax credit. They are entering a partnership and ... sharing in the profits," said Jill Paskoff, a certified public accountant with the Reznick Group in Baltimore.

The community benefits from the rehabilitation and reuse of little-used and abandoned properties that are added back to the tax rolls. Since 1978, Allegheny County alone has seen 431 such projects use the credits to spur investments totaling $487.7 million, said Bonnie Wilkinson Mark, a historical architect with Pennsylvania's Bureau of Historic Preservation.

Francisco Escalante, director of operations for the local development company No Wall Productions, said his firm has used historic tax credits on three Downtown-area projects, including the recently renovated 930 Penn Ave., a six-story building that has 20 apartments, a Subway sandwich shop on the first floor and the restaurant Seviche.

"Without having access to the historic credit, our renovations ... would not have been possible," Mr. Escalante said, adding that No Wall Productions' partner in the deal was Rugby Realty, which owns the Frick Building and Gulf Tower.

No Wall Productions also obtained credits for its renovation of 905 Liberty Ave., where it created a space called Liberty Lofts in partnership with the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority. And it used the credits to finance renovation of the Bruno Building, which has seven residential and commercial lofts at 945 Penn Ave.

All three buildings are contributing structures to the Penn-Liberty National Register Historic District.

The Bedford Springs Resort project had six investors who put up $10 million of their own money and qualified the project for a $23 million rehabilitation tax credit, which was sold to oil giant Chevron.

The proceeds helped fund the renovations, said Timm Judson, chief investment officer for The Ferchill Group of Cleveland, a member of the investor group, Bedford Resort Partners Ltd. Historic tax credits aren't the only vehicle developers turn to when renovating old properties. Often part and parcel with the use of credits are agreements by the developer with preservation groups to maintain the building's historic character.

On the surface, such restrictions may sound like a deterrent to financing. But in effect, by preventing modifications that could ruin the building's historic character, they ensure that the building will retain its integrity and even increase in value.

In practice, these easements allow the preservationists, often a group like the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, to control changes that are made to the facade or the site of the building, said Martha W. Jordan, a Duquesne University law professor who teaches courses on federal income tax.

Professor Jordan -- who also serves on the board of Landmarks, the city's largest preservation group -- said the foundation has an easement on the facade of Bedford Springs Resort as well as its golf course.

"They can't change the golf course without permission of Landmarks. They can't make changes to the facade of Bedford Springs," she said.

Jack Miller, director of planned giving at Landmarks, said the nonprofit has more than 30 restrictive easements or covenants on properties primarily in Western Pennsylvania. The best known of these include the Heinz Lofts on the North Side, the Armstrong Cork Factory and the Bedford Springs project.

John Panno, tax counsel at Sherwin-Williams in Cleveland, likes the use of historic tax credits and facade easements not only because they benefit his company, but because they are helping beautify his hometown. He grew up in McKees Rocks.

"I love seeing what's happening,'' he said. "This is about preserving history and reviving communities."

[PA Pride]

^lowering business taxes and giving tax credits will always spurn development while high tax rates will always keep places uncompetitive. Pennsylvania is stagnant because of high taxes and fragmented government with no cooperation.

[Evergrey]

^word.

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2007/09/17/focus9.html?f=et181&b=1190001600%5E1519562&ana=e_vert

Strong mix of tenants changes neighborhood

Restaurant owners find diverse crowds help keep businesses going strong

Pittsburgh Business Times - September 14, 2007
by Tim Schooley

All the different foods that are offered in Oakland's mix of restaurants, cafes and kiosks would leave any menu as crowded as a Forbes Avenue parking lot just after the start of fall semester.

"It reflects the population," said Dave Gancy, a co-owner of Red Oak Cafe, which opened on Forbes last year. "There's a lot of students and doctors who come from all over the world. It's a real sophisticated crowd. It's still under-served. I think there's still a lot of opportunity."

Already the operators of restaurant kiosks at Carnegie Mellon University, Gancy and his partner Paul Huber took the opportunity to add to Oakland's culinary diversity with Red Oak. The restaurant offers various sandwiches, salads and soups, as well as unique items such as an oatmeal smoothie, which includes oatmeal cooked in tea, along with yogurt and other ingredients.

Longtime local restaurateurs see the neighborhood on an upswing, with chains and entrepreneurs thriving and increasing their ranks.

June Feldstein, who owns The Pittsburgh Bagel Factory with her son, David, opened a Bagel Factory kiosk when the new Schenley Plaza opened last year. Over the years, she has seen Oakland's dining offerings broaden and mature.

"I think the whole restaurant business" has grown in Oakland, said Feldstein, who is pleased with the performance of her kiosk's business in the neighborhood. "I think Oakland is much crisper and cleaner than it was in years past. And I think it has more offerings than it's had in years past."

Make no mistake, restaurants face distinct challenges in order to succeed in Oakland.

Oakland's dining industry must be prepared to ride the tide of student populations as they come and go during the school year, as well as of commuters who often leave the community in the evening after work.

Red Oak does 70 percent of its business at lunchtime, Gancy said. He sees a need for quality, sit-down restaurants with a decent wine list. He, like many others, are hopeful for the plan to bring a new Atria's Restaurant and Tavern, which has a signed lease at Schenley Plaza but has no timetable for opening.

Two restaurants that have learned to thrive by serving a variety of different clientele in the community at different times are Fuel and Fuddle and Joe Mama's.


Vic Bovalino, director of operations for both restaurants, is encouraged by the growth of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in the neighborhood, as well as the University of Pittsburgh's campaign to improve its campus surroundings with new residential projects.

While he said both restaurants have seen consistent 5 percent to 7 percent growth in the past five to 10 years, he emphasized that no restaurant in Oakland can afford to ignore the different types of diners that populate the neighborhood at different times.

Both restaurants seek to serve a strong lunch trade of professionals and hospital workers, a target market that's also pursued in the early evening. After that, Bovalino said Fuel and Fuddle and Joe Mama's offer half-priced food to draw the kind of cash-strapped college students who can later return as repeat customers when they're older and more financially established.

"There's enough crossover that we really maintained a pretty steady clientele," he said, noting the importance of having student and professional customer bases to balance one another. "I can't tell you how valuable that diversification is."

Bovalino sees the neighborhood as on the cusp of becoming a dining destination comparable to such developments as The Waterfront, if it isn't already. But he also acknowledged that Oakland's success comes with the price of higher development costs and less space in which to build.

Bob Gold, a senior vice president with CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, measured the overall success of Oakland's restaurants based on the fact that many open and remain in business a long time in a market with little available space.

"There's no vacancy or very little vacancy," Gold said. "All the restaurants that are there do well. If they weren't doing well, there would be vacancy and a lot of turnover -- and there are neither."

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

[hyperion1110]

I got word recently from my boss, one of the Exec Admins at Pitt's Med School that Pitt is about to start another major round of construction. On the list is a new, 110,000 sq ft research facility to go behind Scaife Hall (which is on Terrace St next to the Pete). There's no name or timeline for it. Also, Pitt will be building Biomedical Science Tower 4, curiously enough, in Shadyside. Since it will be BST4, this is a Pitt building, which may or may not be what UPMC planned to do in expanding the Hillman Cancer Institute.

Once Children's is finished in Lawrenceville, UPMC will be spreading into their facilities on Oakland. There is no word whether they will renovate or demolish the current Children's Hospital, but, that the very least, they will be doing some major renovations. UPMC will also be taking the Rangos Research Center (at Fifth and McKee Place) and renovating it.

Anyhow, that's all I've got for right now. As soon as I find any more out, I'll let you guys know.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_528410.html

Part of ex-Nabisco plant razed

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 20, 2007


A portion of the former Nabisco plant in East Liberty has been demolished as Walnut Capital Partners, the new owner, proceeds with plans to develop to site into Bakery Square, a $113 million "green" project housing both offices and retailers.
"We want to join other developers in East Liberty in promoting green buildings that are more innovative and environmentally friendly to help make East Liberty a showcase of LEED-certified buildings," said Anthony Dolan, a partner in the Shadyside-based development company.

The U.S. Green Building Council must approve LEED certification (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) for the project along Penn Avenue.

"We will use solar energy, wind energy and green roofs to make the complex environmentally friendly," Dolan said.

Plans include renovation to provide space for 260,000 square feet of office space, and new construction to house other uses. Renovation will probably occur first to accommodate office tenants, Dolan said.
"We are negotiating with potential office tenants who need large space and those needing smaller space," he said. He declined to identify names of potential tenants.

However, he said that a fitness facility has committed to lease about 40,000 square feet of 170,000 square feet of retail space.

Under its Bakery Square Holdings L.P., Walnut Capital purchased the site for $5.4 million from the Regional Industrial Development Corp. of Southwestern Pennsylvania, according to a deed filed in Allegheny County.

The Nabisco Bakery was built in 1918 as part of a nationwide expansion by the National Biscuit Co. The RIDC bought the plant in 1998 when Nabisco shut it down and leased it to Atlantic Baking Co., which was eventually taken over by the Bake-Line Group of Oak Brook, Ill. The group declared bankruptcy in early 2004, ending jobs for 290 bakery workers.

Other elements of Bakery Square include a 110-room Marriott SpringHill Suites hotel planned for 2008 as part of a joint venture with locally-based Concord Hospitality, and an 850-car parking garage, according to Todd Reidbord, another Walnut Capital partner.

Recently, the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority approved $10 million in tax-exempt financing for the project. Allegheny County Council approved the plan Sept. 11.

City Council and the Pittsburgh Public Schools board also must approve the financing plan.



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

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07263/818997-28.stm

Flexcar pleased by region's speedy acceptance of car sharing

Thursday, September 20, 2007
By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As with any company rolling into a new market, Flexcar, the service that lets its subscribers rent cars by the hour, encountered a few bumps upon entering Pittsburgh. Politicians argued over whether the city government was saving money through its $10,000 Flexcar arrangement. A TV news crew found that Flexcar had failed to acquire state inspection and registration stickers for some of its Pittsburgh fleet.

But five months after its May debut in Pittsburgh, when it had 19 cars scattered around Downtown and Oakland, Flexcar is flourishing. Downtown companies, workers and residents seem to have taken a shine to the idea of car-sharing instead of -- or as a complement to -- car-owning.

By the end of this month, there will be 55 cars in service here, including, for the first time, cars in Shadyside. That's faster than Flexcar Inc. grew in Seattle, said spokesman John Williams. "It took Flexcar not a number of months, but a number of years, to get to even 40 cars" in Seattle, where the company is based.

The gamble on Pittsburgh, a secondary market, was underwritten by a $290,000 carrot from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, offsetting vehicle and marketing costs for 18 months.

It seems to have paid off -- although the company doesn't reveal market-by-market revenue or sign-up numbers, Pittsburgh enrollment is besting Flexcar's in-house projections by a quarter, making it one of Flexcar's most promising growth markets.

Flexcar is one of the two largest car-sharing services in the United States, the other being Zipcar, which has a small presence in Oakland, thanks to an exclusive deal with Carnegie Mellon University. Stephen Case, an AOL founder and venture capitalist, is the money behind Flexcar, which recruited Lee Iacocca to serve on its board. Zipcar, meanwhile, attracted a $10 million investment from a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.

With both companies, the concept works like this: You sign up for the service, paying an annual or monthly fee, and then receive a plastic card in the mail. You use that card to lock and unlock the car, which you reserve in advance via the Internet or by phone. At the end of the trip, you return to the same spot. You are billed based on an hourly rate, which pays for your gas, insurance, parking, maintenance and emergency service. You can earn credits toward future trips by filling up and washing the car.

Advocates of car sharing say the service cuts down on the number of cars Downtown, reducing pollution and traffic. In some markets, the service proved so popular that certain cars had to be reserved days or weeks in advance, but in Pittsburgh, that hasn't been a problem -- yet.

"Flexcar and car-sharing succeed when it is as convenient to as many people as possible," Mr. Williams said. If cars are in the wrong neighborhoods, or are overbooked and never available, that turns off would-be clients.

The service works best, and becomes workable for Flexcar, when each car is used for about two or three trips each day.

Reviews from users have been positive. Drew Dowdell, who lives in Forest Hills and works Downtown, had hoped Flexcar would come to Pittsburgh after seeing the service in Washington, D.C. He signed up for Flexcar soon after it became available here.

"I was driving into work, getting charged $14 to park in a garage" on days that he knew he'd have to run a midday errand to the dentist or one of the rental properties he owns. When he returned to work, it was another full-day, $14 parking expense.

"The parking garages were double-dipping," he said, but no longer -- he takes the bus to work every day now, and on days when he needs a car, he makes a reservation with Flexcar. For a "standard" subscription, it costs $9 an hour or more for most models in the Flexcar fleet, which includes sedans, sports cars, minivans, hybrid cars and pickups.

Mr. Dowdell, in fact, has put his own truck up for sale. He used the vehicle intermittently when he needed to deliver home supplies to his rental properties, but now thinks he can get along without owning one.

Individual members are one part of the company's growth plan -- the other is plumbing the corporate world for clients who will sign up for bulk packages. These are the clients most likely to use the cars during the day; nighttime and evening users tend to be individual customers who use the cars recreationally. (In the Pittsburgh market, about a third of the customers are businesses; the rest are individuals.)

For example, the Oakland-based University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, preparing to move its headquarters Downtown to the U.S. Steel Tower, has booked 100 hours per month through Oct. 30, 2008, and it may pick up additional hours in fiscal year 2008 as it begins to fully occupy Downtown's largest office building. UPMC employees who already work Downtown -- in purchasing, legal and other departments -- are using the cars to drive to Oakland and back.

"We see important benefits for the city and our employees, including alleviating traffic congestion, reducing parking problems and promoting environmentally friendly travel," said UPMC spokeswoman Wendy Zellner.

All that is good. But the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership hopes that the wide availability of an affordable car-sharing service will help achieve a long-held, loftier goal -- making Downtown living more palatable, and more affordable, for those who don't want to pay the exorbitant monthly parking leases that add to the cost of Downtown living.

Pittsburgh's Downtown, about a square mile, is compact enough that it's accessible on foot. But on the occasion that someone wants to make a shopping run -- but doesn't want to wait for a taxi or after-dark public transit -- the car-sharing provides an option, said Hollie Plevyak, communications vice president for the Downtown Partnership, and Mike Edwards, the partnership's president and chief executive officer.

"I think [Flexcar is] pleasantly surprised at how well it's been doing there," Ms. Plevyak. Already, there have been discussions about placing cars in the South Side, Lawrenceville and the North Shore, she said, and reserving cars for students at the University of Pittsburgh and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.




First published on September 20, 2007 at 12:00 am
Staff writer Dan Fitzpatrick contributed to this report. Bill Toland can be reached at btoland@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2625.

[AaronPGH]

That's great news for Flex Car! I wondered how they were doing. I think as they place cars in certain neighborhoods like Oakland/Shadyside/Southside, they will probably see exponential growth. Those are the areas that have the most people without cars I would guess.

[BMikeSci]

North Shore Extension includes buying sportsworks

http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2007/09/22/ap-state-pa/d8rq9ako0.txt

[Evergrey]

I've always found Target to be an incredibly bland shopping experience... but this would be a huge win for the City... and would provide some common goods that are difficult to find within City Limits... it also bodes well for further development in E. Liberty

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_528834.html

Target stays focused on East Liberty store

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, September 22, 2007


East Liberty may soon have a major national retailer -- possibly a Target discount store -- at the site now housing the Penn Circle Apartments.
Before any retail development begins, residents must be relocated from the Penn Circle complex, which is scheduled for demolition.

"We are generally interested in the East Liberty area," said Joshua Thomas, a Target spokesman. Normally, Target does not announce new stores until about one year prior to its opening, he said.

The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority recently approved $550,000 for operation of the apartment facility until its 36 residents relocate, many of them to Fairfield Apartments, a complex under construction at the site of the previously-demolished Liberty Park apartments.

Authority board members were advised that the first phase of Fairfield should be complete within several months and it, along with other East Liberty apartment projects such as Penn Manor and Negley Neighbors, will become the new home for the tenants by March 2008.
"The actions taken are a culmination of what can happen when public and private interests align themselves to make good social and economic changes," said Rob Stephany, URA deputy executive director and former director of East Liberty Development Inc.'s commercial development.

"The URA, and the city have financially supported individuals who reside in Penn Circle until they get new housing," he said.

Once the property is vacated, it is expected that Penn Manor Limited Partnership, owner of Penn Circle, will deed the property to a joint venture between the Mosites Co. and Echo Development and their community partners.

Together, they will redevelop the Penn Circle property and two adjacent parcels for the major retailer.

Because of the change in use of the property from residential to commercial, the URA must approve new agreements with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the owner, Penn Manor Limited Partnership, whose major partner is Community Builders Inc.

That will permit the Mosites-Echo venture to acquire the property for $1.7 million.

The previous opening of a Home Depot, a Whole Foods and other development by Mosites Co. have been a major force in restoring the East Liberty community, Stephany said.


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

[xyagentguy]

Did anyone hear recently about Ed Rendell setting aside millions of dollars in tech/science/green research equipment to be distributed to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to help attract young, bright, minds? My dad was telling me about it but couldn't find the article for me.

[cdc]

I've always found Target to be an incredibly bland shopping experience... but this would be a huge win for the City... and would provide some common goods that are difficult to find within City Limits... it also bodes well for further development in E. Liberty


I don't think shopping for basic staples is ever going to be that
exciting (i.e. non-bland)...

But I agree that this would be another huge win for those of us living
in the east end of the city who currently have to regularly commute to
places like the waterfront in homestead to do this kind of shopping.

I am happy to say that with the advent of Whole Foods, Market
District, and Trader Joes in East Liberty I have not stepped foot in
the Giant Eagle in Sq Hill (what a dump!) or the Giant Eagle at the
Waterfront (far away and overcrowded!) in many MONTHS! Awesome!!!
Having a Target in East Liberty would make it even better...

[AaronPGH]

I'm pretty excited about this actually. For a discount store, Target has some pretty high-grade stuff....especially home furnishings. It's going to be nice to have one of these in the city.

[Evergrey]

this undated article appears to be from late 2006... but there's plenty of relevant information about the urban housing market included

http://www.greaterpittsburghnewhome.com/cityliving.aspx

Living In The City


When you think of the hot real estate markets around the country Pittsburgh hardly comes to mind. Places like Southern California, Naples, Las Vegas, Washington DC, Atlanta and Dallas/Ft. Worth have experienced great growth over the past decade.



But few cities in America have seen as much change in the character of their housing market as Pittsburgh. With the changing housing options has come even more confidence in the value of housing in Western PA. Whether looking for a typical suburban Colonial or an industrial South Side loft, a buyer in Pittsburgh can count on making money as much as any other city in the U.S. According to PMI Mortgage’s study of the top 50 U.S. housing markets, no city is less of a risk when it comes to home appreciation.



“There is tremendous stability in the Pittsburgh market,” says Helen Hanna Casey of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. “If you look back to the 1970’s and the loss of the steel industry jobs that followed, and compare what people said would happen to Pittsburgh to what did happen, you see a healthy region.”



Since 1996 more than 50,000 housing units have been built in metropolitan Pittsburgh, which includes Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties. During that ten year span over 33,000 new single-family units were permitted. In 1996 the average building permit cost of a house was $139,286; in 2006 the average cost was $245,826. Now for the real shocker: during the past decade the municipality that has issued permits for the most housing units is the City of Pittsburgh.



It’s perhaps not a coincidence then that the widest variety of housing options being introduced in the past decade was in the urban center of our region, within the city of Pittsburgh’s limits.



Part of what makes metropolitan Pittsburgh a safe place for housing investment is the predominance of smaller, tightly managed, homebuilders. While housing prices in the Pittsburgh region have increased to record high levels the past couple of years, the homebuilders in the region had already begun to see a slowdown in demand. This decrease in demand didn’t show up in home sales until the past summer and fall, but housing starts had already pulled back slightly in 2004 and 2005 from the ten-year high of 2003.



This reaction has helped keep Western PA from the decline in values that other markets have experienced. While it may have been easier to sell your house in mid-2004 than now, the market has not changed much in the past two years. Comparing the average days-on-market (DOM) for the houses on the West Penn Multi-list finds that the DOM in 2005 was 93 days and in 2006 was 95 days. That’s not exactly the stuff of a bursting bubble.



So where will the action be in Pittsburgh? For the most part you can expect to see hot housing in the same places it’s been for the past decade.



In the North, there will still be lots of activity in Cranberry and Adams, with some new

developments starting to pop up further north of Harmony, in Lancaster Township. And there’s still plenty of new housing in Pine Township and Franklin Park.



In the South, Peters Township is the place where the most new houses will be built, with lots of new homes in North Strabane Township, and the South Fayette/Bridgeville area on the Allegheny side of the border.



To the East most of the action is outside Allegheny County along the Route 30 corridor from Murrysville on out to Latrobe. Look for more new housing in places like North Huntingdon, Penn/Trafford, Hempfield and Unity Township.



Out West there are some growing new neighborhoods in the communities surrounding the airport. The most active areas will be in Robinson, Moon and North Fayette Township.



The hottest area for new housing in the region, though, is actually the City of Pittsburgh. For most of the past decade the city limits have been the site of the most new housing, averaging between 300 and 500 new units each year. As a means of comparison consider that housing starts in Cranberry Township have averaged between 200 and 300 units during that same period.



Prior to 1995 there was very little new construction in the city, and none at all in the central business district, so it was impossible to judge what the demand was for urban living. To get some clues about why there has been awareness of this demand recently one needs to look at the changing economy in Pittsburgh and the changing demographics to support this new kind of housing product.



As our region moved away from a manufacturing- based economy, demand for larger and “cooler” housing has grown, as has the income to support it. While some of the support comes from the higher levels of debt that the Baby Boomers have been willing to accept, there is evidence that Pittsburgh is growing higher-income jobs.



A recent study by Pittsburgh Future cited the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for job creation nationally which showed that metropolitan Pittsburgh is creating higher paying jobs at a rate that is nearly double the national rate. Job creation in healthcare grew over 12% here compared to 7% nationally, and science and engineering jobs grew 13% compared to 7% nationally. This growth in engineering, life and physical sciences, computers and healthcare represent almost 20,000 new jobs since 1999 which pay on average 50% more than the overall wage for the region.



The jobs created since 1999 are just the first fruits of these investments. Already plans are underway to add hundreds of thousands of square feet to the South Side Works offices and sports medicine facility. The planning and development is underway for a second Hillman Cancer Center and a fourth Bio-Medical Science Tower at Pitt. The strengths of our universities and our workforce have attracted firms like Seagate, Microsoft, Intel and even Google to make investments here for the future. What’s most interesting about all of the latter companies is that they are here because the kinds of graduates and workers they desire are here, and didn’t want to leave.



It’s in these newer economic anchors that the support for urban living is based. The majority of the careers in the growth industries are located inside the city, making it more appealing and

practical to live in the east end or Downtown. Moreover, the demographics of these jobs support city living, with the average age of the workers being much younger than the more established industries. Many of the hottest city sub-markets, the Strip, South Side or Friendship, are within convenient distances from Pittsburgh’s night life.



While the buzz right now is all about living Downtown, there have been a wide variety of

successful projects developed in the city in recent years. Buyers could choose between a number of modestly-priced developments, high-end locations like Beechwood Commons or Washington’s Landing, upscale row houses at Fox Way or on Grandview Avenue, more traditional suburban-style homes in the Summerset at Frick neighborhood, or hundreds of new apartment units along the rivers or throughout the city.



Helen Hanna Casey’s theory is that “real estate is based on urgency creating demand for product, and you can’t give buyers a product that doesn’t come with a lifestyle.” These newer lifestyle projects aren’t confined to Downtown. Demand for condos in the East End is equally strong. Casey says “every condo project we’re currently marketing has had significant sales.” Some of the projects in varying stages of completion include the Market House at 65% sold, the Beacon Lofts at about 55%, and The Metropolitan, which should be pre-sold at 65% to 70%.



The Metropolitan’s developer, Walnut Capital Group, is a young company which has committed substantially to city living. A decade ago, Walnut’s CEO, Gregg Perelman, was in the pharmacy business. Since founding the firm with Todd Reidbord and Anthony Dolan in 1997, he has developed hundreds of thousand of square feet of retail space in the region, but has also accumulated over $150 million in residential units since the beginning of the decade.



But the most excitement lately has been about the new housing in Downtown.



Unlike most major Northeastern or Midwestern cities Pittsburgh has always had a very small number of center city residents. “Pittsburgh has been way behind the national trend towards moving back to urban centers for living,” says Bill Dietrich of Coldwell Banker. “That’s changing fast. By 2008 there will be 3,500 more people living in Downtown, and the housing stock still won’t meet the demand.”



Until the past decade, development Downtown was a chicken-or-egg kind of problem: was there really no demand to live Downtown, or was there no one living Downtown because there weren’t available properties? The answer to that question began to appear in the mid-1990’s when the efforts of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust began to take root along Penn and Liberty Avenues.



The transformation of the Penn-Liberty corridor meant that potential Downtown residents would have a major lifestyle amenity attraction already built-in if development occurred. The rise of the Cultural District also made available for re-use some of the “sliver” buildings which housed commercial ventures as far back as the turn of the previous century. These narrow, eight-to-ten story buildings turned out to be just what an unlikely

pioneer named Eve Picker was looking for to develop lofts. “Every developer has a variety of reasons for doing each of the projects in their portfolio,” says Picker. “Ultimately, I chose to do these projects because I believed in the future, and wanted to be involved in redeveloping Downtown.”



Ms. Picker’s projects were challenging financially and certainly were not a gold mine for the developer. While most of those successful loft conversions only added a dozen or so residents to Downtown, Ms. Picker created an awareness that demand did exist for center city living. “The projects certainly have not been cash cows, but we did them as much to have an impact on changing the city.”



Those projects were the tipping point of development, so that now a potential Downtown resident has the choice of lofts, riverfront high-rise rentals, mid-town condos or million-dollar penthouses.



Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz School of Public Policy and Management recently completed an exhaustive study called, The Emerging Housing Market in Downtown Pittsburgh. According to their research the population of Downtown will grow from 6,500 in 1995 to 8,000 by the end of 2006. The number of Downtown residents has grown 16.5% since 2000 as more units were created. And a market study done in 2005 showed the occupancy rate to be 97.4%.



Moreover, the study, done on behalf of the Downtown Living Initiative, showed the typical Downtown resident to be varied in age, usually professionals with better-than-average education and disposable income. Those demographics continue to apply to the new wave of buyers. “The buyers have been people moving back to Pittsburgh or relocating from other cities because of the technology or healthcare jobs being created by the new millennium economy here,” says Dietrich. “Now we’re starting to pick up suburban couples selling the big house.”



According to Patty Burk of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, “there’s interest in units in town from empty-nesters who will use their suburban house as a weekend home.” It’s another interesting difference between Pittsburgh and other cities that the share of empty-nesters living in town is smaller-than-average. While it’s possible that there is some regional factor that would cause Pittsburghers to avoid living in center city, it’s almost certainly because there was no product to choose. That’s changing rapidly.



Much attention is being paid to the buying decisions of “baby-boomers” as that demographic cohort reaches early retirement stage. During the last five years, as boomers are beginning to retire, there has been no change in the rate of second-home ownership. This suggests that boomers are no more likely to have second homes, including center city homes, than previous generations. The rate of suburban empty-nesters moving into urban centers has remained about 2% nationally. The upside of that fact for Pittsburgh is that if the normal rate of urban second home buying occurs here, the demand could grow to more than 5,000 units to meet this age group alone.



The portion of the Down-town Pittsburgh market that is 55 and over has grown

significantly during the past ten years. According to no wall productions’ demographic research, empty-nesters make up 21% of the market now.



Another critical demographic group whose participation was considered doubtful ten years ago is the young professional. The share of the urban housing market that is between 25–35 years old has grown from 7% to 20%, and the portion that is single female has doubled from 19% to 38%. These are strong indicators that the downtown market is considered both safe and attractive to those forming households.



Cliff Schultz, Howard Hanna’s Condominium Division Manager, sees another trend emerging. “The number of new condos (before the Cultural Trust’s RiverParc) coming on-line is about 850 units, but the number of rentals is about 1,350,” he says, “and I think people are renting to try out the neighborhood for buying later.”



Schultz points out that the smaller-sized units in the projects like the Heinz Lofts are renting at rapid rates, another indication that the products which have been developed are appealing to younger professionals who have less income for rent and are willing to accept smaller apartments to be “closer to the action.” This trend, Schultz says, “is making us look at the mix in RiverParc to increase the number of smaller units, and to explore how small a unit is desirable.”



This age group, made up of singles and young married couples under 35, was thought to be leaving Pittsburgh because of limited opportunities and lifestyle, but with each new business which moves here to target young professionals, there’s growing evidence that the emigration may have reversed itself, or didn’t exist at all. For example, Google reportedly chose Pittsburgh for its second remote office because of the company’s difficulty in persuading CMU’s best and brightest to relocate from Western PA.



The affordability and new found “hip”-ness of Pittsburgh is creating a new class of young people, boomerangers, who move back to Pittsburgh after living in other cities.



Rich Gasperini, with CB Richard Ellis’s Corporate Advisory Services, is an example of those moving back. He lived and worked in the Baltimore/Washington market after graduating from Carnegie Mellon. While the market there provided lots of business, he found the lifestyle costs were an inequitable trade-off. “Even with the housing market softening a little, prices have gone so high that owning a house had some serious

barriers to entry,” says Gasperini, “and getting around the area without delays was impossible.” After a few years in DC he decided to move. Pittsburgh was only one of his choices.



After researching several potential markets, Gasperini says “I was very bullish on the overall quality of life that exits here in Pittsburgh as being a great place to live and work. However, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a few concerns in the back of my head, moving from a huge market to a medium one. I can truly say those concerns haven’t even remotely entered my mind since being back and everything here has exceeded my expectations.”



Sara Radelet, Executive Director of the New Hazlett Theater, also left her home town only to return. After graduating from George Washington University, Sara spent time in Minneapolis and Los Angeles before returning to work for the Mattress Factory in 1994. “I left with every intention of only returning to Pittsburgh to visit family and friends,” says Radelet, “but the opportunity to work at a one-of-a-kind place like the Mattress Factory brought me back.” Raised on the North Side, Radelet has remained in the city, living for five years on the South Side and now owning a Spring Hill home.



Both Gasperini and Radelet noted a less-publicized advantage of Western PA: access. Gasperini noted a big difference between Washington DC and Pittsburgh. “If you want to

get involved in your community or industry here there are so many organizations and almost no barriers,” he says, “and you will have an opportunity to meet and interact with the people that influence this region.”



It is the eventual size of the market that is the biggest concern for those interested in developing Downtown. PenTrust Realty Advisory Services invests pension funds in real estate and has been involved in financing the Penn Garrison Apartments, the Cork Factory and 930 Penn Avenue Downtown, as well as the Market House in Shadyside. Jim Noland, President of PenTrust, feels that supply and demand may meet soon. “The Downtown market is not yet proven, so we’ll be following these early successes to see just how deep the market is,” says Noland, “We’ve been pleased with our projects but there is going to be more risk as more units come on line.”



The lack of a track record makes it difficult to predict how much more housing could be absorbed. And, the natural tendency of Pittsburghers to assume that what works elsewhere won’t work here adds to the uncertainty. Most observers feel that increased lifestyle amenities would make the place more attractive. This train of thought was what drove the Murphy administration’s efforts to attract retailers, restaurants, and other attractions to the center of town.



Comparing lifestyle amenities can be an interesting trap, however. Observers tend to look at Pittsburgh and compare its Downtown to other big cities. Buyers, on the other hand, are often more concerned about comparing the city’s lifestyle to other neighborhoods in the region.



For example, here are a few of the amenities a Downtown resident has: 187 restaurants, nine hotels, ten art galleries, six churches, two elementary schools, one middle school, two high schools (including a CAPA school), one vo-tech school, 22 coffee shops, ten eye doctors, 13 physicians and dentists, 29 banks, a state park, a hospital with world-class trauma, burn treatment, cancer center and labor/delivery, five liquor stores, two colleges, one Division 1 university, an art school, culinary school and three professional sports teams.



How many other towns of 8,000 people could boast access to this much in three square miles?



These facts, along with the growth rate, are what will attract real interest from future residents, retailers and developers to reform (yet again) what Downtown Pittsburgh is.



Lucas Piatt, Vice President of Millcraft Industries, is among those bullish on Downtown. Millcraft is renovating the former Lazarus Building into condos, office and retail space. Although most of Millcraft’s development has been in Washington County, Piatt says, “I feel confident that the Golden Triangle, although very compact, can support an additional 5,000-10,000 condo and apartment units” within the next decade.



Through the turn of the millennium, housing stock in the central business district increased through small adaptive re-use projects Downtown or through a couple of large-scale apartment projects like Lincoln on North Shore and Carson Street Commons. In late 2003, the Cultural Trust requested development proposals for what became the Encore on 7th, the first large-scale project started Downtown since the Gateway Towers.



Lincoln Properties was selected to develop the Encore and began construction of the $28 million apartment with Mascaro Construction in August 2004. In April 2006 the building became available, and 135 of the 151 units have been leased by the end of 2006. According to Kevin Keane, Senior Vice President for Lincoln, the building will be stabilized in the first quarter of 2007. “We’re very happy with the project. The interest has been from a broad cross-section of the population. We’ve leased to more 30–45 year-olds than we expected, and most of the leases are with local

people.” Keane estimates that no more than 30% of the leases are with out-of-towners or people moving in from the suburbs.



In April 2006 construction began to get underway in earnest on two more large projects, 151 First Side, an 82-unit high-rise condominium, and The Carlyle, a conversion of the Union National Bank Building on Fourth Avenue into 63 condos. By now, Dietrich says “almost 60% of the 151 First Side units were sold,” including one of the two million-dollar penthouses. Since the buyers of these units have had to put down non-refundable deposits of between 10 to 20% and 100% of the upgrades in advance, it’s unlikely that these buyers will have trouble affording them.

The other significant project getting underway in 2006 was Piatt Place, an adaptive re-use of the Lazarus Building with 65 new condos on the roof, 180,000 square feet of office and 50,000 square feet of retail. “It’s not an easy project,” Lucas Piatt says, “converting a large floor plate retail building into a complex mixed use development with residential, office and retail made it difficult to compose an economical design. We have met the challenge however and feel confident about the projects’ success.”



According to Piatt, “The residential mix changed in design a couple times, but only to

maximize flexibility. The units can be combined vertically for a townhouse design or horizontally for a larger floor plate for the consumers that do not want steps.” Occupancy of the first units will be ready in late 2007, and approximately 20% of the units are already committed.



As much development as has occurred, this decade hasn’t deterred others from making plans to add to the stock. As many as 30 luxury condos will be part of 3 PNC Plaza, which is slated to get underway this year. Former Pittsburgher Guy Totino, of Polaris Real Estate Equities, has announced plans for The Chelsea, a 17-story residential and commercial building with 156 dwelling units in Oakland. Solara Group is moving forward with plans for 14 units at 941 Penn Avenue Downtown, Walnut Capital will put 32 units in the proposed Bakery Square in East Liberty, several developers are starting projects on Mt. Washington, and the Cultural Trust has announced that Concord Eastridge will develop 700 units of housing Downtown over the next decade.



The latter project, known as RiverParc, is planned to be a mixed-use, arts/residential

neighborhood located between the Penn Avenue arts district and the Allegheny River. The $460 million development is expected to bring 9,200 jobs to the region and have an economic impact of more than $1 billion.



Planning on the first phase, which should include about 250 units, is in high gear. The first buildings, probably Building #1 and #6, will be mid-rise, multi-unit condos along Ft. Duquesne Boulevard between Seventh and Eighth Streets, with a parking garage shortly behind them in schedule. The plan is to see those buildings started

by winter 2007.



Hanna’s Schultz, who is part of the team marketing RiverParc, says, “This is going to be a world-class neighborhood. We’re already meeting regularly with designers and marketers from all over the world to design the best project possible.”

The publicity surrounding the award of the development has helped generate broad interest. “I get calls from all over the country about this project every week, from people that have read about it in magazines and who are looking for an urban neighborhood. We’ve been surprised by the number of families interested who expect to have their kids go to one of the local schools, especially if they have a child gifted in the arts.”



No dirt will be flying on RiverParc until late in 2007 but already Hanna Real Estate has well over 100 prospects.



Cultural Trust and Allegheny Conference Chairman James Rohr, CEO of PNC Bank, says the project has “a scope and magnitude unparalleled in the Cultural Trust’s history… bringing Pittsburgh one step closer to the vision set forth by Jack Heinz in the 1960’s to transform an abandoned Downtown into one of the nation’s leading urban arts and residential centers.”



Buying a house in Pittsburgh promises to be more exciting and varied than ever. Within a changing economic base with changing demographics, you can still shop for a house or condo that you can feel confident will grow in value while you pay for it. And if you’re looking for the hottest market, try Pittsburgh’s 89th neighborhood to see what life’s like between the three rivers.NH

[Wheelingman04]

^ Thanks for posting that very informative article.:tup:

[Johnland]

Where in Oakland is THE CHELSEA planned to be built?

[xyagentguy]

Is RiverParc definitely still happening? I really hope they don't downscale it, it is soooo cool.

[AaronPGH]

Is RiverParc definitely still happening? I really hope they don't downscale it, it is soooo cool.

I fired off an email to a couple people at the PG to see if they knew anything about it recently. Hopefully they can dig a little. Does anyone have email addresses for the other people in the cultural trust that might be contacted?

I'm honestly not too worried about this. I keep seeing "late 2007" and "winter 2007" for groundbreaking....it's still 85 degrees out and mid september. Hardly late 2007 yet. I'm with you all though.....getting antsy!!! I want to see this thing start to move!

[Evergrey]

Where in Oakland is THE CHELSEA planned to be built?

On the site of a city-owned metered parking lot at Craig and Centre in Oakland. There was another 17-story residential tower proposed for a location in North Oakland... but I haven't heard anything about either project since last year... and the metered parking lot is still in use.

[Evergrey]

This will be a great addition to the Manchester area... which is currently a "food desert"

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghgrocer0926.aspx

Giant Eagle considering Manchester site on Pittsburgh's North Side

Giant Eagle is pursuing a site on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Located at the intersection of Fulton St. and Western Ave. near the base of the West End Bridge, the 2.3-acre parcel could become home to a much-needed Manchester grocery store, as well as Pittsburgh’s first Giant Eagle Express.

“It’s a new neighborhood grocery concept that’s meant to fit in to urban and rural areas, where there isn’t a big box,” says Dick Roberts, with Roberts Communications. “It varies depending upon the neighborhood and property.” Giant Eagle launched its “express” concept in May in Harmar. The store features a drive-through pharmacy and gas pumps.

Plans for the Giant Eagle Express have been presented to the Manchester Citizens Corporation (MCC). “The store would be between 12,000 and 15,000 square feet, similar to Trader Joe’s in size. It’s a nice hybrid between convenience and their 40,000 square-foot full-service stores,” says Tom Hardy, with MCC. “They came early on and presented their plans. We gave our input and we support a grocery store on that site.”

“They’ve submitted plans and the site has been identified,” adds Roberts, who says that Manchester’s proximity to a highway is similar to the Harmar Express, which is located near Rte. 28. “This site works from a business perspective. It’s so accessible to traffic from outside and inside the neighborhood. The community really wants a grocery store. It’s a no brainer,” adds Hardy, who says that developer Ross Development is requesting traffic pattern changes. “It involves reversing one lane on Fulton. The city is conducting a study that takes into account casino and event traffic.”

The project will be presented to Pittsburgh's zoning board on Sept. 27th.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Sources: Tom Hardy, MCC; Dick Roberts, Roberts Communications

[Evergrey]

The developers of the proposed 800,000 sq. ft. mixed-use "Oakland Portal Project" make another acquisition

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2007/09/24/story12.html?ana=from_rss

Friday, September 21, 2007
Developers add gym building to Oakland Portal properties
Pittsburgh Business Times - by Ben Semmes

The developers of the proposed Oakland Portal project have added another piece of property to their portfolio.

The group, led by Frank Gustine and Ed Pope, partners of Green Tree-based FWG Real Estate Inc., has purchased the Three Rivers Fitness & Sports Medicine Center at 3216 Fifth Ave. for $2.5 million, according to Allegheny County property records.

Pope declined to comment on the acquisition or the group's progress. Gustine did not return calls seeking comment.

Robert Heaps, who purchased the building and founded Three Rivers Fitness there four years ago, confirmed the sale to FWG Real Estate. He said the gym would continue to rent the building from the new owners for some time, although he declined to discuss specific lease terms.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07269/820466-28.stm


Housing prices grow in region

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
By Elwin Green, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Could Pittsburgh's slow-and-steady tortoise of a real estate market be outstripping the hares of the nation's racier markets?

For at least one month, yes.

South Side-based real estate information agency RealSTATs reported that in August, the median price of homes sold in Allegheny County jumped to $125,000, a 15.7 percent increase over the August 2006 median of $108,000. For a five-county area that also includes Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties, the median was $129,900, an 8.2 percent increase over the $120,088 from the year-ago period.

In a market where homes have tended to appreciate at 5 percent or less per year, the numbers are striking, especially in comparison with the national figures reported by the National Association of Realtors. According to the NAR, the national median price for homes sold in August was $224,500, up a mere 0.2 percent from August 2006, when the median was $224,000.

A median is the midpoint of sale prices, meaning that half of the homes sold went for more, and half for less.

The surge in appreciation was accompanied by declines in the number of homes sold. In Allegheny County, 2,022 homes sold last month, a 6.2 percent drop from last year's 2,155.

The five-county total, 3,367, represented a 3.9 percent decrease from the 3,502 sold in August 2006.

But even with those declines, the region outperformed national sales, which fell a whopping 12.8 percent, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.5 million from 6.31 million a year ago. That was the slowest pace of sales since August 2002.

That slowdown in sales pushed the inventory of unsold homes to a record 4.58 million in August. And by that measure also, the Pittsburgh area pulled ahead of the nation last month, with its inventory shrinking rather than rising, according to West Penn Multi-List, which tracks Realtor-assisted real estate activity.

The agency said that in August, there were 32,316 residential units for sale in its coverage area, which includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland counties. That is down 4.38 percent from a year ago, when there were 33,797.

[AaronPGH]

Have there ever been any renderings or more details released on this Oakland Portal mixed use project? I'm not sure if I've ever heard of it. It sounds like something really promising that could help to spill into the hill if it's in the same area I'm thinking it is?

[Evergrey]

Have there ever been any renderings or more details released on this Oakland Portal mixed use project? I'm not sure if I've ever heard of it. It sounds like something really promising that could help to spill into the hill if it's in the same area I'm thinking it is?

This Trib article from Jan. 2006 offered some "general specifics" on the "Oakland Portal Project". It's an office/residential project that may have other elements. It will span Fifth and Forbes at the western portal of Oakland.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_417284.html

It was also mentioned briefly in an article titled something like "A New Generation of Tall Buildings for Oakland" in the Pittsburgh Business Times last year.

[Evergrey]

Here's that Pittsburgh Business Times article I was talking about that mentions major projects proposed for Oakland, including 17-story residential tower "The Chelsea" and the Oakland Portal Project. It was never posted here because last year Bizjournals locked most of their content for subscribers only... but it appears that perhaps the articles become publicly available after a period of time.

Unfortunately, information on most of these projects has been virtually nonexistant since this July 2006 article. The article said the Chelsea should begin construction sometime in 2007, but there are no signs of construction on that site yet. Also gotta love parking czar David Onorato's underwhelming comments about the site lol. The Criag/Centre intersection is truly awful and embarrassing as it is today. The Elmhurst Group project on Bigelow has unfortunately succumbed to the Schenley Farms NIMBY brigade... but they could appeal to the state courts.

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/06/19/story1.html?t=printable

Friday, June 16, 2006

High-rises coming

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Tim Schooley

Guy Totino wants to park something much larger than cars on the public parking lot at the corner of Craig Street and Centre Avenue in North Oakland.

Totino plans to replace the 35-space metered parking lot and five nearby houses with a 17-story, mixed-use development expected to cost between $50 million and $60 million. He said the project, called The Chelsea, is expected to include 156 apartments outfitted with hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances, a parking garage and 9,000 square feet of first-floor "neighborhood-serving" retail space.

"Oakland is obviously a bustling community that's undergoing a huge redevelopment," said Totino, a Duquesne grad and Brookline native pursuing the project through his Cleveland-based Polaris Real Estate Equities LLC.

The proposal is one of a growing number of development projects in Oakland that could bring a new generation of tall buildings to the burgeoning university district. Along with The Chelsea, a similar-sized condo tower is planned nearby. Also, Green Tree-based Fransol LLC soon is expected to announce a major mixed-use project on Oakland's Fifth Avenue that could include between 250,000 and 800,000 square feet of new office space. In addition, Downtown-based The Elmhurst Group is planning a nine-story office building that would front on Bigelow Boulevard.

Polaris already has the five Centre Avenue houses under agreement and is negotiating with the Pittsburgh Parking Authority over acquiring the parking lot. Polaris is also considering acquiring other nearby properties.

Parking Authority director Dave Onorato said the authority is still working to determine the asking price for the property and expects its board to make a decision on the sale within the next few weeks.

Totino emphasized the project will make 35 parking spaces available to the public, with garage parking on three floors.

The public parking lot -- as is typical of most of the authority's surface lots -- is not financially self-supporting, Onorato said.

"Sometimes the development of an area is better use than a surface parking lot," Onorato said. "We'll look to see if that's the case with this one."

Totino hopes to establish control of the parcel within 90 days and begin construction on the project sometime next year.

The Bellefield Area Citizens Association, a local community group which recently got a preview of the Polaris project, likes what it has seen so far.

Dan Rossi, BACA's board president and associate executive director of United Cerebral Palsy of Pittsburgh, a nonprofit located near Polaris' planned development, said his organization has one minor issue with the project: plans to include four-bedroom units that could function as student housing and might deter other residents from moving in. The Chelsea is likely to include two- and three-bedroom units, as well.

But Rossi praised the developer's plan for the site and for meeting with BACA early in the process.

"Overall, we're really excited," he said.

Rossi added that the "value of land in North Oakland has gone up dramatically and that really is a prime corner. Its current status as a metered lot is dreadfully underused."

The Baum-Centre Planning Initiative, a two-year community planning process establishing development guidelines for an area stretching from North Oakland to East Liberty, calls for high-density residential development in the area, Totino said. He credited city councilman Bill Peduto for spearheading the Baum-Centre plan and helping to create a vision for the area.

"He's been instrumental in introducing the project to the neighborhood groups," Totino said.

Rossi noted the Polaris project would be comparable in scale to other projects proposed nearby. Within the same block as the Polaris proposal, Springdale-based R.E. Crawford Construction has acquired six single-family houses and has sought zoning approval to redevelop the site into a 17-story condominium development, with 56 units expected to cost more than $300,000 each, said Rossi, whose organization has met with R.E. Crawford officials. R.E. Crawford declined comment on the project.

Also in the vicinity, Downtown-based Elmhurst Group plans a 140,000-square-foot office building on what is now a parking lot of the First Baptist Church of Pittsburgh.

"We're happy to see these higher-end places going in," Rossi said.

He added that the parking lot Totino plans to develop on Centre Avenue was previously occupied by an apartment building decades ago.

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



All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.

[Johnland]

That corner in Oakland at Craig and Centre is deplorable. What's unbelievable is that crappy car park has been there since the 80's when I lived on Dithridge St one block over. I mean that site is just blocks from two major universities, etc. I just don't understand the dynamics of real estate enough to figure out why a corner that should a choice site is evidently not worth the investment to take it up to a higher use.

[AaronPGH]

Thanks Evergrey...so all we have is basic stuff on it. This has a lot of potential though. I can't wait to see what might happen there. :cool:

[Rufus]

Hopefully it gets built. Centre Ave as it is now is an awkward mix of large apartment buildings and suburban style crap (CVS, pep boys and marriott's stupid parking lot that fronts that little triangular park).:yuck: It'd be nice to see that stretch from Oakland to E. Liberty densify.

I was driving down there the other day and noticed that the GE (dirty bird) next to that lot closed.:( Probably happened a while ago; I haven't been near there in about a year.

[Brentsters]

I haven't seen any news about it but I saw that they just added a bike lane to the downtown side of the Birmingham Bridge with blue lane markings. That, plus the Hot Metal Bike Bridge which should be nearing completion, is going to make it a lot easier to get to the South Side by bike. Now if they can do something about Fifth/Forbes for travel between Downtown and Oakland

At the least, it's encouraging that a lot of pro-bike improvements have been made over the last year.

[GeneW]

Theres an article about the new bike lanes on the Birmingham Bridge in Bike Pittsburgh Today:

Birmingham Bridge is getting bike lanes! (http://bike-pgh.org/news/blog/2007/09/27/birmingham-bridge-is-getting-bike-lanes/)

[Evergrey]

Some tidbits from this Friday's Pittsburgh Business Times:

1. An article about how the national credit crunch may affect local developers. FWG Real Estate mentioned they are still going ahead with their 12-unit condo on the South Side as well as the mysterious Oakland Portlal Project, a "large mixed-use development".

2. The Port of Pittsburgh Commission is channeling millions in dollars in low-interest loans to developers. The first of these loans was to Ferchill, who is building the 150k sq. ft. spec web lab Bridgeside II at the Tech Park.

3. Three projects in Allegheny County are vying for LEED's new "Green Neighborhood" certificiation. These include Riverparc in the Cultural District, Mellon's Orchards South in East Liberty and River's Edge in Oakmont. These are the only projects in Pennsylvania that are applying for LEED's new neighborhood certification. Criteria include proxmity to transit, preservation of natural features and project density. Concord Eastridge is planning a complete redevelopment of Downtown's Eighth St. block featuring 700 condos, 159k sq. ft of retail/restaurants, parks, public art and riverfront connections. East Liberty Development is beginning construction of Mellon's Orchards South in 2009 or 2010. It is a revamp of Garland Park and 9 acres of abandoned parking lots and buildings. It includes 79-85 residential units. Rothschild Doyno is pursuing River's Edge at Oakmont along the Allegheny on the former Edgewater Steel site. This 28-acre development will include 170 residential units. Construction will begin next spring.

[Evergrey]

just found this Associated Press article from a few weeks ago about Point Park University's Downtown Master Plan

http://www.uli.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=101813

Growth Makes Point Park Big Player in Pittsburgh Development

The Associated Press
September 2, 2007


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 Pittsburgh'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 this 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.

Mariann Geyer, Point Park vice president for institutional advancement, told city Urban Redevelopment Authority board members last 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.

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. 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, 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.

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, 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.

[Smoker]

This will be a great addition to the Manchester area... which is currently a "food desert"

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pittsburghgrocer0926.aspx

Giant Eagle considering Manchester site on Pittsburgh's North Side

Giant Eagle is pursuing a site on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Located at the intersection of Fulton St. and Western Ave. near the base of the West End Bridge, the 2.3-acre parcel could become home to a much-needed Manchester grocery store, as well as Pittsburgh’s first Giant Eagle Express.

“It’s a new neighborhood grocery concept that’s meant to fit in to urban and rural areas, where there isn’t a big box,” says Dick Roberts, with Roberts Communications. “It varies depending upon the neighborhood and property.” Giant Eagle launched its “express” concept in May in Harmar. The store features a drive-through pharmacy and gas pumps.

Plans for the Giant Eagle Express have been presented to the Manchester Citizens Corporation (MCC). “The store would be between 12,000 and 15,000 square feet, similar to Trader Joe’s in size. It’s a nice hybrid between convenience and their 40,000 square-foot full-service stores,” says Tom Hardy, with MCC. “They came early on and presented their plans. We gave our input and we support a grocery store on that site.”

“They’ve submitted plans and the site has been identified,” adds Roberts, who says that Manchester’s proximity to a highway is similar to the Harmar Express, which is located near Rte. 28. “This site works from a business perspective. It’s so accessible to traffic from outside and inside the neighborhood. The community really wants a grocery store. It’s a no brainer,” adds Hardy, who says that developer Ross Development is requesting traffic pattern changes. “It involves reversing one lane on Fulton. The city is conducting a study that takes into account casino and event traffic.”

The project will be presented to Pittsburgh's zoning board on Sept. 27th.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Sources: Tom Hardy, MCC; Dick Roberts, Roberts Communications


Giant Eagle Express is very expensive for nothing special.

[xyagentguy]

Giant Eagle Express is very expensive for nothing special.
Giant Eagle isn't that expensive. I worked for the company for many years and had to go to many seminars and meetings, etc. Giant Eagle's long-term goal is to get to 11 cents off of Walmart. So if something cost $1 at Walmart it would cost $1.11 at Giant Eagle. Believe it or not, they get closer to that goal every year. For every so many millions of dollars in re-negotiations and cost-savings with their suppliers, budgeting, and balancing, they automatically lower prices. It's happened several times in the last couple years and is sometimes quite advertised, but often not.

If you compare things to Walmart you will always think the other place is expensive. No company in the entire world can out-price Walmart/Sam's. To even try, or have that as a goal, is fiscal suicide. At least Giant Eagle is realistic.

I would much, much, rather pay a few extra cents or dollars at Target or Giant Eagle and have a superior shopping experience than to step foot into those dirty, disgusting, company-hijacking, cement slabs known as Walmart.

[Johnland]

from this picture I found on flickr, it definitely looks close to where the station will be.
Image courtesey of wyliepoon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wyliepoon/)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1335/1394313547_3db491246d_o.jpg

What is the light brown building on the far left of the photo, right where the elevated highway splits off into two directions?

[Evergrey]

an enormous parking garage... it was completed a couple years ago... and for once... I actually like this garage... it's a great use for that otherwise useless parcel that is surrounded by elevated highways... and the cladding is relatively attractive

[Johnland]

Wow. If I had to actually ask what that building is, and it turns out to be a garage, I am impressed. That's how a damn garage should be done. Build the thing so it doesn't scream parking garage.

Thanks Evergrey for the info. This site is my link to Pittsburgh!

[Evergrey]

speaking of the North Shore... here is a KDKA video about the Port Authority purchasing the site of Sportsworks (which is a HIDEOUS building) for 5 million dollars... it will be demolished in a year for PAT's North Shore Connector project. The LRT will be elevated at that point. The Carnegie Institute will build a new Sportsworks adjacent to the Carnegie Science Center.

http://kdka.com/video/?id=32361@kdka.dayport.com

[xyagentguy]

Did everyone see how in the preliminary write-up of the debate between the mayor and his opponent they both agreed that the North Shore Connector project is a waste of money.

Uh.. then why is it happening???

[Johnland]

Because in theory, mass transit should be a beneficial thing.

In practice, however, we all know it's not necessarily exactly true.

Given that the cost is approx. $400M (I may be off, but round to the nearest hundred million) I ask this forum for suggestions of better ways for Pittsburgh to spend $400M. With all the creative minds tuned in to this site, I'd love to see the possibilities.

I'll start off. I'd say that one better way to spend $400M would've been to still build light rail transit, only I would've directed it east from Downtown, through the Hill District and on to Oakland at least, possibly on in to Shadyside, East Lib or Sq. Hill. This would've connected the Hill better to the two great urban neighborhoods on its borders - corporate and retail oriented Downtown to the west, and the civic heart of the city with education and culture in Oakland to the east. The Hill has been dealt shabby blows over the course of Pittsburgh's urban renewal history, I feel, and a transit line would allowthe residents there to gain access to other areas of the city.

A transit line from downtown to Oakland also makes sense for Oakland since it is a job hub and a student environment. Both reasons make it a perfect fit for mass transit.

[Grego43]

Good points ^^^

[Grego43]

BULLSEYE Johnland!

Building to the North Shore IS a waste of money. Yes, everyone says it the first step in a link to the airport...my ass. There is zero long-term planning at the Port Authority. Many cities of similar or smaller size have new rail systems with MUCH greater ridership because the lines go where people want to and need to go. They don't build "sexy" subways with the exception of St. Louis, where they used old railroad tunnels. $435 million to go 1.2 miles to two stadia...WTF?

Daily Ridership/ Miles of Track
Portland, Or - 102,400/ 50
St. Louis, MO 62,800/ 46
Sacramento, CA 49,800 /36.9
Salt Lake, UT 42,500/ 19
Minneapolis, MN 26,900/ 12
PITTSBURGH 23,800/ 25

[Johnland]

BULLSEYE Johnland!

Building to the North Shore IS a waste of money. Yes, everyone says it the first step in a link to the airport...my ass. There is zero long-term planning at the Port Authority. Many cities of similar or smaller size have new rail systems with MUCH greater ridership because the lines go where people want to and need to go. They don't build "sexy" subways with the exception of St. Louis, where they used old railroad tunnels. $435 million to go 1.2 miles to two stadia...WTF?

Daily Ridership/ Miles of Track
Portland, Or - 102,400/ 50
St. Louis, MO 62,800/ 46
Sacramento, CA 49,800 /36.9
Salt Lake, UT 42,500/ 19
Minneapolis, MN 26,900/ 12
PITTSBURGH 23,800/ 25

You just made me realize another factor that places an eastern line over the north shore line, and that is number of riders as you point out above. Pittsburgh would probably see double the ridership if they incorporated an eastern line to Oakland. For a just a few miles more (and with no tunnel needed) they'd connect the 3rd larget urban hub in the state (Oakland) to the 2nd largest (downtown). So more bang for the buck in regards to ridership. And I still see a transit line as a way of building up the Hill economically by giving residents more transportation options.

I see you're in South Florida. Here in Tampa, the transit plans are again making the rounds in discussion phases. We habe no rail at all. Apparantly only Tampa and Detroit are among the large metro with none. Pittsburgh at least has a system in place. Pittsburgh also has an asset right now that would compliment an eastern line - the dense urban development needed to support a line. Tampa wants and desperately needs transit alternatives, but the metro is so sparsely developed in far flung centered all over the place, it makes planning a transit line difficult. Pittsburgh is so dense and compact, that part is in place. Now if the government could just plan and execute correctly.......oops, that part is seems to be in question.

[themaguffin]

East would have been better, even best, but they got the Federal money for another direction and that's done. This will allow access to that side of the river and options for the airport etc.

The problem is that there should be specific plans so that different lines and extensions are in some stage of development.

When they started digging in the 80's, preparation should have been happening for Oakland or elsewhere.

[Grego43]

What steams me more than the lack of long-range planning is poor planning for projects both in Pittsburgh, and here in Florida. The Port Authority and other supporters of the North Shore project never mention that getting this line to the airport will require another river crossing...doh! At the rate at which the Port Authority is going in planning and building the NSC, they ought to reach the airport sometime around 2050...seriously.

Oh yeah, I forgot to list Denver.

Daily ridership/Miles of Track
Denver 60,400/35

Want to know how cities with real planning do it check out Denver's FasTracks plan: http://www.rtd-fastracks.com/main_26


What is FasTracks?
FasTracks is RTD's 12-year comprehensive plan to build and operate high-speed rail lines and expand and improve bus service and park-n-Rides throughout the region.FasTracks includes:

119 miles of new light rail and commuter rail
18 miles of bus rapid transit service
21,000 new parking spaces at rail and bus stations
Expanded bus service in all areasFasTracks provides many ways to ride a bus or train.

Drive to a park-n-Ride and get on a bus or train
Take a bus to a rail station
Walk to a bus or rail station
Ride your bike to transit stations and store your bike in lockers and racks or take it with you on buses and trainsWake up Port Authority!

[Rufus]

I kind of think of the Hill district as a lost cause, but I've never been there. Is it really worth having a rail line going through it? And say it were to go up Centre Ave. How would the line swing back down to Oakland? There aren't really any streets that go down the Hill that it could follow. It's just hard for me to visualize given the topography of the area.

I've thought the best location for a subway would be up Fifth from Steel Plaza into Oakland, then onto Craig connecting with the existing busway, continuing on to Shadyside/East Liberty/Homewood/Wilkinsburg. And possibly a spur off Fifth onto Forbes to Squirel Hill/Regent Square/Swissvale, etc.

[Johnland]

The Hill should not be a lost cause. Geographically, it posesses an asset of unreproducable quality - it is the only neighborhood, except for the Strip District, that is contiguous with Downtown. As Downtown improves, that would have to count for something positve for the Hill.

I too would see 5th Ave as the logical route for a transit line. It would connect the Lower Hill and Duquense University to Oakland.

[Smoker]

The Hill is the only place left for downtown to expand to unless you include the Strip. I believe it will steadily improve. Look what's happening now in East Liberty and North Side. They're more desirable now than they have been for how many decades?

About the subway to N. Side. I was always suspicious that it got approved because Mayor Murphy lived there. It made no sense to do that. Stupid!

[BMikeSci]

The hill is a great bit of real estate. Centrally located between Oakland and the Downtown, it is the best located neighborhood in the PGH MSA. The locals there have been trying as hard as possible for years to stop or control development on the hill, since they don't want a gentrified hill. The universities, for example,would love to gobble up the whole of it. I am not sympathetic about this subject. Development there would greatly boost the whole city. It is or should be an important part of the new renaissance. PGH has many many low cost neighborhoods. I don't think that anyone forced out by higher prices would suffer. There are too many other neighborhoods in the PGH MSA that could easily accommodate low income residents. Current owners should be able to make good profits if this area is properly developed. Smart renters should buy there. Some houses there sell for thousands, not tens or hundreds of thousands. If the political climate of the hill ever changes to being friendly to development, the hill should really prosper. I'm not holding my breath waiting however.

[Smoker]

Giant Eagle isn't that expensive. I worked for the company for many years and had to go to many seminars and meetings, etc. Giant Eagle's long-term goal is to get to 11 cents off of Walmart. So if something cost $1 at Walmart it would cost $1.11 at Giant Eagle. Believe it or not, they get closer to that goal every year. For every so many millions of dollars in re-negotiations and cost-savings with their suppliers, budgeting, and balancing, they automatically lower prices. It's happened several times in the last couple years and is sometimes quite advertised, but often not.

If you compare things to Walmart you will always think the other place is expensive. No company in the entire world can out-price Walmart/Sam's. To even try, or have that as a goal, is fiscal suicide. At least Giant Eagle is realistic.

I would much, much, rather pay a few extra cents or dollars at Target or Giant Eagle and have a superior shopping experience than to step foot into those dirty, disgusting, company-hijacking, cement slabs known as Walmart.

Giant Eagle *EXPRESS* is very expensive. Regular Giant Eagles are more expensive than WalMart. but not by much, and their food quality is much better. I went to Giant Eagle Express to get a pound of roast beef in their deli and it was $8.99. That's twice what WalMart charges and $3 - $4 more than what it costs in a regular GE.

Their plans for Express stores was in the paper last year. First was Harmer, then North Side and McKees Rocks/West End. In other words, poor and distressed areas where they'll pretty much have a monopoly and can charge whatever they want. You can make more money in a ghetto because so many people can't get out of it and everyone needs food. They'll have to pay more if they want that convenience.

I've never been to a Target but hope it has to be above WalMart in quality and sell food and gas? A Target is building right now on the same lot as GE's Express store in Harmarville. Their Get Go Gas is right across the street from an Exxon and they have like a gas war going on. The Harmar Get Go is usually the cheapest gas price in Pgh.

[BMikeSci]

The lower hill will very likely be developed. The Penguins have the option to develop the acreage from the old Mellon arena. They have to develop a certain amount each year starting three years hence or lose the option. This area is slated to have mixed use development - residential housing, retail stores, and offices. No doubt, this development will be subject to the same sort of political extortion we've been seeing with the new arena, but I'm pretty sure it will occur. The upper hill is another story all together. I was heartened to hear earlier this year that University of PGH was expanding in the hill with a new sports field. Ravenstahl's people worked really hard for that to happen. It''s a step in the right direction, but I'm not too hopeful about much more of the same.

[AaronPGH]

It's absolutely impossible for the hill to remain in the state it currently is. It will be developed. It's completely surrounded by great neighborhoods. All it's going to take is someone lighting a match and throwing it in there, then we'll see it blow up.

[Johnland]

I see there is alot of optimism for the Hill, although perhaps somewhat conditional, and understandably so. As pointed out, the Hill is both a fantastic location, but not necessarily the best neighborhood it could be. Should population growth ever go into the positive, you will see increased interest in the Hill as a development area.