[Evergrey]

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2009/03/02/focus1.html?b=1235970000^1785511

Friday, February 27, 2009 | Modified: Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 6:00am EST

Tough to make a connection: North Shore project has faced many challenges

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Anya Litvak

The notion that the North Shore Connector sprung up as a money guzzler in 2005 to fetch newly available federal funds ignores a century-long preamble to the project.

According to the Port Authority of Allegheny County, the idea to lay down tracks between Downtown and the North Shore has existed for the better part of a century, solidifying slowly in the 1980s and early 1990s, and taking more definitive shape in 1999, when the Port Authority took control of its development.

As it stands today, the North Shore Connector is vying for $117.8 million in stimulus funds to complete its plan to link the new Gateway Subway Station with two new stations on the North Shore in a 1.2 mile extension through two bored tunnels underneath the Allegheny River.

At $553 million, today’s plan is a scaled-back and substantially more costly version of the original, which for $393 million promised to extend the T another 0.3 miles from the Steel Plaza Station to the Convention Center.

There is no shortage of reasons why constructing a major project like this is exceeding original estimates.

The price of steel, concrete and fuel climbed for years before finally leveling off in the last few months.

In fact, while the construction budget aligned potential inflation with the Consumer Price Index, which rose less than 5 percent in the past six years, the Producer Price Index for the construction industry jumped by a third during that time. The cost of some materials, such as steel pipes, for example, rose more than 100 percent.

Estimating glitches also chased the North Shore Connector plan from its first budget.

UPHILL SLOPE

With regional planning organizations and the federal government’s approval under its belt, the Port Authority went out for its first contract in 2005 — boring the parallel tunnels. It received three bids, with the lowest coming in at 24 percent above the engineer’s estimate for the job.

The Port Authority retooled the plan — it chopped off the Convention Center linkage, which also would have required purchasing more rail cars.

Doing so would allow the agency to stay within the $393 million budget it intended.

But as the design wore on, the cost of the project continued to climb. By the time the federal funding grant agreement was signed in 2006, the North Shore project budget was finalized at $435 million.

A few months ago, when the Port Authority asked for bids on the last three contracts for the project and received estimates ranging from 50 percent to 100 percent above the expected cost, the price tag for the project jumped by another $117.8 million.

Since then, the North Shore Connector has been advertised as a federal funding-worthy investment that meets “the Stimulus Package criteria to a T,” pun intended by Port Authority spokeswoman Judi McNeil.

SURVIVAL SCENARIOS

Last month, the Port Authority publicized its options if additional funding is not available. To delay the project would cost $3.5 million per month. To shut down completely would run about $20 million to secure the work sites.

“In all likelihood, this would severely hurt Pittsburgh in securing funding for future federal transit projects, regardless of their merit,” the Port Authority said in a news release explaining the calculations.

But such doomsday scenarios are at least a year of sufficient cash flow away, said Winston Simmonds, a rail operations engineering officer with the Port Authority. Plus, more than $290 million has already been pumped into the connector.

“That’s why the shutdown scenario wouldn’t make sense,” he said. “But we had to go through that exercise to show what those shutdown costs would be.”

“Folks are critical of our project overrun,” he continued. But “what happened to us isn’t unique.”

Port Authority advocates point to cost escalations in building the Rivers Casino, more than a third over the original budget set when it was called Majestic Star Casino, and the new Penguins arena, about 10 percent above its initial budget as of November.

Critical and vocal, Gov. Ed Rendell called the tunnel project a “tragic mistake” last week, while in Pittsburgh.

”What you heard was the governor expressing frustration at the cost overruns and the continued delays, especially in light of the current economic challenges,” Chuck Ardo, a spokesman for the governor, said this week.

Certainly, other transit projects in the state await financial rescue, he said, but none the size of this one.

Ardo emphasized that Rendell did say the project should be completed, albeit begrudgingly.

The decision to allocate or not allocate stimulus funds to the North Shore project will rest with a vote by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, said its transportation planning director Chuck DiPietro.

Public opinion about the project can waver more than the markets.

One of the Port Authority’s goals for fiscal year 2008, as articulated in the agency’s annual report, was to “promote positive news about the North Shore Connector Project; keep the public informed on the project’s progress and construction impacts and garner community support.”

Aside from the money-already-spent angle, the Port Authority is emphasizing a major stimulus focus that the agency hopes will fetch it priority — if the tunnels sink, more than 2,000 jobs associated with the project would vanish as well.

alitvak@bizjournals.com | (412) 208-3824

[PA Pride]

well i certainly hope this "tragic mistake" reaches completion. That would be REALLY shitty if it shut down after 300 million has already been spent.

[edncc1701d]

well i certainly hope this "tragic mistake" reaches completion. That would be REALLY shitty if it shut down after 300 million has already been spent.

At least we could have great indoors pedestrian access serving the crowds headed from Gateway Center to PNC Park…

[Evergrey]

I always wonder... "Who are the people that own these properties?"

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09064/953301-53.stm

City battling decay in Homewood

Mayor says he won't back off in fining property owners, tearing down 'killing fields'

Thursday, March 05, 2009
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200903/rad_030409_l_6_ravenstahl_h_500.jpg
Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh housing inspectors quickly review the boarded-up row houses between Hamilton Avenue and Formosa Way in Homewood yesterday.


http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200903/rad_030409_l_2_ravenstahl_h_500.jpg

Living next to the most dangerous properties in Homewood "has been hell," Furman Johnson said yesterday as he walked down Hamilton Avenue.

"This building here, there was so much drug trafficking there," he said, pointing to a brick apartment building at the corner of Hamilton and Collier Street, "it was pathetic."

Mr. Johnson and a gaggle of neighborhood boosters joined Mayor Luke Ravenstahl as he checked out 147 empty row houses whose out-of-town owners now are being dealt with by the city through housing court. The mayor said fines levied Tuesday are just the beginning.

"It is clear that we are not going to back off. We are going to make sure that we continue to use every resource that we have until these properties are dealt with in the proper manner," Mr. Ravenstahl said. "The end game is for us to continue our efforts to make sure that these properties are taken down."

The houses along Hamilton and Formosa Way, between Collier and Sterrett streets, have been dubbed "the killing fields" for the murders and other crimes in and around them.

The so-called Sterrett-Collier housing complex was foreclosed by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2002, in a process that left community groups feeling slighted. Brooklyn investor Chaim Templer bought parts of it in 2004 for $435,000, with Los Angeles-based RFS Investments buying the rest in 2006 for $2.1 million.

Under their management, conditions got worse, said neighbors.

"They had people moving in and out of those properties so fast," said Mr. Johnson.

Open-air drug deals and prostitution took hold. The neighborhood groups contacted the owners.

"They told us they were not interested in being told that ... this property had been a problem to us for 10 years," said Sarah Campbell, public safety chair of the Homewood Brushton Community Coalition Organization. "Now we need it down, period."

Mr. Templer was traveling and not available to comment, according to the person who answered his phone. The phone number for RFS' Pennsylvania representative, in Darby, Delaware County, was disconnected.

Mr. Ravenstahl toured Homewood on Oct. 20, vowing to improve the violence-plagued neighborhood block by block. Two days later, city building inspectors sent notices of unsafe building conditions to Mr. Templer and RFS.

Those led to housing court cases and District Judge Kevin Cooper decided Tuesday to fine Mr. Templer $3,000, plus $1,000 per day until he fixes unsafe conditions. He has 30 days to appeal.

The case against RFS was postponed for two weeks.

"The property owner now will have the opportunity to remedy the situation," Mr. Ravenstahl said. But the mayor really wants the buildings razed.

The city has to condemn a building before it can tear it down, and just one in five of the row houses meets that condition. Building inspectors will look for opportunities to add to that list, but they noted that some of the structures are sound, with boarded-up or bricked-in first-floor windows.

The second-story windows are almost uniformly broken, and porches are sagging or littered with junk.

Getting them torn down would be a good start, said Councilman Ricky Burgess, who represents the area.

"We can protect empty space a whole lot easier than this," he said, gesturing toward a narrow alley that runs between the houses. "This is, in my opinion, the epicenter of the problems in this community. ... This blight is what leads to and breeds violence, drug addiction and hopelessness."

He said part of the plot could be left as open space and the rest could be redeveloped as transit-oriented housing, since it is close to the East Busway.

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

[Evergrey]

yay! The article claims some people think it may be the second oldest building in the city after the Ft. Pitt Blockhouse... there's also a boarded up stone house in Hazlewood that dates to around 1790...


http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_614529.html

Steps taken to preserve historic Old Stone Inn in West End

By Tony LaRussa
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, March 5, 2009

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-05/0305stone-b.jpg

The city's Historic Review Commission on Wednesday took the first formal step to protect the Old Stone Inn, a former tavern in the West End that some people believe to be the second-oldest building in Pittsburgh.

The commission voted unanimously to begin the process that would allow City Council to designate the vacant two-story building on Greentree Road as a historic structure.

"If there's any building that deserves to be saved, this is it," said John DeSantis, a former commission chairman who filed the nomination for historic designation last month, which prevented the building's owner from tearing it down.

The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation supports a historic designation for the building, whose existence likely dates back to 1793. Although the cornerstone reads 1756, historians doubt its accuracy. The oldest known building in Pittsburgh is the Fort Pitt Blockhouse, built in 1764 in what is now Point State Park.

"This is one of the oldest buildings in the city, and we believe it is definitely worth preserving," said Anne Nelson, general counsel for the foundation.

The Historic Review and city Planning commissions will conduct public hearings and vote on whether to recommend that City Council grant historic designation. The foundation expects to provide supporting documentation and testimony during the process, which could take as long as eight months.

If the building earns landmark status, it cannot be demolished or have its exterior altered without permission from the Historic Review Commission.

"When you enter the West End, there's a sign that reads 'Welcome to the Historical West End,' " said City Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, who represents the neighborhood. "How would it look if we didn't protect, not only the oldest building in the neighborhood, but one of the oldest in the city?"

The building's owner, Mario Petricca, is in the process of selling the property on which it sits to Harris Masonry, which owns the adjacent property and obtained a permit to demolish the building. Petricca and company owner Lee Harris could not be reached for comment.

DeSantis filed the nomination for historic designation after a West End psychotherapist, Art Merrell, 65, told the Tribune-Review that he believes the building is historically significant. Presidents George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant, and novelist Charles Dickens, might have been guests of the Old Stone Inn. The tavern might have played a pivotal role in the Whiskey Rebellion, a late-18th century uprising by people across Western Pennsylvania who opposed a federal excise tax on liquor.

The building is located at a bend in what was the historic Washington and Pittsburgh Turnpike, a toll road connecting Pittsburgh to Washington County and to the U.S. National Road. A 1793 accounts ledger from the tavern that was discovered at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh indicated that among its regular customers were local farmers, businessmen, generals and Indians.

Alan Green of Squirrel Hill, whose family operated a tavern out of the building through most of the 20th century, was elated by yesterday's vote.

"The building holds a lot of fond personal memories for me," he said. "My grandparents lived in the house, and my father was born there."

Tony LaRussa can be reached at tlarussa@tribweb.com or 412-320-7987.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_614517.html

Commuter rail project delayed three months

By Rich Cholodofsky
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, March 5, 2009

Preparatory work on proposed commuter rail lines between Greensburg, Arnold and Pittsburgh is still on track, but it will be three months before officials decide whether to move forward.

The Westmoreland County Transit Authority later this month is expected to grant a three-month extension to its consulting company to complete a feasibility study of the proposed rail lines.

In late 2006, the authority hired HDR Engineering Inc. of Pittsburgh to study the proposed commuter rail project. The feasibility study initially was to be completed this month, but now more time is needed.

"It took a little more time to research most of the options discussed," said authority Executive Director Larry Morris.

The three-month extension will not cost the authority additional money and still could be completed before June, Morris said.

The proposed commuter train system would have two rail corridors, one that would originate in either Latrobe or Greensburg and run through Jeannette, Irwin and Trafford, and eventually into downtown Pittsburgh.

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

The second corridor could cost about $140 million to build and would start in Arnold and travel through the Allegheny River Valley to Pittsburgh's Strip District or the downtown area.

The feasibility study is designed to assess ridership potential, track and station locations and how the project would be funded.

"HDR is looking into the possibility of using federal stimulus money," Morris said.

The train proposal was listed among the county's projects seeking federal stimulus money. Specifically, the county is seeking $6 million to pay for an environmental study that would be needed as part of the train project.

Rich Cholodofsky can be reached at rcholodofsky@tribweb.com or 724-830-6293.

[Evergrey]

this would've made JackStraw happy

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09064/953107-298.stm

Education center may spark revitalization in New Kensington

Thursday, March 05, 2009
By Moriah Balingit, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200903/droke0226_edcenter0305_500.jpg
Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette
Westmoreland County Community College?s New Kensington Education Center dedicated its new building last Thursday.

To the Westmoreland County Community College students and faculty in New Kensington, the opening of the New Kensington Education Center downtown means a new science lab and a dramatic expansion in the number of classes offered -- which means fewer trips to the college's main campus in Hempfield, near Youngwood.

To public officials, the gleaming modern structure provides not only greater educational opportunities, but is a potential harbinger of economic revitalization to a part of downtown that is in need.

"It gives us that feeling that we're moving ahead with downtown, and that will make it more attractive for business to come downtown," said New Kensington Councilman Tom Russo, who was one of those who courted the college to the area.

The center, which opened for classes in early January, marked its grand opening last Thursday.

The old site, an elementary school that was built in the 1950s in the Aluminum City Terrace area, had fallen into such disrepair that architects estimated it would cost as much to redo the facility as it would to build a new one.

That building had not even been renovated for adult students, meaning some bathrooms had child-size toilets.

"It was built in 1955, and it behaved a lot like a building built in 1955," said Brian Hays, the center's coordinator. "Things leaked, it was pretty breezy in the midwinter, so there were a lot of physical concerns that led us to recognize it would be much more cost-effective to build a new building."

Worse, the facility could not accommodate the demands of students, who wanted more human services classes and foreign language classes so they could fulfill general education requirements before they transferred to four-year universities.

"We really had outgrown it," Mr. Hays said.

The larger building can accommodate more than double the number of courses. Spanish and American Sign Language classes will be offered for the first time, as well as an expanded series of human services classes for students who want to go into social work.

Significantly, the new facility is equipped with two computer labs and a general science lab, meaning students in the sciences no longer have to travel the nearly 40 miles to WCCC's main campus near Youngwood to fulfill lab requirements.

The building also is more centrally located, meaning students can walk or take a bus from nearby public housing. The old facility was difficult to access by bus, which discouraged students without cars.

The building's location is what many attribute to the dramatic rise in the number of students at the center. Last spring, 175 students were taking about 400 classes; this spring, 271 students are taking 700 classes.

Its proximity to public housing was a key factor in choosing the site, said Mr. Hays, because it is close to the population the college hopes to serve.

"Our move to downtown New Kensington was a conscious move into an area of the city that has not always had opportunities afforded to it," he said.

Additionally, the new building houses Career Link, a social services program for dislocated workers. And this spring, WCCC will launch its Just in Time program, which will provide free tuition for dislocated workers.

The New Kensington campus will host the medical office technology certificate section of the program.

Public officials are hoping the college will anchor a comeback in that end of downtown.

Before the land was cleared on the block where the building now stands, it was home to blighted properties and was in the middle of a high-crime area.

The city's redevelopment authority bought the land and demolished the properties, making it fertile for development. It sold the property to WCCC for just a dollar.

"[The city's] commitment to downtown speaks eons to people who want to invest in other communities [and] our commitment to recruiting businesses," said Kimberly McAfoose, executive director of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of New Kensington.

Like the main drags of many post-industrial cities, New Kensington's downtown had fallen into blight after the departure of the aluminum producer Alcoa.

But local officials are fighting hard to bring it back, using the same strategy they used with the college: buying up parcels of land with abandoned properties, making them development-ready, then courting businesses and light manufacturing to bring jobs and money into the area.

They're hoping that the college will contribute to the comeback by drawing in traffic to the area for coffee shops, restaurants and banks.

"This lays the groundwork for a lot of ancillary businesses that can benefit from the college," said Ms. McAfoose.
Moriah Balingit can be reached at mbalingit@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2533.

[PA Pride]

RIP Jackstraw.

[AaronPGH]

RIP Jackstraw.

?

[PA Pride]

?

he closed his account here.

[AaronPGH]

Why? Did some argument happen on here or something and he got fed up?

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09065/953544-53.stm

State cuts grant for amphitheater

North Shore entertainment complex project will move forward despite financial loss

Friday, March 06, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Even the Steelers aren't immune to the effects of the recession.

Facing a massive budget deficit this year, the state has cut a proposed $4 million grant for the team's planned entertainment complex on the North Shore next to Heinz Field to $2.5 million.

In an e-mail, Barry Ford, president of development for Continental Real Estate Cos. in Pittsburgh, which is working with the Steelers on the project, blamed the reduction on the economy.

The team and Continental had sought the $4 million capital grant as part of the funding for the $12 million year-round entertainment complex, which is to feature concerts and other events outside during warmer months and inside during the winter. It would be patterned after the Promowest Pavilion in Columbus.

Frank Kass, Continental's chairman, said he did not think the funding cut would halt the project, and Mr. Ford gave the same indications.

"We continue to work diligently on the project and should have more to report shortly," he wrote in an e-mail. "Everyone expects the project is going to move forward basically as planned."

As for the impact the cut would have, Mr. Ford said officials were still working through plans and hadn't finalized design options so he couldn't share any specifics.

State Rep. Jake Wheatley, whose district includes the site for the complex, called the cut in funding an "unfortunate thing."

"That was a crucial part of their financing plan," he said. "I do know the Steelers were hoping and figuring on $4 million from the state ... as part of their overall financing."

Chuck Ardo, spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell, would not say whether funding had been cut.

"The governor has not yet made an announcement regarding the project. He will do so in the near future," he said.

Mr. Kass said the Steelers and Continental may go back to the state next year in hopes of securing the additional $1.5 million for the venue. He said last August the grant was needed to make the economics of the development work.
Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.


...


here's a photo of the venue in Columbus

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/LC_Pavillion.jpg/800px-LC_Pavillion.jpg


http://www.promowestlive.com/

[GeneW]

Wow, that thing is hideous. Is that what they want to build here? It looks like a shipping container.

[edncc1701d]

Wow, that thing is hideous. Is that what they want to build here? It looks like a shipping container.

I agree... even the Post Gazette Pavilion and the old tent that was at Station Square look better!

[themaguffin]

Yeah that looks like a loading dock.




seriously if they want to invest in a nice facility - then they should be a classic amphitheater (thinbk Hollywood Bowl) which would look great by the river with the skyline in the background.

[Minivan Werner]

My goodness... I don't know many groups that would want to headline at an Agway.

[PA Pride]

Why? Did some argument happen on here or something and he got fed up?

Perhaps. Not really sure.

[ks2006]

Wow - I almost puked when I saw that picture of the Columbus, Ohio theater. Seriously, that is a freakin abomination. That should not be allowed in Pgh.

[ColDayMan]

The old PromoWest Pavilion pictured above (Lifestyle Communities now) is a former industrial yard and the amphitheater basically kept one of the remaining "boxes" and converted it into said venue. I don't care for it and downtown already has four amphitheater venues (with apparently two more going up), so really I do'nt know why Pittsburgh is chosing Promo as an example. I prefer Genoa's Amphitheater in downtown Columbus as it's a "classic" shell, view of the skyline, marble stepped, etc.

[UrbaniDesDev]

Why would this project be subsidised at all?
This would be a frivolous waste of government money, not to mention, loss of a VERY prime location, and to such a un-exciting and misuse of property

[dugdogmaster]

Why? Did some argument happen on here or something and he got fed up?

He needed laid.... seriously. The internet and this forum, and others like it, were just taking up too much of his time. So he just deleted his accounts, he said he'll eventually be back though. Don't cry:D

[AaronPGH]

Don't cry:D

No tears here. Don't worry. :tup:

[tooluther]

For those of you interested in downtown living, the Century Building is now leasing:


Built in 1907 by the Century Land Company, the
Century Building is located in the heart of Pittsburgh’s
Cultural District and will be the City’s first affordable
residential loft development. TREK Development
Group is restoring this century old structure; adapting
the once commercial office building into 60 residential
lofts, commercial, retail and amenity spaces.

They also just launched a website (with floor plans and some very cool renderings). These are Market Rate and "workforce" income restricted units. Very exciting news for downtown!

www.centuryon7th.com

[chucka]

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20090309monwharf_1500.jpg

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09068/954279-100.stm
Work begins on Mon Wharf trail link
By Jon Schmitz

U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle today said he will seek federal funding to complete a bike and pedestrian trail that will link Point State Park and the Monongahela Wharf to a trail network that stretches to Washington, D.C.

Mr. Doyle spoke at an event Downtown marking the start of construction of a $2.6 million segment of the trail along the edge of the wharf.

Calling the trail "an exciting new asset for the Pittsburgh region," Mr. Doyle, D-Forest Hills, said he would try to have funding included in a major transportation authorization bill that Congress is expected to pass this year.

The wharf trail now under construction is one of three phases that will link the park with the Eliza Furnace Trail to Oakland and beyond by the end of 2011. Project backers still need $2 million of the estimated $3 million cost of a switchback ramp that would connect the wharf trail with the Smithfield Street Bridge, some 40 feet above the river.

Another phase of the project is a 1,400-foot concrete path on steel pilings that will curve out over the Monongahela River around the Fort Pitt Bridge piers and link the park and the wharf. Construction on that piece could begin next year.

Lisa Schroeder, executive director of Riverlife (formerly called Riverlife Task Force), which is developing the trail, said she hoped that all three phases would be completed by late 2011.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

[PA Pride]

^Awesomeness.

[PA Pride]

For those of you interested in downtown living, the Century Building is now leasing:


Built in 1907 by the Century Land Company, the
Century Building is located in the heart of Pittsburgh’s
Cultural District and will be the City’s first affordable
residential loft development. TREK Development
Group is restoring this century old structure; adapting
the once commercial office building into 60 residential
lofts, commercial, retail and amenity spaces.

They also just launched a website (with floor plans and some very cool renderings). These are Market Rate and "workforce" income restricted units. Very exciting news for downtown!

www.centuryon7th.com

Yes, that IS exciting.

[dugdogmaster]

^Awesomeness.

I concur, pure awesomeness. I love that rendering!

[dugdogmaster]

Apparently, there is now a concerted effort underway to save Mellon Arena from the wrecking ball once the new arena is complete. Some envision it as another hotel and shopping complex with a year round skating rink. Others see it as an indoor rain forest and atrium, whatever. I'm sorry, but as ground breaking and historic as this building is or may be, it must go. This will ruin the plans to reconnect Uptown and The Hill with Downtown. And that plan to put a green space over top of I579 is pretty kick ass too, so that will go down the drain as well.

http://kdka.com/video/?id=54495@kdka.dayport.com

[Evergrey]

agreed... destroy it and replace it with city fabric

[Tombstoner]

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20090309monwharf_1500.jpg


this does indeed look awesome. I wonder if anyone has given thought to having a kind of "inside channel" that runs the lenght of the wharf (this one or elsewhere along the rivers) that could have a range of water features: simple, shallow splash pools, fountains, etc. I've seen these sorts of things in cities like Bangkok and Addis Ababa and they really add a whole new dimension to the river-side experience--as you stroll you have water on both sides of you.

[Johnland]

agreed... destroy it and replace it with city fabric

I'll second that. Get rid of it and reconnect the urban grid.

[qwho]

They should bury crosstown blvd, and connect the streets. Then maybe we can expand downtown. MA is an eyesore, and it has been from the start.

[Burgh15]

^Awesomeness.

Definitely. That will look incredible once it is complete.

[Wheelingman04]

I cannot wait for this to be finished. Great work Pittsburgh.

[dugdogmaster]

Definitely. That will look incredible once it is complete.

Especially coming out of the Ft. Pitt Tunnel. No more ugly and gaudy concrete warf:D

[PittPenn 03]

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/09070/954540-85.stm

Point Park to turn parking lot into park

Wednesday, March 11, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Monongahela Wharf might not be the only place losing parking space to green space in 2009.

Point Park University, aided by a $1.5 million anonymous donation, expects to begin work later this year to turn a surface parking lot at the corner of the Boulevard of the Allies and Wood Street into a small park.

The park, with an estimated cost of $4 million to $5 million, is part of Point Park's proposed $210 million Academic Village.

To assist in the park development, the university is seeking $250,000 through the Allegheny County Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund, which will distribute $80 million in state slots revenue over the next decade.

City Urban Redevelopment Authority board members will vote tomorrow on whether to support the application. Earlier this year, Point Park received a $2 million grant from the Heinz Endowments to fund the design of the Academic Village project, to prioritize construction and to hire an architect/planner to oversee development of the plan.

University spokeswoman Mary Ellen Solomon said part of the funding will be used to help support the design of the park, which the URA called the "first significant element" of the proposed campus metamorphosis.

The $250,000 infrastructure and tourism grant, if approved, would go toward the park construction itself, Ms. Solomon added.

The park is expected to include a water feature and perhaps space for smaller outdoor concerts and similar activities. There also may be yet-to-be-determined "complementary retail elements," according to The Point, the university's alumni magazine.

Exteriors of two university-controlled buildings next to the park also may be incorporated into the design.

As currently envisioned, the Academic Village project would be built in phases over the next six years.

[Tombstoner]

:previous: Hmm... that lot is very small, so that park will be very small. What could possibly cost $4-5M?

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_615623.html

Extension sought on North Side project

By Ron DaParma, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, March 12, 2009

Developers hope to get another six months to arrange financing for a $3.6 million project that would bring a mix of retail, restaurants and residential uses to the central North Side area often called Federal North.

Representatives of Aiello Development Co. and JRA Development Group are scheduled to meet next week with staff from the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority to discuss the project, said developer James Aiello Jr. on Wednesday.

The time is to arrange additional financing and determine the feasibility of the project, Aiello said yesterday.

"We will be going over all of the fine points that need to be addressed, and after the meeting, we will have a good feeling on whether we will move forward," he said.

In August, the URA voted to give the developers six months of exclusive rights to produce architectural plans for six authority-owned parcels along West North Avenue and Federal Street near the abandoned Garden Theater.

The URA said the agreement could be extended to give the team time to develop a budget and secure tenants.

The developers have committed $500,000 to the project so far and are looking to secure additional bank financing, and probably some public funding, Aiello said.

Community groups are behind the project and think it should continue, said Mark Fatla, executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference.

The conference teamed with Central Northside Neighborhood Council in a joint venture called Northside Tomorrow LLC, which was picked by the URA to market and develop a master plan for remainder of the Garden Theater block, including the abandoned theater, Masonic Hall, the Bradberry and sections of West North Avenue.

"Overall, I think it has a strong plan and strong design," Fatla said of Aiello's project. "While the financing markets are tough for everyone, there seems to be a critical mass of activity that make investment in that area wise."

Fifth Third Bank has expressed interest in opening a bank branch in a new building at the corner of West North and Federal. Also there will be two retail locations on the first level of three-story buildings that will house 14 and 16 apartments on the floors above.

A limited service sandwich shop and two coffee shops have expressed interest the retail spaces, Aiello said. Another possibility is a Pizza Solar restaurant, a chain that Aiello owns.

URA officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.

At its regular meeting today, the authority is expected to consider actions concerning the Federal North area, including a grant to Northside Tomorrow for up to $30,000 for planning and building stabilization activities in the Federal North block.

The board also will consider selling a site at the intersection of Federal and North avenues to Barron Commercial Real Estate for $16,000. Barron will redevelop the building to house a new Crazy Mocha coffee shop.

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09071/955035-53.stm

Once eyesore, Market Square building now gem

Thursday, March 12, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It wasn't that long ago that the building at 439 Market St., Downtown was in such a crumbling state that nearby property owners feared it could collapse at any moment.

But you wouldn't know it some four years later.

Thanks to the intervention of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, the four-story structure is being transformed into an architectural gem.

Gone are the bowed exterior walls, the collapsed roof and the debris. In its place stands a scrubbed red brick facade with long elegant windows and refined Victorian trimming.

The foundation is spending more than $3 million to convert the historic building and two others at the corner of Market and Fifth Avenue into apartments and retail space.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will get a firsthand look at the progress today when he visits the site and another historic Market Square property, the old G.C. Murphy store, which is being converted into residential, retail and fitness space.

The three foundation buildings will house seven apartments. The agency hopes to start leasing them around May 1, said Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., landmarks president.

Units will rent from $1,000 to $2,000 a month, depending on the size and the amenities, which include rooftop decks and studies. On the Graeme Street side, one of the units features a large bay window. The buildings also will qualify for a LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The buildings also will house about 4,000 square feet of retail space. The foundation hasn't secured any tenants yet, but Mr. Ziegler said there are negotiations under way.

Part of the project also involves the former Regal Shoe Co., an Arts and Crafts-style building at the corner of Fifth and Market designed by Alden & Harlow, one of the city's most prominent architectural firms in the early 20th century.

The facades of all three buildings have been preserved, sometimes painstakingly so. In the case of 439 Market, for example, that literally occurred brick by brick.

All of the brick on the Market Street side was removed, cleaned, and then put back up, all for the sake of preservation.

"Because we are restoring historical buildings we want to use as much of the historical material as we can," Mr. Ziegler said.

The scaffolding came off the Market Street side just a few days ago, revealing the stunning facade, a stark contrast to what was there only a few years ago. It pleased Mr. Ziegler to see the result.

"We thought to begin with that these buildings definitely should be preserved," he said. "We fought for their restoration and we think now that they are almost fully restored, it was really a very good thing for Downtown and Market Square that they were saved and brought back to life."

The restoration work has spanned some 18 to 20 months.

The $40 million conversion of the Murphy's building, meanwhile, is on schedule for completion this summer. It will include the new home of the Downtown YMCA as well as 46 apartments.
Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.

[NThomas]

^ You know the economy is bad when $3.6 million is hard to finance... :help:

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This will be a challenging and ambitious endeavor... the entire length of the Allegheny riverfront in this study area is extremely harsh... from the parking lot empire for Downtown automobile commuters... to the hideous warehouses of the Strip District... to the rusting industrial nightmares along Lawrenceville's riverfront

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_615849.html

Firm envisions lively Allegheny shoreline

The job of imagining how to reinvent vacant land and rusting industrial sites along the Allegheny River shoreline is in the hands of architecture and urban planning firm Perkins Eastman.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority's directors voted unanimously Thursday to pay the consultant up to $350,000 to create a master plan for a 6.45-mile stretch of land from 11th Street in the Strip District to Washington Boulevard in Highland Park.

"There's tremendous potential there," said Stephen Quick, a Perkins Eastman principal who will lead the study. "We want to make sure development that occurs isn't isolated and has a spinoff effect for other investments."

What form those investments will take isn't certain, but they likely would include greater pedestrian access to the river's edge; trails; and residential and commercial development.

Perkins Eastman was selected from 24 proposals submitted to the URA. Seven firms with expertise in public transportation, storm-water management, landscaping and other disciplines will work with the Downtown consultant. The master plan is expected to a take a year to complete.

"We're in a time right now when people are not investing, but this is looking into a time when they will be," Quick said.

Redeveloping the shoreline is among Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's 11 ideas for fostering a "third renaissance" in Pittsburgh.

"I think our greatest opportunity for riverfront redevelopment is along the entire Allegheny riverfront area," Ravenstahl said Monday when he announced his plan and re-election campaign.

Ravenstahl said an example is the 21-acre Tippins International site in Lawrenceville that has been mostly vacant since the 1980s. The URA bought the land in 2007 for $2 million and is dismantling and trucking away the shell of the old steel mill.

Lisa Schroeder, executive director of the nonprofit Riverlife, said ideas from public meetings in 2000 could become part of the shoreline plan.

Ideas include building a water landing that would connect to ball fields, and a trail that would lead to Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium; extending Lawrenceville's dense, residential street grid to the water; and developing residential and commercial sites that could flow into Downtown from the lower Strip District.

"It's a territory that opens up an amazing range of opportunities," Schroeder said.

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

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09072/955287-147.stm

Pedal put to metal for bike-pedestrian projects

Friday, March 13, 2009
By Jon Schmitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As a ripple effect of the federal stimulus legislation, four city bike-pedestrian projects, some long delayed, are in line for additional funding that will allow construction to begin late this year or early next year.

About $5.7 million in federal funding will go toward a riverfront park at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown; a pedestrian bridge connecting Shadyside and East Liberty; underpass improvements at Anderson and Sandusky streets on the North Side; and a new bridge along the Eliza Furnace Trail at Bates Street in Oakland.

A committee of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, the regional planning agency for 10 counties, advanced the projects yesterday by amending the region's long-range transportation plan.

All are benefiting from funds that were freed up by the recent infusion of federal stimulus money.

Patrick Hassett, the city's assistant public works director for transportation and engineering, said all four projects are now fully funded, with contracts expected to be bid in September or October.

The $8.5 million convention center project will fill a missing link in the riverfront trail from the Strip District to Point State Park. It will extend from the Rachel Carson Bridge at Ninth Street to the old Fort Wayne railroad bridge.

Plans call for a cantilevered riverwalk, landscaped slope and a boat landing. It will be accessible from the water feature that runs beneath the convention center at 10th Street.

"This is another one of those riverfront projects that has been in the making for many years," said Lisa Schroeder, executive director of Riverlife, a public-private agency that promotes riverfront redevelopment. "It's a very innovative project on a very difficult site."

The $1.4 million Shadyside-East Liberty pedestrian bridge will link Shadyside and the Eastside development that includes Whole Foods, Borders and a planned Target store.

The 26-foot-wide, roughly 100-foot-long span over the Port Authority's Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway has been talked about for at least four years but delayed by funding and right-of-way problems.

Discussions about major improvements to the foreboding railroad underpasses on Anderson and Sandusky streets go back more than a decade.

"It's long been a sore spot ... They're dark, decayed, dangerous and they serve as a barrier between the near neighborhoods of the North Side, the attractions of the North Shore and the jobs Downtown," said Mark Fatla, executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference.

The $2.4 million project includes installation of new lighting, sidewalks, curbs and aesthetic improvements.

Abutment walls will be cleaned, repaired, and coated. Steel fascia beams will be cleaned and painted; concrete fascia beams will be repaired; and covers will be installed on the columns at Anderson Street. A canopy is proposed in each underpass.

The project "makes the near neighborhoods more marketable" by better connecting them to North Shore amenities, the riverfront and Downtown, Mr. Fatla said. "It means we can see the light, literally, at the end of the underpass."

Along the Eliza Furnace Trail, which stretches from behind the PNC Firstside Center, Downtown, to Oakland, a low-clearance railroad bridge will be replaced. The SPC panel endorsed $735,000 to complete financing of the project, which has been in the works since 2002.

The new bridge will be higher and longer to allow for greater clearances for traffic underneath and for the widening of Bates Street to five lanes. Other project elements are sidewalks, landscaping, scenic overlooks, benches, lighting, and signs.

Mr. Hassett said the trail will remain open during construction.
Jon Schmitz can be reached at jschmitz@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1868.

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09072/955253-53.stm

Two developers extol Downtown apartments

Friday, March 13, 2009
Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Standing on the rooftop of a four-story Market Square building going back more than a century, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl had no doubt that people would pay for the view.

Despite the worst economic slump in decades, the mayor and other officials said yesterday they see strong demand for more than 50 apartments that will be finished in Market Square before the end of the summer.

Seven apartments will be available at Market at Fifth, a series of three old buildings rehabilitated by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, and 46 at Market Square Place, the $40 million conversion of the former G.C. Murphy store into residential, retail and fitness space.

Both the mayor and Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., president of the History and Landmarks Foundation, said the dour economy may end up being more of a help than a hindrance in attracting renters.

"The economy, I think, could actually help us. People might want to spend less money driving and less money parking and have greater access to the Cultural District and the stadiums, and this provides it," Mr. Ziegler said of his project, where apartments will rent from $1,150 a month to $2,200 a month.

Mr. Ravenstahl noted that developer Millcraft Industries already has a list of more than 300 people who have inquired about apartments at Market Square Place, where units will rent for as low as $700 a month.

At that price, the apartments, he said, are a "bargain when you look at living in Downtown Pittsburgh. You don't have to pay to park when you go to work. You don't have to pay for transportation, gas, etc.

"We think [the housing] makes sense, and it's targeted in a way that it's affordable for people to live here, and the numbers don't lie in terms of interest."

The Market at Fifth apartments, which should be ready for occupancy between May 1 and May 15, will start renting immediately, Mr. Ziegler said.

PHLF officials have spent $4.3 million rehabilitating the three building at Fifth and Market into apartments and retail space. One of the buildings, 439 Market, was in such a state of disrepair several years ago that nearby property owners feared it would collapse.

Mr. Ziegler said all three of the buildings would have been demolished under former Mayor Tom Murphy's failed $522 million plan to bring trendy shops, nightclubs, and a movie theater to the Fifth and Forbes corridor. Mr. Ravenstahl, on the other hand, has taken a different approach, working with property owners to preserve buildings and bring new development.

"What a difference and what a difference it's going to make to the enlivenment of Downtown," Mr. Ziegler said.

The crackdown on drug trafficking and other crime in Market Square over the last several years also has helped to create a much better climate for development, the mayor said.

"We think it's essential because if you're not in an area where you feel safe, number one, you're not going to rent an apartment there and you're not going to stay there for very long," he said.
Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.

[cdc]

EG missed this one: more on the Highland building saga.


URA buys hotel properties in East Liberty
Friday, March 13, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A proposal to build two hotels in East Liberty is in limbo after the developers were unable to secure financing, prompting the city to try to salvage the $42 million project.
...


http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09072/955245-53.stm

[PA Pride]

To anyone curious as to how the North Shore Connector came to be, this is a great article:


North Shore Connector timeline

Sunday, March 15, 2009

http://post-gazette.com/pg/09074/955754-147.stm

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

August 1994 -- Port Authority announces it will hire a consultant to study extending the Light Rail Transit system to Oakland and the North Side, at an estimated cost of $1 billion.

May 1996 -- The new Republican majority on the Allegheny County board of commissioners, Larry Dunn and Bob Cranmer, orders a halt to plans for a light-rail extension.

July 1996 -- The commissioners reverse their earlier decision and endorse a study of light-rail extension, but only to the North Shore. The city of Pittsburgh under then-Mayor Tom Murphy takes the lead role in the study.

February 1998 -- The idea of tunneling to the North Shore rather than crossing the Allegheny on a new or existing bridge is included in options being studied.

January 1999 -- Port Authority takes over lead role in project development.

July 1999 -- Authority narrows alignment options to two -- a tunnel from Gateway Center under the Allegheny River, or an extension from Steel Plaza past the convention center and over the Fort Wayne railroad bridge.

June 2000 -- Draft environmental impact statement favors the Gateway alignment with a spur from Steel Plaza to the convention center. It estimates $390 million cost and completion by 2007.

July 2000 -- Then-state Sen. Jack Wagner and Allegheny County Council assail the proposed Gateway alignment, saying it serves only the new baseball and football stadiums at the expense of the convention center and other attractions. Mr. Wagner predicts the ultimate project cost will "far exceed" the estimate.

August 2000 -- Port Authority engineering and construction committee recommends Gateway alignment based on studies and more than 130 meetings with interested parties.

July 2002 -- Federal Transit Administration gives go-ahead for Port Authority to begin property acquisition.

February 2004 -- North Shore Connector is one of five projects nationally to be recommended for full funding in the federal New Starts program. Cost estimate is revised downward to $363 million.

August 2005 -- The first construction bids, to bore the subway tunnels beneath the river, come in 25 percent over budget.

December 2005 -- Port Authority eliminates the convention center spur, a new station at 11th Street and a plan to buy four new light-rail vehicles to shave $80 million and keep the project within budget, now $393 million.

June 2006 -- Project cost now estimated at $435 million. No construction has occurred but nearly $50 million has been spent on planning, environmental clearances and engineering.

July 2006 -- Having rebid the tunnel boring project, Port Authority awards $156.5 million contract for the tunnels and other work.

September 2006 -- Federal Transit Administration agrees to fund 80 percent of project cost, or $348 million. Construction begins soon thereafter.

April 2008 -- Bids for shell of new Gateway Center station come in nearly 100 percent over budget.

October 2008 -- Bids for train systems contract come in 100 percent over budget.

January 2009 -- Tunnel excavation complete; Port Authority now places project cost at $552.8 million and warns of shutdown if it cannot find $117.8 million in additional funding.

February 2009 -- Federal stimulus bill provides nearly $62 million that Port Authority intends to use for connector overrun; bill has other funding sources that authority will pursue to fill remaining funding gap; two contracts worth $88.3 million awarded as project continues despite funding uncertainty, with scheduled completion in 2011.

First published on March 15, 2009 at 12:00 am

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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_616164.html

West End: City's 'best-kept secret' poised for rebirth

By Chris Togneri
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, March 15, 2009

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-14/0315-west1-a.jpg
Main Street in the West End: After years of promises and setbacks, a master plan is taking shape, and its most ardent believers are dreaming big.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-14/0315-west2-a.jpg
Rick Hvizdak spent several years snapping up property in the West End and renovating buildings. He owns five lots and 13 buildings in the West End, including Artifacts, a 42,000-square-foot, two-story warehouse on South Main Street that serves as the main showroom for the antiques, furniture and art he collects on trips around the world.
Joe Appel/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-14/0315-west3-a.jpg
Lou Bucci, chairman of the West Pittsburgh Partnership for Development, has grand ideas for the West End. He envisions a gondola to whisk tourists from the valley floor to the West End/Elliot overlook with its sweeping views of Pittsburgh's three rivers and Downtown.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-14/0315-west4-a.jpg
One of the keys to West End's rebirth is the completion of the West End Circle reconfiguration in fall 2010. Another is the widening and deepening of flood-prone Saw Mill Creek.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-14/0315-west5-a.jpg
Artifacts Gallery, a 42,000-square-foot, two-story warehouse on South Main Street, features antiques, furniture and art Rick Hvizdak collects on trips around the world. On Steuben Street, where he owns several other buildings, he has a second Artifacts showroom where he stows some of his 25,000 oriental rugs.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-14/0315-west6-a.jpg
One of the keys to West End's rebirth is the completion of the West End Circle reconfiguration in fall 2010. Another is the widening and deepening of flood-prone Saw Mill Creek.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-14/0315-west7-a.jpg
On Steuben Street, Rick Hvizdak owns a second Artifacts showroom where he stows some of his 25,000 oriental rugs.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-14/0315-west8-a.jpg
An autographed Terry Bradshaw jersey is among the items at Artifacts in the West End. The gallery has more than 1 million items and boasts that it has the largest collection of African-American sculpture art in North America.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review

Rick Hvizdak looks past the ubiquitous orange construction signs pockmarking the West End valley and envisions an artsy, progressive enclave that someday will lure travelers from New York, Europe and beyond.

Dru Simeone eyes the flood-prone Saw Mill Creek and pictures a not-too-distant future when boaters could paddle upstream from the Ohio River to visit chic shops lining Main Street.

And Lou Bucci points to the distant West End/Elliot overlook. Up there, he says, a gondola might one day whisk tourists from the valley floor to the greatest view of Pittsburgh's three rivers and Downtown.

"Why not dream big?" says Bucci, chairman of the West Pittsburgh Partnership for Development. "When you think about the West End, it's not what it is. It's what it could be.

"I'm telling you, this is the best-kept secret in the city. This is fallow ground."

After years of promises and setbacks, ideas for the West End are taking shape.

The West Pittsburgh Partnership last week sent out requests for qualifications for firms to draft a West End master plan. The partnership will seek proposals from about five responding firms and expects to select a winner this summer.

By fall, the master plan should be finished, Bucci said. It will cost about $120,000 and be funded by an Urban Redevelopment Authority grant.

The plan will include housing, retail and office space, and Independence Park, a planned green area with trails extending from the Ohio River, around the West End Circle to Main Street, said Simeone, the partnership's executive director.

"The West End will go from being the most isolated neighborhood in Pittsburgh to being connected in every way," Simeone said. "My hunch is that all of a sudden, Pittsburghers will look down here and say, 'Where in the world did that come from?' "

The West End valley was settled in the early 19th century as the borough of Temperanceville, named such because liquor was banned. An economy based on saw mills, gristmills, a salt well, a glassworks, oil refineries and iron works made it a thriving industrial base. An estimated 400 people live in the West End and, says Bucci, the rebirth could double the number.

Simeone and Bucci have voiced optimistic predictions about a West End rebirth for years.

The difference between now and then, they said, might be Hvizdak.

A multimillionaire who grew up on a farm in Lawrence County and made his fortune in real estate, Hvizdak spent several years snapping up property in the West End and renovating buildings.

A few years ago, he slapped paint on the exterior of a 42,000-square-foot, two-story warehouse on South Main Street and opened Artifacts, his main showroom for antiques, furniture and art he collects on trips around the world. On Steuben Street, where he owns several other buildings, he has a second Artifacts showroom where he stows some of his 25,000 oriental rugs.

He bought St. James Church on South Main Street and converted it into an art gallery.

Hvizdak bought so much property here that he says he lost count of the number.

"Let me see," he said, pointing and counting off a row of buildings he owns on Steuben Street. "Three ... four ... uh, 13? And there's Artifacts and the church. And I own that big building up on the corner.

"You know, when I can pick off a piece of property -- for the right price -- I buy it."

"Business is a war zone," added Hvizdak, who owns Olde Stonewall golf course in Elwood City. "You're either a steam roller or the road. I decided a long time ago to be a steam roller."

The Allegheny County real estate Web site shows Hvizdak owns 13 buildings and five lots in the West End.

He and other community leaders believe in the West End's potential because of its proximity to Downtown and the parkways, its ample parking, and its relatively cheap real estate.

"It won't come up in one day, but someday I think we have the nuts and bolts to make great things happen here," Hvizdak said.

Keys to the rebirth: completion of the West End Circle reconfiguration and the widening and deepening of the flood-prone Saw Mill Creek.

The highway work is scheduled to be finished by fall 2010, said PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi.

Work on the creek is mostly completed, except for a section between the Ohio River and the West End Circle. The federal budget passed last week included $800,000 for the Army Corps of Engineers to finish the project. Matt Dinkle, spokesman for Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, said the project might be completed by the end of September.

Widening the creek is essential for the development, partnership officials said, because much of the West End lies in a floodplain and new construction isn't permitted except within the footprint of a previous building.

Hvizdak, who owns an acre lot in the middle of the West End, wants to build a complex to house retailers, offices and condominiums. He can't do so until the floodplain status changes.

Bucci said it takes four years to re-map a floodplain, but once the creek widening is completed the city can permit construction.

He said although the creek and highway projects slowed progress, the foundation for a rebirth is laid.

"We've got the master plan coming, we've got housing projects planned, we got new streets and sidewalks, new street lighting installed and many trees planted," he said. "We've attracted new business into the valley, including James Gallery, and we've had any number of bad buildings demolished to prepare for development. Plus, we've got the new police station.

"It hasn't just been sitting dead."

Among the businesses is Ceramiche tile and stone, owned by Bob and Tina Krashna, who rented space on Steuben Street before buying property on South Main Street in 2004.

"We still need other businesses to come in," Tina Krashna said. "But I saw something was happening here. We all know it's coming. The renaissance is happening."

Chris Togneri can be reached at ctogneri@tribweb.com or 412-380-5632.

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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/fayette/s_616158.html

Stimulus puts maglev back on track

By Richard Robbins
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, March 15, 2009

Plans for two southwestern Pennsylvania rail projects may be back on track thanks to a $950,000 congressional earmark and $8 billion allocated for high-speed rail transit in the $787 billion federal stimulus package.

But officials caution that it's too early to declare victory in their longstanding campaigns to build a high-speed, magnetic-levitation line — known as maglev — to carry passengers between Pittsburgh International Airport and Greensburg and a slower, so-called urban maglev line connecting portions of the California University of Pennsylvania campus.

"Everything that we do, we want to put ourselves closer to getting the large amount (of money) needed to build the project," Ed Gurney, president and chief executive officer of Maglev Inc., said Thursday after the earmark was announced. McKeesport-based Maglev Inc. is developing the Pittsburgh maglev project.

Gurney said the funds will be used to develop the "computer process" required to design and fabricate the columns and beams that would be used in the line.

As for the $8 billion, President Obama signed the stimulus bill Feb. 17, but it's up to federal Railroad Administration officials to determine by mid-April what criteria will be used to select projects for the funding and when the money will be released. Applications could be accepted as early as June, federal officials said.

The 54-mile, $4.4 billion airport-to-Greensburg plan has been on the table since 1990, but has been mired in political and funding issues.

JoAnn Jenny, a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh International Airport, said officials were pleased to learn of the new funding. Because of the decline in travel in and out of the airport, Jenny said, this is the time for maglev to move forward.

"It's exactly what we need to increase access (to the airport) from Westmoreland County, Indiana County and the others," Jenny said.

Meanwhile, the $250 million, 4-mile California plan was first proposed 18 years ago and would carry about 15,000 people a day between the university's lower campus and its upper campus where athletic facilities and student housing are located. The system also would link the heavily trafficked Center in the Woods senior citizen facility and its adjacent apartments to the downtown area.

David O'Laughlin, president of the Pittsburgh-based U.S. Maglev Development Corp., the firm developing the California plan, said Friday that maglev technology is preferable to rubber tire-concrete guideway technology because it is energy efficient. It uses a third of the energy of traditional people-movers, he said, including the monorail system that moves students around the West Virginia University campus in Morgantown.

Golden said the California project would serve as a "demonstration" project, testing maglev technology over short distances. If it is successful, Golden predicted Western Pennsylvania would become a production hub for the technology.

Robert Kulat, spokesman for the federal Railroad Administration, said his agency's review of the environmental impact study of a maglev line from Greensburg to the airport is nearly complete.

Gurney said federal approval of the study is critical.

"This is perfect timing," said Gurney, whose company was established as a consortium of government, business and academic entities all interested in advancing the project. "We are very interested (in the stimulus money)."

However, Gurney said there are other roadblocks, including the acquisition of properties on which to build the system. In 2005, it was estimated that more than 200 properties were affected by track location.

Some property owners feared the overhead tracks would be unsightly and lower their property values. They squared off against equally adamant supporters of the project, who said its success is crucial to promoting economic growth in the region and easing highway congestion from the eastern suburbs to Pittsburgh.

At the time, municipal meeting agendas often were topped with discussions of the project and newspaper editorial pages were jammed with letters from both camps.

At California University, officials are experiencing renewed hope.

"Certainly we're optimistic, more optimistic than in the past," said Dr. Allen Golden, university vice president.

University officials said the project could be under way in 90 days. All preliminary studies are complete, and the rights of way for the system have been largely secured. Much of the property is already owned by the university, Golden said.

O'Laughlin said he is seeking a meeting with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

High-speed maglev trains, in use in Japan and Europe, typically reach speeds of 240 mph. The "theoretical" top speed for the system proposed for California is 150 mph.

A key for the 54-mile Greensburg-to-Pittsburgh International Airport line is the involvement of the state Department of Transportation. Kulat said the rules state that only PennDOT can apply for the cash.

"It's really hard to speculate at this point," said PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick. "We haven't seen any of the rules."

Although a state match of federal stimulus dollars is not required, Kirkpatrick said "one of the big issues is the cost of the project."

A spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell indicated the recession makes state funding for the maglev project more difficult.

"Certainly, we have supported the project in the past," said Rendell's spokesman Chuck Ardo. "We believe it to be a worthwhile project. I think the governor will advocate on its behalf."

But, he said, "I think it would be difficult to count on state funding."

Three other high-speed rail projects are in the mix nationwide: Baltimore-to-Washington; Atlanta-to-Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Las Vegas-to-Anaheim, Calif.

The Nevada-California line has garnered the lion's share of publicity. In November, California voters approved $10 billion in borrowing for the project, which is priced at $45 billion. The route has the support of the Senate majority leader, Nevada's Harry Reid.

Rep. Mike Doyle said the airport-to-Greensburg project is "further advanced" than the others in planning and engineering, and might have a "leg up" when it comes to funding under the stimulus bill.

"I think it is well positioned," said Doyle, a Pittsburgh Democrat. "But it won't be a matter of lobbying for it. It's a competitive process."

Kulat said the legislation is flexible, and federal officials have some "discretion" in the criteria they might include in the rules.

"All four projects could get money," Kulat said. Or they could get nothing.

According to the agency's Web site, "ready-to-go" projects are likely to get top priority for funding. However, "projects with longer build-out periods" also will be considered, potentially clearing the way for the high-speed maglev projects.

Richard Robbins can be reached at rrobbins@tribweb.com or 724-836-5660.

[Evergrey]

following up on PA Pride's post

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09074/955761-147.stm

How did Port Authority get into this deep, expensive hole of river tunnel?

Underground rail extension to North Shore overrode servicing Oakland or convention center

Sunday, March 15, 2009
By Jon Schmitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200903/88c00kdt_330.jpg
Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette
Keith Wargo, the Port Authority's director of the North Shore Connector project, shows curing concrete covered with insulation last month at the lowest point of the inbound tunnel under the Allegheny River.


The North Shore Connector, a project that once enjoyed broad-based support across local, state and federal lines, has acquired a chorus of critics that seems to grow as fast as its cost.

Even Gov. Ed Rendell, whose administration has played a key role in advancing the subway extension, has chimed in, saying, "I guess you've got to finish it, but it's a tragic mistake."

Since planning began more than a decade ago, the half-built project has grown in cost from an estimated $350 million to more than $550 million, despite steps by the Port Authority to scale it back. The 1.2-mile extension will go from Gateway Center, Downtown, to new stations at PNC Park and Heinz Field.

The authority is trying to cover a $117.8 million cost overrun, the latest in a series of overruns that have slowed and even threatened to kill the project. Officials believe they have secured about $62 million from the federal stimulus legislation, but where the rest will come from remains in doubt.

Apart from the cost, critics say a light-rail extension to Oakland should have been a higher priority. They complain that the connector's alignment doesn't serve the Downtown convention center or most North Side destinations other than the stadiums.

Those issues were raised almost from the time the connector was conceived in the 1990s. A variety of political, financial and practical forces pushed the concerns aside.

"Certainly Downtown Pittsburgh to the airport is a greater priority and Downtown Pittsburgh to Oakland, and why or how this project became the priority is a serious question that must be asked ..."

--Then-state Sen. Jack Wagner, one of few dissenters at a June 2000 public hearing

The idea of a Downtown-to-North Side rail link goes back more than 100 years.

In what some would say is a familiar Pittsburgh refrain, the idea was pitched or studied in 1906, 1910, 1917, 1919, 1923, 1926, 1941, 1949, 1951, 1961, 1963, 1967, 1973, 1982, 1985 and 1988.

"For the lack of financing, political-faction agreement and/or public support, no system was ever built," noted a 1967 report by consulting firm Parsons Brinckerhoff.

The Pittsburgh-Area Transportation Study in February 1963 touted a "North Side Connection" from Downtown under the river to Allegheny Center with a moving sidewalk to the planned site of Three Rivers Stadium (another project that would arrive years late and over budget).

"Not only would the stadium's special events be serviced by this station but also, with all-day parking space available for about 5,000 autos, the stadium site could be a major transfer point for commuter trips to both Allegheny Center and the Golden Triangle," the report said.

The cost estimate: $11.2 million.

"It's a fresh new look at the North Side."

--Allen D. Biehler, then planning and engineering director for the Port Authority, announcing on Aug. 25, 1994, that the authority would study light-rail extensions to Oakland and the North Side

Few were more closely involved in the North Shore Connector than Mr. Biehler.

He helped conceive the project as a Port Authority executive, then left the agency in 1996 for a private firm, Frederic R. Harris Inc., which got a multimillion-dollar contract to serve as the authority's consultant on the connector. Mr. Biehler headed the consulting team for Harris.

Still later, as Mr. Rendell's transportation secretary, Mr. Biehler actively supported the Port Authority's efforts to secure federal and state funding for the connector.

"PennDOT recognizes the importance of the North Shore Connector project to enhance mobility, to serve the ongoing development of Pittsburgh's North Shore and to strengthen the overall economic vitality of the Pittsburgh region," he wrote in an Aug. 26, 2004, letter to Paul Skoutelas, then the Port Authority's executive director.

Mr. Biehler declined to be interviewed for this story. His spokesman, Rich Kirkpatrick, issued a brief statement saying Mr. Biehler "believes the project is well along and needs to be finished."

"We believe strongly that connecting the North Side, the sports teams and development on what arguably could be the best property in urban America depends very much on tying Downtown and the lower North Side together."

--Then-Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy, May 1996

After Mr. Biehler's August 1994 announcement, the Port Authority embarked on a study of extending the light-rail system to Oakland and the North Shore.

Then, politics intruded.

In 1996, a newly elected Republican majority on the Allegheny County board of commissioners, Larry Dunn and Bob Cranmer, began shaking up county government and its related agencies.

They replaced all but one member of the Port Authority board and in May 1996 directed the new board to cancel the light-rail study, on which nearly $3 million had already been spent. They said the projected cost of extensions to Oakland and the North Side was too great.

That angered Mr. Murphy and public transit advocates. The Port Authority's executive leadership, including then-Executive Director William Millar and Mr. Biehler, would leave by year's end, frustrated by the commissioners' meddling.

A light-rail extension appeared dead -- but that would soon change.

"Without a transit link to Downtown, it doesn't seem as viable."

--Mr. Cranmer, in July 1996, after a briefing by Steelers ownership about plans for development near Three Rivers Stadium

It took less than two months for revival of the light-rail extension, but when it rose from the scrap heap, it was missing a huge piece -- the line to Oakland.

In early July, the commissioners asked then-Port Authority board chairman Neal H. Holmes to "reinvestigate the plausibility" of extending the system to serve Three Rivers Stadium, Carnegie Science Center, Community College of Allegheny County and possible future developments.

Mr. Cranmer said at the time that his decision to revive the study was influenced by discussions with the Pirates and Steelers about their development plans for the North Shore.

Meanwhile, Mr. Murphy was eager to pursue a plan to extend the light-rail system to the North Side and possibly later to the North Hills and Pittsburgh International Airport.

"I always saw going over to the North Side as a first step to running it out the [West] busway toward the airport," Mr. Murphy, now a senior fellow for the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C., said last week. He also foresaw a North Hills extension on the Parkway North corridor.

Meanwhile, the county had no interest in reviving plans to build a line to Oakland, and county officials recommended that the city move ahead with its North Side proposal, according to internal memos from October and November 1996.

Oakland was dropped, Mr. Murphy said, because the Port Authority thought only one extension could be financed; the Oakland line was projected to be far more expensive; and good bus service already existed between Oakland and Downtown.

Mr. Murphy also was motivated by burgeoning development plans for the North Shore that would come to include new baseball and football stadiums.

But he said that the popular notion that the light-rail project was driven or influenced by the Pirates and Steelers is "not true." They were more concerned about building their stadiums. "I don't think they had a lot to do with it one way or another."

Mr. Skoutelas, who followed Mr. Millar as Port Authority executive director, agreed. He said in July 2000 that sports events would account for only 20 percent of ridership on the new segment.

"A Gateway alignment would enhance the level of regional (Light Rail Transit) service to the Golden Triangle and North Shore by serving the major destinations with a single through line. A Steel Plaza alignment would compromise LRT service by rendering the heart of the Golden Triangle a spur line."

--Mr. Murphy, in a July 3, 2000, letter to Mr. Skoutelas

Another fateful decision in the evolution of the North Shore Connector was to start the extension at Gateway Center and tunnel beneath the Allegheny.

That option emerged as one of two finalists after studies of nearly two dozen possible alignments.

The other would start the extension at Steel Plaza, taking it past the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, and cross the river on a new or existing bridge.

In August 2000, Port Authority opted for the Gateway alignment, the preferred choice of Mr. Murphy, then-Allegheny County Executive Jim Roddey, the Pirates and Steelers, and most North Side and Downtown interests. A separate spur would be built to a new station at 11th Street, near the convention center.

"There is no question that the Gateway is the preferred and the only way to go with this extension," said city transportation planner Patrick Hassett at a public hearing at the time.

Among the few dissenting voices at the time were those of Mr. Wagner (now state auditor general) and Allegheny County Council.

"A major expansion of our mass transit system should have a greater objective than serving two stadiums," council said in a July 2000 resolution opposing the Gateway alignment.

"Let's tell the truth. The convention center is being ignored. The fix is in for the Gateway alternative," Mr. Wagner said.

"The project has been endorsed by numerous local, state and federal elected officials and received overwhelming support from the community in public hearings."

--Mr. Skoutelas, in a Nov. 5, 2001, letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette defending the Gateway alignment

Within months of the decision to build the Gateway extension, the financial problems began.

The state warned the authority in January 2001 that it should not expect more than the typical contribution to such projects, 16.7 percent. With the Port Authority expecting only 50 percent funding from the federal government, that left a $130 million gap in what was then a $390 million project.

After vigorous lobbying by Mr. Murphy, Mr. Skoutelas, Steelers vice president Art Rooney Jr., Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy and U.S. Sens. Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter, among others, the Federal Transit Administration agreed to pay 80 percent of the project cost.

The local share, to be paid by the county, was 3.3 percent, or less than $15 million.

In August 2005, the first construction bids came in 25 percent over budget. Bids for subsequent phases would be as much as 100 percent over budget.

In December 2005, the authority board scrapped plans for the convention center spur, the station at 11th Street and the purchase of four new light-rail vehicles, to trim $80 million and keep the project within budget.

By the following June, however, the projected cost had grown to $435 million. Still, the Federal Transit Administration finalized a commitment to pay 80 percent, clearing the way for construction.

By January of this year, runaway inflation in the construction industry had pushed the price to $552.8 million, forcing the authority to look for another $117.8 million.

Mr. Cranmer, now a private consultant, said it was a mistake to build a tunnel rather than using a bridge.

"I do agree that the T should go to the North Side. Do I think it should've gone under the river? No, not then, not now. It was just too expensive."

Mr. Millar, now executive director of the American Public Transportation Association, said overruns are not unusual in such projects.

"With public projects of any sort -- stadiums, rail systems, highways -- you do your best to estimate the cost but as you go along, factors come in that are out of your control. People want to pretend that during the planning phase it's very scientific, and a lot of it is. But a lot of it is judgment."

"At this point, it would be foolish not to complete the project," Mr. Wagner said last week. "But it could have been so much more."

"I'm one of the ones who still think it's a good project," Mr. Murphy said.

Jon Schmitz can be reached at jschmitz@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1868.

[DBR96A]

I hope the West End plans commence soon. The West End Overlook is my favorite view of the city's skyline by far, but the drive up to the overlook is kind of ratty in places.

Has there ever been a train project, anywhere, that hasn't had cost overruns? Seems like every big train project I've heard about has.

[PA Pride]

The maglev just refuses to die! It's back to having a chance now...

[Gilamonster]

Actually it's the people who think Maglev still has a chance that are the ones refusing to die........:dead:

[PA Pride]

Gila, where you been?!? I'd grown accustomed to your regular photo updates in the PNC 3 thread.

[Gilamonster]

Well the building stopped growing so I lost some interest, plus other people were contributing. I am hoping to get a Consol shot soon but have been lazy and been pondering where to get a new perspective. Maybe I can climb atop the igloo........

[Johnland]

The Post-Gazette ran their latest 'Pittsburgh Revolution' installment today. If you are not familair with it, they take a picture that you can view in 360 degrees by dragging the mouse. Today's picture was taken in Market Square. As you scan the view up in the air a bit and pan around in 360, you can really see many examples of Pittsburgh's landmarket buildings. I had forgotten how Market Square provides such excellent vantage point to lower Downtown. Check it out.

[PA Pride]

Sorry, this is a few days after the fact but I just wanted to show everyone the latest renderings from Cambridge Venture Partners website of a couple of their proposals/projects: http://www.cambridgeventurepartners.com/default.asp


http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/craig0304.aspx

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%20148/craigstreet_300.jpg

A new 45,000-square-foot sustainable office development is in the works for Oakland’s S. Craig St. corridor.

also:

Museum Park Hotel

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Under Development
225 Rooms

http://www.cambridgeventurepartners.com/Files/User/museum_park.gif

and

Forward Square

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Under Development
140 Rooms

http://www.cambridgeventurepartners.com/Files/User/forward_square.gif



I'm really digging Forward Square to be built in Squirrel Hill. This is a great example of quality midrise density infill that supports the vibrancy of a neighborhood and the small businesses nearby.

[Evergrey]

well done, PA Pride... unfortunately, I think the current version of Museum Park is a few stories shorter due to (lame) objections from CMU

...

here's an interesting column from Brian O'Neill about the proposed Market House in the Strip District... any thoughts?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09076/956137-155.stm

Around Town: The Strip District, only more so

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
By Brian O'Neill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200903/20090317rr_84k00kb3_500.jpg
Robin Rombach/Post-Gazette
A crowd at Wholey's fish market in the Strip District.

I told my wife I had a morning interview in the Strip District, so she asked me stop at Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. to pick up three containers of shredded, imported Romano cheese and some green olives from the olive bar.

That errand, in a nutshell or maybe a small plastic jar, is a big part of the challenge facing Neighbors in the Strip. The nonprofit, community development group wants a new destination to lure shoppers, but the key will be ensuring that the tried-and-true stores on Penn Avenue are complemented, and not cannibalized, by the new kids in town.

The answer may be taking a sixth of the big, old produce terminal on Smallman Street -- now owned by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and almost strictly a wholesaling complex -- and making it a public market. That would mean putting a bit of the past in Pittsburgh's future.

•

There once were thriving market houses on the North Side, the South Side and Downtown. Cities such as Philadelphia, Cleveland and Seattle have them still, so some among us know what they're like. Take a cavernous building and fill it with dozens of merchants, each taking perhaps a 10-foot-by-10 foot space, and sell everything from local produce to imported flowers.

The Strip took a hit when Whole Foods and then Trader Joe's opened in East Liberty. Although the Penn Avenue stores still get good weekend traffic, "one or two busy days a week does not a business make," Becky Rodgers said.

"Right now the Strip District's a one-street show," Cindy Cassell said.

Ms. Rodgers is executive director of Neighbors in the Strip, and Ms. Cassell is its economic development manager. Ms. Rodgers' great-uncle was a butcher in the Allegheny Market House, which was demolished in 1966 to make way for Allegheny Center Mall. (Pause for booing.) Ms. Cassell has been living in the Strip for 10 years, and has watched it emerge as a residential neighborhood, with dog parks now flanking the Cork Factory apartments and joggers an everyday sight.

A blending of old and new will be the key to this public market. Within a mile are revitalized neighborhoods such as the lower North Side, the lower Hill District, Downtown, Lawrenceville and the Strip itself, but it's seen as a regional draw for anyone within 20 miles.

More than 30 potential merchants have expressed interest, and they haven't even begun advertising. A big part of this will be local farmers providing meat and produce in season. Jamison Farm of Latrobe, which sells about 5,000 lambs a year to top restaurants from New York to Las Vegas, is interested, and Ms. Cassell says she's already found a guy who grows 15 kinds of garlic, about 14 more than I knew existed.

The market house likely would open four days a week. About 12,000 square feet would be devoted to fresh and prepared foods, and another 5,400 square feet, a block down the walkway, would offer flowers, crafts and such.

It would keep the semi-industrial bare-bones look that exemplifies the Strip. Steam-clean the spaces, put the utilities in and go.

"We're not going to do it pretty," Ms. Rodgers said. "We're not going to do a mall. It's going to look very earthy."

•

Indovina Associates Architects has the contract to design the spaces and blend them with the neighborhood. Brian Kaminski, project architect, sees vendors currently taking sidewalk space on Penn floating down the side streets of 17th, 19th and 21st to create a walkable connection with Smallman.

Rob Indovina, the principal architect, sees a destination that complements Wholey's, Pennsylvania Macaroni, Right By Nature and the other current draws.

Jeff Kumer, a property owner in the Strip who remembers going to the Allegheny Market House as a boy, thinks the right plan could bring in 12,000 new shoppers each week. A demonstration kitchen, like the ones in all those TV cooking shows, seems a natural.

The plan has gotten this far with state and federal grants and foundation support, but foundations have been hammered by the Wall Street implosion. Best-case scenario has this opening by the spring of 2010, but somebody needs to come up with at least a million dollars first.

After my interview, I bought my cheese and olives at Pennsylvania Macaroni and then treated myself to an almond mele down at Colangelo's on 21st Street. What's in the Strip is already very good. Bring on the garlic extravaganza and lamb.

Brian O'Neill can be reached at boneill@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1947. More articles by this author

[Evergrey]

too bad for the transforming Union Trust Building... I had figured Larrimor's would be the core retail around which the new building owners would redevelop the retail component of that classic structure

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09076/956098-314.stm

Larrimor's prepares to relocate

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
By Teresa F. Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Through seven decades of clothing some of the city's better-dressed professionals, the Larrimor's Downtown store has set up shop in various spots in the Union Trust Building on Grant Street.

In February 2010, the clothing store will make a break with the past -- moving into a space at the One PNC building that now holds PNC Financial Services Group's headquarters branch.

PNC, meanwhile, plans to open a new headquarters branch later this year inside its Three PNC skyscraper, which is under construction.

The address changes should make Larrimor's a part of a community that PNC is hoping will develop around its headquarters, complete with condos, dining, fitness opportunities and a small park.

Larrimor's new space at Fifth and Wood will be about the same size as its existing one, said President Tom Michael. Both cover 13,000 square feet on two levels, although the PNC site will boast higher ceilings. "It's a very dramatic space," Mr. Michael said.

The move also will put the store, which sells work and casual attire, in the middle of what's becoming a concentration of professionals who could be customers for its high-end apparel and tailoring services. In addition to the bankers at PNC, the Reed Smith law firm also is moving into the new skyscraper, and redevelopment is bringing more people into nearby structures.

Still, Mr. Michael wanted assure his customers that the new place is only 21/2 blocks away from the existing one.

He said PNC officials approached the store about making the move about a year ago and that it seemed like a good opportunity.

Although the Union Trust Building has been going through changes, he said the store had an option to stay. For two decades, that building had been an operations center for Mellon Bank, but the structure is now under new ownership, and Siemens Engineering is expected to take space there.

While Mr. Michael said he wouldn't have minded having a little more space in the new site because it's good to have growth options, the recession had hurt Larrimor's sales. "The froth is off the market, and we are back to our core customers," he said.

Larrimor's has about 30 employees. The company has a second store at the Galleria mall in Mt. Lebanon.
Teresa Lindeman can be contacted at tlindeman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2018.

[PittPenn 03]

I am thrilled for this building! One of my favorites!

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/headlines/s_616384.html#

PMI moving into renovated Buhl Building by December
By The Tribune-Review

Tuesday, March 17, 2009


Production Masters Inc. has signed a 10-year lease to occupy about 19,000 square feet of space in a renovated and expanded Buhl Building, Downtown, with occupancy probably by December.

Known as PMI, the company distributes media content for advertising agencies, corporations and television syndications.

It is moving out of 322 Blvd. of the Allies, which Point Park University purchased last year and is converting into dormitory space. PMI has 54 employees and probably will add more, said David Hartman, general manager.

[PittPenn 03]

I actually see a potential positive here. I think this could open up an opportunity for something more practical in that location.

too bad for the transforming Union Trust Building... I had figured Larrimor's would be the core retail around which the new building owners would redevelop the retail component of that classic structure

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09076/956098-314.stm

Larrimor's prepares to relocate

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
By Teresa F. Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Through seven decades of clothing some of the city's better-dressed professionals, the Larrimor's Downtown store has set up shop in various spots in the Union Trust Building on Grant Street.

In February 2010, the clothing store will make a break with the past -- moving into a space at the One PNC building that now holds PNC Financial Services Group's headquarters branch.

PNC, meanwhile, plans to open a new headquarters branch later this year inside its Three PNC skyscraper, which is under construction.

The address changes should make Larrimor's a part of a community that PNC is hoping will develop around its headquarters, complete with condos, dining, fitness opportunities and a small park.

Larrimor's new space at Fifth and Wood will be about the same size as its existing one, said President Tom Michael. Both cover 13,000 square feet on two levels, although the PNC site will boast higher ceilings. "It's a very dramatic space," Mr. Michael said.

The move also will put the store, which sells work and casual attire, in the middle of what's becoming a concentration of professionals who could be customers for its high-end apparel and tailoring services. In addition to the bankers at PNC, the Reed Smith law firm also is moving into the new skyscraper, and redevelopment is bringing more people into nearby structures.

Still, Mr. Michael wanted assure his customers that the new place is only 21/2 blocks away from the existing one.

He said PNC officials approached the store about making the move about a year ago and that it seemed like a good opportunity.

Although the Union Trust Building has been going through changes, he said the store had an option to stay. For two decades, that building had been an operations center for Mellon Bank, but the structure is now under new ownership, and Siemens Engineering is expected to take space there.

While Mr. Michael said he wouldn't have minded having a little more space in the new site because it's good to have growth options, the recession had hurt Larrimor's sales. "The froth is off the market, and we are back to our core customers," he said.

Larrimor's has about 30 employees. The company has a second store at the Galleria mall in Mt. Lebanon.
Teresa Lindeman can be contacted at tlindeman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2018.

[edncc1701d]

...

here's an interesting column from Brian O'Neill about the proposed Market House in the Strip District... any thoughts?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09076/956137-155.stm

Around Town: The Strip District, only more so



The Strip District is one of my favorite Pittsburgh neighborhoods. As the article notes, it is already a strong draw for locals and tourist alike. One thing that Pittsburgh is missing is a "market house" like Reading Terminal in Philadelphia or Quincy Market in Boston. I think the Strip District would be the perfect place for such a market. Although the Strip is a year round destination, I think such an indoor market could solidify its draw during the cold winter months. Make sure a few of the neighborhood mainstays have satellite stalls in the market.

I like this idea and I hope it goes forward.

[cdc]

here's an interesting column from Brian O'Neill about the proposed Market House in the Strip District... any thoughts?

...
The Strip took a hit when Whole Foods and then Trader Joe's opened in East Liberty. Although the Penn Avenue stores still get good weekend traffic, "one or two busy days a week does not a business make," Becky Rodgers said.

...


I don't see anything in there addressing the East Liberty issue quoted
above. I think the Strip guys are living in the past. Its not at all
clear if you can build a sustainable business on that kind of old
school market house nostalgia.

It is possible that I might feel a little different if I went Downtown
on a regular basis, but I live in Squirrel Hill and work in Oakland
and have most of what I need here in the East End. It is going to
take something more than this to draw people like me that far west.

[PA Pride]

It is going to
take something more than this to draw people like me that far west.

Have you been to that huge new organic grocery in the Amrstrong Cork complex yet? I here that it's pretty nice.

[Tombstoner]

I don't see anything in there addressing the East Liberty issue quoted
above. I think the Strip guys are living in the past. Its not at all
clear if you can build a sustainable business on that kind of old
school market house nostalgia.

It is possible that I might feel a little different if I went Downtown
on a regular basis, but I live in Squirrel Hill and work in Oakland
and have most of what I need here in the East End. It is going to
take something more than this to draw people like me that far west.

I'm not sure how Whole Foods and Trader Joe's is really competition for the Strip (and vice-versa)--one is primarily lime-flavored garlic chutney and the other is largely imported and bulk foods (yeah, I know that's too simple, but I think there is a point there somewhere...). If I lived in Pgh I would definitely go to both E.Lib/Strip for different things.
Conversely, if existing Strip retailers are already complaining about competition, how is a public market -- bringing in even more retailers -- a "plus" for the Strip? I would just seem to cut the pie into smaller pieces. It would be different if the plan was only to make the existing Strip more public-market-like, but that's not what it sounds like.

[themaguffin]

Yes they need to have a market house.

No, it won't hurt the existing Penn Ave business - if they don't duplicate products etc.

Market houses thrive across the country.

It could be done right. It could be done well and be a fantastic addtion to the Strip.

[Evergrey]

I'm not sure how Whole Foods and Trader Joe's is really competition for the Strip (and vice-versa)--one is primarily lime-flavored garlic chutney and the other is largely imported and bulk foods (yeah, I know that's too simple, but I think there is a point there somewhere...). If I lived in Pgh I would definitely go to both E.Lib/Strip for different things.
Conversely, if existing Strip retailers are already complaining about competition, how is a public market -- bringing in even more retailers -- a "plus" for the Strip? I would just seem to cut the pie into smaller pieces. It would be different if the plan was only to make the existing Strip more public-market-like, but that's not what it sounds like.


The argument is a classic one... those who think the pie remains the same size with more competition... and those who argue that the pie becomes larger due to agglomeration economics... make the Strip an even bigger destination with more quality retail and everyone benefits.

[AaronPGH]

Honestly the biggest reason I avoid the Strip is because of parking issues. It's not convenient. I shop here now because I work in the crane building right next door to the cork factory lofts, but, I can see the arguments on why people don't come down. It seems to me that the two crowds that are left as shoppers down here are 1) the foodies, and 2) people who were brought to the strip as family tradition as kids. I'm not sure those two crowds are going to grow if they add more retailers. I mean, you can pretty much already get whatever you need down here. There's a store for almost every type of food you could want.

A market house sounds good on paper, but they need to solve some major obstacles to getting new people down here if it's going to succeed. Free parking garages would help. Better pedestrian access would help (some parts of the strip look like a third world country), and they need to WAIT until more residential comes online. I really worry about the businesses on Penn Ave even now that the organic grocery store has opened. I know that I've probably given 50% of my lunch business to that store's prepared foods section now that they've opened.

[themaguffin]

Well, I think there should be a plan but wait like you said - it's just housing but the economy needs to get off of life support.

That said, with recent reports of the success of the apartment buildiings nearby and the low vacancy rate, one would think that even in this economy that someone would make a leap to add apartments in that area.

[Blackbeauty212]

The ton and tons of parking back on smallman would be a good start to fill and make Downtown to the Stip one link...I aways did hate that gap!

Even if they needed to make the parking under the Vets into Green Space...Its better then surface parking lots...

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09076/956010-334.stm

Ongoing projects carry on, but new construction stalls

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200903/threepnc0317_500.jpg
Bill Wade/Post-Gazette
The Three PNC skyscraper is taking shape Downtown.

At first glance, anyone visiting Pittsburgh might wonder what happened to the recession.

After all, there's a casino under construction on the North Shore, a new skyscraper being finished off Downtown, which is across the street from an old five-and-dime store being converted into apartments, retail and fitness space.

And the Downtown office market has stayed strong, thanks to moves into the city core or expansions by UPMC, Equitable Resources, Siemens Power Generation and others.

Despite the activity, the recession finally seems to be catching up to the Steel City. Local real estate experts say new development has slowed considerably lately because of tight credit markets and cutbacks or bankruptcies by national retailers.

"I would say that depending on the size of the development, it's become fairly difficult to start any new project of any critical mass due to the number of retailers taking a wait-and-see approach," said Herky Pollock, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh.

The general rule of thumb is projects that had financing and a start before last fall, when the economy tanked, are still in decent shape. But it's a different story for those that didn't.

"Anything that's in process has stayed the course. Anything that's new, meaning that we haven't had a ground breaking or anything coming up from the ground, that's clearly being evaluated now with a different set of eyes," said Jason Stewart, vice president of the Grubb & Ellis Co.

Among the projects that have stalled is a $48 million condo and hotel complex proposed for the SouthSide Works complex. To date, developer DOC-Economou has been unable to secure financing to move ahead.

In addition, Target has pushed back the debut of its proposed East Liberty store from fall 2010 to the summer of 2011, as it scales back openings this year because of the economy, which has been particularly hard on retailers.

Developer Ralph Falbo has decided to build apartments rather than condos on the South Side near the UPMC Sports Performance Complex as part of a $14 million development.

Mr. Falbo, developer of the 151 First Side condo tower Downtown, said he made the change because it was just too difficult to secure financing for condominiums right now.

"From the standpoint of financing an entire development as condominiums, that has become strained over the last six months," he said.

Mr. Pollock said some retailers are reluctant to negotiate on projects that have yet to break ground for fear that they may never come to fruition.

"My fear is that for the next six to 18 months retailers will be much more cautious when it comes to new developments and more optimistic when it comes to existing developments or vacant spaces," he said.

Peter Sukernek, vice president and general manager of Howard Hanna Commercial Real Estate Services, said the developments that are finding it most difficult to secure financing are those priced at more than $5 million. Small or medium-sized projects, on the other hand, still should be able to acquire credit, he said.

"I think new development is a little more of a challenge because of the times we are in," he said. "Someone who has something on the drawing board today has a few more challenges in front of him."

Not all the news is bad.

Mr. Pollock said he has had "significant interest" in both the mixed-use Bakery Square development in Larimer and the Settlers Ridge project in Robinson, which will be anchored by a Giant Eagle Market District grocery.

He has been able to secure 75,000 square feet of new leases at Settlers Ridge over the last three months. He also expects to have several new announcements involving Bakery Square within the next month.

"We have had very good activity in the last 60 days despite all that's going on around us," he said.

The $130 million Bakery Square project is on schedule and on budget, said Todd Reidbord, president of developer Walnut Capital. The first office tenants should move into the old Nabisco plant this fall, followed by retailers early next year. A Marriott SpringHill Suites hotel now under construction also should open by early 2010.

As for the impact of the economy, "I think the biggest change we've had is that it's taken some of the tenants a little longer to make their decisions," he said.

Mr. Reidbord believes the Bakery Square project has thrived in part because of its location near many of the East End universities and medical centers, which so far have weathered the economic storm better than many other segments of the market.

One new development that has sprouted amid the economic gloom is the Newbury project in South Fayette.

Developer EQA Landmark Communities managed to secure financing last fall just before the economy crashed, President Brett Malky said.

"We're very, very fortunate. Had we not been financed and approved, we would be having a wholly different conversation," he said.

The Newbury development, near the intersection of Interstate 79 and Route 50, will feature 225 single-family homes, about 170 garden apartments and 1.2 million square feet of commercial space.

Mr. Malky expects to have lots available to home builders by winter and anticipates the first residents will move in by spring or summer of 2010. The same timetable applies for the apartments.

Commercial development will come last, with an expected completion in 2011. The developer has received "substantial interest" from big box retailers, restaurants and others, Mr. Malky said.

It already has letters of intent with a number of tenants and is in final negotiations with "three major anchors," he added. It also has settled on a hotel developer, although Mr. Malky would not name it or any of the others EQA is talking to about leases.

With the economy is such tough shape, there are lots of potential tenants looking for deals but there are none to be had, Mr. Malky said.

"It doesn't matter what the economy is, our price hasn't changed. It's a brownfield. We need to move a lot of dirt. The cost didn't change because of the economy," he said.

Although development has slowed, David Glickman, vice president of the retail group for Grubb & Ellis, said Downtown, Cranberry, Oakland, Robinson, the McKnight Road corridor and Monroeville are among the areas holding their own.

"There are still retailers looking in those areas, doing deals," he said. "There are plenty of bright spots. A lot of retailers are expecting things to turn around mid to late this year."

Pittsburgh as a whole is doing better than lots of other places, he said, adding that a number of retailers continue to expand here. They include Mattress Discounters, Panera Bread, Giant Eagle, Aldi grocery, Walgreens, Dunkin Donuts, Costco, Rue 21 and Best Buy.

As local unemployment increases, Robert Bach, Grubb & Ellis senior vice president and chief economist, expects Pittsburgh office vacancy rates to rise this year, although not as much as they will nationally.

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

[UrbaniDesDev]

I actually see a potential positive here. I think this could open up an opportunity for something more practical in that location.


I agree. The Strip is old-school. I could never understand why Whollys closes so early. I love going there but rarely have time during it's hours.

What, 100,000 people work Downtown and a large percent park in those massive Buncher lots in the Strip. Had it never occured to those business in the Strip to stay open later so all those workers could (and would) flock to the Strip after work for food or dinner before heading home? I just really think they are out of touch. I understand they were originally meant to be suppliers but there is an opportunity lost.

The Strip is much much less expensive than Whole Foods. It may not be as pretty, but the district could offer all that Whole Foods has, if they were more responsive to the need of people today.

[edncc1701d]

I am thrilled for this building! One of my favorites!

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/headlines/s_616384.html#

PMI moving into renovated Buhl Building by December
By The Tribune-Review


http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/display/a20f052b-cb52-4d8d-b21f-96fc6e77a22d.jpg
Image from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMXTH

I agree this is good news. As I was walking through Market Square the other day, I noticed they they had taken down a few of the buildings behind the Buhl building and started work on the building itself. I had remembered reading about the proposed project but had assumed that it stalled until I saw the work had started.

With the new PNC building, the rehab work that PHLF is doing on their corner of market square, the former Murphy's Store being converted into Market Square Place and now the rehab of the Buhl building there is a lot of positive momentum in Market Square.

[cdc]

Have you been to that huge new organic grocery in the Amrstrong Cork complex yet? I here that it's pretty nice.

No, haven't been there. So far I've only been downtown twice in
2009... once to eat dinner at Kaya and once for a meeting at the
William Penn Omni Hotel (a tired/dated looking hotel than could use
a makeover or something... my meeting was in the Lawerence Welk Room,
a fitting name given the state of place).

I generally agree with AaronClark's comments regarding convenience.
And for us it isn't just the parking, but also the logistics of
managing shopping for necessities (i.e. food) along with parenting
activities.

[themaguffin]

Pittsblog was interviewed for a segment tonight on Anderson Cooper. From what he says, Pittsburgh is not the focus of the story. It's more of a look, Pittsburgh is doing well and had been like Detroit etc thing.

[Vette60]

Yes they need to have a market house.

No, it won't hurt the existing Penn Ave business - if they don't duplicate products etc.

Market houses thrive across the country.

It could be done right. It could be done well and be a fantastic addtion to the Strip.

This is an interesting one to debate...biggest question is duplication of products...

The Strip is a central location where you can go and shop for items that aren't usually available elsewhere, right? Fish market, italian specialities, spice store, etc. So the market house in the Strip becomes a central, central location? Hmmm, does that make sense?

We used to live in Allentown and they had a market house concept at the Fairgrounds there every weekend...we would do a lot of shopping there for fresh produce, fresh poultry, prepared Greek foods from the Greek Stall, I'd get a gyro for lunch, spices from the spice man, pickles from NY guy, etc. It was all under one roof. I couldn't go to one neighborhood in Allentown and do that...so the Fairgrounds worked...you can go to one neighborhood - the Strip - and do all that, so does the Market House make sense?

Good luck - if it comes to be, I'll check it out the next time I am in town.

Randy

[PA Pride]

No, haven't been there. So far I've only been downtown twice in
2009... once to eat dinner at Kaya and once for a meeting at the
William Penn Omni Hotel (a tired/dated looking hotel than could use
a makeover or something... my meeting was in the Lawerence Welk Room,
a fitting name given the state of place).

I generally agree with AaronClark's comments regarding convenience.
And for us it isn't just the parking, but also the logistics of
managing shopping for necessities (i.e. food) along with parenting
activities.

Believe me, I know all about the William Penn hotel. I went to school in that building for 2 yrs in '99-'01. It is very dated. I'm hoping competition from the new Fairmont opening in PNC 3, plus the Renaissance hotel and the updated Hilton will force it to modernize a bit.

[Evergrey]

it's that time of year again!!!! continuing to outperform the rest of the country economically could accelerate this positive trend...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_616757.html

Census: Pittsburgh region population drain slowing down

By Brian Bowling
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, March 19, 2009

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-18/0319censgraf-a.jpg

The seven-county Pittsburgh metro area lost almost 3,000 people last year, but new Census Bureau figures show that the region's long-term population drain could be coming to an end.

University of Pittsburgh economist Chris Briem said what's most interesting is that the gap between the number of people moving out and moving in closed considerably between 2007 and 2008, from 3,351 to 708.

The closing gap is probably due to Pittsburgh faring better than surrounding metro areas in the early months of the recession, which began in December 2007, he said. If so, then the number of people moving into the metro area could exceed the number moving out this year, the first time that would have happened since the early 1990s.

"If you look at the regions we really trade populations with, almost all of those regions are doing worse than us," Briem said.

Detroit's metro area experienced the largest population decline last year — 32,413 people. Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio, had larger losses than Pittsburgh. Still, the declines weren't as big as in previous years. Strapped by the nation's economic crisis, fewer people migrated to Sun Belt hot spots in Nevada, Arizona and Florida.

During the mid- to late 1990s, Pittsburgh lost population even though its economy was doing well because other places were booming, Briem said.

"If you were young and mobile, there were some great wages to be made in some of these places," he said.

The question among economists was whether those booms were sustainable, and the answer appears to be that they weren't, he added.

Bill Flanagan, spokesman for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, said some area employers are telling his organization that they're having an easier time recruiting skilled employees because of the recession.

Last fall several high-tech companies "were beginning to experience talent shortages in key positions," he said.

For the last few months, "they've been able to reach out across the United States and cherry-pick," Flanagan said.

The conference's Web site (imaginemynewjob.com) lists about 21,500 openings in the area. Flanagan said it hit a high of about 25,000 in the fall and then dropped to about 20,000. In the last several weeks, companies have posted several hundred new openings, he said.

Briem said the Census figures show Pittsburgh is getting closer to the day when it will no longer be the only major metropolitan area that has more deaths than births. While deaths still surpassed births by about 2,800 last year, the number of births increased 1.1 percent while deaths fell 0.7 percent.

"The natural population numbers are getting better. We could see some natural increase (in population) in the next decade or so," Briem said.

The figures released today are estimates based on several sources, including birth and death records, federal income tax returns and Census Bureau surveys. The federal government officially defines the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area as consisting of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

Brian Bowling can be reached at bbowling@tribweb.com or 412-320-7910.



.....

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09078/956787-455.stm


Population of region drops, but rate's slower

Thursday, March 19, 2009
By Gary Rotstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The term "good loss" is most commonly attached to valiant efforts by underdog sports teams, but it may just as well fit a Rust Belt region that has suffered decades of population drain.

In numbers released today, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the seven-county Pittsburgh metropolitan area lost 2,967 residents between July 1, 2007, and July 1, 2008. From among 363 metro areas nationally, it was one of 50 to lose population, and only Detroit, Cleveland, Flint, Mich., and Youngstown lost more people during that span.

But here's the silver lining on an ever-gray topic: The local region's estimated annual loss was by far the smallest in this decade. Every other year since 2000, the combination of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties lost twice as many residents as in 2007-08, including a plummet of more than 15,000 residents in 2004-05.

Allegheny County was entirely responsible for the region's population drop last year. Allegheny showed a net loss of 3,326 residents, according to the census estimates, which are based on births, deaths, addresses on Internal Revenue Service tax filings, and other data. That means the other six counties had a net gain of 359, largely as a result of migration into Butler and Washington counties.

But even Allegheny County officials could be pleased by shrinkage that was about one-third the rate of what previously occurred in the decade. It remains the 30th largest county in the country, with 1,215,103 residents, while the metropolitan area is still 22nd biggest, with 2,351,192 people.

"It is good news that the population decline has slowed down," said county spokesman Kevin Evanto. "The turnaround has to start somewhere ... and it's better to have this conversation rather than one about population decline expanding exponentially."

Analysts of the local improvement point primarily to the strength of Western Pennsylvania's economy, which has consistently had an unemployment rate below the national average. Other areas that might have ordinarily drawn transplants from Pittsburgh have suffered worse in the recession, slowing the out-migration that has headed the region's population story for the past half-century.

Chris Briem, a regional economist at the University of Pittsburgh who studies population trends, said such fluctuations in economic migration represent the biggest local variable. More deaths than births occur in the region every year because of its relatively old population, and that is not forecast to change soon.

Considering the Pittsburgh economy's relative strength, Mr. Briem said he would not be surprised if the population figures released a year from now look even better for the region.

"It can take some time if you lose your job, a year or two or more, to make a big decision to move," he said. "July 1, 2008, might be just the beginning of where we see the impact of these migration decisions on the local population."

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, a planning agency for nine counties, actually forecasts that they will gain 468,161 people in the span between 2005 and 2035. Such long-term predictions can be dicey, but Executive Director James Hassinger expressed confidence that the regional population will bottom out by 2015 and slowly tick upward afterward.

"This is part of that period where things are shifting," considering the new numbers, he said.

The mirror image of the local trend is a slowdown in what had been meteoric population gains in some parts of the South and Southwest. Las Vegas, for example, experienced its smallest population gain in nearly 20 years. The housing market's collapse has many people stuck in place, unable to sell and buy homes across the country.

"It's the bursting of a 'migration bubble,'" said William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. "Places that popped up in migration growth in the superheated housing markets earlier in the decade are now just as quickly losing their steam."

The nation's fastest-growing metro areas were Raleigh, N.C., and Austin, Texas, both home to major college campuses and high-tech industries.

The local counties' estimated July 1 populations, with their net annual gain or loss, were: Allegheny, 1,215,103 (-3,326); Armstrong, 68,790 (-214); Beaver, 172,476 (-547); Butler 182,902, (+1,168); Fayette, 143,925 (-451); Washington, 206,407 (+975); Westmoreland, 361,589 (-572).

For more details on population changes of counties and metropolitan areas, visit www.census.gov.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Gary Rotstein can be reached at grotstein@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1255.

[AaronPGH]

ever-gray topic

They're callin' you out! :)

[Wheelingman04]

I cannot wait until the population increases. We all know Pittsburgh (a great and vibrant city) deserves it.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_616996.html

Court: Rivers Casino parking garage can stay

By Mike Wereschagin
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, March 20, 2009

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-19/0320garage-a.jpg
The Rivers Casino and its 10-story garage, which has room for about 3,800 vehicles, is on pace to open in early August.
Jasmine Goldband/Tribune-Review

The state Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit that sought to block construction of the 119-foot-tall Rivers Casino parking garage on the North Shore.

The court ruled Riverlife sued too late. The lawsuit, filed in February 2008, was the last legal obstacle preventing the casino from being built. The first was filed by a group that wanted the city's sole slots license for a casino it hoped to build at Station Square.

"We're pleased, of course, that the court ruled in our favor so we can stay focused on keeping the project on schedule," said casino CEO Ed Fasulo. The Rivers Casino is scheduled to open in early August. "Everything's on schedule. The weather's been real good. The contractors are humming along."

Riverlife, which sued the casino and the Pittsburgh Planning Commission, alleged the commission violated its own rules when it approved the design. In the 13 months since the lawsuit was filed, the casino changed hands from Detroit businessman Don Barden to an investment group led by Chicago developer Neil Bluhm. Barden ran out of money while construction was under way.

"The ruling is, in our view, an old chapter involving a previous developer," said Riverlife Executive Director Lisa Schroeder. The nonprofit has a better relationship with Bluhm, who committed to building public riverfront amenities that Barden tried to postpone or scale back, Schroeder said.

Those amenities include an amphitheater, boat docks, landscaping with native plants and a promenade connecting the riverfront trails on either side of the casino, she said.

"We believe the new ownership is committed to working in partnership, not only with Riverlife, but also with the people of Pittsburgh," Schroeder said.

Workers lifted the highest piece of the 10-story garage into place in mid-January, 11 months after Riverlife sued. Had the court ruled against the casino, the owners could have been forced to tear down the structure. The garage is about twice the height of the riverfront casino and has enough room for about 3,800 vehicles.

Mike Wereschagin can be reached at mwereschagin@tribweb.com or 412-320-7900.

[EventHorizon]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-19/0320garage-a.jpg

Is that framework going up the side of the garage for the decorative screening?

[Black-n-Gold]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-03-19/0320garage-a.jpg

Is that framework going up the side of the garage for the decorative screening?

Looks like it. I really can't believe they put the cooling towers for the casino ON TOP OF the garage. I guess it wasn't quite high enough...

[Minivan Werner]

Kind of a depressing picture.

[hyperion1110]

Looks like it. I really can't believe they put the cooling towers for the casino ON TOP OF the garage. I guess it wasn't quite high enough...

The coolers suck something fierce. But I'm going to reserve judgment of the stuff going up the side in that picture; I'm saying its scaffolding to put up the screening, not the screening itself.

I hope, I hope, I hope...

[themaguffin]

Friday, March 20, 2009
Developers Burns & Scalo, Coyle plan apartments for Pittsburgh's South SideVo-Tech, Goodwill buildings may be converted

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Tim Schooley

Two historic properties that bookend the South Side’s Carson Street business district are in the works to be redeveloped into new apartment buildings.

Last week, Jim Scalo reported to a steering committee of the South Side Local Development Co. that his Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services Inc. has reached an agreement to acquire the 157,000-square-foot building owned by Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and has plans to turn it into apartments.

At the opposite end of the district, Gregory Coyle reported his Coyle Development has made progress that includes some financing and design work to covert the former South Side Vo-Tech on 10th Street into a 71-unit apartment complex.

Both projects are still early stage. Scalo said during the meeting that he won’t know more specifics about how to redevelop the building at the corner of 26th and Carson streets until he helps Goodwill find a new location in which to move its headquarters operations.

Rick Belloli, executive director of the South Side Local Development Co., who attended the meeting, is hopeful for both projects, despite an overall desire to see more for sale residential opportunities and reluctance toward student housing.

“There is strong rental demand even when it’s not geared just to student transient population,” Belloli said. “They have the potential to be a solid complement to the neighborhood.”

Long considered a challenging project due to its environmental remediation needs and its unique configuration, the South Side Vo-Tech property is nonetheless nationally registered as a historic property, making it eligible for tax credits. Coyle reached an agreement to buy it for $1.5 million last year and has hired Morgan Associates Architects, which has established a new design for the property, which includes two buildings dating to 1909 and 1930 that total 120,000 square feet of space.

Belloli said Coyle, whose company owns a host of other properties on Carson Street, demonstrated real progress with the development.

He said that included establishing some, if not all, of the financing for the project, which is estimated to cost more than $12 million, including $1.5 million for acquiring the property, the sale of which has yet to close.

“He had indicated strong support at this point in time, and seems to have been lining his ducks in a row ready to go forward,” Belloli said.

Burns & Scalo’s is the final choice to redevelop the Goodwill property near the other end of Carson Street, the result of a complicated project initiated by the nonprofit late last year to solicit RFPs to both help it find a new headquarters location and buy the majority of its South Side properties in and around 26th Street.

Goodwill has yet to make a formal announcement of its plans to sell its property and move, but Scalo’s appearance reveals his company has won out over the other finalist for the development project, Downtown-based Cambridge Venture Partners.

Neither Gregory Coyle nor Jim Scalo could be reached for comment.

Ned Shekels, a vice president for Downtown-based Pennsylvania Commercial Real Estate Inc., who also owns 35 apartment units on the South Side, said rental demand remains strong in the neighborhood.

But Shekels, who has showed the South Vo-Tech property to other major apartment developers in the past, sees great risk and difficulty in both projects, which he said would be among the biggest apartment properties on the South Side, if completed.

“I don’t know a lot of banks that are lending for any project that isn’t a home run,” he said.

[pj3000]

Seeing that parking garage makes me think that the hulking, concrete mass once known as Three Rivers Stadium has risen again on the North Side.

[designer3d712]

The coolers suck something fierce. But I'm going to reserve judgment of the stuff going up the side in that picture; I'm saying its scaffolding to put up the screening, not the screening itself.

I hope, I hope, I hope...

It's part of the screening. The arrow points to screening already up.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f354/bully712/pg.jpg

[cdc]

I walked over to Squirrel Hill for dinner the other day and noticed
some zoning board notices relating to building condos on Forbes
between Murray and Wightman. They are trying to get a height variance.

Further research on the County property web site shows that a "CBC
DEVELOPMENT CORP" owns the properties at: 5637 Forbes, 5641 Forbes,
5645 Forbes, and 5649 Forbes. Given the notices, I guess they going
to tear all that down and build something new there.

Here are some links to the properties so you can see what I'm talking
about:

5637 Forbes: http://tinyurl.com/cg4ea2
5641 Forbes: http://tinyurl.com/cf59kt
5645 Forbes: http://tinyurl.com/d3736q
5649 Forbes: http://tinyurl.com/dan6jj

(all point to www2.county.allegheny.pa.us)

[Johnland]

Seeing that parking garage makes me think that the hulking, concrete mass once known as Three Rivers Stadium has risen again on the North Side.

That garage is probably the biggest example of how a city can atrophy. You comment is very astute, in that Three Rivers was a large, concrete structure that was removed in the name of sports entertainment progress, and now we gone all the way up to large concrete boxes in the name of gambling revenue generation. Wow. What strides forward! How dynamic!

What's so pathetic even more is, they didn't spend one iota on design. It's as plain and ugly as a sewer drain. Thirty years ago, the garage on the Blvd of the Allies was designed to blend with Downtown's intricate urban fabric. it is plainly visible from Mt. Washington views. Yet, it doesn't spoil the view of the city. Over the years, I've come to appreciate that design more. The red steel beam work is now, to me, a classic Pittsburgh fixture. So why the regression to Soviet-style garage at the casino? (Besides the obvious, that the real string pullers behind the scenes are Harrisburg politicians and out-of-town license holders, etc, etc.)

[DBR96A]

Because every other casino I've ever been to, whether in Las Vegas, Biloxi or wherever, has had a Soviet-style parking garage accompanying it. The problem isn't Pittsburgh; it's the casinos themselves.

[pj3000]

I walked over to Squirrel Hill for dinner the other day and noticed
some zoning board notices relating to building condos on Forbes
between Murray and Wightman. They are trying to get a height variance.

Further research on the County property web site shows that a "CBC
DEVELOPMENT CORP" owns the properties at: 5637 Forbes, 5641 Forbes,
5645 Forbes, and 5649 Forbes. Given the notices, I guess they going
to tear all that down and build something new there.

Here are some links to the properties so you can see what I'm talking
about:

5637 Forbes: http://tinyurl.com/cg4ea2
5641 Forbes: http://tinyurl.com/cf59kt
5645 Forbes: http://tinyurl.com/d3736q
5649 Forbes: http://tinyurl.com/dan6jj

(all point to www2.county.allegheny.pa.us)

I saw that too, in the window of the closed barber shop (I won't be sorry to see that place go... got my hair cut there once -terrible job). I think it's too bad that those nice older homes will be demolished though, when there is plenty of trash in Squirrel Hill that could and should be torn down and built upon (like just about the entire stretch of Murray between Forward and Phillips).

[Johnland]

Because every other casino I've ever been to, whether in Las Vegas, Biloxi or wherever, has had a Soviet-style parking garage accompanying it. The problem isn't Pittsburgh; it's the casinos themselves.

Oh, I know. That's why I just cringed when Harrisburg rolled out the plan. I just knew that mixing state government politicians with casino developers was a bad brew and the city would end up with crap. What I wasn't prepared for the sheer enormity of that pile of ugly crap blighting the river shore.

[PA Pride]

Because every other casino I've ever been to, whether in Las Vegas, Biloxi or wherever, has had a Soviet-style parking garage accompanying it. The problem isn't Pittsburgh; it's the casinos themselves.

Yep.

[Gilamonster]

Right on PJ3000. The ghost of Three Rivers Stadium comes back to exact revenge upon the North Shore!

[PA Pride]

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2009/03/23/daily11.html

Monday, March 23, 2009, 5:02pm EDT
Penguins' new arena seeks gold LEED status
Pittsburgh Business Times



The Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team is seeking gold LEED certification status for its under-construction Consol Energy Arena, the first such sporting arena in the country to receive the designation, according to the team's front office.

Penguins Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs Travis Williams told an audience gathered for the Pittsburgh Business Times Corridors of Opportunity event Monday that the arena, which has a capacity crowd for hockey games of 18,087 (the deliberate "87" ending on that figure should make sense to Penguins fans), and is on schedule for completion in the fall of 2010.

The gold designation is the second-highest level attainable under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification program. LEED recognizes eco-friendly construction.

For more on the Corridors of Opportunity event, see this Friday's print edition of the Pittsburgh Business Times.

[PA Pride]

Speaking of construction, here's a great photo of the official Pennsylvania state flower:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/DSCF0675.jpg
Credit: Ted Storey

[hyperion1110]

:previous: That's awesome :)

[PA Pride]

http://post-gazette.com/pg/09083/957914-100.stm

Developer buys State Office Building for $4.6 million

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The state has reached a deal to sell the State Office Building, Downtown, for $4.6 million.

The buyer is River Vue Associates LP of Canonsburg, the only bidder to meet the state's minimum $4.5 million asking price for the building in a second round of proposals received earlier this month. Another proposal was rejected because the bid was too low.

River Vue is affiliated with Millcraft Industries, which also is renovating the former Lazarus department store into condos and office space known as Piatt Place. Some of the state employees will move from the State Office Building to Piatt Place.

The developer is expected to convert the building into apartments and possibly a hotel, state officials said.

In a release, General Services Secretary James P. Creedon said state will save $14 million by selling the 16-story building overlooking the Point and moving more than 800 employees into leased office space. He said almost $65 million needed to be spent to renovate the building if it were to continue to be used for state offices.

"After reviewing all of our options, it is more cost-effective for us to avoid making extensive capital improvements and ongoing maintenance by selling the building," he said.

State Auditor General Jack Wagner has questioned the savings. He has argued that the state may end up losing money by having to lease space elsewhere Downtown. He urged the state to ditch the idea of a sale until the economy improved, describing a $4.5 million price as a fire sale.

In addition to Piatt Place, the state will move employees to the Chamber of Commerce building and 11 Stanwix Street, starting this fall.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

First published on March 24, 2009 at 1:04 pm


The building:
http://glasssteelandstone.com/Images/US/PA/Pittsburgh/200801/PittsburghStateOfficeBuilding-Jul08-016a.jpg
Source: http://glasssteelandstone.com/Images/US/PA/Pittsburgh/200801/PittsburghStateOfficeBuilding-Jul08-016a.jpg
More photos of the building here: http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/3322.php

[PA Pride]

By the way, the link I posted for the above photo has a great database of 172 structures in and around downtown Pittsburgh including bridges and churches with photos and minimal info:
http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/ByCityResults/United%20States/Pittsburgh.php

[PA Pride]

March 25, 2009
$17M Century Building begins leasing affordable lofts in Downtown Pittsburgh

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/ctryblg0325.aspx

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%20151/century_TREKdev_300.jpg

Leasing has begun at Downtown Pittsburgh’s latest loft project. Located at 137 Seventh St., the $17 million Century Building features 60 workforce- and market-rate units, including 526 square-foot studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 745 to 1,180 square feet. Rents in the 78,000-square-foot property range from $500 to $1,475.

“It’s been great. From just two Craigslist ads, we’ve generated a list of 63 people who have filled out applications,” says William Gatti, with TREK Development Group, who worked with Santa Monica-based Koning Eizenberg Architecture on the project. “Of our 30 rental communities in western Pennsylvania, we’re operating at between 99 and 100%. Demand has been strong.” Gatti says that one-third of Century applicants are from outside Pennsylvania, while 60% are from a 5-county region and 15% are from Pittsburgh.

The 12-story property combines a sustainable approach to redevelopment with a number of unique amenities, including a 2,000-foot green roof and an on-site commuter center with secure enclosed storage for 49 bikes. Green features in the pet-friendly building include ground source heating and cooling, Energy Star appliances and energy efficient insulation and windows.

“We want to promote bike commuting Downtown,” adds Gatti, who says the project is seeking LEED-Silver certification. Pittsburgh-based architect Mike Eversmeyer worked on the historic component, which included an exterior restoration. Local architect of record was Gary Moshier.

TREK, which will manage the property, will move its offices from Oakland to the building's third floor. The second floor will house the Pittsburgh Film Office, HHSDR Architects and a venture capital firm.

The Century Building will be featured during the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s May 20 Walk and Dine Tour.

To receive Pop City free every week, click here.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: William Gatti, TREK Development Group

Image courtesy TREK Development Group



Taking place in this building:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/trebro/Pgh%20Pics/CenturyBuilding.jpg?t=1217820460
Source: http://pghpics.blogspot.com/2008/08/century-building.html

[UrbaniDesDev]

Wow! Thats really like a NY loft. The living room is in the kitchen