[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_621192.html

Pittsburgh men's retailers to locate in Market at Fifth

By Rick Stouffer, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, April 18, 2009

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-04-17/0418-market1-a.jpg
Dwight Fong looks over the progress of his new apartment at Market at Fifth on Friday.
Heidi Murrin/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-04-17/0418-market2-a.jpg
Work continues at Market at Fifth on Friday. Seven new apartments will occupy three historical buildings at Market Street, Fifth Avenue, and Graeme Street downtown. The bottom of the buildings will be home to a new men's clothing store and separate shoe store.
Heidi Murrin/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-04-17/0418-market3-a.jpg
Work progresses at Market at Fifth on Friday. The historical buildings will house both businesses and apartments.
Heidi Murrin/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-04-17/0418-market4-a.jpg
Arthur Ziegler, president of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, lead developer in the $3 million Market at Fifth project.
Heidi Murrin/Tribune-Review

Market at Fifth, a three-building, retail-residential complex at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Market Street, Downtown, has enticed two home-grown retailers with more than 100 years of business experience between them as initial tenants.

Heinz Healey's, an upscale menswear shop in the Station Square complex, will keep its South Side store and expand into 2,400 square feet of Market at Fifth first-floor space.

And the Nettleton Shop, since 2006 located in the Shops at Oxford Centre, but for nearly 80 years prior to 2006 a fixture in Downtown's Union Trust Building, will relocate its quality men's shoe business into Market at Fifth's first floor.

The tenant announcement was made in the space being converted into Heinz Healey's Friday.

"We wanted good, quality retailers in the building, and we liked the idea of getting local stores," said Arthur Ziegler, president of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, lead developer in the $3 million Market at Fifth project. "Our retail space is 100 percent leased."

Market at Fifth includes a trio of buildings that were melded together beginning on the second floor of each. They include 439 Market St., the fire-damaged, four-story former home of the Alexander's Graham Bell bar, the four-story 441 Market St., and 130 Fifth Ave., the two-story former Regal Shoe Co. building.

Scott Kresge, owner of the Nettleton shop, which when it opens in June will be known as the Nettleton Shoe Store, said it was Heinz Healey's owner Chas. Schaldenbrand's idea to bring the two, upscale menswear stores together in Market at Fifth.

"He thought we would be a good match," Kresge said.

For Schaldenbrand, the Fifth and Market location is a return to Downtown. He operated a shoe store at Fifth and Wood Street for about 10 years prior to moving to Station Square a quarter-century ago.

"It took Arthur about six months to convince me to move to Station Square, and about six days to convince me to move to Market at Fifth," Schaldenbrand told a small group of people invited to attend the tenant announcement ceremony, made by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

Schaldenbrand said his new store will open in August with the grand opening slated for September.

In addition to retail tenants, Ziegler said that two of Market at Fifth's seven second- and third-floor apartments have been leased. The apartment rents range from $1,150 a month, to $2,250 a month, and include six, one-bedroom, and one, two-bedroom units.

Dwight Fong, a native Pittsburgher living in Lawrenceville, always wanted to live Downtown. He is very familiar with the work that History & Landmarks does.

"I've been a volunteer at History & Landmarks for about 20 years, and I thought they would make an excellent landlord, " said Fong. "I thought it would be great living Downtown, where the action is."

The South Side preservationist organization announced it has leased the top floor in the Thompson Building, a three-story structure adjacent to Market at Fifth.

[UrbaniDesDev]

Holy shit!
Larimors, Heinz Healey's, and the Nettleton Shop!

Trifecta!

Leave it to Art Z to help put together a mix that will be sure to dramatically transform the entire corridor,
and without giving away the store to entice some nationwide chain.

Visionary!

Brilliant!

:tup:

:worship:

:banana:

[AaronPGH]

To be completely honest, I'm not familiar with these retailers, but if you guys are confident, I'm happy to see that good shit is going in here!

[MattofSloppyVariety]

Speaking of parking, I was at this cool new hi-tech parking garage
in Rockville MD recently and they've got overhead sensors
over each space to determine if it is occupied. The system
puts on green LEDs for open spaces, red for occupied spaces.
The electronic sign at the entrance keeps a running count
of how many free spaces are left. There's a picture on the
right side of the first page of this PDF:

http://www.rockvillemd.gov/towncenter/TownCenterParking02-08.pdf

haven't seen anything quite like that around here.


Sorry for bringing back posts from the past, but i just thought i would say that Pittsburgh has one of these type of garages here too. Most don't know about it because most can't use it. It's located in Oakland. And it's part of the VA hospital complex on University Drive. I agree that they are very neat, the only way to park in this garage though is if you are a veteran or an employee. I am the latter. As far as i know, they do not charge anyone to park. It is free to veterans who are there for appointments and employees have to swipe their badges in order to gain access.

[UrbaniDesDev]

To be completely honest, I'm not familiar with these retailers, but if you guys are confident, I'm happy to see that good shit is going in here!

The point is, they are local, high end and something not found at a mall.

To hell with the Banana and the Gap. These are the kind of stores that business men and women are looking for, not college trendies. The fact that they will be concentated here, sets the trend. Hopefully it will attract more similar business to the district. With their success will come the larger chains, but this way we do not have to succomb to their demands but set the bar high.

They all have long histories. They have bypassed the trends and have a strong high end following here. These are business that do not pull out when national chains do. They have a commitment to the community, not to their share holders.

Being in close proximity to each other and the thousands of established business people working Downtown is brilliant. Placing them at the entrance of Fifth Avenue re-establishes Fifth Avenue as the shopping district it once was. Fifth Avenue will be unrecognizable in a few years. (if the country's entire economy doesn't fall off the cliff)

Imagine this even happening in Pittsburgh in times such as these!

[Johnland]

The point is, they are local, high end and something not found at a mall.

To hell with the Banana and the Gap. These are the kind of stores that business men and women are looking for, not college trendies.

Amen to that! Local and unique should definitely be more interesting than national chains. Just look at how Kaufmann's has been boiled down to a sorry suburban shell of it's former self by Macy's.

[NThomas]

Amen to that! Local and unique should definitely be more interesting than national chains. Just look at how Kaufmann's has been boiled down to a sorry suburban shell of it's former self by Macy's.

And that's why we'll see a rise in local stores again. They're forced to focus on keeping a customer.

[dugdogmaster]

Sometimes I hear people refer to Pittsburgh as "isolated"... sure, maybe compared to the very unusual example of BosWash... but it exists in one of the most densely populated corridors in the U.S. It's also the first major metro as you move westward from the East Coast megalopolis... that's gotta count for something strategically!

It has, virtually throughout our nation's entire history. I'm sure that the brains behind this will come to their senses and ensure that Pittsburgh once again serves a vital part in our country moving forward.

[Evergrey]

transit news!


http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09110/964147-147.stm

LRT service cutback on track

Consultants cite 20 underused stops; bus cuts due, too, Port Authority says

Monday, April 20, 2009
By Jon Schmitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Carved into a wooded hillside in Beechview at the bottom of a long set of city steps, the Traymore stop on the Port Authority's Light Rail Transit system seems to attract more graffiti vandals than transit patrons.

According to a Port Authority consultant, an average of one person a day boards inbound trains there, making it the least-used of the 61 stops on the South Hills rail system.

Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates, which has an $880,000 state-funded contract to assist the Port Authority in a planned major overhaul of bus and rail service, is recommending that the authority consider eliminating Traymore and other little-used stops.

Twenty stops on the rail system have fewer than 50 inbound boardings per day, and collectively they generate less than 4 percent of ridership, the consultant determined.

Port Authority CEO Steve Bland said elimination of bus and rail stops is likely as part of the service overhaul that will be presented to the public over the next several months, starting with three "concepts" to be unveiled in the next week or two.

"One of the clear messages we got from the user community was that the system is too slow," Mr. Bland said, referring to an earlier round of public meetings on possible changes.

"Right now, the T is a bus route with steel wheels," with slow operating speeds, frequent stops and high per-passenger costs, he said.

Critics have long complained about the speed of the rail system. In 1987, two years after the system opened, a Model T automobile bested the T in a race from South Hills Village to Downtown.

But previous plans to eliminate stops have met with fierce resistance. More than 400 people jammed a meeting at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Beechview in 1999 to protest plans to eliminate little-used stops in the neighborhood. The Port Authority backed down.

According to Nelson/Nygaard, three of the five least-used stops are in Beechview: Traymore, Dawn, with six daily passengers, and Pennant, with 12. Three other Beechview stops -- Boustead, Palm Garden and Belasco -- have fewer than 50 daily boardings.

The busiest stations, South Hills Village and Steel Plaza, each have about 1,500 boardings on a typical weekday.

Mr. Bland said the authority will consider cutting stops where it results in faster and more efficient service.

"It's not something you do just for the sake of eliminating a stop," he said. "If you're able to save a minute 10 times over a 40-minute trip, that's significant."

Geoff Slater, a principal in Nelson/Nygaard, said the firm's review found the rail system slower, costlier and with more stops than comparable systems. The average speed of a light-rail vehicle is 13.7 mph.

It costs the authority $4.41 per passenger on weekdays to operate the rail system, and $5.43 per passenger overall. That is 40 percent more than the average cost for seven comparable systems in other cities studied by Nelson/Nygaard.

Riders pay a $2 base fare; $2.60 for a two-zone ride.

The Port Authority system has 2.9 stops per mile, 60 percent higher than the average of comparable systems.

Mr. Slater said several changes were suggested to make the rail system simpler, easier to use and more efficient. "This is an asset that should be given more prominence," he said.

The study, which can be viewed along with evaluations of every other Port Authority route at http://tdp.portauthority.org/paac, recommends consolidating the system into three routes and renaming them with colors to distinguish them from numbered bus routes.

A Red Line would go from South Hills Village via Overbrook to Downtown; a Green Line from Library via Overbrook to Downtown; and a Blue Line from Castle Shannon via Beechview to Downtown.

All outbound service on the Beechview line would terminate at Castle Shannon. Riders going farther south would transfer to the Red or Green lines.

The firm also recommended that the authority try faster operating speeds, saying the current limits -- 35 mph on the Overbrook line and 10-15 mph at gated grade crossings -- "are likely slower than required for safe operation."

It recommended routing some bus routes to the T instead of Downtown during off-peak hours; the rail system already operates at nearly full capacity during rush hours.

The bus and rail route overhaul will be the subject of several workshops, hearings and public meetings over the coming months, with board action on a final plan scheduled for late September, Mr. Bland said.

He said comments to date about the consultant's proposals "have been very supportive."

"Everyone in town that I've talked to has said we have way too many stops, too many routes, that the system is too complicated," Mr. Bland said.

Then he added: "I haven't met anybody who said 'Take my stop or take my route.' "
Jon Schmitz can be reached at jschmitz@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1868.


...

I'm surprised a Greensburg-Pittsburgh rail line would not be feasible... I drove U.S. 30 from Greensburg to Pittsburgh Monday evening... and I could not imagine making that commute... what hell! U.S. 30 from Latrobe to Forest Hills is lined with the worst in highway sprawl retail.... stoplight after stoplight... cars making all sorts of turns... nasty stuff... it's a lot easier to get to Pittsburgh from Steubenville than from Greensburg! Greensburg is a pretty big population node... figured there'd be plenty of commuters from there that would like an alternative to that awful highway

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09110/964101-147.stm

Rail line from New Kensington to Pittsburgh being studied

Monday, April 20, 2009
By Jon Schmitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A forthcoming feasibility study will support a proposal for commuter rail service from New Kensington to Downtown, but not from Greensburg to New Kensington, U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire said last week.

Speaking to an audience in Springdale about transportation issues, Mr. Altmire, D-McCandless, said the study by HDR Inc., a consulting and engineering firm, found insufficient ridership to support the Greensburg line.

The New Kensington-to-Pittsburgh line, about 20 miles, would attract enough riders but would have to be subsidized, he said. He said the consultant estimated the operating cost at about $16 per passenger.

He said it was unclear who might pay that subsidy.

Mr. Altmire, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the rail line is one of two top priorities for his district, which stretches from Lawrence County across southern Butler and northern Allegheny counties. The other is improvements along Freedom Road in Butler County.

The congressman secured $500,000 in federal funding for the commuter rail study in December 2007. Officials at Westmoreland County Transit Authority, which is overseeing the study, could not be reached last week.

Mr. Altmire said he hopes to secure funding for the commuter line in the upcoming reauthorization of the national surface transportation bill known as SAFETEA-LU.

"I think we can come up with the money to get it off the ground," he said.

Funding the operating deficit is a bigger challenge, he said, "but at least we're moving the ball forward."

Among the start-up requirements would be buying or leasing rail cars, creating a maintenance facility and establishing park-n-ride lots and stations.

Mr. Altmire's office previously said the rail project was estimated to cost $131 million and would provide an average of 1,900 rides on weekdays. It would give commuters an option that would avoid chronic congestion and construction on Route 28.

A study of commuter rail along the Allegheny Valley Railroad in 2000 also said the service was feasible, but the plan never moved forward. Pittsburgh has not had commuter rail service since the Port Authority dropped its McKeesport-to-Pittsburgh PATrain in 1989 because of high costs.
Jon Schmitz can be reached at jschmitz@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1868.

[UrbaniDesDev]

transit news!


The study, which can be viewed along with evaluations of every other Port Authority route at http://tdp.portauthority.org/paac, recommends consolidating the system into three routes and renaming them with colors to distinguish them from numbered bus routes.

A Red Line would go from South Hills Village via Overbrook to Downtown; a Green Line from Library via Overbrook to Downtown; and a Blue Line from Castle Shannon via Beechview to Downtown.

All outbound service on the Beechview line would terminate at Castle Shannon. Riders going farther south would transfer to the Red or Green lines.

The firm also recommended that the authority try faster operating speeds, saying the current limits -- 35 mph on the Overbrook line and 10-15 mph at gated grade crossings -- "are likely slower than required for safe operation."

It recommended routing some bus routes to the T instead of Downtown during off-peak hours; the rail system already operates at nearly full capacity during rush hours.



I find it difficult to fathom that they are just now coming to these conclusions. I really have to wonder, what these guys do for a living. I mean really. They go to work everyday, I assume. What do they do when they get there? Do they just drink coffee and chat all day. These solutions should have been implemented years ago. They are talking like changing the lines to color codes is some sort of earth shattering solution. When in fact all other systems in the country have had this in place.

Have these guys ever been anywhere else?
Do these guys ever actually take mass transit?

This is standard stuff, 30 years late.

How many millions of dollars were spent for them to come to this conclusion?

Nice to know these guys are on top of things!

sheeeesh!
:koko:

Has anybody noticed that there is nolonger a system map in most of the Downtown T stations, last I checked. If you are from out of town, there is no way of knowing how to use the system, what line goes where, how much it is and no telling what line to take.

This has got to be the most poorly run system in the country.
PAT needs a total overhaul, from the top down.
:hell:

[pj3000]

Critics have long complained about the speed of the rail system. In 1987, two years after the system opened, a Model T automobile bested the T in a race from South Hills Village to Downtown.

:haha:

[tooluther]

I find it difficult to fathom that they are just now coming to these conclusions. I really have to wonder, what these guys do for a living. I mean really. They go to work everyday, I assume. What do they do when they get there? Do they just drink coffee and chat all day. These solutions should have been implemented years ago. They are talking like changing the lines to color codes is some sort of earth shattering solution. When in fact all other systems in the country have had this in place.

Have these guys ever been anywhere else?
Do these guys ever actually take mass transit?

This is standard stuff, 30 years late.

How many millions of dollars were spent for them to come to this conclusion?

Nice to know these guys are on top of things!

sheeeesh!
:koko:

Has anybody noticed that there is nolonger a system map in most of the Downtown T stations, last I checked. If you are from out of town, there is no way of knowing how to use the system, what line goes where, how much it is and no telling what line to take.

This has got to be the most poorly run system in the country.
PAT needs a total overhaul, from the top down.
:hell:


They tried implementing the changes (specifically Beechview stopping at Castle Shannon)when the stage II stuff came online but community opposition forced them to go back to the norm. Hopefully that will not be the case this time.

In reference to their staff, I can tell you that they are all constantly thinking of ways to improve the service. But there is the constant shadow of loosing ridership by making change. I know and work with many staffers at the Port Authority and they are great people and yes, they do take the bus to get to work and everywhere else they go. I think the shear fact that the TDP is going on is an indication that the Port Authority is trying to get on the right track (no pun intended).

And I haven't noticed any system maps missing from downtown. There was one at Wood Street when I was there last Thursday.

[PA Pride]

Thanks for the insight Tooluther.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_621455.html

$3.5 million program to help fund Downtown housing

By Sam Spatter, FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, April 20, 2009
Last updated: 11:01 am

A $3.5 million program aimed at using vacant upper floors of mid-size Downtown buildings for condos or apartments, was launched today by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

The program will provide money to help building owners and investors complete financing needed to remodel or convert upper floors of their properties for new housing, said Patty Burk, vice president housing and economic development, who will supervise the program.

The Downtown Partnership's program has been talked about for more than a year, but was delayed until now was because financing was not available. The $3.5 million was provided by unidentified investors, Burk said.

"We have several applicants who have been waiting for the start of the program," Burk said. They will be able to convert up to eight floors, because of limited money.

Building owners and investors must first obtain private financing for projects, then Downtown Partnership's program will provide additional funds that may be needed to complete the project — up to 50 percent of the total cost, or $500,000, or $75,000 per unit, whichever is the less, she said.

"The gap financing takes second position to the private financing," she said. The interest rate will the same as the initial financing. "A loan committee, which will decide on whether the applicant is approved, will also provide generous terms to make the program work."

"The Vacant Upper Floor loan fund is geared towards helping building owners maximize their building's value in Downtown Pittsburgh with residential units, which under normal financing conditions, would be too costly for them to do," said Richard Beynon, president of Beynon and Co. Inc., a vice-chairman of the 14-member loan committee set up by the Downtown Partnership.

Burk said the Downtown Partnership hopes to close on four units by the end of the year.

[AstrosFreak]

Proof that the museum hotel on Forbes Ave. near CMU is still making progress:

http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/ww104/AstrosFreak_photo/57f73377.jpg

:tup:

[Evergrey]

that hotel has been reduced by 50% due to CMU's objections

...

here's a couple great videos from KDKA tonight...

the first video is about PGH's growing immigrant populations... very good piece other than the economic xenophobia espoused by the troglodyte trade union representative..

Some Believe Immigration Vital to City's Future

http://kdka.com/video/?id=56348@kdka.dayport.com

...

this video talks about Downtown Pittsburgh's population growth and development of amenities.. specifically, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is introducing the Vacant Upper Floors program... which is a loan program to renovate the upper floors of smaller, older buildings for residential use

Push is on for Downtown Living

http://kdka.com/video/?id=56347@kdka.dayport.com

[PA Pride]

specifically, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is introducing the Vacant Upper Floors program... which is a loan program to renovate the upper floors of smaller, older buildings for residential use


Is there any comprehensive list or database of these 130+ eligible buildings? We need more info on what is available.

[tooluther]

Any building in the Golden Triangle is eligable assuming they meet the other conditions of the program. The 130 list is just buildings that have been identified as good conversion candidates.

http://www.downtownpittsburgh.com/whats-new/vacant-upper-floors

[Steel Boy]

A quick reply to the poster a few posts back about the staff of Port Authority not knowing how to run a transit system. I worked there for 12 years. Everybody knew that these changes had to be made. In fact, before the first stage of the LRT opened in the mid-80s, there as a plan to feed buses into the major stations in the South Hills. This would have resulted in fewer buses going into the city and better service in the neighborhoods. But the law states that you have to have public hearings on these changes. We went to Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair, Dormont, Mt. Lebanon, and Beechview to hold the meetings and got our heads handed to us on a plate by the residents. They told us in no uncertain terms that they did NOT want to transfer from buses and that they did NOT want their stops eliminated. It's an age-old problem. Then they started calling their county and state representatives, who put pressure on to drop the plan. That's who determined our funding, so our hands were tied.

[PA Pride]

Any building in the Golden Triangle is eligable assuming they meet the other conditions of the program. The 130 list is just buildings that have been identified as good conversion candidates.

http://www.downtownpittsburgh.com/whats-new/vacant-upper-floors


From that link is the Vacant Upper Floors Guideline.pdf


Here is what will be funded by the program:

It is expected that priority will be given the following eligible uses of
loan proceeds from the Upstairs Fund:
1) Fire Suppression
2) Fire Escape
3) Upper Floor Egress
4) Elevator installation or upgrade
5) Roof repair or replacement


On a case-by-case basis, the following additional uses of funds may be
considered:
1) Parking dedicated to the planned residential units.
2) Façade/Historic Restoration related to the residential upper
floors.
3) Environmental Clean-up
4) Mechanical systems installation, upgrade, and distribution
systems
5) Green building systems and associated costs and fees consistent
with approved level of LEED Certification
6) Soft Costs, including legal, design, engineering,

http://www.downtownpittsburgh.com/_files/docs/vuf-guidelines-final.pdf

[UrbaniDesDev]

A quick reply to the poster a few posts back about the staff of Port Authority not knowing how to run a transit system. I worked there for 12 years. Everybody knew that these changes had to be made. In fact, before the first stage of the LRT opened in the mid-80s, there as a plan to feed buses into the major stations in the South Hills. This would have resulted in fewer buses going into the city and better service in the neighborhoods. But the law states that you have to have public hearings on these changes. We went to Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair, Dormont, Mt. Lebanon, and Beechview to hold the meetings and got our heads handed to us on a plate by the residents. They told us in no uncertain terms that they did NOT want to transfer from buses and that they did NOT want their stops eliminated. It's an age-old problem. Then they started calling their county and state representatives, who put pressure on to drop the plan. That's who determined our funding, so our hands were tied.

Thank you for the clarification. It is just frustrating to see the same battles rehashed every few years.

[MattofSloppyVariety]

Not sure if anyone really cares about this, but thought i would post this.

Consolidation Building at University Drive

Taking part in the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Consolidation Building at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System are (from left to right): The Honorable Tim Murphy, United States Congressman; Keith Watson, AFGE 2028 Union President; The Honorable Mike Doyle, United States Congressman; Terry Gerigk Wolf, FACHE, Director and Chief Executive Officer, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System; Michael Moreland, FACHE, Network Director, VA Healthcare - VISN 4; Jake Ploeger, P.J. Dick, Inc.; and Tim Powers, Astorino, Inc.
The Consolidation Building will be attached to the existing acute care hospital at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System's University Drive Division. The new building will house outpatient services and 79 secure, private psychiatric beds. The design provides for ease of access to comprehensive Inpatient and Outpatient Behavioral Health, Audiology, an Education and Multimedia Center, a new Information Center and the recently renovated business center.

Quick Facts
Cost: $75.8 million
Architect: Astorino/HDR
Contractor: P.J. Dick Corporation
Project Start: January 2009
Project Completion: Fall 2011
Browse the image gallery.

Traffic Pattern Changes
The University Drive (UD) front circle will be closed, and the flow of traffic into this facility will be impacted. There will be changes to the road leading into the entrance of the parking garage.

All entrance and exit points located along the front circle at UD will be closed. The main entrance will be relocated to the ground floor, east wing through the duration of the construction. This location is one floor below the eye clinic. There will be directional signs posted inside and outside of the facility. If you enter the facility through the parking garage, these changes will not affect you.

There will also be changes to the road leading into the patient and visitor entrance of the parking garage. Please use caution and obey the directional signage and stationed police officers when visiting our University Drive Division.

Photo Gallery (http://www.pittsburgh.va.gov/PITTSBURGH/images/Construction/consolidation_building/gallery.asp)

H.J. Heinz Ambulatory Care Center


The next phase of our major construction plan has begun with the recent awarding of the $40 million H.J. Heinz Ambulatory Care Center to Walsh Construction. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2011.

Browse the image gallery.

Important Project Updates
Significant changes affecting traffic patterns, building entrance points and all employee, patient and visitor parking have already been implemented.

Phote Gallery (http://www.pittsburgh.va.gov/PITTSBURGH/images/Construction/ambulatory_care/gallery.asp)

[PA Pride]

^ Thanks Matt.

Here's a screenshot of the new $75 million consolidation building from that links video:


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

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09114/965123-28.stm

Acoustics were key to North Shore entertainment complex

Friday, April 24, 2009
By Kevin Kirkland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200904/birdseyeview_500.jpg
Continental Real Estate
This artist's rendering shows the view from the top of Heinz Field of the planned entertainment complex during an outdoor concert.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200904/042109renderedsiteplan_500.jpg
Continental Real Estate

Aerial view of entertainment complex to be built next to Heinz Field on the North Shore.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200904/shore6_500.jpg
Burt Hill/Continental Real Estate Companies

Rendering of Hyatt Place, North Shore, Pittsburgh.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200904/shore5_500.jpg
Burt Hill/Continental Real Estate Companies

Rendering of Hyatt Place North Shore, Pittsburgh.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200904/090421_promoboards_3_500.jpg
Continental Real Estate

Drawing of planned entertainment complex by Heinz Field.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200904/20090424ho_alleghaerial_500.jpg
Port Authority of Allegheny County

Artist's rendering of the North Shore Connector's elevated LRT tracks and new Allegheny Station (lower left) planned to adjoin Heinz Field.

From the cockpit of his private plane, Dan Rooney has seen the North Shore change dramatically in 10 years.

Where the Steelers' owner once saw Three Rivers Stadium floating like a bowl in a sea of parking lots, he now sees: a SpringHill Suites Hotel, PNC Park, a 10-story parking garage, Equitable Resources and Del Monte Foods' offices, Heinz Field and the under construction Rivers Casino. There's also a giant slot in the ground where tracks will emerge to carry the new North Shore Connector over Reedsdale Street, past Heinz Field to the second of two new light rail stations.

Mr. Rooney helped shape the revised North Shore. And now, even as he prepares to become U.S. ambassador to Ireland, he's involved with still more changes for the riverscape with help from the Steelers' development partner, Continental Real Estate, of Columbus, Ohio.

If all goes as planned, a flyover next summer will offer a view of three new hotels -- Hyatt Place, Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn and Suites; elevated tracks leading to the new Allegheny Station; and in the shadow of Heinz Field, a 5,500-seat indoor/outdoor entertainment complex. While not all the developments involved the Steelers and Continental, the organizations have helped make the North Shore more of a destination.

The entertainment complex has provided a particularly complicated set of challenges for the Steelers and their partners to solve, with more than one vision getting sacked.

Artist's renderings depict the future of the complex: a two-sided stage that will face a lawn and Heinz Field for outdoor shows and the other way for inside events.

Of course, no drawing can show what the $12 million amphitheater will sound like. But sound did more to shape its development than Dan Rooney or anyone else.

"Sound isn't just a key factor," said Mark Hart, the Steelers director of business. "It is the key factor."

Barry Ford, president of development in Continental's Pittsburgh office, said his company and the Steelers wanted to use the Allegheny and Ohio rivers as a backdrop for the stage.

They had to abandon the idea because that layout would funnel music and crowd noise toward North Side residents, some of whom already complain about noise from Heinz Field.

"This is for sound mitigation, not the best view," agreed James Sacco, executive director of PSSI Stadium Corp. "The sound is washing down the [Ohio] river."

Last month, Continental received approval from the city Stadium Authority to delay construction of the entertainment complex until later this summer. But Continental officials say it will be open by May 2010.

Other than sound direction and volume, finding the right size was the developers' next most important consideration.

The venue is modeled after the 8-year-old Lifestyle Communities Pavilion in Columbus' Arena District, which hosted more than 130 events last year, 40 of them outdoors. Its busiest months for indoor events are February through April and October and November, said a PromoWest Productions official.

When the North Shore entertainment complex opens next summer, it's expected to handle up to 100 concerts in its first year: 20 to 30 outdoor events and 50 to 60 indoor shows seating up to 2,500 people. The interior could be sectioned off to accommodate smaller events, the developer said.

By comparison, a tented amphitheater set to reopen this summer on the South Side will seat about 3,500. The nearby Rivers Casino, which the Steelers have had issues with, has plans for a 1,000-seat amphitheater farther west on the Ohio River. Post-Gazette Pavilion in Burgettstown has a capacity of 23,000 with 7,000 seats under cover.

Smaller venues that accommodate various-sized crowds are used more often and produce more revenue, said Scott Stienecker, president of PromoWest Productions, the Columbus-based promoter for concerts at Community Lifestyles Pavilion and the new North Shore entertainment complex.

"Forty-five hundred [people] and under is my world," he added. "We have our little niche. That's where this industry is going."

An entertainment center that is busy year-round is also what Pittsburghers want, Steelers officials said. "The public wants development and activity," Mr. Hart said. "The idea is to entice people Downtown across the river."

The developers are hoping concertgoers will eat at surrounding restaurants and help fill the new hotels, including Continental's 180-room, $25 million Hyatt Place, scheduled to open next summer. Continental's renderings show an L-shaped building "snugged against" the Fort Duquesne Bridge.

Around the same time, Harmar-based Kratsa Properties plans to open a 180-suite Marriott Residence Inn and a 135-room Fairfield Inn and Suites, costing $30 million and $11 million, respectively. The Fairfield Inn will be across West General Robinson Street from Kratsa's SpringHill Suites.

Most of the planned construction sites are or were parking lots. Continental's overall development is to maintain the 3,500 to 3,700 parking spaces that existed between the stadiums before development, although many would now be in parking garages, Mr. Ford said.

The opening of the $553 million North Shore Connector in 2011 is expected to reduce parking demand and ease traffic jams around games and concerts. The new North Side station under the West General Robinson Street parking garage is about 400 feet from PNC Park, and the Allegheny station will be across the street from Heinz Field.

Patricia Rooney, Dan's wife, said many people have ignored the North Shore Connector's biggest potential audience -- the nearly 19,000 students who attend the nearby Allegheny Campus of Community College of Allegheny County. The Ridge Avenue campus is a little more than a quarter-mile from the planned North Side LRT station.
Kevin Kirkland can be reached at kkirkland@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1978.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_622072.html

Point Park receives $2M grant from Heinz Endowments for Academic Village

By Bill Zlatos, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, April 24, 2009

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-04-23/0424point1-a.jpg
Point Park University's West Penn Building on Wood Street will house academic space.
Heidi Murrin/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-04-23/0424point2-a.jpg
The YMCA along the Boulevard of the Allies in Pittsburgh will eventually be Point Park University's Student Union and Athletic Center.
Heidi Murrin/Tribune-Review

Point Park University will use a $2 million grant from The Heinz Endowments to pay for part of its Academic Village project, which officials say would pump $280 million into the local economy.

The grant would pay for some design work and for an architect to oversee the project, school officials said Thursday. The university released a study by the Pennsylvania Economy League showing the project would create 3,724 jobs.

The study derived the $280 million figure by factoring Point Park's estimated spending on the project, plus how that money would be spent again and again by recipient employees and companies, and the businesses they patronize. Point Park plans to use the study to attract state and federal money.

"We're tuned in to the opportunity that may become available for the federal stimulus money," Point Park President Paul Hennigan said during a news conference.

The Academic Village is a $244 million plan to upgrade the Wood Street Corridor with two eight-story residence halls, a student union and athletic center, a park, streetscape improvements and the relocation of the Pittsburgh Playhouse to Forbes Avenue, Downtown. The university has invested $30 million during the past 18 months, Hennigan said.

"It will help create a vitality in this part of the city that is very much needed," said Dennis Yablonsky, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

The university hired Elmer Burger, a former architect in Providence, R.I., Washington, D.C. and Boston, as its architect and TKA Associates, a Shadyside firm, and Klavon Design Associates of the South Side to design a park on the corner of Wood Street and Boulevard of the Allies. The school hired GAI Consultants in Homestead to design streetscape improvements along Wood.

Schools are eager to share in economic stimulus money flowing into the state, and studies help show their worth.

Point Park officials estimate the school generates $74 million each year for the local economy. After the Academic Village project is complete, the annual impact is estimated to increase to $75.5 million.

Penn State released a study yesterday showing it generates $17 billion for the state's economy.

"Especially today, everyone is challenged to justify their impact and role in the local economy. We all want to know the measure of our importance. But these days, there are stimulus monies coming in. There's other money people are competing for. A good impact analysis should give you some criteria for projects that are worth supporting versus others," said Christopher Briem, a regional economist with the University of Pittsburgh Center for Social and Urban Research.

During the past year, Hennigan said, Point Park spent $6 million to renovate Boulevard Apartments, $5 million to renovate the lobby of Lawrence Hall, $5 million to renovate the West Penn Building for classrooms and received a $1.5 million anonymous donation for the park and a commitment of nearly $1 million from local lawmakers.

Point Park expects to complete Boulevard Apartments and the park next year, the Student Union and Athletic Center in 2012 or early 2013 and the playhouse with its three theaters by 2015.

Hennigan said the initiative will increase Point Park's enrollment to 4,300 students by 2013, compared with 3,800 now.

"We remain bullish on Downtown revitalization. This is an amazing convergence of opportunity and potential," he said.

[Tombstoner]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09114/965123-28.stm

Acoustics were key to North Shore entertainment complex


Too bad the architecture is so bland. Chicago's Millennium Park really raised the bar on this kind of facility, but this looks like lowest-common-denominator construction. The low-end hotel chains don't help much...

[PA Pride]

That north shore complex eats up less parking space than I would have liked. And the design looks like a detached garage. Oh well. It's better than nothing I suppose.

[pj3000]

Good to see stuff for the Point Park project. That will be a benefit to an uninviting area of downtown. Now how about a name change for Point Park University? It just isn't a "university-sounding" name.

[bruchaus]

Too bad the architecture is so bland. Chicago's Millennium Park really raised the bar on this kind of facility, but this looks like lowest-common-denominator construction. The low-end hotel chains don't help much...

Millenium Park is amazing, the difference is space. Chicago had almost an unlimited amount of space to build that park, while the North Shore is limited by pre-existing things they need to build around. I would like to see more grass on the North Side at some point. The concrete is really a turn off. I just hope the tailgaiting for Steelers games doesn't shrink.

[Tombstoner]

Millenium Park is amazing, the difference is space. Chicago had almost an unlimited amount of space to build that park, while the North Shore is limited by pre-existing things they need to build around. I would like to see more grass on the North Side at some point. The concrete is really a turn off. I just hope the tailgaiting for Steelers games doesn't shrink.

Yes and no. Millenium Park has more space, undoubtedly. Still, I think great design is doing really thoughtful stuff within the given parameters. This doesn't look like great design to me, and certainly not in such a high profile location. This could be the casino's parking garage's parking garage...:(

[Burgh15]

Millenium Park is amazing, the difference is space. Chicago had almost an unlimited amount of space to build that park, while the North Shore is limited by pre-existing things they need to build around. I would like to see more grass on the North Side at some point. The concrete is really a turn off. I just hope the tailgaiting for Steelers games doesn't shrink.

More green space would definitely enhance that area around the stadiums.

[AaronPGH]

Well one thing is for sure, it will complement that casino garage nicely.

[PA Pride]

Results of a survey from the Pittsburgh Business Times today. Looks like the decision is pretty well agreed upon!

SURVEY QUESTION:
Is high-speed rail a good idea for Pittsburgh?

It's a great idea that's long overdue
67%

It's a terrible idea and will never get off the ground
6%

I think there are better ways to spend stimulus money
14%

I don't know enough about it
8%

Other (I'll explain in the comments section)
5%

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/poll/index.html

[MattofSloppyVariety]

City inks deal on Oak Hill development
Saturday, April 25, 2009
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Construction is expected to start this fall on 450 new apartments, townhouses and homes in the Oak Hill section of the Hill District, following the signing yesterday of a development agreement for the $36.5 million project, which is almost entirely publicly funded.

"This is a glorious day for Oak Hill," said the community's tenant council president, Eloise McDonald, at a signing ceremony in Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's office. "Today starts the completion of Oak Hill."

The second phase will bring Oak Hill to 1,089 homes, including a mix of low-income and market-rate rental units and some owner-occupied houses and townhouses. The community replaced Allequippa Terrace, a 1,700-unit public housing community torn down more than a decade ago.

The second phase has faced five years of hurdles.

First, developer Beacon/Corcoran Jennison got in a tug of war with the University of Pittsburgh over the Robinson Court part of the Allequippa Terrace site. Mr. Ravenstahl and Councilwoman Tonya Payne resolved that two years ago by brokering an agreement under which Pitt pays $4 million for Robinson Court, where it is developing athletic facilities.

The developer will build on the 42-acre Waring Court part of the site.

The collapse of the global credit market nixed the developer's plans to borrow money to fill a financing gap, and reduced the value of tax credits on which the deal depended.

But over the last few days, the developer and public officials completed the financing package, which includes $10.9 million in tax credits, $9.1 million from the Housing Authority, $8.4 million from the city for infrastructure, the $4 million that Pitt paid for Robinson Court, another $200,000 from Pitt, and $3.9 million in as-yet-unspecified public funds.

The Bank of New York Mellon is buying the tax credits. The developer plans to apply for building permits in June.

The second phase is to include 292 apartments, 118 townhouses and 40 for-sale houses. Also part of the development are 20,000 square feet of offices and space for a convenience store and sandwich shop, plus the renovation of the Wadsworth Hall community building.

Rich Lord can be reached at rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542.
First published on April 25, 2009 at 12:00 am

[bruchaus]

Yes and no. Millenium Park has more space, undoubtedly. Still, I think great design is doing really thoughtful stuff within the given parameters. This doesn't look like great design to me, and certainly not in such a high profile location. This could be the casino's parking garage's parking garage...:(

I agree, small space shouldn't be an automatic loss to bad design. It seems many designers today, in public and private space, are working on reducing the effect on the environment and surroundings. Millennium Park is almost all green space, next to a lake, surrounded by green space. This new entertainment venue is surrounded by concrete, highway overpasses, and stadiums. I don't think that this should damn the site from the beginning, and I do agree with the assessment that the design is less then stellar, in line with the awful casino/parking gara-bage. Though, judging this building in regards to those surrounding it, it may be a breath of (somewhat) fresh air, as the Del Monte building, the hotel, the parking garage, and the other crap they recently built on the river next to PNC are all hideous. This thing just looks like a big steel warehouse from the one view though.

This outdoor complex definitely suffers from a lack of green though, get rid of those parking spaces and turn it into grass! If there is no where to park people will have to learn to take PT.

[bruchaus]

I didn't see this posted anywhere:

Penguins seeking top rating as greenest sports venue in U.S.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh's new arena not only will be the newest in the National Hockey League when it opens in 2010 but the greenest in sports.

On Earth Day, the Penguins and the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority announced that they will seek a LEED Gold certification for the $321 million complex, which is being built adjacent to Mellon Arena.

The LEED Gold rating not only would be the first for any arena in the National Hockey League but also the first for any major sports venue in the country, according to the U.S. Green Building Council, the developer of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system.

Gold is the second-highest of the four possible certifications under LEED. In that respect, the Consol Energy Center would outdo two other new sports venues -- the $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium and the $850 million home of the New York Mets, neither of which achieved any level of LEED certification.

"We're delighted not just to be certified but to be a leader in the field," Penguins CEO Ken Sawyer said yesterday.

After touring the arena site, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said having such a high-profile building be so environmentally friendly can only help bolster the city's image in the eyes of the world.

"When you have the only NHL hockey arena that's a [LEED Gold] building, that's going to speak volumes to the rest of the country that Pittsburgh is a progressive city, it does invest in environmentally sustainable policies, and it's good news when you talk about the image of Pittsburgh and all that we're achieving here toward that end," he said.

Of major sports venues, the Washington Nationals' ballpark in Washington, D.C., has a LEED Silver designation, the third-highest, and arenas in Atlanta and Miami have basic LEED certification, according to the Green Building Council.

The Consol Energy Center would join 14 other buildings in Pittsburgh as gold-certified, including the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Penguins officials, who are overseeing the construction, always wanted to achieve the basic level of LEED certification in the arena. But as they researched the matter more, they realized they had the chance to reach gold.

"We wanted to have it happen. We wanted to get gold," Mr. Sawyer said, adding the decision won't increase the project's $321 million budget.

LEED certification is based on a system that awards points in categories such as energy and atmosphere, building materials and resources, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design.

The Penguins will benefit from some of the building's signature design features, such as the huge glass atrium that will face Downtown and spacious open concourses, both of which will bring in more natural light, one of the factors in the ratings.

Officials also are hoping to earn points for the amount of green space around the building, recycling, using materials bought locally for construction, the purchase of at least some electricity from "green" power sources, water management, indoor air quality, heating and cooling efficiency, and the selection of environmentally friendly paints.

Mr. Sawyer said the arena also could benefit from its urban location and its proximity to public transit.

"If we built out in the suburbs on a piece of farmland, that's a negative," he said.

The team won't know for sure until after the arena opens whether it achieved the designation.

But Mr. Sawyer said he was "pretty comfortable" that there will be more than enough points available to earn the rating.

While many of the green features might not be readily noticeable to fans, they, too, will profit from better air quality, improved heating and cooling, and other environmentally friendly aspects, he said.

During yesterday's tour, Mr. Sawyer said the arena is on pace to open before the 2010-11 hockey season. Much of the building's structural steel has been erected and some of the seating bowl and open concourses already are taking shape at the site.

Center ice is now a concrete slab covered by a three-foot-high mound of dirt. But it won't be that long before the first puck drops.

"I couldn't be happier," Mr. Sawyer said. "We're on schedule, on time and on budget. It's going to be one terrific building."

[bruchaus]

This too:

Mayor sees city's construction levels as positive evidence of another renaissance
Sunday, March 01, 2009
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


While other cities' leaders are using one r-word -- recession -- to explain canceled projects and construction slowdowns, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl dares to use another one to describe what he sees: renaissance.

He invoked that hallowed term at a Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership meeting last month, and didn't hesitate to expound upon it last week, even as observers and political rivals voiced doubts.

"I firmly believe that despite the economic conditions in surrounding areas and cities, the numbers and the facts are that Pittsburgh is growing in a lot of areas, we are rebuilding the city, and we are on the brink of a third renaissance," he said.

The mayor -- who faces Democratic primary challengers -- argues that Pittsburgh is riding a gentle wave amid otherwise stormy seas, and the coming federal stimulus package "is going to mean that we are going to be able to sustain it."

Outside experts said Pittsburgh has fared better than many other cities, but warned that the future is hard to predict.

"The problems in residential mortgages have definitely started to spread into commercial mortgages," said James Haughey, chief economist with Reed Construction Data, which sells information to construction firms and analyzed comparable cities' performance for the Post-Gazette. "There's not enough money to go around."

The credit crunch is evident on many skylines.

David Feehan, president of the International Downtown Association, said Las Vegas and Miami "have 20- and 30-story major towers Downtown that have never opened" because no one can get mortgages for the condos. He cited a developer in Columbia, S.C., who sold 25 percent of the condos in a complex only to have the bank pull the plug.

"I think Pittsburgh's relatively conservative pace has served it well now, and it's perhaps well positioned," he said.

A few local projects have stalled. A proposed $230 million hotel-retail-condo project that developer DOC-Economou proposed for the Don Allen Auto City site in Bloomfield, for instance, appears to be comatose, its diagnosis and prognosis disputed.

"Hotel financing nationally started to change pretty considerably," explained Rob Stephany, executive director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority. The site will be developed eventually, he said, but it "just will not be the [project] that everybody was working on for 18 months."

"The project is not dead. It was put on hold, due to a lack of consensus in the community," said Paul O'Rourke, a spokesman for DOC-Economou. "They're still in business, and still interested in developing in this market."

For every quiet site, Mr. Ravenstahl can point to several buzzing ones, from the Rivers Casino to the Consol Energy Center to housing, retail and office projects in East Liberty, the South Side and Downtown.

The construction unions are at "between 95 and probably 110 percent employment," said Rich Stanizzo, business manager of the Building Trades Council. "They're bringing in guys from throughout the Tri-State area" and as far away as Michigan.

The city logged nearly $991 million in building permits last year, which is double the 2006 level. That number was inflated by the casino work, which will end this year.

Still, the city's growth drove the metro area's relatively strong construction market. While the Baltimore, Cincinnati and Cleveland metro areas saw construction drop steadily from 2006 to 2008, the Pittsburgh region saw a jump in 2007, followed by just a modest pull-back, according to Reed Construction Data.

"In general, across the whole country, construction activity has dipped back," said Mr. Haughey. "Activity in Pittsburgh seems to have steadily grown."

Philadelphia developer Jack Benoff, of Solara Ventures, said he's now "100 percent focused on Pittsburgh." His condo tower at 941 Penn Ave. is fully sold and paid off, and he's pre-sold 40 percent of the coming 56 condos at the Otto Milk Building in the Strip District.

Mr. Ravenstahl's 10-year tax abatement on new housing Downtown and in 26 distressed neighborhoods "is huge," said Kathy Wallace, Solara's vice president of development. It shaves as much as $6,100 a year from a condo's tax bill. Enough buyers have put down hand money that construction is set to start April 1.

Still, Solara hasn't yet lined up all of the financing needed to finish the Otto Milk Building, Mr. Benoff said.

"I am worried that there is a credit crunch in Pittsburgh, because Pittsburgh banks are very, very, very conservative," he said. "I had a lot of trouble getting anybody to lend to me on 941 [Penn]," and had to "scurry" to borrow from Johnstown-based AmeriServ Financial when a local bank yanked a loan.

The URA views the region's banks -- notably Dollar Bank, PNC Financial Services and Citizens Bank -- as big reasons for the construction market's stability.

"We are a city of financial industry that understands the underlying value of the asset, that understands the creditworthiness of the borrower," said Mr. Stephany.

Deals that rely on outside money, though, are in trouble, he said. "Anything being underwritten out of town, I would say, probably doesn't end well."

The pullback is pronounced for what Mr, Stephany called "quirky investments," like hotels, condos and anything involving tax credits.

The value of a tax credit, which a developer gets from the state or federal government and then sells, has plunged by one-third in the past year, experts agreed.

PNC is continuing to buy tax credits that back diverse deals like the 60-apartment Century Building, Downtown, and the Garfield Heights public housing development. Nationally, though, it's having a tough time marketing tax credits to other investors, said Peter Kaplan, vice president of acquisitions for PNC MultiFamily Capital.

That "makes deals less feasible," he said, but PNC plans to keep doing them when they make "an attractive return" and boost communities.

What's to keep the pullback from worsening, and erasing a drawing board of projects that range from a Target store in East Liberty to housing in Ridgemont to a retirement facility at the old South Hills High School? The administration hopes the stimulus package will see to that.

The $787 billion federal package should give Pittsburgh a $6 million to $10 million boost in funding for low-income community development, plus money for lots of roadwork.

"I see $70, $80 million in Pittsburgh alone on road, tunnel and enhancement projects enabled by the one, first pot of money from the recovery package," said city Chief of Staff Yarone Zober.

Mr. Haughey, the Reed Construction Data economist, said the stimulus won't immediately affect commercial construction, but added that Pittsburgh appears to have more "shovel-ready" improvements than similar cities because its project pipeline has flowed consistently.

It's unclear when or how any renaissance will affect the city's tax revenue and population.

The city expects less than 1 percent annual growth in its property tax receipts, in part because county assessment policy keeps it from fully cashing in on rising values. And the city's population continues to dip, from 334,563 in 2000 to 311,218 last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent estimates.

"A renaissance in my mind means that there is more vibrant business activity than previously, and that population is increasing," said city Councilman Patrick Dowd, a Democratic mayoral challenger.

He called Mr. Ravenstahl's development strategy "decentralized, scattered, and a lot of it is driven by developers. ... They take what comes along rather than trying to create."

Mr. Dowd said he would revamp the City Planning Department and craft a citywide development plan.

"It shouldn't be just lofts in the Strip District and where the Penguins are building," said Carmen Robinson, a Hill District attorney who also is running for mayor. She said any renaissance hasn't hit Lincoln-Lemington, Homewood, Brookline or Carrick, and vowed to back community benefits agreements guaranteeing jobs and investments to neighborhoods in which subsidized developments sit.

Mr. Ravenstahl argues that he is working strategically, using data to determine whether new homes, green space, business district investments or public safety efforts would help a given neighborhood most. The administration is also about to seek a consultant to help five as-yet-unpicked, troubled communities to find paths to stability.

Last year he asked consultants for concepts for stimulating development along the Allegheny River, and was surprised to get 24 responses. The URA will choose one soon.

A decade ago, Mayor Tom Murphy and Allegheny County commissioners Mike Dawida and Bob Cranmer declared a third renaissance, driven by the then-emerging stadiums and David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Mr. Ravenstahl's people aren't counting that one, instead measuring their work against the 1950s clearance of the Point State Park area and the Downtown building boom that started in the late 1970s.

[Tombstoner]

Every Saturday, the British newspaper Financial Times publishes an article about some up-and-coming neighborhood in the world -- last week was Palermo in Buenos Aires, yesterday it was Lawrenceville!

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/12ed0ef4-2f9d-11de-a8f6-00144feabdc0.html

[Evergrey]

nice find, Tombstoner...

[UrbaniDesDev]

Yes and no. Millenium Park has more space, undoubtedly. Still, I think great design is doing really thoughtful stuff within the given parameters. This doesn't look like great design to me, and certainly not in such a high profile location. This could be the casino's parking garage's parking garage...:(

You're right. Before the start of the entire North Shore development started, I had hoped that they would have taken a cue from the ALCOA hdqtrs. I was immediately dissapointed.

PNC has been based on a traditional ball park, but the rest is just bottom line architecture of the time and will date poorly.

When I think of the amazing structure that could have been placed where the Delmonte Building is, it just irks me. They are still holding on to this random height restriction, even with being served by a major subway line.

I was living on the North Side at the time and was outraged of the new street grid plan they were proposing. I could get into detail over the failings of the basic street grid now there, it would just take too long. It is so arbitrary and thoughtless

At least they decided to move the street away from the river front to allow for a promenade and the great lawn. This was done at the last minute, as you can see from the odd angle coming from the bridge over the pedestrian walk in front of Heinz Field. The firm that layed out this grid should be sued. It is a traffic nightmare even with no traffic. I did a study on this entire North Shore complex and it's traffic patterns.

A missed opportunity.

[tooluther]

The riverfront overlay zoning falls in line with the downtown vertical zoning plan rising from the rivers. As such the buildings behind the riverfront office buildings (such as the forthcoming Hyatt) will be taller.

IMO not many cities take a whole skyline into consideration when they are working out a zoning plan. IMO its a good idea. It was specifically mentioned in that Forbes best skylines in the world article as to one of the reasons Pittsburgh's is so spectacular.

[themaguffin]

I think height restrictions based on overall skyline impact are good.

However, the buildings on the North Shore couldn't be much smaller.

I would think that "small" buildings that "take into consideration" overall impact would be upper teens/low twenties in height.

Comparable to the newish apartment building across the river etc in size.

[cdc]

Looks like the demolition of the final high-rise in E. Liberty is getting
there. Yesterday I noticed that there were holes punched in the side of the
building and windows removed.

There is also demolition of some smaller buildings going on down the
street from Whole Foods on Penn Circle South and Penn Ave. where
the busway goes under Penn Ave. (where the citizens bank used to be)

[P!tt$bur&h]

Is Pittsburgh Building Too Quickly?

I'm excited for all the new developments but can't help but think that with the economy if Pittsburgh could possibly be building too fast to sustain themselves? We've seen the Dot Com bubble before and some ideas for rail lines to connect us with Philly seem impracticable.

Any Thoughts?

[themaguffin]

Is Pittsburgh Building Too Quickly?

I'm excited for all the new developments but can't help but think that with the economy if Pittsburgh could possibly be building too fast to sustain themselves? We've seen the Dot Com bubble before and some ideas for rail lines to connect us with Philly seem impracticable.

Any Thoughts?

There is not a lot of building happening. Development is very cautious and conservative due to the historically slow regional economy.

Too quickly as opposed to what?

A few projects not = to a bubble....

[Johnland]

Is Pittsburgh Building Too Quickly?

I'm excited for all the new developments but can't help but think that with the economy if Pittsburgh could possibly be building too fast to sustain themselves? We've seen the Dot Com bubble before and some ideas for rail lines to connect us with Philly seem impracticable.

Any Thoughts?

I say no, not at all. Look at Oakland. It's the 3rd largest urban center in the state, after Center City Philadelphia and Downtown Pittsburgh. And yet, it hasn't seen major new residential or retail in years.

[PA Pride]

I say no, not at all. Look at Oakland. It's the 3rd largest urban center in the state, after Center City Philadelphia and Downtown Pittsburgh. And yet, it hasn't seen major new residential or retail in years.

Oakland has an office vacancy rate of 1.5% :stunned:

Talk about growth potential.

[Black-n-Gold]

Oakland has an office vacancy rate of 1.5% :stunned:

Talk about growth potential.

About to have a children's hospital bed vacancy rate of 100%;)

[PA Pride]

About to have a children's hospital bed vacancy rate of 100%;)

You're such a pessimist. But anyway, I bet that space will be snapped up real quick.

[Evergrey]

You're such a pessimist. But anyway, I bet that space will be snapped up real quick.

UPMC announced they were doing something with that space awhile back... I forget what exactly...

[pj3000]

UPMC announced they were doing something with that space awhile back... I forget what exactly...

Yeah. We're gonna use it for a bunch of things at first.

[Evergrey]

follow the link to check out the awesome interactive map!

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_622550.html

Urban Redevelopment Authority seeks future for Allegheny River shoreline

By Jeremy Boren, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

A 12-foot-tall cinder block wall prevents Hector Corante and his pit bull, Caesar, from reaching the banks of the Allegheny River a few hundred feet from their Lawrenceville rowhouse.

It's one of many man-made reminders to shoreline city dwellers that warehouses, vacant lots and rusting scrap yards dominate a roughly 6.45-mile strip of riverfront stretching from Downtown to Highland Park.

"It would be great if there was at least some access to the river. A lot of people here feel that way," said Corante, 41, a commercial photographer who's working with a group of local dog owners to set aside land under the 40th Street Bridge for an off-leash dog park.

Corante's ideas and those of many others will become part of a public study set to begin today when the Urban Redevelopment Authority meets with landowners and neighborhood representatives on the site of a once-rotting Tippins International Inc. steel fabrication plant near the 62nd Street Bridge.

"It's a call to action to have the community become engaged," said URA spokeswoman Megan Stearman.

Instead of developing an isolated housing development on the cleared 22-acre site — as the authority did at Washington's Landing in the 1990s — officials are gathering input from businesses owners and residents who want to rehabilitate the riverfront, said authority Executive Director Rob Stephany, who lives in Lawrenceville.

"It has some sweet spots," he said about the land along the Allegheny. "They could become anything from a tree-lined street that ends with a parking lot where you can put your kayak in the water to single-family homes that front onto the river."

The URA last month agreed to pay up to $350,000 to urban planning firm Perkins Eastman to develop a master plan for the 6.45-mile stretch. It's expected to take about a year.

The area contains about 544 parcels owned by dozens of companies, individuals and the city.

But URA officials plan to focus on recommendations from an advisory committee that includes representatives from large riverfront landholders including real estate giant The Buncher Co., trucking company Pitt Ohio Express, development firm The Rubinoff Co., the Regional Industrial Development Corp. and others.

Vacant and littered lands along the river aren't surprising, given Pittsburgh's lack of planning, said Charles L. Hammel III, president of Pitt-Ohio Express.

"There are some property owners along the river that haven't done anything with their property because of a lack of a plan," he said. "They say, 'I'm not going to do anything because I'm afraid of what will go up around me.'"

Hammel, who co-owns the Cork Factory Lofts, said he hopes to see a pedestrian trail that would link existing sections. Boat docks could bring patrons to restaurants, once they're built, he said.

"Timing is everything. Pittsburgh had to come a long way before the rivers would become useful for recreation simply because they were not clean," Hammel said.

Political will has come a long way, as well. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said March 9 that rehabbing the city's Allegheny riverfronts is part of his 11-point plan to usher in Pittsburgh's "third renaissance."

Craig Dunham, a Rubinoff principal, said the planning is vital to Pittsburgh's growth.

"We think it's exciting," said Dunham, a member of the advisory committee. "The river is an amenity that many other regions have already capitalized on."

Cincinnati is building its 45-acre Riverfront Park along the Ohio River between its sports stadiums; Nashville officials are trying to fund construction of a park on the banks of the Cumberland River after conducting a $450,000 study over 16 months; and Ashland, Ky., last year started a $10.2 million project to build Veterans Riverfront Park on the Ohio River.

Becky Rodgers, executive director of Neighbors in the Strip, said whatever happens on the Allegheny should fit the historic character of the Strip District's homegrown markets.

"I'd like to see something unique," she said. "I'd hate to see another South Side Works plop down there."

Jack Benoff, president of Solara Ventures, is building 56 residential units in the Strip's old Otto Milk Building. Twenty-six are sold. Improvements along the Allegheny could attract buyers, he said.

"Whatever they do is better than what's there right now," he said. "I think the key thing when I talk to our buyers is they like the idea of being able to ride their bike right out their door onto a trail."

[Evergrey]

really? Onorato wants to build WVU's PRT system in Pittsburgh??? That cutesy experimental system is ok for a tiny college town... but there's a reason it has never been replicated in the 35 years since... and his proposed Downtown-Oakland routes have the classic problem of not actually serving any populations... Cleveland's Waterfront Line is a cautionary tale... the BRT isn't sexy but it is quite effective... what's the point of running this LRT, err... PRT... along the BRT? Because there's less hassle being that it's a right-of-way and publicly owned corridor... but it will end up being a wasted project

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09119/966208-147.stm

Onorato eyes rail links to airport, Oakland

Seeking $7 million in federal funding for mass transit system
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
By Jon Schmitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato is seeking $7 million in federal funding to begin development of a multibillion-dollar mass transit system linking Pittsburgh International Airport, Downtown, Oakland and several East End neighborhoods.

He also has asked for $10.5 million for final design of a commuter rail line from Arnold in Westmoreland County to the Strip District or Downtown.

Mr. Onorato made those and other funding requests in a letter Friday to U.S. Reps. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, and Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills.

Congress has begun work on a new multiyear surface transportation funding authorization bill to replace the one that expires Sept. 30.

Mr. Onorato is hoping to capitalize on that, and on an administration that has signaled its intention to increase federal investment in rail and mass transit projects.

"As you know, President Obama wants to transform the way we travel in America -- both between cities and within cities -- in order to reduce dependence on foreign oil, lower carbon emissions, foster new economic development and give travelers and commuters more choices," he said in his letter to the lawmakers.

In an interview, Mr. Onorato said it was too soon to attach a timetable to his plans, but said it was important to have a blueprint of the region's priorities in the hands of federal officials.

"There's been a sea change of philosophy in Washington. We now have an administration that says we're reinvesting in this country. The new administration has definitely changed the discussion from wishful thinking to having a partner willing to invest and fund these projects," he said.

A rail line to the airport could originate at the end of the Port Authority's North Shore Connector, currently under construction, cross the Ohio River at Brunots Island and serve Mc­Kees Rocks, Stowe, Coraopolis and Moon, including Robert Morris University, said Kevin Evanto, Mr. Onorato's spokesman.

The Downtown-to-Oakland line could originate at the existing First Avenue light-rail station and use the corridor occupied by the Eliza Furnace Trail to reach Oakland. Or it could begin at Penn Station and follow the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway.

On either route, much of the right-of-way already is publicly owned, Mr. Onorato said.

He envisions the Downtown-to-Oakland line connecting to a circulator system -- possibly using technology similar to West Virginia University's Personal Rapid Transit system -- serving the Pittsburgh Technology Center, Oakland, Shadyside, Bloomfield, Lawrenceville and the South Side.

The estimated development cost of the rail segments and circulator is $3.5 billion. Mr. Onorato said he wants to explore public-private partnerships to help finance the project -- perhaps having a private investor design, build and operate the circulator line and control development rights along it.

"I'm very open-minded. We're putting everything on the table as far as funding these projects," he said.

The $7 million Mr. Onorato is seeking would be used for preliminary planning, selection of routes and modes, and exploration of public-private financing.

The commuter rail line, which has been discussed and studied for at least a decade, would operate along the Allegheny Valley Railroad, a little-used freight line. It would have four peak-period trips per day and serve six or seven stations.

Mr. Altmire secured $500,000 in 2007 for a feasibility study that is nearly completed, and he has called the project one of his top transportation priorities. It would give commuters an alternative to driving on congested Route 28.

Mr. Onorato asked the congressmen to earmark funds for seven other projects: $25 million to rebuild and widen Campbells Run Road from Baldwin Road to Route 60 in Robinson; $32 million to realign and widen Painters Run Road from Robb Hollow Road to Bower Hill Road in Upper St. Clair and Scott; $35 million to rehabilitate the Mansfield Bridge, which connects Dravosburg, Glassport and Mc­Keesport.

Also, $12 million for a flyover ramp crossing railroad tracks at the Carrie Furnace redevelopment site in Rankin and Swissvale; $4.5 million for road improvements near the Tech 21 office park in Marshall; $2.5 million for road construction near Tech One Business Park in Monroeville; and $7 million for traffic improvements at the Allegheny Ludlum steel plant in Brackenridge.

"I represent a district that has enormous transportation needs and I'm going to have to make difficult decisions," said Mr. Altmire, the only local congressman serving on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which is writing the funding authorization bill.

The bill will have a requirement that all projects have 80 percent of their funding secured, to discourage members from steering money to projects that have little chance of being built.

Mr. Altmire said it was possible that the rail projects, if not included in that bill, could be funded from other sources, noting that the Obama administration already has committed or proposed $13 billion for high-speed intercity rail projects.

"There is definitely a new priority placed on rail projects and we hope this will fit into that somewhere," he said.

In a statement released yesterday afternoon, Mr. Doyle said: "I have received a number of requests from different local sources, including Allegheny County Executive Onorato. I greatly appreciate this input, and I'm working with local community leaders to work out the best way to proceed on the upcoming transportation bill."
Jon Schmitz can be reached at jschmitz@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1868.

[dugdogmaster]

Ah ha! I just posted a comment about this on the mass transit thread after I saw it on KDKA this morning, they didn't give any details though as this article did. What a sham:haha: If they're finally going to get this off the ground, why don't they do it right!?!

[tooluther]

Point A: To include the Hill is just a major major expenditure unless they can figure out a way to do it at grade...which may be possible, but if it goes under ground you're talking tens of billions of dollars extra

Point B: I think a street car would be a great way to connect Lawrenceville-Oakland-Tech Center-South Side Works, but I don't really care what the technology is the connection is the important thing and I think that's what the CE is trying to convey.

I think its great that there is any movement on this at all. I think Onarato for the past few years has realize if we don't have plans in place first the federal money won't come.

[hyperion1110]

Point A: To include the Hill is just a major major expenditure unless they can figure out a way to do it at grade...which may be possible, but if it goes under ground you're talking tens of billions of dollars extra

Point B: I think a street car would be a great way to connect Lawrenceville-Oakland-Tech Center-South Side Works, but I don't really care what the technology is the connection is the important thing and I think that's what the CE is trying to convey.

I think its great that there is any movement on this at all. I think Onarato for the past few years has realize if we don't have plans in place first the federal money won't come.

I agree on both points.

While I think it would be difficult, and potentially more expensive, running a streetcar up Forbes Ave, past Duquesne, and all way through Oakland. From the point of view of usefulness, I think that would be the best. Heck, the student population serving that corridor would be in the tens of thousands daily. Still, it would make a lot of sense to run along the Elize Furnace Trail, serve the technology center, then come up into Oakland from Panther Hollow...it would certainly be a speedy route.

In general, though, I think it's a good idea to push for rail, no matter what the ultimate outcome is. I mean, I don't mind the buses. But they're so dirty and loud, which I think diminishes the quality of life significantly.

[Steel Boy]

I think a line between downtown and Oakland would have to include the Hill District. It's a densely populated area with a lot of transit-dependent people. There should be at least one or two stops through this corridor before it gets to Oakland. The busway and Second Avenue routes would totally bypass the Hill, and those riders are what would make it viable.

[Tombstoner]

I think there's something about a LRT (or PRT) that is just downright more sexy than a BRT system. I don't know if it's because it seems more "hard-wired," or more technologically significant, or has a historic resonance with railroads more generally but I wouldn't underestimate the cachet of a rail system and its ability to attract ridership. Speaking for myself, in cities with great bus and rail systems (I'm thinking Chicago, London, NYC, Paris) I will always take the rail when possible. I'm not sure it's "rational" but I think its real.

When I think of going anywhere using "mass transit" here in Atlanta, I pretty much mean "MARTA" rather than buses even though MARTA is very limited.

[themaguffin]

Actually I don't think that the Hill is a dense area. I was looking at city via the satellite view of google maps the other day and it's an area that could use some density.

I was specifically think of rail and the hill itself seems to be problematic with the topography. I assumed that a line would need to go under it. Though it would probably be controversial to do so because then it would mean that the Hill would literally be skipped in a line, but there should be some type of Centre ave line through Oakland and if possible a line past Duquesne/Mercy that wraps to Oakland and a Strip/Lawrenceville route is possible to, maybe those two could be part of a loop...

[pj3000]

I'd like to see it connect Downtown and Oakland via the Hill District for the simple fact that it would be the linchpin in solidifying redevelopment of the Uptown/Hill neighborhoods. We could potentially have a continuous, vibrant urban area from Downtown to Oakland if we had light rail serving the neighborhood. And, as hyperion1110 said above, the Hill Dist. route seems to have the most usefulness and the proposed Eliza Trail route would be the quickest. I see the greater ease with which the 2nd Ave/Eliza route can be accomplished, but is benefit really there? That route is between the a river, a highway, and a vertical hillside...

[Tombstoner]

I'd like to see it connect Downtown and Oakland via the Hill District for the simple fact that it would be the linchpin in solidifying redevelopment of the Uptown/Hill neighborhoods. We could potentially have a continuous, vibrant urban area from Downtown to Oakland if we had light rail serving the neighborhood. And, as hyperion1110 said above, the Hill Dist. route seems to have the most usefulness and the proposed Eliza Trail route would be the quickest. I see the greater ease with which the 2nd Ave/Eliza route can be accomplished, but is benefit really there? That route is between the a river, a highway, and a vertical hillside...

yeah, trains can go real fast when you don't pick up or drop off people :D

[Steel Boy]

Actually, there are about a dozen bus routes that run between Oakland and downtown 20 hours a day, and it's only about a 10 minute ride. The service is already there, it's just not on rail.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_622918.html

United adds Pittsburgh-West Coast flight as US Airways ends similar service

By Bonnie Pfister, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, April 30, 2009

United Airlines in late summer will begin flying from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles and San Francisco — just two weeks after US Airways cuts its service to those cities.

United announced Wednesday it would begin one roundtrip flight daily to San Francisco and another to Los Angeles on Sept. 2. US Airways said its last day to offer that same service is Aug. 18.

"It was a tough business decision, but the flights were removed because the routes were underperforming," said Michelle Mohr, spokeswoman for Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways. The airline has no other changes planned at this time, she said.

Robin Urbanski, spokeswoman for Chicago-based United, said her company was unaware that US Airways was planning to cut those routes.

"We hear from our passengers that they want more convenient service to our California hubs, where they can connect to anywhere in the world, particularly Asia," Urbanski said. "And a lot of customers in the West Coast want to travel to Pittsburgh, for business and leisure."

United offers 28 daily flights between Pittsburgh and Chicago, Denver and Washington. It is the fifth-busiest airline at Pittsburgh International Airport based on passenger traffic.

US Airways is still the busiest carrier at the Findlay-based airport, but its service has dropped from more than 500 daily departures a day in 2000 to just 47 today. Other cities it serves include Las Vegas; Phoenix; New York; Washington; Boston; Philadelphia; St. Louis; Hartford, Conn.; and Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, both in North Carolina.

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato praised the new flights as part of his priority to expand the region's air service.

"These new flights expand options for reaching Hawaii; Vancouver and Edmonton, Canada; Asia and Australia with only one stop," he said in a statement. "United's new air service will be a tremendous asset for our region and enable our businesses to compete even more efficiently on a global scale."

The flights will be operated with a 120-seat Airbus 319 — the same aircraft US Airways uses. The Los Angeles flight will depart Pittsburgh at 6 p.m., arriving at Los Angeles International Airport at 8:16 p.m. daily. The returning flight departs at 9 a.m., arriving in Pittsburgh at 5:17 p.m.

The San Francisco flight departs Pittsburgh at 8:45 a.m., arriving at San Francisco International Airport at 11:13 a.m. The return flight leaves San Francisco at 1 p.m., arriving in Pittsburgh at 8:49 p.m. Both flights were available on United.com yesterday for $320 round trip.

US Airways flights to those cities three weeks earlier are also selling for $320 round trip at US Airways.com.

[bruchaus]

I think people would rather travel on rail than bus. Living in NYC I use both trains and buses, but in Pittsburgh it is really hard to get around without a car. If there was better, reliable, train service in Pittsburgh I feel that people would rather ride it than get on a bus. It might have nothing to do with the actual travel on the bus but more likely the stigma that PAT and bus travel in general has in PGH.

[Johnland]

Actually, there are about a dozen bus routes that run between Oakland and downtown 20 hours a day, and it's only about a 10 minute ride. The service is already there, it's just not on rail.

I remember living in Oakland on N. Dithridge St. and it was very easy to get a bus to Downtown. I admit it has been some time since then, but all you had to do walk to 5th Ave and catch any bus. Back then it was the 71A - D coming from East End neighborhoods or the 61's, coming from Sq. Hill and beyond. And... the real luxury was the coveted 77 something, the Shadyside bus that ran down Bayard St right at the end of the block.

[JackStraw]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09119/966409-455.stm

United to add Pittsburgh flights to San Francisco, L.A.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

United Airlines will add once-daily nonstop service to San Francisco and Los Angeles From Pittsburgh International Airport in September.

The flights will start Sept. 2. The San Francisco flight will leave Pittsburgh at 8:30 a.m. and arrive at San Francisco International Airport at 10:58 a.m. Pacific Time. The return flight will leave San Francisco at 1 p.m. and arrive in Pittsburgh at 8:49 p.m. The Los Angeles flight will leave Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. and arrive at Los Angeles International Airport at 8:16 p.m. The return flight will leave Los Angeles at 9:40 a.m. and arrive in Pittsburgh at 5:17 p.m.

United will use A319 jets with 120 seats for service.

US Airways currently offers one nonstop flight a day from both cities, but there were indications today that the airline planned to discontinue those flights later this year.

That is atleast some good news. I went to Charlotte today for a job. Crickets are in Pittsburgh's nice airport, and then in Charlotte it is bussy as all hell. It just pisses me off everytime I make this damn Charlotte trip. Especially when you see blank screens that use to be full of flights, and only one people mover operating. There is nothing more depressing about hearing the older professionals talk about how they use to be able to get flights out of Pittsburgh to other cities, and now they got to go through Charlotte. Even though this is small news, it is atleast good.

[PA Pride]

I remember living in Oakland on N. Dithridge St. and it was very easy to get a bus to Downtown. I admit it has been some time since then, but all you had to do walk to 5th Ave and catch any bus. Back then it was the 71A - D coming from East End neighborhoods or the 61's, coming from Sq. Hill and beyond. And... the real luxury was the coveted 77 something, the Shadyside bus that ran down Bayard St right at the end of the block.

Awesome. My cousin lived at the corner of N. Dithridge and Centre for the last 8 yrs in a beautiful old brick mansion. Sweet place. But he just got kicked out; They are tearing down several old mansions to build a new highrise there.

[Evergrey]

let's get something moving on this enormous dead zone

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_622917.html

Developers show interest in Don Allen Auto City site in Bloomfield

By Sam Spatter, FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, April 30, 2009

Three local developers are reportedly interested in restarting development of the former Don Allen Auto City site in Bloomfield.

A $230 million hotel and retail project planned for the site was placed on hold in December when it failed to gain support of neighborhood groups. Developer Doc-Economou of the North Hills had partnered with Richard Voelker, president of DA Diversified Inc., owner of the property, in the project.

City Councilman Bill Peduto said three local developers have expressed interest in joining the Voelker family interests in moving ahead either with the original plan or developing a new project.

Voelker declined to comment on the status of the site.

Local developers said to be interested include Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services Inc. of Green Tree and Armstrong Development Properties Inc. in the South Side. The third developer could not be identified.

Craig Baldwin of Armstrong declined to comment on whether his firm is interested or involved. Burns & Scalo President James Scalo said he has "spoken to them on preliminary basis, along with other companies. We are not currently engaged."

Doc-Economou principal Brenda Yurick said in February that her company is still interested in the site. She could not be reached this week.

Peduto discussed new interest in developing the site at a recent meeting of the Baum Centre Initative, an umbrella organization with representatives from local community organizations.

"The developer selected will probably be one who has worked with community groups on other projects," Peduto said. The problem with the previous development team was that a traffic study was not performed initially, and the goals of the community were not fully considered, he said.

"I look at the site as probably the most valuable one in the city," Peduto said.

Peduto said community groups involved include the Shadyside Action Coalition, the Bloomfield Resident Council and the Friendship Preservation Group. "Any new development team must be upfront with the community groups," he added.

Peggy Ott, president of the Shadyside Action Coalition, said she was not aware of new interest to develop the Don Allen site.

Peduto said major issues facing developers are the height of proposed buildings, the need for a master plan for the entire site and development of a traffic study early in the process.

Initially, the developers wanted to build a seven-story, mixed-use building at Baum and Liberty, with two floors of retail, three floors of hotel rooms and two floors of either condominiums or rental apartments.

They scaled back the plan by removing two floors of condominiums, reducing the retail space, eliminating underground parking and reducing the height of the building from 97 feet to 90 feet.

Nonetheless, neighborhood opposition arose on a number of issues, including a plan to use Powhattan Street as the entrance to the hotel and an underground parking garage, and a place for deliveries.


...


http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_622928.html

Goodwill's former South Side headquarters will become apartments

By The Tribune-Review Thursday, April 30, 2009

Goodwill's seven-story headquarters on the South Side will be converted to an apartment building with retail space on the first floor, under a plan that developer Jim Scalo will describe at a news conference today.

The nonprofit Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania, meanwhile, is continuing to look for a new home with help from Scalo's firm, Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services Inc.

Goodwill chose Burns & Scalo in March from among three firms that submitted bids to buy the South Side building and help the organization relocate.

Spokesman Dan Giovannitti said the apartments will be geared for young professionals and underground parking will be provided.

...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09120/966662-46.stm

Citing economy, upscale Richard Chen's closes

Pricey restaurant opened last year

Thursday, April 30, 2009
By China Millman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Richard Chen, the pan-Asian fine dining restaurant which many considered the crown jewel of East Liberty's flourishing restaurant scene, closed its doors at the end of service last night.

Cathy Chen, co-owner and wife of executive chef Richard Chen, cited economic concerns as the primary reason for closing.

The restaurant, which was located in the Eastside development in East Liberty, celebrated its grand opening Aug. 12.

Originally, Mr. Chen had planned to spend a substantial amount of time at the Pittsburgh restaurant, while still maintaining a presence at Wing Lei, his Michelin-starred restaurant in the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel.

Hotels and restaurants in Las Vegas have felt substantial effects of the economic crisis, especially as a result of many canceled and downgraded conventions.

"Richard really has devoted all his time in Vegas, because they're having trouble there, too. It's so difficult for him to go back and forth," explained Mrs. Chen.

But a smaller than expected clientele also played a role in their decision to close.

"It's difficult to survive in Pittsburgh," said Mrs. Chen, a longtime Pittsburgh resident who also owns Ya Fei, a Chinese restaurant in Robinson.

She acknowledged the customers felt the restaurant was expensive, and that a fine dining establishment was a difficult sell in the current economic climate.

In the months since the restaurant opened, adjustments were made to the menu to lower the price point, including removing some of the most expensive choices from the menu and introducing prix fixe options. But these changes did not attract the necessary diners.

The Chens plan to remodel the restaurant space and re-open under a different name. The new restaurant will have a lower price point and they hope it will be a better fit for the current economic conditions and for Pittsburgh.

At its 2008 awards, the American Institute of Architects' Pittsburgh chapter gave a certificate of merit to EDGE Studio for its design of the restaurant space. Jurors praised "the quality of materials in the finishes" and "the simplicity of the floor plan."

As of this morning, not all employees were aware of the restaurant's closing. Steve Mosites, of the Mosites Co. which owns the Eastside development, wasn't certain whether the owners had finalized their decision.

Rob Reese, owner of the nearby Red Room Cafe, believes the restaurant was a "casualty of the economy."

"He came in right before the bottom fell out," said Mr. Reese. "Having the start-up costs and being new, they may not have had the luxury of other restaurants in the area that had their roots really well planted before this happened."

China Millman can be reached at cmillman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1198.


...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_622975.html

$222K in grants secured to study development around light-rail transit line

By The Tribune-Review Thursday, April 30, 2009

Community organizations in Allentown, Beltzhoover, Beechview and Mt. Washington will receive $222,700 in state and city grants to study development around the light-rail transit line.

The organizations will examine the areas within a half-mile of Port Authority's South Hills Junction and Fallowfield stations, and recommend developments that could take advantage of the T's proximity, said Desiree Van Tassel, special projects manager for state Rep. Chelsa Wagner, D-Brookline, whose office helped coordinate the grant applications.

The study, supported mainly with a $150,000 Transit Revitalization Investment District grant, will be similar to one conducted in Dormont and Mt. Lebanon, she said.

[Evergrey]

new urbanist neighborhood finally moving forward in Oakmont

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_622858.html

Housing-retail complex in Oakmont gets green light

By Karen Zapf, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Kacin Companies has the go-ahead to begin its $80 million housing-and-retail development project at the former Edgewater Steel site.

Oakmont Council, in a special meeting Tuesday night, approved 240 single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses for 34 acres near College Avenue. Retail space is proposed near Allegheny Avenue.

The homes, in the development that will be called Edgewater, are expected to cost $250,000 to $600,000. Kacin officials plan to start work this summer and have homes ready for occupancy next spring.

The vote was 4-2 with Councilmen Tim Favo and Allan Kennedy voting no. Councilwoman Paula Calabrese was absent.

Favo and Kennedy said they have environmental concerns about 7.5 acres of property in Dark Hollow Woods that the developer plans to buy and convert into ballfields per an agreement with the borough. The Department of Environmental Protection will analyze the land to determine if it can be used for recreation, according to borough solicitor Shawn Gallagher.

Favo opposed the plan because he wants a traffic light installed on College Avenue, and the plan does not call for the light. Borough officials said PennDOT determined a light is not needed.

Residents echoed the councilmens' concerns.

"There should be a traffic light at the end of College Avenue to ease the confusion," said Mark DiCocco, who lives on College. "It is desperately needed."

Favo said he supports starting a borough fund to pay for a traffic light.

Gary Lesnick of Fifth Street said he doesn't want borough taxes to increase as a result of the town taking on any maintenance related to the development.

"I don't want to pay any more taxes for space I won't use," Lesnick said.

Kacin bought the property from the Regional Industrial Development Corp. of Southwestern Pennsylvania, a private, nonprofit corporation that develops properties, or helps facilitate development by others, in 10 Western Pennsylvania counties.

It took over ownership of the Edgewater Steel site along the Allegheny River in 2001 after the company went bankrupt and closed its manufacturing operations there.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_623098.html

Goodwill building project in South Side detailed

By Sam Spatter, FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, May 1, 2009

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-04-30/0501-goodwill1-a.jpg
Goodwill Industries' properties in the South Side are outlined in red.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-04-30/0501-goodwill2-a.jpg
Goodwill Industries president Mike Smith (left) speaks with Jim Scalo, of Burns & Scalo, in the South Side.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review


The seven-story Goodwill headquarters building in the South Side would be turned into 64 apartments geared for younger workers under a $20 million plan that developer Jim Scalo described on Thursday.

The century-old building at 2600 E. Carson St. can be renovated into a complex of one- and two-bedroom apartments -- with retail space and underground parking for up to 75 cars, said Scalo, president of Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services of Green Tree.

"We expect to have six to seven retail outlets on the ground floor, each complementing the needs of our tenants as well as the consumers" who visit the nearby SouthSide Works development or the South Side in general, he said.

Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania chose Burns & Scalo in March from among three bidders to acquire its building, and help it find new quarters.

Michael J. Smith, the nonprofit's CEO, said the building won't be sold until Goodwill finds another location in the city, preferably in the South Side, that is close to public transit. Once Goodwill vacates its building, the renovations are expected to take 12 to 14 months.

"Burns & Scalo has been searching for such an existing building, which would provide about 100,000 square feet, preferably all on one level," Smith said yesterday during an event to unveil details about the project.

One quarter of the new space will need to have high ceilings to accommodate specialized work areas. Training facilities, classrooms and offices also will be at the new location, Smith said. Several buildings have been rejected.

"We service about 100,000 people annually in many different ways and help about 2,000 people find jobs every year," Smith said.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority would help Scalo with the apartment project, and he encouraged Goodwill to stay in the city.

Scalo also said a second apartment building could be built on vacant space adjoining the seven-story Goodwill building. He said his company's purchase of the main building and 14 other parcels that span three blocks from 27 to 29th streets, and are part of the deal, will return the properties to the tax rolls.

Smith said Goodwill's store at 27th and Carson and a 24th Street building used for programs won't be sold.

[PA Pride]

^Great location. I'm sure all that space will command a premium.

[MattofSloppyVariety]

I drove past the Don Allen site today and noticed that they had just finished taking down all the signs that indicated that it was once a car dealership. I am hoping that means something good.

I'm happy that they are putting the Goodwill building to good use. Hopefully one of the spots that they use for retail will be something along the lines of an Italian grocer. Would love to be able to grab some fresh produce while down there. And i would hope that they would spruce up the goodwill stores outside too. I think a little cleaning and maybe some fresh paint would do that spot some good.

[Evergrey]

there was supposed to be an Italian grocer across the street in SouthSide Works... I remember seeing the signage for it a couple years ago... but it never got off the ground

[Evergrey]

well, it turns out Pittsburgh may have a "new" oldest building... and it took the threat of demolition to figure this out! :rolleyes:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09123/967356-53.stm

Old Stone Inn may be oldest building in the city

1793 accounts ledger indicates 1756 date on cornerstone may be accurate

Sunday, May 03, 2009
By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200905/tavern_500.jpg
Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette
Amateur historian Michael Shealey with the Old Stone Tavern ledger from 1793 to 1796 in the William R. Oliver Special Collections room in the Carnegie Library, of Pittsburgh Oakland.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200905/20090503as_tavern101_500.jpg
Andy Starnes/Post-Gazette

Accounts from a 1793 ledger indicate a 1756 date on the cornerstone of the Old Stone Inn may be accurate.

Twenty years into this nation's history, a man could board his horse at hay, put his wife and child on a ferry and enjoy a "jinn" grog, cherry toddy or bitters by paying one publican in a building that still stands.

Pittsburgh's Historic Review Commission is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to recommend historic status for the Old Stone Inn, a West End landmark at 434 Greentree Road. If the inn is as old as growing evidence indicates, it may be older than the nation, even older than Pittsburgh.

No historic nomination in recent memory has led to such depths of discovery. Researchers have become giddy as they've uncovered the inn's story, which includes at least a peripheral role in the Whiskey Rebellion.

The inn's cornerstone date of 1756 has always been puzzling to historians, who thought it apocryphal.

The Fort Pitt Block House in Point State Park, which was built in 1764, long has been regarded as the city's oldest building. How, historians asked, could a building hiding in plain sight on a busy thoroughfare be older?

Also, stone construction in the region largely came after the 18th century. The late Walter Kidney, an architecture historian for the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, estimated the inn was built around 1800.

Art Merrell, a West End resident who last year tried to interest investors in buying and restoring the building to be a tourist attraction, said it resembles buildings found in French-speaking Quebec. He contends early French settlers could have built it.

"I spent last year trying to save it and couldn't get anyone to invest a dime," he said. Last summer, when he discovered the building was for sale and sought to interest buyers who would restore it, he noted that Pittsburgh was celebrating the 250th anniversary of its founding while neglecting many pieces of its past.

For a time, his was a lone voice. Even preservation champion John DeSantis, who nominated the inn for historic status two months ago, said he didn't suspect it had been built before 1800 or was significant.

Then, someone alerted Mr. Merrell that the Carnegie Library had an old accounts ledger from the inn from 1793 to 1796. It is designated as volume N.

"This volume indicates there were 13 account books before it," Katherine Molnar, the city's preservation planner, told the Historic Review Commission earlier this month. That would put the business, if not the building, in existence 40 years earlier, she said.

"That 1756 datestone so many people thought was apocryphal is looking more realistic," said Mr. DeSantis.

Greg Priore, archivist in the library's William R. Oliver Special Collections Room, said he had no occasion to study the ledger until the phone started ringing with requests to see it. It was donated in 1912 and later rebound, but the library has no information about who donated it.

"Nobody as far as I know had looked at it for a long time," he said.

The inn originally was a toll house at the northern terminus of the Washington Pike. Early owners also ran a ferry business and a sawmill and staged entertainment and political events. The inn sold sundries, boarded horses and accepted cash or bartered items such as raccoon skins, rye and odd jobs performed around the inn.

The building operated continuously as a restaurant or bar until two years ago, when Mario Pettica closed it. He sold it in February to Lee Harris, owner of Harris Masonry next door.

In March, Ms. Molnar, Mr. DeSantis, Dru Simeone, of the West Pittsburgh Partnership, Mr. Harris and his two sons toured the building. Mr. Harris had a demolition permit pending when Mr. DeSantis nominated the inn for historic status. Mr. Harris has not returned phone calls, but Mr. DeSantis and others say he is amenable to preservation efforts.

"We get in there, and there's 1970s remodeling of the tap room and bar," said Mr. DeSantis. "Once we got into the basement and attic, though, we were giddy. It was like being Indiana Jones if you're an old-building nerd."

A section of newer ceiling tiles had fallen to reveal the original attic framework, chisel marks in the stone and two original windows that had been covered.

"The more we're shining the flashlights, the more we're seeing an unintentional time capsule," he said. "We're suggesting the owners do nothing" until a state preservation officer and archaeology students get inside to investigate further.

The ledger indicates that the inn bore the footsteps of a slew of famous and infamous people in Pittsburgh's history, including John Neville, John Ormsby, various McKees, Wilkinses and Beltzhoovers, and John Woods, who helped lay out the city and served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

He was also the attorney of John Neville, the large-scale distiller and tax collector whose estate was burned in the Whiskey Rebellion during the early 1790s. Mr. Neville stood to benefit greatly when an excise tax was imposed to burden small distillers at a much higher rate. The rebellion of small distillers and distributors prompted the federal government to dispatch the military to quell it.

John Woods was in the tavern and used the owners' ferry the night before the raid on John Neville's estate in what is now Scott. In the ledger, beside Mr. Woods' name, is written the word "spy."

Hugh Henry Brackenridge managed the inn and ended up mediating between the rebels and the government. Mr. Brackenridge, a founder of the Pittsburgh Gazette, had to talk his way out of being hanged because of a misunderstanding of his role in the mediation.

Michael Shealey, a local amateur historian who has been researching the inn's history, said further research may determine if the rebels plotted the raid on Neville's home or other events of the Whiskey Rebellion at the inn.

"But once we index the ledger, we will see more connections to a lot of things," said Mr. Shealey, who believes the inn probably was built in the 1780s on the site of an earlier log structure.

The ledger is about 3 inches thick. Its amber pages feel like leather. The script, in handwriting resembling that found on the Declaration of Independence, lists expenses and revenues for grog, rye and oats, room and board, breakfast and ferry passages. Many words were variations on today's spellings, such as "jinn."

Among the entries: "Sundrie expenses for self and horse."

"Loaf of shugar, 1 pair of mittins, three iron hoop'd barrels."

"Horse at hay, three quarts of oats, glass grog, dinner and ferry," reads another.

"26 bushels turnips, 3 bushels corn, 25 bushels rye, 1 stack hay, wintering two steers."

One patron's bar tab reads, "Toddy lost at cards."

Several patrons are identified as "son of," and their father's names are listed on the other side of the ledger as having paid their bills.

The ledger also identifies patrons as stocking weavers, surveyors, butchers, bakers, tavern keepers, schoolmasters, coopers and haymakers.

One cheeky reference to a patron called "the United States" includes names unfriendly to the small distillers and their rebellious cause.

Mr. Shealey said the ledger promises to enrich the inn's history even more as historians interpret its entries.

"So few buildings in Pittsburgh are pre-Civil War" vintage, he said. "An 18th-century building is in a class by itself."

"This may be the only building still standing that the French built, when most residents were Native Americans," said Mr. DeSantis. "And to think it might have become a parking lot."

Mr. Merrell's dream of a complete restoration and a stream of tourists -- even an interpretation center and gift shop -- "are all much more likely now," said Mr. DeSantis. "This has been a heck of an adventure. Exciting doesn't happen much anymore."

Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. Also visit her neighborhood coverage online in "City Walkabout" at www.post-gazette.com/local.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09123/967310-28.stm

Business fliers find it tough to get here

Sunday, May 03, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For years, the K&L Gates law firm routinely brought employees from its offices throughout the world into Pittsburgh for firmwide management meetings that, by extension, helped show off the city.

But for the past few years, the firm has held the meeting outside of New York City and this year selected a location near Washington, D.C., for the gathering. It wasn't for a change of scenery.

Rather, because of dramatic cutbacks in flights at Pittsburgh International Airport, it was becoming too hard to get people into the city. Many were left at the mercy of clogged and chaotic East Coast airports to make connections.

"We had some horror stories," K&L Gates Chairman Peter Kalis said. "You work like hell to recruit them into the firm, and then you subject them to the Philadelphia airport and you get what you deserve."

Mr. Kalis and his colleagues are among local business travelers who are finding that more and more, air travel from and to Pittsburgh is an ordeal akin to an Indiana Jones adventure, thanks in large part to cutbacks by US Airways.

"There are major cities throughout this country which require a lot of determination, ingenuity and Advil to travel to and return from," Mr. Kalis said.

It wasn't always that way. Before the Sept, 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, business travelers from Pittsburgh could easily reach virtually any major city in the United States and three in Europe because of the presence of US Airways' connecting hub.

Back then, there were more than 110 nonstop destinations in all. Nearly eight years later, after the loss of the hub and what seems like a never-ending cycle of reductions by US Airways, Pittsburgh is down to 38 such destinations.

That's fewer than comparably sized cities like Kansas City, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Cleveland and Cincinnati, the latter four of which are still hubs for a carrier.

Over the past eight years, Pittsburgh has lost nonstop service to cities such as Seattle, Buffalo, Columbus, Harrisburg, Kansas City, Nashville, New Orleans, Providence, San Diego and Toledo. Flights to Frankfurt, London and Paris have been dropped, although the latter will resume in June.

Even for remaining nonstop flights, the frequency in many cases is nowhere near what it used to be. Only one nonstop flight a day is available to Los Angeles and San Francisco, both major West Coast destinations.
Connections and headaches

"The convenience of flying is gone in many ways," said Robert Lewis, chief executive officer of Orbital Engineering and a former Allegheny County Airport Authority board member.

In some ways, the US Airways retrenchment has been a boon for the region, opening the door for low-cost carriers like Southwest Airlines and JetBlue to enter the market and allowing another, AirTran Airways, to expand.

Ten years ago, local travelers complained about fares so high from Pittsburgh International Airport that former Mayor Tom Murphy once drove to Cleveland to catch a cheaper flight. Pittsburgh fares then were among the highest in the country, thanks to the US Airways fortress hub.

Between 2000 and 2008, as US Airways slashed flights and other airlines stepped in, Pittsburgh fares have fallen from an average of $430.42 to $327.34, or nearly 24 percent -- one of the biggest drops in the country. Fares are now below the national average.

"No major American airport has done a better job at lowering air fares than Pittsburgh International Airport," said Kenneth J. Zapinski, senior vice president of the transportation and infrastructure program at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

For many business travelers, pocketbook gains are no match for headaches associated with the loss of so many flights.

Longtime fliers accustomed to door-to-door service are finding they have to make one or more stops along the way. A business trip that once could be done in a day now requires at least an overnight stay, maybe more.

"It's really changed dramatically. It wasn't long ago that you could fly direct from Pittsburgh to almost any other destination," said attorney Charles Greenberg. "Now there's so few it makes the process of traveling for business much more difficult and time consuming."

The Allegheny Conference has tried to maintain competitive air service from Pittsburgh by having at least twice daily nonstop flights to the top 30 business destinations it has identified through surveys. But Mr. Zapinski acknowledged it has fallen short of that goal in eight of those markets.

"We're not anywhere close to hitting that on the domestic side," he said.

The loss of flights has affected businesses small and large. Not even UPMC, one of the region's largest employers, is immune. Spokeswoman Susan Manko said the health-care giant's researchers and physicians have felt the impact of the same cuts, locally and industrywide, that have bedeviled so many others.

"They're still going [on trips] but it's more time consuming and inconvenient," she said. "The flights aren't offered at convenient times. More and more people are driving rather than flying whenever they can, like to Washington, D.C."

Global links strained?

For business travelers, cutbacks mean more time in the air and at airports, and more frequent connections, increasing chances of missed flights or other travel delays.

Hours spent in airports waiting for the next flight also take away from time businesspeople could be spending doing their jobs. BlackBerrys go only so far.

To Mr. Kalis, there's far more at stake than inconvenience, frustration and higher stress levels. He sees the region falling behind competitively with each cut in nonstop service.

"This has happened at the Pittsburgh airport at the same time during which many Pittsburgh industries and businesses have consolidated and globalized. So you can see the emerging paradox.

"In an age of globalization and consolidation in which Pittsburgh is well positioned to participate, we are losing transportation capacity rather than gaining it," he said.

Rightly or wrongly, the reductions help fuel the perception "of a city that is in jeopardy of being de-linked from national and global economies through poor air service." That perception can influence decisions about whether businesses relocate here, whether young people attend the universities, whether more mature people locate their careers here, he said.

"Much of what happens is beyond our control. Some is within our control. We have to target that and make it happen," said Mr. Kalis, an Allegheny Conference board member.

One point of contention for many local businesses has been the lack of nonstop service to Europe, which US Airways dropped altogether in 2004. Since then, transatlantic trips more often than not have entailed connections through clogged airports in New York, Newark or Philadelphia, the latter a particular source of pain.

"There are few things more frustrating than that," said Kent McElhattan, chairman and CEO of Oakdale-based Industrial Scientific whose European headquarters is about an hour from Paris. "That airport is just a miserable airport."

Imperative service

At least in his case, help is on the way. Starting June 3, Delta launches nonstop service between Pittsburgh and Paris.

Regional leaders saw the service as so imperative that they agreed to offer $9 million in potential subsidies over two years to supplement the flight if it falls short of agreed-to revenue targets. For Mr. McElhattan, the new flight is a godsend for his company, which makes as many as 200 round trips a year between Pittsburgh and Paris.

"We want to support that flight. We're insisting that people who are coming from France to Pittsburgh use that flight and that our people here use it to go there. Of course, they're delighted to do so," he said.

Others see the flight as a litmus test that could help efforts to secure more domestic and international nonstop service. But it also could have the opposite effect if there isn't sufficient support.

"I think the most important thing the community can do to build traffic, expand service, get more flights and destinations is for the new Delta flight to be a success," Mr. Zapinski said. "The industry will look at that as a bellwether as to whether the community can support expanded service."

Pittsburgh managed to stave off more losses last week when United Airlines announced it would begin once daily nonstop service to Los Angeles and San Francisco Sept. 2 to replace the same flights being cut by US Airways Aug. 18. Mr. Zapinski said United's decision "shows the strength and vitality of the Pittsburgh market" given that the airline has been cutting jets and capacity systemwide.

He believes nonstop service is still good to big markets like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Where business travel suffers, he said, is to secondary markets like Providence, Richmond, Louisville, San Diego and Seattle.

Mr. Zapinski sees potential for that to change as the economy improves and airlines, which have been cutting flights and seats, start to expand.

But Michael Boyd, a Colorado-based aviation consultant who has done work for Pittsburgh International, considers that a long shot. He believes Pittsburgh became a hub "by accident" because US Airways forerunner Allegheny Airlines got its start here. He doesn't think the city is currently underserved.

"People at the airport are doing everything they can to improve it, but they can't pull airplane rabbits out of their hats," he said.

One novel approach the county Airport Authority is taking to try to beef up nonstop service and feed more traffic to the airlines is through the Pittsburgh Connector project.

It's trying to persuade regional airline Cape Air to launch service between Pittsburgh International and smaller cities in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, authority Executive Director Bradley D. Penrod said.

Talks are ongoing, but no commitments have been made. The authority also has talked to Cape Air about adding nonstop service between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, a flight that was dropped by US Airways. Mr. Kalis described it as "lunacy" that there is no nonstop service between those two cities.

"The passenger volume between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg is of some interest," Mr. Penrod said. "We've suggested that to them."

Mr. Kalis acknowledged that the airport, the conference and local politicians were fighting to secure more nonstop service against the backdrop of some very difficult industry trends.

"For Pittsburgh, the realistic hope is that we maintain nonstops to as many commercial and financial centers as possible in the U.S. and that we pull out all the stops to support the Delta European Gateway flights," he said.

For now, Mr. Kalis will keep the Advil handy. Others will cope the best they can.

"You can live with these things. You can adapt to them," said Richard Grant, an attorney who travels about every other week. "But I sure do wish we had a little more service."

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

[Johnland]

Regarding the decline of easy air travel to Pittsburgh, you can add leisure trips to the list of declining service. Living in Tampa, but having family and friends in Pittsburgh, I've flown back and forth for 18 years now. Pre-9/11, the service was terrific. It was practically like taking a city bus - almost hourly non-stops everyday, so lots of choices. Now, there are almost no non-stops. You have to change planes in Charlotte or Philly to get to Pittsburgh. What was once a roughly two hour shot, now takes all morning or afternoon.

[hyperion1110]

While loosing all of the US Air flights does suck, I think there are three positives to be seen from the current situation here. First, prices of remaining flights have dropped, (which I know isn't much consolation). Second, sad though it sounds, Pittsburgh seems to be the vanguard of a generalized downturn in the airline industry, period. As always, we get slammed with massive layoffs and service cuts seemingly years before everyone else gets hit. But, luckily, we've managed to absorb that blow and move on. And third, if Obama is as serious as he seems about this high speed rail initiative, there isn't a chance in hell that Pittsburgh is not going to be a major winner. You simply cannot connect the East Coast with the Great Lakes region without passing through Pittsburgh. Sure, I guess you could go through Buffalo. But, with respect to that fair city, it's significantly smaller than Pittsburgh, and very much out of the way. Pittsburgh can rightly support major lines coming from Harrisburg and DC from the east, and Cleveland and Columbus in the west. You only have to look at a map for two seconds to realize Pittsburgh is the nexus of any high speed rail system in the country's most densely populated regions.

Methinks there is a paradigm shift coming in this country in terms of long distance transportation. We need only get through the next few years of crappy air service before things get better...perhaps better than they were when US Air ran 600 flights a day. Once the trains start running again in earnest, look for Pittsburgh to be the "Gateway to the West" again.

[Evergrey]

And third, if Obama is as serious as he seems about this high speed rail initiative, there isn't a chance in hell that Pittsburgh is not going to be a major winner. You simply cannot connect the East Coast with the Great Lakes region without passing through Pittsburgh. Sure, I guess you could go through Buffalo. But, with respect to that fair city, it's significantly smaller than Pittsburgh, and very much out of the way. Pittsburgh can rightly support major lines coming from Harrisburg and DC from the east, and Cleveland and Columbus in the west. You only have to look at a map for two seconds to realize Pittsburgh is the nexus high speed rail in the country's most densely populated regions.


and yet...

http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/03/07/GR2009030702656.jpg

[Steel Boy]

Years ago, everybody was complaining that Pittsburgh couldn't recruit companies because the airline fares were too high because USAir had a fortress hub and no new airlines could come in. Now we have some of the lowest fares in the country with new airlines and they complain that we can't recruit companies because Pittsburgh airport is no longer a USAir hub. Which is it? I don't see Columbus, Indianapolis, Raleigh, Boston, Tampa, or other "growth" cities suffering much because they aren't a hub.

[tooluther]

Regarding the decline of easy air travel to Pittsburgh, you can add leisure trips to the list of declining service. Living in Tampa, but having family and friends in Pittsburgh, I've flown back and forth for 18 years now. Pre-9/11, the service was terrific. It was practically like taking a city bus - almost hourly non-stops everyday, so lots of choices. Now, there are almost no non-stops. You have to change planes in Charlotte or Philly to get to Pittsburgh. What was once a roughly two hour shot, now takes all morning or afternoon.

Between AirTran, Southwest, USA 3000, and American there are still significant numbers of non-stops between Pittsburgh and Florida...especially Tampa considering both AirTran and Southwest fly that route. Just because US Air doesn't fly a route any more doesn't mean a connection in Charlotte is required...that's a stigma our travelers need to get over ASAP of these airlines aren't going to fly the routes anymore.

[hyperion1110]

and yet...

http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/03/07/GR2009030702656.jpg

I hear ya on that one, Evergrey. Isn't that just an exercise in stupid? :koko:

Still, we can dream that someone in Washington will grow a brain, can't we?

[George Woods]

Hi. I've enjoyed reading the posts on this site for a long time, but was too lazy to sign up until now. This is such a great place to find stories about the kind of stuff we're all interested in, and to see what like-minded people have to say about them. Anyway, the amateur historian quoted in the story about the Stone Inn lamented that there are so few pre-Civil War buildings in Pittsburgh, and said that an eighteenth-century building is "in a class by itself." I couldn't agree more. Maybe now, in light of the interest surrounding the inn, more people might take notice of the eighteenth-century Woods house in Hazelwood that's all boarded up (miraculously still standing at all). The man who laid out the Golden Triangle's streets (and even named them) built the house, and his descendants entertained, among others, Stephen Foster there. He's even said to have composed a few of his songs on their piano. And there it still sits, in Hazelwood of all places (a name the Woods family actually gave to the area). And, incidentally, one of our few remaining pre-Civil War buildings (and one that's in a very rare style, at that) just narrowly escaped demolition in Lawrenceville. It was just minding it's own business, tucked away at the entrance to St. Mary's cemetery, but there were plans to tear it down, until people brought it to the city's attention, just like the Stone Inn. So, my point is we need to do more to take care of our historic buildings, and to make people aware of them, because even though preservation is more popular nowadays, the people with the money to buy the properties still often have demolition in mind.

[Evergrey]

Hi. I've enjoyed reading the posts on this site for a long time, but was too lazy to sign up until now. This is such a great place to find stories about the kind of stuff we're all interested in, and to see what like-minded people have to say about them. Anyway, the amateur historian quoted in the story about the Stone Inn lamented that there are so few pre-Civil War buildings in Pittsburgh, and said that an eighteenth-century building is "in a class by itself." I couldn't agree more. Maybe now, in light of the interest surrounding the inn, more people might take notice of the eighteenth-century Woods house in Hazelwood that's all boarded up (miraculously still standing at all). The man who laid out the Golden Triangle's streets (and even named them) built the house, and his descendants entertained, among others, Stephen Foster there. He's even said to have composed a few of his songs on their piano. And there it still sits, in Hazelwood of all places (a name the Woods family actually gave to the area). And, incidentally, one of our few remaining pre-Civil War buildings (and one that's in a very rare style, at that) just narrowly escaped demolition in Lawrenceville. It was just minding it's own business, tucked away at the entrance to St. Mary's cemetery, but there were plans to tear it down, until people brought it to the city's attention, just like the Stone Inn. So, my point is we need to do more to take care of our historic buildings, and to make people aware of them, because even though preservation is more popular nowadays, the people with the money to buy the properties still often have demolition in mind.

And that Daniel Burnham structure on the North Side, though not pre-Civil War, is yet another incredible historic structure that is threatened with demolition. I totally agree about the Woods house in Hazelwood... which I believe is from the 1790s... totally shocking the condition it is in...

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09124/967528-147.stm

Port Authority to overhaul transit service

Monday, May 04, 2009
By Jon Schmitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The draft of the Port Authority's first major overhaul of transit service in more than 30 years includes fewer stops, simpler routes and schedules, faster buses, more park-n-ride lots and, in the long term, development of a countywide network of transit centers that would attract both riders and development.

The authority today is unveiling three concepts developed by a consultant for making the system more convenient, more cost-effective and less bewildering.

The plans are not yet sufficiently detailed to allow most riders to know if their stops or routes would be changed or eliminated.

"These are ideas," Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said. "We don't want to come out to the public and say this is what we're going to do."

The authority will spend the next several weeks inviting public comment at open houses, small group meetings and on the Web before further refining the plans.

Already rejected is one of the three concepts studied by the consultant, a "grid" system that would operate service to Downtown and Oakland only via busways, light-rail and the North Hills HOV lanes, with everyone else using feeder buses to get to those routes.

The firm, Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates, concluded that such a system would cause a large increase in transfers, a loss of ridership and no cost savings.

For now, the consultant's preferred concepts, called Better Radial and Better Radial Plus, would continue to focus on providing most riders with direct service to Downtown and Oakland.

Some of the proposed changes:

• The number of routes would be cut from the current 187 to 123 or 133, with more frequent service on the remaining routes.

• A new Rapid Bus service would operate on 10 routes, with special vehicles making direct trips with fewer stops, priority at intersections, enhanced passenger stations and off-vehicle fare payment. The buses would operate on the current 61- and 71-series routes, 81B Lincoln, 86B Frankstown and the eastern half of the 500 Highland Park-Bellevue route.

• Direct service would be added to Pittsburgh International Airport. Service to Robinson Town Centre, currently part of the airport route, would be separate.

• Transit "emphasis corridors" would get measures like dedicated lanes, priority for buses at traffic signals and special passenger facilities and amenities. Those corridors would be Oakland to Downtown, East End, Homestead to Oakland and Brownsville Road in the South Hills.

A longer-term proposal involves the development of 13 transit centers around the county with sheltered, climate-controlled waiting areas and other amenities.

The centers would seek to capitalize on a national trend toward creating public transportation hubs that are surrounded by housing, retail and office developments within walking distance, to reduce commuters' reliance on cars.

They would be in Carnegie, Robinson, Bellevue, Ross, the Waterworks and Century III malls, East Liberty, Wilkinsburg, Monroeville, Swissvale, Homestead, East Pittsburgh and McKeesport.

The consultant also recommended as many as 13 new park-n-ride lots around the county.

Some of the consultant's proposed changes are likely to happen regardless of what concept is adopted:

• The current practice of having multiple variations on routes would be mostly eliminated.

• The number of stops, currently 16,000, will be reduced significantly.

• Route names and numbers would be revised to make them simpler. Light-rail service to Downtown would operate on three routes: a Green Line from Library via Overbrook; a Red Line from South Hills Village via Overbrook; and a Blue Line from Castle Shannon via Beechview.

• While Downtown, buses would use fewer streets and make fewer stops. Buses-only lanes could be added to Liberty Avenue or other streets to speed travel times.

The concepts grew out of more than 90 public meetings involving 1,500 attendees. The Port Authority also has received more than 900 comments on a Web site devoted to the upcoming system overhaul: tdp.portauthority.org.

Mr. Ritchie said numerous groups have requested or arranged presentations about the revamping. Open houses for public input will be held Downtown on June 3 and in Oakland on June 8, he said.
Jon Schmitz can be reached at jschmitz@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1868.

[themaguffin]

So my new Rolling Stone arrived today (yeah i subscribe, it's got enough that I enjoy actually reading in print).

Anyway, there's feature article on Braddock and its mayor. I don't think the article is available on line, but I recommend reading it.

[Evergrey]

So my new Rolling Stone arrived today (yeah i subscribe, it's got enough that I enjoy actually reading in print).

Anyway, there's feature article on Braddock and its mayor. I don't think the article is available on line, but I recommend reading it.

I'm sure Braddock Borough Council will be pissed off about that.

[PA Pride]

I'm sure Braddock Borough Council will be pissed off about that.

:haha: Good call. They have an ivy league grad mayor getting their shitty town all kinds of publicity and attention and some people aren't happy? I certainly hope those people are offset by a larger number of residents who appreciate what they have.

[Evergrey]

Let's see of the rotting hulk of The Edge hangs off Mt. Washington for another 30 years...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09125/967705-53.stm

Hotel-condo plan on Mount Washington faces many hurdles

Tuesday, May 05, 2009
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20090505MT_Wash_hotel.gif

A plan to replace the derelict building next to the Monongahela Incline with a hotel and condominiums is about to embark on its own steep climb through the Pittsburgh bureaucracy and up the slippery slope of Mount Washington politics.

Chicago developer Steven Beemsterboer's $80 million proposal, called One Grandview Avenue, would put a 140-room hotel and some 50 condos on the site of the long-vacant Edge Restaurant. The plan, though, calls for changes in land-use rules that have been hashed out over decades, and trading a piece of privately owned woodland for a sliver of the city's newest park.

Those processes, which may start within weeks and should involve public hearings and votes, could pit those desperate for an economic shot in the arm against those concerned about the scale of the proposed development.

"Some people have said, 'Is that too tall? Is it going to be unattractive?' " said Chris Beichner, executive director of the Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, "We've had a condemned building there for 30 years. We've got to have something happen."

The site was the subject of hotel proposals in the 1990s. A pitch for a 347-room Ritz-Carlton didn't survive the criticism and conditions placed on it by the community. Since then, the former restaurant has become a neighborhood nightmare.

"Prostitutes have been working out of it in the summer time," said Linda Rosenthal, a community development group board member, speaking as a Bailey Avenue resident whose home sits above the site. "Drug dealers have been coming down there. Rats the size of small dogs."

Now architect Charles L. "Luke" Desmone has designed a sloping hotel that would rise 19 stories on its western end, next to the incline, and then step down to a semicircle of condos above P.J. McArdle Roadway. The hotel would include meeting rooms, stores, restaurants and a 430-space underground parking garage for both the facility and the condos. A plaza in front would be a prime site for fireworks viewing, he said.

The complex would sit on a sloping 4-acre site, most of which Mr. Beemsterboer controls, through acquisitions and an option to buy the Edge Restaurant site from a company controlled by Francis Hurite. The plan, though, bleeds into the 268-acre Grandview Scenic Byway Park, which the city created in 2006.

Mr. Beemsterboer's proposal to trade land next to Sycamore Street for an equal-sized sliver of parkland likely would require a City Council vote and could be a flashpoint for controversy.

"I don't know that I like the precedent [a parkland swap] sets," said Lynne Squilla, a former community group president who advocated for the park. "I think a park is a park. You protect it as a park for a reason."

Mr. Beichner, though, said the plan might enhance the park by adding trails and stairways. The developer has spoken of a 720-step stairway to Carson Street.

Height could be another sticking point.

Mr. Desmone said the sloping design is meant to ensure that only "a small portion" of the Downtown view of those behind the building would be blocked. Still, going to 220 feet puts the plan at odds with Grandview zoning rules painstakingly set in the 1990s, that generally limit new buildings to 100 feet.

Since the site includes areas within the special Grandview zone, and others zoned for commercial and residential development, building on it could entail a slew of variances and other exceptions.

To avoid that, the developer hopes to apply within weeks to have the site declared a mixed-use planned development. That would require council approval and then obligate the developer to seek planning commission approval for the blueprints, according to Planning Director Noor Ismail.

Councilwoman Theresa Smith, who represents the area, said the hotel seems like "a wonderful idea" but she will seek more neighborhood input before deciding how to vote.

Mr. Beichner had no objection to the zoning change, noting that the developer is first seeking city approval of studies on reducing the hotel's traffic impact.

But Jamini Davies, whose Sycamore Street home would be behind the hotel, said the zoning change would mean "that public process is going to be pretty thoroughly circumvented."

The developer estimates that the hotel would generate $6.2 million in state and local taxes over 10 years, and that condo owners would pay $5.9 million in property taxes over the same period. Mr. Desmone said the developer doesn't plan to seek tax-increment financing, in which the city borrows money to back development and pays it off using future tax dollars. But he may go after state funds.

Concerned neighbors like Ms. Davies and Ms. Squilla have drawn the undisguised ire of community group members who say their group is united in favor.

"They are, as you know, rampant environmentalists," said Ms. Rosenthal. "You touch a leaf, and they want to sit there and cry about it."

Ms. Squilla, though, said she's not anti-development. "It would be lovely to have the beauty of what [Mr. Beemsterboer and Mr. Desmone] have come up with, but at a scale suitable to this site."
Rich Lord can be reached at rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542.

[Steel Boy]

I really hope this Mt. Washington project comes to fruition. It's always a tough sell with the neighborhood group up there, especially the couple of people who don't want anything in that location. I remember the Ritz-Carlton fiasco about a decade ago. That was a shame. It could have been a real signature building on that cliffside.

[themaguffin]

I'm sure Braddock Borough Council will be pissed off about that.

oh, pissed off council members are mentioned too.

i wasn't very familiar with their mayor. I'm sure he's not perfect, but he's ambitious and very involved. And Pittsburgh has.... Luke.

Hotel-condo plan on Mount Washington faces many hurdles

Mt Washington, where projects go to die. When it dies, it won't be because of environmentalists, it will be for the same reasons as always yinzers not wanting their shitty neighborhood to change and they want their shitty homes to remain as is.

[Gilamonster]

I wonder if Steven Beemsterboer,the Chicago developer of the proposed Mt. Washington condo-hotel development, has a good idea of what fury is soon to be unleased against him. I'm sure he has experienced community opposition to his previous projects, but he is about to feel the full fury of an incredibly powerful and immovable force......old people from Mt. Washington.
I seriously doubt that this project will go forward, unless is scaled back in which case I personally wouldn't want it. Mr. Beemsterboer's best chance might be to bring in a boatload of money and start greasing palms. Or perhaps maybe he should use some of his old school Chicago mob connections to help"persuade" people. Oh wait, even that wouldn't work; they could just call in the A-Team. :twoguns:

[MattofSloppyVariety]

Carrie Furnace site development moves ahead
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Allegheny County is getting ready to move ahead with the proposed redevelopment of the Carrie Furnace site in Rankin and Swissvale nearly 30 years after it shut down.

County Redevelopment Authority board members today are expected to authorize bids for the installation of waterlines, sewer lines and storm sewers at the 160-acre riverfront site.

The utility work is one of the final steps needed before the county advertises for proposals to redevelop the property, said Dennis Davin, county economic development director.

"This is actually an important milestone in the process of getting the site back on the tax rolls and getting it developed," said Kevin Evanto, a spokesman for county Executive Dan Onorato.

The county hopes to be positioned to seek proposals or a request for qualifications from developers by late summer or early fall, Mr. Davin said.

It purchased much of the site from the Park Corp., a Cleveland developer, in 2005 for $5.75 million. It has since been working to remediate the land, which took longer than expected, he said.

The county originally hoped to advertise for redevelopment proposals in early 2008, but Mr. Davin said it ran into unexpected complications.

"We're in pretty good shape now," he said.

In addition to the utility work, the county also is seeking funding from the federal government to build a ramp from the Rankin Bridge into the site. The cost is estimated at $10 million to $11 million.

Mr. Davin said the "preliminary concept" for redeveloping the Carrie Furnace site included residential housing at one end and office or light industrial in other sections. There also are plans for a steel history museum on the site.

The county sees the property redeveloping in much the same way as Washington's Landing on Herrs Island, a city brownfield site that now boasts housing, a business park and a marina.

Mr. Davin said he did not see much retail in the mix due to the nearby Waterfront development.

"We think [retail] ... has been done at the Waterfront. We're really looking for light industrial, housing, offices -- things like that," he said.

Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First published on May 6, 2009 at 12:00 am

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09128/968573-28.stm

Penguins, partner buy land for hotel

Friday, May 08, 2009
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Penguins and a Canonsburg developer have purchased one acre of land for a proposed 142-room hotel next to the new arena, but won't have to pony up any cash for the transaction.

City-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority board members unanimously approved the $475,000 sale yesterday to Pittsburgh Arena Hotel Associates, an entity that includes the Penguins and developer Horizon Properties Group.

The sales price was determined by taking the average of two appraisals -- the sports authority's $650,000 and the Penguins' $300,000, according to SEA Executive Director Mary Conturo.

Yesterday's decision clears the way for the start of construction this summer on the seven- to eight-story, all-suites hotel on Centre Avenue next to the Consol Energy Center.

J.P. Morgan, a Horizon Properties representative, said the developer hoped to have the $25 million hotel finished to coincide with the opening of the arena before the 2010-2011 hockey season. A hotel brand has yet to be named.

"The hotel being located in such a key area we feel will really help the economic development, along with the arena, of not only this section of town, but is going to be the missing link between the arena and the Uptown portion of the Golden Triangle," Mr. Morgan said.

Amenities will include a fitness center, swimming pool and spa, bar and restaurant. Mr. Morgan said the hotel itself would create 30 to 45 jobs, while the restaurant, which has yet to be determined, is expected to provide another 40 to 50.

The hotel also is expected to generate $2 million each in local real estate and hotel taxes in the first five years of operation and up to $850,000 in sales and parking taxes over the same period, Mr. Morgan said.

To pay for the land, the Penguins plan to tap into $15 million in development credits negotiated as part of the March 2007 arena deal that kept the team in Pittsburgh. There will be no cash involved.

Under the agreement, the Penguins can use credits to buy Mellon Arena land or any portion of the former St. Francis Central Hospital site, both of which are owned by the SEA. Part of the arena, a 500-space parking garage and the hotel are being built on the hospital land.

The credits became part of the arena deal to compensate the team for parking revenue that will be lost as the 28-acre Mellon Arena site is developed after the Consol Energy Center opens.

Experts have said the development credits were not common in arena or stadium deals. Under their agreement, if the Penguins don't develop at least 2.8 acres of the Mellon site each year, they forfeit the rights to the land.

Also yesterday, the SEA board:

• Awarded another $17.8 million in construction contracts for work related to the new arena. The contracts cover arena flooring, interior signs, sound and broadcasting systems, and seating and platforms.

• Chose Hood Design Studio to develop a pedestrian walkway between Centre Avenue and Fifth Avenue on the west side of the Consol Energy Center. Titled "Curtain Call," the project will involve the creation of a rain garden and display frames with images of people and places in the Hill District. The project is expected to cost $1.5 million. Funding has yet to be found. Hood Design Studio yesterday was awarded $40,000, split between the Penguins and SEA, to refine the design.
Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_624158.html

$2.9M in road work to bolster Summerset at Frick Park

By Matthew Santoni
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, May 8, 2009

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2009-05-07/sumfrick-a.jpg



Officials broke ground Thursday on $2.9 million of road improvements, promising more development on the site of a former Squirrel Hill slag heap overlooking the Monongahela River.

Widening Browns Hill Road and adding turn lanes this summer will open up more access to Summerset at Frick Park, the 238-acre development that will stretch from Interstate 376 near the Squirrel Hill Tunnel to Browns Hill Road above the Homestead Grays Bridge, said Craig Dunham, managing general partner of Summerset Land Development Associates.

"We're delighted to have the next piece of many in place so we can keep going," Dunham said. Summerset and Shadyside-based Walnut Capital contributed $570,000 to design the intersection improvements, and federal funding will pay for the rest, he said.

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl asked for the federal money together, Ravenstahl said. "If the city and county had had different agendas, we wouldn't be breaking ground here today," the mayor said.

Construction is expected to begin in July and be complete by late 2009 or early 2010, depending on weather, Dunham said. There will be single-lane closures during construction on Browns Hill Road — which connects motorists from the Parkway East to The Waterfront across the Grays Bridge. But the turn lanes should improve traffic, Dunham said.

The site is accessible only via Forward Avenue in Squirrel Hill, said Patti Jo Lambert, a spokeswoman for the developers. When complete, Parkview Boulevard — the main thoroughfare for Summerset at Frick Park — will intersect Brown's Hill Road where it meets Old Browns Hill Road. More than a mile of new roads will be built to run through the second phase of the development, and they will be turned over to the city when complete, Dunham said.

Turn lanes will be added to Browns Hill Road at Imogene Street, allowing better access to the Walnut Place retail development built adjacent to the Summerset lot. The 24,000-square-foot retail complex will have a Great Clips salon, a Dunkin' Donuts, a Hokkaido Asian Buffet, the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease, and the first IHOP restaurant within city limits, said Anthony Dolan, principal at Walnut Capital.

"We've done a lot of retail, a lot of restaurants, and no other project we've ever had has had as much interest as this IHOP," Dolan said.

Phase two of Summerset at Frick Park will include 125 houses, 132 apartments and 30,000 square feet of retail and office space to be built at the corner of Browns Hill and Parkview, Dunham said.

Matthew Santoni can be reached at msantoni@tribweb.com or 412-380-5625.

[tooluther]

A co-worker sent me this Richard Florida blog post on high-speed rail. He argues that its a good idea to connect the "mega-regions" first and then work on inter-connectivity between them later. While I agree with him on that, its relevant to our argument about the Pittsburgh-Chicago connection in that that's our mega-region (and he indicates a train ride from Pittsburgh to Chicago would take under 3 hours on the French trains...that's amazing).

http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/richard_florida/2009/05/mega-regions_and_high-speed_rail.php

Thought it would be an interesting read for everyone.

[Steel Boy]

I like the planned improvements to Browns Hill Road. I drive it all the time and you'd never know that you can access Summerset from there - it's very blah. I remember about 20 years ago when Browns Hill Rd. was desolate after the Homestead mill shut down. Now it's jam packed on weekends with people heading to the Waterfront. I marvel at the change.

[PA Pride]

Construction photo updates:

August Wilson center for African American Culture.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/downtown%20unusual%20angles/may%20construction%20pics/P1020952.jpg


Mt Washington condo building.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/downtown%20unusual%20angles/may%20construction%20pics/P1020893.jpg


Consol Energy Center progress.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/downtown%20unusual%20angles/may%20construction%20pics/P1020938.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/downtown%20unusual%20angles/may%20construction%20pics/P1020945.jpg


Exterior is now pretty much 100% complete on PNC 3.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/downtown%20unusual%20angles/may%20construction%20pics/P1020957.jpg

[MattofSloppyVariety]

It's about time that they finally connect Summerset via that road. I always found it frustrating that you had to go up and around.

[Evergrey]

A co-worker sent me this Richard Florida blog post on high-speed rail. He argues that its a good idea to connect the "mega-regions" first and then work on inter-connectivity between them later. While I agree with him on that, its relevant to our argument about the Pittsburgh-Chicago connection in that that's our mega-region (and he indicates a train ride from Pittsburgh to Chicago would take under 3 hours on the French trains...that's amazing).

http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/richard_florida/2009/05/mega-regions_and_high-speed_rail.php

Thought it would be an interesting read for everyone.

I suppose that's why MegaBus was so successful in Pittsburgh. While I have argued previously about the insanity of not connecting Pittsburgh-Cleveland and the Midwest to the East Coast... I disagree that connecting Pittsburgh into the Chicago hub is a higher priority than connecting Pittsburgh to the East Coast. While Pittsburgh technically is the eastern terminus of the rather loose mega-region ChiPitts... connected to Chicago by the urbanized corridor through Youngstown-Akron-Cleveland-Sandusky-Toledo-etc.... Pittsburgh doesn't necessarily have any significant relationship with Chicago (especially compared to the true Midwestern cities). Conversely, while a slender region of lightly populated mountains divide Greater Pittsburgh from BosWash, Pittsburgh is closer to DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and NYC than Chicago. In fact, after Cleveland, Columbus and Buffalo... DC and Baltimore are the closest major cities to Pittsburgh. Additionally, Pittsburgh's two biggest regions for population and economic interchange are DC and Philly. In the absence of a DC-Midwest line via Pittsburgh... Pittsburgh-Harrisburg-Philly makes a lot of sense. It obviously benefits from the unified political support of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania... connects PGH to the suddenly-impossible-to-get-to state capital... and to Philly. From Philly... a rather centrally-located node in BosWash... Pittsburgh travelers can travel another hour to NYC... or the other direction toward Baltimore and DC.

If Pittsburgh is destined to be a dangling dead end in the national HSR... you'll find a lot more O&D traffic here for the East Coast than Chicago and the "small" spread out cities of the Midwest... many of which have very weak linkages to Pittsburgh (St. Louis? Milwaukee? Twin Cities? Indianapolis? Kansas City?)


...

I agree with regional economist Jim Russell's comments on Chicago vs. East Coast HSR connectivity...

http://burghdiaspora.blogspot.com/2009/04/pittsburgh-mistakes-inform-troubled.html

Given the Detroit tailspin, many shrinking cities (including Cleveland) are dependent on the latest Pittsburgh renaissance. As for Pittsburgh, its own progress hinges on its relationship with the DC area. Revisiting the high-speed rail geography:

http://media.economist.com/images/20090411/CUS928.gif

Cleveland is placing a bet on better connectivity with Chicago. The same is true for Detroit. Pittsburgh and Buffalo are decidedly east coast oriented. This tells me that no one expects another Chicago miracle. The US alpha world cities are, by and large, set.

Chicago's reach is overstated. Rust Belt East should plug into the Bos-Wash megalopolis. If Pittsburgh does so successfully, then Cleveland investment in Chicago would be a huge mistake. Right now, Cleveland is intent on going it alone. That's bad news for Pittsburgh, Detroit, Toledo, Erie, Columbus, and perhaps even Buffalo.

[Ditchdigger]

I like the planned improvements to Browns Hill Road. I drive it all the time and you'd never know that you can access Summerset from there - it's very blah.

Technically, the public can't access Summerset from there, yet. There's only a construction entrance with a gate that's locked during off hours.

In the long term, that access is going to be absolutely necessary for Summerset, because of the traffic volume once the site is built out, but in the short term, I see it as a minus because it'll allow a lot of non-resident, pass-through traffic. As of now, there's no reason for any non-residents to even go back there.

And Brown's Hill at rush hour is going to be a nightmare during the construction...