[diesel21]

I'm not surprised to see Barden back out either, especially with the news that his other casinos are hemorrhaging money as of late

[Evergrey]

I like the higher branches idea...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08110/874820-53.stm

Public to have say in ideas for Market Square

Firm hired to revitalize block

Saturday, April 19, 2008
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Imagine Market Square as an European-style piazza with more outdoor dining and dramatic lighting, or maybe as an oasis with lots of trees and grass, in keeping with the square's original use as a pasture.

Or perhaps a simple update is in order, with more outdoor dining and larger trees with higher branches to open up the square.

Those are the latest ideas for transforming the city's oldest public square, one undergoing a resurgence with a crackdown on illicit activity and new restaurants moving in.

The concepts were developed by Dina Klavon Design Associates Inc., a local landscape architectural firm hired by city planners to bring more life, both literally and figuratively, to Market Square.

They incorporate recommendations made in the Project for Public Spaces study done in 2006, feedback from Market Square merchants and the public, and steps taken by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, such as adding tables and outdoor heaters, to enliven the real estate.

The public will get a chance to comment on the proposals at a meeting at 5 p.m. May 5 at the Harris Theater on Liberty Avenue. The plans are available for viewing at www.DowntownPittsburgh.com.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and the Downtown Partnership hope to select a design and seek bids by the end of the summer. Construction could start in the fall or early next year. Cost estimates for each plan range from $3.2 million to $5 million.

"I think they're pretty powerful ideas," said Mike Edwards, president and chief executive officer of the Downtown Partnership. "What we've noticed is that some of the buzz in Market Square these days is in anticipation of some of these changes."

All three plans would block traffic on Forbes from cutting directly through the square. Vehicles would be forced around the square and then back onto Forbes. All three proposals are based on buses being removed from the square altogether, which is expected to happen on May 15.

In addition, under all three concepts, parking would be eliminated along the inside lanes within the square and the sidewalks extended to add more dining space.

The first plan, described as "Minimal" would trim back the marble risers that tend to separate the square into four quadrants, while the two others would eliminate them altogether, creating vast tracts of open space.

In one plan, dubbed "Oasis," Market Street would be closed to traffic through the square and both it and Forbes Avenue would be raised a few inches to create a more level space. In the third plan, called "Historic," the other streets within the square also would be raised, allowing for one grand space.

"This creates the piazza that many people have been asking for and talking about," Mr. Edwards said.

The Historic plan also would use pavers and lighting to trace the original exact footprint of the former Market House that once occupied the space and also would identify old vendor stalls. LED up-light technology would be used to highlight the historic elements and help to illuminate the square at night.

The Oasis plan would add more grass and new, larger trees to serve as a canopy. Both the Oasis and Historic plans also would move the stage from its current position near 1902 Tavern to the other side in front of PPG Place.
Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_563472.html

Point State Park upgrade takes form]

By F.A. Krift
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, April 21, 2008

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-04-20/0421ppark-a.jpg
A partial opening of Point State Park in June will give visitors about 10 to 12 acres of usable space close to Downtown. Still, work goes on and two events traditionally based in the park, the Three Rivers Regatta and the Three Rivers Arts Festival, will be held elsewhere this summer.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review

Point State Park's new sod is taking root. New metallic benches are in place. Electrical work is nearly done, and spring buds are sprouting.

Developers see the park's renovation as the legacy of Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary celebration, as a world-class upgrade and as a future green haven for urban dwellers.

"It's going to be bright. It's going to be shiny. It's going to be new," Bureau of State Parks Director John Norbeck said. "It's going to be an attraction more so than it's ever been."

A partial opening of the park is planned in early June, Riverlife Task Force Executive Director Lisa Schroeder said.

This "soft opening" will give visitors this summer about 10 to 12 acres of usable space close to Downtown that will be ready for the American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania bike race on June 29, said Chris Novak, spokeswoman for the Conservation and Natural Resources Department.

"We can hold as many people in the front of the park as we could in the entire park previously," said Ed Patton, the Riverlife Task Force's director of capital projects.

The rest of the park will remain behind a chain-link fence. Planting in woodland areas bordering the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers will be completed this year, Patton said. This area will be open to the public in 2009, but renovations on the fountain won't be completed until October 2010.

Two major events traditionally based in Point State Park will be elsewhere this summer.

The Three Rivers Regatta chose the North Shore between Heinz Field and PNC Park as home for the July 4 celebration.

"In terms of crowd control, water accessibility and parking, I'm not certain that Point State Park is quite ready for us," Three Rivers Regatta chairman John Bonassi said. "We would have been the first major group using the park. We thought under the circumstances that it would make more sense to use the North Shore."

The Three Rivers Arts Festival will be at locations Downtown instead of in the park, festival communications manager Lauren Bracey said.

The park closed in fall 2006 as the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources with the Riverlife Task Force, the city and Allegheny Conference on Community Development began a $35 million overhaul.

The renovations won't expand the size of the 36-acre park but will increase the amount of usable space. By filling in Fort Pitt's Music Bastion, for instance, planners opened a 4-acre area for recreation.

"The city side of the park will be the new green living room for Downtown," Schroeder said.

Riverlife Task Force officials want Point State Park to become a recreational destination for Downtown residents and workers as well as being linked to Three Rivers Park, a connected loop of trails and green space running along the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers.

Although the focal point of the city, Point State Park had outdated infrastructure that could barely handle the demands of major celebrations. The fountain was unreliable. The trees and flowers, which distinguished the park from the Downtown skyline, were unhealthy, according to the park renovation's Web site.

"It's a beautiful park from a distance," Schroeder said, "but it wasn't a very people place."

No longer, officials hope.

More native trees will be planted. Plans include planting 60,000 perennials and installing benches, bike racks, better lighting and terrazzo walkways edged with bluestone.

Accessible utility hookups for street vendors will untangle the messy wiring system that clogged the park during past events. An irrigation system will keep the landscaping healthy, Patton said, and the green space will be more open for play.

Norbeck said the historical interpretive plan will be written by this summer. The plan in the park's city side will be installed in October, Schroeder said

Later, the park will be connected to the Mon Wharf through a causeway and a bike path and on the Allegheny River side to its riverfront parks.

The Regatta wants to use the park when it's ready for bigger events, Bonassi said, possibly for concerts, hot air balloon releases, face painting and other activities.

Dollar Bank Jamboree officials are confident that Point State Park's new city side will be ready for that July 26 event, said Joseph B. Smith, Dollar Bank senior vice president of marketing.

"We think that we shouldn't have any problem," he said.

F.A. Krift can be reached at bkrift@tribweb.com or 412-380-5644.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_563473.html

Boaters to get docks at SouthSide Works

By Allison M. Heinrichs
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, April 21, 2008

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-04-20/0421pdocks-a.jpg
An architectural rendering of the South Shore Riverfront Park, where the SouthSide Works meets the Monongahela River, shows where plans have a 525-foot tie-up facility going for recreational boaters.
Environmental Planning & Design, LLC

Boaters cruising the three rivers soon could cap a day on the water by taking in a movie and dinner at SouthSide Works.

Today or Tuesday the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is expected to accept a $1.35 million federal grant to build a 525-foot tie-up facility for recreational boaters, accommodating as many as 17 docks along the Monongahela River bordering the former steelmaking site.

"This is going to be great, not only for Pittsburgh boaters, but for out-of-town boaters," said Terry Grantz of Shaler, who runs the Web site boatpittsburgh.com. "It would absolutely be a welcome way to encourage boating in the region."

The docks are part of a $10.5 million plan to bring river access back to the South Side after it was lost to the steel industry more than a century ago.

"One of the things that the community wanted out of the SouthSide Works when the mill went away was access to the riverfront again," said Rick Belloli, executive director of the South Side Local Development Co.

In addition to docks, a portion of a concrete river wall will be removed, crushed and recycled to regrade the shore so people can walk to the river. Bicyclists could ride from the shoreline to Pittsburgh's trail system. The site would be handicap-accessible and historic parts of the former mill would be retained.

"These are quality-of-life amenities that encourage and really promote residents and visitors to enjoy one of our city's greatest assets, which are the rivers," said Christine Fulton, vice president of public finance and external communications for DOC Economou, which is developing a hotel and condominiums at SouthSide Works. "That's really what it's all about."

Work on the park is expected to begin this year, with dock construction beginning near the end of 2009.

At least initially, boaters probably won't be charged to use the docks, said Angelo Taranto, assistant director of economic development for the city Urban Redevelopment Authority.

In addition to the federal grant, money for the project is coming from state, philanthropic and private sources, including The Heinz Endowments, Richard King Mellon Foundation and the energy company NiSource.

The federal money is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "users pay, users benefit" initiative that comes from taxes on boats, boating equipment and motor boat fuel, said Alberto Ortiz, grants coordinator for the northeast region, which includes Pennsylvania.

It is the largest grant of its type that Pennsylvania has received, said Scott Bollinger, boating facilities grants coordinator for the state Fish and Boat Commission.

Allegheny County averages 27,600 boat registrations each year, the highest in the state, according to the commission. Because more than 1,500 recreational boats used the three locks that access the Pittsburgh pool in 2006, the URA projects a steady stream of boaters using the tie-up facility, with a turnover of as many as five times a day during boating season.

Pittsburgh REI, which overlooks the Monongahela River at SouthSide Works, expects the docks to increase store traffic.

"We sell kayaks and you'll be able to kayak right to the store, so it's fantastic," store manager Ron Rodriguez said. "It's a whole other way to get to the SouthSide Works, which is great, and I think it will bring more people to the shoreline."

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

[Johnland]

What happened to the Construction thread for 3 PNC? Am I missing it?

[PA Pride]

What happened to the Construction thread for 3 PNC? Am I missing it?

Here it is! http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=128291&page=3&highlight=pittsburgh

Apparently, we are next looking forward to Jackstraw giving us a photo update on Friday. :tup:

[Evergrey]

could this whole process be bungled any more?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08113/875376-53.stm

Mayor hopes to chat with casino owner about $3 million pledge

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl hopes to meet with casino owner Don Barden as soon as tomorrow in an effort to ensure that $3 million in development money pledged to the Hill District remains available for use in the city.

Last week, Mr. Barden filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board asking permission to eliminate a pledge in his casino license application to put $3 million over three years into development in the Hill.

"I just want to have a conversation with him about some of the amendments that he proposed, just make sure that the interests of the taxpayers are protected in these discussions," Mr. Ravenstahl said. "I would anticipate that in some way, shape or form, if his proposal is not to use the $3 million in the Hill District, that it will be used in some capacity in the city of Pittsburgh."

Ed Fasulo, the Majestic Star Casino general manager in Pittsburgh, could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Barden had expected to be involved in what was then a proposed $350 million development adjacent to the new $290 million Penguins arena in the Hill District. Now the Penguins are leading that development push.

Mr. Ravenstahl said he assumes Mr. Barden will take the position that his $3 million pledge was "contingent upon [Mr. Barden having] development rights, which we know didn't happen, but that's a discussion we'll have."

Pittsburgh Councilwoman Tonya Payne, who represents the Hill, couldn't see a good reason for withdrawing the $3 million pledge.

"He's got the [casino] license, so he should have to live up to his commitments, right?" she said. "I think a promise made should be a promise kept. If he made a promise to the Hill District, he should keep that money in the Hill District."

She said that even if Mr. Barden doesn't want to give $3 million to a development with which he's not involved, there are plenty of other good uses for the money.

"All the social services in the Hill, housing development, commercial development -- there's a whole host of things it could be used for," she said.

Mr. Ravenstahl said that uncertainty about the $3 million should not derail efforts to reach an agreement with Hill District groups regarding guaranteed neighborhood benefits stemming from the arena.

"I think the discussions that we're having with the Hill District community are going well, and hopefully we'll be able to reach a community benefits agreement in the very near future," he said. "None of those discussions centered on, nor included, discussion about this $3 million."

It is up to the gaming control board to rule on Mr. Barden's request to amend terms of his application. His Pittsburgh entity, PITG Gaming LLC, expects to open the Majestic Star Casino on the North Shore next year.
Rich Lord can be reached at rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08113/875328-53.stm

Places: Arena evolution -- a functional building so far, but where's the fun?

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
By Pat Lowry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200804/arenadrawing2_500.jpg
In the most recent design, the main entrance to the new Penguins arena, at the corner of Washington Place and Centre Avenue, leads to an atrium that links to entrances on Fifth Avenue and offers views of Downtown.

The Penguins are stonewalling.

"We just, as a strategy, aren't going to talk to the press about [the arena design] until it's approved by the Planning Commission," Penguins spokesman Tom McMillan told me last week.

Stonewalling of a different sort is what city Planning Commission chair Wrenna Watson complained about at its April 8 meeting, at which it sent the architects, HOK Sport of Kansas City, back to the drawing board.

"I think we should have something a little more pleasant to look at than just the stone side of the building," said Watson of its east elevation. It's an issue that hits home for Watson, who lives in Crawford Square, the 1990s traditional neighborhood near the arena site.

Other commissioners had other kvetches, but they added up to the same thing: There is too little design detail on the $290 million arena's exterior walls. The architects prescribe slim, vertical banners for parts of the east and Centre Avenue elevations, but banners tend to look like what they are: a cheap way to gussy up a building and give it a theme.

Today at 1:15 p.m. in a pre-agenda briefing, the architects will bring further refinements to the commission. Its vote on the design, previously scheduled for today, has been postponed.

Most hockey arenas are about as inspiring as their corporate names. Some look like Quonset huts on steroids, others like industrial park buildings or monumental, monolithic drums. Often the only architectural interest comes from the masts and cables used to hold up the roofs.

Many arenas, too, have little context other than the parking lots that surround them. Not so in Pittsburgh, where the arena will butt up against a historic commercial district and be, literally, a stone's throw from 106-year-old Epiphany Church. What this massive building looks like matters more than in some other places, and its location and sloping site have had a big impact on the design.

The master plan, by Pittsburgh's UDA Architects, points out the 18,500-seat arena's urban qualities: It's built to the sidewalk in urban materials and along Fifth Avenue, providing space for retail storefronts. The seating bowl of the arena will be set back above the storefronts, which carry a rooftop plaza and are in scale with the three- and four-story buildings across the street.

The first design, unveiled in March 2007, is similar to the current one, but in between, in August, was something rather different. The barrel-vault structure, enclosed by a rectangular shell of brick, cast stone and glass, had been replaced by a giant metal-clad bowl that rose up out of the shell. The atrium was different, too, more assertive and irregular in form.

It's clear the architects have struggled with what the building should look like. An arena? A retail strip? A modern office building? The present scheme hints at all of that yet forgets to communicate one important thing: that something fun and sporting happens inside.

HOK, which designed PNC Park and Heinz Field, has made a name for itself as the premier architect of sports venues. While it has produced some stylish traditional and contemporary hockey arenas, it is not known for high-concept designs, such as the "bird's-nest" stadium and the bubble-wrapped aquatics building produced by other firms for the Beijing Olympics -- buildings that are functional sculptures. How functional remains to be seen, but this pair raises the bar for what sports facilities can look like, given a lavish budget, a desire to be daring and, in this case, a disregard for displacing thousands of residents.

The Pens' arena had its own, far more modest, displacements, but will do penance by striving for LEED certification. Green features in this nonsmoking building include accessibility to public transportation, energy-efficient systems, recycled and recyclable materials, daylighting and much more.

Pittsburgh's Green Building Alliance has been aggressive and successful in promoting green buildings here. The city needs a similar advocate to promote the early involvement of artists in architecture. It's tempting to imagine what the arena might look like if an artist had been involved from the beginning, as sculptor Ned Kahn was in the design of the Children's Museum.

The city and Pens are seeking an art consultant to define the arena's public art program, which will be asked to celebrate the revitalization of the Hill and Uptown and pay homage to Pittsburgh's hockey history. Let's invest some of its resources in the outside of the building. Give some detail to the Fifth Avenue storefronts. Play up the corner of Fifth Avenue and Washington Place. Make the arena look like the entertainment palace that it is, but in a way that's respectful to Epiphany Church.

The glass atrium provides an interior pedestrian connection between the primary entrance on Centre and the lower ones on Fifth, as well as expansive views of Downtown and the church. But its main entrance and plaza are sterile and bland, and the primary aesthetic virtue of its vast wall of glass may be that it will, to one degree or another, reflect the church and heighten its presence.

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

[JackStraw]

Here it is! http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=128291&page=3&highlight=pittsburgh

Apparently, we are next looking forward to Jackstraw giving us a photo update on Friday. :tup:

He never said "pretty please."

Actually I was suppose to be at a meeting at a firm downtown and then I was going to take a half day. But it was called off, so I never got to do it. Since it gets dark later now, I should be able to go one of these days after work. Sorry.

Should we just do PNC 3 in this thread. I didn't even know it was in that other forum until like last week.

[PA Pride]

^ I think the purpose of that thread is for people looking at individual buildings, which would include a lot of people who never click on the Pittsburgh thread.

[AaronPGH]

I should really take some pics since I walk past it every day. It's getting tall! The view of it walking over the Roberto Clemente bridge towards downtown is going to be stunning!

[JackStraw]

Here yinz go. It looks like they have the steel to about half way. They are pouring the concrete on the slabs as they go. Sometimes they will bring in a concrete pump and pump the concrete on the lower floors after they are erected. I saw cranes hulling concrete up instead of concrete pumps.

I hope this is only half the size.

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/7543/dscn0372ri2.jpg
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/7923/dscn0373xb8.jpg
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/7759/dscn0375kv6.jpg
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/44/dscn0377lv3.jpg
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/2040/dscn0378bf5.jpg
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9092/dscn0379vf8.jpg
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4262/dscn0382dq9.jpg

[PA Pride]

Nice work Jackstraw. I hear they're opening a Pants-N-At location on the first floor.

[EventHorizon]

Here yinz go. It looks like they have the steel to about half way. They are pouring the concrete on the slabs as they go. Sometimes they will bring in a concrete pump and pump the concrete on the lower floors after they are erected. I saw cranes hulling concrete up instead of concrete pumps.

I hope this is only half the size.

Thanks for those updated pictures, jack!

I think the building is supposed to be 23 floors - and by the looks of the photos, it's at about 10 floors ... so, yeah, it's only half the size now. It looks like it's gonna be a decent size!

[Johnland]

Wow. As much of a preservationist as I tend to be, I have to admit it is exciting to see this building going up.

[AaronPGH]

Wow. As much of a preservationist as I tend to be, I have to admit it is exciting to see this building going up.

They can coexist. You don't have to feel naughty saying that you like seeing a new building go up. :cool:

[JackStraw]

I say blast it all and put up super targets, starbucks, and walgreens. Imagine if the crappy Mexican Warstreets were a revamped into a mega-Home Depot! Then Pittsburgh would be caught up with the times, and finally be hip!

This is city-data forum right?

[Evergrey]

dude...

[cdc]

This bridge is cool news!

(Jack, we could use a "super target" in the east end.)


Eastside pedestrian bridge to open next year
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08114/875808-100.stm

The pedestrian walkway once touted as a physical and psychic
bridge between East Liberty and Shadyside has passed muster as a
design and is expected to be in place by autumn of next year.
...

[Johnland]

They can coexist. You don't have to feel naughty saying that you like seeing a new building go up. :cool:

Oh I know. It's just that Pittsburg has so much in historical assets, that I see them as something to capitalize on as much as tearing them down and building new. I know most of buildings razed for 3 PNC weren't extremely architecturally significant, but they were a part of Pittsburgh for about a century. I wish the economics were stronger to drive tenants to raise the properties up to their full economic rent level. Actually, I would've advocated leaving the vintage buildings in place and tearing down that eyesore of a parking gagrage that will eventually front on the new little park that PNC will put in place in the triangle between Market, Liberty and Fifth. But now I've just incurred the wrath of auto-users....

[PA Pride]

Sweet views if you live in the Stanwix Tower:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/ViewSouth.jpg
Source: http://www.625stanwixtower.com/RealSizeImages/SouthSideView.aspx

Website:http://www.625stanwixtower.com/Home.aspx

That is is such a weird building. It's twelve floors of apartments set atop a 10-storey parking garage with two floors of office space in between on the 11th and 12th floors. Built in 1967.

Evergrey, do you have a photo to share with us of this building? I can't find a good one.

[JackStraw]

Papride, I am sorry, I know you asked evergrey. I have a photo though that I took from the north shore. It doesn't have 625 Allegheny Tower as the subject, but it is clearly seen on the left of this photo.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/3043/61pnc1di9.jpg

[Evergrey]

^damnit, Jackstraw! ;)

nice photo... such a hideous building

[JackStraw]

^damnit, Jackstraw! ;)

nice photo... such a hideous building

yeah, but back in the 60's it was probably considered modern and cool looking. I bet in 30 years, our convention center is going to be called hideous looking.

[Evergrey]

yeah, but back in the 60's it was probably considered modern and cool looking. I bet in 30 years, our convention center is going to be called hideous looking.

well, it's monolithic nature with zero street-level interaction certainly presents the opportunity for devolving temporal perception

[PA Pride]

Thanks for posting Jack.

[Evergrey]

Allegheny County's getting a new "town centre"!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://kdka.com/video/?id=40538@kdka.dayport.com


...


however, another "town centre" remains in limbo

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_563936.html

[PA Pride]

Allegheny County's getting a new "town centre"!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://kdka.com/video/?id=40538@kdka.dayport.com

Robinson Township is just a few shopping centers short of becoming the next King of Prussia!

I hope one day there will be a strip mall that stretches completely around the circumference of the globe. You start off in Robinson Twp and drive across the parking lot, passing 3,000 malls, 15,000 starbucks and 150 countries and you arrive back at the same Applebees after 25,000 miles without ever turning the steering wheel once.

[Evergrey]

awesome!

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08115/876071-53.stm

PUMP to liven up Fridays in Market Square

Thursday, April 24, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project, or PUMP, is planning a summer's worth of concerts, events and activities in Market Square on Fridays to keep people Downtown after work.

PUMP developed "Stay & Play Fridays" after a survey of members last year found that nearly 60 percent felt the revitalization of Downtown should be the group's most important issue in 2008.

Dunkin' Donuts, which is to open a store in Market Square June 30, will partner with PUMP to sponsor "Stay & Play Fridays" from May 23 to Aug. 1.

PUMP believes the after-work activities will help merchants in Market Square and increase vibrancy Downtown.

"There is a definite need for affordable Downtown housing, cheaper parking and a more upbeat urban core that stays open after 5 p.m., and the survey results demonstrated 'Stay & Play Fridays' as something we have to do," PUMP Executive Director Erin Molchany said.

Details will be announced in coming weeks.

[marinog]

awesome!

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08115/876071-53.stm

PUMP to liven up Fridays in Market Square

Thursday, April 24, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project, or PUMP, is planning a summer's worth of concerts, events and activities in Market Square on Fridays to keep people Downtown after work.

PUMP developed "Stay & Play Fridays" after a survey of members last year found that nearly 60 percent felt the revitalization of Downtown should be the group's most important issue in 2008.

Dunkin' Donuts, which is to open a store in Market Square June 30, will partner with PUMP to sponsor "Stay & Play Fridays" from May 23 to Aug. 1.

PUMP believes the after-work activities will help merchants in Market Square and increase vibrancy Downtown.

"There is a definite need for affordable Downtown housing, cheaper parking and a more upbeat urban core that stays open after 5 p.m., and the survey results demonstrated 'Stay & Play Fridays' as something we have to do," PUMP Executive Director Erin Molchany said.

Details will be announced in coming weeks.

I know Erie has a similar idea with its thursday night block parties that have been very successful for downtown... They shut down a street a couple of blocks in downtown and have free concerts... You also can drink out on the streets and go from bar to bar... This will definately work here in pittsburgh...

[marinog]

Allegheny County's getting a new "town centre"!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://kdka.com/video/?id=40538@kdka.dayport.com


...


however, another "town centre" remains in limbo

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_563936.html

I love these traditional downtown centers that are out in the middle of nowhere... it is better than you average strip mall or shopping plaza though...

[CAPATeach]

Robinson Township is just a few shopping centers short of becoming the next King of Prussia!

I hope one day there will be a strip mall that stretches completely around the circumference of the globe. You start off in Robinson Twp and drive across the parking lot, passing 3,000 malls, 15,000 starbucks and 150 countries and you arrive back at the same Applebees after 25,000 miles without ever turning the steering wheel once.

While I only occasionally post on here, I browse it religiously, and that's one of the funniest things I've read on this site. Thank you, Pa Pride!

[PA Pride]

While I only occasionally post on here, I browse it religiously, and that's one of the funniest things I've read on this site. Thank you, Pa Pride!


Thanks! I've been known to lay down some humor from time to time.

[PA Pride]

This is pretty amazing:

Pittsburgh subway station tile mural worth $15 million
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/fringe/sfl-0424subway,0,5377654.story
Associated Press
10:35 AM EDT, April 24, 2008
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/media/photo/2008-04/38190999.jpg
PITTSBURGH - A mural in a Pittsburgh subway station has been appraised at $15 million.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County must now decide what to do with the Romare Bearden mural installed in 1984.

Officials say insuring it could cost the financially strapped agency more than $100,000 annually. Bearden was paid $90,000 for the mural.

The 60-foot-by-13-foot mural was appraised as the agency plans to remove it during construction to extend the subway to the city's North Shore.

[JackStraw]

Allegheny County's getting a new "town centre"!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://kdka.com/video/?id=40538@kdka.dayport.com


...


however, another "town centre" remains in limbo

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_563936.html


I hate how they say this is where businesses and people want to be. Do, I really live in a society where majority want to be in areas only accessible by cars, and parking lots. I worked up in Robinson on route 60 next to Sheets. It was hell having to go for a walk to pick up lunch. People would look at you funny for walking up there. There were times when I was almost hit walking across with a walk sign. I had to flip off so many damn ignorant drivers while working there. It sucked.

I also hate these towncenter bullshit. They are glorified stripmalls. That is all. Around Washington they have these new exurb suburbs, but they try to do them right where they put actual walkable retail in the center, and livable housing in a circle around it, and try to make it like a real town. Even though it is just garbage and should be redeveloping a old town instead of starting fresh in the exurbs.

But this shit in Robinson is nothing more then glorified stripmalls. Look at Robinson town square in a ariel image. It is like a freaking mile long with 2.5 sq miles of parking. Try to walk somewhere in that damn thing.

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9632/tileprintdj7.jpg

^That is one hell of a "Town Center"

Ok, I am done ranting...........I could write a 700 page books with my daily rants.

[Evergrey]

yeah... that was a disturbing quote by Onorato: "this is where people want to be"

[PA Pride]

yeah... that was a disturbing quote by Onorato: "this is where people want to be"

Well he's telling the truth. Humans will naturally be wasteful of landuse unless government controls and development rules force them to use land otherwise, such as in much of Europe.

[JackStraw]

The real funny thing was the news guy was like, "they celebrated Earth day by moving real Earth."

What a way to show your environmentilism. Destory the earth, and put up a parking lot!

I hate how in the end he compares it to the waterfront. This and the waterfront are completely different. Atleast the waterfront was a brownfield reclamation. This is just urban sprawl destruction to add more highway instead of spending 10 million fixing old infrastructure.

Ok, I am done.

[Grego43]

This is pretty amazing:

Pittsburgh subway station tile mural worth $15 million
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/fringe/sfl-0424subway,0,5377654.story
Associated Press
10:35 AM EDT, April 24, 2008
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/media/photo/2008-04/38190999.jpg
PITTSBURGH - A mural in a Pittsburgh subway station has been appraised at $15 million.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County must now decide what to do with the Romare Bearden mural installed in 1984.

Officials say insuring it could cost the financially strapped agency more than $100,000 annually. Bearden was paid $90,000 for the mural.

The 60-foot-by-13-foot mural was appraised as the agency plans to remove it during construction to extend the subway to the city's North Shore.


I read that rag (Sun-Sentinel) daily but somehow missed this article. Thanks PA Pride. Will be very interesting to see what becomes of it...

[themaguffin]

Correct me if I am wrong, but the new "Robinson" development is the Settler's Cabin one which is not adjacent to any of the older town center (yeah that trend in the 80s and 90's of naming the same ol' strip malls as town centers was pretty horrible) and I thought to be walkable developments is it not?

[JackStraw]

Correct me if I am wrong, but the new "Robinson" development is the Settler's Cabin one which is not adjacent to any of the older town center (yeah that trend in the 80s and 90's of naming the same ol' strip malls as town centers was pretty horrible) and I thought to be walkable developments is it not?

I couldn't answer you. I googled it, and didn't really come up with the answer, and the video mentioned doesn't really state where it is at. I assume, it is going to be where there was once a forest, and it will be a sea of parking lots.

Robinson Town Centre was suppose to be walkable, in that you drove your car there, and then walked to the section of strip mall that you wanted to shop in.

[Johnland]

Oh yeah, the new'Town Center' is pure suburban shit. Sad that in 2008 the mindset of 1977 is fully alive and making huge spending decisions. Yes, the sickening irony that the bulldozers commensed on the day after Earth Day - Earth Day!! The whole freaking point of ED is 100% opposite of a sprawling, asphalt creation covering former undeveloped land. It's not even LEED, or green in any way. A suburban heat island in the making. And don't even, I mean eeevuun get me started on the laughable insertion of the words 'town center' into the project's name. My God, what adult moron actually can conceive of a built-from-scratch-out-in-an-open-field shopping center with nothing around it could possibly be construed as a 'center' of anything. Why are Americans so pathetically suburban. And this is not even intelligent suburb. This is low-brow, been-there, elementery, sophmoric, mundane, tired, dated subrburban.

[PA Pride]

I read that rag (Sun-Sentinel) daily but somehow missed this article. Thanks PA Pride. Will be very interesting to see what becomes of it...

You're welcome. That's not a paper that i read regularly or anything, but I have my google news customized with a Pittsburgh section of headlines, and that's the website that happened to have that article linked.

[UrbaniDesDev]

The real funny thing was the news guy was like, "they celebrated Earth day by moving real Earth."

What a way to show your environmentilism. Destory the earth, and put up a parking lot!

I hate how in the end he compares it to the waterfront. This and the waterfront are completely different. Atleast the waterfront was a brownfield reclamation. This is just urban sprawl destruction to add more highway instead of spending 10 million fixing old infrastructure.

Ok, I am done.

right on all counts

[UrbaniDesDev]

Just playin on Google Earth
Never noticed how cool this park looks from the sky
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/2ndAveCourtPlace.jpg

and an interesting parklet at Carnegie Mellon
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CarnegieMellon.jpg

[JackStraw]

^It's them there UFOs and there crop sirkles!!

no really, that does look really cool!

[Tombstoner]

...My God, what adult moron actually can conceive of a built-from-scratch-out-in-an-open-field shopping center with nothing around it could possibly be construed as a 'center' of anything. Why are Americans so pathetically suburban. And this is not even intelligent suburb. This is low-brow, been-there, elementery, sophmoric, mundane, tired, dated subrburban.

So....you're saying you like it? you don't like it? C'mon, we're not mind-readers here! :D

[hyperion1110]

Just to throw my two cents worth in...

I gotta agree with you guys about the Robinson thing. It's ridiculous. That whole area just makes me cringe!

As for the Waterfront, other than the area where Barnes & Noble is, it's just another strip mall. It's truly such a waste of land. I understand why Homestead let it go forward, being that the place was a demilitarized zone beforehand. But, at this point, they really should be demanding something better. I mean, in reality, the Waterfront was created so that rich people from Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, and Regent Square had a nice little suburban mall next door, so they didn't have to drive out to Monroeville.

Am I the only one who really isn't impressed by the Waterfront?? Everyone, in and out of Pittsburgh, talks about how wonderful it is. Personally, I think Southside Works is an exceptional development that keeps on getting better. We should be focused on developments like that, not the ugly-ass Waterfront.

On a somewhat related note, and I know this is unlikely to happen. BUT... we should demolish most of Allegheny Center (with the exception of the Library and the Children's Museum), restore the street grid, and rebuild the neighborhood to pay homage to it's past...and by this I mean store fronts and housing should be designed in post-Victorian, pre-World War II style. At the same time, more modern developments should be built, with the same density and feel as Southside Works between the stadia. They should further spread under 279 towards the train tracks, since I've always thought that that area was wasted on parking. It would be the perfect, "Pittsburgh" way to use the land. We're the city that's built on cliffs and in valleys...we should use the land to the fullest. That area presents a unique opportunity to create an urban envrionment shielded from rain and snow (by the overhead highways). At the same time, it would be connected to the restored downtown Allegheny City by the tunnel under the train tracks. On the other side of West Park, the Garden Theater would be restored to it's original luster, along with the other buildings along North and Federal. Once everything is completed, we would have a well-connected, uniquely Pittsburgh urban landscape sloping down the hill from Federal and going all the way to the Allegheny River. Can you imagine how spectacular that would be???

I don't think it's going to happen. The Children's Museum is trying something of that sort with their charm brancelet. But, I think there needs to be a single, unified vision for the whole area. It shouldn't be done piecemeal. One of the wonderful things about old Allegheny City was how compact and connected everything was. Restore the lower North Side to its old grandeur, with it's sweeping views of downtown, and we'll go very, very far into turning around the entire city.

Anyway, that's what I would like to see.

[hyperion1110]

This guys is such a joke. No matter how many times his people say that PITG Gaming and his other ventures are separate businesses, the truth is that he is still bleeding money. He lost his financing PARTLY because of the credit crunch. But, if his other ventures had been performing well, there would never have been an issue of financing for the casino. This thing is basically guaranteed money for however foots the bill to build it. But since Barden can't manage to make his other casinos profitable, what's to say that this one is going to be??? It was a terrible mistake to have awarded him the license. It should have been given to either one of the two applicants. Isle of Capri would have built our arena at no cost to us, and worked to redevelop the Mellon Arena site. And Forrest City/Harrah's would have built some really compelling housing and entertainment districts on the massive tracts of land they own on the South Side...and we STILL would have gotten the arena.

I hate to say it, again, but the only reason Barden won the license was because he is black: plain and simple. He doesn't have the resources for a project like this, and he doesn't have the business sense to run this venture profitably.

________________________________________________________________

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08116/876455-52.stm

Gaming board delays vote on Barden
City casino owner wants to refinance
Friday, April 25, 2008
By Tracie Mauriello and Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG -- Despite a plea by casino builder Don Barden for faster action, the state Gaming Control Board has put off a vote for three weeks on refinancing plans for his North Shore slots parlor.

The board said yesterday it won't act on the $630 million refinancing plan with Credit Suisse until it holds another hearing May 14, only five days before he needs to pay off an initial $200 million bridge loan.

The seven-member gaming board also delayed decisions on two other issues -- whether to let Mr. Barden withdraw a $3 million grant for Hill District redevelopment and whether to let him delay construction of a $3.5 million amphitheater and a $4.5 million ballroom/banquet facility at the casino.

Mr. Barden's attorneys asked that the board decide on his requests by May 8, adding that the board's planned schedule of action would make it difficult to get his refinancing finalized in time. Because of conditions in the bond market, he said, he has to switch to bank funding.

Gaming Board Chairwoman Mary DiGiacomo Colins was concerned about Mr. Barden's requests for changes. She said that the ballroom, the amphitheater and the $3 million investment in Hill District renewal were key components that made Mr. Barden's license application stand out from his two competitors. The board awarded him the slots license in December 2006.

"I viewed your entire Phase 1 package as giving you a tremendous advantage in the application process," she said. "I have the same concerns about the dispute involving the $3 million contribution to the Hill District ... I viewed this direct funding as your charitable contribution to the community."

Mr. Barden said that funding was contingent on him getting the rights to redevelop the Mellon Arena area after construction of a new hockey arena, but those rights went to the Penguins. That will deprive him of parking revenue and other benefits from developing the Lower Hill site.

"I've still tried to be a gentleman about it," Mr. Barden said, "but it seems unconscionable for me to be required to pay for all the architectural design work on a site that the Penguins would get all the benefits from."

Others, including state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, have said there was no agreement to give Mr. Barden development rights in exchange for the $3 million.

Mr. Barden said his slots license proposal included other significant contributions to the community, including $9 million for North Shore infrastructure improvements, $7.5 million a year for 30 years to help finance the new Penguins arena, $2 million for the North Side Leadership Conference and $1.2 million for traffic improvements around Heinz Field.

"I've been a pretty nice guy" by making those commitments, he said.

Mr. Barden said the changes in financing are necessary because of the national credit crunch, the inflexibility of the bond market, the cost of lawsuits filed by losing casino license applicants and a conspiracy of "bad-mouthing and innuendo" aimed at sabotaging him.

He declined to say exactly who is behind the conspiracy, but added, "I have some suspicions." He also claimed that some people were trying to "sabotage the casino at every turn" and were "speaking rumors to cause us to fail."

He complained about the lawsuits filed by the two losing groups that sought a casino license, Forest City Enterprises and Isle of Capri Casinos. Those suits were dismissed by the state Supreme Court, but they did delay the start of construction on the casino.

He also mentioned lawsuits filed by the Steelers and Pirates over traffic issues as further delaying factors.

Construction has begun on the Majestic Star casino, which Mr. Barden hopes to have in operation by May 2009. It will have 3,000 slot machines.

Board members asked him to assure them that the entire $630 million in refinancing would go for the Pittsburgh project and not his casinos in other states. He promised that it would.

"I live in Pittsburgh,'' said board member Ken McCabe, a former FBI agent. "Is this Majestic Star still going to be your flagship casino?"

"It will be the flagship, the mother ship and the father ship," Mr. Barden pledged.

He estimated the hard construction costs of the casino project at $600 million, up from an original estimate of $450 million.

In addition, he paid a one-time $50 million fee to the state for his slots license, and estimated soft costs, including financing fees, an interest reserve, construction contingency fees, lawyers' fees and insurance, at another $120 million, for a total payout of $770 million.

Mr. Barden said the request to delay $8 million worth of construction, for the ballroom and amphitheater, is a financial one.

"It's a matter of choices. If you have to eliminate $8 million, what affects revenue the least amount? We'll still have restaurants and entertainment [in the casino]. You don't necessarily need a ballroom. You don't necessarily need an amphitheater," he said.

He said he didn't want to shrink the size of the gaming floor because the state would get less slots revenue to use for tax relief and the horse racing industry. He promised to complete the ballroom and the amphitheater within a few years.

Mr. Barden is expected to discuss the Hill District funding next week with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and county Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

[JackStraw]

^Thank God, somebody feels the same about the Waterfront as I do. I remember going down to Dave and Busters with my ex-girfriend in college, and I hated the place then. It is not a walkable development. It is exactly what you said, "a big suburban mall" for the people in the east end. It would have been much more successful if it was done more like the southside works. I remember making a comment about that article that compared Detroit to Pittsburgh. They used The waterfront as a riverfront development as the example of how it should be done. I literally singed up for a account on that Detroit newspaper's blog, just to make note that the Southside works, not Waterfront was the example that should have been used.

I know most people on this forum would get it. However, the sad thing, we are like 20% of society. The other 80% would choose to have a place to park their car, so hence it will be more waterfronts over southside works.

[hyperion1110]

How is it again that we elected the Rain Man as our Mayor??? Since when do elected officials blame their subordinates when things go wrong.

What a loser!

________________________________________________________________
Mayor blames Stadium Authority exec for silence

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_564210.html

[PittPenn 03]

As for the Waterfront, other than the area where Barnes & Noble is, it's just another strip mall. It's truly such a waste of land. I understand why Homestead let it go forward, being that the place was a demilitarized zone beforehand. But, at this point, they really should be demanding something better. I mean, in reality, the Waterfront was created so that rich people from Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, and Regent Square had a nice little suburban mall next door, so they didn't have to drive out to Monroeville.

.

To me, the Waterfront is the worst place to shop in Pittsburgh. I find the parking lots and roads so frustrating to drive around in that it makes me feel like my head is going to explode. So no - you are not the only one not impressed. Just thinking of the place makes me angry.

[Evergrey]

excellent ideas all around, hyperion... and the Barden casino saga is turning out to be quite the disaster

...


The nation's 2nd most expensive road project moves on... "jobs, jobs, jobs, economy, economy, economy"...


http://kdka.com/video/?id=40566@kdka.dayport.com

"there's a new state prison down the road!"
...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/arts/25arts-VALUABLEMURA_BRF.html

Valuable Mural Is a Major Headache

Compiled by LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Published: April 25, 2008

Joy is usually the emotion felt when a $90,000 mural turns out to be valued at $15 million. Not so in the case of the art-rich, cash-poor Port Authority of Allegheny County, The Associated Press reported. In 1984 the agency installed in the Pittsburgh subway system a 60--by-13-foot tile mural, “Pittsburgh Recollections,” above, by Romare Bearden, who was paid $90,000. The station that housed the mural is to be demolished in an extension of the system, and the authority wanted to know the mural’s value before taking it down. The authority found out, and also learned that it would cost more than $100,000 a year to insure the work. “We don’t have the wherewithal to be a caretaker to such a valuable piece,” said Judi McNeil, a Port Authority spokeswoman. The agency is looking for an organization to pay for removing, restoring and maintaining the mural.

...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08116/876329-28.stm

Top of the triangle: UPMC getting ready to put its name on U.S. Steel Tower

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

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200804/fong_upmc_business_500.jpg
Letters for UPMC signs on the U.S. Steel Tower sit in a parking lot next to the City County Building.

It went up in 1970 as a symbol of Pittsburgh's industrial power, sprung from the vestiges of Andrew Carnegie's 19th-century steel empire and held together by rust-colored columns produced in Homestead.

U.S. Steel Corp. is still the largest tenant in the 64-story U.S. Steel Tower, but next weekend a new economic power intends to put its mark atop this symbol of Pittsburgh industry -- and in so doing, cap a shift three and half decades in the making. If the weather holds and the Penguins can free up space in the Mellon Arena parking lot, the 48,000-person University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will finally be able to attach its gold-and-white "UPMC" logo to all three sides of the triangular structure, giving the region's largest employer visibility for miles around.

The sign is costing the nonprofit UPMC $750,000, according to a document submitted last year to the city planning commission, and getting it up requires the use of a Sikorsky helicopter equipped with 100-foot-long cable lead lines. With the arena as a launch point, the copter will hoist the 12 letters, each weighing 2,200 to 3,350 pounds and standing 20 feet tall, until workers suspended over the building's edge can bolt them into place. Several weeks after that, UPMC plans to illuminate the logo.

The skyline move underscores a larger transformation. When the U.S. Steel Tower was built, manufacturing accounted for 24.2 percent of Pittsburgh-area employment, and health care 6.5 percent. Three and half decades later, the mill that produced the "Corten" steel for U.S. Steel Tower no longer exists, and health care is the region's dominant economic force, accounting for 15.5 percent of the workforce (manufacturing is 8.6 percent). Only Boston, with 16.5 percent, has a higher percentage of medical positions. (Evergrey's note: maybe somebody could've let the national media know about this tidbit during the PA Primary... but we got the same old "rusty blue-collar" stereotypes in the NYT, Philly Inquirer, etc etc)

When UPMC agreed last year to move its headquarters from Oakland and fill five floors at U.S. Steel Tower, it had this larger metamorphosis in mind. A 20-foot-tall sign atop the region's tallest man-made structure was a fitting way to highlight UPMC's contributions to the Pittsburgh area, where it runs 20 hospitals, and "tangible evidence of Pittsburgh's transformation into an international center of medicine, technology and education," it said last year in a statement.

UPMC is paying for the design, fabrication, erection and maintenance of the sign, but it declined to discuss the $750,000 figure it submitted to the planning commission last year. UPMC, which earned $618 million last year on $6.8 billion in revenue, also has not been willing to discuss how much it paid to renovate 186,000 square feet at U.S. Steel Tower, other than the $175,000 spent on more than 20 display monitors (including a 103-inch model and six others set inside its 62nd floor boardroom for presentations). But UPMC has emphasized that its new headquarters space is comparable to what other large corporations have Downtown and that its executive offices are actually smaller, on average, while rank-and-file spaces are bigger than what can be found elsewhere.

As for the sign, designer Bill Kolano said the nonprofit is "really trying to do everything right" despite "people attacking them" on the sign issue, noting that it choose colors (bronze gold and off white) matching the building's rust color and decided to position its letters "flush left" instead of center. A regulator will automatically adjust the light level throughout the year depending on the weather and time of day. The sign is about half the size allowed under city zoning laws.

"They do not want it to be too bright; they don't want it too be too dim," said Mr. Kolano, of East Liberty-based Kolano Design. "They just want to be an integral part of the Pittsburgh skyline and an appropriate addition."

Planning commission member Barbara Ernsberger does not see it that way. "I just thought it was an unnecessary advertisement," said Ms. Ernsberger, who is a lawyer and voted against the sign twice. "They told us it cost $750,000 to erect it, which I thought was an unreasonable expense for a nonprofit to make."

U.S. Steel, she said, helped "us fight World War II," giving this building a historic value. The commission's approval of the UPMC sign "downplayed the significance of the building and our intrinsic history."

The deliberations allowing the sign to move forward were the subject of controversy. First the Planning Commission on June 12 rejected the sign in a 3-3 vote. Then the same proposal came back before the commission two weeks later and won approval, 6-1, with many members arguing that the sign met legal requirements. The day after that second vote, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl attended a golf event as a guest of UPMC. And that same month Mr. Ravenstahl hired UPMC Health Plan's David White as his director of public affairs (Mr. White was Mr. Ravenstahl's high school athletics trainer).

The three planning commission members who originally voted against the sign all have said they were not pressured by UPMC or the mayor's administration to change their positions. Two of the three reiterated those statements for this article. A third -- Lynne Garfinkel -- could not be reached for comment this week.

Kyra Straussman, who voted 'no' on June 12 and then told a reporter the sign was "overkill," did not show up for the second vote due to an issue involving her child and "a dilemma at school." She acknowledges receiving a call from Pat Ford, who at the time was the mayor's director of economic and community development, "asking why I voted the way I did."

"He wanted to know what was on my mind." But "that is not that unusual;. Literally it was a question . . .I had limited comments to make." Also, "it wasn't that uncommon for us to talk issues."

But "no one called and said, 'do this.' "

Ms. Straussman is no longer on the planning commission and now works for the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority. Mr. Ford is on paid leave as director of the URA pending an investigation into gifts he received from a billboard company executive. Ms. Straussman began talking to the URA about a job before Mr. Ford became director and before the first UPMC sign vote on June 12, she said.

Ms. Ernsberger said she did not get a call from Mr. Ford or anyone connected with the mayor's office or UPMC.

"Nobody has ever tried to twist my arm, ever."

After the first vote, UPMC clearly was not pleased with the outcome. It issued a statement arguing that city code "is clear on the issue of signage size, and our proposed sign is significantly smaller than what is allowed" -- which was true. Attorney Cliff Levine, asked to represent UPMC after the first vote, said the planning commission decided to reconsider the issue "on its own."

He added: "UPMC didn't make that decision."

The city planning director and zoning administrator could not be reached for comment, but Pittsburgh city solicitor George Specter recalled getting a phone call after the first vote from Mr. Ford, who wanted to know if a request could be made for the entire commission to hear the matter (several missed the first vote).

"Yes, they can do it but they have to do it quickly," Mr. Specter remembered saying, noting that a reconsideration request has to be made within 30 days.

He and Mr. Ford also discussed the legality of the sign. "He told me in his opinion it met the criteria," Mr. Specter said. "I went and looked at it and agreed."

Mr. Ford, through his attorney, did not dispute the conversation with Mr. Specter or Ms. Straussman. "One of his functions included interaction with the planning commission at the direction of Mayor Ravenstahl," said his attorney, Lawrence Fisher, via e-mail. "Mr. Ford respects the mayor's trust in the executive decision he was charged with implementing."

And when the sign came back before the planning commission, the legal arguments held sway.

"From a legal perspective, they are entitled to it," said planning commission member Todd Reidbord, a part owner of Walnut Capital Partners in Shadyside. And "I don't think it's gaudy or flashy. It is very nice ... I think signs add vitality to a city ... it shows Pittsburgh's happening."

Commission member Paul Dick was not present on June 12 but voted "yes" the second time, with some reservations. "I don't like those signs," he said. "But they are within the code."

"I was flabbergasted to find out it hadn't passed."

But Ms. Ernsberger argued the city code allows for signs to be rejected for reasons other than size, citing a section stipulating that a new project "must adequately address the preservation of historic structures and significant features of existing buildings."

"I believe," she said, "the U.S. Steel building has a history and it should be retained as the type of building it is."
Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752.

[Evergrey]

How is it again that we elected the Rain Man as our Mayor??? Since when do elected officials blame their subordinates when things go wrong.

What a loser!

________________________________________________________________
Mayor blames Stadium Authority exec for silence

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_564210.html

I'm no fan of Opie either...but isn't Mary Conturo the same person responsible for the Convention Center collapse last year because she didn't tell anyone about the structural defects?

[JackStraw]

Has there ever been a rendering issued of what the US Steel tower is going to look like with this sign on top? I personally hate signs on top of towers, it is typically tacky. I hope this isn't going to be tacky looking.

[Evergrey]

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/04/21/focus5.html?b=1208750400^1621480

Arts-friendly Lawrenceville attracts variety of businesses

Neighborhood saw vacant to vital transformation

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Ben Semmes

http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/115820-400-0.jpg
Joe Wojcik
Kris Senko stands in front of the 3800 block of Butler Street in Lawrenceville, the future site of Shannopin’s Village, a $3 million, mixed-use development project.

Until recently, Kris Senko, president of Oakland-based Sansom and Senko Real Estate Development Inc., had never given much thought to projects in Lawrenceville.

But in the past year, the company has plunged into two projects in the neighborhood, drawn by Lawrenceville's newfound reputation as a community with hip coffee shops, bars and restaurants, as well as a plethora of antique shops and art stores.

"Right now, all of our focus is on that area," Senko said.

Once only appealing to a handful of risk-takers, Lawrenceville is now attracting a healthy mix of developers, said Linda Metropulos, a developer and owner of ARTEMIS, a Lawrenceville-based environmentally friendly building supply store.

"You've got a huge group doing little developments for the most part," she said. "You've got the beauty of multiple visions coming into the neighborhood, and I think that is a real strength."

It's a stark contrast from a decade ago, when the neighborhood was known for boarded-up properties and nuisance bars.

"This was kind of a no-man's land here on Butler Street," said Bill Barron, president of Barron Commercial Real Estate who purchased his first Lawrenceville property in 1998. "The transformation in Lawrenceville was ... from vacant to vital."

Kate Trimble, who became executive director of the Lawrenceville Corp. in 2004, said that part of the reason for the neighborhood's turnaround is the 16:62 Design Zone, a program started in 2000. The program, which helped establish Lawrenceville as an arts and antique shop destination, has been instrumental in bringing business to the neighborhood.

"We have seen more than 70 design businesses locate in Lawrenceville" since then, Trimble said.

With the new arrivals have come other commercial and retail shops, including several relocations or second locations from other city neighborhoods, she said.

O'Bannon Oriental Carpets recently relocated to the neighborhood from Squirrel Hill, Trimble said, and Dozen Cupcakes, also based in Squirrel Hill, has opened its second location in Lawrenceville.

The 1.3 million-square-foot UPMC Children's Hospital, scheduled to open in early 2009, is also generating excitement in the neighborhood, said Joe Edelstein, president of Lawrenceville-based Wylie Holdings LP.

Local developers said it's unlikely the new hospital will jump-start any large commercial or retail developments, but it can only help support existing projects and bring more foot traffic to the neighborhood.

Sansom and Senko have plans to develop a two-unit high-end condominium project on Penn Avenue a few blocks down from the hospital and will also begin construction in May on Shannopin's Village in the 3800 block of Butler Street. A $3 million, mixed-use project, Shannopin's Village will have two commercial buildings, two apartments and eight high-end condos, Senko said.

Edelstein said he hopes the increased momentum will continue to strengthen Lawrenceville's commercial property.

"There is still some softness on the commercial side," he said.

bsemmes@bizjournals.com | (412) 208-3829

[PA Pride]

Just playin on Google Earth
Never noticed how cool this park looks from the sky
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/2ndAveCourtPlace.jpg

and an interesting parklet at Carnegie Mellon
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CarnegieMellon.jpg

Wow, good finds! Both of those look cool.

[PittPenn 03]

[QUOTE=
Top of the triangle: UPMC getting ready to put its name on U.S. Steel Tower[/SIZE][/B]

QUOTE]

Did anyone else see when they put a big "P" on the top of the US Steel Tower a couple of weeks ago? I assume they were doing some sizing. It was on the side that you can see coming in from 28. It was quite shocking I thought and their name is most certainly going to stand out from the skyline - and judging just from that "P" much more so than any other signage. I guess that is what they are going for.

[hyperion1110]

I'm no fan of Opie either...but isn't Mary Conturo the same person responsible for the Convention Center collapse last year because she didn't tell anyone about the structural defects?

Yeah...but I guess what I was getting at is that the incompetence of this Mayor and everyone around him is astounding. It almost makes you look back fondly on the Mayors of old...oh, Sophie, come back!

Seriously, though...this reminds me of that Directv commercial where the guy suggests they blame-storm to figure out why they all suck...

[cdc]

As for the Waterfront, other than the area where Barnes & Noble is, it's just another strip mall. It's truly such a waste of land. I understand why Homestead let it go forward, being that the place was a demilitarized zone beforehand. But, at this point, they really should be demanding something better. I mean, in reality, the Waterfront was created so that rich people from Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, and Regent Square had a nice little suburban mall next door, so they didn't have to drive out to Monroeville.

Am I the only one who really isn't impressed by the Waterfront?? Everyone, in and out of Pittsburgh, talks about how wonderful it is. Personally, I think Southside Works is an exceptional development that keeps on getting better. We should be focused on developments like that, not the ugly-ass Waterfront.


I'll take the bait on this...

First, the character of retail offered by the parts of the Waterfront
people like to complain about (e.g. between Target and Lowes) is quite
different from what is offered by SSW. SSW has no grocery store,
hardware store, no Target, no GetGo gas station, etc. These are the
kinds of stores people often go to on a regular basis to buy
necessities. SSW was not designed to offer this kind of retail, so it
should not come as a surprise that it cannot compare or compete with
the Waterfront in these areas.

Second, I definitely agree that a large part of the retail layout of
the Waterfront retail area basically sucks. You often either have to
do a lot of walking or move your car each time you change stores
(painful if you've got 3 young kids in car seats, like I do ... that's
a lot of seat belt action!). But, I will say the nice thing about the
Waterfront (and likely what makes a good impression on many of us) is
that you've got alot of modern stores with a good selection of
necessities and easy parking located in one general area. And it is
easy to go to a restaurant while you are over there.

Third, having a modern shopping area that makes living in city
neighborhoods like Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, and Regent Square easier
is a good thing! This attracts people to live in the city, rather
than in the suburbs or exburbs. My hope is that developments in East
Liberty continue so that the good retail options are even closer in
than the Waterfront.

Finally, I think one thing that could be done to promote the SSW is to
open up the mostly empty parking gargages for free parking on weekends
(and maybe at nights).

[JackStraw]

^my only opinion is, that I don't like how it is designed.

Take east liberty for instance. It offers parking garages, but the big box stores are more urbanized. A sea of parking lots in a tight urban area is not good. It isn't good anywhere.

I agree that having targets, home depots, and all that other big box crap is a necessity if you own a house and have a large family. However, these stores have to start spending more money to design into an area instead of just plopping their prototypical boxes with 3 acres of parking lots around. It is possible for target to fit into a walkable urban district. The Giant Eagle on Center Ave in Shadyside is a good example of how to put a large retail center in a urban area. These stores want nothing but profit and more profit. It is easy to keep a same design, and not alter it for the hundreds of towns you build in. If they change it too accomodate that town, they have to spend money on design, cutting into their big profits. I worked for a few months on the big box design. I got out, I couldn't sleep at night.

The waterfront could have still had these stores with more of a southside works approach then turning it into somethin like Pittsburgh Mills.

[cdc]

^my only opinion is, that I don't like how it is designed.

Take east liberty for instance. It offers parking garages, but the big box stores are more urbanized. A sea of parking lots in a tight urban area is not good. It isn't good anywhere.

I agree that having targets, home depots, and all that other big box crap is a necessity if you own a house and have a large family. However, these stores have to start spending more money to design into an area instead of just plopping their prototypical boxes with 3 acres of parking lots around. It is possible for target to fit into a walkable urban district. The Giant Eagle on Center Ave in Shadyside is a good example of how to put a large retail center in a urban area. These stores want nothing but profit and more profit. It is easy to keep a same design, and not alter it for the hundreds of towns you build in. If they change it too accomodate that town, they have to spend money on design, cutting into their big profits. I worked for a few months on the big box design. I got out, I couldn't sleep at night.

The waterfront could have still had these stores with more of a southside works approach then turning it into somethin like Pittsburgh Mills.


Yeah, I generally agree with that. I don't like the design either.

Innovation should be possible. For example, there is a two floor
Target with a parking garage at the Rio shopping center in
Gaithersburg, Maryland (It has a cool escalator just for shopping
carts in it!).

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=rio+blvd,+Gaithersburg,md&sll=39.113546,-77.198095&sspn=0.024874,0.026135&ie=UTF8&z=16

(the google satellite map stopped working for me for some reason?)

[PA Pride]

The Waterfront has it's pros and cons.
It has some GREAT design elements. The smokestacks with accent lighting is AWESOME and a great reminder of what once stood there. Also being under the beautiful high-level bridge is neat. Also they have that pedestrian bridge and the waterfront right there.

And I love Loewes Theatre. I don't care if it is a suburban design, it's a great theatre.

The cons: Too much parking. Overwhelming sea of concrete and a little too auto-oriented as most people on here have stated.

Overall, it could be a bit better, but also it could be worse.

That's my 2 cents.

[qwho]

Sorry to dig up an old topic on here as my first post. Long time lurker...

Has anyone heard any news on the Baum-Liberty project? I pass the location every day and try to imagine what it will be like there when it is completed.

Here is an overlay of the area with the project page's drawing:
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/158/overlayur4.jpg

I think it is a good start toward making the area more densely urban. With the Hillman center and the buildings further down already revamped (the Mercedes and the Auto Palace, which is being renovated) down further, it would be a pretty nice area if all connected. Can you imagine if this kick-started the buying-out and redevelopment of the whole corridor? I wish the random auto-parts stores and the taco bell, the Boston market, etc, would be torn out and more of this mixed-use, dense construction be put in.

I've heard though, that the Boston market near shadyside hospital is the most profitable one in the chain of stores.

[Grego43]

Hear, Hear...Well said, cdc.

The Waterfront is not attractive for the most part, could have been better designed, and there is no sense of place that one finds at SSW. That said, what better way to cut sprawl than by using close-in brownfields for developments that would normally be relegated to far-out farmland along an expressway? BTW, sure as hell beats plopping it in East Liberty, a la Home Depot, natch.

[PittPenn 03]

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/04/21/daily43.html?jst=b_ln_hl


Friday, April 25, 2008 - 11:19 AM EDT
Au Bon Pain expanding in Downtown PittsburghPittsburgh Business Times - by Tim Schooley
Urban bakery bistro chain Au Bon Pain is expanding in Downtown Pittsburgh.

With locations established in the U.S. Steel Tower, PPG Place and the Oliver Building near Smithfield Street, Au Bon Pain has also committed to opening a location at 625 Liberty Avenue in the Dominion Tower and will open an eatery at the Gulf Tower May 1, said Jason Cannon of CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, who is representing the company in its local search.

"Their business in Pittsburgh is just doing phenomenal," he said, adding the company is looking for a third location in the central business district.

Cannon said Downtown is becoming a more popular spot for food firms, with an office-worker population of more than 140,000.

"People are starting to look at the daytime population that exists here," he said. "It really is pretty good."

[themaguffin]

The Waterfront is not attractive for the most part, could have been better designed, and there is no sense of place that one finds at SSW.

There really isn't they have separate buildings with a lot parking making it really just a lot of retail. It was a wasted opportunity.

[Brentsters]

Has anyone heard any news on the Baum-Liberty project? I pass the location every day and try to imagine what it will be like there when it is completed.



I imagine given the scope of the project it's gonna be a long time before anything is done. I don't think they've even started the community hearings and FDA will definitely have something to say about it.

I've heard a rumor about this place trying to lure whole foods over and mosites, of course, being none too happy about it. Then again, whole foods has been talking about moving to a larger store forever and they're still there so take it for what it's worth.

They better not mess with Ritter's though:hell:

[Evergrey]

I've been to Ritter's twice... and was very disappointed in the food both times... (tuna melt, potato pancakes)

anyways... Baum-Liberty will be a multi-phase project... I forget the dates for everything... but it appears the inventory at Don Allen is dwindling... I'm sure the neighborhood groups/citizens will have plenty of histrionics concerning parking, traffic and the scale and urban-ness of the buildings...

[Brentsters]

yeah it's nothing amazing, but it is one of the few 24-hour eateries in the city. And when you don't wanna feel like death the next morning from eating O fries at 3 am, it's the next best option.

[Evergrey]

yeah it's nothing amazing, but it is one of the few 24-hour eateries in the city. And when you don't wanna feel like death the next morning from eating O fries at 3 am, it's the next best option.

Yeah.. it can be difficult to find food at 3AM... as a grad student... i've been eating in the middle of the night quite a bit during this past month... I've mostly been hitting up the Primanti's in the Strip...

what other 24-hour eateries are there in the city?

Eat N Park - Squirrel Hill
Tom's Diner - South Side

[Johnland]

When you add them up, the number of these psuedo-town centers (or are centres?, which really makes you feel like you're in the English countryside) just keeps going up. Waterfront, Robinson and let's not forget Edgewood Towne Centre. That one went in back in the early 90's I think. The former Union Switch & Signal manufacturing site was rezoned and redeveloped for retail. But the execution was a heavy-handed, blundering rendition of a suburban strip center plopped in the middle of an older, established and very dense area - Swissvale/Edgewood. The design consists of two opposing strips facing each other across a swath of asphalt parking. And as if no one would see or care, they positioned the ass-end of the one strip facing the Parkway East, so that about 85,000 motorists a day would have a good view of the trash dumpsters and other detritus of retailings' waste removal operations. No fit or relation whatsoever to the surrounding dense neighborhood. Edgewood Town Centre is much, much worse than Robinson because there was existing context to work with and relate to. But in order to make it as cheap as possible, they applied plan 19X from off the shelf and just stuck it in the neighborhood. So with the advent of Robinson, we see theree is no progress being made on the retail scene. Developers and city zoning have glommed on to a basic, lazy idea and will repeat it over and over until Pittsburgh is smoothered with the same crap as everywhere.

[JackStraw]

^I don't want to get to doom and gloom. I hate these Town "Centres" as much as you. Pittsburgh is far from being smoothered with them as in other metros. Lets remember that these irresponsible designs are a very small porportion to the cool designs going on around the metro.

The ones I hate like the Waterworks, the Waterfront, in Robinson, and the Edgewood/swissvale are just a little percentage of the area that feel like "everywhereville".

I agree with CDC in a way. Is it better to have a abandoned steel mill, or a place where the masses can do their parking and shopping? Personally, for me, I wish it would be cool urban design in all spots. But lets face it though. If you tried to put a southside works in a place further from the city like in Swissvale, would it be as successful? Would the people renting out and buying the newly built apartments and lofts work as quickly?

We should focus on trying to bring back the places south of Swissvale. Revitilizing Rankin and the areas around it would be great. Lets not get all worried about a small section that could have been something cool that got turned into a "Town Centre" worry as that much.

[Evergrey]

this is going up on the block next to me

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/blmfld0312.aspx

Professional office development coming to Bloomfield's Liberty Ave. corridor

On March 11, ground was broken on a new development located along the 4800 block of Bloomfield’s Liberty Ave. corridor. Situated across the street from West Penn Hospital, the project will likely house medical-related tenants. The 18,655-square-foot property will feature four stories along Liberty Ave. and five floors along Mitre Way.

Developer Dan Albanese, who works at CJ Hoffman Agency, points to the project’s design by Arthur Lubetz as a highlight. “Arthur has a national reputation. He’s well known and a charm to work with. He just celebrated forty years in business,” adds Albanese, who greatly admires Lubetz’s vision. “It’s going to stand out and have that wow factor. It will take the coldness away from just being a new structure in the middle of an older traditional main street.”

The brick and glass building, developed within the context of the street’s seven-story hospital and small rowhouses, will feature exterior copper lighting and a copper stairwell structure that will collect daylight. A metal wire screen set 6 inches out from the building’s facade will be covered with ivy. Contractor is Marra Construction. The project will be completed in one year.

Demolition on the site’s two existing properties, which Albanese purchased about two years ago, has begun. “A lot of options opened up when I had the chance to buy two buildings—the possibilities were there to make the project better. We’ll build to suit to whoever comes in,” says Albanese, who is currently seeking tenants. “I was born and raised in Bloomfield. It’s always been a good core neighborhood. Now, with new money and new blood coming in, it’s ready for the next step.”

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Dan Albanese

Image courtesy Lubetz Architects

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%20101/bloomfield_300.jpg

www.lubetz.com

[Evergrey]

If you tried to put a southside works in a place further from the city like in Swissvale, would it be as successful? Would the people renting out and buying the newly built apartments and lofts work as quickly?


Summerset at Frick Park is a stone's throw away from Swissvale. It is no retail component, but it is a hot residential market in the "neo-traditional" style.

One of the area's hippest, hottest neighborhoods is in Swissvale... Regent Square.

[JackStraw]

Summerset at Frick Park is a stone's throw away from Swissvale. It is no retail component, but it is a hot residential market in the "neo-traditional" style.

One of the area's hippest, hottest neighborhoods is in Swissvale... Regent Square.

Being an exurbinite, I wouldn't know this, but has Regent Square always been this hip. Is this something that happened recently?

[Evergrey]

I just discovered an exciting new resource "Breaking Ground"... the magazine of the Master Builders Association of Western Pennsylvania

here's the Mar/Apr 2008 issue:
http://www.mbawpa.org/BG%20Mar%20Apr%2008.pdf

past issues
http://www.mbawpa.org/articles.htm

[PA Pride]

I just discovered an exciting new resource "Breaking Ground"... the magazine of the Master Builders Association of Western Pennsylvania

here's the Mar/Apr 2008 issue:
http://www.mbawpa.org/BG%20Mar%20Apr%2008.pdf

past issues
http://www.mbawpa.org/articles.htm

Bookmarked! As a future-wannabe developer, i enjoy all resources concerning urban development.

[PA Pride]

Yeah.. it can be difficult to find food at 3AM... as a grad student... i've been eating in the middle of the night quite a bit during this past month... I've mostly been hitting up the Primanti's in the Strip...

what other 24-hour eateries are there in the city?

Eat N Park - Squirrel Hill
Tom's Diner - South Side

Here's the places I have historically eaten at, drunk at 3-4am:
If on the southside or dormont: Tom's Diner
If in the strip: Primanti's
If in Oakland: The O

[hyperion1110]

Summerset at Frick Park is a stone's throw away from Swissvale. It is no retail component, but it is a hot residential market in the "neo-traditional" style.

One of the area's hippest, hottest neighborhoods is in Swissvale... Regent Square.

I'm pretty sure that the majority of Regent Square is actually in the city. That must be why it's so cool :)

As for the Waterfront, I agree with most of what is said. However, given that like half of the usable land is parking, there is still a very good opportunity to do the project right. I'm all about leaving Target, Giant Eagle, and Best Buy...even with a healthy amount of parking spaces. But get rid of the damn Chicken joint (that I can never spell), McDonalds, and the other wastes of space along the main road.

[hyperion1110]

Here's the places I have historically eaten at, drunk at 3-4am:
If on the southside or dormont: Tom's Diner
If in the strip: Primanti's
If in Oakland: The O

One bit of the suburbs/country they actually should bring into the city but haven't is Sheetz. There is nothing like a good MTO at 3 AM. We had three of them surrounding IUP, and they were busy all night, every night.

I say get rid of the Exxon in Oakland and turn it into a Sheetz!

[Evergrey]

1. About half of Regent Square is in the city... but the business district is Swissvale

2. Sheetz would be a victim of its own success in the city... the Get-Go on Baum is crazy enough at night... a Sheetz would be chaos

[Johnland]

^I don't want to get to doom and gloom. I hate these Town "Centres" as much as you. Pittsburgh is far from being smoothered with them as in other metros. Lets remember that these irresponsible designs are a very small porportion to the cool designs going on around the metro.

The ones I hate like the Waterworks, the Waterfront, in Robinson, and the Edgewood/swissvale are just a little percentage of the area that feel like "everywhereville".

I agree with CDC in a way. Is it better to have a abandoned steel mill, or a place where the masses can do their parking and shopping? Personally, for me, I wish it would be cool urban design in all spots. But lets face it though. If you tried to put a southside works in a place further from the city like in Swissvale, would it be as successful? Would the people renting out and buying the newly built apartments and lofts work as quickly?

We should focus on trying to bring back the places south of Swissvale. Revitilizing Rankin and the areas around it would be great. Lets not get all worried about a small section that could have been something cool that got turned into a "Town Centre" worry as that much.

Granted, these miserable shopping centers comprise a small fraction of the total built urban environment. My frustration is that they represent a somewhat more significant portion of newly built projects. With Pittsburgh's slow pace of development due to flat population growth, it's like you have to wait a long time for something new to come along, and then when it's one of these peices of crap, it's just such a letdown. The Edgewood Town Center could've been executed is so many other ways and still catered to the budget-conscience shopper. Not every neighborhood could support a SouthSide Works level of retail. But to just shoot for the lowest common demonator right out of the gate is a disservice to the city's rich urban fabric. Swissvale is a actually a gem of an urban neighborhood, to me anyway, the way the tightly packed older homes are draped over it's hilly terrain. The shopping center is just too disjointed. A plan that complimented the surrounded neighborhood would've boosted the area in aesthetics as well as economically.

On the other hand, it appears that the Centre Ave corridor in East End is undergoing redevelopment in a refreshingly different direction. The retail seems to relate more to the urban neighborhood and shows that new development can work on both economic and urban aesthetic levels. Just wish more developers would pursue that. Hopefully, if East End retail proves to be very successful on the balance sheets, maybe future design plans will follow suit.

[qwho]

...the Get-Go on Baum is crazy enough at night... a Sheetz would be chaos

You couldn't pay me for gas at that getgo at about 4:00 pm. It's so busy, people are ready to get out of their cars and stab eachother at that point.

And you are right, if there were a sheetz near there, my coworkers and I would be there about 4 times a day, and the night owls at the cricket would be going there after 2...

[edncc1701d]

1. About half of Regent Square is in the city... but the business district is Swissvale

Actually, the neighborhood of Regent Square straddles three municipalities - Pittsburgh, Swissvale and Edgewood. Braddock Ave. through the commercial street is actually the dividing line between Swissvale and Edgewood. Thats why changes come so slowly to that street - both municipalities must work together. That is also why it is dry (or bybo) on the Edgewood side and all the bars are on the Swissvale Side. The City's boundary line cuts at an odd diagonal through Swissvale. A good portion of what many people consider Regent Square also sits in Wilkinsburg.

http://www.regentsquare.com/rsmapsml.jpg

A unique example of where Western PA's hodgepodge of municipalities have worked out and come together to create something beautiful.

When it is time for my Wife and I to "move up" in the housing world, if we stay in Pittsburgh, we both would really love to move back to Regent Square. It is probably one of the best neighborhoods in the area. Close to the parkway, close to public transit, great housing stock, and the best of both worlds with both the Edgewood town Center and the Regent Square Business district there. You are also only a stones throw from all the other great East End neighborhood.

[Brentsters]

yeah when I lived in Regent Square (my building was featured in the RS photo tour a few months ago) it was actually considered Wilkinsburg. Most of the area east of Braddock Ave is not the city which makes it attractive for home buyers. I liked it but it felt a bit disconnected from the rest of the city because of Frick Park.

[CAPATeach]

In some cities, these "town centres" may seem quaint or charming...like some relic from the past. But in the end, they just look like a bad set design - cardboard cut-outs from an old movie scene trying to depict a neighborhood..Everybody knows its fake, but you suspend your disbelief for a while...
I've seen one of these town centers in central PA that was actually decorated to look like a set from an old western movie. But it was surrounded by a 4-lane highway and other strip malls.

It's amazing to me that anybody around Pittsburgh would even consider building one of these, living near one, or celebrating its construction. What a joke. Pittsburgh has the real-deal in so many different neighborhoods...anybody should see right through this crap.

Just when I was just starting to have a little bit of faith in humanity, I read about another "town centre" being built. Damn.

[Evergrey]

here's a nice summary of many of the things that have gone wrong with the Barden casino disaster... it's looking like the PA Gaming Board made the worst possible decision (typical Harrisburg)

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_564577.html

Blame becomes delayed casino's only game

By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, April 27, 2008

By now, Don Barden's casino would have been open a month.

Perhaps a symphony would be playing on a floating stage at the 1,000-seat riverfront amphitheater, while a couple stroll by and a woman rollerblades on the esplanade. Inside the world class-designed building, club-goers might be lounging in a martini bar with a crow's nest setting atop a 110-foot glass atrium.

That vision, which Barden presented to state gambling regulators and the public 18 months ago, has not happened and now might not, at least not right away. Last week, Barden blamed unnamed conspirators for trying to derail his project, saying it could go into default without new money by mid-May. He and others point also to rising costs of borrowing and building.

Construction cranes loom over the North Shore site of Barden's planned Majestic Star Casino. Barden wants to change the financing while delaying the amphitheater and a ballroom by three years. The signature soaring glass tower would be shorter too, at 87 feet.

"It isn't our fault," Majestic Star General Manager Ed Fasulo said. "We looked at what we can trim back that doesn't impact revenues."

PITG Gaming, the Barden company that will own the casino, wanted to break ground in July but didn't until December. In the interim, the estimated project cost went from $450 million to $770 million, including insurance and legal and financing fees.

On Thursday, bond ratings agency Standard & Poor's issued a B-minus credit rating with a negative outlook for the Majestic Star holding company, PITG Gaming HoldCo.

But even if the company were to default, the agency said in a related report, casino gambling would remain viable in Pittsburgh because of the population base and relatively little competition.

Others agree the delays aren't entirely Barden's fault. Two losing bidders appealed the state Gaming Control Board's license award to PITG Gaming, and the Steelers and Pirates filed lawsuits over concerns about traffic congestion.

"You can point a lot of fingers at Barden, but it isn't all Barden," said Anne Swager, director of the American Institute of Architects in Pittsburgh who co-chaired a now-defunct casino public input group.

Promises were big in the presentation Barden made to the state gambling board in November 2006, when he was seeking the Pittsburgh license:

• Crews would work double shifts, five or six days a week, so the casino could open within 14 months by March 2008, so soon that it would eliminate the need for a temporary riverboat casino that could have started money flowing right away. The casino now is scheduled to open in May 2009.

• The project would have brought in enough money for PITG Gaming to make a "major investment in two Pittsburgh neighborhoods." The North Side and the Hill District each would have received $3 million to help with redevelopment. Barden has asked the state board for permission to take back his Hill District promise.

Barden remains committed to the North Side, said Mark Fatla, executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference. The neighborhood development group is working to train residents for casino jobs, and plans to use the casino money for neighborhood projects.

"He hasn't altered his commitment with us," Fatla said. "On our end, it's fine and we're working at it."

• The casino would have been paid for with committed financing from the Wall Street investment firm Jefferies & Co. Instead, construction started with a $200 million bridge loan that matures next month.

Before then, PITG Gaming's holding companies are seeking to finalize three loan packages -- two through the investment firm Credit Suisse for $650 million and one for $150 million backed by collateral from the municipal pension funds of Detroit's police officers, firefighters and city workers.

Interest payments on the Credit Suisse loans alone could be as much as $78 million a year.

• With a world class design, the casino would draw people for its outdoor amenities nearly as much as for the slots and entertainment inside.

The look has changed. The amphitheater and an interior ballroom would be put off for three years under Barden's request to the gambling board. A parking garage that had been tucked behind the casino building would instead loom over it. The garage would have fewer spaces, 3,842 instead of 4,100.

Swager said she worries about changes to the appearance and amenities.

"If we don't get what we had hoped to get, it will not be a destination casino but much more of a convenience casino," she said. "We had aspired to bring in people from other parts of the state and Cleveland."

The outdoor amenities was a big selling point, said Mark Schneider, a partner in Fourth River Development, who served on the public input committee. He doesn't hold Barden fully responsible either, pointing out that construction hasn't started on two stand-alone slots parlors in Philadelphia.

"There's a lot of questions based on what we're hearing and the commitments made," said state Sen. John Pippy, R-Moon, who voted for casinos and is banking on development money for the airport from taxes on gambling. "The license was awarded under certain criteria, and those criteria need to be met."

There will be big wrinkles with any new industry, said state Rep. Joseph Preston, D-East Liberty. It would have helped if Barden had built a temporary casino as originally planned, he said, because money already would be flowing into the city and the county.

Though supportive of Barden, Preston said, "If he in any way tries to take too much advantage of the situation, he'll learn something about the people of Pennsylvania. Then he'll have problems."

Promises, promises

Don Barden laid out a vision for his Majestic Star Casino in 2006, and is asking to make these changes:

Grand opening

Promise: March 2008

Change: May 2009

Parking garage

Promise: 4,100 spaces

Change: 3,842 spaces

Outdoor amphitheater and ballroom

Promise: At opening

Change: Delayed three years

Neighborhood development

Promise: $3 million each for North Side and Hill District

Change: Seeking to withdraw Hill District money

Money

Promise: $450 million commitment from a Wall Street firm

Change: $200 million bridge loan; seeking three permanent loans, for $390 million, $260 million and $150 million.

Source: PITG Gaming petition for approval of modifications, April 2008

Andrew Conte can be reached at andrewconte@tribweb.com or 412-320-7835.

[hyperion1110]

I know the appeals process was exhausted by the two losing bidders. But is it possible for the Gaming Board itself to revoke the license? I don't think this whole affair is going to end anytime soon. And if they let construction of this monstrosity go on, we're going to end up with a hunking piece of shit casino that will further degrade its surroundings!

[Evergrey]

agreed... revoke the license now! pay barden back whatever he's spent plus any amount required to avoid legal actions... and do it right... that would be less of a negative than letting this abomination proceed.. we can't allow Harrisburg to place another pox on this city

[themaguffin]

I think that if there is anything that can justify revoking the license they should. The is a disaster and he's being quite an ass. ...and he wants out of the committment to the Hill? The deal should have been set up that he pay a fund for the Hill and it shouldn't matter what his imput is. After all, it's for the city and people right?

Sadly, I don't think highly of the other bidders, but the state is handling this poorly. If they are granting licenses to print money, they need to have their hand wrapped around these casinos pretty tight.

After all, they are getting an exclusive deal and as we saw, the poor planning leads to such disgraces as the ugly parking deck. There's no excuse.

[edncc1701d]

With all our recent discussion about "strip malls" in the city, I found this article slightly amusing. Although, I know they probably aren't planning a strip mall...

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/04/28/story6.html

Prominent site in Pittsburgh's Strip District set for retail development
Pittsburgh Business Times - by Tim Schooley

Rugby Realty Co. Inc. plans to replace a prominent block of property in the Strip District with a new retail development with a logical name -- The Strip Center.

The property slated for redevelopment includes the former Ayoob-Acme Banana Co. warehouses at the corner of 23rd and Smallman Streets as well as the Benkovitz Seafood market and the former Nordic Fisheries warehouse behind it once used to store seafood but now being used temporarily for film production.

Rugby's architect, Downtown-based Strada Architecture LLC, has designed a 45,000-square-foot shopping center composed of three buildings that are contoured to the urban neighborhood, broad sidewalks, and 97 parking spaces.

"It's a great opportunity to provide shopping and services to people who live in the Strip," said Herky Pollock, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh.

I love Benkovitz as a restaurant, so I hope they aren't going away! I also enjoyed the Ayoob-Acme Banana Co. warehouse. I always thought it would be an interesting building to rehab into a restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating (think Double-Wide on the S. Side.) I guess the building is gone now...

[UrbaniDesDev]

^my only opinion is, that I don't like how it is designed.

Take east liberty for instance. It offers parking garages, but the big box stores are more urbanized. A sea of parking lots in a tight urban area is not good. It isn't good anywhere.

I agree that having targets, home depots, and all that other big box crap is a necessity if you own a house and have a large family. However, these stores have to start spending more money to design into an area instead of just plopping their prototypical boxes with 3 acres of parking lots around. It is possible for target to fit into a walkable urban district. The Giant Eagle on Center Ave in Shadyside is a good example of how to put a large retail center in a urban area. These stores want nothing but profit and more profit. It is easy to keep a same design, and not alter it for the hundreds of towns you build in. If they change it too accomodate that town, they have to spend money on design, cutting into their big profits. I worked for a few months on the big box design. I got out, I couldn't sleep at night.

The waterfront could have still had these stores with more of a southside works approach then turning it into somethin like Pittsburgh Mills.


My biggest problem with the Waterfront is, after millions of govt susidies, it has ignored Old Homestead, that it was to beneifit most. The connections between the Waterfront and 8th Avenue are nearly non-existant. Waterfont Drive seems to almost be purposely laid out to not benefit anything or anyone else other than the Waterfront. Waterfront Drive is a very wide boulevard that connects to nothing. It is an island in the city. The connections between The Waterfront and 8th Avenue should have been priority. Another priority should be to run a "T" line through there as well as the South Side and the South Side Works >>>Kennywood

I do think that over time, it will "densify" itself, as the market dictates

[UrbaniDesDev]

Sorry to dig up an old topic on here as my first post. Long time lurker...

Has anyone heard any news on the Baum-Liberty project? I pass the location every day and try to imagine what it will be like there when it is completed.

Here is an overlay of the area with the project page's drawing:
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/158/overlayur4.jpg

I think it is a good start toward making the area more densely urban. With the Hillman center and the buildings further down already revamped (the Mercedes and the Auto Palace, which is being renovated) down further, it would be a pretty nice area if all connected. Can you imagine if this kick-started the buying-out and redevelopment of the whole corridor? I wish the random auto-parts stores and the taco bell, the Boston market, etc, would be torn out and more of this mixed-use, dense construction be put in.

I've heard though, that the Boston market near shadyside hospital is the most profitable one in the chain of stores.


Welcome qwho!

Yes! This is the most exciting thing on the boards. As far as I know, it is going ahead. I've noticed that the car showrooms are having liquidation sales. I hope it goes as planned. Im a big fan of this project. It will be a long process, and these things tend to morph as time goes by. I hope they stick with their basic concept tho. It will set the tone for the area and takes their cue from the existing, older elegant buildings on Centre at Aiken.

My biggest concerns are the nimbys and the general politics. There will be nimbys saying too much traffic or parking problems, or whatever these types complain about. Politics always plays a part when this much money is being sloshed around. They always make a mess of things.

[UrbaniDesDev]

Hear, Hear...Well said, cdc.

The Waterfront is not attractive for the most part, could have been better designed, and there is no sense of place that one finds at SSW. That said, what better way to cut sprawl than by using close-in brownfields for developments that would normally be relegated to far-out farmland along an expressway? BTW, sure as hell beats plopping it in East Liberty, a la Home Depot, natch.

actually, I believe that the building was a Sears that Home Depot took over, after it sat for years vacant. Not to dispute your point, that I agree with, but felt it should be said that it was not Home Depot that created situation but was part of the original East Liberty Redevelopment disaster known as Penn Circle!

I am not a huge fan of bringing the suburbs into the city either, even with a more dense configuration. With plans to bring a Target into East Liberty and maybe a Walmart where Reizenstein middle School is, I find this very disturbing and not at all thought through, particularly at these locations

[cdc]

actually, I believe that building was a Sears that Home Depot took over after it sat for years vacant. Not to dispute your point, that I agree with, but felt it should be said that it was not Home Depot that created situation but was part of the original East Liberty Redevelopment disaster known as Penn Circle!

Yes, Sears. Now if you live in the East End and want to shop at
Sears, you have to drive to Monroeville, etc.

I posted the following PG links a while back, they have lots of useful
info. Parts 2 and 3 namecheck the old Sears store.

Part 1: The story of urban renewal
http://www.post-gazette.com/businessnews/20000521eastliberty1.asp

Part 2: East Liberty Then - Initial makeover had dismal results
http://www.post-gazette.com/businessnews/20000523intro3.asp

Part 3: The land that retail forgot
http://www.post-gazette.com/businessnews/20000524elib3.asp

Part 4: East Liberty's dangerous reputation is major obstacle to development
http://www.post-gazette.com/businessnews/20000525elib3.asp

Part 5: A matter of speculation: Investors eye land as other wonder if East Liberty will finally rebound
http://www.post-gazette.com/businessnews/20000526elib4.asp

[Grego43]

actually, I believe that building was a Sears that Home Depot took over after it sat for years vacant. Not to dispute your point, that I agree with, but felt it should be said that it was not Home Depot that created situation but was part of the original East Liberty Redevelopment disaster known as Penn Circle!


You are probably correct, I thought they demolished the Sears store and re-built. I only wish they had built a unit similar to the one built in my former Chicago neighborhood (see below). A two-level store built right up to the side walk, maintaining the visual streetscape, and with integral parking. That is not a parking lot in front of the store, that is Halsted St. Big Box stores shouldn't be dropped into an urban setting using their suburban cookie cutter style, they must coexist with their surroundings.



http://ir.homedepot.com/NEWS/HD0416.jpg

[haimon]

Greetings everyone! Seldom poster, long time reader. First I want to give kudos to everyone who makes it a point to continually find the exciting developments in our region. A bit of rant however.. It has now been a year since I graduated from Pitt with a political science degree. I very much want to stay in Pittsburgh, but it seems that there are no jobs. For every 20 or 30 positions that I find in Philadelphia, DC, New York, etc. I find perhaps not even one in Pittsburgh (granted, political science isn't the most lucrative field). Has anyone else has similar troubles? I often wonder whether or not the economy in our region is not diversified enough. Thoughts from anyone?

[Johnland]

You are probably correct, I thought they demolished the Sears store and re-built. I only wish they had built a unit similar to the one built in my former Chicago neighborhood (see below). A two-level store built right up to the side walk, maintaining the visual streetscape, and with integral parking. That is not a parking lot in front of the store, that is Halsted St. Big Box stores shouldn't be dropped into an urban setting using their suburban cookie cutter style, they must coexist with their surroundings.



http://ir.homedepot.com/NEWS/HD0416.jpg

Now that's how to do a box store. Up to the sidewalk, fresh, contemporary materials, glass and big windows.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_564747.html

Rescue plan for Downtown's Market Square is expanding

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, April 28, 2008

The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation is tackling another building rescue project in Market Square, with the aim to further a transformation already under way in the historic Downtown public square.

The South Side preservationist organization announced today it will take on restoration of the Thompson Building, a three-story structure adjacent to a trio of vacant buildings where it is spending about $2.5 million to convert into a mixed use complex known as Market at Fifth.

Acquisition of the building will enable the foundation to expand its complex into that structure.

Plans for 439 Market St., 441 Market St., and 130 Fifth Ave. include a ground-level restaurant or retail store, seven upper-floor apartments and a rooftop garden.

In addition, the foundation also announced it has given an "easement in perpetuity that will protect the architectural quality of the Buhl Building, another structure on Fifth Avenue near Market Square.

As reported, eight new shops have moved in -- or will in the coming months -- further rejuvenating the 224-year-old square.

Businesses there have credited an increased police presence to fight crime, reduce panhandling and efforts to clean up the city's streets.

More recently, new programs have been introduced, such as the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership's Paris to Pittsburgh program that is providing matching grants to help restaurants and other merchants renovate their buildings and expand their operations onto sidewalks -- similar to venues popular with tourists in the French capital.

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