PITTSBURGH | Rundown [Archive] - Page 34

marinog

01-12-2008, 12:54 PM

http://www.pittsburghpostgazette.com/pg/08012/848703-55.stm

East Carson Street to be upgraded
2-year effort secures funding for improvements at SouthSide Works
Saturday, January 12, 2008
By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After two years of trying, the city has cobbled together a complex $15 million financial package to upgrade about one mile of congested East Carson Street/Route 837 near the SouthSide Works development.

Construction is to begin this fall to widen the street to four lanes and provide turning lanes at seven signalized intersections from 25th Street to a half-mile west of Becks Run Road. The project also will mean new sidewalks, street lights, trees and landscaping.

Pennsylvania U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey are to hold a news conference Monday morning at the SouthSide Works Cinema to announce $1,225,000 in special federal funding to complete the financial package.

While the money represents less than 10 percent of the cost, "it's an important piece of the pie," said John Coyne, engineering and construction director for the city Urban Redevelopment Authority, which is donating two acres at the old brownfield site to provide right-of-way for the widening.

"We wanted to do this work in 2006," he said, "but we were unable to come up with sufficient federal funds" in the region's Transportation Improvement Program, which governs highway, bridge and transit spending.

The URA's land donation will count toward the local share of costs, as will the replacement of an old 20-inch water main by the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. Another $3 million will come from the Governor's Economic Development Discretionary Fund.

The URA paid the 20 percent local share used to match 80 percent federal money spent to design and engineer the project.

Officials said the East Carson Street widening will improve safety for pedestrians as well as help with traffic on the busy thoroughfare, where economic development has mushroomed over the past four years.

Joe Grata can be reached at jgrata@post-gazette.com.

Evergrey

01-12-2008, 12:56 PM

little rundown of development news:

1. Salvation Army buys $3.3M Carnegie site for HQ move

Vacating Downtown building for a "high profile suburban" site along Parkway West. Downtown HQ building (9 stories, 85,000 sq. ft.) is being marketed for sale by CB Richard Ellis.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_547056.html

2. Ambridge Area: New high school 'bright' 'beautiful', up to date

Ambridge replaced their 80-year old high school.

http://www.ambridge.k12.pa.us/hsschool/Pictures/SchFront2.jpg
from Ambridge school district website

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08010/847973-57.stm

3. Brownfield site renewal may revitalize Haysville

Haysville is a tiny town (pop. 78) along the Ohio River near Sewickley. They are developing for brownfield for what appears to be light manufacturing uses.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08010/847948-54.stm

4. Not so fast, Paul Bunyan

Some are alarmed by city's haste in cutting down 'hazardous' trees

The city has an ambitious tree removal plan that has stirred up much controversy, particularly in the 14th ward, which includes Squirrel Hill and Point Breeze. This area has the most street trees in the city and would see a removal of 555 trees deemed as liabilities due to structural damage.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08012/848706-53.stm

5. Progress seen in Hill-arena talks

City and Penguins have pledged $2 million towards neighborhood grocery.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08012/848760-53.stm

6. Prosit! German-style beer hall OK'd for SouthSide Works

Friday, January 11, 2008
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When the Cincinnati Reds played at home, owners of the Hofbrauhaus, a German-style beer hall in nearby Newport, Ky., noticed that business was very good. But when the Pirates came to town, they found business to be even better.

Thus, the seeds were planted to build only the third Hofbrauhaus in the United States, in Pittsburgh at the SouthSide Works.

After lengthy delays, including concerns about the impact of Allegheny County's recently enacted 10 percent drink tax, the city Urban Redevelopment Authority board cleared the way yesterday for construction of the restaurant, which will be built behind the Cheesecake Factory, facing the Monongahela River.

The other Hofbrauhaus is in Las Vegas.

At one time, officials hoped to open the Pittsburgh Hofbrauhaus, which will feature a brew pub and an outdoor beer garden, by spring 2006. Now they are shooting for an opening in late October or early November.

Nick Ellison, managing member of Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh LLC, said the project was held up by a number of issues. One involved disclosures required by the federal government. Another was delays in getting the site it wanted in the SouthSide Works.

Mr. Ellison said the $3.8 million project also was nearly derailed by the county's 10 percent drink tax, which caused some investors to become skittish and forced Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh LLC to restructure its financing.

"We're going ahead, but we're concerned about it," Mr. Ellison said.

The South Side Hofbrauhaus will feature bench-style seating for about 600 people indoors and another 400 outside. It and the two others are patterned after Munich's famous Hofbrauhaus, which was founded in the late 16th century.

Mr. Ellison said about 99 percent of the beer consumed there will be brewed on the premises. Beer will be served in one liter and half-liter glass mugs. The menu will feature authentic German food as well as standard American fare like sandwiches and salads.

The restaurant will employ about 200 people and have a $2 million payroll.

The board also accepted a $600,000 state Growing Greener II grant to be used for the Carlyle condominium project Downtown, despite concerns by state Sen. Jim Ferlo, a board member, about whether prevailing wages were being paid and about union participation in the development. The grant will be used to replace a utility vault.

David W. Bishoff, president of Columbus, Ohio-based E.V. Bishoff Co., the developer, said he did not know if prevailing wages were being paid, but added that would be determined by a state audit required as part of the grant.

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

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08011/848352-55.stm

chiaroscuro

01-12-2008, 06:08 PM

Hey dude: Click on the link right above that rendering that says "Media Kit". It opens as a PDF and is larger and readable.

Dude, I did!! Enlarged it and everything. Got my glasses on too. Can't read a thing! Oh well...

PA Pride

01-12-2008, 06:55 PM

Chiaro: well, on second look you're right: it is pretty much unreadable.

Evergrey

01-13-2008, 02:06 AM

here's some development related photos I took today...

1. Montrose Exchange - East Liberty

http://www.pbase.com/image/91575742.jpg

I just found this link related to this development. It will feature an Indigo Hotel.

http://www.cbre.com/USA/US/PA/Pittsburgh+Partner/property/MontroseExchange

http://www.cbre.com/NR/rdonlyres/15B6B8A3-D5AF-4429-A30A-C8940ACFF92A/519262/headpagegraphic.gif

BROCHURE (http://www.cbre.com/NR/rdonlyres/15B6B8A3-D5AF-4429-A30A-C8940ACFF92A/522724/MontroseExchangeBrochure.pdf)

http://www.cbre.com/NR/rdonlyres/15B6B8A3-D5AF-4429-A30A-C8940ACFF92A/520855/developmentplanimage1.gif

http://www.cbre.com/NR/rdonlyres/15B6B8A3-D5AF-4429-A30A-C8940ACFF92A/520845/existingconditionslarge.jpg

2. Bakery Square - Larimer

Major mixed-use development

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/91575744.jpg

http://www.bakery-square.com/

3. Bedford Hill expansion - Hill District

This is the continuation of one of the major residential developments that have been taking place in the Hill District.

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/91575746.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/91575749.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/91575753.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/91575756.jpg

4. Greyhound garage - Downtown

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/91575758.jpg

5. some new houses on Mt. Washington's Aline St.

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/91576172.jpg

PA Pride

01-13-2008, 03:04 AM

Good update Evergrey. Thanks!

Evergrey

01-13-2008, 03:10 AM

Grubb & Ellis 2008 market forecasts (http://www.grubb-ellis.com/research/forecast2008/reports.htm):

Office: 2008 will see a tightening CBD joining its suburban counerparts as markets with a reduced number of large blocks of space.

Industrial: A quick comparison of statistics between year-end 2006 and 2007 indicates 2007 was an eventful year for the Pittsburgh industrial market.

Retail: Concerns over the collapse of the subprime loan market have not yet
significantly reduced consumer confidence in the region. Improved
employment levels are forecasted over the next two years, supporting
gains in personal income which will sustain growth in retail activity.

JackStraw

01-13-2008, 04:05 AM

I wonder if the theater/nightclub is going to seriously get built. This would be a real good thing if that could come to the north shore.

Thanks for those pics evergrey. I just drove through the hill for the first time in a long time today. Wow, I am amazed by all the new residentail projects going up there.

Urbandesigndev-excellent find on those renderings on liberty.

Johnland

01-13-2008, 01:00 PM

here's some development related photos I took today...

5. some new houses on Mt. Washington's Aline St.

http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/91576172.jpg

I really love the clean, contemporary design of these townhomes. I've noticed that this style has been a part of the new developments here and there in Pittsburgh. Just one of the urban aspects about Pittsburgh that make it a cut above ( a big cut above) places like Tampa. There is that mix of modern set against older, established styles - they all work to make a rich urban fabric.

Evergrey

01-13-2008, 01:17 PM

here's a great column by Brian O'Neill about the Hill District's revitalization... for those who like to throw around terms like "cesspool"

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08013/848640-155.stm

The Hill District's destiny

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Robert R. Lavelle has been saying for more than a half-century that the Hill District is the most valuable land in the city, and now some big players are seeing things his way.

Mr. Lavelle is 92 and says, "If you ever heard about God's grace, I am the chief recipient.'' Well, maybe, but hundreds of homeowners are on the Hill because, starting in the 1950s, Mr. Lavelle found a way to get them mortgages when the banks were redlining blacks right out of the American dream.

Imagine "It's A Wonderful Life'' with Denzel Washington taking the Jimmy Stewart role, and that's what Mr. Lavelle has done for Pittsburgh through his real estate firm and The Dwelling House Savings & Loan Association since the 1950s.

This town has hosted no shortage of Mr. Potters, of course, and one of the biggest development schemes to come out of corporate groupthink was no blessing to Mr. Lavelle's neighborhood. Clearing the way for the Civic Arena in the late 1950s meant leveling 80 blocks in the lower Hill, taking more than 400 businesses and the homes of more than 8,000 people, and leading the great Frank Bolden to sum it up with this Pittsburgh Courier headline: "Urban Renewal Means Negro Removal.''

This time, with a new arena coming, the city, county and the arena's chief tenant, the Penguins, are taking a wiser course. Building on the comeback the Hill has been making for the past 15 years, government and neighborhood leaders announced after a long Friday meeting that the Penguins will match a $1 million contribution from the city to entice a supermarket to the Hill. If it turns out a supermarket isn't viable, the Penguins still intend to invest in the community.

"We recognize that when the arena was built 50 years ago, there was a great injustice to the residents of the Hill,'' Penguins President David Morehouse said a day before the announcement. "We want to make sure, this time, we, the city and the county address in a reasonable way the needs of the area around the arena."

There remains no binding agreement. Though both sides hailed progress, game faces stayed on. Talks could yet break down. But a supermarket, if it arrives, would signal like nothing before it the Hill's comeback.

The timing made it seem the Penguins were reacting only to Hill leaders turning up pressure, but Mr. Morehouse insists the organization has been looking at this a long time. Given that the billionaire co-owner, Ron Burkle, made his fortune buying and selling supermarket chains, that's believable.

Giant Eagle has the Hill surrounded. With stores on the near North Side, South Side and Shadyside, the Iggle already captures most of the Hill's grocery money and would be an unlikely candidate to build there. But competition would be nice.

As hard as it may be for hockey fans to believe, reknitting Downtown with a strengthened residential neighborhood would mean more for Pittsburgh than any Stanley Cup. Those who think they know the Hill by driving in and out of Western Pennsylvania's largest park-for-pay lot, or by skirting the neighborhood's southern edge along Fifth Avenue, have been missing a major transformation.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority has pumped $242 million in housing money into the Hill since 1990, resulting in roughly 1,900 new homes, both for sale and for rent. Old housing projects have been razed and new homes are still going up, with subsidized units blending with market-rate. That has worked remarkably well, as $1,400 rents on some high-end townhouses attest.

Put the supermarket across from Hill House and someone driving along Centre Avenue from Downtown would pass nothing but new development for blocks. With Duquesne University descending the Bluff to Forbes Avenue, UPMC investing in Mercy Hospital, the Penguins ready to develop 28 acres once Mellon Arena comes down, and new Downtown residents looking for a place to buy Cheerios, the prospects for a Hill supermarket are the best they've been in 40 years.

That's not to say the store's success, or even its opening, is a lock. Thousands of poor people live on the Hill, and residents of Oakmont can tell you even a prosperous community can lose its supermarket.

Driving to Mr. Lavelle's office late Friday morning, I came across stretches of Centre Avenue that are pretty bleak. The intersection with Kirkpatrick, famed for open-air drug sales, came as advertised, with police having some suspects handcuffed against a car.

For some, that defines the Hill. But men such as Robert Lavelle have long spurned that narrow view, and he's lived long enough to see others saying what he's said forever: The Hill is strategically located between Downtown and Oakland, with some spectacular views. A person can walk anywhere -- maybe, some year soon, to the grocery store.

Brian O'Neill can be reached at boneill@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1947.

PA Pride

01-13-2008, 04:35 PM

^Yeah, Evergrey. I had no idea so much money has been being spent in the hill district until i was talking to you the other day. $242 million since 1990? That's a lot.

guyFROMtheBURGH

01-13-2008, 04:43 PM

Long time reader, first time poster...i love this site and thanks so much for all your posts, many intrigue me.:tup:

recently i took a walk along the north shore and simply loved it. then last night i just stumbled upon this reading and we made 9th in the nation. i consider that rather impressive!
9. Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has just three walkable places, according to Leinberger. But downtown Pittsburgh, Oakland and the South Side are shared by just 2.37 million people in the metro area; compare that to St. Louis, where nearly 2.8 million folks share just two walkable sections. Downtown Pittsburgh is served by a subway, boasts a number of performing arts venues and includes the Strip District, with its produce markets, cafes, restaurants and nightclubs, and a boardwalk along the river.

CAPATeach

01-13-2008, 06:04 PM

I think it's great that we made 9th in the nation in this walkability study, but if the writer suggests that we only have 3 walkable areas, I really disagree with this. Think about Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Greenfield, Mt. Washington, etc. You could live in any of these neighborhoods (and many more) and be able to walk to get pretty much all of your daily necessities.

hyperion1110

01-14-2008, 01:10 AM

Evergrey

01-14-2008, 01:23 AM

concerning that "walkability" ranking... if you check out the methodology... it's basically a ranking of how many "walkable" mixed-use neo-urbanist developments a metro has... it tends to give weight to places like SouthSide Works... as opposed to real walkable neighborhoods that Pittsburgh has in abundance. There was a huge and volatile discussion about this confusing and controversial study here: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=142297

The City of Pittsburgh ranks 2nd amongst major cities for % commuters that walk to work. We rank behind Boston with 12.4% walking to work according to Census 2007 figures (a 2.4% increase over 2000).
http://bike-pgh.org/news/blog/2007/10/01/commuting-trends-in-pittsburgh-how-do-we-rank/#more-637

xyagentguy

01-14-2008, 02:23 AM

Can someone smarter than I explain the Grubb & Ellis reports? Was it a good year for Pittsburgh in 2007? Is a good year expected for 2008?

lol.

themaguffin

01-14-2008, 05:23 PM

I haven't seen the reports in a few months, but go to Grubb and Ellis' website and look at the market reports (they office, retail and manufacturing I believe) They are updated on a quarterly level, but are very detailed, considering that they are not huge reports.

Evergrey

01-14-2008, 06:40 PM

Soffer outlines additional plans for SouthSide Works growth... including more retail space... btw, American Eagle's new concept Aerie is filling the vacant space left by the short-lived Kenneth Cole

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_547413.html

Developer lauds E. Carson Street project

By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, January 14, 2008

South Side Works developer R. Damian Soffer expects a $12.5 million project that will widen a section of East Carson Street to be good for his business.
"We are pushing more ahead with rental properties on top of our retail," said Soffer, president and CEO of The Soffer Organization, which owns the $300 million mixed-use development.

During an announcement of the widening project today held in South Side Works Cinema, Soffer said he wants to add an additional 100,000 square feet of retail space and as many residential lofts as the market can bear. The South Side Works has about 675,000 square feet of office space, stores restaurants and housing.

"Pittsburgh is truly under-retailed and under-restauranted," Soffer said, adding that he's receiving increased interest from retailers and restaurant owners who are recognizing Pittsburgh's untapped purchasing power.

Widening the street along the three-quarters of a mile stretch will help more people reach shops at the South Side Works, Soffer said.
U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Arlen Specter joined Soffer, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato this morning to announce that $1.2 million in federal money had been earmarked for the widening project.

"I think this will improve things, because right now, one of the biggest problems on East Carson is gridlock," Onorato said.

Funding for the widening breaks down this way: $3 million will come from Gov. Ed Rendell's economic development fund; $6.5 million from various federal transportation sources; $2 million from the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority; and $1 million from the city Urban Redevelopment Authority, said John Coyne, director of engineering and construction at the URA.

Work to widen East Carson from 25th Street to 33rd Street is expected to begin in early fall and conclude in 2010, Coyne said. The road will go from two lanes to four lanes -- two in each direction -- with turning lanes at seven traffic lights in the widened section.

"We think it will improve the capacity somewhat, it will certainly improve safety at those intersections," said Coyne. He doesn't expect major detours during construction because the widening will be done on one side at a time, allowing traffic to flow on one lane in both directions.

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

PittPanther23

01-15-2008, 01:30 AM

Hey there everyone, long-time reader here who finally decided to sign-up. You guys have provided me with so much information and I hope I can help contribute.

I'm a Pitt student from the Mon Valley who would like to stay in the area upon gradutation. I love it here, and I want to be part of Pittsburgh's Renaissance. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on the goings-on in Oakland.

UrbaniDesDev

01-15-2008, 05:16 AM

Welcome PittPanther!

Evergrey

01-15-2008, 09:41 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08015/849271-336.stm

Casino design gets planning commission's go-ahead

Panel gives unanimous approval despite design community's objections to North Shore slots parlor

Tuesday, January 15, 2008
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200801/20080115asloccasino3_500.jpg
Andy Starnes/Post-Gazette
Michael Stern, a casino architect with Strada LLC, holds a sample of the decorative screening that will be used on the side of the Majestic Star casino's parking garage that faces the Ohio River

The city planning commission handed Don Barden another big victory yesterday, approving design plans for his $450 million North Shore casino and a controversial parking garage to be built behind it.

In doing so, the commission turned aside objections from the Riverlife Task Force and others in the local design community who feared the garage could overwhelm the sleek glass and steel riverfront Majestic Star casino and mar views of the city's skyline.

The unanimous approval came after representatives for Mr. Barden, the casino owner, argued that he had made concession after concession in an effort to appease critics and get the project off the ground.

In response to criticism of the garage, which will be nearly twice the height of the casino, Mr. Barden reached a deal with Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato to install decorative screening on the south facade, facing the Ohio River, at a cost of $1 million.

The city's Contextual Design Advisory Board had asked for the screening because of concerns about the garage. Mr. Barden, however, had rejected the group's other demand, a call to increase the height of a drum atrium, the casino's centerpiece, to offset the size of the parking structure.

Still, commission member Todd Reidbord said Mr. Barden "did what we asked him to do" in installing the screening and better integrating the 3,800-space garage with the casino.

"I think this is an attractive garage," he said.

Likewise, commission member Paul Dick said he saw no need to hold up the project further, noting that casino revenues were important to the city's financial future.

Still, the battle may not be over for Mr. Barden, who also has fought -- and reached agreements -- with the Steelers and Pirates over the casino's impact on traffic and the Carnegie Science Center over site improvements.

Clifford Levine, an attorney for the Riverlife Task Force, said afterward the agency is considering its options in terms of a possible appeal. It objected to yesterday's hearings on procedural grounds, saying it should have the right to present evidence and witnesses, a position rejected by the commission.

Mr. Levine argued in his presentation that accessory structures, such as garages, are limited to 20 feet in height under city zoning laws without a variance from the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment.

"There are issues as to whether or not there's compliance with the Pittsburgh zoning code. Ultimately, that's the question," he said.

Zoning administrator Susan Tymoczko said, however, that the casino and garage are considered one structure, meaning the parking garage's 119-foot height is in compliance with city requirements.

Randy Zotter, a Mexican War Streets resident, also urged the commission to reject the garage, which he described as a "cement block."

"It's just like a billboard. It's designed to make you look at it," he said.

Ed Fasulo, the casino vice president and general manager, said afterward the commission's approval was "huge" for the casino. He said the parking structure won't be an eyesore.

"I think it's going to be the best-looking garage Pittsburgh has," he said.

Mr. Fasulo said he doesn't believe a possible appeal by Riverlife or another group would halt construction, which began last month. Workers are on a tight schedule to have the casino open by May 1, 2009.

Evergrey

01-15-2008, 09:44 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08015/849262-85.stm

Steelers re-kick on entertainment site

Latest attempt: $10 million venue near Heinz Field, open year-round with indoor club

Tuesday, January 15, 2008
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After abandoning the idea of an amphitheater next to Heinz Field, the Steelers are putting together plans for a year-round $10 million entertainment complex at the site.

The team is seeking to partner with sports and entertainment giant Anschutz Entertainment Group -- called AEG -- on the proposed venue, which would be built in a parking lot adjacent to Heinz Field.

Mark Hart, the Steelers' director of business, confirmed yesterday that the team was trying to finalize a partnership with AEG on the complex, which would feature a club-like indoor venue and the ability to hold events outside in open space near Heinz Field.

"We're in the final strokes, figuring out the economics and the business terms," he said.

The entertainment complex is the latest variation of the Steelers' longtime desire to develop the site for music and other events. The team originally had plans for a 5,600-seat amphitheater on the property but had trouble negotiating a deal with a promoter and finalizing the economics of the project.

Plans for North Shore Live, an amphitheater and entertainment complex to be done in conjunction with Baltimore developer Cordish Co., fell through last fall, in part because of logistical challenges, including seating and a barrier wall, that were difficult to overcome.

Mr. Hart said the complex envisioned in partnership with AEG would have indoor seating for about 2,000 people. Among the activities, the venue would host concerts, special performances and festivals, he said.

"I think it's just the evolution of that industry," he said of the latest plans. "We want something that can be a business year round."

Mr. Hart said the complex would be the first of its kind in Pittsburgh, although he added the company has done similar venues in other cities. The team is hoping it would work in concert with the restaurants already on the North Shore, such as Jerome Bettis Grille 36, named after the former Steelers running back.

AEG owns and operates several major sports and entertainment venues, including the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It currently is in the midst of developing L.A. Live, a $2.5 billion sports, entertainment and residential complex near Staples.

A subsidiary, AEG Live, teamed with Nokia to develop Nokia Theatre Times Square, a 2,100-seat theater for concerts, special events and other live entertainment at Broadway and 44th Street in New York City. It has developed a similar venue in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as well as the one in Los Angeles.

In Pittsburgh, ICON Venue Group, which will oversee the design and construction of the new $290 million arena for the Penguins, is a joint venture between AEG and Romani Group Inc., a venue development company. AEG also manages the Sprint Center in Kansas City, which courted the Penguins last winter during the negotiations for the new arena.

While the Steelers firm up their plans, another major North Shore development is expected to get under way by this summer.

Columbus, Ohio-based Continental Real Estate Cos., which is developing the land between Heinz Field and PNC Park for the Steelers and the Pirates, is expected to go before the city Stadium Authority in four to six weeks with plans for a Hyatt Place Hotel near the Equitable Resources building.

Frank Kass, Continental chairman, said the hotel would be "very upscale," with about 180 rooms. The development cost is close to $25 million.

Continental expects to submit site plans, floor plans and building elevations to the Stadium Authority and city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority later this winter. It hopes to break ground in late spring or early summer.

The hotel would be the third between the stadiums. A 198-room Marriott SpringHill Suites hotel opened in 2005 near PNC Park. A 180-room Residence Inn also is planned in the same vicinity.

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

Evergrey

01-15-2008, 09:45 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08015/849319-85.stm

Arena plans get go-ahead; Hill group still lobbying

Tuesday, January 15, 2008
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The master plan for a new arena won a key approval yesterday despite a determined defense by Hill District advocates who wanted guaranteed neighborhood benefits first.

The city planning commission voted 5-3 to approve the overall layout of the arena site and a 500-space parking garage, after adding some 17 conditions. That vote allows the Penguins and city officials to move forward with more detailed planning in a process that will involve several more votes.

Neighborhood leaders, meanwhile, will continue talks with Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato on hoped-for benefits that could include development planning, job training and efforts to attract a grocery store.

The arena plan's approval was the final result of a long day that began with morning negotiations, featured a chummy news conference at intermission, and closed with a marathon hearing and commission vote that had neighborhood residents swinging from celebratory to surly to resigned.

"We're happy that the master plan is approved, but there is no gloating on our part," said Ron Porter, a senior consultant for the team, at the end of the seven-hour commission meeting.

All day, Hill residents said they supported the arena -- but not unconditionally.

"We welcome it," said Evans Moore, director of the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, during a rollicking public comment portion of the commission meeting. "Let us be involved in the future of our community, in the future of our children. ... Delay this vote until there is a community benefits agreement signed and in place, so that when the last brick goes up on the arena, everybody can celebrate."

Two organizations, the One Hill Community Benefits Agreement Coalition and the newly named Hill Faith and Justice Alliance, want the city, county and team to sign a legally binding pact to ensure that the neighborhood gains from the arena in ways it did not when much of it was torn down to make way for what is now Mellon Arena.

"We need to make sure, and want to make sure, that the mistakes of years ago are not repeated this time," Mr. Ravenstahl said.

A 20-page proposal from One Hill and a three-page proposal from the city and county have been merged into one document that is now the subject of talks.

Negotiations Sunday night and yesterday morning got the city, county and One Hill group "90 percent of the way there," in Mr. Ravenstahl's words. "We've literally been going line-by-line through the document to make sure that the input that the community wants to have has been in there."

"We're working very hard to get to an agreement," said One Hill leader Carl Redwood at a news conference in the mayor's office. "We anticipate [talking for] many hours over the next few days."

Outside of the planning commission's Ross Street meeting room, Hill advocates put on red armbands or black decals, snapped pictures of each other, passed out talking points and even a poem, and signed petitions calling for a City Council hearing on their concerns.

Their mood turned ugly, though, when commission Chairwoman Wrenna Watson sought to limit the number of public speakers on the topic, arguing that residents had their say at a Dec. 11 meeting. She later relented and allowed a parade of speakers, nearly all of whom asked for a delay in the master plan vote pending talks on the benefits agreement.

"We have seen 50 years of so-called good faith without good outcomes," said Momar Milliones, a Hill resident. "A grocery store cannot feed anyone without a good job and a living wage."

Groups like the Pittsburgh Civic Design Coalition, Sierra Club and Preservation Pittsburgh also urged a delay, saying that there wasn't enough public input.

Commission members agonized about whether the eventual loss of some 2,500 parking spaces around Mellon Arena would prove catastrophic. They debated whether plans for connecting Centre Avenue and Fifth Avenue were sufficient. They placed conditions on traffic, parking and pedestrian access -- but concluded they could not hold off until a community benefits agreement was signed.

Monte Rabner, Todd Reidbord, Paul Dick, Mary Lou Simon and Barbara Mistick voted for the plan, while Barbara Ernsberger, Lynne Garfinkel and Ms. Watson voted against.

"This doesn't mean that the negotiations are over," said Urban Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Pat Ford, who represented the mayor at the meeting. He noted that the Penguins must make several more runs through the public approval process.

The parties may meet again "as soon as [today]," Mr. Ravenstahl said. "Ideally this is something that comes to a conclusion in the next few days rather than the next few weeks."

The One Hill group had asked for neighborhood-controlled development funding, first dibs on jobs for Hill residents, a grocery store and community center, more park space and input into a redevelopment master plan.

Mr. Ravenstahl and Mr. Onorato had countered with a pledge to help fund a neighborhood plan, a resource center and a YMCA, plus a "good-faith effort" to lure a grocery store. The Penguins, who were not at the negotiating table yesterday, pledged $1 million toward a grocery store, matched by $1 million from the city.

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

hyperion1110

01-15-2008, 05:10 PM

chiaroscuro

01-15-2008, 05:21 PM

They're going to hang cheese graters on the facade of the parking garage??

Evergrey

01-15-2008, 05:46 PM

It never ceases to amaze me, the level of entitlement that these Hill residents seem to think they have. What right do they have to PUBLIC funds to be used at their whim??? No matter where the "neighborhood" lines are drawn, this arena is NOT in the Hill. It is Uptown...tantamount to being downtown. It is not in the middle of a residential area, and will not require the destruction of any portion of the urban landscape that couldn't use destroying anyway. The only organization in the area that I think should really have a say in how things are run is Duquesne University...and they're not complaining!

I will be very, very dissapointed if any of these Hill groups receive money. If they do, it would insult to injury for us North Siders, who have actually witnessed entire neighborhoods erased, and their people displaced.

Unreal!!! :hell:

If the city is gonna throw around all sorts of "PUBLIC funds" for upscale projects Downtown... then they HAVE to give the impoverished Hill... a neighborhood that was actively destroyed by the current arena... a little help. There's been close to 2,000 new units built there in the past 15 years... with more on the way... and the new developments have proven quite attractive and successful. Help out and put a full-scale grocery there... and the Hill will blow up just like East Liberty is right now. The future of the Hill is key to the future of Pittsburgh.

Interestly, North Side United is supporting One Hill. Just because the city/state/country made mistakes in the past that gutted much of the North Side... doesn't mean our governmental agencies should continue to make those types of mistakes.

themaguffin

01-15-2008, 06:57 PM

GeneW

01-15-2008, 07:06 PM

JackStraw

01-15-2008, 08:44 PM

Actually the arena literally sits on top of a neighborhood. It's just not there since the neighborhood was torn down for the arena to be built. That said, there should be something - residential and maybe some office instead of a vast parking lot like the one that currently exists. As for current Hill residents, it reasonably to ask for opportunities within this development (jobs) but I'm not sure what else is realistic or makes sense in that regard.

I agree. It would be nice if this arena could spark a chain of projects such as residentail, office, and retail in this area besides just one grocery store. This area sits right next to downtown. The metro as a whole would benefit with a progressive and fun area to the east of downtown. Lets face it, uptown isn't the place I think about going to for happy hour on a friday after work. This arena sounds similar to coors field in Denver. Lodo was similar to uptown, and near by five points borderd Lodo as the hill does to uptown. Coors field came in and Lodo became the new sucess story to urban revitilization. Residents in five points benefited with jobs, and projects in their neighborhood. Lodo went from a rundown area to a place trendy enough for those mtv real world kids.

cdc

01-16-2008, 01:52 AM

The future of the Hill is key to the future of Pittsburgh.

No, disagree. That's too strong a statement, especially if the goal
is to fill the Hill with low income housing and a goverment supported
supermarket.

If the Hill is to become important, it will have to undergo
significant gentrification and that is not what the One Hill folks are
about.

PA Pride

01-16-2008, 03:59 AM

UrbaniDesDev

01-16-2008, 06:55 AM

Evergrey

01-16-2008, 02:10 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08016/849462-85.stm

Boardwalk in the Strip is closed and for sale

Wednesday, January 16, 2008
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

There was no partying yesterday at the Boardwalk in the Strip District. The nightclubs, usually pulsating with music and dancing, were silent and the lights were out. Workers moved equipment from the Allegheny River complex into waiting trucks.

Long a popular party destination, the Boardwalk is for sale, and its future appears uncertain.

The complex's clubs and restaurants, which include Tequila Willies, Club Champagne and the Riverwatch banquet facility, have closed for repairs and maintenance, according to a statement given to a reporter who visited yesterday.

"Plans are to remodel the Boardwalk and it is expected to reopen in the spring," it said. "All events scheduled at the Boardwalk are moved to Station Square."

The complex, which sits on barges, has been for sale for about four months, said Herky Pollock, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, who is marketing the property.

Mr. Pollock said the owners are "looking to find a buyer to purchase the Boardwalk to be relocated anywhere" the water will take it.

As for it remaining in the Strip District, he said, that would be up to a new owner, and could be contingent on working out a new long-term lease with the Buncher Co., which owns the riverfront land to which the complex is anchored.

Mr. Pollock said there has been interest in the Boardwalk from potential buyers, both locally and nationally. The property is not under a sales agreement, but Mr. Pollock said he is talking to several people about a possible purchase.

"It's a great way to inject life into any riverfront property," he said.

Developer Tom Jayson opened the Boardwalk in 1991. It quickly became a popular entertainment destination in Pittsburgh and helped to fuel the explosion of clubs in the Strip District.

Mr. Pollock said Mr. Jayson and his partners are "looking to move on to other things" at this point.

"Obviously they had a good life. It's time to move on and do other things," he said.

Mr. Jayson could not be reached for comment.

At one point, the sellers tried to interest Don Barden, winner of the Pittsburgh casino license, in the Boardwalk as a possible temporary slots parlor, but the idea was rejected.

Becky Rodgers, executive director of Neighbors in the Strip, said she would hate to see the complex float away.

"I remember 10 years ago it was a great place to go on a Sunday afternoon, sit and watch the boats go by, and listen to the music," she said.

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

Evergrey

01-16-2008, 03:09 PM

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/01/14/story8.html?b=1200286800^1574261

Friday, January 11, 2008

Landmark South Side school for sale again -- at a discount

Minimum bid drops from $2.5 million to $500,000

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Tim Schooley

http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/107454-400-0.jpg?rev=2
Joe Wojcik
The former South Vo-Tech High School has substantial environmental problems.

Pittsburgh Public Schools has begun to market the South Side's South Vo-Tech High School for a second time since the school's closure in 2004, this time at a much lower asking price.

The school district came up empty in March 2006 when its bidding process set a minimum bid of $2.5 million that included an $850,000 deduction for remediation costs. South Vo-Tech's current marketing approach calls for a $500,000 minimum without any remediation contingencies built into the bidding process.

Richard Fellers, the district's chief operations officer, said potential bidders have scheduled to tour the property. He said bids are due Jan. 29 with the winning bid expected to be awarded on Feb. 27.

He is hopeful a buyer will come forward this time.

"A number of firms have approached us and shown some interest in the property," he said.

South Vo-Tech is nationally registered as a historic property and is located at the beginning corner of the South Side's Carson Street business district at 10th Street.

While the property is contaminated with asbestos and lead paint that will be costly to remove, South Vo-Tech is viewed as a pivotal redevelopment for the western end of the neighborhood.

"It's a challenging project," said Rick Belloli, executive director of the South Side Local Development Co. "But it's a key project for the neighborhood."

L. Robert Kimball & Associates Inc., an Ebensburg-based architectural and engineering firm, conducted a study of the property a few years ago and concluded that it would cost $735,000 to remove the environmental hazards. Belloli said the cost could be higher now.

There has been no shortage of public school buildings available for redevelopment in the city as the district faces declining enrollments.

South Vo-Tech offers 120,000 square feet of space in two separate buildings that date to 1909 and 1930. Not included in the offering are an annex property across Carson Street and George K. Cupples Stadium, where some city high schools play football.

After working with Downtown-based Langholz Wilson Ellis Inc. to market the property in 2006, the school district is marketing the building on its own this time.

Ralph Falbo, a developer of the Downtown condominium project 151 First Side who also has converted a number of former schools for new uses, said he'll give the building a look as a possible residential conversion.

He looked at the property briefly before and describes it as a beautiful building in a wonderful neighborhood.

The challenge of such projects comes in attempting to evaluate the redevelopment costs, Falbo said. Providing adequate parking also could be a challenge, he said.

"You sort of have to do your pro forma and back into what you can afford to pay for a property," he said.

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

Evergrey

01-16-2008, 03:43 PM

Grubb & Ellis market reports:

Office - "Tightening Market":
http://www.grubb-ellis.com/pdf/metro_off_mkttrnd/pittsburgh.pdf

The Pittsburgh office market's vacancy rate has declined, bucking national trends. Every submarket has experienced net absorption and declining vacancy.

Industrial - "A Formidable Ending to a Robust Year":
http://www.grubb-ellis.com/pdf/metro_ind_mkttrnd/Pittsburgh.pdf

Strongest year for Pittsburgh industrial market since the steel collapse 25 years ago.

PA Pride

01-16-2008, 07:18 PM

Strongest year for Pittsburgh industrial market since the steel collapse 25 years ago.

Could the Pittsburgh economy finally be turning a corner for the first time since the fall of the steel industry? Signs are looking good!

PA Pride

01-16-2008, 07:20 PM

Oddly enough, the more successful the Hill will be, the less likely the original residents will be able to afford to live there.

Using that logic, what is supposed to be done? Nothing? Leave it a decaying mess?

Johnland

01-17-2008, 01:09 AM

Oddly enough, the more successful the Hill will be, the less likely the original residents will be able to afford to live there. Much of how the Hill became what we know as the Hill was through government agencies actually creating ghettos.

You've hit the nail on the head! The history of the Hill is laden with the horrors of extremely inept governmental attempts to 'renew' . The tightly packed, densely developed Lower Hill neighborhoods were torn down and replaced with the cold, empty and sterile Civic Arena. Surrounded by a sea of asphalt parking lots, it cut the Hill off from Downtown. Not until the 1990's did the urban fabric begin to be repaired by the building of new residential units.

However, I agree that poverty is pervasive in the Hill. If it were to become a desirable neighborhood - it is already a desirable location - housing prices could conceivable increase, putting pressure on existing residents. Those who own would benefit from higher equity. renters, would feel the pinch.

hyperion1110

01-17-2008, 03:42 AM

But you're OK with millions of taxpayer dollars going to build an arena for millionaire hockey team owners?

The arena, and the Penguins, are an economic source for the region; the Hill is a MASSIVE sink. Plus, the government is not simply handing out a blank check to the Penguins. The money is controlled by the SEA and the state, if I am not mistaken. Some members of the Hill community want to control $10 million in public money? Whom do these people represent? Is it the whole community? How can we ensure the money will be handled properly? We can answer none of these questions.

Evergrey, I think, has reasonable points. I certainly think there should be economic benefits for the Hill. Keep on building the housing...bring in the grocery store and the green space...all of that makes perfect sense. And ALL of it should be done with the public's input. That said, my only objection, which, as you can tell, I feel very strongly about, is that no purported "citizens group" should come to control millions of dollars in public money, whether they be from the Hill, the North Side, the East End, or wherever. It's just not moral to me.

hyperion1110

01-17-2008, 04:08 AM

^True, the ENTIRE future of Pittsburgh is not hinged on the Hill, but infill, gentrification and rebuilding the hill into a functional, non-run down neighborhood, thus linking the two biggest economic zones, Downtown and Oakland is contingent on first satisfying at least some of the basic needs/wants of the hill district resident groups like One Hill, in my opinion.

This idea of connecting Downtown and Oakland is an absolute must for the viability of Pittsburgh, in my opinion. But pouring hundreds of millions more into the Hill is not the answer. Indeed, it's not even related. Think of this in terms of geography and topography. Yes, what we're calling "the Hill" sits between Downtown and Oakland. But it is comprised of several different neighborhoods, each with its own strengths and weakness, both socioeconomically and geographically. In general, though, piecemeal improvements to each neighborhood will do little to elevate the Hill from its doldrum. Nor will it go far in connecting Pittsburgh's two economic hubs.

As I'm sure most of this forum know, you need a comprehensive, integrated plan to engineer the kind of comeback the Hill needs. So, where to start? The answer, I think, is simple. Start Uptown, aka the Bluff. There is already momentum in this direction. Duquesne is spreading across Forbes very aggressively, and the arena will only be a block from that. With the UPMC-Mercy merger, there will be further integration of the Bluff and Oakland. Think about it...Oakland has nowhere to spread. It runs into Squirrel Hill and Shadyside to the east, and the river to the south. So where does it go? North and west, into the Hill. We see it on Pitt's upper campus right now, and with the planned development of the Oakland portal.

Now, what should the government do to help this along? Well, the first thing is obvious to everyone here again: connect Oakland and Downtown with light rail...straight through Uptown, just like the buses do now. But I think there is one other (big) thing the government should do, and this might not be so popular. I think they should use eminent domain to seize all of those parking lots (many of which are illegal), and open them up for smaller projects. These should include housing, though not massive plans like Crawford Square, space for small, independent retail, and so on. Restore fabric of the neighborhood and build efficient (and relatively cheap) surface light rail...that is the key. Nature likes to take the path of least resistance; that's Uptown.

Anyway, that's what I would be doing with my time if I were in the city/county government. Unfortunately, I'm not part of the local democratic horde, aka the Good Old Boys, so it'll never happen...

cdc

01-17-2008, 05:23 PM

Think about it...Oakland has nowhere to spread. It runs into Squirrel Hill and Shadyside to the east, and the river to the south. So where does it go? North and west, into the Hill. We see it on Pitt's upper campus right now, and with the planned development of the Oakland portal.

I think you could argue that the Pittsburgh Tech Center brownfield
development (the PGH side of Hot Metal Bridge) and development in the
Craig/Center/Baum area are part of Oakland's spread. Connecting
Downtown and Oakland is interesting, but so is the idea of converging
development in Oakland and East Liberty towards each other. (More
brownfield work towards Hazelwood would be good too.)

Surrealplaces

01-17-2008, 08:06 PM

Nice compilation of projects.

Tombstoner

01-18-2008, 01:40 AM

:previous: Ohhhh, I get it: that's "sarcasm"...

Actually, I'm enjoying the thoughtfulness of the debate--keep at it folks! :cheers:

JackStraw

01-18-2008, 01:45 AM

so on further note, I see they are finally setting steel on the pnc building downtown. I want to start taking pictures more periodically now. Once they start getting the steel set it goes up fast. The foundation takes forever.

CAPATeach

01-18-2008, 02:32 AM

more on the Don Allen site

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08011/848413-85.stm

Major development riding at Don Allen site

Friday, January 11, 2008
By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It was early 2006 when developers Phil Hugh and John Economou first sat down with the owners of Bloomfield's Don Allen Auto City and discussed what to do with one of the most valuable plots of real estate in Pittsburgh's East End.

"They wanted to look at other options," Mr. Economou said. But, also, "they wanted to do right by the city of Pittsburgh."

The result, 19 months later, is that Mr. Hugh and Mr. Economou now have an agreement to assume majority control of the dealership's seven-acre, three-block swath at the nexus of Shadyside, Bloomfield and East Liberty. Their plan, unveiled yesterday, is to tear down the Don Allen buildings and fill the space along Baum Boulevard and Liberty Avenue with a mix of townhouses, condominiums, a 120-room hotel, and 700,000 square feet of office, medical and retail space.

As proposed, the project is expected to cost $220 million-$230 million and take as long as four years. Pending city approval, it would become the biggest mixed-use development currently under way in the East End, bigger even than Walnut Capital Partners' $113 million transformation of an old Penn Avenue Nabisco bakery into a shopping-residential-hotel complex. It joins a slew of other developments to hit that part of the city, from the Hillman Cancer Center on Baum to Eastside, a Centre Avenue retail complex anchored by organic grocer Whole Foods.

For Mr. Hugh and Mr. Economou, both principals with the development team known as DOC-Economou, this is their second major project in the Pittsburgh area. Just last month the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority sold DOC-Economou an acre in the SouthSide Works complex on the South Side for a $48 million luxury hotel-condo-retail project scheduled to open in summer 2009.

Their South Side complex will be built with private money, but Mr. Hugh and Mr. Economou acknowledge they hope to secure public financing to assist with Bloomfield, although they were not willing to specify what type or how much.

"We certainly want to have open lines with local and state officials to see what options are there to produce the best possible project," said Mr. Hugh, who is originally from Fairchance, Fayette County.

DOC-Economou is a joint venture of two separate real estate operators, Fort Myers, Fla.-based Development Opportunity Corp., founded in 2005, and Economou Partners, a firm based in the Chicago area and founded in 1989. The joint venture also has an office in Pine. The venture's recent projects in other parts of the country include The Residences on Water, a mixed-use project in Milwaukee slated to open this spring and the renovation of a Fort Myers Holiday Inn. DOC, on its own Web site, also lists a Hotel Indigo and Dunkin' Donuts in Fort Myers, along with a hotel in Slippery Rock.

Mr. Hugh, who attended Allegheny College and grew up near Uniontown, said he "always wanted to come back to the city. Pittsburgh is a special place and there is a lot of opportunity in the city."

His connection to the Voelker family, which controls the Don Allen dealership, was through his attorney Brenda Yurick, who also happened to represent the Voelkers. Their first meeting was 19 months ago, and last week the family informed 80 employees that the dealership, in the Voelkers' hands for 50 years, would be sold due to a crush of competition from suburban dealers.

Despite the sale, though, the Voelker family will become a minority partner in the new development, confirmed Mr. Hugh and Mr. Economou.

The DOC-Economou partnership intends to spend $18 million buying the dealership, a contiguous home at 466 South Atlantic Ave. and a site at 5425 Baum owned by The Children's Home. The entire project, including the real estate purchases, will cost $220 million to $230 million and may take a total of four years to complete, built in phases to minimize the impact on the surrounding neighborhoods.

Spanning three blocks, the development will include 350,000 square feet of "boutique" retail, 58,000 square feet of street-level "commercial" retail, 300,000 square feet of office and medical space and a nine-story, 120-room hotel with the upper levels reserved for 150 condos and townhomes. Between 1,200 and 1,500 spaces of parking will be on the lower levels.

The goal is to start site preparation work this summer, pending city approval.

Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752.

...

these are the same developers that are doing this mixed-use project at SSW:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/SouthsideWorksmixeduse.jpg
I was just at a Bill Peduto led community meeting regarding the new proposal. The plan is to have a 9-story hotel at the site, requiring a variance. This seemed to draw some criticism from the community. I personally think it's fine, esp. since it's not really blocking any kind of view. Maybe it would look out of place, though. Not sure - I think the Marriott across the street is 6 stories and it looks pretty big to me.
Parking and traffic (of course) were brought up as concerns, though Bill Peduto will be asking the developers to kick in some money for extra traffic lights to help alleviate the situation.
Another interesting point is that the plan is to level all existing buildings. I think that century-old corner building would be nice to keep, but I'm not sure at what price. Is it worth slowing down or halting the development to save? If it doesn't fit into the plans, how important is it considering the enormous impact this development could have on the area?
The Penn Avenue Arts team seemed to think that considerable new retail in this area would bring an end to any dreams they had of establishing significant retail in their corridor. I don't see this at all. Penn Ave (at least in its current state) wouldn't be courting the same customers that these shops would. I see Penn Ave Arts carving out a much grittier niche for themselves.
More community meetings will be set in the near future...

UrbaniDesDev

01-18-2008, 11:48 AM

I think that century-old corner building would be nice to keep, but I'm not sure at what price. Is it worth slowing down or halting the development to save? If it doesn't fit into the plans, how important is it considering the enormous impact this development could have on the area?
The Penn Avenue Arts team seemed to think that considerable new retail in this area would bring an end to any dreams they had of establishing significant retail in their corridor. I don't see this at all. Penn Ave (at least in its current state) wouldn't be courting the same customers that these shops would. I see Penn Ave Arts carving out a much grittier niche for themselves.
More community meetings will be set in the near future...

There is nobody more concerned with the preservation of Pittsburgh than I. That being said, that corner building must go! That property has long been in my sites. I am so thankful that somebody else has seen it's potential and with the means and fore site to actually capitalize on it... and to it's full potential. This project is the lynch pin of the entire surrounding area. I venture to say even more than East Liberty. Penn Circle still has a noose around East Liberty and will remain a detriment til the city finally and forever removes it's presence.

The Don Allen site will be more encompassing. Like I said before, this will tie Bloomfield, Shadyside and Friendship ino a seamless series of distinctive neighborhoods with an unparalleled and diverse housing stock, as cities were meant to be. The large and long neglected houses of Friendship and the tight old Victorian row houses of Bloomfield will all benefit. I only hope that they don't fall victim to their new found popularity that has been inflicted on the grand old homes of Shadyside. Being distorted and contorted into apartments with IR-reputable landlords and left in an unsightly states. I would like to see more restrictions on dividing homes into apartments. It has really destroyed some neighborhoods. It was necessary in the city's crippled past but, I'm hoping, nolonger is needed. The housing stock of Shadyside, I feel, is in a terrible state and does not reflect it's popular and expensive reputation. If they are not careful their rep will be overshadowed by their neighbors to the north.

The success of this project will only inject more life into the struggling Penn Ave Arts corridor. In fact I believe it will be the perfect counterpoint to it, as well as the restaurants and shops along Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield as the area becomes more and more of a destination. I don't see any of the projects in the "East Side" being detrimental to each other, but more as the total development of the "East Side". One reinforcing the other. The days of invisible borders around neihborhoods are disapearing. The mentality of "you just don't go over there" is becoming a thing of the past.

There will be numerous focal points throughout the East Side. Developments resembling more newer cities than old, such as West LA. The area dotted with numerous smaller commercial centers rather than a single major center. Development around major intersections. Center & Craig, Liberty & Baum, Liberty & Main, Fifth & Craig, Penn & Highland, Penn & Negley, all will be distinctive centers, connected with the city's major arteries and surrounded by successful, established residential walking neighborhoods fed by the areas universities and hospitals and their off-springs.

The popularity of Ellsworth Avenue and Walnut Street, as I see it, has overwhelmed their capabilities, They are going from what was cozy to cramped. They have reached a point of saturation that has prompted the spill over up Highland Avenue into East Liberty and now up Aiken towards Bloomfield. It is the logical advance. It has exceeded my hopes for that area. I even like how the project pays homage to the size and height of the existing adjacent apartment buildings flanking Aiken on Centre. The popular Shadyside is no longer confined to its borders and will no longer be the only game going.

The proximity to developments such as this will only up the value of any properties within miles. Now all the surrounding areas can reap the benefits that have been so exclusive to Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. I can envision the Aiken/Liberty corridor as being a major commercial spine. I can see Banana Republic (or something along that line) relocating to that corner of Liberty and Baum from Walnut. It has much more visibility and traffic but still a walking neighborhood. If any street would be effected it won't be Penn, it will be Walnut, but not to it's demise. Perhaps returning it to how it was 20 years ago, as small up-scale boutiques and restaurants and the large chains moving to the newer larger up-scale digs of Liberty and Baum.

Heres to "SHADY-BLOOM"!

Evergrey

01-18-2008, 01:55 PM

There is nobody more concerned with the preservation of Pittsburgh than I.

Except me. Ah... maybe we're tied. :)

That being said, that corner building must go! That property has long been in my sites. I am so thankful that somebody else has seen it's potential and with the means and fore site to actually capitalize on it... and to it's full potential. This project is the lynch pin of the entire surrounding area. I venture to say even more than East Liberty. Penn Circle still has a noose around East Liberty and will remain a detriment til the city finally and forever removes it's presence.

Totally agreed. Just because a building is old... doesn't always mean it has to stick around. This Baum-Liberty project would not be able to realize its full, impressive potential if it had to keep that rather insignificant structure around. This project is indeed one of the keys to creating a seamless and vital greater EastSide. Baum-Centre, which in many ways has been an anti-urban barrier, will now become the high-density urban strength it should be.

The Don Allen site will be more encompassing. Like I said before, this will tie Bloomfield, Shadyside and Friendship ino a seamless series of distinctive neighborhoods with an unparalleled and diverse housing stock, as cities were meant to be.

Exactly, this project is at a scale and design that is urban... as a city is meant to be. Some locals will object because they like to pretend they don't live in an urban center... "Oh! The traffic! Oh! The tall buildings! Oh! The construction!" While community input is vital to design and function, Pittsburgh cannot allow its development into a full-fledged functional urban center be compromised for those who fear improvement. A 9-story hotel? The Baum-Centre corridor is filled with buildings of that scale. It is a high-density district that has unfortunately been pockmarked with many automobile-serving uses. An urban-fabric-shattering auto dealership transforming into a huge mixed-use development with UNDERGROUND parking? Couldn't ask for anything better than that.

The success of this project will only inject more life into the struggling Penn Ave Arts corridor. In fact I believe it will be the perfect counterpoint to it, as well as the restaurants and shops along Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield as the area becomes more and more of a destination. I don't see any of the projects in the "East Side" being detrimental to each other, but more as the total development of the "East Side". One reinforcing the other. The days of invisible borders around neihborhoods are disapearing. The mentality of "you just don't go over there" is becoming a thing of the past.

Agreed. I do not prescribe to the view that success in one area of the city is to the detriment of another area of the city. That's narrow-minded kneejerk backwardness. Penn Ave. will experience nothing but benefits from having more people, more income, more retail, more destinations and a more vital urban environment in its vicinity. Additionally, the biggest impact on Penn Ave. will be the stabilization and recovery of the long-suffering Garfield neighborhood, which is undergoing a massive home-building campaign. This is similar to how some Liberty Ave. people have been wary of Penn Ave.'s recovery. There is no reason to be threatened, this type of development will make the entire area more attractive and will have positive consequences for the existing business districts. The SouthSide Works has not been the demise of E. Carson St. The businesses located there are largely a different type than those that dwell in the historic "main street". SSW has sparked a remarkable recovery in the previously struggling eastern end of that district.

The popularity of Ellsworth Avenue and Walnut Street, as I see it, has overwhelmed their capabilities, They are going from what was cozy to cramped. They have reached a point of saturation that has prompted the spill over up Highland Avenue into East Liberty and now up Aiken towards Bloomfield. It is the logical advance. It has exceeded my hopes for that area. The popular Shadyside is no longer confined to its borders and will no longer be the only game going.

...

Heres to "SHADY-BLOOM"!

Exactly. Ellsworth/Walnut is a very tight market. Baum-Liberty will provide for a natural expansion of that market as well as introducing new elements to the market. Brilliant point on surrounding areas reaping the benefits long enjoyed by Shadyside.

Perhaps you should trademark "Shady-Bloom". :)

tooluther

01-18-2008, 02:44 PM

Heres to "SHADY-BLOOM"!

If we're going off of the precedent set by "Eastside" it should really be "Shadyfield" or "Bloomside"

I can just see the Post-Gazette articles talking about the disintegration of Bloomfield as a neighborhood as its over run with gentrification just like East Liberty...some people have such a narrow vision.

themaguffin

01-18-2008, 02:49 PM

I can see it now, a banner hanging from the site "Condos coming soon at The Shady Bloom" or some generic name that comes from England...

Evergrey

01-18-2008, 03:12 PM

more info on the arena negotiations...

why haven't we heard about Barden's $300 million pledge to Lower Hill redevelopment, which was part of the casino deal, in months? Could it be because the Penguins are being granted exclusive development rights in so much of the Lower Hill?

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_548077.html

Deal for Hill close after Pens join negotiations

By Carl Prine and Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, January 18, 2008

Negotiators for the city, county and Hill District's One Hill Coalition say a community-benefits agreement linked to a new hockey arena could be signed within days and forwarded to member residents for a formal vote.
Both sides said Thursday that talks proceeded well, but agreed the Penguins shied away from the bargaining table. One Hill representatives said the group would prepare for "rolling protests" and behind-the-scenes arm-twisting to force team officials to participate.

"I'm optimistic that as we move forward with the ongoing negotiations, a tentative deal with the city and county will be available for us to bring back to the neighborhood for consideration," said One Hill's chief negotiator, Hill House Executive Director Evan Frazier. "But I must stress that we don't have a confirmed agreement right now.

"What we do have is a lot of respect for all the people from the city and the county who have been negotiating in good faith with us. It's a continuing dialogue to ensure that the entire community will benefit from any new development."

As government officials and the Penguins prepare to build a $290 million arena to replace Mellon Arena, the group representing dozens of community and labor organizations want money for job training, neighborhood development and a guarantee that workers at the arena and buildings around it would get "living wages."
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said it was "realistic" to expect the city's role in the community deal to be ready by Monday -- when Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is observed.

After a deal is signed, he said, the neighborhood group can pressure the Penguins to contribute more toward neighborhood development. The team has pledged to match the city's $1 million commitment to attract a grocery store to the Hill.

"I think we've made it pretty clear that the $1 million commitment is probably what's going to be contained, at least from the Penguins' standpoint, in the (agreement), but that doesn't mean that afterwards further discussion won't take place and partnerships won't be built," Ravenstahl said.

Among the benefits for the Hill that are being finalized are a pre-apprenticeship pilot program, called "First Source" and modeled after a Milwaukee experiment that promises to increase minority and female participation in trade unions.

Under the arena construction plan, financed partly by taxpayers, the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority will provide $16 million for a line of credit, pre-development expenses and oversight costs. The deal includes ceding to the Penguins 28 acres of prime property for unlimited development and granting the company a monopoly on ticket and concession sales, sponsorships, ads, naming rights and parking fees.

If the 10-year development plan for the surrounding acreage flops, taxpayers will pay the Pens $15 million, according to bargaining documents provided to the Tribune-Review. If the team develops a portion of the property, it will get a lesser amount.

One Hill is considering asking for $350,000 annually for community development and labor training projects and says the Pens could donate the money tax-free under a state program.

But the group's priority is an agreement mandating a "living wage" and benefits package for any worker in buildings in the 28-acre development, One Hill negotiators said.

"The most important thing now is finishing the negotiations with the city and the county," Frazier said. "After that, we will go forward on the behalf of the community.

"We will go forward thinking positively and we don't want to alienate anyone. We just want to talk. We know the Penguins understand that we are only working to produce a model agreement that all of us can be proud of."

The Pens avoided negotiating sessions with One Hill Coalition in favor of allowing Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato to guide the talks, said Ron Porter, a Penguins consultant. He said the franchise likely would balk at a "living wage" proposal.

"We're committed certainly to paying prevailing wages," Porter said. "At this point, making commitments for (other) wage structures two or three or 10 years in advance is too early in the game to do that."

Prevailing wages vary among counties but generally represent a minimum agreed-upon wage for employees working on a publicly funded project. According to Penn State University's "living wage calculator," the living wage for Pittsburgh is $8.13 an hour for a single adult. The minimum wage is $7.15 an hour.

One Hill negotiators said the promise of delivering a package on wages and a groundbreaking community benefits package lured organized labor to the coalition. A key negotiator is Gabe Morgan of Pittsburgh UNITED and the Service Employees International Union. He directed a partially successful crusade on behalf of janitors seeking affordable health care in 2003.

Porter doubts the group could force additional changes through work stoppages or protests.

"The kinds of things that would concern a union activist are far less important on our agenda, and those are not issues that we are looking at in terms of (an agreement)," Porter said.

But City Councilwoman Tonya Payne, who represents the Hill, Downtown and a portion of the North Side, said she's not ready to budge on the living-wage demand. She said Ravenstahl and Onorato pledged to work as a "united front on behalf of the community, not the corporation."

"We can't just create a lot of minimum-wage jobs. I understand that some people will say we shouldn't try to hinder potential development by forcing on the Penguins a living wage for the people who will work there, but I strongly disagree," Payne said.

"We already suffer from a lack of commercial development in the Hill because of historical inequities caused by previous deals forced on the Hill."

Carl Prine and Jeremy Boren can be reached at cprine@tribweb.com or 412-320-7826.

CAPATeach

01-18-2008, 04:30 PM

hyperion1110

01-18-2008, 05:44 PM

It would be nice to have you guys at the next community meeting. Those meetings tend to be dominated by people who oppose something, not people in support. I think all of the worries about the Baum/Centre development are completely unfounded. The dissenters may need some help opening their eyes to all of the potential greatness that this can bring to the neighborhood. I don't even think they have a clue how extraordinary this development will be. I think many just hear "traffic" or "nine stories" or "parking" and knee-jerk to oppose it.

Yeah, I don't think they realize it's scale either. This is truly on the order of Southside Works, which is in the $300 million range. I think it'll be a boon to the area. Here's what I'm wondering, though. How is it that these folks managed to secure financing for this development so quickly, and yet the Cultural Trust folks are having so much trouble starting RiverParc? Correct me if I am wrong, but isn'r this development in Shayside/Bloomfield twice as costly as the first phase of RiverParc? If that's true, what's going on with the Cultural Trust? Where's the beef??? :D

Evergrey

01-18-2008, 06:21 PM

Yeah, I don't think they realize it's scale either. This is truly on the order of Southside Works, which is in the $300 million range. I think it'll be a boon to the area. Here's what I'm wondering, though. How is it that these folks managed to secure financing for this development so quickly, and yet the Cultural Trust folks are having so much trouble starting RiverParc? Correct me if I am wrong, but isn'r this development in Shayside/Bloomfield twice as costly as the first phase of RiverParc? If that's true, what's going on with the Cultural Trust? Where's the beef??? :D

The answer is in today's Pittsburgh Business Times.

tidbits from this week's Pittsburgh Business TImes:

1. Downtown hotels and the Convention Center are expecting a record year. Bookings, room rates and events have experienced strong increases in the past few years. Pittsburgh ranks 2nd in a ranking of "peer cities" (Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore, Charlotte, etc.) when it comes to a benchmark of hotel strength called "revenue per available room".

2. The developer of the Baum-Liberty mixed-use project at the Don Allen Auto City site, DOC-Economou is poised to become one of the biggest names in urban development in Pittsburgh due to $275 million in projects (Baum-Liberty plus the $48 million mixed-use tower at SouthSide Works). Baum-Liberty is DOC-Economou's biggest project to date and will be completed in four stages featuring more than 400,000 sq. ft. of retail, 300,000 sq. ft. of office, 150 residential units and a 120 room hotel. The development group has a relationship with a capital group based in Iceland that helps finance most of its projects. The developers believe its location should make financing an easy sell.

3. Analysts believe PNC Bank may be in acquisition mode due to its relatively strong performance compared to most financial institutions, which are heavily affected by the slowing economy, credit crunch and foreclosure crisis. Analysts think that PNC Bank would likely be interested in expanding its footprint to nearby territories like Virginia and North Carolina. Some analysts suggest PNC should acquire Cleveland-based National City (which has a major presence in Western PA) or Philadelphia-based Sovereign Bank.

4. The owner of Mallorca and Ibiza, two Spanish restaurants on East Carson St., is holding off on plans to convert the newly-acquired Shootz Cafe and Billiards into a Brazilian rodizio. The owner cites that his capital was stretched thin after the purchase. The rodizio may open in 2009 or 2010.

5. A new report concludes that Pittsburgh was the top metro for home price appreciation in the third quarter of 2007 compared to 3Q 2006 amongst the top 50 metros. Home prices in Pittsburgh MSA increased 4.65% in 3Q 2007. This is a 2.32% gain over the appreciation in 3Q 2006. Only 7 metros had higher appreciation in 3Q 2007 compared to 3Q 2006, with most metros experiencing declines.

hyperion1110

01-18-2008, 10:01 PM

The answer is in today's Pittsburgh Business Times.

tidbits from this week's Pittsburgh Business TImes:

1. Downtown hotels and the Convention Center are expecting a record year. Bookings, room rates and events have experienced strong increases in the past few years. Pittsburgh ranks 2nd in a ranking of "peer cities" (Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore, Charlotte, etc.) when it comes to a benchmark of hotel strength called "revenue per available room".

2. The developer of the Baum-Liberty mixed-use project at the Don Allen Auto City site, DOC-Economou is poised to become one of the biggest names in urban development in Pittsburgh due to $275 million in projects (Baum-Liberty plus the $48 million mixed-use tower at SouthSide Works). Baum-Liberty is DOC-Economou's biggest project to date and will be completed in four stages featuring more than 400,000 sq. ft. of retail, 300,000 sq. ft. of office, 150 residential units and a 120 room hotel. The development group has a relationship with a capital group based in Iceland that helps finance most of its projects. The developers believe its location should make financing an easy sell.

3. Analysts believe PNC Bank may be in acquisition mode due to its relatively strong performance compared to most financial institutions, which are heavily affected by the slowing economy, credit crunch and foreclosure crisis. Analysts think that PNC Bank would likely be interested in expanding its footprint to nearby territories like Virginia and North Carolina. Some analysts suggest PNC should acquire Cleveland-based National City (which has a major presence in Western PA) or Philadelphia-based Sovereign Bank.

4. The owner of Mallorca and Ibiza, two Spanish restaurants on East Carson St., is holding off on plans to convert the newly-acquired Shootz Cafe and Billiards into a Brazilian rodizio. The owner cites that his capital was stretched thin after the purchase. The rodizio may open in 2009 or 2010.

5. A new report concludes that Pittsburgh was the top metro for home price appreciation in the third quarter of 2007 compared to 3Q 2006 amongst the top 50 metros. Home prices in Pittsburgh MSA increased 4.65% in 3Q 2007. This is a 2.32% gain over the appreciation in 3Q 2006. Only 7 metros had higher appreciation in 3Q 2007 compared to 3Q 2006, with most metros experiencing declines.

Thanks for the info, Evergrey.

I love the suggestion that PNC should buy National City :) PNC should change it's name back to Pittsburgh National Corporation and place the most un-godly huge ass sign right in downtown Cleveland. The Browns fans would love it!!!

PA Pride

01-19-2008, 02:42 AM

^Oww! that's harsh. (not saying i don't like it, though!)

Those are lots of positive pieces of news Evergrey!

AaronPGH

01-19-2008, 03:51 PM

PNC should change it's name back to Pittsburgh National Corporation and place the most un-godly huge ass sign right in downtown Cleveland. The Browns fans would love it!!!

:haha:

PA Pride

01-19-2008, 06:50 PM

^You're not allowed to laugh, you're from Ohio. And I heard you are a closet Browns fan....

Wheelingman04

01-20-2008, 12:57 AM

^:haha:

hyperion1110

01-20-2008, 04:31 PM

This is interesting. Is the reason why Pittsburgh and Allegheny County exempt from this PA law because of the annexation of Allegheny City?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08020/850790-85.stm

Merger answers difficult to find
Researchers report mixed results in other city-county consolidations
Sunday, January 20, 2008
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Two centuries after the first of 33 city-county mergers in the United States, researchers still can't answer one key question: Do they work?

That question can't help but bedevil an effort to chart a path for the city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

"A year from now, when you ask the question, 'Should the city merge with the county?' we'll have the answer," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said when the advisory committee was formed in October 2006.

Yet, more than a year later, University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, who heads the committee, said it had done exhaustive research but was still "in the consensus-building phase."

If nationally published research is any guide, consensus may be hard to reach.

The most recent consolidation, Louisville in 2000, was driven by the loss of one-third of the city's population and the growth of surrounding Jefferson County.

Did the merger help? Not according to Hank Savitch, the Brown and Williamson professor of urban and public affairs at the University of Louisville, who is writing a book on the subject to be called "Transformation Without Change."

His 2004 paper on the merger, and subsequent research, found neither savings nor the economic boon promised by consolidation's business backers in a high-dollar ad blitz. "Really, to be blunt about it, it was a pack of lies," he said.

Government costs continued to grow at the same pace, defying predictions that economies of scale would save money. "You need more layers of supervision, and it becomes much more cumbersome to run public works, to run the police department, to run emergency services and the like," Mr. Savitch said.

Bigger not always better

Several consolidation experts said government gets more efficient as it gets bigger -- until it hits a point at which that trend reverses. The trick is identifying that tipping point.

Pat Hardy, a municipal consultant at the University of Tennessee who has managed cities and advised governments on consolidations, said the "scale for most municipal services tips at about 15,000 customers," after which getting bigger means getting less efficient.

Athens and Clarke County, Ga., merged in 1991, and a study found that government initially cost more, before levelling off.

"You may have some savings if you had two managers, or two directors of different departments," said Betty Hudson at the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government, who co-authored the Athens study. "But generally, you're not going to be cutting the amount of staff you have." In fact, the merger of two workforces can force government to raise the pay and benefits of one to match those of the other.

Several studies have found that borrowing costs drop when cities and counties merge. Former Albuquerque Mayor David Rusk, a prominent speaker and consultant on consolidation, found that seven merged city-counties had credit ratings that were, on average, in the high-grade category, while 15 cities that stayed separate averaged one credit level lower. The effect: Consolidated cities could borrow at lower interest.

It's impossible to calculate whether consolidation has an effect on economic growth, Mr. Savitch said. In the case of Louisville, promises of a turnaround "simply weren't borne out," he said. "All we can say is that after consolidation, Louisville has done worse."

One theory holds that in the global economy, a region has to have a focused message and plan, and consolidation can help.

"Getting toward regional governance is just critical, as the economy is globalizing," said Mark Muro, policy director at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program, who has studied Pennsylvania's local governments.

Regions like southwestern Pennsylvania need "a much more cohesive, nimble, decisive regional governance, so you can do your transportation investments wisely, so you can have a coherent economic development network," he said.

Success stories

For a glowing review of consolidation's development benefits, go west. "In Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., it was a very important turning point," said Suzanne M. Leland, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and co-author of the coming book "City-County Consolidation: Promises Made, Promises Kept."

Merged in 1997, that city-county saw a big jump in development in its western end, anchored by a speedway that became a major tourist attraction. Total real estate values rose 76 percent in a decade, allowing tax rates to drop 25 percent, according to information provided by Wyandotte County. Permits for new single-family homes are triple what they were before consolidation -- though population declines haven't stopped, and have only slowed slightly.

The 1969 merger of Indianapolis, Ind., and Marion County has been held up as a development success. Professor William Blomquist, of Indiana University, found in a 1995 study that centralizing development power "contributed strongly" to the city's reinvention as an amateur-sports paradise. Employment grew faster than in most comparable -- but unconsolidated -- cities and counties. Manufacturing job losses, though, were similar to other cities.

Though it's called Unigov, the Indianapolis solution falls far short of complete unification. Four cities within Marion County remain independent, and a number of towns have limited autonomy. Public safety services remain fragmented even within the Unigov boundaries. The center city still pays higher taxes than outer neighborhoods.

"What may be Unigov's clearest and longest lasting impact on central-city residents is that the consolidation has solidified Republican Party control of city government," Mr. Blomquist wrote. It transformed a Democratic-leaning city government and a Republican-dominated county structure into a single GOP bastion, he wrote.

In 1999, a Democrat won the Unigov mayor's race for the first time, but he lost it to a Republican last year.

Minority representation has been a lightning-rod issue. In Louisville, the pre-consolidation city's Board of Aldermen was one-third African American. Though consolidated district lines were drawn to favor black candidates, the new 26-member metro council has six African-American members -- less than one-quarter of its number -- reducing minority clout, in Mr. Savitch's view.

Political calculus is one reason some Pittsburgh officials -- all of whom are Democrats -- cringe at the idea of full consolidation. The fact that Republican Jim Roddey won the 1999 race for county chief executive proves that the GOP could win in a merged entity -- giving that party control of the city's 3,300-person workforce and $424 million budget, plus related authorities.

Political costs

In talking about city-county consolidation, Mr. Ravenstahl has focused on sharing services, like the city's year-old arrangement to collect trash for neighboring Wilkinsburg, which he's in the process of extending for three years.

"I see someday the city taking over the county, not the county taking over the city," City Councilman Jim Motznik said at Wednesday's council meeting, during a discussion of the Wilkinsburg pact extension.

Some experts argue that it's just as effective, and less politically painful, to combine certain departments without erasing whole governments. Mr. Rusk said that's likely the only way to go for Pittsburgh.

"There's just no prospect that the other 129 municipalities within Allegheny County are going to join" a merged government, Mr. Rusk said. Nor is there any unclaimed county territory that could be given as a "dowry," in his words, to entice the city to wed. "So what's the benefit?"

Where backers can't show benefits for both the city and county, consolidation almost always flops at the ballot box. By Mrs. Leland's count, 80 percent of consolidation referenda fail.

Pennsylvania law requires that for governments to merge, there must be a voter referendum and majorities of residents of each entity have to vote yes. If it fails on one side or the other, it can't be tried again for five years.

That law, though, excludes both Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Any wedding of the two would occur under as-yet-unwritten rules.

With plenty of questions about consolidation unanswered, many of the nation's theorists and practitioners have their eyes on Pittsburgh.

"Pittsburgh is really ground zero in terms of governance questions in the country," said Mr. Muro. "You have some of the most urgent challenges, and it's one of the largest places that faces these issues."

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

First published on January 20, 2008 at 12:00 am

AaronPGH

01-20-2008, 10:45 PM

^You're not allowed to laugh, you're from Ohio. And I heard you are a closet Browns fan....

Give me a break Austin! I've done a good enough job turning my back on Ohio. I think I've proven myself plenty worthy. Oh, and I didn't even follow the NFL until I moved to Pittsburgh. ;)

PA Pride

01-21-2008, 01:07 AM

You know i was being snarky, Aaron! You did the same thing I would've done. (and am currently trying to do; Break out of the suburbs. Boo!!)

And i didnt even know you like the NFL. I'm the only person in Pittsburgh who doesn't give a shit about the Steelers! (i'm probably gonna get lynched for admitting that on here...)

ColDayMan

01-21-2008, 01:24 AM

Give me a break Austin! I've done a good enough job turning my back on Ohio.

Indeed. :frog:

AaronPGH

01-21-2008, 01:31 AM

Indeed. :frog:

I wondered if any of you guys would pick that one up. You are faster than I thought! :haha:

Evergrey

01-21-2008, 12:07 PM

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/01/21/story3.html?b=1200891600^1577834

Friday, January 18, 2008

Hotels, tourism boosters expecting banner year

Conventions, room bookings on rise

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Tim Schooley

As the new general manger of the 616-room Westin Convention Center hotel, Tom Martini can look across Penn Avenue and bank on a busy year.

"Advance bookings for the year are up considerably over last year," Martini said of his hotel. "And last year was a good year."

The Westin's bookings for 2008 are up nearly 14 percent over 2007, which saw an 11 percent increase over 2006. That parallels closely with VisitPittsburgh, the city's convention and visitors' group, which said it has seen committed room bookings increase by about 15 percent for 2008.

Craig Davis, executive vice president for sales and marketing at VisitPittsburgh, is one of the few people who can look back on 2008 just a few weeks into the new year. He said he expects the David L. Lawrence Convention Center to beat last year's record 38 conventions and attendance at this year's events to top those in 2007.

"2008 was a banner year," Davis said. "It's a testament to the fact that the popularity of the convention center is taking hold right now."

There are 3,653 hotel rooms in and around Downtown. All told, VisitPittsburgh has booked 27,000 more room nights than at this time last year.

"That obviously is an indicator that the city is hot, and we're getting a lot of interest from groups meeting in Pittsburgh," Martini said.

As an added boost for Downtown hotels, the average price of a room has been on the rise. Room rate averages increased from $90.33 in 2006 to $97.86 last year, Davis said.

He sees a number of other indicators of the city's growing convention success. Revenue per available room, or RevPAR, a key benchmark in hotel strength, increased by 11.5 percent for Pittsburgh hotels from November 2006 to November 2007, he said. That has helped Pittsburgh jump from the middle of the pack to a second-place ranking among a peer group of cities,
including Cleveland; Detroit; Baltimore; and Charlotte, N.C.

While Davis remains cautiously optimistic about the hotel business remaining brisk here, Pittsburgh's hotels may need the increasing heat of incoming conventions to overcome a cooling economy that could cut into business and leisure travel.

"It definitely would help to stave off what's projected to be a slowdown on the transient side of the business," said Kevin Kilkeary, a principal of Green Tree-based Prospera Hospitality, a hotel management firm that operates the 308-room Doubletree Hotel & Suites Downtown.

Despite projecting that RevPAR will grow 4.5 percent to 5 percent nationwide in 2008, a study published last week by Raymond James & Associates Inc. also concluded there is great risk in the hotel market due to a weakening economy.

"Lodging demand is highly correlated to GDP growth," the study said.

Kilkeary expects Pittsburgh's hotel business to follow the national trend but with less dramatic swings. For the Doubletree, Kilkeary estimated that RevPAR will increase by 3 percent to 5 percent in the property's third year of its conversion from its former identity as a Ramada. Given an economy that many are describing as on the brink of recession, Kilkeary expects a greater percentage of business will be related to conventions.

"It would be hard to believe that the transient demand would be as strong in '08 as it was in '07," he said.

Barbara McMahon, general manager of the Renaissance Pittsburgh, expects 2008 to be flat in occupancy growth with limited opportunities to raise rates after what she described as a successful 2007.

"I think 2008 will be faced with the additional supply of rooms and a flat demand market," she said. "In order for the whole city to rise, we need not only major events on a continuing basis but we also need individual travelers."

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

marinog

01-21-2008, 01:31 PM

hyperion1110

01-22-2008, 03:56 AM

UrbaniDesDev

01-22-2008, 10:32 AM

Evergrey

01-22-2008, 08:09 PM

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/bakery0123.aspx

Dozen Cupcakes expands with second Pittsburgh location, doubles capacity

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2093/dozen_5280_300.jpg

One year after opening its first location in Squirrel Hill, Dozen Cupcakes is set to expand its business with a new bakery and catering operation that will open on Jan. 28 at 3511 Butler St. in Lawrenceville.

The 1,300-square-foot bakery—twice as large as Dozen’s Murray Ave. space—includes café style seating for 30 and free Wi-Fi. Located in a renovated rowhouse owned by developer Lee Gross, the space features a light yellow and baby blue color scheme, exposed brick and mismatched antique furniture. “It’s an open kitchen concept, a rustic approach to a bakery café. People can see every detail of the production, which is exciting,” says owner Andrew Twigg.

Expanding upon its current model, the new bakery's Sunday brunch will feature local produce and herbs from Grow Pittsburgh. Dozen will also carry scones, sour cream cinnamon rolls, key lime tarts, and pies. “We want to provide Pittsburgh with a new bakery experience found in larger cities. Lawrenceville is considered one of the hot spots of Pittsburgh. We wanted to be in an area where other business have that kind of vitality and mentality,” says Twigg, who is excited that Tamari restaurant will soon open on Butler. “Lawrenceville offers the reasonable, paced growth we’re looking for. Pittsburgh has been very good to us. There’s been such a loyal following.”

The new space will allow Dozen to expand its catering operation. “We’re hoping to increase that to fifty-percent of our overall operation, and take a large portion of our catering to Lawrenceville,” adds Twigg, who often bakes 1,400 cupcakes per day.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Andrew Twigg, Dozen Cupcakes

...

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/soupman0123.aspx

Original Soup Man brings NYC lunch craze and Seinfeld favorite to Pittsburgh

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2094/soup_300.jpg

After galvanizing, and nourishing, New York City’s lunch scene, The Original SoupMan has landed Downtown. On Jan. 28, Pittsburgh's first Original SoupMan will welcome lunch crowds at 410 Forbes Ave.

Owned and operated by Pittsburgh attorney and native Sheldon Keyser, the eatery is part of a national chain launched by soup vendor Al Yeganeh, who ran Soup Kitchen International in Manhattan. Immortalized as the surly “Soup Nazi” in a Seinfeld episode, Yeganeh oversees production of the company's soups—all fifty of them.

“It’s become an icon through the Seinfeld show. It’s an excellent franchise group. It's the ideal niche market because Pittsburgh is a soup town,” says Keyser, whose shop is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. “We’re across the street from Macy’s in the Forbes garage. This seemed to be ideal.”

Soups sell by the cup, bowl or quart, and are served with the shop’s signature sides of bread, fruit and chocolate. The shop also carries rice bowls, smoothies and pannini. “They’re premium soups—the quality is very consistent,” adds Keyser, who will serve ten varieties daily. “We’re looking for a good business in take-home soups. We’ll ultimately do catering and delivery.”

Keyser worked with architect Richard Jaynes and interior designer and restaurant supplier Jim Sullivan to renovate the 1,070-square-foot shop, which features seating for 10, archival photographs, founder quotations (a.k.a. “Soup is my passion”), and framed newspaper articles.

In addition to its highly popular lobster bisque, the SoupMan serves everything from gumbo, goulash and jambalaya to tomato zucchini, borscht and mulligatawny.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Sheldon Keyser, The Original SoupMan

Image courtesy The Original SoupMan

JackStraw

01-23-2008, 01:39 AM

I am happy for Lawerenceville getting a dozens. Lawerenceville is such a great neighborhood that is on the rise. I never even realized how great it was until I moved back. Once my lease is up I am probably heading over there.

tooluther

01-23-2008, 01:43 AM

just watch out for the occasional drive-by's

JackStraw

01-23-2008, 02:08 AM

don't worry. I have a lot of inner city knowledge from growing up near moronville. Thanks though!

PA Pride

01-23-2008, 02:36 AM

just watch out for the occasional drive-by's

When I lived in Rochester (Beaver County) for a couple years starting in 2001, our neighbor two houses down had their front door shot out from a drive by.

Evergrey

01-23-2008, 09:17 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_548753.html

Allegheny County officials expect tough international sell

By Justin Vellucci
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Allegheny County officials face an uphill battle when they travel to Amsterdam this week to convince Northwest and KLM Royal Dutch airlines to offer direct flights between Southwestern Pennsylvania and Europe.
Pittsburgh was on the short list of airports the two airlines were eyeing for nonstop service to Amsterdam, the Regional Air Service Partnership, a group lobbying for international service, said last month.

But a Northwest spokesman on Tuesday cited Dallas and Seattle when asked about new or expanded services.

"We've made no announcements about additional markets at this time," said Dean Breest, a spokesman for Northwest Airlines, which handles U.S. inquiries for KLM. "It would be wrong to make any assumption about additional flights."

Brad Penrod, executive director of the county Airport Authority, is ready to make the case for bringing flights to Pittsburgh.
"We have to prove we are a good market," he said. "The strong corporate support is certainly something. It's not just the leisure traveler. That's a year-round commodity."

Penrod will join county Chief Executive Dan Onorato, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and others in Amsterdam, where the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance is footing a $50,000 bill for the European mission.

Onorato, who plans to meet with business leaders in Spain, will bring letters from about 100 business owners expressing the need for direct flights between Pittsburgh and Europe, spokesman Kevin Evanto said.

The airport's capacity, its location outside the traffic of the Eastern seaboard, and the region's large business community are selling points on which Onorato will focus, Evanto said.

"The county executive thinks we have a really compelling case to make," he said.

Ken Zapinski of the Regional Air Service Partnership wouldn't speculate about Northwest or KLM interest in Pittsburgh.

"We talk to airlines all the time," he said. "We don't find it particularly useful to discuss these matters in public."

"We're in a competitive business, and we owe it to this region to remain that way," Penrod said.

Bayer AG, which is based in Germany but has its Bayer Corp. North American headquarters in Robinson, would benefit greatly from the direct flights, spokesman Bryan Iams said. When employees fly from the United States to Frankfurt, Germany, they lose half of a day both going and coming.

Lanxess Corp. in Findlay, a Bayer spin-off, lauded the potential benefits of the European mission.

"I'm very optimistic that we're moving in the right direction," said Randy Dearth, CEO of Lanxess. "Next week's meetings are a significant step forward."

Pittsburgh counted about 770,000 international passengers in 2002 and about 448,000 in 2003, airport authority spokesman Jeff Martinelli said. Through November, the airport flew about 20 flights a week to international locations such as Cancun, Mexico; Toronto; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

San Diego is the only American city larger than Pittsburgh that does not have direct service to Europe, Zapinski said.

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

Evergrey

01-23-2008, 09:26 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_548770.html

Port Authority ridership decay could worsen

By Jim Ritchie
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Port Authority lost 8,400 riders because of its route cuts last year, and even lower ridership could follow recent fare increases.
The route cuts -- which caused a 3.5 percent ridership decline -- were implemented to help offset an $80 million budget deficit in fiscal 2007.

"When you make a 15 percent cut and you only lose 3.5 percent of your riders, that's not too bad -- although any rider loss is not good," said authority spokeswoman Judi McNeil.

Authority officials hope to know late next month whether the Jan. 1 fare hike will lead to further erosion in its client base, she said.

In June, the authority eliminated 29 weekday routes and reduced service on 104 others. It slashed nearly 300 jobs and scaled back management benefits.
Some critics say Port Authority didn't go far enough to shore up its finances.

"As far as I'm concerned, they could shut the thing down completely," said Ed Komoroski, of Ross, who works Downtown. "When you take into consideration the fact that only 5 percent or so of the county population actually uses Port Authority and the fact that many, many of those riders are the same people over and over again, you can see that a very small number of people will actually be affected." (Evergrey's note: try 10.5%, one of the highest rates in the nation, jackass)

Authority officials are looking to restructure the route system in the next year and will have to make tough decisions about what routes survive.

For example, they will look at the cost of running long routes from Downtown to distant suburbs, and some even into neighboring counties. They could decide that some routes should only feed busways and the T, or that others should be shortened.

"It's a shame that we're living in a society where we should be enhancing public transportation to make it more attractive to people and we're going in the opposite direction," said Charles Martoni, an authority board member and county councilman.

The 3.5-percent decline in weekday bus ridership -- representing 8,400 fares -- is better than the 4 percent drop that agency officials expected. The average weekday ridership is 240,000.

"We've got to be happy about it because they were projecting a lot more than that," said Jack Brooks, the authority's board chairman.

Brooks does not anticipate the fare hike will trigger more losses.

"I don't think it'll hurt one bit," he said. "The price to park Downtown would chase anybody away from wanting to drive."

Even with the cuts and a 25-cent base fare increase that started Jan. 1, the agency said it could end fiscal 2008 with a $23 million deficit.

That's because county Chief Executive Dan Onorato plans to withhold the agency's $3 million subsidy in the spring if it is not able to cut labor costs through union negotiations, which have started.

The contract for more than 2,200 drivers and mechanics expires June 30. Talks so far have not been productive, officials said.

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

Evergrey

01-23-2008, 10:11 AM

a nice story about how nothing gets done on Mt. Washington and it's just left to rot due to selfish, delusional NIMBYs... IMO we should develop the shit out of this neighborhood... other neighborhoods may require sensitivity when pursuing development... but Mt. Washington should be all guns blazing... the current state of Mt. Washington is an EMBARRASSMENT to the entire region

and what do the morons who stall progress in Mt. Washington complain about? frickin' parking!

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08023/851282-28.stm

Primed for development and already a popular destination, Mount Washington sits at a crossroads

First of two parts

Wednesday, January 23, 2008
By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200801/20080123ds_mt_wash_shiloh_0118cc_330.jpg
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
Part of the Shiloh Street business district on Mount Washington.

A five-minute tour of Mount Washington reveals both the possibility of the place, and the inertia of it.

On Grandview Avenue there are no fewer than three undeveloped pits where condominium buildings have been promised, but delayed. On Virginia Avenue, one of three commercial strips twisting through the roller-coaster neighborhood, lies a former grocery store parcel that was supposed to be a coffee shop or deli - but nothing's there, years later, except grass. The dilapidated former Edge restaurant, once the prospective site of a Ritz-Carlton hotel, is still a hulking eyesore, with no plans to tear it down or rehab it.

Yet of Pittsburgh's 90 neighborhoods, perhaps none is so uniquely positioned for both retail and residential development as is Mount Washington. The views are unparalleled. Its 10,000 residents are captive to the hilltop. And unlike most city neighborhoods, Mount Washington receives a steady stream of tourists, delivered there by the inclined passenger railways from Station Square, thousands of them a week, looking to spend some money.

But the feeling among many of the business and property owners is that the Mount Washington, for all of its promise, is falling behind the chic city neighborhoods such as Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, South Side and East Liberty, scaring off serious would-be residential and commercial developers with lawsuits, infighting and endless arguments about tree height and parking availability.

"In their hearts, they think they're doing the right thing," said Chuck Wallace, owner of Wallace Florist on Virginia Avenue and a life-long Mount Washington resident. "But they're worried about 20 years from now. I'm worried about Mount Washington right now."

Right now, Mount Washington might be at the cusp of major change - or it might not be. The neighborhood's community development corporation is searching for a new executive director. The corporation's Main Street committee is designing a business district "vision plan," a blueprint to guide growth and cosmetic improvements through the next decade. Most controversially, the community and the city's planning department are drawing up a new zoning map for the neighborhood, one that could open Virginia Avenue for more commercial activity - or preserve it for residential use.

It is, by all accounts, a critical juncture for the neighborhood that once was home to coal miners, iron workers and their families, and now to a mix of blue-collar workers, young professionals, retirees, millionaires, and more and more college students renting duplexes.

"The real the challenge here is that people are unable to see the vision," said Greg Panza, of the Mount Washington Community Development Corporation. "People here just need to see" the possibilities, Mr. Panza said.

Possibility is one thing, accessibility another. For all of its built-in advantages - most of all, the sweeping skyline view that developer after developer has sought to exploit with plans for luxury housing - Mount Washington also suffers from some built-in disadvantages: narrow streets, poor parking and hilly topography.

Many of the homes on Mount Washington are more than a century old, built in the time before cars. That means that many of them are without garages, which means residents park along sidewalks, or on top of them. Ask anyone leaving St. Mary of the Mount on a Sunday how difficult it can be to navigate the side streets leading away from Grandview and toward the heart of the Mount. You're lucky to come away with your mirrors intact. (Evergrey's note: Sounds like a little exaggeration. Aren't "narrow streets" part of the charm of our most desirable urban neighborhoods?)

That's why Frank Valenta, new president of the MWCDC, bristles when he's called "anti-development" by people who want to build big condo towers, adding more cars to the streets.

"People are very possessive of their parking spots," Mr. Valenta said. "Parking is a real issue ... These are the cold, hard facts. It isn't that some people are just [automatically] opposed to what goes in there."

It seems like a manageable issue, but time and again, commercial and residential projects large and small have been derailed mostly - or entirely - by parking concerns.

Take the former grocery store parcel on Virginia, vacant for more than 40 years. That's owned by the Pirain family, which also owns the pizza shop across the street. At first, Richard Pirain sought community input via a Web poll, asking residents what they wanted him to build there. Eventually, he decided on a split-use building, retail shops on the bottom, some apartments on the top.

That was 2003. He battled with neighbors, City Council and Mayor Tom Murphy for the next two years on zoning issues, and eventually gave up. "I'm done with them," Mr. Pirain said. "It doesn't make any sense that these people don't look at the future. For some reason, [they] don't want change."

He's talking about Melanie Smith, who lives around the corner from that vacant lot on Maple Terrace, and house-mate Michelle Cunko, who consider themselves guardians of the Virginia Avenue corridor. The most vociferous of the project's opponents, they also objected to Mr. Pirain's pizza and six-pack shop, Cestone's. Regarding Mr. Pirain's more recent plans, they say the lot is too small to accommodate the parking needed for the stores and apartments.

But more than that, they say, Mount Washington doesn't need new commercial space when so much of the existing space is empty, on Shiloh, Boggs and Southern. "All three of those districts have problems," said Ms. Smith. "We really need to develop what we've got ... Until we do that, I don't think it's even appropriate to work on other commercial areas."

That years-old argument continues to play out today, as the city planning department goes about fine-tuning Pittsburgh's new zoning code. It gathered an initial batch of testimony from Mount Washington residents on Dec. 10, and interest was so high, the department hopes to schedule another public comment hearing for March, said planner Justin Miller. After that, the city will decide whether to expand the commercial zoning on Virginia Avenue, or keep it residential.

But for every substantive thing they fight about, there's something else like the tree-topping issue that has paralyzed community meetings for more than a year. The skyline view, of course, is Mount Washington's most valuable asset, and worth arguing about. Still, it's hard to fathom the acrimony that's stirred as residents debate whether forestry workers should prune the trees, leave them be, cut them down entirely, or lop the tops off, to preserve that million-dollar view. Also at odds are the city's new forester, David Jahn, and housing developers -- namely, Tom Chunchick, of R.E. Crawford Construction.

His company built three, 4,000-square-foot townhomes near Bailey Avenue. They're listed at $800,000, but so, far no takers. That's partly because of the bad real estate market.

But it's also because you can't see the city skyline with all the trees blocking the view. He's spent a year pleading with the city and battling a few of his Mount Washington neighbors, especially the church next door, he said, over the darned trees.

"I was there about six weeks ago. I had two prospective buyers there," he said. "Both of them looked out the window and said, 'You want me to pay this price for this place, and I can't even see the city.'"

What they see instead is a neighborhood not quite living up to its potential.

Bill Toland can be reached at btoland@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2625.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20080123Mt_Washington_biz.gif

...

These are the three $800,000 townhomes near Bailey Ave. mentioned at the end of the article.
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/91576172.jpg

here's the view the units have... obscured by trees
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/66651625.jpg

the view from the other side of the block in wintertime
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2108/2214303828_5f31456c42_b.jpg

JackStraw

01-23-2008, 12:55 PM

In other cities mt. washington would be the hip, booming, diversified neighborhood with prices shooting through the roof. It is a shame the area that most tourist visit when they come to Pittsburgh is Grand ave on mnt. Washington.

chiaroscuro

01-23-2008, 04:07 PM

JackStraw

01-23-2008, 04:43 PM

It is pretty steep the whole way down to the west busway. I think an area that needs some development is on the flats west of Station Square. The endless parking lots the whole way down to the Duquesne incline. Yeah, the IC light ampitheter is there. The worst concert venue ever, get rid of it. That whole area could be prime land for good retail and residential land. Also, Knock down that god awful three rivers building there at the bottom of the hill. What is the deal with that?

Brentsters

01-23-2008, 05:01 PM

The amphitheater is no longer there, it's moving to Sandcastle I think. The whole area has been in limbo ever since they lost the casino rights.

Evergrey

01-23-2008, 05:24 PM

Stupid Question Alert....

I'm not intimately familiar with the geography or topography of this area, but is there any possibility to someday develop (terrace) the slope of Mt Washington? Say, a little west of Station Square?

The URA wanted to develop 30 homes on the "saddle" area of Mt. Washington a few years back... which is to the east of the Monongahela Incline... but the proposal was opposed by Mt. Washington residents and environmentalists. If small condo buildings can't get built on Grandview... then there's no chance in hell the saddle would ever get developed.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_84921.html

It is pretty steep the whole way down to the west busway. I think an area that needs some development is on the flats west of Station Square. The endless parking lots the whole way down to the Duquesne incline. Yeah, the IC light ampitheter is there. The worst concert venue ever, get rid of it. That whole area could be prime land for good retail and residential land. Also, Knock down that god awful three rivers building there at the bottom of the hill. What is the deal with that?

Well yeah... Station Square would be the perfect spot for massive urban development (which would probably be opposed by Mt. Washington residents and people who are obsessed with traffic and parking). The owners of the property, Cleveland-based Forest City, are doing major urban developments in Brooklyn, but they probably aren't interested in putting too much effort into this site.

And yes... that Three Rivers Building totally sucks... I've hated that all my life... the entire riverfront west of the Sheraton is a wasteland. There's so little room between river, road and hillside... that I doubt much could be built along that corridor west of Station Square... but it would be nice to see some of the existing ugly structures demolished.

The amphitheater is no longer there, it's moving to Sandcastle I think. The whole area has been in limbo ever since they lost the casino rights.

The Sandcastle venue was supposed to open last year... but then LiveNation or whoever owns it decided to delay it... haven't heard if it's opening this year.

Brentsters

01-23-2008, 06:06 PM

I think this is the 5-story building next to the library and the church

http://postgazette.com/pg/08023/851507-100.stm

Condos planned for old East Liberty YMCA

Wednesday, January 23, 2008
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A subsidiary of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation will provide $885,000 to an East Liberty agency to help convert the YMCA building and two houses into condominiums.

The loan from the Landmarks Community Capital Corp. will be part of a $1.1 million investment into the two projects, which are being advanced by East Liberty Development Inc. The city Urban Redevelopment Authority also has committed $250,000 to the work.

ELDI is working with MEIZ Development Co. LLC of Denver to convert the YMCA building into market-rate condos with retail on the first floor. Part of the Landmarks Community loan will be used to acquire the the YMCA Building. The $250,000 from the URA also will be used for that project.

The rest of the money will be used to rehabilitate two Queen Anne style houses dating to 1892 and located on Rippey Street into eight market rate condos. The houses are considered to be historically significant but are dilapidated.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle and representatives from the various agencies will hold an event in East Liberty tomorrow to discuss the projects.

Gilamonster

01-23-2008, 09:14 PM

The Mt. Washington situation is amazing and frustrating. I agree with you Jackstraw; In any other city, a neighborhood on a bluff overlooking downtown, would be a glitzy, extravagant, and vibrant neighborhood. The nimby's are strong up there! Of course parking is a legitimate concern so parking should be included in in any major developments. However I was just wondering how many parking spots a pizza shop would require???? I guess even one is too many for Ms. Smith and Cunko.
I predict that Mt. Washington will eventually move forward but not for a while. This sounds harsh, but when some of the older property owners die off and properties change hands, the resistance to change will lighten up. It's a good sign to me that more college kids are livng up there, albeit renting for the school year. The other consideration is that there is just too much potential money to be made with the view up there. Something will give eventually.

Evergrey

01-24-2008, 12:58 PM

fascinating... anybody remember The Edge restaurant (Grego?)?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08024/851686-28.stm

Infighting marks Mount Washington's past, present

Thursday, January 24, 2008
By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Second of two parts

Within Pittsburgh's city limits, Mount Washington, with its million-dollar views and penny-ante feuds, is rivaled by perhaps only the Hill District when it comes to its capacity for tribal warfare.

Opinionated residents form alliances. The blue-collar faction aligned behind Frank Valenta, a former labor organizer skilled at politicking, often is in agreement with Paul Renne's supporters who, like Mr. Renne (a former H.J. Heinz chief financial officer ), typically are from a more professional class.

These groups can find themselves feuding with the more environmentally conscious Mount Washington residents -- those who have worked to preserve Grandview Park and its hillside trees. The people who live closer Bailey and Boggs avenues, the former with its stately brick homes and the latter with its neglected business strip, feel overlooked by the rest. And then there are the Mount's independent stakeholders, those like Chuck Wallace, who owns Wallace Florist and a dozen more parcels on Virginia Avenue.

They're not uniquely querulous. Before Mr. Renne and Mr. Valenta were feuding with Mr. Wallace, the likes of Sam Spatter, Philip Baskin, Gil Kaib, Dr. Paul Petraglia and William Kerschbaumer were doing the same, suing the city and slinging mud.

The infighting can be demoralizing, and it's one of the reasons many business and property owners say that Mount Washington, for all of its built-in potential, is losing some of the luster that made it one of the most livable neighborhoods in America's most livable city.

"We're going backwards, in my opinion," Mr. Wallace said.

Backward, forward, or stagnant -- it's a critical crossroads for Mount Washington, as it considers a new business blueprint, mulls zoning changes for Virginia Avenue and searches for a new director for it development board, hoping to settle on a vision for the neighborhood.

But whose vision?

It's a good thing, the rivals say about each other, that so many care so deeply about the community. But with so many people rushing forth to be the standard-bearers of the Mount, it's easy for legs to get tangled: Older residents are leery of newcomers. Homeowners are aggravated by landlords and renters.

Paul Tellers, former president of the Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, recalls the hostility he sometimes faced because he lived in Chatham Village, a community of brick townhomes sequestered from the rest of the Mount.

"When a person from Chatham Village offers an opinion, some people would say, 'What do you care? This doesn't affect you,'" he said.

There are possibly two things that everyone can agree on -- that they are tired of waiting for Craig Cozza, the developer who has the zoning approval to build two condo towers along Grandview Avenue, to go ahead and finally build. And they're tired of waiting for someone to raze the Edge, the boarded-up Grandview restaurant owned by opthamologist Francis Hurite.

"Isn't that a shame?" Mr. Valenta said. "Where the hell is city hall on this one?"

But even in these cases, the neighborhood bears at least a bit of culpability. "We continue to get lawsuits from the neighbor behind us," said Mr. Cozza of his planned 10-story tower in the 1400 block of Grandview. "We can't get any momentum there."

And several developers have expressed interest in the Edge site, near the Monongahela Incline, but they've been shooed away by residents worried about traffic, parking, eminent domain and the structural integrity of the hillside, which drops toward a recessed area of Mount Washington known as The Saddle. "We have to be one of the only communities that has ever chased the Ritz-Carlton away," said Mr. Wallace.

The Ritz-Carlton project had its innate problems -- namely, an inability to secure financing. But that was years ago, in the early 1990s. More recently, local developer Luke Desmone proposed a luxury hotel and apartment for the Edge site, and word is that he is interested again, though neither Mr. Desmone nor Dr. Hurite could be reached.

But as history has shown, mere interest in Mount Washington isn't nearly enough. You also have to win the minds of its most politically active residents.

"There are the people who live on Grandview," said Common Pleas Court Judge Alan Hertzberg, and "then there's everybody else up there."

The Census seems to back him up. The median income of those in the 15211 ZIP code was $34,000 in 2000. But those earning more than $200,000 annually had $246.7 million in aggregate income, compared to $22.2 million combined for everyone else.

"Everyone else" might not mind new retail shops, he suggested, but the Grandview crowd has the time and resources to fight whatever it doesn't like.

Mr. Hertzberg is a veteran of these Mount Washington battlegrounds. A former city councilman, he represented Mount Washington, and his time on council was marked by ongoing contests over zoning and development on the Mount. The biggest came four years ago, when he was on the losing side of a fight to allow more high-density housing on Grandview. Council voted 8-1 to create a special zoning label for Grandview Avenue, limiting new buildings to 40 feet and restricting the number of housing units in one building. The zoning campaign was led by Mr. Renne and his wife, Joyce.

Mr. Hertzberg contrasts his experiences in Mount Washington to the West End, which he also represented while on City Council. "They were development-hungry down there," he said. That hunger has begun to pay dividends, with new shops and restaurants in what still is a transitional neighborhood.

"I understand the people's perspective -- the longtime residents, they don't want to see things change," he said. "But this is one of the key locations in Pittsburgh. I always felt we needed to take advantage of it."

That phrase "take advantage" has two meanings. Developers want to take advantage of the view, the moneyed homeowners and the built-in tourist draw. But many of the neighborhood stalwarts feel the would-be developers want to take advantage of the community and its people, buying up tracts of residential homes and plopping a big box, like the Virginia Avenue Rite Aid pharmacy, in its place.

"If he wants to live across the street from a Burger King, that's fine," said Michele Cunko, whose duplex sits near the Rite Aid and across from the properties owned by Mr. Wallace.

"But I don't."

Changes comes slowly, by result. The Edge restaurant has been empty since 1979. And it took 15 years to raze the former St. Mary of the Mount High School, a prime bit of Grandview Avenue real estate that was a magnet for derelicts and vandals until a developer agreed to build some townhouses there.

The pace of progress there isn't uncommon among post-industrial cities, of course, but in neighborhood unanimously agreed to have so much potential, it's especially frustrating.

"There's enough people on Mount Washington that are uncomfortable with change that it's not a fertile ground for development," Mr. Tellers said.

And so development, for the time being, will come bit-by-bit, and not in the sweeping, neighborhood-altering way that it's come to, say, East Liberty. That's where the Main Street planning, led by the CDC, comes in, recruiting businesses that are good fits for certain streets. Shiloh, for example, which connects with Grandview near the Monongahela Incline, seems a better fit for tourist gift shops and restaurants (one survey said 13 percent of the people who shop on Shiloh are tourists or from out of town). Virginia and Boggs may better suited for neighborhood services such as groceries, delis, bakeries, doctors offices and dry cleaners.

If Mount Washington is to rebound from its self-diagnosed malaise, it will require a greater degree of cooperation and communication than has been customary, said Pete Karlovich, whose glassy modern mansion on Bailey Avenue is one of the biggest single-family investments the area has ever seen. Last fall, he ran for, and was elected to, Mount Washington's CDC. "We've made a fairly large investment up here," he said, speaking for himself and partner Steve Herforth. Now, "we turned our attention to the rest of the neighborhood."

They bought a house across the street, and are in the process of turning it into a high-end duplex. Two blocks to the west, they've purchased a commercial building, updating the apartments on the top floors and the retail space on the bottom. They've also had their eyes on other nearby buildings with potential, and with city views.

Mr. Karlovich believes others with deep pockets see the benefit of a piecemeal approach, citing several residential and commercial buildings that have changed hands recently and are being renovated, without much community opposition. Now, he said, "there are some folks who are trying to do some things."

But then, people have been trying to do things there for years. Getting things done is something else altogether.

Bill Toland can be reached at btoland@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2625.

...

here's a link from 2005 about Desmone's proposed condo project for The Edge site
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05045/457162-53.stm

Evergrey

01-24-2008, 01:20 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08024/851818-55.stm

Two more office buildings possible at SouthSide Works

Would complement planned Hofbrauhaus restaurant, hotel complex, condos

Thursday, January 24, 2008
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After finalizing deals for a Hofbrauhaus restaurant and a $48 million luxury hotel and condo development, the Soffer Organization is gearing up for an encore -- as many as two more office buildings at its SouthSide Works complex.

Soffer has invited local real estate brokers to a reception Feb. 7 to unveil plans for one of two additional office buildings under consideration for the Monongahela riverfront property.

The building to be discussed that evening is called Quantum 5 and would be adjacent to the proposed Hofbrauhaus restaurant, which is expected to open next fall after several years of delay.

Mark Dellana, Soffer executive vice president of operations, development and construction, said the reception is a way of letting brokers know "what possibilities are remaining at the South Side development."

The potential new development comes on the heels of two good months for Soffer, which presented plans for the German-style Hofbrauhaus, only the third in the United States, to the city Urban Redevelopment Authority this month.

In December, the URA approved the sale of an acre at the SouthSide Works complex to DOC-Economou for a mixed-use development that will feature 140 hotel rooms, 23 private condos, a 20,000-square-foot spa, a two-story ballroom, an 18,000-square-foot events center, and another 20,000 square feet of retail and dining space.

The Quantum 5 building would supplement two existing office buildings at the complex and another under construction that will serve as part of the American Eagle Outfitters headquarters. Another building, Quantum 4, also is in the planning stages.

Mr. Dellana and Jim Wilding, Soffer executive vice president, said the reception will kick off the search for tenants to occupy Quantum 5.

"We're looking for a major tenant. When we get a major tenant we will proceed," Mr. Wilding said.

Landing a lead tenant first helps from a design standpoint, he noted, although he added it also is beneficial "in taking the recession equation out of it."

Quantum 4 would be built adjacent to the Quantum 3 building, which will house American Eagle and which is expected to open this fall. The retailer now occupies one building at the site and will continue to use it and the new one once it opens. There's talk that the retailer could add yet another building at some point.

"That could happen," Mr. Wilding said. "The one's being built right now. The other would be purely dependent on their needs and timing."

An American Eagle spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

There's also speculation that Equitable Resources, which has its headquarters in a new office building on the North Shore between PNC Park and Heinz Field, could be interested in moving elsewhere, with the South Side as one possibility.

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

Evergrey

01-24-2008, 01:24 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08024/851813-53.stm

Council OKs parcel sales to Downtown developer

Thursday, January 24, 2008
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh City Council yesterday approved the sale of eight Downtown parcels, including the former G.C. Murphy Co. store, to an affiliate of Millcraft Industries.

The $2.31 million sale would pave the way for the rebirth of the complex as stores, housing and a relocated Downtown YMCA.

Council's vote was 5-0, with Darlene Harris, Bruce Kraus and William Peduto abstaining, and Dan Deasy out of the room.

Some council members were concerned because the sale price is much lower than what the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority paid for the parcels.

The URA bought the parcels, bounded by Forbes Avenue, Market Place, Fifth Avenue and McMasters Way, for $6.48 million from 2002 through 2006. URA general counsel Don Kortlandt said the agency has "historically invested more in redevelopment properties than the market can."

"That's the cost of taking a bad situation and turning it into a good situation," he said. "You've got a cluster of things that are going to come to Fifth Avenue and turn it from a boarded-up, depressing place" into a vital marketplace.

Mr. Kortlandt said the sale may close in the first quarter of this year, but the exact timing is dependent on a final piece of the financing plan being assembled by Millcraft Industries.

In addition to the Murphy's project, PNC Financial Services Group is building a large office building on Fifth across from Murphy's and Millcraft is redeveloping the former Lazarus department store at Fifth and Wood Street into restaurants, offices and condominiums.

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

Evergrey

01-24-2008, 01:26 PM

more on East Liberty YMCA conversion...anyone got a picture of this building?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08024/851821-53.stm

East Liberty YMCA building being converted into condos

Part of goal to build 1,000 housing units in city neighborhood

Thursday, January 24, 2008
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The YMCA building and four old dilapidated townhouses in East Liberty could get a new life as condominiums with the help of $1.1 million in funding, most of it from a subsidiary of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle and other officials will hold a news conference this morning to acknowledge the $885,000 loan awarded by the Landmarks Community Capital Corp. to help finance the projects. The city Urban Redevelopment Authority is supplying $250,000 toward the YMCA project.

The $885,000 loan is the first awarded by nonprofit Landmarks Community, which came into existence about three months ago, and is the largest loan ever made by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation to a community-based organization.

"It's a smart investment on our part, working with a great organization that's committed to making positive changes in the East Liberty core," said Dr. Howard B. Slaughter Jr., Landmarks Community chief executive officer.

East Liberty Development Inc. has teamed with Denver-based MEIZ Development Co. to convert the vacant YMCA building at 120 Whitfield St. into 30 to 35 market rate condominiums plus ground-level retail and community space.

The $7 million project is part of a town square concept built around the East Liberty Presbyterian Church and the Carnegie Library.

"This is the first market rate housing to happen in the core. We're really excited to save an old building and to breath new life into it," said Ernie Hogan, East Liberty Development deputy director.

With the help of the Landmarks Community loan, ELDI already has acquired the YMCA building for a little more than $600,000. It and MEIZ hope to begin the development either this fall or in spring 2009.

The condos, which would range in size from 700 square feet to 1,500 square feet, would start at $185,000. The YMCA building was built in 1908 and at one time was a major activity center for the neighborhood.

On Rippey Street, the historically significant Queen Anne-style houses date to 1892. They have fallen into disrepair in recent years.

ELDI already has started rehab work on the properties. It intends to convert the houses into eight market rate condos, each with 1,500 square feet and a sales price of about $149,000.

It hopes to start construction of the units this summer and have them available for sale next year. The rehab is expected to cost about $1.4 million, with help from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and the URA as well as Landmarks Community.

"These are very wonderful historical homes that are going to be converted," Mr. Slaughter said.

Mr. Hogan said the project is part of a commitment to the community to build 1,000 units of housing in the neighborhood. To date, 427 units have been completed.

"This is just continuing on that promise," he said.

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

edncc1701d

01-24-2008, 01:32 PM

As a (fairly new) resident of Mt. Washington, I have seen many of the things this article talks about. After my wife and I bought our house and we moved in, we discovered that we were the first new home owners on the street in decades. The first thing that the self-appointed “mayor” of our street informed us about was the “un-official” parking arrangements. I will say that the “mayor” has helped to keep an eye on everyone’s home and fight questionable neighborhood changes (reporting crimes, people not taking care of their property, setting up conservation districts along wooded areas, etc) I do think that it is great that these people (my neighbors) care about their homes and neighborhoods; however, the overall situation does need to change. Mt. Washington and Duquesne Heights has such potential that is literally sitting untapped.

The neighborhood has a ton of benefits besides the view. It is within quick driving distance of downtown, Oakland, many other city neighborhoods and suburban destinations. With a dedicated bus line running down the western end of Grandview, it could be a very short transit commute into the city (current bus service there is horrible). A huge variety of housing stock to meet all incomes, shapes and seizes. A fairly intact business district.

But right now, as the newspaper reports, all of this is stagnating. The many vacant lots along Grandview are a testament to this. Mt. Washington could easily be one of the top city neighborhoods. ...

Brentsters

01-24-2008, 01:41 PM

no picture, but here's the google streetview of it.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=120+S+Whitfield+St,+Pittsburgh,+Allegheny,+Pennsylvania+15206,+United+States&ie=UTF8&cd=2&geocode=0,40.460810,-79.926257&sll=40.462311,-79.925336&sspn=0.006295,0.006295&safe=active&ll=40.469315,-79.925365&spn=0.015606,0.028925&z=15&om=0&layer=c&cbll=40.461322,-79.925913&cbp=1,249.02340890835111,,0,-25.90301369207854

Evergrey

01-24-2008, 02:52 PM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_548973.html

Allegheny County purchase of liens opens doors to development

By Justin Vellucci
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, January 24, 2008

Doug Van Haitsma looks at a three-story apartment building in Swissvale and sees the heart of a revitalized neighborhood.
Now that Allegheny County has bought back the lien -- a legal claim for unpaid taxes -- on the Monongahela Avenue property, Van Haitsma said his plan to convert it and 50 nearby parcels into a Mon Valley gateway is a step closer to reality.

"It's a pocket within Swissvale that has really fallen on hard times," said Van Haitsma, real estate director for the Mon Valley Initiative, a development group. "Having those liens in friendly hands ... is a huge advantage."

The county redevelopment authority agreed Wednesday to spend $1.625 million to buy back liens on 19,013 properties it sold a decade ago to GLS Capital Inc. The purchase includes vacant homes, commercial buildings and undeveloped lots in 129 municipalities -- every town in the county except Pennsbury Village.

Officials hope the purchase spurs a development boom.
"We felt this was a pretty good deal," said Dennis Davin, director of the county's economic development office. "This gives us control of what happens at these properties."

The purchase also ends a 2007 lawsuit in which GLS accused the county of selling it "defective liens," such as ones for sites the government planned to acquire through eminent domain, county solicitor Mike Wojcik said. The Virginia-based company sought more than $1.85 million in damages, court records show.

"It became cumbersome having to deal with them," Wojcik said. "We can get GLS out of the picture now."

GLS could not be reached for comment.

Attorney E.J. Strassburger, who helped file the lawsuit, forwarded questions to an attorney who didn't return calls. Strassburger's firm also represents the Tribune-Review.

The purchase represents just part of the 77,000 delinquent accounts GLS bought for nearly $50 million in the mid-1990s.

About one in every four of the purchased properties -- roughly 4,500 -- are in Pittsburgh. The city's Urban Redevelopment Authority is interested in acquiring some liens in hopes of drawing developers to those properties, many of which are vacant, Davin said.

The head of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, which is restoring four Wilkinsburg homes once hit with tax liens, lauded the move.

"It sounds good to us because it (puts) the property back into the control of the county," said foundation president Arthur Ziegler. "It would make renewal of them much easier."

Patrick Shattuck, a ninth-generation Vermont native who moved to Wilkinsburg a year ago, agreed. He wants to turn vacant lots whose liens were bought by the county into parking and open space near his 108-year-old Edwardian home.

"The goal is to get the properties back into the hands of folks that are going to use them ... and make these communities vibrant again," Shattuck said.

The move to buy previously sold liens is not new. In 2006, Pittsburgh officials teamed with the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and Pittsburgh Public Schools to buy liens on more than 11,000 properties for $6.5 million. The city sold about 14,000 liens from 1996 to 1999 for $64 million.

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

Tax lien buybacks

Allegheny County: 19,013
Pittsburgh: 4,500

McKeesport: 1,200

Clairton: 700

Wilkinsburg: 500

Duquesne: 375

(Some numbers are approximate.)

Source: The Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County

Evergrey

01-25-2008, 05:42 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_549187.html

Bringing East Liberty back to life

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-01-24/0125pymca-a.jpg
Mark Meiser of Meiz Development Co., the developer working on the conversion of East Liberty's century-old YMCA building into condominiums and retail space, calls the building "fabulous. I love the architecture. I love the setting."
Sidney L. Davis/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-01-24/0126pwelcome-a.jpg
Howard Slaughter of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation welcomes U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Swissvale, at a press conference Thursday in front of East Liberty's YMCA building. Slaughter's group gave a loan of $885,000 to a project that will convert the building into condominiums and retail space.
Sidney L. Davis/Tribune-Review

By David M. Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, January 25, 2008

With its ornate, arched entryway on Whitfield Street, the century-old former YMCA building in East Liberty evokes memories of when the neighborhood was a bustling retail district, second only to Downtown.
Older residents recall streets lined with restaurants, jewelry and furniture stores, movie theaters, supermarkets and a department store. That was before the neighborhood deteriorated as urban redevelopment backfired, analysts say, and use of the YMCA dwindled.

But on Thursday, officials heralded the five-story brick building as the focal point for revitalizing the business district in a neighborhood that has shown signs of rebirth.

The building will be converted into 35 condominiums on the upper floors and retail space on the first floor. A nonprofit corporation formed last year by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation gave the project an $885,000 loan.

"This is the first project really in the core of East Liberty that's really going to bring life back to the neighborhood," Maelene Myers, executive director of the East Liberty Development Corp., said at a news conference. "I cannot say enough about partnership."
The below-market-rate loan -- the first announced by the new Landmarks Community Capital Corp.'s Urban Economic Loan Fund -- also is helping the development corporation rehabilitate two historically significant homes on Rippey Street. The loan has been combined with a $250,000 grant from the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority.

"What's happening with the 'Y' is a major piece of restoring old, viable East Liberty," said Arthur P. Ziegler, president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.

State Rep. Joe Preston, 60, of East Liberty noted that he and other public officials attending yesterday's news conference played basketball at the YMCA when they were growing up. The YMCA was closed more than a decade ago, and the building is now vacant.

"It's a good thing to see it coming back as something positive," Preston said.

Neighborhood advocates say the first seed for the neighborhood's rebirth was planted when the Home Depot opened on Penn Circle North in 2000.

Two years later, organic grocer Whole Foods made a successful debut on the other side of the circle at Centre Avenue. The Mosites Co.'s EastSide project brought in a Walgreens Drug Store, Starbucks coffee shop, and other retail outlets.

"We've seen a lot of success on the outskirts, but now we are in downtown East Liberty," said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

Mark Meiser of Meiz Development Co., the Denver-based developer on the $7 million conversion of the YMCA building, said East Liberty is prime for developments such as the condominiums.

"The building is fabulous. I love the architecture. I love the setting," Meiser said. "First and foremost, the timing is right for East Liberty. Whole Foods is nationally known as one of the best in the country. If they are here and prospering, that tells me the foundation is here."

City Councilman Ricky Burgess, whose district includes East Liberty, said the project is important to adjacent neighborhoods.

"East Liberty has to be a magnet," Burgess said. "It has to be bustling with development, with homeowners and shops. We hope to take this development further up and redevelop Brushton, Point Breeze, Homewood, the whole 9th Council District."

David M. Brown can be reached at dbrown@tribweb.com or 412-380-5614.

Evergrey

01-25-2008, 06:03 AM

finally... some news on Riverparc... I think we all saw this coming...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08025/852141-53.stm

Cultural Trust's housing plan proceeding with caution

Friday, January 25, 2008
By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A cascading U.S. credit crisis is not sinking the largest new housing development in Downtown history, according to Pittsburgh Cultural Trust boss Kevin McMahon.

It could, however, slow things down.

The original start date for the 700-unit, $460 million RiverParc project was summer 2007. But with no money borrowed or documents signed, the current plan is to begin in 2009.

"We're working methodically through the difficult issues in any development of this size," Mr. McMahon said, citing regular conversations with the Phoenix-based developer Concord-Eastridge and the complications involved with the project's environmentally friendly design, arts spaces and riverside park.

"We're sitting put until we're ready to jump."

Such caution may be the norm as real estate developers adjust to more stringent lending terms, a possible slowdown in corporate spending, uncertain consumer sentiment and the possibility of a recession.

All of that could slow the biggest local building boom since the late 1990s, when Heinz Field, PNC Park and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center went up at the same time. Last year, commercial construction in the Pittsburgh area totaled $3.55 billion, according to Ross-based Tall Timber Group, rising 20 percent as compared to 2006. Still in the pipeline are the $450 million Majestic Star Casino on the North Shore, a $290 million arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins and $1 billion in improvements to U.S. Steel Corp's Clairton Works.

Nowhere is the aggressive building more evident than in the Golden Triangle, where several hundred new housing units are under construction and more than 1,000 are still being planned, including the 700 from the Cultural Trust at Eighth Street and the Allegheny River.

The projects already under way or with financing in place should stay on schedule, real estate observers said, while those existing only in fanciful renderings could experience delays. Developers still chasing loans might be asked to commit more cash up front, pre-sell more units in the case of new residential units Downtown or guarantee higher cash flows to cover their mortgages.

"Anybody who hasn't started will be stalled," said Kevin Keane, executive vice president of Lincoln Property Co., which owns three major residential complexes Downtown, on the North Side and South Side.

"The winds are changing."

The same goes for office and retail projects across the region, noted Jeff Burd, president of Tall Timber Group and publisher of Breaking Ground magazine in Ross. A developer "may just say 'until this gets a little more clear, I am going to hold off for a while,' " he said.

At the least, "if you're going for a commercial loan, you will need more skin in the game than two or three years ago."

As recently as a year ago, Mr. Keane said, a developer could land a loan by paying as little as 10 to 20 percent down -- meaning a $40 million project would require only $4 million to $8 million up front. "Today, lenders are saying they want 30 to 40 percent down," Mr. Keane said. "That $4 million to $8 million turns into $12 million to $16 million. For any developer, that is a huge increase. ...will that stall or postpone development? My sense would be yes."

Despite such predictions, several developers said they foresee no changes in their plans this year. The Soffer Organization still plans to market the construction of two more office buildings at its SouthSide Works complex, and Columbus-based Continental Real Estate still plans another office building on the North Shore near PNC Park. Neither developer, however, plans to move forward without a major anchor tenant in hand. Both are pursuing Equitable Resources, currently in a new office building on the North Shore but looking for 250,000-300,000 square feet.

"We have been doing this for 30 years," said Continental Chairman Frank Kass, "paying back every penny every time."

Even in a good market, he said, Continental will not put up a building "on spec" -- with no tenants. "If tenants don't sign up because of their economic conditions we will not go ahead with the project.

"We are a low-risk borrower in a high-risk business."

Downtown, Holly Brubach said she sees no reason to alter her approach or timing on a condo makeover of a building at Sixth Avenue and Wood Street, despite the economic slowdown, the stricter lending standards and the abundance of competition for new tenants.

"It doesn't change my plans, and I am moving forward."

A former style editor for The New York Times, Ms. Brubach purchased The Granite building in late 2005. So far, she said, one of six planned residential units is under contract. She predicted that all six will be ready "for delivery" to buyers next fall.

But Scott Bergstein of Oxford Development Co. said the Downtown residential market is already tight. "The projects that are looking for financing are going to be challenged to find it and the debt is going to be more expensive," he said. "People will not be adding to that inventory until there is strong evidence that what exists now is being absorbed."

Oxford is the developer behind the new 23-story, $178 million Three PNC Plaza under construction along Fifth Avenue. That project includes 30 luxury condos that will be marketed for $500,000 or more, with some topping $1 million, according to past reports.

Mr. Bergstein, Oxford's vice president of realty services, would not confirm specific price ranges but acknowledged that the units will be for buyers who "are not so reliant on access to credit."

As a result, the current economic downturn "isn't affecting our approach to the 30 units at PNC. These are going to be the very top end of the condo residential market." With so many new projects competing for attention -- 1541 First Side, where prices range from $200,000 to $1.8 million; Piatt Place at the former Lazarus-Macy's building on Fifth Avenue; and the Carlyle at Wood Street and Fourth Avenue -- Mr. Bergstein believes the upscale units will continue to move. "I think the impact is going to be held at the lower end of the price scale rather than at the upper end," he said.

Mr. Keane, who in 2006 opened a 151-unit apartment tower Downtown called the Encore on 7th, disagrees with that assessment, arguing that there is not enough space Downtown for people making $30,000 to $45,000 a year.

"I certainly think the high end of the market has been satisfied," he said.

But Mr. Burd, publisher of Breaking Ground magazine, believes there is enough demand in the area to fill all the new Downtown residential projects and more. "You could have 10,000 people living Downtown," he said. In fact, he attributed the talk of overbuilding to competitive instincts. Mr. Keane's "attitude," Mr. Burd said, "is he built the last one people will want to rent or buy."

Staff writers Tim McNulty and Mark Belko contributed to this story. Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752.

fkohws

01-25-2008, 06:03 AM

nevermind

Evergrey

01-25-2008, 06:06 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08025/852107-85.stm

Expansion or new site eyed by Equitable

Energy firm moved into North Shore facility in early '05, quickly outgrew it

Friday, January 25, 2008
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Not three years after opening its new headquarters on the North Shore, Equitable Resources is looking to expand and potentially relocate, prompting city and Allegheny County officials to craft possible financial incentives to keep the company in Pittsburgh.

While still in the early stages, the city and the county have been working with Gov. Ed Rendell's administration to put together a financial assistance package for Equitable to keep the firm from straying too far, county Economic Development Director Dennis Davin said yesterday.

"I think the goal would be to keep them exactly where they are right now," he said, referring to the North Shore, where Equitable moved into its $30 million headquarters building in spring 2005.

Equitable already has outgrown that 180,000-square-foot office building, and is in need of additional space, spokesman David Spigelmyer said.

While the deal for Equitable to purchase Dominion Peoples collapsed last week, it did not diminish the need for more space, Mr. Spigelmyer said, adding that the company is going through a period of "extraordinary growth" with nearly $1.3 billion in capital expansion this year alone.

Mr. Spigelmyer said Equitable is considering the North Shore, Downtown, the South Side and other locations "throughout the region" in its expansion plans. He said the company's preference is to stay in the city and perhaps on the North Shore.

"We're there right now. One of the options is to expand on the North Shore. That's one of the options we're weighing," he said.

At the same time, Mr. Spigelmyer would not rule out a potential relocation outside of the county, saying that was "an option." He pointed out that about 75 percent of Equitable's operations are outside of Pennsylvania, in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.

Equitable currently has 460 employees at its North Shore headquarters, which was privately financed, and 788 in Pennsylvania as a whole. Mr. Spigelmyer said the company would like to consolidate all its office employees at a single location.

"We've outgrown the space we have on the North Shore. We either expand on the North Shore or look at other options," he said.

Continental Real Estate Cos., the developer that brought Equitable to the North Shore, has offered to build the company a second building that would be connected to its current headquarters, Continental Chairman Frank Kass said.

Mr. Kass said Equitable has 18 years to go on its North Shore lease and likely would have to find someone to sublease the space if it were to move elsewhere. But he added he did not want to see it come to that.

"That would be a setback for us. We're not looking forward to anything like that. So our job is to retain them," he said.

When asked about the prospect of Equitable leaving Allegheny County for a more suburban location, Mr. Kass said, "I can see no reason at all [why] they would do that.

"Equitable is a tremendous company and a tremendous citizen to the area and the city of Pittsburgh. I cannot see them wanting to do that."

Don Kortlandt, general counsel for the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority, said the city and the county have had a number of conversations with Equitable about its possible expansion and potential financial assistance.

After the Dominion Peoples deal fell through, Equitable officials were in touch to say they would be developing a "single scenario" in terms of space needs, potential new jobs to Pittsburgh and financial aspects, Mr. Kortlandt said. He said Equitable may be back in touch as soon as next month.

"So we're really in a holding pattern, waiting for them to come back to us with specifics about how they see this opportunity shaping up," he said.

Given the preliminary nature of things, neither the city, the county nor the state has put together any firm financial packages. Mr. Davin said that once Equitable settles on a location, public officials would be in a better position to respond.

Mr. Kortlandt said the city, the county and the state "want to do whatever we can within reason to keep and nurture the businesses we have in town."

"We're being as welcoming as possible," he said. "We're very, very committed to and excited about the idea of them staying."

Mr. Davin said potential financial packages could include tax increment financing, help in developing infrastructure or possible tax abatements.

"For a big project like this, we want to support and help in any way we can," he said.

Mr. Kortlandt played down the idea of Equitable moving outside the county.

"I don't think that's on their agenda. I think they're taking a hard good-faith look at how they can stay in Pittsburgh. So it's a very collaborative dialogue," he said.

Mr. Spigelmyer said Equitable hopes to make a decision on where to expand late this winter or early in the spring.

Dan Fitzpatrick contributed to this report. Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.