PITTSBURGH | Rundown [Archive] - Page 45

gallacus

07-03-2008, 02:15 PM

I agree with closing the interior of Market Square to traffic.... but I strongly disagree with closing McMasters and Graehm

btw, which plan are they talking about here... this kinda sounds like minimal

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_575712.html

I believe they are leaning towards the Parisian style piazza.

Historic review panel OKs Market Square makeover

Work on pedestrian-friendly project might begin next spring

Thursday, July 03, 2008
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The proposed $5 million revamp of Market Square got a boost yesterday when Pittsburgh's Historic Review Commission gushed over the reduced traffic, piazza-type design and nicer trees.

"This will be a miniature Parisian square," said commission Vice Chairman Paul Tellers, whose motion to approve was unanimously adopted.

The commission put one condition on its approval: It wants project architect Dina Klavon to meet with the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation to discuss concerns about the closing of alleys running from the square to Fifth Avenue.

The foundation is spending $3.5 million renovating four buildings near the square, and some of the second- and third-floor apartments would be accessed via one of the alleys, Graeme Way.

"If people want to drop other people off, or unload things to their apartments, they can't get there," said Anne E. Nelson, the foundation's attorney.

Also closed to cars would be McMasters Way. Cars would be able to enter the square using Forbes Avenue and Market Street, and could drive around its perimeter. They could no longer drive through its center.

"We're trying to give Market Square back to the pedestrians," said Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership President Mike Edwards, whose group is leading the charge to repair the square. "Right now, it's a thoroughfare. We want it to be a destination."

The redesign would replace the network of streets, curbs and raised tree planters with a flat, curbless surface. Commission members questioned whether that would be safe, but accepted Ms. Klavon's contention that paving walkways with brick, plaza areas with terrazzo and streets with granite squares called Eurocobble would safely separate people from cars.

They also wondered whether "interactive" lighting that changes as people walk by it was really necessary to create a "wow factor."

"The elegance will be the wow factor," said commission Chairman Michael Stern.

Construction could start in the spring, said Mr. Edwards.

hyperion1110

07-03-2008, 02:48 PM

I don't really see the point in preventing traffic along those side streets where the History & Landmarks folks are doing their renovations. It won't effect the main part of the square at all.

I say let the cars through. There just needs to be ample indication that these are not roads in the normal sense. Pedestrians should have the right of way everywhere in the square.

I also love the fact that they plan to make it all one level. The only thing it needs to be truly European-esque would be a massive stone fountain in the middle of Forbes Ave :)

Evergrey

07-03-2008, 07:17 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08185/894500-52.stm

Work to begin soon on new arena

Authority awards contracts worth $52.6 million

Thursday, July 03, 2008
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Construction of the new arena is nearing its start with the award of nearly $52.6 million in contracts yesterday by the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority board.

Authority Executive Director Mary Conturo said afterward that contractors should begin mobilizing at the site, at Fifth Avenue and Washington Place, by mid-month. Earth-moving work should begin at the end of the month or early in August, she said.

The five contracts awarded yesterday were the first related to the actual construction, signaling yet another milestone in the Penguins' march to a new building to replace their current home, Mellon Arena, the oldest in the National Hockey League.

As if to underscore the arena's age, the authority board also authorized up to $45,000 in reimbursements yesterday to the team and arena manager SMG for repairs to leaks in the piping used to make ice and to deteriorating sidewalks.

Of the five construction contracts, the largest, at $33.4 million, went to Canam Steel Corp. for structural steel. Sidley Precast won a $5.8 million contract for precast concrete and Noralco Corp. received a $6.16 million award for grading and leveling.

Another $3.4 million contract was awarded to Brayman Construction Corp. for caissons and Schindler Elevator won a $3.7 million contract for elevators and escalators.

Ms. Conturo said the first construction-related work would involve leveling off and shaping the site to fit the arena dimensions. That will be followed a month later by the caisson work.

The $52.6 million in contracts represents about 25 percent of the construction budget. Ms. Conturo said the overall project cost still ranges between $290 million to $310 million.

She added that the structural steel, precast concrete and elevator contracts have "design assist elements," meaning that the contractors will be working with HOK Sport, the building architect, upfront to "make the project more efficient" and keep costs under control.

With the awards, Ms. Conturo said the arena is still on schedule to be completed by the start of the 2010-11 hockey season.

At the same time, she said Detroit businessman Don Barden's struggles to secure financing for his North Shore casino would have no impact on the arena project.

Mr. Barden has committed to providing $7.5 million a year for 30 years to finance the project, but his payments are not scheduled to start until fall 2009, Ms. Conturo said.

She added that all of the financing needed for construction is in place. "The package is done. The cash has been invested and is available to pay [for the construction]," she said.

If Mr. Barden is unable to complete his financing or to make his payments, Ms. Conturo said there are leases and subleases in place with the state that serve as a "backstop."

"Right now we've got the letter agreement with the operator. We expect to have a final agreement with the operator. The commonwealth has been working with us to get that all put in place," she said.

The Penguins declined comment yesterday on the contract awards. A formal groundbreaking likely will be held next month.

Also yesterday, the authority board approved the sale of a vacant lot on Federal Street on the North Side to Kratsa Properties for $500,000.

Kratsa is planning to build a 10-story, 135-room Holiday Inn Express hotel at the site. Work on the hotel is expected to begin next year and be completed in 2010.

The site is across the street from the Kratsa-built SpringHill Suites hotel adjacent to PNC Park and just a short walk from another Kratsa development, a Residence Inn now under construction.
Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.

Evergrey

07-03-2008, 07:21 PM

anybody remember the PATrain? Grego?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08185/894379-56.stm

Altmire puts money on commuter rail

Thursday, July 03, 2008
By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, has delivered what he promised Alle-Kiski Valley officials: $500,000 to further study establishing commuter trains to Downtown Pittsburgh.

Money that he secured in the current fiscal year as a member of the House Transportation Committee will lay the groundwork for the future rail service, he said of the idea that dates back to the 1990s and was previously explored by a consulting firm.

Mr. Altmire, who's running for re-election, presented the check to Allegheny and Westmoreland county officials Tuesday at a short meeting at the Oakmont Borough Building. The money is to be spent on new environmental and planning studies.

As the only local representative on the House Transportation Committee, he said he's in a prime position to gain additional funding when the federal transportation policy and spending bill known as SAFETEA is renewed next year.

"With record gas prices and increased congestion along Route 28, Western Pennsylvania needs to direct more resources toward developing mass transit," he said. "[This] is a step forward in getting the Allegheny Valley Commuter Rail up and running."

Officials promoting the idea are focusing on a "starter system" that would provide commuter trains on existing railways, mainly the Allegheny Valley Railroad that operates freight trains in the region. Plans include buying or leasing equipment and establishing a vehicle maintenance facility, several park-and-ride lots and small stations.

Mr. Altmire's office said the commuter rail project is estimated to cost $131 million and would provide an average 1,900 rides on weekdays.

He announced approval of the Allegheny Valley Commuter Rail grant in December, along with $500,000 to study commuter rail between the Mon Valley and Downtown. The Port Authority operated commuter trains to McKeesport -- the old PATrain -- until April 1989, when the trains were discontinued due to high costs and low ridership.

Mr. Altmire's spokeswoman, Tess Mullen, said while the Alle-Kiski proposal was studied previously, information must be updated to keep qualifying for federal approval and funding.

"This is the official take-off," she said. "This is a priority for Congressman Altmire. It's difficult to get money for these types of projects, so his position on the [transportation] committee is incredibly valuable."

Mr. Altmire promoted the project during a recent visit he arranged to the area by U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minnesota, longtime member and now chairman of the House Transportation Committee.
Joe Grata can be reached at jgrata@post-gazette.com.

Evergrey

07-03-2008, 07:38 PM

even the Trib recognizes it... my fear, however, is that skyrocketing fuel prices and scarce energy could devastate urban areas as well (though to a lesser degree than the sprawlburbs)

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_575811.html

Suburban flight starts to hit home

By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 3, 2008

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-07-02/0703-suburb-a.jpg
Motorists cruise down the Parkway East this week.
Heidi Murrin/Tribune-Review

When it took $45 to fill the gas tank in Eric Wallace's Honda Civic, he knew his days of driving 40 miles each way to work couldn't last.

"I went home and said, 'We have to do something,' " said Wallace, 36, of Arnold, who is looking to move closer to his job as director of information technology at a steel distribution and service center in Leetsdale.

Wallace and his wife, Tammy, 32, put the three-bedroom house they bought in 2000 up for sale and are hoping to cut their fuel costs with shorter commute times. Tammy Wallace is a registered nurse at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC in Oakland and drives 23 miles each way to work.

Across the country, people who traded longer commutes for life in the suburbs are starting to look for ways to cut their drive times as gas prices rise. A recent survey by Coldwell Banker showed that reducing the work commute was the primary reason for interest in urban living.

More people could join the Wallaces if predictions on oil prices ring true, real estate agents say.

Growing demand and supply constraints will push oil prices to $200 a barrel and gas prices to $7 a gallon within four years, economist Jeff Rubin of CIBC said last week. That could force a drastic change in driving habits, he told The Associated Press.

Eric Wallace's $45 fill-up, for example, would balloon to $91 if a gallon of gas cost $7.

Plans for building homes in some suburban communities already have felt the pressure of rising prices for gasoline and other materials.

"Planning of new developments has slowed. We're not seeing any huge developments being proposed," said Andrew Blenko, planning director in North Huntingdon, one of the fastest growing communities in the region in recent years.

The HET Corp. of Monroeville has shelved a plan to build Oak Hollow Farms, a 100-acre residential development in North Huntingdon, because of the housing downturn.

Although a number of factors have contributed to housing market woes, the attractiveness of the suburbs is fading as gas prices climb.

The idea of urban living is appealing to more potential homebuyers, said Dan Turkowski, vice president of HET.

"Townhomes and lifestyle living projects" the company has developed in Pittsburgh are doing well, he said.

Many young professionals aren't looking for "a house with a yard and a picket fence and 2.5 kids," said Jim Bindschadler, executive vice president of the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh. People want something different.

Slow changes ahead

Housing plans in many suburban communities are based on a "formula that was developed in the 1950s that hasn't changed at all," said Mark Weber, one of four principals at Renaissance III architects in the South Side.

Home prices in urban areas have fared better than in the suburbs.

The average price of a home in Pittsburgh rose 34.85 percent between 2004 and 2008, while the average price of a home in Allegheny County increased 15.82 percent, according to an analysis by Real STATs, a real estate information firm.

Average home prices rose 7.55 percent in Beaver County during that period and 7.89 percent in Butler County. Home prices rose 11.74 percent in Westmoreland County.

Pittsburgh's urban population will increase as the infrastructure to support it -- grocery stores and other amenities that lured people to the suburbs -- continues to grow, Bindschadler said.

But it won't happen overnight.

"It will be a subtle process," said Joe Cortright, an economist at Impresa Inc., a Portland, Ore. consulting group that studied housing prices in a number of urban areas, including Pittsburgh.

"The suburbs won't become ghost towns," he said.

Convenience key

Not everyone agrees that high gas prices are driving people back to the city.

The return to urban living has been occurring rather quietly over the past few years, said Hoddy Hanna, CEO of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.

"Clearly there's been a rejuvenation of urban areas. The magnet of our Downtown is great. A lot of people are working there," he said.

Cities have a lot more to offer these days.

In Pittsburgh, the sports stadiums, Downtown housing and a rejuvenated Cultural District helped transform older areas of the city into fashionable neighborhoods.

The Penn Garrison Apartments, a block and a half from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, has all 117 units leased and a waiting list, said Mary Donato, property manager.

"Owning a home isn't the American Dream anymore. The American Dream is convenience," Donato said "People want to put the house behind them. When they are through working, they don't want to go home and work again."

Many people are attracted to city life, said Barbara Wolff, a real estate agent with Blackthorne Estates in Penn Township in Westmoreland County.

"They want that lifestyle -- being able to walk out the door and get a cup of coffee," she said.

Among those moving to the city are empty-nesters, said Tom Yargo, manager of Coldwell Banker's Shadyside office.

"The kids are gone; many are still working. It just makes sense," he said.

Pittsburgh is perfectly suited for an influx of suburbanites, Weber said.

"I think Pittsburgh has a chance there," he said. "It has great little neighborhoods and centralized areas. A lot of little downtowns."

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

Grego43

07-03-2008, 09:36 PM

anybody remember the PATrain? Grego?

You can bet I do, Evergrey. ;) I think it took 20-25 mins. from McKeesport to downtown. The terminus was the B&O station, which was demolished and where now stands the 1st Ave garage/T station, and PNC...I think. The Beaver Valley service terminus was Station Square.

Gilamonster

07-04-2008, 12:52 AM

Some Updated Pics:

For those of you not able to see in person the much discussed Moe's building:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3267/2635287462_91b8b5e66a_b.jpg

Refurbishing of the buiding across the street:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3033/2634464277_ff8209db0d.jpg

The condos rising atop Piatt Place:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2635287900_eb32f3f947.jpg

Three PNC:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2635286292_80c8c1a68e_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3075/2634463919_4cf6bc5121_b.jpg

Smoker

07-05-2008, 05:50 AM

New York Times: 36 Hours in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH has undergone a striking renaissance from a down-and-out smokestack to a gleaming cultural oasis. But old stereotypes die hard, and Pittsburgh probably doesn’t make many people’s short list for a cosmopolitan getaway. Too bad, because this city of 89 distinct neighborhoods is a cool and — dare I say, hip—city.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/travel/06hours.html

Evergrey

07-05-2008, 06:38 AM

nice to see the annual NYT "Pittsburgh Travel" piece has a few different, neighborhood-ish attractions for once....

...

nice pics, gilamonster... i'm quite impressed with Moe's... and I really like the "Welcome to Moe's" greeting... especially how the greeting is staggered amongst multiple employees instead of all at once

PA Pride

07-05-2008, 06:47 PM

Welcome To Moes!!

themaguffin

07-05-2008, 07:31 PM

nice pics, gilamonster... i'm quite impressed with Moe's... and I really like the "Welcome to Moe's" greeting... especially how the greeting is staggered amongst multiple employees instead of all at once

It is in sync sometimes more than others at Moes, but either way, you'll likely to find your entrance very acknowledged.

Gilamonster

07-06-2008, 12:50 AM

I'm curious to try it. I was never there, even when I lived in Tampa. I think the building and the "cuisine" make a nice addition to Market Square.

Evergrey

07-06-2008, 02:27 AM

I think it's good for Downtown to have more high-quality, moderately-priced, fast-casual contemporary food options that extend beyond business hours... Downtown tends to have a lot of very high-priced upscale restaurants, super-low-end fast food, and workday lunch joints (au bon pain, soup man, qdoba, sammy's, etc)

PA Pride

07-06-2008, 06:04 AM

Check out the new rendering for Barden's casino. The casino building is on the left and the parking garage is on the right:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/PR-Atlas/images/IMG_6446.JPG

hyperion1110

07-06-2008, 05:27 PM

:previous: HAHA! I got nothin'...that just says it all!!!

CAPATeach

07-06-2008, 06:46 PM

Check out the new rendering for Barden's casino. The casino building is on the left and the parking garage is on the right:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/PR-Atlas/images/IMG_6446.JPG

That easily tops the last post of yours that I said was the funniest thing I'd ever seen on here.

MasonsInquiries

07-06-2008, 06:49 PM

can't wait to see the look of the arena in pittsburgh...

Evergrey

07-07-2008, 06:28 AM

so the Port Authority details their vision for the North Shore once the LRT tunnels are operational... a giant park-n-ride lot... "Suburbanites... drive your cars 99% of the way to your Downtown job... but park in the cheaper authority-owned lot on the North Shore and take a 30 second subway ride into Downtown!"

I guess it makes sense... since this LRT extension is going to the once large spot in the city where NOBODY LIVES (Manchester is still a few blocks away and served by the 16A)

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_576266.html

The first North Shore Connector tunnel dig nearing end

By Jim Ritchie
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, July 7, 2008

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-07-06/0707pcart-a.jpg
A cart full of construction workers passes through the $435 million North Shore Connector tunnel. The tunnel will extend the T light-rail system from its Gateway Center station to stops on the North Shore.
Andrew Russell/Tribune-Review

The Fort Pitt Tunnel claims to have one of America's greatest urban views, but another Pittsburgh tunnel will make its mark this week among the city's unique transportation thoroughfares.

A tunnel-boring machine is expected to burst through the wall of a large pit beneath Stanwix Street as early as today, marking the completion of the first of two light-rail tunnels under the Allegheny River.

The 500-ton digging machine has moved an average of 36 feet a day since leaving the North Shore in January, said Winston Simmonds, the authority's rail project manager. It dug 64 feet on its best day.

The machine's arrival Downtown is a milestone in the $435 million North Shore Connector project, which will extend the T light-rail system from its Gateway Center station to stops on the North Shore.

Once the project is completed in 2011, Port Authority hopes commuters choose to park on the North Shore and take the T Downtown, which allows drivers to avoid Downtown parking hassles. The agency intends to loop its northern bus routes through the new stations, where riders can transfer onto the T. The change would remove some buses from Downtown traffic.

Critics say it's unnecessary and too costly. Supporters, including the Allegheny County Transit Council riders group, say it will create convenience and savings.

"They see the benefit of a shorter ride to Downtown from the North Shore area," said Barbara Simpson, the group's president. "There are potential benefits and savings for the rider and the authority. People in general seem to think this is a good idea, especially with connections to the stadiums and the Carnegie Science Center."

Tunneling started from a 50-foot pit dug near PNC Park and will emerge in a special pit at Stanwix Street.

The machine will be turned around toward the North Shore to dig a second tunnel, which will run nearly parallel to the first. Tunneling is expected to resume in about six weeks.

The project has experienced cost increases, which will cause it to exceed its $435 million budget. The authority intends to pay the difference by tapping its capital budget.

Stanwix Street will remain closed for several weeks between Penn Avenue and Fort Duquesne Boulevard while the machine is turned around.

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

Tombstoner

07-07-2008, 05:01 PM

I don't know what else they could do... It sounds like they are routing the north-bound buses through the station. I think the pitch is "suburbanites--take bus XX to the North Shore station and conveniently transfer into town".

hyperion1110

07-07-2008, 05:35 PM

It makes a certain kind of sense, in that it will decrease downtown congestion. On the other hand, as someone who comes from the North, it will be really annoying if I need to get off on the North Side (I think it's stupid to call it the 'North Shore,' as if to confuse suburbanites into thinking it's some place other than the lower North Side), right the subway to downtown, then get on another bus to Oakland...just to get to work. The only way this thing makes sense is if certain routes bypass downtown altogether, which I think is unlikely to happen.

Evergrey

07-07-2008, 07:09 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08189/895349-100.stm

Plans unveiled for six-story Downtown Hilton

By Karamagi Rujumba, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and hotel developer Kratsa Properties this morning unveiled plans for a six-story Hilton Garden Inn to be built on a half-acre lot Downtown behind the Grant Building.

Kratsa Properties expects to break ground late this year on the 156-room hotel, which will be built on the former site of the Allegheny County Jail Annex, bounded by Fourth Avenue, Ross Street and Third Avenue.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20080707map_hilton_160.png

"This is an exciting project for a new Downtown hotel," said Mr. Onorato, adding that no public monies will be used for the construction of the $25 million hotel, which is expected to open in late 2009.

The board of the Allegheny County Industrial Development Authority approved the $1.55 million sale of the empty lot to Kratsa Properties in December 2007.

Bill Kratsa, general partner at Kratsa Properties said his company pursued the site because the Golden Triangle area in this section of Downtown is ripe for hotel expansion, especially because of projects like the new multi-purpose arena being built Uptown.

"We are very excited about the project because we have always felt this part of downtown Pittsburgh needed additional quality hotel space," Mr. Kratsa said.

Kratsa Properties, which is currently building a 115-room SpringHill Suites hotel at the intersection of Hot Metal Street and South Water Street on the South Side, has also built two other hotels on the North Side and the South Side.

The company's design for its latest hotel project, convenient to the City-County Building, the Allegheny County Courthouse and a number of downtown office high-rises, will be submitted to the Contextual Design Advisory Panel for recommendation, before it goes for approval by the City of Pittsburgh Planning Commission.

KDKA's video
http://kdka.com/video/?id=43448@kdka.dayport.com

Evergrey

07-07-2008, 07:39 PM

Here are pictures of the Hot Metal Bridge portal lights.
I wasn't impressed. They should have put lights on both bridges and the whole span instead of just the portals.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/chuck.alcorn/SFrFz8Lh1wI/AAAAAAAAF9c/QWoc9xrcwqk/1.jpg?imgmax=800

http://lh6.ggpht.com/chuck.alcorn/SFrF0P_HP7I/AAAAAAAAF9k/XBdG1s7bp8E/3.jpg?imgmax=800

http://lh3.ggpht.com/chuck.alcorn/SFrF0u3mbcI/AAAAAAAAF9s/70r-4y8yB5A/7.jpg?imgmax=800

http://lh3.ggpht.com/chuck.alcorn/SFrF0zzBjRI/AAAAAAAAF90/1B1dsg3VJ2E/16.jpg?imgmax=800

finally saw this in person... I LOVE IT!

Johnland

07-07-2008, 11:22 PM

Tombstoner

07-08-2008, 12:42 AM

That is a sad little hotel...:(

UrbaniDesDev

07-08-2008, 01:55 AM

I think that it's a good thing to support minority owned businesses.

The problem with casino's is deeper than that. It's not that there are few minorities - there are few owners period. A few companies own much of Vegas and essentially most of the casino market, so there is not much choice.

I think it’s a good thing to consider a group who is not one of the monopoly owners, however, but the person/group must have their shit together.
What’s been happening is unacceptable in terms of financing the ever decline in quality of the establishment coupled with the ridiculous garage is just insane.

I suspect those in charge will be inclined to continue to extend this bullshit rather than admit they gave it to an unqualified disaster, but that merely delays the inevitable.

I personally believe it had nothing to do with him being a minority but just an example of the Rendell corruption machine.

UrbaniDesDev

07-08-2008, 02:01 AM

Yeah, I understand that chains are here to stay and that they are (often) better than nothing. Some chains, in fact, are known for quality control and for being good local citizens. But one of the things that (in my mind, at least) separate Pittsburgh from places like Atlanta is the individuality and quirky personality of the retail offerings. I know it can't last, but I hope Pittsburgh hangs onto it for as long as it can.

Its a catch 22, Im afraid. The more popular an area gets, the more likely there will be chains and locals be pushed out as rents skyrocket.

PA Pride

07-08-2008, 02:20 AM

KDKA's video
http://kdka.com/video/?id=43448@kdka.dayport.com

6 story hotel from the kdka video:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/Kratsa6storyhotel.jpg

Pretty small to be right next to a 500+ ft scraper.

Here's a new hotel from the North Shore from the same video:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/NewNorthShoreHotel.jpg

UrbaniDesDev

07-08-2008, 03:12 AM

I believe they are leaning towards the Parisian style piazza.

Historic review panel OKs Market Square makeover

Work on pedestrian-friendly project might begin next spring

Thursday, July 03, 2008
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The proposed $5 million revamp of Market Square got a boost yesterday when Pittsburgh's Historic Review Commission gushed over the reduced traffic, piazza-type design and nicer trees.

"This will be a miniature Parisian square," said commission Vice Chairman Paul Tellers, whose motion to approve was unanimously adopted.

The commission put one condition on its approval: It wants project architect Dina Klavon to meet with the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation to discuss concerns about the closing of alleys running from the square to Fifth Avenue.

The foundation is spending $3.5 million renovating four buildings near the square, and some of the second- and third-floor apartments would be accessed via one of the alleys, Graeme Way.

"If people want to drop other people off, or unload things to their apartments, they can't get there," said Anne E. Nelson, the foundation's attorney.

Also closed to cars would be McMasters Way. Cars would be able to enter the square using Forbes Avenue and Market Street, and could drive around its perimeter. They could no longer drive through its center.

"We're trying to give Market Square back to the pedestrians," said Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership President Mike Edwards, whose group is leading the charge to repair the square. "Right now, it's a thoroughfare. We want it to be a destination."

The redesign would replace the network of streets, curbs and raised tree planters with a flat, curbless surface. Commission members questioned whether that would be safe, but accepted Ms. Klavon's contention that paving walkways with brick, plaza areas with terrazzo and streets with granite squares called Eurocobble would safely separate people from cars.

They also wondered whether "interactive" lighting that changes as people walk by it was really necessary to create a "wow factor."

"The elegance will be the wow factor," said commission Chairman Michael Stern.

Construction could start in the spring, said Mr. Edwards.

I have been hesitant in commenting on this plan because I know there are some out there that are in some way involved, but, this plan is very uninspired. It is NOT " a miniature Parisian square" I can't even believe they have described it as such. It is more like an Italian piazza. They are very different in feel and function.
Parisian squares are green and full of trees with traffic, generally an arch or fountain as a focal point.

Some examples of Parisian Squares
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/place-ste-catherine.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/louis-xiii.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/fontaine-la-seine.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/fran2809.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/DSC00469.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/day22.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/20070620_Day6_012.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/449122577_824ed29f9a.jpg

Forbes Avenue between Market Square and Wood??? Graeme Street??? Market???
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/DSC00436.jpg

Italian Piazzas are vast open urban areas, usually void of trees or major greenery sometimes with traffic. This is more like the plans submitted by Ms Klavon. Im sorry Ms Klavon it does not move me.

Italian Piazzas;
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ItalianSquare.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ItalianSquare2.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ItalianSquare3.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ItalianSquare4.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Italy_Rome_PiazzaNavona.jpg

Some Squares are closed to traffic on weekends and holidays...
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Italy_Vatican_StPeters.jpg

These New York City Squares are something along the lines that I was hoping for. A strong French influence

Bryant Park
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/UnionSquare.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/WashingtonSquarePark.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/2383889035_5e44f84664.jpg

I particularly relate Market Square to NYCs Washington Square and Point Park University to NYU in it's proximity to the parks. I just don't feel the current proposals will meet the needs of the area. It seems very heavy handed towards a stage and live music. This is great, but it will be vacant when there is not a performance. It is a single-minded approach.
Washington Square is constantly full of music, usually street musicians but also accomodates larger performances. With or without the triumphal arch! (There was a proposal for Market Square to have a large arch spanning Forbes back in the 90s, they opted for the plan we have now)

Washington Square;

when the fountain is off it fills with street performers
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/WashingtonSquare.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/WashingtonSquare2.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/WashingtonSquare3.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/WashingtonSquare4.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/WashingtonSquare5.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/WashingtonSquare6.jpg

It will be very difficult to establish a business where there is no street parking, dead end streets are death! All the streets should remain open except for McMaster's Way. It is very narrow. Too narrow for traffic and pedestrians and the entrance on to Fifth Avenue is very dangerous. It would make a good pedestrian walkway with tables lining it for the overflow from the new market in the Murphy's building...

a side note... my friends in the burbs are very upset that they are partially footing the bill for this make-over considering they spent millions less than 20 years ago to completely redo the thing, and not very well, I might add. This current plan will end the same way in another 20 years

Evergrey

07-08-2008, 07:18 AM

a side note... my friends in the burbs are very upset that they are partially footing the bill for this make-over considering they spent millions less than 20 years ago to completely redo the thing, and not very well, I might add. This current plan will end the same way in another 20 years

that's funny how suburbanites always complain about having to partially fund improvements in the core city, cultural center and economic engine of the region... city residents have a much more valid reason to be upset about the countless pointless suburban/exurban projects that they have been forced to partially fund... projects that have exasperated sprawl, decentralized infrastructure and services, destroyed countryside, annihilated traditional cities and towns, obliterated established neighborhoods with freeways, hyper-sorted populations by class and race, and promoted a ubiquitous dumbing down of metropolitan life.... one where exit ramps to Taco Bell replaced human scaled commercial streets lined with architecturally rich buildings...

...

but besides that... i really appreciate your expertise on French and Italian public spaces... I much prefer the French examples you posted and would hope a new plan would have those types of amenities...

when you say you don't support closing the streets to traffic... do you support closing that portion of Forbes that cuts through the middle of the square?

...

the Post-Gazette weighs in on the Market Square redesign

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08190/895396-192.stm

Prime market: Pittsburgh's historic square is taking off

Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Downtown Pittsburgh's newest renaissance is hard to miss. Head to lunch in Market Square and it's all around you.

Yesterday afternoon, before summer's daily deluge, the square's perimeter of outdoor seating was packed with diners. There was a buzz coming from the new Moe's Southwest Grill, where the walls were opened to let the outdoors in. Buon Giorno Cafe was waiting for work to be done on its second-story terrace. The Dunkin Donuts that replaced an off-color junk shop had a line of customers waiting for iced coffee. A gelato vendor scooped dessert from his refrigerator cart.

All of this is in addition to other Market Square merchants, some of them fixtures for decades, that routinely feed the Downtown work force: the Original Oyster House, Jenny Lee Bakery, 1902 Landmark Tavern, Nicholas Coffee, La Gondola, Primanti's, Starbucks and more.

The noise and menace of the buses are gone and, soon, so will be the pass-through traffic on Forbes Avenue (although motorists will still be able to drive around the edge of the square). Last week the city's historic review commission approved a $5 million makeover that would replace the streets, curbs and raised tree planters with a flat surface paved with brick, terrazzo and granite. "This will be a miniature Parisian square," one commission member said.

That continental look will be no coincidence, given the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership's "Paris-to-Pittsburgh" program, which has leveraged a $1 million grant from the Colcom Foundation into business renovations on the square that open restaurants to the outside.

With major construction a stone's throw away at Three PNC Plaza, the vacant G.C. Murphy store and four buildings renovated by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, Market Square stands to become only more vibrant. Then Downtown may have that happy problem once described by Yogi Berra: "No one goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

Evergrey

07-08-2008, 07:36 AM

big update on Forest City's convention center hotel: no news!

i suppose there's an argument about conventions being able to book huge blocks of rooms at the same hotel... but do we really need to saturate the hospitality market with this publicly-subsidized behemoth when so many privately-funded hotels are springing up around Downtown and environs? And a prolonged (or permanent) period of expensive fuel could significantly reduce traveler volume. I also tend to think the inability to fly to PIT from just about anywhere these days might negatively impact the convention center's ability to attract major national conventions.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_576442.html

Westin expansion stalled, but Hilton on the way

By Sam Spatter and Justin Vellucci
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said Monday that the long-standing plan to develop a 1,000-room convention center hotel remains stalled, and officials might look for another developer.

Onorato said officials want to add at least 400 to 500 rooms to the 616-room Westin Convention Center hotel so that the city can attract larger meetings and conventions.

"It's on hold until we can get someone who is willing to build one (that size)," Onorato said.

The chief executive spoke during an announcement by Kratsa Properties of Harmar for a $25 million, 156-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel on the site of the former county Jail Annex at Fourth Avenue and Ross Street, Downtown.

Plans for the hotel are moving forward without public subsidy, said Onorato and officials with Kratsa Properties.

"I am confident about its location because it will be close to the courthouse and office buildings," said William Kratsa Jr., general partner in the development company. "We expect the hotel will attract guests from out-of-town experts called in to testify at local trials, to attorneys involved in trials who don't want to travel back and forth from their homes to Downtown."

In 1994, officials began talking about the need to have 1,500 hotel rooms within walking distance of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center to enable Pittsburgh to compete with other cities in attracting large conventions. But building rooms that are linked to the center hasn't happened.

"It's like everything else around here. It's a big run-around sometimes," said Todd Mathias, who three years ago opened August Henry's City Saloon a half-block from the convention center on Penn Avenue. "But I definitely think if they got (more hotel rooms) in, they could get bigger and better conventions. And I think it would help this part of town grow even more."

The county won't subsidize a convention hotel that would not provide at least 400 new rooms -- a number that's necessary to meet the 1,000-room threshold needed to attract major conventions, Onorato said.

Cleveland developer Forest City Enterprises Inc., owner of the Westin Convention Hotel, has worked with the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority, owner of the convention center, as the developer of a proposed hotel projected to cost $104 million.

Plans were to provide a $34 million subsidy from state gambling proceeds to supplement Forest City's private contribution for the project.

Onorato, though, said it might be necessary to solicit proposals from other developers. Forest City indicated recently that, because of increasing costs, it might reduce the size of such a facility to about 300 rooms.

Brian Ratner, president of East Coast development for Forest City, said yesterday that the company remains involved in the project. Forest City has been waiting for the Sports & Exhibition Authority to award the public funding, he said.

Some business owners say they would welcome the additional hotel space to help attract conventioneers.

"One of the biggest problems (with not drawing bigger or more conventions) is them not having the rooms," said Randy Wright, assistant general manager at The Sonoma Grille, which sits near the convention center on Penn Avenue. "I'm sure just about any restaurant in this location would say the same thing."

Ruth Heskins, a Canadian who was one of thousands attending a recent Al-Anon convention Downtown, said conventions aren't all about the hotel rooms. She said she wanted to see more Downtown restaurants open on the weekends.

"That's the only thing I could think to complain about," said Heskins, 69, of Winnipeg, who was making her first trip to Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, across Downtown, the smaller Hilton Garden Inn could be under construction on the jail annex site by late November or December and be open a year thereafter.

Kratsa said amenities will include a restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining, as well as a coffee shop on the first level along Ross Street.

In addition to its proximity to government buildings on Grant Street, the future hotel should be popular with people attending sports events at the North Shore stadiums, at Mellon Arena and then at the new Penguins facility, both Uptown, he said.

The hotel will have its entrance off Fourth Avenue. A two-story lobby will lead to the business center, a 5,000-square-foot banquet room, and an area for breakfast. A pool, spa and exercise area are planned for the second floor. The hotel will have three levels of underground parking.

Growing Downtown market
A sampling of hotels built or planned in or close to Downtown, with the number of rooms and their status:

• Renaissance, Downtown, 300 rooms, opened 2001

• Sheraton Station Square, 104, South Side, 2002*

• Holiday Inn Express, 120, South Side, 2003**

• Courtyard by Marriott, 182, Cultural District, 2005

• SpringHill Suites by Marriott, 198, North Shore, 2005**

• Hampton Inn & Suites, 143, Strip District, 2007

• Embassy Suites/Hyatt, 150, North Shore, 2009/2010

• Fairmont Pittsburgh at Three PNC Plaza, 185, Downtown, 2009

• Hotel (independent), 140, South Side Works, 2009

• SpringHill Suites by Marriott, 115, South Side, 2009**

• Marriott Residence Inn, 180, North Shore, 2010**

• Holiday Inn Express, 135, North Shore, 2009/2010**

• Hilton Garden Inn, 156, Fourth and Ross, 2009/2010**

* In addition to 292 existing rooms

** Owned and/or being built by Kratsa Properties

Source: Tribune-Review Research

themaguffin

07-08-2008, 03:15 PM

Thanks UrbaniDesDev for the detailed thoughts.

I was thinking of a piazza too, but ultimately Market Square should be what makes sense for the area. That said too often Pittsburgh doesn't aim high enough and settles for less so it's nice to think grand, but you make good points in how that can be misguided. I don't think that the area is big neough to be a Washington Square, but given its urban environment, it could be a better utlizied urban area (maybe Union Square?)

Tombstoner

07-08-2008, 04:31 PM

Compared to major squares (like Washington or Union), Market Square is tiny. I think it's charm is in its coziness and historic relevance. A little oasis with a great art-quality fountain (think Fountain Square in Cincinnati, not that it has to be classical), lots of benches, trees, granite cobblestones, a newstand with a coffee cart (run by one of the existing purveyors of coffee on the square) and it would be lovely.

raynist

07-08-2008, 04:54 PM

6 story hotel from the kdka video:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/Kratsa6storyhotel.jpg

Pretty small to be right next to a 500+ ft scraper.

Here's a new hotel from the North Shore from the same video:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/NewNorthShoreHotel.jpg

I think this looks out of place. The building before it was 12+ stories. This should be prime real estate. There isn't that much open land in the golden triangle to waste it on a 6 story structure.

Black-n-Gold

07-08-2008, 06:09 PM

I think this looks out of place. The building before it was 12+ stories. This should be prime real estate. There isn't that much open land in the golden triangle to waste it on a 6 story structure.

How many years would you be willing to have it sit as a vacant lot before somebody comes along and is willing to spend another $25 million to make a 12 storey building? How many more years can the City afford to not get any tax revenue from that property?

UrbaniDesDev

07-09-2008, 02:06 AM

Yes, its true, Washington Square is larger. NYU is larger than PSU, and NYC is bigger than Pittsburgh. The main circle of Washington Square is what I was focusing on, minus the ramblig trails and wooded area. There should be traffic on the square but NOT through the square. Basically, keep the peripheral streets and not the through street. Running a street through the center removes the heart of the square. The heart should be for a strong focal point. A gathering place.

I think the problem my friends in the burbs have, is that the square was completely rehabbed pretty recently and the result was not good. It is what we have now. little uncomfortable squares around a busway.This project should not be considered a temporary fix, something that will be needed to redo every couple of decades. That is not acceptable. I wish I could find a pic of the original plan with the triumphal arch. Not that Im queer for triumphal arches but the park it resided was a much better solution.

It's not that the current proposal wont be a success, it just won't be all it can be. It can be much more than an empty plaza. Im very disapointed in the solutions proposed and the process that was given it.

UrbaniDesDev

07-09-2008, 02:12 AM

A sampling of hotels built or planned in or close to Downtown, with the number of rooms and their status:

• Renaissance, Downtown, 300 rooms, opened 2001

• Sheraton Station Square, 104, South Side, 2002*

• Holiday Inn Express, 120, South Side, 2003**

• Courtyard by Marriott, 182, Cultural District, 2005

• SpringHill Suites by Marriott, 198, North Shore, 2005**

• Hampton Inn & Suites, 143, Strip District, 2007

• Embassy Suites/Hyatt, 150, North Shore, 2009/2010

• Fairmont Pittsburgh at Three PNC Plaza, 185, Downtown, 2009

• Hotel (independent), 140, South Side Works, 2009

• SpringHill Suites by Marriott, 115, South Side, 2009**

• Marriott Residence Inn, 180, North Shore, 2010**

• Holiday Inn Express, 135, North Shore, 2009/2010**

• Hilton Garden Inn, 156, Fourth and Ross, 2009/2010**

* In addition to 292 existing rooms

This kills me. All this and we can't get that damned convention center hotel built. I would like to see the size of the original proposal doubled and have half of it be condos. Oh well...
with the countys situation now, it will be a long time coming now. We missed a big window of opportunity Im afraid!

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/108_tmp1541.jpg

UrbaniDesDev

07-09-2008, 02:13 AM

Not completely unrelated...
Something I thought you all might enjoy...

Subject: The White House repair

Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House in
D.C.;
one from Pennsylvania, another from Tennessee and the third, from Georgia
They go with a White House official to examine the fence.

The Georgia contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring,
then works some figures with a pencil.
"Well", he says,
"I figure the job will run about $900:
$400 for materials,
$400 for my crew and $100 profit for me."

The Tennessee contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says,
"I can do this job for $700:
$300 for materials,
$300 for my crew and $100 profit for me."

The Pennsylvania contractor doesn't measure or figure,
but leans over to the White House official and whispers,
"$2,700."

The official, incredulous, says,
"You didn't even measure like the other guys!
How did you come up with such a high figure?"

The Pennsylvania contractor whispers back,
"$1000 for me, $1000 for you,
and we hire the guy from Tennessee to fix the fence."

"Done!"
replies the government official.

And that my friends, is how it all works ! ! !

Evergrey

07-09-2008, 07:32 AM

nice column by Brian O'Neill on Barden's Folly, the many improvements to our riverfronts.... and the advocacy of the Riverlife Task Force

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08190/895501-294.stm

Around Town: Riverfront's come too far to stop now

Tuesday, July 08, 2008
By Brian O'Neill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Make me.

That's your classic schoolyard retort. My 8-year-old threw it at me the other night (and now wishes she hadn't) and it occurs to me that the latest flap on the North Shore casino comes down to more or less the same dynamic.

Don Barden, beset by a host of problems in getting his Ohio River slots parlor off the ground, now wants to hold off on building a riverfront amphitheater and other niceties that were part of his successful bid for the slots monopoly in Pittsburgh.

His spokesman says nobody should worry. This stuff will get built -- three years after the casino opens.

"The dock and the amphitheater are conditions of licensing,'' Mr. Barden's spokesman Bob Oltmanns said. "One of the obligations we have is to build those.

"We're not talking about putting it off indefinitely.''

But it surely seems the state has its best leverage before the casino opens, not after the palace is up and raking in millions of dollars in small bills from suckers. What leverage would the state have to force better landscaping in three years, short of turning off the gambling faucet?

"I don't know what kind of latitude [state gaming officials] have,'' Mr. Oltmanns said.

But that won't come up because Mr. Barden will use his operating revenue to begin building the 1,000-seat amphitheater, the dock, and other missing pieces of the original design in May 2012, Mr. Oltmanns said.

But the developer already has ditched plans for a couple of levels of underground parking, which means his garage will tower above his casino. Add the postponement of river beautification, and this stripped-down model is not the version that Pennsylvania bought when it awarded Mr. Barden the license.

I took a long walk up on the Downtown side of the Allegheny Riverfront yesterday afternoon, before the rain, to remind myself how far the banks of the rivers have come in the past couple of decades, particularly in the past five to 10 years.

I walked the mile and a half of mostly completed trail from the Cork Factory in the Strip District to the Point, a lunchtime journey that a decade ago would have been unthinkable, at least among the sane. At the Cork Factory, where more than 260 apartments have rented a little more than a year after its opening, a man I took to be a grandfather was showing off the building's pool to a laughing child. I passed the Seagate building, the Lawrence Convention Center and The Encore on Seventh Street, and took in views of the Heinz lofts, the Alcoa building, the stadiums and the Carnegie Science Center across the river on the North Side.

Clearly, riverfront developers have been getting things right, and much the same has been happening on the Monongahela, from the SouthSide Works to Station Square. Riverlife, the non-profit task force that has coordinated and advocated for world-class development the past eight years, estimates that $3.5 billion has been invested in a 13-mile loop on the rivers. That stretches from the West End Bridge on the Ohio to the 31st Bridge on the Allegheny, and to the Hot Metal Bridge on the Mon.

That's called 3 Rivers Park and it's about halfway done. As I neared the Point, the construction of the Majestic Star Casino came into view just east of the West Bridge. One of the latecomers to this party, it shouldn't be allowed to spoil it.

It's a truth of modern life that the easiest thing to do is spend other people's money. So I will stop myself before putting an "only'' in front of the $3.5 million that the amphitheater, with its terraced grass steps, is said to cost, though it is a fraction of the total price of the casino, north of $750 million.

Some of Mr. Barden's problems are not of his own making. The losers in bidding for casino rights went to court, and then the Steelers and Pirates took him to court over traffic issues. That delayed construction almost a year, just enough time for credit markets to dry up and construction costs to soar with oil prices. Construction has been suspended as Mr. Barden seeks new financing.

Oh, and Riverlife and two North Side residents have appealed the January planning commission approval of the casino and garage design to the state Supreme Court.

"We had to put a stake in the sand and say, 'This is the budget,''' Mr. Oltmann said in explaining the cost-cutting moves. "We are going to build this [amphitheater] but out of a different pool of money.''

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said it has the powers of revoking or suspending licenses, part of a broad range of powers it can exercise after due process. I'm still left thinking the way Gov. Ed Rendell does: The man who stands to gain so much from a public license should be made to do what was originally promised.
Brian O'Neill can be reached at boneill@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1947.

....

btw, here's a random video of Pittsburgh destroyed by a comet impact
6x_VfcZD1v0

cdc

07-10-2008, 03:14 PM

"The Summit"?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08192/895949-56.stm

After years of waiting, Operation Nehemiah will finally move ahead next month with plans to redevelop the former East Hills Shopping Center when it sells 14 acres to Wal-Mart for construction of a SuperCenter.

Wal-Mart and a Lowe's home improvement store are expected to be the anchor tenants for a new shopping plaza known as The Summit. The development straddles the borders of Wilkinsburg, Penn Hills and Pittsburgh.
...

... and more County bridge repairs: Rankin bridge

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08192/895906-56.stm

...
The bridge, which has needed a paint job for a generation, also was rated structurally deficient by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. On a scale of 0 to 9 with 9 the best, the bridge rates a 4 in both deck and superstructure and a sufficiency rating of 31 on a scale of 0 to 100.

...

Brentsters

07-10-2008, 06:19 PM

From kdka.com

Breaking News Developer Don Barden is giving up majority control of the Majestic Star Casino on Pittsburgh's North Shore. Stay with KDKA for the latest information.

Ooops do over. I don't know if that means his license is gone too, but it's just one problem after the next with him.

hyperion1110

07-10-2008, 06:42 PM

:hell: Is there any doubt that he was in such a hurry to build this thing because he knew he didn't have the money to pull it off?!?! Build a huge ass structure on prime riverfront real estate so his license couldn't be revoked!

I really hope someone is calling up one Harrah's and Isle of Capri, and asking if either one of them want to build the casino.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08192/896156-100.stm

Barden defaults on loan, seeks change in casino ownership

Thursday, July 10, 2008
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

International lender Credit Suisse has notified North Shore casino developer Don Barden he is in default of a $200 million bridge loan for the project according to a petition filed with the state Gaming Control Board.

The board today is considering a request by Mr. Barden to approve a new financing plan for the casino that includes a change in the company holding the license for the project. Mr. Barden would no longer be the majority owner of the casino, according to his spokesman.

Under the revised plan, Mr. Barden would retain about 25 percent interest in the casino. Walton Street Capital Fund 6, which is investing $120 million to complete financing for the project, will be the majority owner.

Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm said he is one of five founders of Walton but his stake in the casino would be than 1 percent.

The proposed investment would be used to pay off the bridge loan and to help complete construction.

If Credit Suisse enforces the default, it could result in construction disruption and significant delays in finishing and opening the casino. Work was halted at the site last month after contractors said Mr. Barden hadn't paid for work since April.

Under the proposed restructuring, Mr. Barden would remain a principal licensee and indirect owner of the new company, Holdings Acquisition.

In the petition, Mr. Barden also has backed off a proposal to delay construction on an outdoor amphitheater, boat docks and walking trails for three years. He now says it will be done at the same time the casino is open.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

First published on July 10, 2008 at 1:07 pm

PA Pride

07-10-2008, 08:08 PM

Don Barden... Tsk.Tsk. No Donny has screwed Pittsburgh this bad since that time Donny Iris had to cancel a show at Post-Gazette Pavilion.

qwho

07-10-2008, 08:23 PM

I think this looks out of place. The building before it was 12+ stories. This should be prime real estate. There isn't that much open land in the golden triangle to waste it on a 6 story structure.

At least it isn't one of these:
http://photos.igougo.com/images/p106767-Rochester-Rochester_Hilton_Garden_Inn_Hotel.jpg

Thats what I pictured before watching the video.

diesel21

07-10-2008, 09:17 PM

Oh, you know Harrah's and Isle of Capri are sending "Told you so" letters to the Gaming Commission at this moment.

Gilamonster

07-10-2008, 10:00 PM

the first I have heard of this new casino news is on here but I'll take it as fact. I think it is good for Pittsburgh that he is pulling out of majority ownership. According to the above post, Barden has allready reversed course again and claiming to be building the amphitheater at first. Perhaps the new majority owners will have the financial wherewithall and desire to play with the design a bit as well as the behemoth garage. Reguardless of the outcome, one thing is for sure; There will be now enormous delays.

Evergrey

07-11-2008, 05:27 PM

some tidbits

1. For the first time, I noticed work progressing on that Montrose Exchange / Indigo Hotel mixed-use development in the heart of East Liberty.
http://www.cbre.com/NR/rdonlyres/15B6B8A3-D5AF-4429-A30A-C8940ACFF92A/519262/headpagegraphic.gif
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07158/792099-28.stm

2. There's a rendering up at the site of the extension of EastSide retail development in E. Liberty... across Highland Street... advertises 200,000 sq. ft. with a slogan like "Ride the bus" (since it's on the BRT)

...

Pittsburgh Business Times has a lot of cool info today

1. Suprisingly, a local developer (Sampson Morris) has purchased Wholey's 7-story cold storage facility at Penn and 15th in the Strip, and has plans for 140 loft condos. I'm surprised since this is a blank windowless hulk of a building with walls 3 feet thick. The developer has a lot of work to do cutting out windows and introducing natural light to the units. I think it says a lot of good things about the residential market in the core that a building like this would be converted to condos. I wonder what will happen to its iconic fish sign.

2. Pittsburgh's job growth is 4X the national average

3. There is a piece on major construction projects in the region, analyzing how escalating costs are affecting them
a. Doc-Economou's Baum Liberty Crossing should begin site demo in Sept. with the first phase complete in 2 years and entire development in 5.
b. Hofbrauhaus should begin construction soon; opening Dec.
c. There's a list of most expensive construction projects in region by project cost... can you believe that stupid casino is No. 1?

4. Article on new small buildings filling in gaps in traditional business districts... such as a new 20,000 sq. ft. office building in Bloomfield and Tamari (asian-latin fusion opening in summer) in Lawrenceville. Unfortunately, existing building codes are scaled for larger structures, making this type of infill cost-prohibitive in many cases.

...

Grubb and Ellis 2nd quarter Office Market report for PGH
http://www.grubbandellis.com/pdf/metro_off_mkttrnd/Pittsburgh.pdf

while the title is "Market Flat"... the trends are positive and are better than what most of the rest of the country is going through

The report claims there was a lot of market activity but few finalized deals in Q2. However, the metro office vacancy rate fell from 15.8% to 15.6% and the CBD rate fell from 18.2% to 18.0%.

CAPATeach

07-14-2008, 03:27 AM

Evergrey

07-14-2008, 05:51 AM

Thank you for the info, Evergrey. I'm happy to see the Montrose Exchange and the next phase of East End retail moving forward.
Any ideas on what retail is moving into all of this space? Any ideas on what you'd like to see move in?

A construction project that I'm especially interested in is the renovation of the Highland building and construction of the hotel next to it. Any news on this? With Montrose apparently moving forward, Bakery Square, along with Penn circle and the new EastSide phase, I feel like this is the only major puzzle piece missing in the transformation of East Liberty. I think it's huge, too. For me it's hard to think that the area could truly be transformed with that big, hulking eyesore right in the middle across from that glorious church.

1. I don't know who is moving into the next phase of EastSide. There have been rumblings of Target and Best Buy in that area... though I don't believe they're part of this expansion and I am unsure if they would be affiliated with EastSide developer Mosites.

2. Haven't heard anything on the Highland Building in awhile. In 2005, a developer proposed 84 condos... then the plan (and some partners) changed... to office space. Still... no work has progressed.

...

here's the full article on filling in gaps

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/07/14/focus15.html?b=1216008000^1666754

Developers filling in the gaps, placing buildings in the middle

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Tim Schooley

http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/123474-400-0-2.jpg
Joe Wojcik
A-1 Realty Inc. President Lee Gross plans to open an Asian Latin fusion restaurant called Tamari between two older commercial buildings in Lawrenceville.

Architect Arthur Lubetz is ready to see the structural steel soon go up on a new Bloomfield building that might be described as the real estate development equivalent of replacing a missing tooth.

Working on behalf of client Dan Albanese, Lubetz designed a new 20,000-square-foot building to be wedged into a Liberty Avenue address for which there are already buildings on each side. Expected to be completed in the next year, the building is already leased to office tenants.

Lubetz wishes there were more development projects like it in a city teeming with 19th century-era business districts with plenty of missing teeth.

"I think it should happen more often," Lubetz said. "A city develops over time. Seeing different time periods of construction gives a city vitality."

With the new Bloomfield building, Lubetz designed a more modern structure that seeks to complement the surrounding Victorian storefronts with a two-story wall of glass.

Such projects come with their own risks, costs and challenges, whether they're developed in Bloomfield, the South Side or elsewhere in the city.

By developing this project, Lubetz is going against an industry standard.

Craig Cozza, principal of Squirrel Hill-based Cozza Enterprises, which has developed smaller projects in the city, expects such projects will always be more the exception than the norm. They often don't offer enough space to generate enough income to pay for the cost of building, he said, adding they often need to come with an established tenant to be completed.

"They're needed and they're great because we need to fill in the holes in the communities," he said. "But it's always challenging."

Lee Gross, principal of Lawrenceville-based A-1 Realty Inc., said he expects to soon see the results of his five-year plan to develop a new building for a restaurant at 3519 Butler St., a project he built with a front courtyard set back from the street for outdoor dining between two older commercial buildings that he rehabilitated. Gross said the new Asian fusion restaurant, which will be called Tamari, is set to open this summer.

"If I didn't own properties on both sides, I don't think I ever would've done it," said Gross, who added that a wall in his next door property almost collapsed because of the site work.

Gross said he believed building codes are designed more for larger buildings, requiring standards such as sprinkler systems when other more cost-effective measures can be used as successfully for smaller structures.

"The city needs to come up with some kind of incentive because the more density you have, the better the neighborhood is going to thrive," Gross said.

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

themaguffin

07-14-2008, 01:56 PM

How many years would you be willing to have it sit as a vacant lot before somebody comes along and is willing to spend another $25 million to make a 12 storey building? How many more years can the City afford to not get any tax revenue from that property?

Those tax dollars are a drop in the bucket for the city. I would rather it sit empty for a while than have something like this come and own the land for decades.

Black-n-Gold

07-14-2008, 02:58 PM

Those tax dollars are a drop in the bucket for the city. I would rather it sit empty for a while than have something like this come and own the land for decades.

The tax dollars on a $25 million dollar building are a little more than a drop in the bucket! The City portion alone is over $270,000 a year (add $345,000 to the school district plus another $120,000 for the county). So in increased land value alone, there would be $735,000 a year going into the local community compared to $0 per year right now.

That all compares pretty well to 3 PNC which will be contributing nothing to the City, City Schools, or the County (in terms of property taxes) for years because of the $18 million TIF required to subsidize its construction.

Besides, tax revenue aside, the Grant Street building behind the site is actually the only really tall building around - the proposed six story hotel will fit in well with most of its immediate context - across Ross Street (Mitchell's at 7 floors and the Common Plea at 1), across 4th Avenue (City-County at 10 floors) and across 3rd Avenue (6 floors)

themaguffin

07-14-2008, 03:47 PM

It's great for the city that it will get this revenue, but that doesn't make the building the most useful fit.

The city is seeing a lot of smaller hotels and can't seem to maximize space with a decent size one and worse yet get the convention center hotel done.

Yes not all of these hotels serve the same market location and yes the cost goes up with size etc, but I can't help but notice all of these suburban hotels popping up.

cdc

07-14-2008, 07:03 PM

are we going to start seeing more of this kind of thing?
Isn't the city mostly combined sewer?

West Elizabeth to undertake $2 million sewer project
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_577557.html

...
The money will be used to construct 7,000 feet of sanitary sewer lines that will carry only waste water from homes and businesses. The existing combined sewer will be converted into a storm sewer to carry only rain water and snow melt.
...

Oh, and "reboot the casino license"!

Lawmakers want Barden's license revoked
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_577526.html

Lawmakers want Barden's license revoked
Lawmakers from the House and Senate today are expected to call on the Gaming Control Board to revoke the license of PITG Gaming and Don Barden because the majority ownership soon could change hands.
...

Evergrey

07-14-2008, 09:11 PM

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/07/14/daily6.html?surround=lfn

Condo development in Mount Washington set to move forward

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Ben Semmes

A condominium development, long slated for prime real estate on top of Mount Washington, is finally moving forward.

Developer Dan DiPardo and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will participate Tuesday in the groundbreaking of Vista Grande, a 11-unit luxury condo project to be built at 501 Grand View Ave., with prices starting at $500,000.

Vista Grande has been in the works for years.

DiPardo and Craig Cozza, who is planning two condo projects nearby, have been working since 2002 to get proper zoning for the sites and fight off lawsuits from local residents.

At the end of 2006, Beaver County developer C.J. Betters revealed plans for a six-story, 12-unit project -- another Grandview condo project that has yet to come to fruition.

Cozza and Betters were not immediately available for comment.

Construction at Vista Grande is expected to start immediately with completion set for next summer. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Pittsburgh will be marketing the units.

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

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

Evergrey

07-14-2008, 10:25 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08192/895863-55.stm

Housing market stable here

Thursday, July 10, 2008
By Erin Gibson Allen

Here's yet another reason Pittsburgh has been rated "America's Most Livable City."

We like our houses. The Pittsburgh real estate market -- especially that of the South Hills -- generally escapes big declines in the housing industry. We're not booming, but we're not going bust either, say real estate experts here.

Home prices in many towns in the South Hills continue to rise, despite sharp decreases seen across the state and nation.

We're also holding our own when it comes to the dreaded F word: foreclosure.

Pittsburgh last year was named "America's Most Livable City" by the Places Rated Almanac. It also had the designation in 1985.

To be sure, the median home price in Pennsylvania is down 2 percent from last year. According to statistics from the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, the median home sale price in the state in the first five months of 2007 was $194,000. It was $190,000 for the same period in 2008.

But these days such a decline is "relatively stable" in comparison with other areas in the country, where home prices have taken "a huge dip," said Samantha Krepp, spokeswoman for the association.

Local prices up, sales down

Meanwhile, house prices here have shown an increase. For the five-county region of Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Westmoreland and Washington counties, the median selling price was $122,000 in May, a 4.7 percent increase from May of last year, according to RealSTATs, a local real estate information company.

"Pittsburgh real estate is still showing moderate price increases, which is really an anomaly considering what is going on elsewhere," said Chris Briem, a regional economist at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research.

Tony Mete, president of the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, said Pittsburgh's market, including that of the South Hills, is historically stable and does not experience the high peaks and low valleys seen in other markets across the country.

The average home price in the first five months of the year in the South Hills is up 5 percent from the same period last year, a fairly typical increase, Mr. Mete said.

A "good market" is a 7 percent increase, he said.

"The South Hills is strong compared to other areas in the Pittsburgh area," Mr. Mete said. For example, the average home price in the North Hills is up less than 1 percent, he said.

Average house prices in the South Hills have seen an increase from $139,757 in June 2007 to $142,638 in June 2008, said Linda Carnevali, manager of the Coldwell Banker real estate office in Mt. Lebanon. Coldwell Banker is among the real estate companies with the highest sales in the South Hills this year.

A mix of young families and retired people are drawn to the South Hills, Ms. Carnevali said.

While prices may be up, the number of sales this year is generally down from last year.

The number of houses sold in Pennsylvania in the first five months of this year is down 21 percent -- 22,981 from 29,162 -- from the same period last year, according to statistics from the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors.

But the decline in the South Hills is not as severe. The total number of new listings in the South Hills in the first five months of this year is down 2 percent from last year, Mr. Mete said. What this decline means for the local market, he said, is mixed.

"There are fewer buyers out there," Mr. Mete said. "People hear the national news and think they won't be able to get a mortgage, so they don't look for a new home." But having fewer houses on the market can help keep sale prices up, he said.

The Pittsburgh area did not see a building boom over recent years like that seen in other areas across the country -- and it's also not seeing a strong decline in recent months in new construction, Mr. Briem said.

Bill Dietrich, a vice president of the new homes division with Coldwell Banker, said that land in the South Hills has always been valued relatively high and continues to demand a strong price.

While many neighborhoods, such as Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair, are fairly "built up," Mr. Dietrich said, new construction has been strong in areas such as Peters and North Strabane.

In Peters, officials said, 43 building permits were filed for single-family units in the first five months of this year. For the same period in 2007, 35 were filed.

The rise in fuel costs has not deterred buyers looking for new construction as far south as Peters, Mr. Dietrich said. "But gas prices will impact whether they want to go any farther south than that." Buyers would likely turn to existing houses closer to the city, he said.

Foreclosures: We're OK

The foreclosure rate in Pennsylvania is generally up this year, but it's lower than that seen nationally. According to statistics from RealtyTrac, Pennsylvania's foreclosure rate is one in every 1,696, while the national average is one in every 483.

Mr. Briem said the housing market in the Pittsburgh area has not suffered high foreclosure rates like those seen in other parts of the country.

While high-end suburbs -- Shaker Heights in Cleveland would be an example-- have seen a spike in foreclosures, Mr. Briem said that comparable suburbs here, such as Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair, have not.

He said the reason for the difference, while difficult to pinpoint, may be due to the fact that the Pittsburgh region did not see a run-up on real estate prices as did other areas of the country.

According to data from the newsletter Pittsburgh Economic Quarterly, published by the University of Pittsburgh, municipalities in the South Hills with the highest number of foreclosure proceedings in the period of all of 2006 to November 2007 include Mount Oliver, Elizabeth, East McKeesport, South Fayette, Versailles, Clairton and Duquesne.

What now?

Mr. Briem said that the Pittsburgh area economy is driven by healthcare and education, two industries that generally fare well during a recession. While the area is not immune from market forces such as rising interest rates, he said, he does not expect to see a big correction in the local real estate market.

Ms. Carnevali said that areas in the South Hills, such as Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair, continue to be "hot" for buyers because of their reputation for quality public schools and proximity to public transportation.

Mr. Briem said that high gas prices could make real estate in the South Hills more attractive to those who commute.

"If you accept that gas will remain expensive long-term, people may want to move close to public transit," he said.

According to his calculations, as many as 10 percent to 50 percent of workers in South Hills communities commute via public transit, including buses and the light rail system.

Comparably, less than 5 percent of workers in communities such as Franklin Park and Robinson use public transportation to commute.

For the past three or four years, Mr. Dietrich said, buyers have been drawn to city living. He said he expected the trend toward urbanization to continue. Also, buyers are likely to be attracted to suburbs that are closer to the city, Mr. Dietrich said.

Be prepared to see more "tear downs" in neighborhoods close to the city, Mr. Dietrich said. The trend of tearing down homes that are "beyond their market life" and replacing them with new homes has already been seen in Sewickley and Fox Chapel, he said, and he expects to see it in older neighborhoods like Mt. Lebanon.

The trend toward urbanization should not hurt suburban markets, however, Mr. Mete said. Different buyers are attracted to different markets, he said. Often families with children are drawn to the suburbs, he said, while young professionals and "empty nesters" tend to move to the city.

In today's market, sellers should not panic and buyers should take their time and study the inventory, Mr. Dietrich advised.

"Pittsburgh has a high quality of life and is very affordable," he said. "No matter where you are here, it's an attractive place to live."

Erin Gibson Allen is a freelance writer.

cdc

07-15-2008, 02:40 AM

We like our houses. The Pittsburgh real estate market -- especially that of the South Hills -- generally escapes big declines in the housing industry.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the official boundary of
"the South Hills"? I had to travel route 51 from yellow belt up
to liberty tubes last weekend and I was struck by how dumpy
run down that area is. Lots of vacant buildings, looks like
abandoned sprawl, yuck. I guess that isn't South Hills?

Evergrey

07-15-2008, 06:27 AM

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the official boundary of
"the South Hills"? I had to travel route 51 from yellow belt up
to liberty tubes last weekend and I was struck by how dumpy
run down that area is. Lots of vacant buildings, looks like
abandoned sprawl, yuck. I guess that isn't South Hills?

Well, to be honest... Route 51 isn't indicative of anything other than Route 51... it is a nightmare of a highway. A certain family has owned much of the property along that stretch and allowed it to become vacant and dilapidated (an article was posted a few months ago that the family wanted to finally sell their properties now that the patriarch died). It is impossible to see anything beyond what is adjacent to Rt. 51 as it travels through a narrow valley with neighborhoods hidden on the hilltops. I have a friend in Baldwin, and I dread having to take Rt. 51 whenever I visit. Ugh. Rt. 51 is a "South Hills highway" south of the city before becoming a "Mon Valley Highway" in the Elizabeth/Clairton area and then heading towards Uniontown. 51 does serve the more "bland 1950s/60s middle class sprawl" areas of the South Hills (Baldwin, Pleasant Hills, Whitehall, etc) compared to the more attractive areas along 19.

What is truly "South Hills" isn't officially defined... but I tend to think of it as the area south of the city between the Mon Valley on the east and I-79 on the west (conversely, the "North Hills" is the part of the northern suburbs between the Ohio Valley and Allegheny Valley).... extending as far south as Peters Township and environs in Washington County. The Liberty Tunnels lead to the heart of the South Hills: Mt. Lebanon, Dormont, Upper St. Clair, Castle Shannon, Bethel Park, Peters Township, Green Tree, Brentwood, Baldwin, Pleasant Hills, Scott, Whitehall, parts of West Mifflin, Bridgeville, Heidelberg, Collier, South Park. The Carnegie area does not seem to be part of the South Hills, instead being part of the "West Hills / Airport Corridor".

Some city neighborhoods are sometimes referred to as "South Hills". These would be south of the "Hilltop" (Allentown/Mt. Oliver/Knoxville/Beltzhoover/etc), and are mostly isolated from the rest of the city by major highways in steep valleys. The South Hills city neighborhoods include froparm east to west: Carrick, Overbrook, Brookline, Beechview and Banksville.

The major transportation corridors through South Hills include:
T lines
88
51
both 19s
Brownsville Road
parts of 885
I-79

Evergrey

07-15-2008, 06:45 AM

more on the Mt. Washington condos... a small victory over the most notorious NIMBYs in the city... milk that view, Pittsburgh

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_577591.html

Mt. Washington condominium construction to begin

By Sam Spatter
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-07-14/vista-a.jpg
Each of the $6 million Vista Grande's 11 units will contain from 2,053 to 2,567 square feet.
Submitted

The developer of a $6 million condominium project -- the first major condo to be built on Mt. Washington in more than 20 years -- will begin construction today.

The six-story, 11-unit building to be visible next to St. Mary of the Mount Church on Grandview Avenue is being built by Daniele R. DiPardo. It is scheduled to open by the summer or fall of 2009. The project -- named Vista Grande -- is located at 501 Grandview.

"This project is something I wanted to do for some time. It will offer one of the greatest views we have," said DiPardo, a Bethel Park resident, who will move back to the city in the penthouse of Vista Grande. He grew up in Oakland.

DiPardo said financing for the project has been arranged and prices will start in the mid-$500,000s. It is believed to be the tallest condo project on Mt. Washington since the 25-story Trimont towers on Grandview was completed in 1986.

Vista Grande will have a step-down feature, with six stories on the Ulysses Street side and five stories facing Grandview. Each unit will contain from 2,053 to 2,567 square feet. Most of the units will contain four rooms -- a great room (combined dining-living room), a master bedroom, a second bedroom or study, a kitchen and two full baths, said Sydnie Jones of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Co., who is marketing the units.

Each owner will have one indoor parking space although 13 will be built underground plus six surface spaces. Among the amenities included will be an observation deck with grills, an exercise room, private balconies and patio areas.

Architect for Vista Grande is Fred Denig of Atelier-Denig Architects.

DiPardo, the principal shareholder in accounting firm DiPardo Baldacci & Co., has other real estate investments, including commercial office space at 2901 Banksville Road where his firm is located.

DiPardo and a partner purchased the 501 Grandview property in 1981, when it was an 11-unit apartment building. In 2002, he purchased the partner's interest and recently demolished the original building to build Vista Grande.

In the Penn Hills area, he operates 40 one- and two-bedroom apartments, including the 29-unit Greenview at 6633 Saltsburg Road and the 11-unit Fairways at 6703-05 Saltsburg. He also owns a 6,000-square-foot commercial office building at 564 Washington Ave., Carnegie.

To begin the sales campaign for Vista Grande, the first three sales will receive a 10 percent discount, said Bill Dietrich, director of new homes sales for Coldwell Banker.

The Trimont, started in 1983 and completed in 1986, has 110 residential units in the tower and 20 in the Pavilion, located behind the tower. Trimont Plaza includes 58,000 square feet of commercial space.

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

PA Pride

07-15-2008, 06:55 AM

Good project.

Evergrey

07-15-2008, 07:41 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08197/897080-52.stm

Revoke Barden casino license, senators urge

Ferlo, Orie ask gaming board to reject bailout, reopen bidding

Tuesday, July 15, 2008
By Tom Barnes and Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200807/mh_casino_01_500.jpg
Michael Henninger/Post-Gazette
The Majestic Star casino and its parking garage have taken shape along the Ohio River, but no construction work was going on yesterday because of Don Barden's inability to pay his contractors.

HARRISBURG -- Two Pittsburgh-area legislators are urging state gaming regulators to revoke Don Barden's slots license and award a new Pittsburgh casino license based on "a competitive process that will include new applicants," who would complete what's already been started on the North Shore.

State Sens. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, and Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, wrote yesterday to Gaming Control Board Chairwoman Mary D. Colins, urging the agency not to rush into approving a refinancing and reorganization plan being sought by Mr. Barden.

The senators said they want "to prevent a blatant attempt to force this board into hastily approving a financial bailout without any public scrutiny or input."

Mr. Barden was awarded the slots license by the board in December 2006, but due to financial problems, he's now ceding control of his Majestic Star project to an investors' group from Chicago, which includes billionaire Neil Bluhm.

The two parties were in negotiations yesterday to finalize the bailout deal. Once Mr. Barden's Majestic Star and Mr. Bluhm's Walton Street Capital arrive at an agreement, the gaming board would have to ratify it, and then the two parties could proceed with closing on the financing.

Ms. Orie and Mr. Ferlo want any such meetings delayed and called the potential transfer of the slots license a "last-minute bait and switch" and "unacceptable."

The two senators said the Barden casino project "is no longer financially viable. Accordingly, the proper response of this board is to revoke the license issued to [Mr. Barden]" and then "reopen the license to a competitive process that will include new applicants."

Later in the day, Mr. Ferlo and Ms. Orie elaborated on the letter, saying that while they'd like to see the process opened to any and all applicants -- including Mr. Bluhm -- they would expect that any new bidders would incorporate the existing North Shore casino shell into their plans, rather than building in a new spot and leaving a heap of steel and concrete next to Carnegie Science Center.

Mr. Barden defeated two other applicants, Isle of Capri and Forest City Enterprises, when he won the slots license in December 2006. An Isle of Capri spokesman couldn't be reached yesterday; Forest City had no comment when asked if the company would even be interested in submitting a new bid.

Gaming board spokesman Doug Harbach was likewise reluctant to comment. He said the board "has the power to revoke, suspend or add further conditions to" a license, but said the Barden refinancing situation is under study and he couldn't comment further.

The board has already suspended one of the slots licenses it awarded, to Poconos businessman Louis DeNaples. His Mount Airy casino is still operating but remains under the control of an outside trustee until perjury charges against Mr. DeNaples are resolved.

Five House Republicans, including Mike Turzai of Bradford Woods, wrote to Ms. Colins yesterday, saying the board should "consider whether the time has come to put the Pittsburgh [casino] license in a trusteeship" also.

Doing so, the Republicans said, could make it possible to continue construction of the casino while protecting all parties, including state taxpayers and Mr. Barden himself.

Also yesterday, Ms. Orie said she wants copies of "all contracts and documentation" regarding the Majestic Star casino that are in possession of the state or the Sports & Exhibition Authority.

Construction of the casino stopped in late June because Mr. Barden hadn't paid contractors in two months. He is hoping to get the work restarted this month after Mr. Bluhm and others provide new capital.

Mr. Barden has been hoping to have the $780 million casino on Pittsburgh's North Shore open by summer 2009. But if the board revokes the license and restarts the licensing process, there almost certainly would be a delay in opening the Pittsburgh slots parlor.
Harrisburg Bureau chief Tom Barnes can be reached at tbarnes@post-gazette.com or 1-717-787-4254. Bill Toland can be reached at btoland@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1889.

....

maybe demolition of the giant garage could be part of the new application sweepstakes?

will we get good applicants? will any new proposal be as strong as what Isle of Capri and Harrah's were offering originally? Does anybody really want to deal with the State of Pennsylvania after managing to find every way to screw up this process?

themaguffin

07-15-2008, 01:48 PM

themaguffin

07-15-2008, 01:53 PM

Grubb & Ellis Q2 Market report is out:

Office Report (http://www.grubb-ellis.com/pdf/metro_off_mkttrnd/Pittsburgh.pdf)

The Office one seems to be the only updated one at this point.

cdc

07-15-2008, 03:08 PM

thanks for the South Hills info, Evergrey. I'm enlightened!

hyperion1110

07-15-2008, 03:52 PM

thanks for the South Hills info, Evergrey. I'm enlightened!

Actually, unlike in the North, where there is a distinction between North Side and North Hills, there is not so much of a distinction between city and suburb in the south. In fact, my dad grew up in the South Hills, though he lived in the city (Beechview and Brookline).

A lot of the communities south of the city get good press (and rightly so) for their livability and whatnot. But let's not forget that there are some great city neighborhoods south of Mt. Washington that are just and nice (and with more affordable real estate.

Regarding the call to revoke the license, I really don't understand the calls to revoke the license now. I know I was one of the people beating the drum about how inadequate Barden was for this task. But the time to contend this whole process has come and gone. People should have been raising these concerns as soon as the license was awarded, not after there is a massive hunk of steel and concrete sitting on the North Side. Barden screwed up, we all know that. But that guy seems like he has put into place the financing to build the casino much in the way it was envisioned (though they still need to knock two stories off of the garage!). I see no reason to block the license at this point.

To be blunt, Jane Orie needs to shut her trap and worry about other things. This is Pittsburgh's casino, not McCandlesses. It was awarded to the city intentionally, not the county. Granted, Pittsburgh is part of Allegheny County, but her district does not include the city at all. And, most importantly, she is not the one who would have to have the half-finished blight to look at for the months or years of legal battling it would take to wrestle the license from Barden, have a new selection process, figure out how they're going to use Barden's shell to fit into another company's plans, and then finally finish the damn thing.

Maybe I'm bitter, but why is that these suburban legislators only care about the affairs of the city when there is money or publicity to be had?? Senator Orie either represents the interests of the overpriviledged North Hills, or you are committed to doing what is best for the city and county as a whole. ...I suspect that, like most people I have met from her constituency, North = the city, and all of Pittsburgh equals the "slummy downtown."

Johnland

07-16-2008, 01:00 AM

UrbaniDesDev

07-16-2008, 01:57 AM

One has to wonder how Trimont ever, ever got built with the nimby's up there.

What a wasted potential there is on Mt Washington.

As for the casino. Absolutely his license should be rovoked. How much larger of a violation can one be of a contract, if not having the funds doesn't cause license rovoking...???

The Trimont was originally supposed to be twin towers. They put a stop to that. That is what that large parking lot across the street was meant to be

UrbaniDesDev

07-16-2008, 02:01 AM

OMG. What a blight on the city that garage is. Pittsburgh has dumbed down sooo far. This is the first I've seen of that peice of garbage. The very fact that there are unending political and legal entanglements associated with this project show just how wrong it is conceptually for Pittsburgh. If it were honest, true and right, it would be celebrated by both leaders and the people. But I've seen no sign of anyone doing that. Instead, it was a lazy legislative response to real economic problems. Instead of doing the real work of a government, Harriburg slapped a bandaid on the financial mess with a casino. Nothing is done to creat a business-friendly climate. There's just the usual graft, payola and deal-cutting to keep the legislators in a lucrative job, provide a monopoly franchise to a lucky individual while ruining the cityscape of Pittsburgh and blighting nearby neighborhoods.

I completely agree with you but...
I believe that someday that garage will be surrounded by buildings that will be comparable to it's size. Yes it will still be looming over the "caino" but less imposing.
Im hoping!

Evergrey

07-16-2008, 04:11 AM

video from May... CNET tours the Convention Center

Video: Steel City's convention center gets top eco-friendly billing (http://news.cnet.com/1606-2_3-50002321.html)

Brandon716

07-16-2008, 04:23 AM

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/closetohome/2008-07-14-Pittsburgh_N.htm

Pittsburgh, formerly a troubled steel city, has enjoyed better times in recent years. Last year, it was named the best metropolitan city in the country by Places Rated Almanac.

The city is the seat of Allegheny County, which benefits from a fairly robust economy. Since the steel mills were shut down in the 1980s, the area's economic base has evolved. Today, it has medical centers and high-tech companies. It's also the home of several Fortune 1,000 corporations, including PNC Financial Services, H.J. Heinz and American Eagle Outfitters.

All of which explains, in part, why Pittsburgh's housing market has managed to remain steady through the turbulent national mortgage crisis. Though sales are declining, prices are rising.

"Home prices are going up because we have a fairly stable market," says Tony Mete, president of the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh. "Our market was not drastically affected by the subprime fall." Unlike in many other areas, few investors bought homes in the area intending to flip them for a profit.

Allegheny County hasn't been totally sheltered from the mortgage mess. Foreclosures have increased in recent years. In the first quarter of the year, 1,187 homes in the Pittsburgh area were in foreclosure, according to RealStats, which tracks real estate in the area. That was 6.9% higher than in the first quarter of last year.

Most of the foreclosures have occurred in low-income neighborhoods; 90% of the homes that ended up in foreclosure from 2000 to 2007 had been sold for less than $100,000, according to a RealStats study.

"Even though we've had a spike in foreclosures, I don't believe that things are as bad here as we read about in other parts of the country," says Daniel Murrer, vice president of RealStats. If they were, Murrer notes, home prices wouldn't be going up.

Unlike in, say, Colorado, California and Florida, the Pittsburgh real estate market hasn't seen major peaks and valleys. "We just have a slow and steady market," Murrer says.

Despite tougher economic times, downtown Pittsburgh is experiencing a renaissance. Townhouses and lofts have caught on. And downtown living, close to restaurants, shopping and art galleries, is becoming fashionable.

"There's been very little residential building in the downtown area, but it's starting to change," Mete says. "We now have what is like a lower-priced Georgetown, with brick homes in a row, and that is very popular."

PA Pride

07-16-2008, 05:33 AM

video from May... CNET tours the Convention Center

Video: Steel City's convention center gets top eco-friendly billing (http://news.cnet.com/1606-2_3-50002321.html)

Cool video. I love the convention center. Great building. I wonder if she was wearing that GREEN jacket on purpose?

Evergrey

07-16-2008, 06:16 AM

I was in Market Square around 1:30 today... and was blown away by how packed with people it was... the transformation has been dramatic... and we've only just begun...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_577765.html

Downtown cafes grow like crazy

By Sam Spatter
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, July 16, 2008

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-07-15/0716-downt-a.jpg
Ken Zeff, owner of the Crazy Mocha Coffee Co. stores, plans to add three shops to its seven in Downtown.
Heidi Murrin/Tribune-Review

Ken Zeff, owner of Crazy Mocha Coffee Co. stores, isn't waiting for results of a study to continue his expansion Downtown.

"We now have seven locations in the Golden Triangle and plan to open three more, the first one in August, then in September and the third by October," Zeff told members of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership on Tuesday at the group's membership meeting in his 801 Liberty Ave. store.

The three are slated for William Penn Place, Stanwix Street and Liberty Avenue, he said.

Sixteen months ago, he had none Downtown. Overall, since opening his first coffee shop in Shadyside in 2000, Zeff has opened 17 locations in the region.

A study of Downtown's retail business by the Downtown Partnership -- noting the lack of certain retailers and expansion projects for existing stores -- is nearing completion with a September release of findings.

The study is expected to be completed in about two weeks and reviewed by the staff of the Downtown Partnership before recommendations are presented, first to the mayor's office, then to the public, said CEO Michael Edwards.

Downtown and its fringe areas have a large selection of coffee houses, besides Crazy Mocha.

Among them are nine Starbucks locations, including one each on the South Side and at Station Square; seven Cool Beans Coffee Co. locations, including one in Allegheny Center, North Shore; six Au Bon Pain Co. Inc. shops; a 21st St. Cafe in the Frick Building; a Dunkin Donuts in Market Square; and a coffee bar opened by Nicholas Coffee, also in Market Square.

Although Starbucks is closing 600 locations nationally, none in Pennsylvania is being closed so far.

Operating coffee shops is a departure from the career path Zeff, 40, began following his graduation from the University of Pittsburgh.

He joined J.C. Penney Co.'s management training program and worked there for 10 years. But when he was scheduled to relocate to Plano, Texas, Ken and his wife, Michelle, with a young child, decided to stay in Pittsburgh.

"My father owned a scrap yard so it led me to want to own my own company," he said.

Using his own funds, he opened his first Crazy Mocha coffee shop in 2000. Since then, he has continued adding locations.

Other food establishments are taking advantage of opportunities Downtown.

Some 16 shop owners have joined the Downtown Partnership's "Paris to Pittsburgh" promotion, with work completed on two -- Moe's Southwest Grill in Market Square, and Sonoma Grille in the 900 block of Penn Avenue, Edwards said.

The program, which promotes outdoor seating along with indoor for restaurants, cafes and coffee shops, was funded by a $1 million grant from the Colcom Foundation. To date, $138,000 of the Colcom funds have been used, resulting in investment of $480,000 by the owners, Edwards said.

Eight others, including Palate Bistro on Sixth, Mix/Stirs Cafe in Market Square and Cafe Milano on First Avenue, are in the process, he said.

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

Evergrey

07-17-2008, 08:19 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08199/897497-28.stm

Housing planned near Parkway Center

Thursday, July 17, 2008
By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Today, the spread of green to the immediate north of Parkway Center Mall is an unused driving range. But a Florida-based contractor and a local developer want to turn those 26 acres into a 10-building, 418-unit "high-end residential village" of town homes, lofts and condos.

DeLorenzo & Co. LLC, based in Moon, began scouting the location two years ago and was the local fixer for Coral Gables' SouthStar Development Partners, which bought the property in spring 2007 for $1.1 million.

They've been touting the proposed development as "transit oriented" -- a high-density, close-to-the-bus line complex that would allow residents to get Downtown in a jiffy or walk to work at the Parkway Center offices nearby. Cities across the country are promoting high-density housing near transportation hubs to cut down on urban sprawl and to make better use of mass transit, taking cars off the highways.

The project, to be called City Vista at Parkway, began to take shape this week, with renderings that were unveiled before the city's planning commission. Lynn R. DeLorenzo, principal with DeLorenzo & Co., said the units would start at $150,000, with most of them between 800 and 2,100 square feet.

Many upper units would have a view of the city skyline. A gatehouse at the entrance would give the complex a private feel, as would the swimming pool and clubhouse that would sit at the middle of the property. The renderings call for a lot of brick and glass.

Originally, the developers had considered a mixed-use plan with some retail below the residential units. But Parkway Center -- both the 10-building office park, and the nearby mall of the same name -- suffer from high vacancy rates. Irving Firman, attorney for the development, said SouthStar and DeLorenzo & Co. hope that adding several hundred residential units to the mix could inject some life into a lifeless business corridor.

Parkway Center Mall, which has closed its bottom floor and whose biggest tenants are K-Mart and Giant Eagle, is owned by Kossman Development Co. of Pittsburgh, as is a nearby hotel. The office buildings also once were owned by Kossman, which sold the buildings to a Philadelphia company.

Now, the buildings have various owners, including Greentree Parkway Associates, which is the company that dealt the vacant driving range to SouthStar last year.

Because the development is bisected by the boundary separating Green Tree and Pittsburgh, the developers will have to seek planning approval from both municipalities; 240 of the units will be in the Green Tree high-rises, and 178 of the units will be in the shorter buildings on the Pittsburgh side of the property. If the project keeps to its preferred schedule, digging could begin next year, with the first units ready by 2010.

It would be one of the larger recent owner-occupied residential developments within the city limits (even though it straddles the city line). For example, 151 First Side, the first new condo tower to be built Downtown in years, has 82 units. Summerset at Frick Park covers more than 100 acres, and eventually will have more than 700 townhomes, apartments and single-family units. DOC-Economou is planning for 150 condos and townhomes at the intersection of Baum Boulevard and Liberty Avenue, while the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's $460 million, 700-unit residential complex was put on hold indefinitely.

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

Brandon716

07-17-2008, 10:13 PM

http://www.pgharts.org/cdrd/index.aspx

Cultural Trust Affirms Long-Term Commitment to Cultural District Riverfront Development Despite Current Credit Market Challenges

Pittsburgh, PA (May 23, 2008)—The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust citing on-going turmoil in residential mortgage and national credit markets announced a revised phasing sequence for the ambitious Cultural District Riverfront Development.

Originally unveiled in July 2006 as a $500 million phased development over ten years to include residential, commercial, and public improvements, the Trust's revised riverfront development strategy focuses on examining alternative approaches including possibly moving forward with public infrastructure.

"We still believe this location is a superb residential development site. Eventually credit markets will rebound to permit the residential and commercial elements to go forward," Trust President J. Kevin McMahon said. As credit markets recover to bolster investors' confidence, the Trust will explore ways to complete selective demolition and infrastructure components of the Cultural District riverfront development.

Thomas VanKirk, a trustee for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, added, "The revised approach is consistent with moving forward deliberately, cautiously and conservatively as a catalyst for private developers to invest as economically feasible development opportunities arise."

The Cultural Trust has a pending request for federal funding to pay costs of planning the riverfront park improvements.

Mr. VanKirk added, "The Cultural District riverfront development will happen. But we should remember that building the Cultural District has taken decades and has required overcoming many challenges and obstacles. The Cultural Trust and its stakeholders remain committed to doing the extraordinary work required to see things through to completion with prudence, superior design and accountability to the community."

So this will be on indefinate hold until the market nationally recovers and banks are willing to lend again:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CulturalDistrictwinningProposal-1.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CulturalDistrictwinningProposal3-1.jpg

PA Pride

07-17-2008, 10:25 PM

Yes. thanks for reminding us Brandon.

Brandon716

07-17-2008, 11:46 PM

Hey I haven't read the entire thread. LOL

Evergrey

07-18-2008, 02:00 AM

Pakistani owners of Downtown Hilton facing financial crisis; renovations halted

http://kdka.com/video/?id=43903@kdka.dayport.com

I wonder if our forumer who work at the Hilton could provide any insights

Gilamonster

07-18-2008, 02:10 AM

As predicted, work on Vista Grande has allready begun. It's only been a day or two but there is allready a reasonable sized hole in the ground.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/2678773822_8fc439633f.jpg

These condos are going up on the corner of Grandview Ave. and Ulysses St. Just a block to the east on the corner of Grandview and Bertha St. there is another project that I have not heard anything about. According to the real estate signage on the lot, it is to be called "VICI." The site is cleared as far as buildings and has a very small hole started, but has a lot of weeds growing and there is no machinery present. The project must be stalled, not cancelled, as there is also real estate signage with phone numbers posted.

I believe the following 2 pics are where the newly announced "Vista on the Parkway" development would be located. The gently sloping hillside could be taken advantage of nicely by the designers. I wonder if the old landfill which is under Parkway center mall and parking lot extends to this propery. Anybody who has been to that :uhh: ... "Mall" can see the results of the still shifting land. There will definately be some good views of the city though as the second pic is taken at ground level.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/2677956339_e2922eaea1.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3258/2677957025_8f7079f1d0.jpg?v=0

No introduction needed on this one. I have couple more photos on the 3PNC thread.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3194/2677953529_73e1a54e4e.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3047/2678773260_b8823c93e3.jpg?v=0

PA Pride

07-18-2008, 02:51 AM

Hey I haven't read the entire thread. LOL

You shouldn't be posting until you've read all 225 pages of the Pittsburgh thread Brandon. Slacker.

Gila: Nice update. Thanks! I was wondering where the Parkway Center development was.

UrbaniDesDev

07-18-2008, 03:19 AM

Thanks GILA
Now we know...
The new PNC will be a major addition to the skyline.
That mirrored wall should look stunning
Can't wait to see the sculptural roof take shape.

:cheers:

AaronPGH

07-18-2008, 05:48 AM

Brandon is now getting back in the game I guess since I have heard rumblings of his permanent return to the burgh. Better late than never! :cheers:

Brandon716

07-18-2008, 06:31 AM

Brandon is now getting back in the game I guess since I have heard rumblings of his permanent return to the burgh. Better late than never! :cheers:

Its not a done deal yet... I'm in the closing process. ;)

tooluther

07-18-2008, 02:02 PM

Did you guys see this?

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-07-17-pittsburgh_N.htm

http://i.usatoday.net/travel/_photos/2008/07/18/pittsburgh-topper.jpg

edncc1701d

07-18-2008, 02:40 PM

I wonder if the Squirrel Hill residents (NIMBY's) will react any better than their fellow Bloomfield and Mt. Washington neighbors have reacted to proposed new developments. :)

Looking at R.E. Crawford's website, this would seem to be their first venture into a truly urban development as they have focused on strip centers, big box retail, gas stations and suburban office parks before.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_578221.html

Squirrel Hill may get $50 million residential-retail project
By Sam Spatter and Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, July 18, 2008

A key intersection in Squirrel Hill could undergo dramatic change.

Two neighborhood landmarks, the former Poli's Restaurant and the Squirrel Hill Theatre spanning the juncture of Forward and Murray avenues, could be demolished to make way for a $40 million to $50 million development that would include a hotel, restaurant, retail stores and 20 condominiums.

Developer R.E. Crawford Construction of Springdale plans to include a nine-story building that would occupy the sites, according to information the company filed with the Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment.

R.E. Crawford has sales agreements to purchase the properties and another building between them that is occupied by several tenants, including a karate school.

The area would be developed by R.E. Crawford and its development team, Cambridge Venture Partners, the company said in a statement.

The zoning board has scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for Aug. 7.

"This would be a very major project for our neighborhood, one of the biggest in a very long time," said Steve Hawkins, chairman of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition.

Representatives of the community group have seen "very preliminary" plans, and the consensus generally is favorable, he said.

"That being said, however, we have a lot of questions, including parking and traffic, and we don't know if they have gotten that far yet."

Community residents might have concerns about the loss of the theater, which would leave the Manor on Murray Avenue as the neighborhood's only theater, he said.

The plan filed with the city shows six floors for the hotel, three floors of condominiums, a retail area where the theater is located and a restaurant on the site occupied by Poli's.

The project would feature a pedestrian thoroughfare with a decorative water fountain. It would be located at the Murray-Forward intersection, beneath a portion of the building that would project over it.

Two parking lots Poli's used -- a 50-space one on Murray and a 120-space lot along Forward, near the Parkway East entrance -- would remain.

Poli's closed in December 2005. The two-story restaurant and parking lot across the street were listed for sale by CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh at $1.3 million. The second lot was priced at $850,000.

In March 2007, Poli's Restaurant Inc. filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy law. According to the filing, the company has between 50 and 90 creditors, and assets and liabilities between $100,000 and $1 million.

Poli's dates to 1921 when Italian immigrant Joseph Poli opened a luncheonette there for workers laying streetcar tracks to Kennywood Park. Later, the restaurant became a destination for Pittsburghers who enjoyed seafood and northern Italian cuisine.

The theater and building adjoining Poli's are owned by Alderson-Forward Properties LLC, an out-of-town investment group, said Jerry Speer, of Equity Real Estate. Speer's company manages those properties and others along Forward Avenue.

Stern Enterprises of Pittsburgh operates the theater under a lease agreement, he said.

Officials at Stern could not be reached for comment, but Speer said negotiations were held for the company to vacate its lease.

R.E. Crawford, with offices in Florida and California, was involved in the construction of the Home Depot in East Liberty and Rivertech Office Works in the South Side. It is partner in the Museum Park Hotel, 4621 Forbes Ave., Oakland, which is nearing construction.

PA Pride

07-18-2008, 03:21 PM

^Can't wait to see a rendering for that.

Brandon716

07-18-2008, 04:57 PM

Evergrey

07-18-2008, 07:44 PM

It doesn't sound like a bad idea, the theater there is very smelly and old as I've watched a few films there, but hopefully they would replace it with another theater. There's something bad about a neighborhood that loses a theater and old local restaurant if it won't be replaced in some form or fashion, maybe they could create a new theater up the block.

well, Poli's has been closed for a few years now and no new restaurant has opened up there...

the loss of the theater does suck... I thought it was cool that Sq. Hill had both a mainstream theater and an indie theater up the road

...

I wouldn't think NIMBYs would be be an issue... as this 9 story structure will be right next to the MASSIVE Morrowfield (though they might complain about traffic... they always do)

...

I assume the building housing Tango Cafe Argentinian Coffeehouse, Gay and Lesbian Community Center and that karate studio will also be demolished... I wonder if they'll be accommodated in the retail space or forced to flee elsewhere

....

more on this development:

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/2008/0718/16921995.jpg

Squirrel Hill may get $50 million residential-retail project

By Sam Spatter and Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, July 18, 2008

A key intersection in Squirrel Hill could undergo dramatic change.

Two neighborhood landmarks, the former Poli's Restaurant and the Squirrel Hill Theatre spanning the juncture of Forward and Murray avenues, could be demolished to make way for a $40 million to $50 million development that would include a hotel, restaurant, retail stores and 20 condominiums.

Developer R.E. Crawford Construction of Springdale plans to include a nine-story building that would occupy the sites, according to information the company filed with the Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment.

R.E. Crawford has sales agreements to purchase the properties and another building between them that is occupied by several tenants, including a karate school.

The area would be developed by R.E. Crawford and its development team, Cambridge Venture Partners, the company said in a statement.

The zoning board has scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for Aug. 7.

"This would be a very major project for our neighborhood, one of the biggest in a very long time," said Steve Hawkins, chairman of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition.

Representatives of the community group have seen "very preliminary" plans, and the consensus generally is favorable, he said.

"That being said, however, we have a lot of questions, including parking and traffic, and we don't know if they have gotten that far yet."

Community residents might have concerns about the loss of the theater, which would leave the Manor on Murray Avenue as the neighborhood's only theater, he said.

The plan filed with the city shows six floors for the hotel, three floors of condominiums, a retail area where the theater is located and a restaurant on the site occupied by Poli's.

The project would feature a pedestrian thoroughfare with a decorative water fountain. It would be located at the Murray-Forward intersection, beneath a portion of the building that would project over it.

Two parking lots Poli's used -- a 50-space one on Murray and a 120-space lot along Forward, near the Parkway East entrance -- would remain.

Poli's closed in December 2005. The two-story restaurant and parking lot across the street were listed for sale by CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh at $1.3 million. The second lot was priced at $850,000.

In March 2007, Poli's Restaurant Inc. filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy law. According to the filing, the company has between 50 and 90 creditors, and assets and liabilities between $100,000 and $1 million.

Poli's dates to 1921 when Italian immigrant Joseph Poli opened a luncheonette there for workers laying streetcar tracks to Kennywood Park. Later, the restaurant became a destination for Pittsburghers who enjoyed seafood and northern Italian cuisine.

The theater and building adjoining Poli's are owned by Alderson-Forward Properties LLC, an out-of-town investment group, said Jerry Speer, of Equity Real Estate. Speer's company manages those properties and others along Forward Avenue.

Stern Enterprises of Pittsburgh operates the theater under a lease agreement, he said.

Officials at Stern could not be reached for comment, but Speer said negotiations were held for the company to vacate its lease.

R.E. Crawford, with offices in Florida and California, was involved in the construction of the Home Depot in East Liberty and Rivertech Office Works in the South Side. It is partner in the Museum Park Hotel, 4621 Forbes Ave., Oakland, which is nearing construction.

Evergrey

07-18-2008, 09:01 PM

tidbits from this week's Business Times:

1. PNC to add 50 jobs downtown (global investment unit)

2. of special interest to cdc, 8 municipalities are teaming up for a redevelopment of a 17 mile stretch of the notorious Rt. 51, including: Pittsburgh, Baldwin, Brentwood, Whitehall, Jefferson Hills, Pleasant Hills, West Mifflin and West Elizabeth.

3. URA is mulling two residential proposals for a cleared spot in Lawrenceville across from the former Heppenstahl industrial site on Hatfield St. S&A homes proposes $5 million 23-unit townhouse development. They are also working on the Federal Hill development in Central North Side and have 10 presales for the first phase of 23 townhouses, which is to break ground soon. Brian Mendelssohn proposes a mix of 50 townhouses and lofts for $10 million.

JackStraw

07-18-2008, 09:09 PM

well, Poli's has been closed for a few years now and no new restaurant has opened up there...

the loss of the theater does suck... I thought it was cool that Sq. Hill had both a mainstream theater and an indie theater up the road

...

I wouldn't think NIMBYs would be be an issue... as this 9 story structure will be right next to the MASSIVE Morrowfield (though they might complain about traffic... they always do)

...

I assume the building housing Tango Cafe Argentinian Coffeehouse, Gay and Lesbian Community Center and that karate studio will also be demolished... I wonder if they'll be accommodated in the retail space or forced to flee elsewhere

....

more on this development:

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/2008/0718/16921995.jpg

Squirrel Hill may get $50 million residential-retail project

By Sam Spatter and Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, July 18, 2008

A key intersection in Squirrel Hill could undergo dramatic change.

Two neighborhood landmarks, the former Poli's Restaurant and the Squirrel Hill Theatre spanning the juncture of Forward and Murray avenues, could be demolished to make way for a $40 million to $50 million development that would include a hotel, restaurant, retail stores and 20 condominiums.

Developer R.E. Crawford Construction of Springdale plans to include a nine-story building that would occupy the sites, according to information the company filed with the Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment.

R.E. Crawford has sales agreements to purchase the properties and another building between them that is occupied by several tenants, including a karate school.

The area would be developed by R.E. Crawford and its development team, Cambridge Venture Partners, the company said in a statement.

The zoning board has scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for Aug. 7.

"This would be a very major project for our neighborhood, one of the biggest in a very long time," said Steve Hawkins, chairman of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition.

Representatives of the community group have seen "very preliminary" plans, and the consensus generally is favorable, he said.

"That being said, however, we have a lot of questions, including parking and traffic, and we don't know if they have gotten that far yet."

Community residents might have concerns about the loss of the theater, which would leave the Manor on Murray Avenue as the neighborhood's only theater, he said.

The plan filed with the city shows six floors for the hotel, three floors of condominiums, a retail area where the theater is located and a restaurant on the site occupied by Poli's.

The project would feature a pedestrian thoroughfare with a decorative water fountain. It would be located at the Murray-Forward intersection, beneath a portion of the building that would project over it.

Two parking lots Poli's used -- a 50-space one on Murray and a 120-space lot along Forward, near the Parkway East entrance -- would remain.

Poli's closed in December 2005. The two-story restaurant and parking lot across the street were listed for sale by CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh at $1.3 million. The second lot was priced at $850,000.

In March 2007, Poli's Restaurant Inc. filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy law. According to the filing, the company has between 50 and 90 creditors, and assets and liabilities between $100,000 and $1 million.

Poli's dates to 1921 when Italian immigrant Joseph Poli opened a luncheonette there for workers laying streetcar tracks to Kennywood Park. Later, the restaurant became a destination for Pittsburghers who enjoyed seafood and northern Italian cuisine.

The theater and building adjoining Poli's are owned by Alderson-Forward Properties LLC, an out-of-town investment group, said Jerry Speer, of Equity Real Estate. Speer's company manages those properties and others along Forward Avenue.

Stern Enterprises of Pittsburgh operates the theater under a lease agreement, he said.

Officials at Stern could not be reached for comment, but Speer said negotiations were held for the company to vacate its lease.

R.E. Crawford, with offices in Florida and California, was involved in the construction of the Home Depot in East Liberty and Rivertech Office Works in the South Side. It is partner in the Museum Park Hotel, 4621 Forbes Ave., Oakland, which is nearing construction.

This sounds really cool. This area of S. Hill needs something. The only thing on Forward is PD's which is a so-so bar with some decent bands sometime, and a bowling alley for those who still bowl. I never been in the movie theater.

What was Poli's? It was closed since I been back to the burgh. Was it a famous S. Hill landmark or something?

Evergrey

07-18-2008, 09:14 PM

This sounds really cool. This area of S. Hill needs something. The only thing on Forward is PD's which is a so-so bar with some decent bands sometime, and a bowling alley for those who still bowl. I never been in the movie theater.

What was Poli's? It was closed since I been back to the burgh. Was it a famous S. Hill landmark or something?

Don't forget about Alexander's Russian restaurant!

JackStraw

07-18-2008, 09:36 PM

Did you guys see this?

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-07-17-pittsburgh_N.htm

http://i.usatoday.net/travel/_photos/2008/07/18/pittsburgh-topper.jpg

That is a cool article, I just read it. You know what pisses me off though. Is I read the comments below the article, and you have those jagoffs that write, "Pittsburgh is a dump bla bla bla, it lost 300,000 people, bla bla bla, what trashy city can't keep its people." That shit just frustrates JackStraw to no end. Probably some lame half-retarded suburbanite living in some development called Deer Creek Acres 40 miles outside of Atlanta.

Evergrey

07-18-2008, 09:48 PM

That is a cool article, I just read it. You know what pisses me off though. Is I read the comments below the article, and you have those jagoffs that write, "Pittsburgh is a dump bla bla bla, it lost 300,000 people, bla bla bla, what trashy city can't keep its people." That shit just frustrates JackStraw to no end. Probably some lame half-retarded suburbanite living in some development called Deer Creek Acres 40 miles outside of Atlanta.

I wouldn't worry about that. For some reason, comment sections for newspapers around the country attract the most idiotic amongst us. I'm quite glad the P-G and Trib don't have comment sections.

actually, it was the article itself I found lame... yet another one of those travel pieces that devotes the majority of its space to recounting our "dirty history" and the "depressed locals" etc.

The NYT travel piece a few weeks ago was much much better... steering clear of these cliches and covering a lot of interesting neighborhoods and attractions (beyond the ubiquitous Andy Warhol Museum / Strip District mentions)

Grego43

07-18-2008, 10:12 PM

What was Poli's? It was closed since I been back to the burgh. Was it a famous S. Hill landmark or something?

Poli was an old-school, clubby type of restaurant that served excellent seafood/Italian. Was a bit thread bare toward the end, but great food none-the-less.
http://www.squirrelhill.com/gallery/file.php?n=192&w=o

UrbaniDesDev

07-19-2008, 02:51 AM

JackStraw

07-19-2008, 05:53 AM

Poli's was a "Frank Sinatra" kind of place. It was quite famous

Intersting, I would have never thought of this intersection for development, but now I think, what a prime spot, Murray venue shops a shot onto the Parkway, a 5 minute ride to downtown and it even misses the traffic into the tube. What an outsiders eyes can see.

Can't wait to see their plans

I live two blocks from the intersection, and make it downtown on the parkway in minutes. It is a perfect intersection indeed.

Just comming home is always blocked by suburbinites....................:hell: Unless I go uptown though Oakland, or Schinley Park.

Evergrey

07-19-2008, 06:48 AM

I have a request: Does anybody on here have photos (or directions to photos) of Carson St. from say 1975-1995? (Grego? Urbani?) I've never seen the "pre-revitalized" business district and have always wondered what it was like (first time I ever visited was maybe 2003 or so). I walked the full length of Carson St. twice tonight... and was blown away at its vibrancy (as always). Tonight seemed like it may have been the most packed with people walking around and dining outside and enjoying themselves that I have ever seen. I was especially impressed with how vibrant and busy the district remained east of the Birmingham Bridge... which had long been a bit weaker than the heart of the district. The stretch between Birmingham Bridge and SouthSide Works seems to be developing nicely. Hookah Bookah was overflowing onto the sidewalk with an interesting and diverse clientele. Double Wide Grille was bursting at the seems with people noshing on their succulent late night barbecue. Etc.

....

more info on the Poli project

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08201/898080-53.stm

$50 million Poli project will reshape Squirrel Hill

Saturday, July 19, 2008
By Steve Levin and Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200807/20080719ds_poli_site_500.jpg
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
A developer envisions a nine-story project == featuring a hotel, condos, a restaurant and retailers == at Murray and Forward avenues in Squirrel Hill.

Individually, the construction of a hotel, condominiums, an upscale restaurant and retail stores in Squirrel Hill would be a boon to its present small business mix.

But proposed together as a $50 million residential/retail mix at the site of the former Poli restaurant, the project not only would dramatically remake the Squirrel Hill entrance from the Parkway East but become the largest development project in the neighborhood's history.

Called Forward Square, the development by R.E. Crawford and Cambridge Venture Partners is proposed on a 150,000-square-foot site at Murray and Forward avenues. The nine-story project would include a six-story hotel, 20 condos on the three other floors, a restaurant similar to Sonoma Grill, several retailers and a two-story water plaza.

Sales agreements have been reached both for the former Poli property on Murray Avenue, including its two parking lots on lower Forward, and with Alderson-Forward Properties, which owns an adjacent building at 5800 Forward now housing five businesses, including the six-screen Squirrel Hill Theater.

Plans for the project were filed this week with the Zoning Board of Adjustment. A zoning board public hearing on the project is scheduled for Aug. 7.

City Council President Doug Shields said the project is "a dynamic development in a part of Squirrel Hill that has not seen any recent investment.

"Reaction, so far, has been positive," he said. "From what I can see, it's a good design."

Steven Hawkins, president of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, said a community meeting with the project's developers is set for Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center.

The Forward Square condos are expected to be priced at less than $350,000 each and vary in size from 700 to 1,400 square feet, said Tom Chunchick, executive vice president of R.E. Crawford. The restaurant, he said, would go in the former Poli space. He said the company already is working with an operator to run the hotel.

Plans call for the entire development to be environmentally friendly, he said.

R.E. Crawford, run by 49-year-old Bob Crawford, is a rapidly growing general contractor based in Springdale Borough, with billings expected to be $75 million this year, up from $55 million in 2007.

Cambridge Venture Partners are Mr. Crawford; Steve Davis, vice president of Pennsylvania Commercial Real Estate; and real estate attorney Russell P. Mills, of Mills & Henry.

Cambridge has been involved in student housing projects throughout the mid-Atlantic region, including 38 condominiums at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va., 406 condos and apartments at West Virginia University and other projects in Harrisonburg, Va., and Blairsville, Indiana County.

R.E. Crawford's projects around the country run the gamut from strip shopping centers and restaurants to churches and health care buildings. Local projects have included the two Rivertech buildings on the South Side near the UPMC Sports Performance Complex and an ongoing hotel project on Forbes Avenue.

Mr. Chunchick said the Forward Square project is a continuation of Mr. Crawford's "great passion for this city."

"This will be just a dynamic portal to this part of Squirrel Hill," Mr. Chunchick said, "and a great catalyst" for further development.

Poli restaurant, a Pittsburgh institution since 1921, has been closed since December 2005. In March 2007 it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The two-story, 16,500-square-foot building and a small parking lot across the street were listed together at a price of $1.3 million. A separate 1.4-acre parcel nearby that Poli used for valet parking was valued at $800,000.

The 17,505-square-foot property at 5800 Forward was last sold in 2000 for more than $3.5 million, according to Allegheny County records.

Mr. Chunchick said the Poli property was purchased about six months ago and the other parcel within the past few weeks. He said he did not know the sale price for the properties.

In addition to the theater, other businesses to be razed are Pizza Amier, the Tango Cafe, the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and U.S. Professional Karate. Unaffected are Forward Lanes and other businesses farther south on Forward and the Howard Levin Clubhouse and other properties that are part of the Morrowfield Apartments building west on Murray.

The karate school's owners, Vicki and George Mowod, have already secured a new site -- at 2345 Murray Ave. in a building that houses a Starbucks -- but its visibility to five directions of traffic for the past 25 years is hard to match.

"The sad part is we lose that," Ms. Mowod said. "We need 25 more students to move into that building, so now I have to do marketing without my windows, and that's a big expense."

Liliana Petruy, owner of Tango Cafe, said she renewed a one-year lease for her restaurant last month.

Business had been good with the theater nearby, she said.

"I really don't know where we will go."

Steve Levin can be reached at slevin@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1919. Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626.

....

Here's that Rivertech development that this company did
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/84276132.jpg

JackStraw

07-19-2008, 07:29 AM

Holy shit, this is going to take shape!

I live two blocks away. Lets hope this is not a lame strip mall shop in Squirrel Hill. I don't want to see the typical shit that I see in Wexford or Moronville. That is what make Squirrel Hill different then those places.

Also, if this Hotel exist, lets let it give new and bright life to PD's pub. God that bar needs it...........

Evergrey

07-19-2008, 07:48 AM

hey... we finally found a use for the former LTV site in Hazelwood: dirt depository!

I was thinking about our region's topography and in particular this site the other day... this is an incredibly hilly region and there are very few significant areas of truly flat land ... they usually only occur at bends in the rivers where sediment has been deposited over the years (convex banks). Going upstream on the Monongahela from the Point, the first example of this geographic phenomenon is the South Side vs. Bluff/Uptown. The South Side represents the convex bank where sediment has been deposited due to the trajectory of the river bend, resulting in a long flat area perfect for high-density urban development with potential for riverfront interface (an ongoing process as this was the realm of heavy industry before). Across the river, Bluff/Uptown represents the concave bank. Due to the highly dissected nature of our hydrography and topography in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the northern bank at this point almost immediately rises sharply from the river several hundred feet to Uptown (and Duquesne U.) high above the river. The flat river interface is only wide enough to support the Parkway East and the narrow string of buildings at the Tech Park. While Uptown and Oakland are technically adjacent to the river, the sharp elevation difference eliminates their interface with it.

Just to the east of the Hot Metal Bridge, the Mon begins to meander the opposite direction, and the convex and concave banks reverse. Past the SouthSide Works, the flat plain of the South Side narrows quickly. Carson St. between SSW and Homestead (it is known as Eighth St. there) is virtually undeveloped as there is barely enough flat land along the river for the road itself. The bluff rises sharply near the river's edge to the undeveloped Hay's Woods high above. Across the river from this empty stretch is Hazelwood and the large flat emptiness of the former LTV site. This site, on a flat riverfront site not far from Downtown, Oakland and South Side holds great potential for high-density urban development IMO. It also has a great view of the Downtown skyline. There have been a couple mentions of development there in recent years (Carnegie Mellon's mysterious proposed "Robot City" as well as a proposal for housing/office mix), but I believe the grim spectre of the potential Mon Fayette Expressway blasting its way through this prime parcel has left the future of this site in limbo... left to do nothing more than collect dirt (literally).

The LTV site would be the perfect site for high-density residential development, perhaps even a mid-rise scale. There would be minimal NIMBY resistance due to its relative isolation (even from the rest of Hazelwood). It could really promote smart, urban living. It would be very easy to bike to work from there... a couple minutes and a biker can cross the pedestrian Hot Metal Bridge to the South Side, or connect to the Eliza Furnace Trail and head downtown.

Developing this convex bank would be the perfect complement to all the riverfront residential development that has occurred in the South Side in recent years... extending the urban riverfront eastward even further. There's no room to extend the South Side any further east... allow it to jump the Hot Metal Bridge and take root at LTV.

...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_578421.html

Former LTV site gets dirt from North Shore tunnel dig

By Terry McCoy
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, July 19, 2008

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-07-18/0719-dirt2-a.jpg
Trumbull Construction's Richard Wingard moves dirt gathered during work on the North Shore Connector tunnel.
Andrew Russell/Tribune-Review

The 520 cubic yards of earth extracted each day from beneath the Allegheny River for the North Shore Connector is turning molehills into mountains at the former LTV Steel site in Hazelwood.

By the end of the tunnel project in 2011, which will extend the Port Authority's T light rail system to the North Shore, officials estimate nearly 70,000 cubic yards of dirt, clay and sand will be mined and hauled away.

That's enough dirt to fill Heinz Field 120 feet high.

Day by day, 25 dirt-laden dump trucks head out to the former LTV Steel plant, which closed in 1997.

"All I can say is it's a lot of dirt, quite a bit," said Port Authority spokesman Dave Whipkey. "To be completely honest, I have no idea what we're going to do with all that material."

About half of the extracted earth is a sand-gravel mixture, which Lindy Paving will use in projects, Whipkey said. Lindy Paving is owned by Trumbull Corp., the company overseeing the tunnel project.

But the rest of material -- a dense, reddish clay -- is virtually useless, so the city is sending it to languish at the LTV site.

"Basically, it's not being used for anything out there," Whipkey said. "There aren't any long-range plans with the clay material. The sand-gravel does have a use."

This material is all that's been found underneath the river, Whipkey said. No fossils, no buried treasure -- nothing but dirt.

At the LTV site along the Mononghela River, a desert scene unfolds: 20-foot dunes bake under a beating sun, heat waves waft above. Off to one side, a pool of sludge fresh from the tunnel belches.

Because the material hasn't seen daylight in thousands of years and is unpolluted, the environmental impact of unloading the dirt is minimal, Whipkey said.

"Yeah, it's not a whole lot to look at," said Bill Widdoes, the project coordinator for the Regional Industrial Development Corp., which owns the LTV Steel site. "Just a lot of dirt."