PITTSBURGH | Rundown [Archive] - Page 7

Evergrey

09-14-2006, 05:37 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06257/721691-53.stm

Developer to help Saks with space
Thursday, September 14, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

An old drug store could be the key to helping upscale retailer Saks Fifth Avenue find more space Downtown.

Washington County developer Millcraft Industries has talked to the department store about using part of the former Revco Building on Oliver Avenue for more docking and receiving space and possible expansion.

"We need them Downtown. I think they want to be Downtown. Whatever we can do to help them, we're happy to do that," Millcraft Chairman Jack Piatt said.

The possible use of old Revco space comes as city officials try to find ways to accommodate Saks' need for more receiving space and parking. They and others fear that without more space, Saks could be tempted to bolt to the suburbs, a black eye the city wants to avoid after the closings of the Lazarus-Macy's and Lord & Taylor departments stores Downtown in 1994.

Millcraft holds an option on the Revco building, owned by the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority, as part of its purchase of the former Lazarus-Macy's department store at Oliver, Fifth Avenue and Wood Street last year.

The Revco building, which once had entrances on Fifth and Oliver, sits next to the Lazarus-Macy's building on Fifth. The Oliver Avenue side of the building is adjacent to the back end of the Saks store.

Millcraft would like to use the building as an extension of its project to convert the Lazarus-Macy's store into a retail, office and condo complex called Piatt Place.

At the Revco building, Millcraft is planning retail on the ground floor, office space on the second and third floors, and a possible recreation center above that for Piatt Place residents.

But Mr. Piatt said Millcraft is willing to offer part of the building on the Oliver Avenue side to Saks to help meet its need for more shipping and receiving space. The existing loading dock in the building housing Saks abuts the old Revco building.

Herky Pollock, the executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis who is working with Millcraft, said he has had general discussions with Saks about trying to meet the store's needs.

"Saks has needs that the city and our development team are working to accommodate," he said. "We are eager to work with them to solidify their long-term position in Downtown."

Saks spokeswoman Julia Bentley had no comment.

Another possible solution would be to give Saks some access to three relatively new loading docks built as part of the Lazarus-Macy's construction. Those loading docks are only a short walk from the rear of the Saks building.

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

http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/66649476.hhOxMA30.jpg

Evergrey

09-14-2006, 05:47 AM

more info on Point Park's controversial renovations... I'm not sure how I feel about this... I would like to see more active use for the park... and I am unfamiliar with the historical legitimacy of the Music Bastion

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06257/721710-53.stm

Work to start next month at Point State Park
$7.1 million project includes filling in of Music Bastion
Thursday, September 14, 2006

By Patricia Lowry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Work is scheduled to begin next month on improvements and alterations to Point State Park, including the controversial burial of Fort Pitt's Music Bastion.

The Pennsylvania Department of General Services announced yesterday that $7.1 million in state contracts has been awarded to three firms for general contracting, plumbing and electrical work.

"After five years of discussion with the community, as well as review and planning, we are ready to move forward with providing some much-needed improvements to the park's outdated infrastructure, delivering a better interpretation of its history and continuing recreational and cultural opportunities," Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Michael DiBerardinis said in a statement.

The work will include new irrigation, drainage and electrical systems; new terrazzo paths with bluestone edging; new landscaping, benches and lighting; vendor hookups; construction of a stage pad across from the Pittsburgh Hilton hotel; renovations to the reflecting pool and its mechanical systems; new trail signs and wireless Internet access.

One of the biggest jobs will be filling in the 8-foot-deep trench surrounding the park's reconstructed Music Bastion, which simulates the original walls of Fort Pitt. Filling in the trench around the Music Bastion would allow the city side of the park to become an active space for informal games like Frisbee and soccer, as well as scheduled events like concerts.

The Music Bastion is thought to be where the fort's buglers played. Once the trench is filled in, the Music Bastion's shape will be outlined in granite.

Another dramatic change will be the removal of six mature pin oaks along Commonwealth Place across from the Hilton hotel. They will be taken out to accommodate a new elliptical driveway that will allow school buses to safely deposit children visiting the park's Fort Pitt Museum.

Seven red oak trees, each one 7 inches in diameter, will be planted in an arc along the sidewalk.

Contracts were awarded to S.E.T. Inc. of Lowellville, Ohio ($4.49 million for general contract work); Lone Pine Construction of Bentleyville ($137,750 for plumbing work); and Power Contracting Co. of Carnegie ($2.5 million for electrical work). The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2007.

The state originally earmarked $4.3 million for the project, but increased its allocation when the first round of bids came in substantially higher than the $7.1 million eventually awarded, said DCNR spokeswoman Christina Novak.

Those leading the effort to save the Music Bastion were surprised to hear that contracts had been awarded when contacted by a reporter.

"This is the latest episode in the chronic mismanagement of the park," said the group's lawyer, historic preservation consultant Michael Nixon, adding that it is weighing its options and consulting its partners.

At issue is whether the bastion is a restoration of an 18th-century historic site or a non-historic, mid-20th-century reconstruction, a product of Renaissance I.

"I'm surprised that the contracts have been awarded because Barbara Franco is supposed to meet with us in a couple of weeks," said Wilfred T. Rouleau, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and vice president of the Edgewood Historical Society.

Ms. Franco, director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, agreed to meet with Mr. Rouleau and other bastion preservationists next month at the Fort Pitt Museum, so they could walk the site together.

"I understood it to be an opportunity for them and us to present information and views that have the potential to lead to some sort of consensus eventually," said archaeologist Richard Lang, who worked on the excavation of the bastion in the 1960s. "I assumed that meeting would be taking place prior to the letting of any relevant contracts. Our not being told about it beforehand was inappropriate."

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission spokeswoman Jane Crawford said Ms. Franco was traveling and couldn't be reached for comment.

Late last month, Mr. Lang, Mr. Rouleau and Mr. Nixon co-authored an opinion piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and simultaneously launched a Web site, www.savefortpitt.org, devoted to saving the bastion. In less than three weeks, an online petition has collected more than 330 signatures , many with comments.

"I am an archaeologist and find it ludicrous that anyone would intentionally bury an historic site so important to the history of the commonwealth," wrote Patricia Miller of Huntingdon, Pa., "On a practical level, historic tourism is increasingly important and contributes to the sense of place and history that visitors to the park feel. Please abandon this senseless plan."

"The condition of what remains of the bastion is a sin," wrote John R. Fowler of Pittsburgh. "It reflects poorly on those charged with the upkeep of the park. Even so, burying those mistakes is no way to correct them. Men fought and died for this place that controlled the access to the frontier; it is up to us to preserve that memory in a fitting manner."

"The reaction has been overwhelming in favor of preserving the bastion," Mr. Lang said. "We've been extremely encouraged by it."

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(Staff writer Ed Blazina contributed to this report. Patricia Lowry can be reached at plowry@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1590. )

Evergrey

09-14-2006, 06:04 AM

more info on wi-fi... one of the most exciting developments in recent downtown history

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06257/721696-53.stm

City launches Downtown Wi-Fi, offering two free hours of access daily
Thursday, September 14, 2006

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

From the stands at Heinz Field to the steps at Point State Park to the front porches of the Crawford-Roberts neighborhood, laptop owners are now a few clicks away from free, wireless, outdoor Internet service.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060914bw_wifi3_450.jpg
Bill Wade, Post-Gazette
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, left, and Michael Edwards, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, look at a laptop connected to the Wi-Fi network. "This really puts Pittsburgh on the cutting edge of technology," said Mr. Ravenstahl.

Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, US Wireless Online and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl launched Wi-Fi service Downtown and around the city's sports venues. Dialing in under the City-County Building's portico, they brought to fruition an effort touted by the late Mayor Bob O'Connor in April.

The city's new Wi-Fi network is unique in the nation in that it covers a large, 90-block area, provides two hours of free access daily and allows users to surf at speeds comparable to a DSL modem, according to partnership Chief Executive Officer Michael Edwards.

"This really puts Pittsburgh on the cutting edge of technology," said Mr. Ravenstahl. "We have some Wi-Fi Pittsburgh shirts that we're going to take with us [today] to New York to show that Pittsburgh has something that that great city, and Manhattan, does not."

Mr. Ravenstahl is appearing on the "Late Show With David Letterman," which tapes in New York today, and meeting with that city's Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

To log in, anyone with a Wi-Fi transmitter or card needs only click on the wireless icon, then on "Viewable Wireless Networks," and then "Wi-Fi Pittsburgh" and "Connect." Users will go through a registration process and can use the system for as long as two hours free of charge.

For more time, higher speeds and better security, subscribers can pay $7.99 a day, $14.99 a month or $119.99 a year. The operator, US Wireless, makes money on subscriptions and ads.

Those prices are possible because local foundations kicked in $500,000 to build and market the system.

The partnership owns the 60 lamp post-mounted transceivers that transmit the Internet signals.

If US Wireless ever fails to operate the system, the partnership can hire another vendor.

US Wireless Executive Vice President Timothy J. Pisula said the system "is not something we expect to be wildly profitable."

But it meshes nicely with the company's core business of providing indoor Wi-Fi, he said.

The partnership views the service as a means of making Downtown more attractive to businesses.

"If you look at the central business district as a neighborhood, or even as a large office park, we have something no suburban park has," said Richard Beynon, president of Beynon & Co. Real Estate and vice chairman of the partnership's board.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060914bw_wifi2_450.jpg
Bill Wade, Post-Gazette
Andy Lunique, 21, and Eric Johnson, 33, both students at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, check out the new wireless Internet service Downtown yesterday.

He said that when he's marketing Downtown property, he'll ask prospective buyers and tenants: "Can your employees take their laptops outside and have free access, or work during lunch without staying at their desks?" Downtown, they can.

US Wireless has provided 35 "gateways" to the nonprofit group Wireless Neighborhoods to extend Wi-Fi service to low-income residents inside schools, day care centers and other facilities within the Downtown area.

The city gets a new selling point -- just a handful of downtowns have any outdoor Wi-Fi systems -- plus four mobile transceivers for use in public safety vehicles.

City Councilman William Peduto characterized the Downtown system as a template for regionwide Wi-Fi. He said he's involved with a Carnegie Mellon University team that's studying how to broaden the system without using "artificial municipal boundaries as walls."

He said talks with nonprofit groups 3 Rivers Connect, the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Wireless Neighborhoods on expanding Wi-Fi continue.

The partnership is holding free Wi-Fi training sessions next week, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the following locations: Monday at 625 Liberty Ave., Tuesday at Mellon Square, Wednesday at PPG Place, Thursday at Market Square and Friday at Two Gateway Plaza.

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

PittPenn 03

09-14-2006, 02:20 PM

BANKofMANHATTAN

09-14-2006, 05:14 PM

[QUOTE=Evergrey]I can't quite picture where this is at... is this east of Craig St.? I thought I remembered a gas station there right before you get to CMU

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_470360.html

Oakland soon may have more room for guests

Yes - if this is the Exxon I think it is, it is on the edge of Panther Hollow, diagonal from the CMU building that dips down into Panther Hollow.

I think I did notice this gas station was closed the other day.

^ I thought they were just putting new pumps/etc in at the Exxon. I work across the street @ Carnegie Museum. It says the service part of the complex is still open. That'd be interesting to see something else go in there however. I'm not sure how far the property goes back though.:shrug:

As to the Point Park, Mon Warf, etc:
I'm surprised and kind of dumbfounded that they refuse, at least to my knowledge, to build up those sections that are extremely prone to flooding from the close proximity to the river(s). I cant really tell from some of the renderings if they have bothered to do this. It seems like putting in the time and money in now would safegaurd any future developments in those areas. I like, from what i've seen, some the greenspaces/riverparks and development shown for the riverfront. I just think they've had problems in the past every time the river rises, and consumes everything nearest the banks. :no:

themaguffin

09-14-2006, 08:13 PM

Ok, is there some long term goal for the land in the lower left (by Heinz Field) that I'm not aware of?

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k148/MRM80/1.jpg

themaguffin

09-14-2006, 08:27 PM

Biotech startup lines up nearly $10 million
Thursday, September 14, 2006

By Corilyn Shropshire, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

South Side-based Invivodata Inc. a developer of technology used to collect clinical research data, said it secured $6.6 million in funding plus a $3 million credit line from Cincinnati-based River Cities Capital Funds.

Invivodata said it is also expanding its Strip District offices to accommodate a staff that has grown 50 percent since mid-2005. Invivodata employs more than 90 employees in its U.S. and European offices.

Invivodata's handheld electronic diary system known as "DiaryPRO" -- used to gather data during clinical trials, is used by seven of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies, and recently expanded into the Japanese market, where it is being used for a clinical trial there, according to company officials.

Chief Executive Officer Doug Engfer said that the company's growth is being driven by pharmaceutical and biotech firm's increased use of electronic tracking systems for collecting data during the clinical trial phase of drug development.

Invivodata has grown for 20 consecutive quarters and added 31 new clients, Mr. Engfer said, adding that nearly 60 percent of the company's revenue is from repeat business.

As a result of the investment, River Cities principal Carter McNabb has joined Invivodata's board of directors
--------

EventHorizon

09-14-2006, 08:49 PM

BankofManhattan: I was wondering about flood protection myself. But, I think it should be fine. Point State Park has been flooded so many times by the spring floods -- and it's held up pretty well. The flood waters at the wharf and point aren’t that violent as to do anything really damaging (unless there's another Ivan).
Just let the waters recede... let the area dry-out and then have City pubic works, redd up the debris. That's pretty much it. The grass and tree's tend to do fine afterwards.

But, I would like them to make sure that the new renovations at the fountain are protected. The mechanisms that control the fountain, have been damaged before by flood waters. So, I definitely hope that they have that in mind.

themaguffin: I'm not sure that there's a development plan for the land in the area that you mention. The river front task force just put generic buildings and stuff in the image, to show what potentially new developments could look like next to their river front concepts.
I do like how there are cut outs, and man-made islands in their vision. Though, I'm not sure if that’s environmentally sound?

Evergrey

09-14-2006, 10:25 PM

As we all know... the proposed Convention Center Hotel has been on hold for several years now... all the new hotel construction going on the city has more than made up for this in number of rooms...

however, the article makes a good point that these scattered hotels are not as attractive as a giant centralized hotel... where convention attendees could reserve group packages

But I don't think the boom in hotel construction is a bad thing at all... a lot of these are serving different markets and different sections of the city... it's amazing to think that a few years ago there was virtually no hotel rooms in the South Side... one of the most popular areas for tourists... and the Strip District will soon have its own hotel... North Shore hotel construction is not only convenient for sports fans... but also for downtown visitors who don't want to pay an exorbitant sum for downtown convenience...and of course, Oakland... our city within a city... continues to offer more hospitality options...

I think Pittsburgh will continue to grow as a tourism and business destination... so an increase in hotel rooms will help to accomodate that.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/09/11/focus1.html?t=printable

No room for more rooms
VisitPittsburgh frets that lack of centralized location won't do much to lure conventions, while hotel owners worry about added competition
Pittsburgh Business Times - September 8, 2006by Robert Sandler

The pending addition of several hundred hotel rooms in or around Downtown probably won't have much impact on the city's ability to lure a major convention, according to VisitPittsburgh. And the influx has some existing hotels a bit jittery about where their business might go.

At least eight hotels are in the planning or construction phases in Downtown, the North Shore, South Side and Strip District, bringing between 800 and 1,400 new rooms to the market.

"We don't want to say that we don't welcome properties like this, but they don't always add as much to the equation of a convention block that we need as most people would think," said Bob Imperata, executive vice president of VisitPittsburgh, the nonprofit tourism promotion agency, located Downtown.

This spring, Imperata worked on landing a convention that needed 3,200 hotel rooms on its peak nights.

But creating a package of that size in or near Downtown is impossible, Imperata said. The final pitch had to include hotel rooms located on the North Shore, Station Square and as far as Oakland and Green Tree.

Adding the 500 hotel rooms in a single tower near the David L. Lawrence Convention Center would eliminate the need to go to Oakland and Green Tree for future proposals, he said.

However, scattering hotels of 100 to 200 rooms around town won't have the same effect for a couple of reasons, Imperata said: Convention planners prefer to work with as few hotels as possible, and attendees prefer to be in a tight geographic area where they can walk to the convention center and other entertainment destinations.

"When we are preparing proposals for big conventions, what the planners are looking for (is) critical mass," Imperata said. "They want maximum number of rooms in as small a geographic area as possible. ...It's vitally important for us to have, for instance, the tower that's proposed to be part of the Westin."

All the new rooms worry Joe Kane, general manager of the Westin Convention Center, Downtown.

"It's a huge number, and it's the wrong market," Kane said. "The hotels that are being built only cause the market to be shared. They don't create a new market."

Paul Newmaster, general manager of the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center, Uptown, agreed.

"It's definitely a concern for us," he said. "You don't want to flood the market with too many rooms."

If one of the new hotels would hold 500 or more rooms near the convention center, it could help the entire area, Kane and Newmaster said.

But the current plans, which would add hotels of 100 to 200 rooms scattered across Downtown and its fringes, won't make an impact on convention-goers, they said.

On the other hand, Eric DeStefano, general manager of the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown, wasn't concerned about all the new hotels around town.

"I don't really foresee it having a tremendous impact on our hotel," DeStefano said. "I think that a lot of the development that is projected out there is limited service rather than full service."

Besides, he said, Pittsburgh has a bright future, and people are trying to invest early.

"I think that there's a projection that business is going to grow, there's going to be more (development) coming in the city than surrounding the city," he said.

Columbus, Ohio-based Continental Real Estate Co. chairman Frank Kass has developed office buildings on the North Shore.

He said with several thousand rooms Downtown, there was little reason to be concerned about adding 700 or 800 rooms.

"You now have a new football stadium, a new ballpark, you're going to have a new entertainment center -- the North Shore is the new center of activity," Kass said.

"To have a 10 or 15 percent increase in your available hotel rooms as your business climate is improving and as new developing areas are really growing, I don't think that is a big number."

dgyrownhol

09-16-2006, 02:45 AM

Hey, new to this forum/thread, etc. Just some other news, I work for Hilton Pittsburgh and we're renovating the whole hotel. Stuart Dean contracting is refinishing and repainting the facade, and all of the windows are being replaced by November/December. The building will be a bright plantinum/goldish color, with fresh windows. This should look good since the hilton is at the forefront of every skyline shot.
Does anybody have any information on the Cordish company's proposed development on the North Shore between the stadiums. We are also extending the current overhang into more meeting space, renovating the lobby, all of the rooms, and repaving the sidewalks all around the property adjacent to Commonwealth place.

EventHorizon

09-16-2006, 03:30 AM

^ that is great news indeed!

Are they going to be updating that red Hilton sign on the top of the building, If I may ask. I hate that thing. It looks like it's straight out of the 60's (which it may very well be) ;)
Nevertheless, all of the other renovations happening to the building sound smashing!

Welcome to the site too! I'm pretty new here myself. :cheers:

Evergrey

09-16-2006, 03:30 AM

Welcome aboard and thanks for the inside information, dgyrownhol. The Hilton definately does have a prominent position... and is the most visible hotel in the city... I look forward to the new splash of color it provides.
http://i.pbase.com/v3/86/571686/2/50567454.100_0741.jpg

Cordish has previously developed Baltimore's Power Plant Live! and Louisville's 4th St. Live! Now Cordish is teaming up with the Steelers, Continental Real Estate and Nationwide to develop North Shore Live! next to Heinz Field on existing parking lots. The preliminary plans include a 5000 seat glass-roofed amphitheatre, shops, restaurants, entertainment, etc... there was initially an office component... but I think that's being dropped in favor of a 150-room Hyatt Place, which is Hyatt's new entry into the "upscale, limited-service" market. Continental Real Estate (not sure if Cordish is involved in this part) is also planning to develop residential condos in concert with the North Shore T Connection.

I would imagine the tenent mix of restaurants and bars would be pretty similar to what we have at Station Square... Red Star Tavern, Buca Di Beppo, Hard Rock Cafe... just with different names. A NASCAR restaurant is one rumoured tenent. I just feel like much of what is proposed for North Shore Live! seems to duplicate Station Square.

The Hyatt Place (or possibly Embassy Suites) is slated to be completed in 2008... and supposedly the rest of North Shore Live! will begin development then.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060526North_Shore_map.gif

Here's a couple articles from earlier this year

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06146/693389-53.stm

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_456803.html

Wheelingman04

09-16-2006, 07:00 AM

Welcome to the forum, dgyrownhol.:)

Evergrey

09-16-2006, 05:39 PM

I'd love to see that Boston Market parcel get developed...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06259/722266-28.stm

UPMC plan calls for office building
Saturday, September 16, 2006

By Christopher Snowbeck, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's emerging plan for development in Shadyside includes a new medical office building on a plot of land that currently houses a Boston Market restaurant.

UPMC spokeswoman Wendy Zellner said yesterday that the plan was preliminary, and stressed there was no timeline for the proposed four-story, 280,000-square-foot building. Things are so preliminary, in fact, that Ms. Zellner cautioned that "even the size and square footage" of the building are far from set in stone.

But the building under consideration would not house cancer research, for which UPMC has said it could use another 350,000 square feet of space in the Shadyside area.

Earlier this year, UPMC purchased a building at the corner of Baum Boulevard and Morewood Avenue that has been talked about as a possible home for research. But because the building is home to a former Ford Motor Co. assembly plant, neighborhood groups have vowed to scrutinize any changes UPMC might make to the property.

Another possible site for additional research space is property across the street from the Hillman Cancer Center on Baum. That land has been slated for a development called Luna Square.

The building proposed for the Boston Market property would span several adjoining parcels, and would be bounded by Baum, Centre Avenue and Cypress Street. Construction of the building, which could house medical offices and outpatient care facilities, would be part of a proposed hospital expansion at UPMC Shadyside, Ms. Zellner said.

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(Christopher Snowbeck can be reached at csnowbeck @post-gazette.com or 412 263-2625. )

dgyrownhol

09-16-2006, 06:15 PM

I hate that red Hilton sign too, Eventhorizon.

Actually, it's from the 50's, haha, '59 to be exact,when the hotel was built. It is just as ugly as the red hilton sign on the Chicago-O'Hare Hilton. I will ask about it. A nice new one with the new blue Hilton "H" logo would look nice.
Another interesting rumor going around our hotel is that an indoor pool is going to be put in above the meeting rooms that jut out from the front of the hotel with a glass enclosure. It will be accesible from the 4th floor. It may give the building a more modern look, which is badly needed. Shubh, Inc. who owns the Hilton (and signs my paychecks) just gives us managers a pretty weak periodic update on renovations, nothing exciting besides the facade and windows as of right now, just a new HVAC system and roofing.

Also, today at work actually the committee in charge of the Point Park renovations met in our lobby at noon. Our GM was in on the meeting.

151 Firstside steel is about halfway up!

Evergrey

09-16-2006, 06:51 PM

Here's a picture I took of the progress of 151 FirstSide from 9/8/06... front and center

http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/66651062.gApBmEc1.jpg

EventHorizon

09-16-2006, 11:02 PM

UrbaniDesDev

09-17-2006, 01:31 AM

dgyrownhol, I remember when the sign read "Pittsburgh Hilton" in neon. I think it was all white neon. Pittsburgh was placed above the name Hilton

Evergrey

09-17-2006, 04:45 AM

3 PNC Plaza deconstruction shots from 9/8/06

23-story LEED-certifiied green mixed-use tower... offices, condos, high-end hotel, ground-level retail... a key component of the Fifth-Forbes revitalization

http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/66656224.SbISEf5c.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/66650591.vDpna4Lm.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/66650595.Jve7OjJ5.jpg

coming 2008
http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2020/PNC.jpg

Evergrey

09-17-2006, 05:46 AM

interesting article about safety and traffic improvements to the Strip... prompted by existing and future development

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06260/722214-53.stm

Strip District seeks safety afoot, driving
Security, traffic top concerns of its boosters
Sunday, September 17, 2006

By Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Businesses and people who live in the Strip District are embarking on an effort to improve security and traffic in the neighborhood.

In the security area, the community is developing a program that could cost more than $100,000 and include outdoor security cameras, improved street lighting, increased private security details and greater police presence.

For traffic, plans call for installing traffic lights at four intersections, posting pedestrian crossing signs and better defining traffic lanes throughout the area.

"We're doing everything we can to get security in the forefront of everybody's mind," said David Marks, security manager of Pittsburgh research for Seagate Technology and a member of the advisory board for the community group Neighbors in the Strip.

The community group reactivated its "emergency response team" last month after there were two shootings within three weeks, one inside the Touch night club and another on the street as bars closed for the night. The team, which got together after incidents in 2001 and 2002, includes the FBI, city police, the district attorney's office, state Liquor Control Board officials and state and local elected officials, among others.

The results have been swift: Police have increased late-night patrols, two bicycle officers have begun a 30-day deployment in the neighborhood and Duquesne Light Co. is improving street lights in some areas and might install some more.

The installation of outdoor security cameras will be a large part of the effort, said Mr. Marks and Becky Rodgers, executive director of Neighbors in the Strip. Along with approaching foundations, the community group is working with state Sens. Jim Ferlo and Wayne Fontana and state Rep. Don Walko to find funding for the cameras.

"It's definitely not affordable to do something on such a large scale without financial help," Mr. Marks said.

The program being developed by The Surveillance Group, of Bellevue, would be similar to the video system installed Downtown for the All-Star Game. That system isn't necessarily monitored all the time, but it creates a visual record of activity in an area that can be reviewed if something happens.

Club owners are working together to discuss problems and find a way for security details to communicate with each other and become more involved in activities outside of clubs, especially at closing time.

"The merchants in the Strip are really tightening up their neighborhood," said city Councilman Len Bodack, who represents the area. "We want people to know that the Strip District ... is a safe area."

Ms. Rodgers said the recent shootings created an image that is not backed by police statistics, which show serious crimes such as murder, assault, robbery and theft have gone down substantially in the past five years.

"No matter what your statistics are, [shootings] are bad incidents," she said. "What we have to do is plot out all the best steps to take and then move forward with a comprehensive program to make sure everybody feels safe when they come to the Strip."

Mr. Walko said it was especially important that quick steps be taken to ensure safety in the neighborhood, where residential units are opening soon at the former Armstrong Cork building and other development is on the horizon.

"I think we have to nip it in the bud right now," he said. "Image means a lot, and you have to make sure the nighttime is the right time to be in the Strip."

Increased police presence has been obvious the past few weeks, said Tom Baron, whose big Burrito Restaurant Group operates two restaurants in the neighborhood.

"Certainly, security is the No. 1 issue for any business," he said. "It's just amazing the response we've gotten from the police. The last few weeks have been very well covered."

That type of approach is necessary if the neighborhood is to continue prospering, said Jeff Kumer, who owns several buildings there.

"[Shooting incidents] just aren't going to happen anymore," he said. "It has to be addressed and it is being addressed. People who are putting that kind of money into the neighborhood aren't going to allow" the area's image to be ruined.

People in the Strip District, such as Ann Ditmanson, who lives in The Strip Lofts at 29th and Smallman streets, appreciates that kind of response. She said she's cautious when she goes out at night and welcomes the increased police presence.

But nighttime activities aren't the only issue in the neighborhood. Traffic is a major concern.

Mr. Kumer is the head of a traffic committee formed by Neighbors in the Strip that has been working on improvements for several months. One of the difficulties in controlling traffic is the three-headed nature of the neighborhood: daytime and weekend shoppers at produce companies and wholesalers, late evening traffic headed to and from clubs and bars and the overnight wholesale distribution businesses that bring about 250 large trucks into the neighborhood each night.

"The objective here is to maintain a good, logical traffic flow at a reasonable speed, about 25 mph," he said. "There are some glaring problems that have to be addressed."

Mr. Kumer's group has spent hundreds of hours meeting with businesses and property owners to hear their concerns and expects to issue a series of recommendations in the next month.

One particular area of concern is Smallman Street, where there are no traffic controls between 11th and 28th streets. The committee is considering traffic signals at 14th, 21st, 24th and 28th streets.

Another key element will be clearly marking traffic lanes so that drivers know where to go, because some areas, such as the warehouse district on Smallman, at times have three lanes of traffic headed in the same direction on an unmarked street. The group probably will call for two outbound lanes, including a right turning lane, and one inbound lane.

Ms. Ditmanson said the neighborhood could be "quite chaotic" for pedestrians. That's especially true around the wholesale and produce companies in the daytime, where people double-park and walk between cars to cross the street.

"It doesn't prevent me from walking, but it does make me cautious," she said. "We welcome changes that will improve the traffic flow and reduce the congestion.

"That's part of the character of the Strip, but we don't want anybody getting hurt."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Ed Blazina can be reached at eblazina@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1470. )

Evergrey

09-18-2006, 05:36 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06261/722715-53.stm

Creative uses key to Market Square's appeal
Monday, September 18, 2006

By Chico Harlan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

This project will require one year, at minimum, and maybe more. It will require proposals and counter-proposals, destruction and rebuilding. But the city's plan to transform Market Square into an attraction began last week with a foot-by-foot inspection of its light posts, its cobblestones and even the pigeon droppings that discolor both.

In recent years, Market Square has owed its legacy mostly to what hasn't happened: That proposed cineplex from 1998, for instance. Or that 2003 suggestion to limit traffic flow to one down-the-center path.

Until this past spring, talk did not give way to action. The square's charm was undercut by negligence -- cappuccino inside, but panhandlers outside; a farmer's market by day, but a ghost town by dark.

"In some ways it feels kind of creepy and unsafe," said Mike Edwards, president of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

So one afternoon last week, 75 citizen volunteers wandered through the square, inspecting its attributes, and attended a workshop aimed to revitalize Market Square.

The Fifth and Market District Strategic Development Plan -- a 30-page document, drafted by the Urban Design Associates group -- suggested months earlier that a new Market Square "concept" should be developed. In other words: Plan a public space that's better for people, worse for pigeons.

The notion formed a pillar in late Mayor Bob O'Connor's plan to reenergize the city. His death Sept. 1 left his hopes for Market Square in the hands of others. But those like Mr. Edwards agree with the former mayor's assessment -- that the square has an "old, tired" look.

The Tuesday night workshop was led by representatives from the Project for Public Spaces, a New York-based nonprofit group specializing in the science of city areas. Before the volunteers walking into Market Square to analyze the space, they watched a slide show prepared by Kathy Madden, Project for Public Spaces senior vice president.

What did they learn? For one thing, civic squares have grown into a national trend -- even Detroit has one. A good civic area ought to have at least 10 attractions within. But they allow for creative uses; some of the best have children's play areas or mini-amphitheaters or kiosks. Copenhagen's features a spot for outdoor ballroom dancing. In general, they should provide space for special events, but they shouldn't host so many that folks walking through on an off-day feel a sense of emptiness.

"We've worked in places worse than this," Project for Public Spaces President Fred Kent told the chuckling crowd. "So you're already up a bit. But boy, could you go higher."

Market Square could become, Mr. Kent said, "the city's major destination."

Mr. Kent and his colleagues divided the volunteers into groups of five or six, then dispatched each group to 12 separate areas of Market Square. Each group was asked to analyze its area, brainstorming ideas for improvement.

Group 4 headed to the forlorn quadrant facing both the Original Oyster House and the vacant G.C. Murphy Co. building. A bus huffed by; two men sat on a ledge, shaded by trees.

"Look where we're standing," said Robert Rubenstein, the Urban Redevelopment Authority's director of economic development.

His point: He and the others were standing on a sea of cigarette butts, within eye shot of a discarded Coke can and right next to a trash receptacle caked at the top with gunk.

Someone commented that the trees made for a nice feature.

Another argued that they walled off the restaurants, including the Market Street Ale House, from the rest of the square.

"Where you say these trees are nice for shade," said Lorna Lyons, president of the May Building Council, "to me they're just a dark area where little ladies can get mugged at night. ... Until they do something about the homeless situation, it doesn't matter what you put here."

The group, like the others, returned to Mr. Kent with a notebook of suggestions: Better lighting, perhaps white, rather than yellow-tinted. Some outdoor seating. Maybe pitch to allow performing arts students to use the stage.

By Oct. 1, the Project for Public Spaces will compile the ideas into a recommendation for change. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and other involved groups will then sponsor a design competition.

Some early ideas, among the batch, were to create a traffic circle in place of the current windowpane street design, extend sidewalks to create more space for alfresco dining, or tailor the area more to potential residents, as the city aims to attract more Downtown dwellers.

"If we're looking at investing resources and dollars and time, Market Square is the best area," Mr. Edwards said. "It's a grand civic space that touches a lot of property. If we had a healthy civic space -- if you had a bustling Market Square with twinkling lights in the trees -- it would add value to the properties and sort of radiate out from there."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Chico Harlan can be reached at aharlan@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1227. )

http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/66650596.wriTP1vg.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/66650597.oHE1ezMT.jpg

Evergrey

09-18-2006, 05:46 AM

a few tidbits from the limited amount of information available via the Biz Journal:

1. "After more than a year of maneuvering plans to grow its thriving Hillman Cancer Center, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is considering an expansion nearly as large as the facility itself.

A site plan circulated by UPMC officials at a recent local community development meeting shows a new four-story, 280,000-square-foot office building across Cypress Street from the Hillman Cancer Center, between Baum Boulevard and Centre Avenue, that would include offices and street-level retail."

2. Upscale hotel in works for busy Oakland university, museum corridor.
Six-story inn would replace gas station near Panther Hollow at 4621 Forbes Ave.

3. Connecticut has been eliminated from the 4-state competition for Westinghouse's nuclear engineering campus. SWPA's remaining competitors are South Carolina and North Carolina (why does it always seem like we're locked in mortal combat with NC? The US Airways flight operations center is another example of this). The selection will be announced by November.

4. And from the WTF!? category:

"Downtown luxury hotel, condo plan apparently scrapped as site sold. An ambitious plan to develop a 29-story luxury hotel and condo building called the Pittsburgh Fireside Inn apparently won't make it off the drawing board.

Hank Stewart, one of four owners of a five-story building at 943 Penn Ave., Downtown, that had been the proposed site for the inn, said the building has been sold to Solara Ventures LLC, a suburban Philadelphia-based developer."

yeah... never heard about that before

Evergrey

09-18-2006, 06:11 AM

just to satisfy my own curiosity concerning the scrapped 29-story Pittsburgh Fireside Inn (which was to have 8 stories of condos)...

Here is the Biz Journal link (full article) from last year about this project... I have NO IDEA how I missed this considering my insatiable appetite for Pittsburgh development news...
http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2005/10/10/story1.html?t=printable

It was to be a high-end hotel with 150 units featuring fireplaces and rooftop gardens and whatnot... it would've been at 943 Penn Ave... where an existing narrow 5-story structure abuts the 8 or 9 story Courtyard Marriott Inn next door. This would have been a very narrow 29-story tower. Check out the pics...

the white Courtyard building is on the right... just beyond it is 943 Penn
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/59120008.100_5397.jpg

from the other direction... 943 is at center left... Courtyard is just beyond it
http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/66650618.QQKgIzOI.jpg

I'll admit I'm actually pretty glad this project fell through... the 900 block of Penn is a truly delightful part of downtown... it's an almost uninterrupted streetwall of "human-scaled" 5-10 story historic structures with gorgeous detailed facades... housing restaurants, music shops, Courtyard Marriott and the Penn Garrisson Apartments... this is also one of the best areas for shadetrees downtown... creating a wonderful canopy... I feel a 29-story tower would've ruined the intimacy and scale of this block. The current 5-story structure at 943 Penn appears to be rather unremarkable... so I wouldn't mind new construction there by the new developers... but I hope it retains the scale of this excellent block.

themaguffin

09-18-2006, 03:43 PM

As Evergray noted, there's a lot in this week's PBT. I'll update as I can, but here's the full story on the Penn Ave hotel (or non hotel as the case may be)

Downtown luxury hotel, condo plan apparently scrapped as site sold
Pittsburgh Business Times - September 15, 2006by Tim Schooley

An ambitious plan to develop a 29-story luxury hotel and condo building called the Pittsburgh Fireside Inn apparently won't make it off the drawing board.

Hank Stewart, one of four owners of a five-story building at 943 Penn Ave., Downtown, that had been the proposed site for the inn, said the building has been sold to Solara Ventures LLC, a suburban Philadelphia-based developer.

Wexford-based Stonebridge Equities Co. LLC previously held an option on the 28,000-square-foot property and was working over the past few years in conjunction with Green Tree-based hotel management firm Prospera Hospitality on a plan to raze the building and replace it with one that would include 21 floors of luxury hotel rooms and eight floors of upscale condos.

Stewart said Stonebridge let the option on the property expire about six months ago and hadn't heard from the company in some time.

"They may have lost a window of opportunity, because they certainly had it at some point," said Stewart, a retired former vice president with Downtown-based CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh.

The sale of the property to Solara closed a few weeks ago. The price was not disclosed.

Charles Smith, a principal at Stonebridge, said he was unaware that the property had been sold.

"I have to re-look at all those options again to make a determination," he said, declining to comment further on why the option was allowed to lapse.

Solara president Jack Benoff wouldn't divulge what his company expects to do with the building and expects to have a better grasp of its plans for the property in the next month. He did confirm the company won't pursue a 29-story tower, a project he added would only happen if another developer "excessively" overpaid to buy the property from his firm.

"At this point, that's not an option," Benoff said of the Fireside Inn plan.

Stonebridge's proposed luxury hotel and condo project was to be among the tallest buildings constructed in Pittsburgh in years.

Prospera Hospitality, which was founded by former executives of Interstate Hotels & Resorts, a once-local hotel management firm acquired by Washington, D.C.-based MeriStar Hotels & Resorts Inc. and moved to Maryland four years ago, continues to feature the Pittsburgh Fireside Inn project on its Web site.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is now moving forward with plans to redevelop much of key riverfront property nearby into what is expected to be the biggest Downtown housing development in the city's history. That project, pursued by a design team called Riverparc, is expected to include 700 housing units and three high-rises of 20, 22 and 30 stories.

Elsewhere Downtown, PNC is planning to build a 23-story building on Fifth Avenue that will include a luxury hotel, upscale condominiums and new office headquarters for the law firm Reed Smith LLP.

Aaron Stauber, president of New Rochelle, N.Y.-based Rugby Realty Co. Inc., which owns a number of Downtown properties nearby, noted the Cultural Trust's project is generating more interest in other nearby properties.

"Anything you buy on Penn Avenue in the Cultural District is going to be near a $450 million project," Stauber said. "That is certainly helping out people's decisions."

But Stauber also suspected the Fireside Inn project was too ambitious for the site, considering the variety of other hotels and condos under development in the area.

"I don't think it would've been wise to make that kind of investment," he said.

themaguffin

09-18-2006, 06:11 PM

POPCity has a small "update" of the Market Sq/Fifth/Forbes housing...

Fifth-Forbes G.C. Murphy future site of new apartments and retail
Pittsburgh-based architecture firm Strada is currently developing preliminary plans for new apartments and retail as part of a renovation of downtown’s historic G.C. Murphy Building.

A variety of new apartments will be constructed, both in the existing Murphy building and in a tower structure that will be built on Fifth Avenue across from the future PNC complex.

“The apartments or condos will have great light. They will be loft-like, or a combination of lofts and more standard units,” says principal John Martine. “There are also great spaces for retail.”

Strada is also working to determine construction costs. “It is a major project. The hope for us, the client and the city is that it will have significant impact. It is good to be happening right now with PNC and Piatt Place.”

Street amenities could also be in the works. “With this amount of new development, sidewalks could be changed. The City plans to redo Forbes Avenue,” says Martine.

Built between 1900 and 1930, the granite, stone and terra cotta structure still houses a stage once used for fashion shows in the store's heyday in the 1940-1960s.

“Some ideas for the rendering come from historic photographs. It is such a prominent corner,” says Martine. “The objective is to retain the old Murphy building. It has suffered from bad additions and renovations.”

Millcraft is expected to purchase the building from the URA. Plans must be approved by the URA and City of Pittsburgh. “We hope to sit down with Millcraft and the URA and present our concepts in one or two months,” says Martine.

In collaboration with Millcraft, Strada is leading the design of downtown’s Fifth Avenue District master plan.

PittPenn 03

09-18-2006, 06:41 PM

POPCity has a small "update" of the Market Sq/Fifth/Forbes housing...

I am kind of nervous about what might be torn down to build a residential tower on Fifth, the same side as the old Murphy's. I will be pissed if Candy Rama comes down for it.

Evergrey

09-18-2006, 11:08 PM

about an hour north... Slippery Rock University jumps on the "green" building bandwagon...

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/29sru.aspx

September 20, 2006
$110 million green residence complex celebrates ribbon-cutting at Slippery Rock University
On September 15, Slippery Rock University (SRU) hosted a ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of phase one of a new campus residence complex.

More than 125 representatives from the university, local and foundation community toured Butler’s County’s largest construction project in history.

The $110 million project is one of the country’s largest college/university residence hall construction program and is seeking LEED certification. Eighty-five percent of the materials purchased to build the complex come from a 150-mile radius and four million square-feet of the project's drywall is made from recycled material.

“It is built to be like a street with lots of apartment buildings along it,” says university spokesperson Karl Schwab.

716 students occupy the first two new halls. A third hall will be occupied by October and a fourth will be finished in January. The entire complex will be completed in September 2007. Units include single studios and suites for up to four students.

The wireless complex includes on-floor laundry, recycling and laptop check-out facilities, study centers and student lounges, and is designed to be a user-friendly living and learning environment.

Project architect is Pittsburgh-based WTW and the contractor is Mistick Construction. The new complex is expected to increase pedestrian traffic on campus and better meet students' needs.

The first building to open is named for Dr. Robert Watson, SRU graduate and 34-year university administrator. Naming rights are currently available for the remaining halls and student lounges.

SRU’s Council of Trustees endorsed a fast-track schedule established by The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to help the Slippery Rock University Foundation, Inc. build the new complex.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Karl Schwab, SRU

Evergrey

09-18-2006, 11:42 PM

more info on the Children's Hospital

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

September 20, 2006

$575 million Children’s Hospital seeks LEED certification
As part of its new $575 million, 10-acre campus, Children’s Hospital will complete construction of its utility plant this fall. Its 230,000 sf John G. Rangos Research Center will be complete by fall of 2008, and the entire campus will be finished in 2009.

Located on Penn Avenue between 44th and 45th Streets, the large-scale program includes both renovations and new construction. Two new parking facilities are now complete and a third garage is under construction, creating 1,400 new parking spaces.

Existing 130,000 sf and 75,000 sf buildings will house hospital faculty and administration. A renovated 13-story structure will contain family services, and likely become the new home of Ronald McDonald House.

The main hospital includes 550,000 of new construction and 350,000 sf of renovated space, and will feature nine floors of state of the art clinical, outpatient and inpatient services.

“We are one of the country’s first green pediatric facilities. This is at the top of the list of regional construction projects. There is nothing else of this size,” says spokesperson Eric Hess.

The project seeks LEED certification. “We hope to achieve gold status for the research center and silver for the hospital,” says Hess of the campus’ high efficiency mechanical and electrical systems, reuse of existing structures and paperless management. Green amenities include an atrium, healing garden and bike racks.

Astorino is project architect. Contractors are Barton Mallow, PJ Dick and Hunt Construction. “The impact on the community is enormous.” says Hess. “We are creating many new jobs and an unprecedented, high-quality design.”

“It has done a lot in terms of what people expect from vacant buildings along Penn,” says Hess. “Our employees are very interested in Lawrenceville.”

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Eric Hess, Children’s Hospital

Evergrey

09-18-2006, 11:51 PM

latest update on the Granite Building residential conversion... one of my favorite buildings downtown

http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/66650158.Z6Vae2Zu.jpg

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/29granite.aspx

September 20, 2006
$4-5 million Granite Building condos underway
Pittsburgh’s historic Granite Building, located at 313 Sixth Avenue, will soon house five new condominiums. With 3,000 sf per floor, the 8.5-story building features a street level commercial space, 2,000 sf elevator lobby and 1,875 sf mezzanine.

The first round of construction will be finished in mid-December. Residents could begin moving in during spring of 2007.

“I wanted a space I could live in, saw the building and fell in loved with it” says owner Holly Brubach. “I looked at condos everywhere but everything I saw made me love this building more. It was like meeting the guy you want to marry and then dating around him. I bought the building on the assumption that there are five other people who will love it too.”

Architects for the project are Dutch MacDonald and Jeff King of EDGE studio, and the contractor is LOI Construction. Buyers can purchase a raw “vanilla box” unit with HVAC, plumbing and electrical services delivered, or a fully built-out condo. Residents will have access to concierge and valet services.

A self-described “architecture maven,” Brubach cites the building’s roomy rectangular spaces as selling points. “There are 14-20 windows per floor and every ceiling is at least twelve feet.” Original architectural elements like tile wainscoting, decorative arches and marble fire stairs have been preserved.

Built in 1889, The Granite Building was designed by Bickle and Brennan for German National Bank. Sally Beauty occupies the ground floor.

"My New York friends think Pittsburgh is one of America’s best-kept secrets,” says Brubach, who is making the city her permanent home. “Pittsburgh underestimates itself enormously. It is a terrific destination for creative people.”

A long-time New York Times style editor, Brubach, a Pittsburgh native, also worked in Italy in product development.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Holly Brubach, president, StudioHollyBrubach, LLC

themaguffin

09-19-2006, 12:34 AM

UPMC plans...

UPMC reveals expansion plan
New Hillman building, retail space in works
Pittsburgh Business Times - September 15, 2006by Tim Schooley

After more than a year of maneuvering plans to grow its thriving Hillman Cancer Center, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is considering an expansion nearly as large as the facility itself.

A site plan circulated by UPMC officials at a recent local community development meeting shows a new four-story, 280,000-square-foot office building across Cypress Street from the Hillman Cancer Center, between Baum Boulevard and Centre Avenue, that would include offices and street-level retail.

Opened in 2003 at a cost of $104 million, Hillman's existing 300,000 square feet house doctors and researchers in need of space for various spin-off ventures.

The expansion would link with a planned new eight-story, 240,000-square-foot wing at UPMC Shadyside hospital complex across Centre Avenue. A pedestrian bridge across Centre would link Shadyside hospital with the new building.

The Hillman expansion would allow new private practices and other office users from the center to set up shop in close proximity to the hospital.

Research funding from the National Institutes of Health is driving the demand for more space. UPMC's academic affiliates, including the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, rank seventh nationwide in NIH funding, reaping $431.4 million from the organization in 2005.

UPMC declined to discuss its plans or how much they might cost. At a recent meeting of the Bellefield Area Citizens Association, UPMC officials emphasized the plan is preliminary. But Dan Rossi, executive director of Bellefield Area Citizens Association, which monitors development in the neighborhood, said UPMC has acquired all the property it needs to pursue such a project.

"You don't secure land with the idea of maybe doing something," Rossi said.

A Boston Market restaurant and the Family Health Center currently operate on the site where the new four-story building would go. UPMC acquired an adjoining vacant lot for $485,000 in June.

UPMC's property acquisitions have kept developers and city leaders guessing about the system's plans for the burgeoning Baum-Centre corridor. It stoked concern from preservationists that it might raze the historic former Ford building, a 450,000-square-foot structure UPMC bought in March for $10 million. Rossi said UPMC is considering lab space inside of it.

"The external part of building will be cleaned up and restored," he said.

UPMC's expansions could prompt a domino effect on other area development, said Neil Morrow, a commercial broker who represents a Baum Boulevard property owned by The Children's Home of Pittsburgh.

"They're really an anchor," Morrow said of UPMC. "If they can finish and stabilize, then everybody else who is waiting can make plans of what to build over there."

themaguffin

09-19-2006, 12:36 AM

More on the Oakland hotel announcement...

Upscale hotel in works for busy Oakland university, museum corridor
Six-story inn would replace gas station near Panther Hollow
Pittsburgh Business Times - September 15, 2006by Tim Schooley

Plans are under way for a new hotel near a busy Oakland corner close to Carnegie Mellon University.

An investment group led by Springdale-based R.E. Crawford Construction Co. recently closed on the acquisition of the University Exxon gas station at 4621 Forbes Ave., near Panther Hollow, the neighborhood valley between the main Oakland business corridor and the CMU campus.

Working under the name Museum Park Hotel LP, R.E. Crawford and partners plan to replace the gas station with a hotel that would serve the thriving mix of cultural, business and university-related visitors to Oakland. Oakland-based Arthur Lubetz Architects has done some consulting on the project.

A spokesman for R.E. Crawford wouldn't comment beyond confirming the acquisition and the hotel plan. The company expects to make a more developed plan public within the next 60 days.

But the developers have been showing their proposal to Oakland community leaders the past few weeks. The early plan calls for an upscale hotel of around six stories and an undetermined number of rooms, perhaps operating under the W Hotels flag, according to Dan Rossi, executive director of the Bellefield Area Citizens Association.

A spokesperson for W Hotels said the company has no projects confirmed in the Pittsburgh area.

Rossi said he's concerned about the incremental increase in traffic from as many as six new developments in the planning stages for his organization's territory, which spans from Forbes Avenue to the Baum-Centre corridor.

Rossi said the hotel plan calls for the building's service entrances to be accessible down the hillside of Panther Hollow, below Forbes Avenue.

"To access Carnegie Mellon, it's prime and makes sense," he said. "But it just seems like a tight spot in a busy street that's difficult to access."

There is no upscale hotel in Oakland. The city's university district is served mostly by midpriced and budget hotels.

A new hotel could prove a major benefit to the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, which are located within walking distance.

"It would be a very positive event for the museum," said Jack Barbour, board chairman of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and a partner at Downtown law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC. "Right now, it's easy to get a cab from Downtown to the museum but difficult to find a cab in Oakland to return."

While the city is still mired in its long-term effort to build a new convention center hotel, at least eight new hotels are in development throughout the city, which could total between 800 and 1,400 new rooms.

themaguffin

09-19-2006, 12:39 AM

This one is worth fighting for, unlike USElessAir that always screws PIT (mor on that later)

With Connecticut out, region now among three vying for Westinghouse campus
Pittsburgh Business Times - September 15, 2006by Dan Reynolds

Westinghouse has eliminated Connecticut from a group of finalists to land a massive new engineering campus that would help feed demand from the expanding nuclear energy industry, the company said this week.

Company spokesman Vaughn Gilbert declined to provide a reason for the decision, but confirmed the company would pick one of three remaining competitors for the campus -- Western Pennsylvania, North Carolina and South Carolina -- by November.

"This requires a lot of thought and understanding," Gilbert said.

Jim Watson, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, did not return a phone call requesting comment.

Monroeville-based Westinghouse Electric Co. is searching for as much as 1 million square feet of space to house the roughly 2,000 engineers it plans to hire over the next four or five years.

Should Western Pennsylvania win, it would be the biggest real estate deal for the region in years.

Gilbert said regardless of which way the company goes, it will keep its headquarters in Western Pennsylvania.

The combination of an expanding nuclear energy industry and an aging Westinghouse work force are fueling the demand for engineers. Westinghouse is poised to build new plants in the southern United States and Asia.

A consortium of power companies has chosen Westinghouse technology for 12 new nuclear plants across the southeast. Westinghouse also has deals to provide equipment and support to two power plants in South Korea, and the company expects to play a role in the construction of as many as 30 power plants to be built in China over the next 20 to 25 years.

Currently a division of British Nuclear Fuels plc, Westinghouse is being purchased by Japanese electronics maker Toshiba in a deal expected to be completed by Sept. 19.

Local real estate professionals have suggested that Westinghouse's Western Pennsylvania options include the Tech 21 Research Park in Marshall Township and Cranberry Woods Business Park in Cranberry Township, as well as land where the company currently has its headquarters in Monroeville.

Frank Horrigan, a member of the Governor's Action Team, a division of the state's Department of Community and Economic Development that's working with other local economic development groups to land the Westinghouse project, welcomed the news that one of the state's competitors had been eliminated.

Horrigan said he believed Connecticut's high cost of living had knocked it out of the running.

"Those are issues where we have a real competitive advantage," he said.

Site selection experts and economic development officials have said southwestern Pennsylvania's long-standing strength in engineering is also a key factor in this region's favor in attracting the new Westinghouse campus.

themaguffin

09-19-2006, 12:42 AM

Point Park... not much new here, but some perspective

New Point Park president wants to work with Downtown developers
Pittsburgh Business Times - September 15, 2006by Robert Sandler

Paul Hennigan became president of Point Park University on Sept. 1. Previously, he was vice president for finance and operations and became acting president in January 2006, when then-president Katherine Henderson began a sabbatical. She later retired.

During the past nine years, the Downtown university's enrollment has jumped almost 50 percent; its endowment has increased 200 percent; and its operating budget has grown to $61 million. Excerpts from an interview:

What kinds of changes to the university are you planning ?

We're not planning any significant changes. We're in a strategic planning process to identify academically where we want to go in the future, and we'll have more information on that within the year. We're in the process of building a dynamic urban university. We've been doing that for some time, and we're going to stay the path.

What do you expect that strategic planning process to do?

We're at 3,500 students right now, and we'll decide just how far we're going to grow this enrollment.

Not too long ago, Point Park was considering being folded into Duquesne University. Would that even be considered today?

Absolutely not. Point Park is very solvent, (in a) strong fiscal position, (has) good solid academic programs and a nice reputation not only regionally, but some of our programs are nationally recognized right now.

The university has considered partnering with Millcraft Industries to build student housing Downtown as that company builds its residential projects nearby. What do you expect will happen?

I have no idea ... Millcraft is someone that we could end up working with, but again, we've got to go through our planning process before we decide how many student beds we construct in Downtown Pittsburgh. We've had a number of discussions with a number of entities including the Piatts (owners of Millcraft). They will own property adjacent to our property. We want to make sure we all work together to do what's best for that Fifth/Forbes corridor. We just want to make sure that whatever they're building and we're building works well together.

There are several residential projects in planning or construction near your campus. Do you see the university as part of a residential neighborhood of Downtown?

I would say it's definitely a mixed neighborhood. Based on the plans I have seen so far, the whole Golden Triangle has a chance to go residential. It's mixed-use, and it's going to continue to be mixed-use. Just down the street is PPG Plaza, and there's nothing residential about that. That's kind of the beauty of what's going on.

What do you see as a major challenge, in terms of the university's real estate or in general?

The significant challenge for Point Park University will be to raise the money. We're a not-for-profit university, and there's a big difference between us and the role that we play in society versus private developers and retail opportunities that make their money back for the profit orientation. So our challenge will be to fundraise.

More and more, we see university leaders as lead fundraisers.

Is that your role?

My expertise is not in fundraising. What you're seeing now is more and more university presidents are required to be ambassadors to the community, and the byproduct of that is fundraising. My background lends itself to being an ambassador to this community. When you do that, people will want to jump on and be helpful.

themaguffin

09-19-2006, 12:50 AM

Business Times editorial on USEless Airways corporate wellfare RFP.

FUCK THEM. The want Pittsburgh to give more to them - I want the region to be very aggressive in attracting business, but sorry, nothing short of them simply announcing that they will addto the region's existing 450 employess for this department is acceptable. I would make them some generic offer and state the obvious many positives of the region that they should already know... there is no reason to believe that USEless Airways will be solvent or worth the investment. If they add the jobs fine, if not... that's unfortunate. Pittsburgh does makes sense for these jobs and that should be its own worth. Sorry... I digressed...

County should reject US Airways' overtures for flight center subsidy
Pittsburgh Business Times - September 15, 2006by Frank Gamrat

They're at it again. US Airways is seeking more handouts from state and local taxpayers, this time to build a new flight operations center.

US Airways is dangling 600 jobs -- 450 jobs at the existing Pittsburgh-area flight center with the possibility of 150 more -- as bait.

In an area where job growth has been sluggish, the prospect of maintaining jobs from the current flight operations center, as well as the possibility of adding more, may be too tempting for area officials to ignore.

To make this scenario more interesting, US Airways has pitted Pittsburgh against Charlotte, N.C., and Phoenix in a public subsidy bidding war.

Local officials are being optimistic about landing the facility. Even though the county executive claims that he will not go into this war with an open checkbook, taxpayers need to hold onto their wallets.

What is worrisome for taxpayers is that in a gubernatorial election year, the governor is throwing around money like there's no tomorrow. US Airways' timing may be perfect. The county executive may not have a blank check, but the governor might.

US Airways' behavior is highly inappropriate and indicative of the corporate welfare mentality that has been fostered in this area. They have not proven themselves to be worthy corporate citizens, having abandoned employees and taxpayers alike.

To refresh the memory of local officials, this is the same airline that walked away from its lease at Pittsburgh International Airport, leaving taxpayers on the hook for a new airport that was built in the early 1990s specifically for US Airways and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to build. Since then, the airline has been in bankruptcy twice, and a merger with America West Airlines is not guaranteeing success.

Since Pittsburgh, and to a larger extent Pennsylvania, cannot compete with Phoenix and Charlotte on tax rates, regulations or other business environment measures, taxpayer subsidies have been used to make up for these shortcomings.

Phoenix and Charlotte are located in Right to Work states and have lower corporate income tax rates, thus making them more attractive places to do business than Pittsburgh.

If the area were to lose yet more US Airways jobs, it would be terrible for those families affected. However, subsidizing firms is a losing proposition.

Time and again we have seen public officials throw money at firms that promise jobs -- often with disastrous results.

It's time to stop corporate handouts. Politicians need to work on improving the overall business climate by lowering taxes and enacting Right to Work legislation. Only when measures such as these are enacted will companies look to Pittsburgh not as a place to get a handout, but as a desirable place to do business.

Evergrey

09-19-2006, 05:32 AM

I still don't buy that this isn't a placeholder.

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/29firstpark.aspx

September 20, 2006
First phase of PNC FirstSide Park nears completion
Phase one of FirstSide Park will be complete by the end of October. Occupying one city block, the park is bounded by First Avenue, Boulevard of the Allies, Grant Street, and Ross Street. The downtown site once housed the city’s Public Safety Building.

Steven Gillespie and Rachelle Wolf of Astorino are managing all aspects of the park’s design. The contractor is P.J. Dick and civil engineers are KAG Engineering.

“The park is a wonderful amenity for the city and PNC employees," says Susan Golomb, project manager with PNC. “It is a place for people to sit alone quietly or be with other people. It is a permanent park, not a placeholder.”

In October, the 1.5-acre park will debut new sidewalks, curbs, pathways, sod and trees. Areas featuring tables, chairs and new lighting will also be unveiled. Benches will be decorated with quotations by noteworthy figures such as Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Ruskin.

“Diagonal paths will provide natural entries to the Eliza Furnace Trail, Grant Street and T station,” says Golomb, who describes the greenspace as a “heavily planted passive park.”

Phase one brings 101 varieties of native and naturalized trees, including Village Green Zelkova and Galaxy Saucer Magnolia, to the park. Seasonal trees were carefully selected to create a natural setting displaying a range of sizes, shapes, colors and flowers.

Expected to begin during spring of 2007, phase two will include new flowers and an opening celebration.

PNC, who will not disclose the project’s cost, will maintain FirstSide Park. “It is quite unprecedented nationally, for a corporation to build a city park,” says Golomb.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Susan Golomb, project manager and Patrick McMahon, VP corporate communications, PNC

Evergrey

09-19-2006, 05:51 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06262/722980-53.stm

Cost of Downtown condos rises after change in plans
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Washington County developer has scrapped plans for two-story townhouses atop the old Lazarus-Macy's department store Downtown and will instead build up to 65 condominiums.

The change has helped to push the cost of the Lazarus-Macy's conversion into condos, offices, and shops to $65 million, up sharply from the $49 million estimated when Millcraft Industries Inc. unveiled the project in December.

At one time, Millcraft had planned as many as 22 rooftop townhouses ranging in price from $700,000 to $1.1 million. Another 25 condominiums were part of that plan, priced from $275,000 to $650,000.

However, Millcraft decided during the summer that the two-story townhouses "were a little too big, and we're listening to what the market is asking for," Chief Financial Officer Brian Walker said yesterday.

"They were the biggest units and we felt the market was crying for smaller units. At least our research is telling us that," he said.

Millcraft now hopes to build three stories of condos, up to 65 units in all, on the Lazarus-Macy's roof. Mr. Walker said the condos will be grouped around a central courtyard, the same plan envisioned under the original design.

The condos will be priced from $335,400 to $634,500. Buyers will have the option of purchasing a second unit to make a two-story condo or two side-by-side units for a larger single-floor condo, Mr. Walker said.

So far, Millcraft has received commitments on 10 of the condominiums. Both Mr. Walker and Millcraft Chairman Jack Piatt said they are happy with the early response. The condo model in Piatt Place, as the Lazarus-Macy's building is now called, has been open since late May.

"We're really excited about it. It's great. It's a little bit better than we expected," Mr. Piatt said last week of the commitments.

Mr. Walker said he expects to have all 50,000 square feet of ground-level retail space in the building leased at some point in 2007. The Capital Grille restaurant will serve as a retail anchor and is expected to open next summer. A European-style market serving prepared foods and catering to the needs of Downtown residents is set to open at the same time.

Millcraft also is close to finalizing a deal with a "sandwich-type shop" to lease some additional retail space, Mr. Walker said. It also is involved in negotiations with eight to 12 companies about leasing the 180,000 square feet of office space available on the second, third and fourth floors.

The developer is finalizing plans for a $21 million reuse of the old G.C. Murphy store on Fifth Avenue for condos, apartments and shops, and a $50 million development on Forbes Avenue involving similar uses.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Evergrey

09-20-2006, 05:53 PM

[http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06264/723687-53.stm

Higher height limits OK'd for South Side development
Thursday, September 21, 2006

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh City Council voted to raise the roofs on three proposed South Side buildings yesterday, despite community concerns that 165-foot-tall structures would "wall off" some of the city's best views.

If council's majority holds in a final vote Tuesday, height limits on three sites would rise to that level from the current 110 feet. The change was sought by the Soffer Organization, which wants to build two condominium buildings and a hotel between 26th Street and 29th Street close to the Monongahela River.

"What the community has stated it does not need is a skyscraper-esque hotel built on the Mon River," Jason Phillips, a South Side resident and former council candidate, said during council's public comment period.

"To go up a few extra stories, I don't think is going to have an adverse effect on the neighboring community," said council President Doug Shields, adding that more units mean more tax revenue for the city.

Council's tentative vote was 6-1, with Jim Motznik opposed and Dan Deasy abstaining until he can visit the site.

Before voting for the change, Councilman William Peduto told city Planning Director Pat Ford that community groups must continue to be part of the design process.

He advocated a "wedding cake" approach in which the buildings' heights varied, so they wouldn't look like a solid wall or vary too abruptly from shorter, surrounding structures.

Mark S. Dellana, Soffer's vice president of development, said his firm would work closely with community groups on design specifics.

The change would also allow the proposed One International Center, a South Side development geared toward Asian businesses, to reach 110 feet, up from 75 feet under current zoning rules.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

...

The Trib has a similar article with this interesting tidbit

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_471467.html

The other two sites include one existing building along Hot Metal Street: the Quantum II building that will be the new headquarters for American Eagle Outfitters. The second area along Sidney Street is the future home of the $60 million One International Center, a 209-unit Asian sales and marketing base for companies from countries such as China, Korea and Taiwan.

themaguffin

09-20-2006, 06:42 PM

I thought that City Council already approved the Southside tower height?

Anyway, because the region is lacking UPMC options...

UPMC taking over Mercy (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06263/723433-100.stm)

Evergrey

09-21-2006, 05:34 AM

more uncertainty on the Penguins front...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_471120.html

Questions delay sale of Penguins

By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Uncertainties over the Penguins' future -- including whether the team will remain in Pittsburgh -- have kept bidders from buying the team, sources said Monday. If the current owners, including former team captain Mario Lemieux, cannot reach a sales agreement, they could withdraw their offer to sell the team. That would give them time to resolve questions preventing a sale at a price they want.
It's believed the team would be worth more money if it had a new arena and a definite direction.

"If they had a new building, it would make it a lot easier to sell that team," said Mike Ozanian, senior editor at Forbes magazine, which ranks professional sports teams. "That's what is weighing the franchise down. What you don't know is what revenues are going to be."

Issues blocking the sale include the asking price -- of around $175 million -- and questions about whether Pittsburgh will get an arena, who would pay for the arena and the potential for relocating the team if there is no arena.

Many of the arena issues could be settled in December, when state gambling regulators are expected to award a slots license for Pittsburgh.

Isle of Capri Casinos has said it would pay $290 million for an arena if it wins the license. The other casino bidders have said they would pay $7.5 million a year toward an arena, but the state and team would have to contribute as well.

Ozanian puts the value of the Penguins at no more than $175 million as long as it does not have an arena and its future in Pittsburgh remains unclear.

At that price, the Pens might be worth much less than the value put on the Boston Bruins franchise, according to a recent newspaper report there. Investors are reportedly lining up to pay at least $240 million, perhaps as much as $300 million, for that team, even though it's not for sale.

But the Bruins have a modern building, a larger market, a rich history and a cable television deal that pays higher fees than the Penguins can demand, said Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based SportsCorp Ltd., a sports business consulting firm.

"The market is much stronger, more diversified, vibrant, with a much bigger corporate base and wealth in the hands of many more individuals than Pittsburgh," Ganis said.

Hartford businessman Sam Fingold signed a letter of intent in July, agreeing to pay about $175 million for the Penguins -- but he has not reached a purchase agreement.

At that amount, some analysts said, a buyer would want to have a free arena in Pittsburgh, a lucrative lease agreement at a new arena or the ability to move to a new city.

The state has agreed to loan $26.5 million to the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority to start acquiring land for an arena.

The sports authority has purchase agreements for all but one of the Uptown properties it needs for an arena. It expects to start clearing the site early next year and to break ground in June 2007.

Andrew Conte can be reached at aconte@tribweb.com or (412) 765-2312.

Evergrey

09-21-2006, 05:51 AM

pretty interesting article about UPMC's merger with Mercy... which may affect the status of UPMC's proposed inpatient tower in Shadyside

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06264/723695-28.stm

UPMC, Mercy merge: Competitors raise concerns about monopoly for Oakland giant
Venerable Catholic hospital joins huge health-care system
Thursday, September 21, 2006

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/2060921ds_mercyA1_450.jpg
Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette
Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh as seen from the Hill District yesterday.

By Christopher Snowbeck, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is poised to control more than half the hospital market in Allegheny County following yesterday's deal giving it control of venerable Mercy Hospital, the city's first permanent hospital and the region's largest Catholic medical center.

While UPMC and Mercy officials expressed confidence that the proposed merger would pass regulatory review, competitors immediately questioned the further growth of the Oakland-based behemoth. UPMC already operates 17 hospitals in Western Pennsylvania, and is the region's largest private employer with more than 40,000 employees.

"We remain concerned that this latest acquisition of a hospital by UPMC is yet another elimination of that choice in the market and reflects a further attempt by UPMC to establish a health care monopoly in the area," said Tom Chakurda, spokesman for the West Penn Allegheny Health System, itself formed by a merger six years ago of West Penn and Allegheny General hospitals and related affiliates.

But Cliff Shannon, a board member with the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, said the alternative to a UPMC merger might have been a closure of Mercy, whose finances have been under strain for years.

"Employers that have been paying attention understand that we've been moving from three choices," UPMC, West Penn Allegheny and Mercy, "to two and a half choices, already," said Mr. Shannon, who is also president of Churchill-based SMC Business Councils, a small business lobby. "One-third of the state's hospitals have, on a three-year average, lost money -- including Mercy. That can't go on indefinitely."

UPMC and Mercy officials were careful to describe the transaction as a merger, not a sale -- and waffled when asked if the institution would be called UPMC Mercy, as it was in the news release issued by Mercy to announce the deal.

Executives at both Mercy and UPMC stressed that no layoffs are planned and that Mercy would continue as a Catholic hospital with canonical oversight from the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.

The parties said their letter of intent would transfer ownership of Mercy Hospital and a network of employed physician practices from Newtown Square, Pa.-based Catholic Health East to UPMC.

The agreement includes a $100 million contribution by UPMC to a charitable fund administered by the Sisters of Mercy, who created the hospital in 1847, the first of many Mercy hospitals founded across the country.

The Sisters of Mercy would continue to operate Mercy Jeannette Hospital in Westmoreland County, as well as Mercy Behavioral Health, four outpatient centers and three senior care facilities.

The agreement is not yet final, but officials said they hope to close the deal by the beginning of next year.

Among the regulatory reviews that must occur is one by the state attorney general who will study the transaction to determine if it might result in Pittsburgh residents being charged higher prices for hospital services, said Barbara Petito, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office.

John R. McGinley Jr., chairman of the board at the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, said the decision to transfer ownership followed a review of the hospital's financial performance as well as the region's health care market.

In the past three years, Mercy Hospital and Mercy Primary Care lost more than $42 million on operations, he said. The financial struggles have made the hospital an outlier among medical centers controlled by Catholic Health East, a 33-hospital system.

Mercy suffered from tough competition from the larger UPMC and West Penn Allegheny systems -- a costly dynamic that involves not just patients but the physicians who treat them. As an example, Mr. McGinley noted that Mercy paid a high price earlier this year to recruit anesthesiologists as doctors shifted allegiances among local hospitals.

In the end, Mercy was unable to finance needed capital improvements, such as an emergency room renovation, and improvements for operating rooms and intensive care units.

As Ken Eshak, the hospital president, wrote in a message distributed to physicians yesterday morning: "Mercy Hospital requires significant capital investments ($60 million) in new technology and facility improvements, and our financial projections indicate that Mercy will not generate enough income in the future to make these major investments."

During 2005, Catholic Health East had a profit of $219 million on revenue of $4.2 billion. For the fiscal year that ended in June, UPMC reported a $523 million profit on revenue of nearly $6 billion.

Robert Cindrich, the general counsel for UPMC, said the health system will maintain Mercy's obstetrics department as well as its trauma center. The trauma unit garnered national headlines this summer for its treatment of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger following his motorcycle accident.

The health system will learn, with help from the diocese, about the differences involved in running a Catholic medical center, Mr. Cindrich said.

For years, Mercy has provided a high level of uncompensated care among hospitals in Allegheny County, and officials pledged to maintain the hospital's charity care program. As a Catholic hospital, it does not perform abortion, sterilization, tubal ligation and other procedures that are at odds with Catholic ethics.

For UPMC, the Mercy merger brings hospital beds to a system that otherwise was looking to construct a new inpatient tower at nearby UPMC Shadyside. Mr. Cindrich said it wasn't yet clear how yesterday's news would affect planning for the new tower, but he said that the Mercy facility would, in general, alleviate crowding at Shadyside as well as at UPMC Presbyterian.

Mercy also operates a burn unit, which the UPMC system currently lacks.

"Pretty much what you see at Mercy today will be here. The idea is to enhance and add to, not take away from," Mr. Cindrich said. "There may be movement of some other services that aren't here now into Mercy, so that we can make full use of the bed space that is here."

He disagreed with the view by other hospitals that the merger would reduce hospital competition.

"The public lost a choice when St. Francis was forced to cease operations. It will lose another choice if Mercy suffers the same fate," Mr. Cindrich said. "Our combination with Mercy does not eliminate, but rather preserves choice for people of the region -- the choice to go to a faith-based hospital."

The $100 million contribution by UPMC will be used to enhance programs for the poor and meet other community needs, said Sister Margaret Hannan, president of the Sisters of Mercy.

She said the sisters might model their efforts after the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, which was created in the early 1990s out of the merger of Presbyterian University and Montefiore hospitals to create UPMC. As part of the Montefiore merger, UPMC contributed $75 million to the Jewish Healthcare Foundation.

Linda Ross, the spokeswoman for Mercy, said hospital officials talked with Highmark Inc. and a group called Catholic Health Partners about possible mergers or financial help. But the UPMC offer of merger, absorption of the hospital's debt of about $100 million and the $100 million charitable contribution was the strongest that the hospital received.

Mr. McGinley said the transition should be a good one for the 2,900 employees of Mercy Hospital and the affiliated physician practice group. UPMC benefits tend to be richer than those offered by Mercy, he said, and the alternative to merger might have involved significant downsizing.

As an attorney, Mr. McGinley was involved with the liquidation of St. Francis Medical Center, the city's other major Catholic hospital, after it closed in 2002. The memories of that closure, as well as the prospect of Pittsburgh lacking a Catholic hospital, altogether, were at the forefront in the decision to merge with UPMC, he said.

"Both St. Francis and Mercy evolved at a time when this city had 600,000 people in it, and as the city reduced in size, health care didn't reduce with it -- it expanded with it," he said. The problems at the two hospitals, he said, had nothing to do with Catholicity, but "everything to do with demographics."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Christopher Snowbeck can be reached at csnowbeck@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2625. )

Evergrey

09-21-2006, 06:10 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06264/723654-53.stm

URA, others team to find uses for vacant land in Hill, North Side
Thursday, September 21, 2006

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city's Urban Redevelopment Authority went to bat for two slumping business corridors and got $24,500 from the Urban Land Institute to take steps toward reviving them.

The local council of the institute has teamed with the URA and Carnegie Mellon University's Urban Lab to conduct an inventory and plan for the use of vacant and underused land on Herron Avenue in the Hill District and lower Brighton Road in the North Side.

"Both corridors are in need of rebuilding," said Michael Stern, chairman of the institute's Pittsburgh district council and an architect at Strada studio. "They are separate projects with commonalities." Both were once commercially viable, and now are pocked with blight and vacancy.

Two groups of students from the Urban Lab and the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management have begun tours and interviews on the two thoroughfares -- on Herron between Bigelow Boulevard and Centre Avenue and from North Avenue to Kirkbride Street along Brighton.

Each has a stakeholder coalition to help shape redevelopment, and community forums for residents' input are scheduled. Brighton Road's next session will be today from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Children's Museum. Herron Avenue's will be today from 5 to 8 p.m. at the John Wesley African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

Rebecca Davidson Wagner leads the coalition of North Side interests that draws from four neighborhoods, three in historic districts. Brighton serves them all without belonging to any of them.

Structures dominate the corridor, with a variety of successful businesses. Many are old brick row houses that have been abandoned, boarded up or left open. Some commercial buildings are vacant, weathered and unsightly.

"We hope a planning document can come out of this" as a directorate to developers, said Ms. Wagner, "so that we can say, 'These are the uses we want and the type of footprint you need to fit.' It'll be interesting to see what people come up with. We want to play off what we already have going for us."

Mark Knezevich, a project development specialist at the URA, was discussing plans with Herron Avenue stakeholders before the call for proposals. URA land beside the John Wesley AME Zion Church sits on an old mine that had filled with water and flooded the church's basement.

One project the Herron coalition wants to pursue is using mine water, diverted into french drains, for geothermal heating and cooling, said the Rev. Calvin Cash, pastor of the church and head of the coalition.

Between 75 and 100 gallons of water pour through the drains every minute, and the coalition's ultimate goal is to use it, and possibly springs known to exist in the Hill, for geothermal energy throughout the neighborhood.

"We want to bring this back as a green corridor," said Mr. Cash, whose church is 111 years old, "and to make affordable housing even more affordable."

Two years ago, Charles Johnson, a soil scientist for the state Department of Environmental Protection, noticed orange water pooling on the sidewalk in front of the church and put a note through the church mail slot, asking if there was water in the basement.

Mr. Cash called to report that there was, about 18 inches, and the DEP and Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon teamed to chart the mine, drain about 40 million gallons of pooled water and divert the flow.

George Wazlaff, an environmental engineer for the U.S. Department of Energy, has been helping the coalition find a location for a geothermal demonstration, and the first hope was the church, as part of a restoration effort. The group went after a state energy-harvest grant, but with cleanup costs and mold remediation, the cost was prohibitive, said Mr. Wazlaff, adding, "we're still looking for one."

Heat pumps are 20 percent to 30 percent more costly to install, but they save 70 percent on energy bills, he said.

The URA's director of business development, Robert Rubinstein, said the Urban Land Institute's expertise and status could put this project onto a faster track for the kind of funding substantial change requires.

"We expect this to be more than an academic exercise," Mr. Rubinstein said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626.)

...

Brighton is in a rather pathetic state right now... but should be a prime corridor with the continued resurgence of Manchester, Allegheny West and Mexican War Streets

Wheelingman04

09-22-2006, 01:48 AM

All of this uncertainty regarding the Penquins is making me nervous.

Evergrey

09-23-2006, 02:14 AM

I thought that City Council already approved the Southside tower height?

That was the City Planning Commission.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06207/708574-53.stm

Evergrey

09-23-2006, 04:27 AM

I just put together a rundown of all new "high-rise" construction within the city (10 floors or 100 ft).

Some of the Approved and Proposed residential towers are working under generic names at the moment. There are several major projects featuring multiple residential high-rises including the Cultural District project, the South Side Works project and the Fifth/Forbes/Market Square project.

U/C (2):
Three PNC Plaza (23 fl, ? ft)
151 FirstSide (18 fl, ? ft)

App (11):
Cultural District Residential Tower I (30 fl, ? ft)
Cultural District Residential Tower II (22 fl, ? ft)
Cultural District Residential Tower III (20 fl, ? ft)
Bella Vista (10 fl, 100 ft)
Forbes Village (20 fl, ? ft)
South Side Works Hotel (? fl, 165 ft)
South Side Works Condominium Building I (? fl, 165 ft)
South Side Works Condominium Building II (? fl, 165 ft)
South Side Works Office Building I (? fl, 110 ft)
South Side Works Office Building II (? fl, 110 ft)
One International Center / Surety Center (9 fl, 110 ft)

Prop (8):
Schenley Place (10 fl, 140 ft)
Convention Center Hotel (20 fl, ? ft)
The Chelsea (17 fl, ? ft)
North Oakland Condominium Building (17 fl, ? ft)
Cultural District Residential Tower IV (23 fl, ? ft)
Cultural District Residential Tower V (17 fl, ? ft)
Strip District Mixed-Use Tower (18 fl, ? ft)
Duquesne University Residential Tower (15 fl, ? ft)

Unk (2):
There is currently a "casino sweepstakes" going on in Pittsburgh between 3 competiting groups looking to land the new casino license for the city. 2 groups have proposed $1 billion dollar casino/development plans while the 3rd plan is about half that. The two larger plans incorporate high-rise proposals in the renderings. One plan for Station Square features 1250 residential units in multiple towers, supposedly up to 25 stories. The developer here may go through with the residential component even if the casino license goes to a competitor. The other large group has a mixed-use development plan for the Lower Hill District that looks to include a number of mid-rise buildings in the 10-20 story range. Details for these projects remain ambiguous.

Canc (1):
Pittsburgh Fireside Inn (29 fl, ? ft)

Built since Jan. 1 2000 (2):
Mellon Client Services Center (14 fl, ? ft)
The Encore on 7th (18 fl, ? ft)

As you can see the first half of this decade was positively pathetic concerning high-rise development... now we are experiencing an explosion of new buildings in the 10-30 story range.

Evergrey

09-23-2006, 05:15 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06266/724294-147.stm

New subway station design may be stripped down
Saturday, September 23, 2006

By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Because it had difficulty lining up enough capital to meet the escalated $435 million cost of the North Shore Connector, the Port Authority has little money left for special architectural features at a new Gateway Center station.

As a result, the authority is planning to ask a state agency to provide $1.1 million to match $1.1 million in private donations to fund a public plaza and glass-enclosed shell at the subway entrance. It would be a scaled-down version of the project as originally envisioned, without a planned water feature.

The board is expected to pass a resolution next week seeking the grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for plaza design and construction in the triangular-shaped plot bounded by Stanwix Street, Liberty Avenue and Penn Avenue.

If approved, the grant would be combined with $1 million from The Heinz Endowments and $100,000 from The Pittsburgh Foundation for the new station across the street from the present one.

"If the DCNR doesn't approve [the matching grant], then $1.1 million will be our budget," said Henry Nutbrown, the authority's engineering-construction manager.

Designers have already modified plans for the sunken plaza to reduce costs, including building it 6 feet rather than 12 feet below street level.

When the authority's board authorized a unique Gateway Center station in January 2005, it was described as "the first of its kind, a day-lit underground station complemented by a new, sunken plaza."

Also next week, the board is expected to extend an agreement with DMJM Harris to provide architectural, engineering and related services through July 31, 2008, for the 1.2-mile extension of the Light Rail Transit system line from Gateway Center to the North Shore, via twin tunnels under the Allegheny River.

DMJM was hired about five years ago. The revised contract, capped at $6.3 million, would bring the total amount to $36 million.

Port Authority officials signed the first construction contract -- worth $156.6 million -- Sept. 6 with West Mifflin-based Trumbull Corp. and San Francisco-based Obayashi Corp., a joint venture which will bore the tunnels and do most other major civil engineering work Downtown and on the North Shore.

The contractors are to be issued a formal notice to proceed next week, when preliminary work will get under way.

"The first thing people will see will be surveyors working on the [light-rail] alignment and utility locations," Mr. Nutbrown said. "Then traffic control will be set up and backhoes will start working."

About $20 million worth of utility relocations will take place, with utility companies paying about $6 million of the tab because some of the oldest underground lines will be improved -- mainly water and sewer mains.

Construction from start to finish is expected to take about 41/2 years, Mr. Nutbrown said, but for 11/2 years, while the mammoth tunnel-boring machine is at work, "it will be out of sight, out of mind."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Joe Grata can be reached at jgrata@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1985. )

themaguffin

09-24-2006, 03:05 PM

Downtown housing rentals/sales seem to be doing well:

Downtown housing boom no illusion
Commitments more than adequate for 246 new high-priced condominiums
Sunday, September 24, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060924bwcondo0924_230.jpg

Bill Wade, Post-Gazette
Buyers have been lined up for 20 of the 61 condos for sale at the Carlyle in the former Union Bank Building, at Wood Street and Fourth Avenue.

Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette
Residents of the Encore on 7th, Downtown, can get a view across the Allegheny River toward PNC Park.

Downtown's residential renaissance is producing its first fruits.

Developers say they are having little trouble finding people willing to spend $250,000 or more to buy a Downtown condo or as much as $3,275 a month to rent an apartment.

Since opening at the end of April, the new Encore on 7th has leased 73 percent of its 151 units, with most rents ranging from $1,400 to $3,275 a month.

The Golden Triangle's newest condominium building, 151 First Side, has commitments on 43 of 80 units, with prices ranging from $250,000 to $500,000. Piatt Place at the former Lazarus-Macy's building has lined up buyers on 10 of 65 condos, with prices running from $335,400 to $634,500, in the four months the sales office has been open.

"It exceeds our expectations. We're excited about it," said Jack Piatt, chairman of Millcraft Industries Inc., the developer.

A few blocks away, at Wood Street and Fourth Avenue, the Carlyle has secured buyers on 20 of 61 condos, ranging from $236,000 to $1.2 million for a top-floor penthouse, and expects to have all sold by next September.

"I think we've done better than a lot of cities with emerging housing markets. I'm very happy with the progress that we're making," said Patty Burk, vice president of housing and economic development for the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

In all, 246 condominiums are under construction or in final development stages Downtown. That doesn't take into account another 1,285 condos or apartment units being planned, including 700 in the Cultural District.

It's a whole lot of housing to add to the 1,290 rental and condo units available in the Golden Triangle. But several studies over the past five years have indicated the demand is there to match it.

They suggest the Downtown market can absorb 100 to 250 units a year, at rental levels below $1.60 a square foot (the current level is $1.34) and at sales prices of $200 a square foot, translating into a monthly rent of $1,742 for a 1,300-square-foot apartment or $260,000 for a condo of the same size.

And a recent Carnegie Mellon University study found that demand for Downtown housing among young professionals far exceeds the supply. For that category of buyer or renter, it estimated there is a need for at least 162 more units, up to as many as 2,061.

"We're very confident that the marketplace can hold and support this amount of residential Downtown [development] that's going to roll out over the next five years," said Greg Hammill, regional vice president of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.

Howard Hanna is the marketing and sales agent for the 30 luxury condominium units being built as part of the 23-story Three PNC Plaza tower under construction on Fifth Avenue. They will sell for $500,000 or more, with some topping $1 million.

It also will handle the sale of 700 units of housing planned within an ambitious $460 million development in the Cultural District announced by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Mr. Hammill said Howard Hanna's own marketing studies have suggested that demand exists. He said the Encore, with nearly three-quarters of its units rented, is a "great indication" of demand for Downtown living.

"We're very optimistic about that market," he said.

In building high-end units Downtown, developers are primarily targeting two types of people -- empty nesters who are looking to trade their big suburban homes for smaller city units and young professionals who love city life and have the cash to afford it.

Ralph Falbo, the developer of the 151 First Side condominium project, said that research has shown that the most likely buyer of a Downtown condo is a 62-year-old single woman. But he added his buyers have run the gamut, from young professionals without children to doctors and lawyers from all age groups.

Mr. Falbo believes there's more than enough demand to support the higher end development, at least at this stage of the game.

"We're all moving ahead cautiously and not getting overbuilt. I don't think what we're looking at now is an overbuilt situation. If it is, it's not by much," he said.

But one who fears the boom could become a bust is Tom Sullivan, a commercial broker for Colliers Penn, Downtown. Unlike Mr. Falbo, he believes there are too many residential units being built in the Golden Triangle at the same time.

"There are going to be some winners and losers, depending on what type of project they have going on," he said.

He also thinks too much of the construction is high-end. He believes the demand is higher among people looking for condos in the $150,000 to $200,000 range than $350,000 and above.

"They've got to come down to earth. Too many people are shooting on the high end," he said. "People who could care less about amenities and love being in the city are younger people. A lot [of the units] are priced such that younger people can't afford it."

Incentives offered
In at least two cases, apartment developers are offering some incentives to attract renters, but Ms. Burk attributed that more to competition than any weakness in demand.

The Encore, at Seventh and Fort Duquesne Boulevard, is offering free parking to some residents, in particular those with lower-level apartments on the city side of the building.

At 930 Penn Ave., a building converted into 20 apartments, developers are offering a free month's rent to tenants, the first of whom moved in in June. So far six units have been rented, at a rate of $2,400 a month.

"Any new apartment building is going to offer concessions or enticements, especially when you've got choices," Ms. Burk said. "Tenants and residents are looking for the best deal for themselves. It's just the way it goes. I don't think it's anything to be concerned about."

At Piatt Place, Millcraft is adjusting its housing plan, scrapping expensive two-story townhouses that were to be built on top of the Lazarus building in favor of more condos, smaller in size and less expensive. Brian Walker, chief financial officer, said the change was made because the market "was crying for smaller units."

But few see such things as a concern, particularly given the apparent high demand for Downtown living.

Whatever momentum there is could be lost, though, without more amenities Downtown, such as grocery stores, laundries, dry cleaners and longer store hours, Mr. Sullivan said.

The CMU study made the same point, saying that many young professionals "are still hesitant [to] pay the rents currently being charged" Downtown because existing amenities don't meet their wants or needs. The study listed the top amenities for that group as a grocery store, pharmacies, bars and pubs, health clubs, retail stores and a movie theater.

Perhaps the biggest unfulfilled need Downtown is for more moderately priced housing. Ms. Burk said studies have found a very high demand for such housing Downtown. The CMU study found that young professionals are willing to pay $900 to $1,100 a month to live Downtown.

As a result, a group of business, civic, political and foundation officials have begun meeting to try to find ways to entice developers to build more moderately priced "workforce" housing.

"We definitely recognize the demand and the need," she said. "There's a lack of supply for workforce housing."

The problem is that building in downtowns is expensive for a number of reasons, from the red tape involved to the price of land to tougher building and fire codes. And that doesn't even take into account the skyrocketing increase in the cost of construction materials over the last year.

"The difficulty in most cities is that it is too expensive to develop market rate housing to make it affordable for young people or teachers or government workers without some kind of city subsidies or assistance," said John McIlwain, senior fellow for housing at the Washington D.C.-based Urban Land Institute.

Without incentives, developers tend to gravitate toward building more expensive units Downtown because it is the only way they can make money.

Ms. Burk said the Working Group on Downtown Housing is looking at the possibility of tax abatements or other incentives to interest developers in building more affordable housing.

Mr. McIlwain said cities such as Columbus, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Philadelphia are experiencing much of the same downtown housing boom as Pittsburgh. In many other cities, there's a lot of upper end housing, but also starter housing of 700 to 800 square feet geared toward young professionals.

Over the last five to 10 years, the market has been so strong "that developers by and large have been able to do pretty well" with downtown housing, Mr. McIlwain said.

He said the 246 units under or near construction in Pittsburgh are not a lot, a "first toe in the water," as he put it.

"You don't know how strong the market's going to be at first when you start doing this. My guess is that they will sell them. The question is how long it will take and will they get the asking prices or will they roll them back?" he said.

Millcraft's decision to scrap two-story townhouses for smaller, less expensive condos probably was the right move, he added.

"I think that's a reflection of conservatism on their part. They are cautious about the market. They think there's a deeper market at the lower price point, which is probably right," he said

Derek

09-24-2006, 06:28 PM

pittsburgh is looking pretty damn sexy

Evergrey

09-25-2006, 03:48 AM

600 residential units under development for E. Liberty! And finally some more information on the Highland Building... which I hadn't heard a word about in a year.

East Liberty gathers momentum

By Sam Spatter
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, September 24, 2006

Ernie Hogan wants to set the record straight about East Liberty's housing market.
"We're not building just subsidized housing for low- and moderate-income families, but also market rate rental and for-sale housing, along with higher priced condominiums," said Hogan, director of housing for East Liberty Development Inc.

"Our goal is to make East Liberty a complete housing community, one that offers both market rate and affordable housing for its residents," Hogan said.

Dolores Morris, a current East Liberty resident, likes the idea behind the housing plans because she wants to stay in the community.

She was relocated to Penn Plaza, an apartment complex at Penn and Negley avenues, when her East Mall Apartment was demolished.

"I was upset that many people were uprooted by the demolition," she said.

"Many moved out of town or to suburban areas, but I need public transportation -- since I'm a senior citizen -- and wanted to stay near it," she said.

She plans to exercise her first option to move into one of the new housing units being built in the community when it becomes available.

So does Alethea Sims, a 20-year East Mall resident who now lives in Penn Circle Apartments. Like Morris, she stayed in East Liberty to be close to transportation and her job.

Hogan says the real challenge for East Liberty, an area on Pittsburgh's east end south of Highland Park, is to increase its residential base, as the community's commercial activities grow and amenities are provided.

Among commercial projects either opened, planned or proposed for East Liberty are a Trader's Joe on Penn Avenue, the EastSide complex under construction by the Mosites Co. that includes a Starbucks, Borders and Walgreens with the possible addition of a Target store, plus new restaurants and the already opened Whole Foods.

East Liberty -- once Pittsburgh's second major shopping community -- is on its way to producing more than 600 units of new or rehabilitated affordable and market-rate rental and for-sale housing, in addition to providing moderate-priced condominiums.

Gone, or to be demolished in the near future, are the former high-rise and low-rise structures that lacked the attractiveness or ability to provide a safe, comfortable yet affordable residence.

Only Penn Circle on Broad Street remains. It serves as temporary housing for families displaced when their high-rise buildings were demolished to make way for new construction. But it is due to be demolished, probably in the fall or winter, once new housing has been built, Hogan said.

Homes for Working Families Inc., the Fannie Mae Foundation and the Urban Land Institute also like what's happening in East Liberty for working families.

They sponsored a report on "Solving America's Shortage of Homes Working Families Can Afford" that named New Pennley Place, a $23 million, mixed-income, 174-unit apartment complex on Penn Avenue and Broad Street, one of 15 affordable new or rehabilitated housing complexes in the nation.

"One of the interesting things about this project was that the AFL-CIO helped, providing some financing and union labor," said Beverly Barnes, executive director of Homes for Working Families.

But Pennley Place is not alone in offering affordable or market-rate housing in the East Liberty area.

"There is nearly $100 million in new and rehabilitated housing planned or under construction in the neighborhood," said Tom Cummings, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh's housing director.

He should know. URA is an active participant in helping fund many of these housing projects, most through some form of government subsidy to reduce the sales price and rental amount.

Under construction is Penn Manor, being developed by Community Builders, a Boston-based company, which also developed New Pennley Place. East Liberty Development Inc. and the Coalition of Organized Residents of East Liberty are also developers of Penn Manor.

Penn Manor, a $7.8 million project slated for completion this fall, features 55 one- and two-bedroom units with 39 at affordable and 16 at market rates. The three-story building is at 125 N. St. Clair St., across from Garland Park.

Now in the design stage by Community Builders, along with CORE and ELDI, serving as a combined development team, is a mixed commercial-residential complex with between 80 to 90 units on the East Mall site on Penn Avenue, Hogan said.

Hogan's agency is involved in many of the other developments.

It is working on a scattered site project, involving 48 for-sale houses, both new and rehabilitated units, to be developed in phases. Initially, 12 units are being built in the 700 and 800 blocks of Mellon Street, and five have been sold.

Scheduled to start in the fall is Negley Neighbors, a scattered-site 49-unit rental development, to be developed by Hogan's agency along with S&A Homes.

The two developers will be joined by McCormack Barron Salazar, a St. Louis-based firm, in development of Liberty Park at the former Liberty Park site at Broad Street and Collins Avenue.

Initially, 124 units of rental housing will be built in 16 buildings, a complex already under construction. There will be a three-story elevator building with 30 units while the remaining units will be in three, three-story walkup buildings, each with 12 units, with the remainder in townhomes.

And Hogan's agency is working on a for-sale housing complex of about 50 units on the Liberty Park site along Larimer Avenue.

Also in the planning stage is a proposal from a Colorado-based developer, Mark Meiser, owner of Meiz Development Co., who hopes to bring a mix of 50 to 60 loft-style condominiums plus retail, office or community uses to a pair of East Liberty buildings.

A partnership headed by Meiser, which includes Denver businessman Michael Zeitlin, has an agreement to purchase the five-story former YMCA building at 120 S. Whitfield St. and a neighboring two-story structure at 5916-24 Penn Ave.

Prices for other new condominiums planned in the community will be slightly higher.

The century-old Highland Building on Highland Avenue, near Centre, will be converted into an 84-unit condominium by Terminus Real Estate of Knoxville, Tenn.

Tentative prices for the units are from $143,000 to $350,000, Terminus said. Occupancy could occur by the summer of 2007.

The conversion is part of an overall $25 million to $30 million development by Terminus that includes construction of a seven-story, 150-room Holiday Inn adjacent to the Highland Building, which will include a shared parking garage.

And sales are under way at the Lofts on Baum, a 28-unit, eight-story condominium by Art Schwotzer of Crossgates Inc. at 5848 Baum Blvd., where prices are from $189,900 to $404,900.

Sam Spatter can be reached at sspatter@tribweb.com.

Evergrey

09-25-2006, 03:57 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06267/724545-28.stm

UPMC stretches out: Mercy Hospital merger makes health giant's footprint even bigger
Sunday, September 24, 2006

By Christopher Snowbeck, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The proposed merger of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh last week adds emphasis to what was already obvious: The health care giant's footprint now goes significantly beyond its original Oakland home. UPMC operates facilities all over the region but nowhere is its presence more pronounced than in the city's East End, where it's expanding in leaps and bounds.

Taking over Mercy in the city's Uptown neighborhood opens the door for redevelopment east along Forbes Avenue to UPMC's facilities in Oakland, said John R. McGinley Jr., chairman of the board at the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System.

UPMC's investment in Mercy also promises to promote revitalization of Downtown, said Robert Cindrich, UPMC's general counsel. He noted that the health system also is giving "serious consideration" to moving its headquarters operations Downtown, perhaps the U.S. Steel building.

"We want to become part of helping to build and grow the Downtown area, to revitalize it," Mr. Cindrich said. "We think that by keeping Mercy alive and vital and growing, we're going to help that movement to grow Downtown."

UPMC's real estate dealings in recent years have made it key to redevelopment efforts in several East End neighborhoods.

The health system's expanded presence in Shadyside began with the merger with Shadyside Hospital in 1997, and the opening of the Hillman Cancer Center in 2002. It has continued this year with a series of land acquisitions, including an old Ford Motor Co. assembly plant at Baum Boulevard and Morewood Avenue, and property between Baum and Centre Avenue that houses a Boston Market restaurant.

UPMC has been somewhat vague about its plans for the new properties, but has confirmed its hope for a new 350,000 square-foot building to provide for the continued growth of cancer and biomedical research programs. Parcels between Baum and Centre were tentatively designated for a new 4-story, 280,000 square-foot medical office building to accompany an expansion at UPMC Shadyside, but officials said those plans will be revisited, and perhaps reduced, if the Mercy merger is completed.

In Lawrenceville, UPMC is spending $575 million to transform the old St. Francis Medical Center into a new campus for Children's Hospital, which is scheduled to open in 2009. The development, which will include a hospital, a research building and three parking garages, incorporates portions of the old St. Francis campus.

UPMC and the Magee Foundation are expanding the health system's presence in Oakland, too. A current building project is adding 70,000 square feet at the corner of Forbes and Craft avenues to the Magee-Womens Research Institute.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Christopher Snowbeck can be reached at csnowbeck@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2625. )

Taking over Mercy in the city's Uptown neighborhood opens the door for redevelopment east along Forbes Avenue to UPMC's facilities in Oakland, said John R. McGinley Jr., chairman of the board at the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System.

UPMC's investment in Mercy also promises to promote revitalization of Downtown, said Robert Cindrich, UPMC's general counsel. He noted that the health system also is giving "serious consideration" to moving its headquarters operations Downtown, perhaps the U.S. Steel building.

"We want to become part of helping to build and grow the Downtown area, to revitalize it," Mr. Cindrich said. "We think that by keeping Mercy alive and vital and growing, we're going to help that movement to grow Downtown."

UPMC's real estate dealings in recent years have made it key to redevelopment efforts in several East End neighborhoods.

The health system's expanded presence in Shadyside began with the merger with Shadyside Hospital in 1997, and the opening of the Hillman Cancer Center in 2002. It has continued this year with a series of land acquisitions, including an old Ford Motor Co. assembly plant at Baum Boulevard and Morewood Avenue, and property between Baum and Centre Avenue that houses a Boston Market restaurant.

UPMC has been somewhat vague about its plans for the new properties, but has confirmed its hope for a new 350,000 square-foot building to provide for the continued growth of cancer and biomedical research programs. Parcels between Baum and Centre were tentatively designated for a new 4-story, 280,000 square-foot medical office building to accompany an expansion at UPMC Shadyside, but officials said those plans will be revisited, and perhaps reduced, if the Mercy merger is completed.

In Lawrenceville, UPMC is spending $575 million to transform the old St. Francis Medical Center into a new campus for Children's Hospital, which is scheduled to open in 2009. The development, which will include a hospital, a research building and three parking garages, incorporates portions of the old St. Francis campus.

UPMC and the Magee Foundation are expanding the health system's presence in Oakland, too. A current building project is adding 70,000 square feet at the corner of Forbes and Craft avenues to the Magee-Womens Research Institute.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Christopher Snowbeck can be reached at csnowbeck@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2625. )

http://www.post-gazette.com/downloads/20060924UPMCfootprintQ.pdf

beachdoc06

09-25-2006, 05:15 AM

Hey Evergrey- since you made the effort, maybe you would put that compiled list as the first thing in this thread. (Kind of like the Chicago thread) Then we always know where the list is and can follow updates.

Evergrey

09-25-2006, 05:23 AM

Evergrey

09-25-2006, 05:38 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06269/725074-53.stm

Green space plan proposed for city of Pittsburgh
Tuesday, September 26, 2006

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Swaths of woods throughout the city would be permanently off limits to development under legislation to be introduced by Pittsburgh City Councilman Jim Motznik today.

Mr. Motznik would make 524 acres -- nearly 1.5 percent of the city's land area -- into greenways or additions to existing parks. All of that land is owned by the city or its authorities.

"I want to preserve open green space for the residents of the city of Pittsburgh," Mr. Motznik said yesterday. "Specifically, I got involved because of the Moore Park situation."

That park, in Brookline, is flanked by 86 acres of woodlands. In the past, there has been talk of building houses there.

"The residents have always had a fear of development back there," he said.

The woods are criss-crossed with informal trails, which eventually could be improved under the greenways designation, he said.

Other large areas that would be preserved include 53 acres in Hazelwood, 44 acres in Overbrook, 43 acres in the Hays area, and 40 acres along Bigelow Boulevard.

Mr. Motznik said he assembled the list of parcels in cooperation with the city's land-sale unit. He said he has not yet consulted with other council members representing areas that would be off-limits to development.

"Anything to enhance our parks, I'd be on board with," said council Finance Chairman Dan Deasy. "I'd just need to see the details first."

A council vote is not likely until next week at the earliest.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Evergrey

09-25-2006, 11:38 PM

50 new jobs for the Mon Valley... huge expansion for this company... who knew the world's largest manufacturer of pillowcases was located in Pittsburgh!? :)

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/30amtext.aspx

September 27, 2006
$7 million, 83,000 sf expansion of American Textile Company

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2030/american_textile_300.jpg

The American Textile Company, located at 10 North Linden Street in Duquesne, is building a $7 million, 83,000 square-foot addition to its 107,000 sf headquarters and distribution center.

Located within a brownfield redevelopment site in the Mon Valley RIDC Park, the expansion received $3 million from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development on behalf of Governor Rendell’s Action Team. The addition is also supported by a $1.2 million loan from Citizens Bank and a $400,000 Economic Development Fund loan from Allegheny County.

The new facility will be used to expand the company’s production of mattress, pillow, appliance and feather bed covers. The expansion, which also includes building a new parking lot and ten loading docks, is expected to be complete by February 2007 and create 50 new jobs.

Lawrenceville-based Desmone & Associates designed the addition and the contractor is Jendoco Construction.

“We came from a four-story operation in Lawrenceville with one dock to an operation with thirty docks. I love the location and it's a great work atmosphere,” says chairman Reid Ruttenberg.

Founded in 1925 as a family operation, American Textile currently employs 106 people. The world’s largest manufacturer of pillow and mattress covers, American Textile primarily serves national retailers. “We deal with the major department stores—Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kohl’s, Sears and Wal-Mart,” says Ruttenberg.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Reid Ruttenberg, chairman, American Textile Company

Image courtesy of American Textile

Evergrey

09-25-2006, 11:40 PM

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/30pittnano.aspx

September 27, 2006
Pitt to open $6.1 million nanofabrication facility
The University of Pittsburgh unveils its new 4,000 square-foot NanoScale Fabrication and Characterization Facility during a dedication ceremony on September 29 at 4:30 p.m. Located at 3700 O’Hara Street in Oakland, the center comprises two renovated floors of Benedum Hall.

“Pitt’s engineering, arts and sciences and medical schools have a common interest in nanotechnology and will take advantage of this facility,” says Hong Koo Kim, co-director of Pitt’s Petersen Institute for NanoScience and Engineering. “It allows us to really interact through collaboration.”

Kim cites the facility’s extremely clean premises as a feature that will establish the site as a national research center. Nanotechnology, which deals with the manipulation of materials on an atomic or molecular scale, requires the removal of dust particles from working areas and equipment.

“It will have a tremendous impact on various disciplines, even outside the university with industry,” says Kim. “This is important because it is a common user facility that allows us to share major high cost equipment in one place. It is a very cost effective approach.”

Friday’s celebration includes a luncheon with Mihail Roco, National Science Foundation senior advisor for nanotechnology, and the symposium, "Frontiers in Nanoscience," during which researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy, Columbia University and Pitt will discuss the field’s latest innovations.

“We anticipate national recognition,” says Kim. “This benefits research on campus and the western Pennsylvania region."

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Hong Koo Kim, co-director, Petersen Institute for NanoScience and Engineering

Evergrey

09-26-2006, 10:25 PM

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/09/25/daily16.html?t=printable

City Council OKs taller SouthSide Works buildings
Pittsburgh Business Times - 2:33 PM EDT Tuesdayby Ben Semmes
After giving tentative approval last week, the Pittsburgh City Council voted Tuesday to implement a zoning change that will allow taller buildings at SouthSide Works.

The change will increase height restrictions for five proposed buildings at the retail and dining development.

The Soffer Organization is planning on building two condominiums and a hotel at SouthSide Works, between 26th Street and 29th Street along E. Carson Street. The new rules will allow Soffer to increase the size of the three buildings from 110 to 165 feet.

On Tuesday morning, the council voted 6-1 in support of the change. Councilman Doug Shields was absent.

The proposed Quantum II building, which will serve as the new headquarters for American Eagle Outfitters on Hot Metal Street, and million One International Center -- a proposed development for Asian businesses -- will also be affected by the change. The height limit on these structures was increased from 75 feet to 110 feet.

Councilman Jim Motznik, the only dissenting vote, said it was unfair to allow the developer to seek changes to the zoning in the area.

"The Soffer Organization knew what the restrictions were," said Motznik, who represents the South Hills, including the Beechview, Brookline and Bon Air neighborhoods. "I don't agree with the developer coming back."

Motznik said he has heard from local residents who are concerned about the loosening of the height restrictions. He listed several neighborhood organizations -- including the South Side Chamber of Commerce and the South Side Neighborhood Organization -- that have opposed the change.

"There are a couple of reasons (for concern)," Motznik said. "There were concerns of tall, tall buildings. (Before) buildings couldn't go over 110 feet. (The residents) still want those restrictions in place."

Representatives at the Soffer Organization did not return calls requesting comment.

bsemmes@bizjournals.com | (412) 481-6397 x223

Evergrey

09-26-2006, 10:29 PM

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/09/25/daily15.html?surround=lfn

T-CAP says airport development booming
Pittsburgh Business Times - 3:43 PM EDT Tuesdayby Ben Semmes
Government leaders from Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties and Pittsburgh airport officials said Tuesday they are seeing success after years of struggle to attract development and jobs to the airport corridor.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, Beaver County Commission Chairman Dan Donatella and Washington County Commissioner J. Bracken Burns Sr. gave an informal progress report Tuesday at a Downtown meeting hosted by the Urban Land Institute (ULI), a national nonprofit focused on smart growth.

In 2002, ULI brought together a panel of experts from around the country to deliver recommendations to local officials to spur economic development along the Parkway West airport corridor.

The Tri-County Airport Partnership was formed shortly after to implement ULI's recommendations.

"We are very good in this area at conducting studies and then putting them on shelves," Onorato said. "Today, we are demonstrating that we are implementing most of the (ULI's) recommendations."

Working together with Beaver and Washington counties has made it easier to bring state and federal investment to the region, Onorato said. Those funds have been used to build needed sewer lines, roads and additional infrastructure to connect potential development sites near the airport to the rest of the region, he said.

The Parkway West corridor -- which has seen a flurry of development activity in recent months -- was the beneficiary in December 2005 of a new interchange in Robinson Township, between Interstate 79 and Route 60.

Onorato also said that current construction at the Parkway West/Interstate 79 interchange -- which will add two "missing" ramps -- and the redesignation of Route 60 as I-376 will make the area more attractive for development.

As evidence of improvement in the region, the panelists pointed to a substantial increase in the number of sites ready for development or under construction today as compared to six years ago.

Mike Langley, chief executive officer of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, even found a positive spin on US Airways' decision to move one of its hubs from Pittsburgh to Charlotte, N.C.. The airline has also continued to struggle financially.

"Fares have gone down tremendously," Langley said, giving most of the credit to budget airlines like Southwest and JetBlue.

Meanwhile, Langley said, average fares at Charlotte's airport have risen dramatically.

"Thank you very much US Airways for moving your hub," he said.

bsemmes@bizjournals.com | (412) 481-6397 x223

Evergrey

09-26-2006, 11:02 PM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06269/725119-53.stm

Historic panel reconsidering Oakland construction
Tuesday, September 26, 2006

The city Historic Review Commission yesterday held a lengthy public hearing, in compliance with an order from Common Pleas President Judge Joseph James, to reconsider an Oakland construction project it had rejected in June.

The proposed 10-story building is shorter now. The Elmhurst Group and their architects redrew plans, offering two options, an eight-story and a six-story building, to occupy what is now a parking lot of First Baptist Church at Bayard Street and North Bellefield Avenue. The anchor occupant would be Select Medical, and part of the building would be used as clinics and for hospital services.

The original proposal drew objections from nearby residents, who said the building's height and girth clashed with the nature of the historic district it is in. The review commission oversees all proposed new construction in 12 city-designated historic districts.

The commission's earlier denial of a certificate of appropriateness held that the height and nature of the building were inconsistent. The Elmhurst Group took the matter to Common Pleas Court.

The commission is expected to vote on the redrawn plans next week.

Evergrey

09-26-2006, 11:49 PM

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/30bakeryrow.aspx

September 27, 2006
Collective effort to shape development of “Bakery Row” begins

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%2030/bakery_row_300.jpg

A stretch of Penn Avenue between Fifth Avenue and East Liberty, dubbed “Bakery Row,” is the subject of a community meeting on October 4, at 7 p.m. Co-sponsored by the Shadyside Action Coalition (SAC) and East Liberty Development, Inc (ELDI), the meeting is being held at Calvary Church at 315 Shady Avenue.

An address by councilman Bill Peduto will be followed by discussions facilitated by Maureen Hogan and break-out sessions on topics such as future plans for Reizenstein School and Bakery Square, a mixed-use development that will bring condos, a small hotel, offices and retail to the 495,000 sf Nabisco building.

“All of a sudden there are a bunch of huge parcels that might become available. We are going to educate folks on the nature of these sites,” says Rob Stephany, director of commercial development with ELDI.

Participating architect Rob Pffafmann hopes to engage community stakeholders, Mellon Park users and Point Breeze, Shadyside and East Liberty residents. “We want people to understand how the place came to be. This will reflect both a reality check and what neighbors want.

“We all thought Giant Eagle and Reizenstein would be there forever,” says Pfaffmann, who describes the area as East Liberty’s Strip District. “Now, Reizenstein is up for sale and Ellis is doing a master plan. This is a great opportunity to extend the success of downtown East Liberty and the Baum-Centre corridor.”

Public transportation and traffic patterns are a core issue. “In terms of how East Liberty is or is not connected to Shadyside, the bus way was always sort of the Berlin Wall of the two neighborhoods,” says Pfaffmann. “The advent of Whole Foods and EastSide is starting to knock down that wall.”

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Rob Pfaffmann, Pfaffmann + Associates and Rob Stephany, ELDI

Image courtesy of ELDI

Evergrey

09-26-2006, 11:50 PM

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/30eastmall.aspx

September 27, 2006
East Mall development seeks community input
East Liberty Development, Inc. (ELDI) and Community Builders hosted a public meeting on September 25 concerning the redevelopment of the former East Mall Apartments site located at 5800-5801 Penn Avenue.

Business owners, residents and representatives from East Liberty Presbyterian Church and the Pittsburgh Parking Authority attended the session. Community Builders, the project developer, has hired Strada and Lancaster-based Stuart and Associates to design the site.

In order for the project to receive low-income housing tax credit, a plan must be submitted in October. Construction is expected to be completed during 2008.

“This window of opportunity puts the project on a fast track,” says Tamara Dudukovich with Community Builders. “It gives momentum to something on everyone’s radar.”

Plans include a three-story, 80,000 square-foot development featuring sixty, one and two-bedroom units, first floor retail and resident parking. Housing will include affordable and market rate rental units.

“Design-wise people feel it should be modern and reflective of the neighborhood’s eclectic character, “ says Sallyann Kluz, East Liberty resident and associate with Loysen + Kreuthmeier Architects. “There are historical precedents to be mindful of, but the buildings themselves should reflect their time.”

The group discussed sustainable building, parking, artist housing, and the integration of a farmer’s market. Participants suggested using the new development to connect East Liberty’s business district to Garfield.

“People feel the lines of the building’s facade should be maintained with those in East Liberty, but that sidewalks could be energized by landscaping and art,” says Kluz. “Everyone is excited about tying residential development back into the commercial district.”

Monday’s session kicked of a three-day design charette. Additional community meetings will be announced at a later date.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Sources: Tamara Dudukovich, Community Builders and Sallyann Kluz, Loysen + Kreuthmeier Architects

Evergrey

09-27-2006, 02:59 AM

Pop City continues with its bi-weekly profiles on selected city neighborhoods... I would suggest clicking the links to read the articles... there are tons of interesting hyperlinks and photos...

the first piece is on commercial/business development

http://www.popcitymedia.com/features/31investdt.aspx

The Business and Investment Guide to Downtown
By: Jen Saffron

September 27, 2006

From its post-industrial haze Pittsburgh has emerged as a beautiful and compelling city that continually surprises. Host of the 2006 Major League Baseball All Star Game, home of the Super Bowl champions and soon-to-be host to the National Trust’s 2006 National Preservation Conference ,it’s a big year for the “Burgh” and the recognition is richly deserved. In addition to the sports and architectural accolades, Downtown’s construction rumbles with more than $1 billion in development and planned development and a striking new skyline that attracts attention.

A town previously overcast with smog now boasts the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Clean Team and riverfront development. Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center is the largest “green” building in the world and more green building is on the way – Three PNC Plaza, with construction later this year, is soon to be the planet’s largest mixed-use green building. And, organizations such as Sustainable Pittsburgh and Green Building Alliance continue to propel Pittsburgh as a green city, a far cry from it’s old moniker as the “smoky city.”

Linda Metropulos, principal of Artemis Environmental Building Materials shares her perspective on how Pittsburgh has emerged as a dominant green builder: “Pittsburgh is unique because green building developed out of very strong private sector leadership – particularly from the Heinz Endowments and the Green Building Alliance. Because of that strong leadership and advocacy, corporations such as PNC Bank have become among strongest corporate supporters of green building in the country.” In addition to Pittsburgh corporate, Metropulos notes that independent young designers and architects are staking their claim, too, as part of Emerging Green Builders.

“It’s the right thing to do – why wouldn’t you build green?” asks Gary Saulson, director of Corporate Real Estate for PNC. “If you can produce a building that is open and airy and sustainable and costs less to operate every year, then why not? We conduct a financial analysis of every component we put into a building to make sure that it makes sense. We have arrived at the conclusion that it’s prudent business to put energy efficient components into our buildings.” Three PNC Plaza will be a tower of retail, condominiums, office space, a hotel, and a parking garage. One of the first new tenants is the top law firm Reed Smith. And a prominent hotel will operate out of the location. Positioned at Fifth Avenue and Market, Three PNC Plaza is an important part of a plan to redevelop the Fifth, Forbes, and Market Square area.

Susan Golomb, Director of Development for PNC Realty Services and Pittsburgh’s former Director of City Planning, was very involved in the initial redevelopment talks regarding Fifth and Forbes. Three PNC Plaza has long been considered a key component of the revitalization plan. “Not only is the site a large block, so it has a huge impact, but it is among the first projects, and therefore sets the tone for the revitalization of that corridor,” says Golomb. “It is also a link between the Cultural District and that part of town.”

Top Ranking Cultural Arts

The Cultural District underscores the importance of arts and culture to urban life, hosting thousands of performances and exhibitions in a 14-block area teeming with theaters, galleries, and restaurants. Spearheaded by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, arts organizations, foundations and government leaders, the Cultural District has expanded into an arts district that few cities of Pittsburgh’s size can rival. Project after project, the Cultural District has marched through impressive renovations of theaters, streets, and historic buildings, which in turn has served as an economic driver to attract new investments and businesses. On the docket as the next Cultural District project is a massive undertaking that has drawn international attention – a $460 million arts and residential development along Ft. Duquesne Boulevard. In a smart and innovative move, the project’s design competition put out the call for an integrated team of architects, planners, and builders. The competition’s winners comprise both local and international professionals in urban planning, design, and green building.

“First of all, there is a proximity to the water, proximity to the theaters, great access to the North and South, and secondly, it is unique to have this kind of collaboration – there is a team of architects and developers,” says Dave DeSimone, vp of operations of The Cultural Trust. “On the design side, we wanted the quality of design and we wanted to also involve, up front, the people that would bring this project to fruition. It’s a very well-integrated team and a good feel between the different parties. We were lucky to have the time to conduct this process in a deliberate manner and the awareness of this project has been tremendous, both here and in Europe.”

Small Biz

While corporate leaders have played a major role in Pittsburgh’s revitalization, smaller businesses and creative non-profits have been moving in, filling in nooks and crannies with home grown inspiration that enriches the unique fabric of downtown. The result? A thriving small arts organizations in the Cultural District, such as the raw Future Tenant gallery or the spacious SPACE, a gallery, or Bricolage Theater Company which moved to the Cultural District in 2005. When asked about their move to 937 Liberty Avenue, artistic director Jeffrey Carpenter says, “This move has been extremely profitable. We’ve been able to partner and build relationships with Wood Street Galleries, the Gallery Crawl, and Three Rivers Arts Festival. We’ve been able to program a space and fill it with original theatrical events to huge success – this year we’ve doubled our audience base.”

The advantages to locating downtown are plentiful, from the central location which attracts a greater pool of employees, to the many Happy Hours to the fun of holding a meeting at a day game of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Why not? You can walk there from downtown just as you can walk anywhere in town. If you'd rather, the underground "T" connects you to any point Downtown then goes beyond to Station Square and the South Hills, a plus for commuters.

Have You Heard?

With investors coming in from other nearby cities like Washington, DC, Pittsburgh is becoming a hot market for property acquisition and business development. While residential property is booming--see Pop City's Moving Guide to Downtown, opportunities abound for any size business looking to relocate, from new construction to rehabbed historic buildings. Interested investors can search a database of development opportunities at the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s online database. For business and property owners, the URA offers assistance with property renovation, financing, and services appropriate to their need.

Mike Edwards, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is looking forward to the attraction of new investments: “In the next five or ten years? I would say that we’ve had a nice run of big projects such as the stadiums, Three PNC Plaza, Piatt Place, and when cities really become something is when these larger projects are filled in with smaller, more independent and interesting projects - a wider variety of small and local business. For example, the vacant buildings across from the new Three PNC Plaza become something where people can stimulate new thinking – this is where it gets exciting all around.”

Want in? These realtors can help: CBRE, Oxford/GVA, Grant St. Associates, Grubb & Ellis and Langholz, Wilson, Ellis.

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Maps/PC_downtown.gif

Evergrey

09-27-2006, 03:01 AM

http://www.popcitymedia.com/features/31dtmoveguide.aspx

The Moving Guide to Downtown
By: Jen Saffron

September 27, 2006
"The perceptions of living downtown have really changed," says Eric Feder. "Up until a few years ago, people gave me odd looks when I said that I lived downtown. Now they say, 'Oh, that's cool!'"

Feder ventured downtown from a Pittsburgh suburb in 1998, buying one of the First Side lofts. Now he’s moving into his second downtown residence, renovating an early 20th century warehouse/industrial building at 412 First Avenue into two floors of commercial space with exposed brick and beams. He'll use the top two floors for his own design—2600 square feet of living space.

"My hope is that downtown will become a 24-hour downtown and it is looking more and more that way," he says, citing the buzz around downtown living. "That’s a big change from even five years ago.”

Renaissance 3

Downtown Pittsburgh is known for its dramatic setting, surrounded by three rivers and steep bluffs, a reminder of the city’s previous life as a strategic military outpost and industrial commerce hub. These scenic rivers and green hills now serve as the extended playground to downtown, where residents and visitors kayak, boat, hike, bike, rollerblade, run, and fish with a glittering skyline as the immediate backdrop. Gorgeous 19th century buildings mix with skyscrapers to give this cityscape a feel that is both historic and modern. Quickly accessible by foot to North Shore’s stadiums, South Side’s Station Square and the Strip District, and featuring a State Park at the confluence of its defining three rivers, downtown is uniquely positioned and, with the boom in current development, ready for yet another renaissance.

Across the country, downtowns are enjoying renewed mystique, and Pittsburgh is no exception. Packed with historic architecture, downtown nightlife, world-class culture, and top-notch sports teams, Pittsburgh is attracting record numbers of those searching for the hip urban lifestyle with a perfect condo or loft. While two out of three Pittsburgh families still choose the suburbs, a growing niche seek city living, particularly young professionals and empty-nesters. Don Carter, principal of Urban Design Associates, works, lives and plays downtown. “People want to live in a great place and that’s downtown,” he says. “Pittsburgh’s downtown is very vibrant - cosmopolitan, actually.”

The Boom in Building

One thing is for sure: the downtown residential community is in a period of unprecedented growth. Converted industrial buildings, new construction hi-rises, and the re-use of vacant property all add up to diverse and attractive opportunities for downtown dwellers. Established buildings such as the Gateway Towers, Chatham Towers, and the Pennsylvanian are making room for the new construction of 151 First Side, the Encore on 7th, and Piatt Place. Three PNC Plaza, to be complete in 2008, will present yet another—and the largest—mix of living, retail, and commercial space that will serve residents, the general public, and the business sector alike.

Combining service and convenience with good design and green space is a win for urban residents. Piatt Place’s luxury condos will come complete with a first-floor European-style grocery, upscale retail and a steakhouse. With excellent views of the city, Piatt Place condos will circle the roofline and offer backyard access to a peaceful interior lawn and outdoor terraces. Hardwood floors, granite countertops, and ten-foot ceilings are complemented by concierge service, a door attendant and indoor parking. Buyers are responding: 10 out of 65 units have sold since sales began last month.

The 61-unit Carlyle, already one-third sold and a year from completion, makes re-use of a 21-story stately bank building on Wood Street. Heather Miller, real estate representative, says living downtown appeals to buyers across the board, from the suburban empty nesters to a twenty-something downtown attorney and a couple moving back from New York. What sells these high end condos, says Miller, is “the convenience – no commute and excellent services.” Part of that is Pittsburgh’s walkability. Everything is within a short jaunt – theater and sports events, daily conveniences, public transportation, the river, and the business district. If you live downtown and work downtown, your commute is a matter of blocks.

Coming Home

Holly Brubach, creative director of Birks and former dancer, Styles editor of the New York Times and writer for Vogue, created a buzz when she recently bought the stunning Granite Building next to the Duquesne Club. "I'm the accidental developer," she says with a laugh. She fell in love with the historic landmark and decided the only way she could live there would be to convert it into five or six full-floor condos. The 3000 square-foot units, designed by Dutch MacDonald and Jeffrey King of EDGE studio, are new on the market, priced at around $700,000 for the shell and $900,000 for the build-out. Each floor features 24 windows and high ceilings, part of the "luxury of light and space" that Brubach, a native Pittsburgher who left for New York at the age of 17, demands in her own dwelling.

As a former resident of New York, Paris and Milan, Brubach loves the scale of Pittsburgh and what it has to offer, from the convenience in getting around to the architecture and diverse cultural offerings.

Who’s on First (Avenue)

So besides style mavens such as Brubach, who else is living downtown? PUMP, the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project, crunched the numbers which show that the majority of downtown residents are 24-44 years of age. It looks like the trend will continue as evidenced by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s popular annual Walk and Dine: a Downtown living tour. The event quickly sold out to 300, with 200 on a waiting list. PUMP saw the opportunity and launched the Pittsburgh Pads series--a great idea, says Patty Burk of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. "It allowed 200 additional young-thinking people to socialize in a downtown property and get a feel for what it might be like to have a downtown lifestyle.”

Renters have a number of options, from rehabbed industrial lofts to new construction, from $1 to $1.60 a square foot and up. Those looking to buy can expect pricing from the low 200s to more than a million dollars, some with amazing views. You can find good deals in some of the older buildings in the low 100s. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership has up-to-the-minute information about downtown living and an apartment search engine at www.PGHLiving.com/. And, PittsburghMoves is also an online database of available properties.

Developing Downtown

When Eve Picker, architect-turned-developer, pioneered Pittsburgh loft development in the mid 90s, one lender told her, “Don’t be ridiculous – this isn’t New York.” She persisted, and has been turning derelict buildings into lofts ever since – Liberty Lofts, the Bruno Building, and 930 Penn Avenue, to name a few. Ranging from 1190 square feet to more than 1600 square feet, the lofts feature open plans with hardwood floors, immense windows, tall ceilings, balconies and views that are knockout. Picker’s development at 947 Liberty Avenue, a sleek, modern in-fill designed by EDGE studio, was featured in Dwell Magazine.

Other developers followed--the 117-unit Penn Garrison and 900 Penn Apartments-- and today, downtown is positioned as a highly desireable place to live – an unlikely thought a decade ago when downtown used to close down when the workforce drove back to the suburbs.

I Love the Night life

For a night out, the only problem is choosing from among the many things to do. Residents can step out and prime their palates at one of the numerous award-winning downtown restaurants. Then, enjoy the opera, ballet, symphony or theater—or skip across the bridge to cheer on the Pirates or a night game of the world-champion Steelers. Or perhaps a cup of coffee and the latest foreign film. Uptown, Mellon Arena offers a full slate of events, from Penguins games to concerts. Once a quarter, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Gallery Crawl enlivens the scene, when the arts community throws open its doors for a multi-venue art party to the extreme which always packs them in. If you live downtown, this is all in your backyard.

For Broadway shows, plays and concerts, the Cultural District is dense with theaters and cabarets, from Heinz Hall, Benedum and the Byham to the O'Reilly Theater and Cabaret.

Day to Day

Pittsburgh has a sizeable student population. It's home to the exceptional High School Center for the Arts and Performing Arts (CAPA), a high school in a striking new building facing the Allegheny River next to the impressive new David L. Lawrence Convention Center. And it's home to Point Park University, the Arts Institute of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Culinaray Institute and other schools, including Duquesne University in nearby Uptown.

Amenities

To make downtown living easy, conveniences are plentiful with liquor stores, shoe repair, drug stores, drycleaners, the library, and other basic needs within a five - ten minute walk.

Shopping for fresh local produce is a treat at the seasonal Market Square Farmers Market on Thursdays and on Fridays at the City-County Building. The famous and fabulous Strip District markets are only a mile or two away. Although Downtown lacks a grocer store at present, the gourmet grocer planned for Piatt Place will add another, very welcome dimension to urban living. As more residents move in, more amenities are expected to follow.

Urban adventures

Living in an urban epicenter isn’t all bricks and mortar. National Geographic recently named Pittsburgh as one of the 31 outdoor adventure cities. Need help planning a great outing? Non-profit Venture Outdoors is the trend-setter, organizing urban hikes, camping, rock climbing and even downtown lunchtime fishing in Point State Park.

It’s not unusual to see boats, jet-skis or bright yellow kayaks jockeying for position among barges on any one of Pittsburgh’s three rivers. Miles and miles of biking, rollerblading or running along riverfront trails can’t be beat. Downtowners enjoy the tranquility of Point State Park along with the beautiful flowering parklets and plazas with cascading water that dot both Uptown and the Cultural District. From Mellon Square to Katz Plaza, to the new Water Trail at the Rafael Vinoly-designed convention center, great outdoor spaces are found throughout.

For indoor recreation such as swimming, yoga, or racquetball, there is no shortage of downtown health clubs. The YMCA, YWCA, Bally Sports Club, and the Downtown Athletic Club offer convenient ways to stay fit. And to keep looking good, try any of the health and beauty spas such as Spa Uptown, About U! Salon and Spa; the Spa at Galleria (located in the Omni William Penn hotel) and the Golden Spoon Spa (located in the Doubletree Hotel). For the influential types, there are members-only clubs such as the Rivers Club and the long-standing Duquesne Club in its beautiful old building.

Living downtown means you are surrounded by great architecture with remarkable buildings such as the Allegheny Courthouse, designed by H.H.Richardson, historic churches and splendid 19th Century office buildings. They represent the foundation upon which all of Downtown has been built, a historic heritage to treasure.

Check out the Visitor's Guide to Downtown here:
http://www.popcitymedia.com/features/31vizdt.aspx

Evergrey

09-27-2006, 05:36 AM

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_472343.html

Task force credits region

By Ron DaParma and Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Western Pennsylvania has a better chance to win major projects such as Westinghouse Electric Co.'s proposed nuclear power engineering campus because regional leaders followed the economic development recommendations of a 2002 Urban Land Institute task force, local officials said Tuesday.
That included providing water, sewer and other infrastructure to open up thousands of acres of "shovel-ready sites" for commercial and economic development, including up to 3,000 acres in the vicinity of Pittsburgh International Airport.

"You have done surprisingly well. You have actually taken the plan, item by item, and done it with concrete results," Chuck Henschel, a member of the ULI task force, said yesterday at the Rivers Club in One Oxford Centre, Downtown.

Henschel, president of Henschel Transportation Consulting LLC of Northbrook, Ill., joined regional leaders for a panel discussion to assess the results of efforts to meet the ULI's recommendations.

In 2001, a study by Deloitte Touche Fantus found that only five sites and three buildings in the 10-county area were available for new development, noted F. Michael Langley, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

But with more sites now available, Langley and others said, the region is in a better position to bid for major office, distribution, warehouse or retail projects when planners come calling.

That currently includes Westinghouse, whose anticipated expansion of its nuclear operations could mean the addition of 1,000 local jobs.

North Carolina and South Carolina also are bidding for the project, which could encompass up to 1 million square feet.

Three local sites are among those still in the running, Langley said. They are the company's current headquarters location in Monroeville, a site in northern Allegheny County and one in southern Butler County.

Westinghouse spokesman Vaughn Gilbert said yesterday he couldn't confirm that the company had narrowed the list of potential sites in this area to the three Langley mentioned.

"I can say that Western Pennsylvania remains a prime candidate," he said.

Efforts to develop a more regional focus and avoid fighting between counties for economic development projects also have moved forward, according to Beaver County Commission Chairman Dan Donatella.

An example is the Tri-County Airport Partnership, which joined Beaver, Washington and Allegheny counties and the Allegheny County Airport Authority in efforts to develop the corridor near Pittsburgh International Airport in Findlay.

Donatella said the entire region should support Allegheny County's efforts to win a three-region competition with Phoenix and Charlotte, N.C., for a US Airways flight operation control center and its 600 jobs.

US Airways, which operates a control center employing 450 people in Moon and a center employing 175 in Phoenix, is seeking proposals from the three regions for a facility that would combine the operations.

"I would rather see the 600 jobs in Allegheny County than in Phoenix," Donatella said.

While the region has made progress, Henschel said, it still lacks a beltway system that could improve regional highway access.

The region did take a significant step by moving to build two "missing ramps" to connect Interstate 79 with the Parkway West, which will ease travel to and from the airport, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said.

Motorists have sought the "missing ramps" ever since the I-79 interchange with the Parkway West opened in the early 1970s.

In addition, Onorato said approval for the designation of the parkway and connecting highways as Interstate 376 was an important step toward identifying road access to and from the airport, and this could attract companies to the region. The change becomes official in January 2009.

beachdoc06

09-27-2006, 06:00 AM

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/06270/725335-85.stm

Allegheny County Council passes smoking ban
New law would prohibit smoking in restaurants, bars and other workplaces

Wednesday, September 27, 2006
By Anita Srikameswaran, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County Council last night voted overwhelmingly to prohibit smoking in restaurants, bars and other workplaces, moving the legislation into the hands of the chief executive for approval.

"We're going to go from the smoky city to a smoke-free city," council President Rich Fitzgerald said when he introduced the legislation.

The ordinance passed on a 14-to-1 vote.

Mr. Fitzgerald said that county Chief Executive Dan Onorato will get the bill by Friday and will have a week to make a decision. Council appears to have enough votes to override a veto.

Mr. Onorato said he plans to approve the no-smoking ordinance as long as it didn't contain "too many exemptions."

He previously indicated that he'd prefer a statewide ban to a local one, said his spokeswoman, Megan Dardanell.

If the rules aren't applied throughout Pennsylvania, "let's at least make sure it's an even, level playing field in Allegheny County," she said. "Don't pit one business against another."

The ordinance exempts specialty tobacco establishments and allows hotels and similar lodgings to set aside 25 percent of their rooms for smokers.

Council amended it last night so that nonprofit organizations can apply for a waiver to allow smoking at fund-raisers. However, the nonprofit is limited to 12 waivers per year, and minors would not be permitted to attend the event.

Another amendment broadened the scope of the ban. Under the ordinance, smoking would not be allowed on property adjacent to and owned by a health-care facility.

Cindy Thomas, executive director of Tobacco Free Allegheny, who was already pleased with what she considered to be a strong bill before the changes were made, welcomed that addition.

"One of the things we've been working on is trying to get hospitals to have smoke-free campuses," she said. "That will be very challenging, but not impossible. It does take some work."

While some fear the ban could be bad for business, Ms. Thomas expects that its economic impact will not be that dramatic. She recently returned from a vacation in Italy where she saw many people smoking in the streets.

"But there's a complete ban on smoking in restaurants, bars, public conveyances, all of those sorts of things," she said. "You get used to it. The norm changes and people become accustomed to a different way."

The sole vote against the ordinance was cast by Rich Nerone, D-Brookline.

"I'm a little concerned about passing legislation when you start taking rights of individuals away," said Mr. Nerone, who is a non-smoker. "I honestly believe this is a state issue and should be taken care of at the state level."

During the public comment period, council members heard many health statistics and personal pleas in support of the ban. Fewer than a fifth of the speakers opposed it.

Council's affirmative vote was greeted with applause.

"I'm very proud that council stepped up, took action on a very difficult issue and did a lot of work," said Mr. Fitzgerald, D-Squirrel Hill.

AaronPGH

09-28-2006, 12:06 AM

I'm EXTREMELY happy about the smoking ban. Everywhere I've been to that has it in place hasn't been affected negatively at all (profits, crowds, etc). The only way those places have been affected is in a higher quality of air. I can't wait for the day when I can come home from a night out and not smell or feel like complete ass.

Wheelingman04

09-28-2006, 05:53 AM

^ I am also happy about it.:)

Evergrey

09-28-2006, 05:55 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06271/725653-53.stm

Residence Inn coming to N. Shore
Thursday, September 28, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Another hotel is being built in the shadow of PNC Park on the North Shore.

Kratsa Properties will begin construction of a $20 million Residence Inn by Marriott in February, the first phase of a larger residential and retail development being planned in conjunction with Alco Parking Corp. President Merrill Stabile.

The 180-room hotel, which will be located at Mazeroski Way and General Robinson Street near the home plate entrance of PNC Park, will be built in a surface parking lot owned by Mr. Stabile. It will complement the $21 million Marriott SpringHill Suites hotel that opened in April 2005 at the other end of the lot.

David Cocco, vice president of hotel operations for Kratsa Properties, said the Residence Inn would be the first extended stay hotel in the city's urban core. It is scheduled to open by summer 2008.

"We felt there definitely was a need for an upscale extended- stay hotel in the Downtown, North Shore and South Side market," he said.

Mr. Stabile said the hotel would be the "closest thing to residential on the North Shore" when it opens. While both he and Continental Real Estate Cos., which is developing the land between PNC and Heinz Field for the Steelers and Pirates, have plans for housing in the area, none of it has materialized to date.

Kratsa and Mr. Stabile are hoping to attract a mix of clients to the new hotel, including athletes; business people visiting the Alcoa, Del Monte or Equitable buildings on the North Shore; fans attending Pirate or Steelers games; and Allegheny General Hospital visitors. Rates will average about $150 a night.

The inspiration for the Residence Inn came from the 198-room Marriott SpringHill Suites Hotel, which has been such a hit that it was named Marriott's opening hotel of the year. It routinely sells out for Steeler games.

The new hotel is expected to be part of a broader development first reported by the Post-Gazette in February that could include retail, housing and perhaps a third hotel.

Whatever is built will be done without public subsidies, Mr. Stabile said.

"There does not need to be one more dollar of public subsidy spent over here, and this is a testament to that," he said, noting the Residence Inn will be privately financed.

With the largely taxpayer financed ballparks and other amenities such as a riverfront park, "Nobody can say they haven't gotten their fair share on the North Shore," he added.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_472529.html

Kratsa plans 7 more Pittsburgh-area hotels

By Sam Spatter
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 28, 2006

With 40 hotels already part of its real estate portfolio, Kratsa Properties said Wednesday that it is looking to build seven hotels in the Pittsburgh region, including a second hotel planned near PNC Park.
In addition to the hotel near the North Shore ballpark, "we plan two more within the city of Pittsburgh and four in suburban locations," said Bill Kratsa Jr., a general partner in the Harmar-based firm.

Kratsa declined to identify the six other sites because all are not yet under the group's control. Financing for the projects is being provided through $38 million Kratsa obtained from refinancing debt on four of its hotels, said David J. Cocco, vice president of hotel operations.

Kratsa's comments came the day after the company disclosed it is joining with Alco Parking owner Merrill Stabile to build a $20 million, 10-story Marriott Residence Inn on a 3 1/2-acre site on the North Shore.

The facility, which will be located along General Robinson Street and Mazeroski Way, isn't far from the 198-room Marriott Spring Hill Suites Hotel the company opened next to PNC Park in 2005, but Kratsa said he doesn't expect it will adversely affect operations there.

Occupancy has been "good" at the Spring Hill Suites, he said, declining to provide figures.

Kratsa's plans to build an extended-stay hotel also won't stop Continental Real Estate Co. from moving ahead with plans to build an "upscale" hotel of from 150 to 180 rooms on the North Shore, said Frank Kass, Continental chairman.

Continental, developer of the North Shore area between PNC Park and Heinz Field, along with joint venture partner RockBridge Capital LLC , also of Columbus, will begin construction next year with a 2008 opening, Kass said.

Groundbreaking for the180-room Marriott Residence Inn is scheduled in February or March, with a summer 2008 opening.

Stabile will initially be involved in the new hotel near PNC Park, and maintain a "small interest" in the project after selling the land to Kratsa.

Kratsa's partnership group also includes Phil Garner, a former Pittsburgh Pirates player and current Houston Astros manager, Kratsa said yesterday.

"When the new North Shore hotel is completed, we will have 618 rooms in the Downtown area," Cocco said.

Its other hotels include a Holiday Inn Express on 10th Street, South Side, and a 115-room, six-story Marriott Spring Hill Suites hotel to be built at the Hot Metal Bridge and S. Water Street, opposite SouthSide Works. A January 2008 opening is planned.

Sam Spatter can be reached at sspatter@tribweb.com.

Evergrey

09-28-2006, 06:03 AM

I've never heard about this rather large development before... it's located near the Waterworks Mall... just across the Allegheny River from Highland Park... lots of housing...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_472530.html

Chapel Harbor facility under way

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 28, 2006

The last major piece of the $100 million Chapel Harbor development in O'Hara started taking shape Wednesday with the start of construction on a $4 million office building
"This certainly is a time to celebrate," said Eugene D. Zambrano, of Zambrano Corp., developer of the 42-acre project that also features residential units blended in a riverfront setting near the Waterworks Mall.

GVA Oxford, the commercial leasing arm of Oxford Development Co. said the first two tenants had been signed for the three-story, 31,000-square-foot-structure known as Park Place at Chapel Harbor.

Tri-State Orthopaedics signed a lease for 6,300 square feet on the building's third floor, while UPMC Centers for Rehab, a unit of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, leased 8,211 square feet on the second floor.

"It looks like the building is going to be oriented toward medical and health care users," said Edward P. Doran, GVA Oxford executive vice president.

Doran, who is marketing the space with fellow GVA Oxford commercial broker Jim Jarrett, said the health care industry is one of the region's stronger areas for growth in what remains a sluggish commercial office market.

Occupancy is expected by May.

Already in place at Chapel Harbor is Lighthouse Pointe, a UPMC-owned 134-unit independent living facility that is about 50 percent occupied, said Sandy Bacasa, assistant resident manager.

Also, the 53 townhouse and single-family homes built in the first phase of a Ryan Homes community there are all sold, Zambrano said.

In addition, Ryan has pre-sale agreements for 20 units in the planned 88-unit second phase, he said.

Prices for townhomes start in the upper $220,000 range, and those for single-family homes start in the mid $400,000s, Zambrano said.

Meanwhile, Zambrano continues construction of Marbella at Chapel Harbor, a 52-unit, mid-rise luxury condominium facility where 21 of the units have been pre-sold. The median price range for the units sold to date is about $575,000, he said.

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

...

Here's the website for Chapel Harbor: http://www.chapelharbor.com

Marbella... 52-unit condo
http://www.chapelharbor.com/images/Marbella_3_4Turn.jpg

single-family homes... unfortunately built by Ryan Homes... so you can be assured of their crappiness
http://www.chapelharbor.com/images/Neo_Row.jpg

neo-traditional homes lol
http://www.chapelharbor.com/images/Ryan_Townhome.jpg

independent living facility
http://www.chapelharbor.com/images/UPMC_Rend.jpg

office building
http://www.chapelharbor.com/images/Park_PlaceRend.jpg

neighborhood plan
http://www.chapelharbor.com/NeighborhoodMap/images/Slice-14.jpg

overall... it's ok... seems pretty dense... and I like that Pittsburgh is really starting to develop its riverfronts lately... but the choice of Ryan Homes is a huge negative... they are the masters of crappy 1990s-era suburban housing

themaguffin

09-28-2006, 02:24 PM

Every housing developer makes those kinds of homes. It just so happens that Ryan is the local developer. They all look ok except for the "independent living facility."

BANKofMANHATTAN

09-28-2006, 07:12 PM

Yay for the smoking ban, I can go to a bar without smelling like complete shit afterwards. Also, my eyes won't feel like a peeled grape that got tossed in the dirt.

Bout' time.

Now if they could just get stores to sell beer...

Grego43

09-28-2006, 08:08 PM

Now if they could just get stores to sell beer...[/quote]

...and wine, and lick-er. Seriously, that whole system is one antiquated, puritanical law which LONG ago should have been changed. :cheers:

themaguffin

09-29-2006, 05:10 AM

Piatt Place attracting significant local and national interest

By Sam Spatter
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, September 29, 2006

Interest in Piatt Place, Downtown, from local and national retailers is so strong that a grocery store already announced may have to be relocated to the vacant G.C. Murphy store, developer Lucas Piatt said Thursday.
The strong interest could mean the entire 50,000 square feet of first-floor retail area in the former Lazarus/Macy store at Fifth and Wood streets will be leased by the end of 2007, Piatt said.

"Recently, a major retailer expressed interest in occupying space in the building, and that could lead to relocating the grocery store, which has been named Tresantis European Market," said Piatt, vice president for real estate for Millcraft Industries of Washington County.

He declined to name the retailer, but did say the cost of developing Piatt Place has reached $60 million.

"We can't provide space for big box retailers, so our goal is to find unique retailers because that's the only way this will work," he said at a meeting of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties at Piatt Place.

Tresantis European Market will feature prepared foods made by DeLallo Italian Foods of Jeannette, Westmoreland County, and special steaks from Omaha Steaks, Piatt said.

Already committed to space there is Capital Grille, a national restaurant that is slated to open next summer.

Piatt also said the three floors to be built atop the existing building, containing 65 condominiums, probably won't be started until late this year, and 10 of the condo units are under contract. The first occupancy should occur next year. The condos will be located along the four walls of each floor with a central courtyard.

Enough interest has been shown by companies, both locally and out of town, to lease 2 1/2 times the 180,000 square feet of office space on the second, third and fourth floors of Piatt Place, but no signed leases have been obtained, he said.

Other plans include demolishing the vacant Revco building, adjacent to Piatt Place, and building a structure that could include retail and rental apartments.

-------

themaguffin

09-29-2006, 05:11 AM

oh no......

South Side complex plans stall

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, September 29, 2006

Plans for a South Side complex designed to be a launching point for Asian companies seeking business opportunities in the United States are on hold, according to the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Surety Pittsburgh, a group planning the $60 million One International Center on a 3.4-acre site near the Hot Metal Bridge, apparently has not yet been able to secure enough sales commitments to complete the purchase of the URA-owned property, said Don Kortlandt, the authority's general counsel.

So the authority decided to seek other developers for the site in case the group is not able to proceed.

"We continue to be open to the prospect of the development proceeding, but we are going to send out requests for proposals to see if there are alternate proposals that can proceed in a shorter time frame," Kortlandt said.

The group's exclusive right to develop the property expired, he said.

"But we remain hopeful that their efforts will be a success."

"The project certainly is not dead, and we hope we can continue to work with the URA and are optimistic we will be able to," said Peter Fuscaldo, attorney for Surety Pittsburgh. "Any major project like this requires a lot of things to happen."

Craig Kirsch, executive director of Surety Pittsburgh, referred inquiries to Fuscaldo.

One International Center would offer 209 condominium units that companies from countries such as China, Korea and Taiwan could use as U.S. sales or marketing offices.

Plans call for a nine-story building with two oval-shaped wings at Hot Metal and Sidney streets. The building will have more than 300,000 square feet of space and parking nearby for 268 vehicles.

Downtown-based architects Pfaffmann & Associates and Urban Design International of Hong Kong designed the project, which also would include 45,000 square feet of first-floor stores and restaurants catering to companies that locate there.

In December, the URA approved the sale of the property to Surety Pittsburgh, a unit of Surety Holding Development Co. of Freehold, N.J., for $500,000 per acre, or a total of just under $1.7 million. But the sale was not completed.

Kortlandt said he sent a letter earlier this week to Fuscaldo informing him of the authority's plans to seek alternative developers

PittPenn 03

09-29-2006, 01:48 PM

oh no......

^This does not surprise me at all. I was keeping my fingers crossed, but I have always felt that this was one of those 'pie in the sky' type projects that never come to fruition.

Evergrey

09-29-2006, 10:43 PM

^This does not surprise me at all. I was keeping my fingers crossed, but I have always felt that this was one of those 'pie in the sky' type projects that never come to fruition.

I agree. As exciting and unique as this project is... it definately seems like something that would have a slim possibility of becoming reality. Pittsburgh is a mid-tier U.S. market with no trans-oceanic flights and limited history with Asian business or immigration. I would assume Pittsburgh is a rather unknown city in the Asian business community. Doesn't suprise me this group is having trouble securing sales for this project.

But I do love the rendering
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2005-11-02/1103basian-a.jpg
If this doesn't work out... I'm confident we'll see an exciting new proposal for the site. Pittsburgh is on a roll right now.

As for Piatt Place... I wonder if its relocation to the G.C. Murphey Building will delay the opening of Tresantis European Market.

Also... concerning the cancelled 29-story Pittsburgh Fireside Inn on Penn... word is that the new developer of that property plans luxury condos

Wheelingman04

09-30-2006, 04:48 AM

^ I also love that rendering.

Evergrey

09-30-2006, 05:30 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06273/726338-53.stm

Bloomfield finds new housing in old places
Saturday, September 30, 2006

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/2060930sm_bloomfield01_450.jpg
Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette
Dan Albanese and Marcia Deaktor stand in the third floor of a building Ms. Deaktor is remodeling on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield. Ms. Deaktor and Mr. Albanese are converting some of the old buildings in Bloomfield to include upstairs living quarters.

By Diana Nelson Jones
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As high-profile investors redefine Penn and Centre avenues on Bloomfield's perimeter, a cluster of projects aims to foster small business and residence along Liberty Avenue, where the old days are meeting the new.

There, long-timers linger over conversation while a younger set convenes at galleries and cafes on the same sidewalks. If all goes according to plan, upper floors will beckon, too.

The movement back to cities nationwide coincides in Bloomfield with a calculated plan merchants have spent three years hatching. Several small developers have come forth to help the plan along.

Marcia Deaktor bought two buildings in the 4700 block with fallow upper floors, one the former Plaza Theater building. She rents the basement to Leon the Florist and the street level to Starbucks and W.g. Grinders. She turned each of the top two floors into 1,660 square feet of open lofts lined with windows. She is marketing them to one tenant each.

A PNC Bank branch occupies the first floor of her building two doors down, where she is retooling the top two floors into either five apartments per floor or an inn, and a roof garden.

"There were lots of surprises," she said, such as water damage and rusting lintels. "But it's a good location with a lot of foot traffic. This whole neighborhood is being energized."

Karla Owen, president of the Bloomfield Business Association, said the group's plan "emphasizes multi-use developments" -- commercial space at street level and lofts and apartments above. "People are living above stores Downtown," she said. "Why not in Bloomfield?"

With a tight-knit Italian identity and traditions, Bloomfield has toughed out the anti-urban policies of past decades better than many neighborhoods.

"It's one of our safest," said Councilman Len Bodack, who with Councilman William Peduto represents the neighborhood. "Community groups have been working hard for a long time," he said, adding that many children and grandchildren saved their family homes from absentee landlords.

Into the mix came several businesses that have drawn young consumers from outside the neighborhood, said Mr. Peduto, "and they are new urbanists who have pride in the city and have made Bloomfield their third place," or socializing preference.

For its relative strengths, though, Bloomfield "could stand to fix up a little bit," said Dan Albanese, a Realtor and Bloomfield native. He bought a three-story building in the 4800 block, once a convenience store, "in deplorable condition" with empty top floors, he said.

"I'm leaning toward new construction," he said, "but I want to keep it looking like Bloomfield. I want us to keep working-class people here, and maybe some people from places like Shadyside will move here. I see the area as ready to take it up a notch."

He would build underground parking and install retail, a restaurant or doctor's offices on the first floor and residential units upstairs.

"I'd like to take the building to four stories if I can and have an elevator, possibly a balcony. I want to see if we can improve the use of space in Bloomfield, and it's all going to tie in with hospitals on both sides" -- West Penn across the street, UPMC Shadyside and Hillman Cancer Center a few blocks south and Children's Hospital's new building on the Lawrenceville border.

Structural damage precluded restoration of the building Jeff Abramovitz bought in the 4700 block, with plans to install a Rita's Italian ice store with a loft or studio above. He said he liked Bloomfield's proximity to hospitals and other large developments as a good market.

For the space that was once a shoe repair shop, he said, "I'm trying to create a design that would remind you of 'Little Italy.' There's a balcony in the design and I'm trying to keep it," in spite of the space requirements of fire-rating materials.

"I believe in urban retail," he said. "I'd like to see the retail that's moving out of the city move back."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. )

TrippLA

09-30-2006, 05:34 AM

That's intersting, more new developments are going in around cities in this decade.

Evergrey

10-01-2006, 02:03 PM

though the cheaper flights and greater airline competition is good... there have been a lot of negatives concerning USAir's demotion of PIT... some of these numbers are absolutely depressing

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06274/726505-147.stm

Fewer flights, fewer places, lower prices
Flip side of drastic US Airways change is that fares at Greater Pitt have fallen
Sunday, October 01, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Tom Murphy, meet Walt Glazer.

Mr. Murphy, the former Pittsburgh mayor, made headlines 11 years ago when he bypassed Pittsburgh International Airport and drove to Cleveland to get a less expensive air fare.

Mr. Glazer, who lives in a Cleveland suburb, did the reverse, driving to Pittsburgh to get a lower fare and a nonstop flight to Raleigh, N.C., on US Airways, nonetheless. Mr. Glazer said he would do it again "if the circumstances were right."

"It was easier to drive over there and get a direct flight, and it was cheaper than flying out of Cleveland or Akron," he said.

With the collapse of the US Airways hub and the emergence of such low-cost carriers as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue, flying from Pittsburgh is no longer through-the-roof expensive. Five years ago, average fares at Pittsburgh International were $28 above the national average. Now they're just $1 above.

It's all part of an extreme makeover, bringing both good news and bad, that the airport has put itself through since 2001.

Two US Airways bankruptcies and its ultimate merger with Tempe, Ariz.-based America West Airlines have cost the Pittsburgh region nearly 10,000 jobs, many of them highly paid. It's likely those jobs, like the airport's hub status, are lost for good.

While the loss of the US Airways hub has opened the door for more competition and lower fares, it has severely reduced local flight options and cut the number of total passengers nearly in half, increasing airport costs to the airlines.

Since August 2001, nonstop destinations from Pittsburgh International have fallen from 114 to 70, the number of daily flights has been halved and service to Europe has been axed. Some believe the loss of the hub has hampered the region's ability to recruit businesses.

The airport's transformation, born of necessity, has been a double-edged sword, bringing competition and lower fares but at the cost of numerous jobs, said F. Michael Langley, chief executive officer of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

Mr. Langley said there was no way to claim that enormous job cuts are a good thing. At the same time, he believes, the airport is charting a course more beneficial to its long-term health and that of the region.

"For the future, I think we're in a better place because we're no longer leveraged by one carrier. We now have significant diversity and competition at the airport, which has significantly lowered prices," he said.

Chuck Henschel, a transportation executive who served on a 2002 Urban Land Institute panel that looked at the airport and the region, agreed.

"I believe that US Airways provides a wonderful service to the Pittsburgh community. But I think it's important to have alternatives and to have competition, which drives prices down and makes for healthier air service choices for the flying public," he said.

There's no doubt the competition is better. In August 2001, the only major low-cost carrier among nine major airlines serving Pittsburgh was AirTran Airways.

Five years later, the airport boasts four low-cost carriers among 10 major airlines, including two of the most coveted, Southwest and JetBlue. They have brought lower fares to popular destinations such as New York; Boston; Philadelphia; Chicago; Orlando, Fla.; and Las Vegas.

Ernie Lengyel, a frequent business traveler, appreciates the variety.

"I lament the job loss. But we were captives here and we're not captive anymore," he said as he waited at the airport. "I think, for the traveling public, it's been a real boon."

Keli Frentzos, of Regent Square, said she and her husband were flying more than ever because of lower fares. She said prices to Boston alone, one favorite destination, have dropped from $600 round trip to $220 or less.

"[Fares] definitely have gotten better," she said.

But while fares have dropped to popular destinations where there's competition, they still can be high to markets where there is none. And travelers now find their choices more limited.

Overall, 44 nonstop destinations have been lost and the frequency of flights on some other routes has been cut. Bill Lauer, a local airline analyst, believes the changes have resulted in a net loss for the region, and not only because of the job cuts.

He believes the cutbacks have hampered the region's ability to attract businesses, and that the losses of nonstop service and frequency outweigh fare reductions.

"A difference of $30 or so [in fare] is, I think, meaningless from the standpoint of the business traveler. It's far more important to have the selection and availability of a variety of destinations," he said.

"Business traffic is the lifeblood of regional economic development activity. With fewer flights, fewer choices available, it cannot be seen as a plus," he said.

But Mr. Langley and Allegheny County Airport Authority Executive Director Kent George said the airport still serves 28 of the 30 top markets identified in a survey of regional business leaders. Each has at least three direct flights a day, seven days a week, Mr. Langley said.

"That's phenomenal that, with the loss of as many flights as US Airways has pulled out of here, we've been able to get those flights covered by other airlines," he said. "That's a testament to the market."

Perhaps the most significant loss involves international service. Where the airport once had nonstop service to Paris; London; and Frankfurt, Germany, it now has no flights Europe.

Mr. George said the lack of nonstop overseas service had been a "major disappointment." Without the hub, the region cannot generate enough traffic to fill international flights originating here, he said. In five years, connecting traffic has dropped from 58.6 percent of all traffic to 16.6 percent, virtually all the result of US Airways cutbacks.

The loss of direct overseas service is of "enormous consequence," Mr. Lauer said, because it forces business travelers to connect through the East Coast rather than fly nonstop, costing them precious time.

"This has a massive ripple effect. All of the sudden, Pittsburgh becomes a slightly less attractive place for European businesses," he said.

Kit Newton, a local spokesman for the giant German manufacturer Bayer Corp., whose employees take about 800 international trips a year from Pittsburgh, said the primary impact had been a loss of productivity.

"It takes an extra four hours to reach the destination. That loss of productivity can be expensive," he said.

While less service "hasn't been a deal-breaker for us," it could put the region at a competitive disadvantage, he said.

"It can't help. I think, with new businesses, that's one of the things they look at. I don't know if it would be a deal-killer but it certainly couldn't help," he said.

Mr. George said restoring European service was his "number one priority." Despite the demise of the hub, returning the flights "is not a lost cause," because carriers now fly smaller planes longer distances, making it cheaper for airlines to serve cities such as Pittsburgh.

"We haven't given up," he said.

The airport could face more losses. US Airways is dropping seasonal service to Seattle and San Diego this fall and will be reducing the number of flights to San Francisco.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20061001Airport_stats.gif

Evergrey

10-01-2006, 02:08 PM

first half of this article is on the dying Southern Beltway project... 2nd half is on the T North Shore Connector

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06274/726180-147.stm

Getting Around: Southern Beltway project short of cash
$603 million needed for land acquisition, construction of last half of 100-mile project
Sunday, October 01, 2006

By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The federal government released the Final Environmental Impact Statement last week for public comment about the next section of the Southern Beltway.

The 13.3 miles of highway are to follow the Allegheny-Washington county line from Interstate 79 near Southpointe to Route 22, where it would connect with the soon-to-open Findlay Connector and Pittsburgh International Airport.

Combined, the two sections would remove a significant amount of traffic from I-79 north to the Parkway West and from the Parkway West through the airport corridor. Because the existing roads are becoming more congested, and because PennDOT doesn't have the intent or money to expand them, it appears to be a beneficial undertaking, unlike some other expenditures of public money.

But readers have been asking, does the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission have the money to build the I-79/Route 22 section?

No.

I got the latest figures last week.

Planning, preliminary engineering and environmental studies have cost $12 million.

Another $64 million is being held in escrow: $50 million for final engineering and design when the turnpike receives federal authorization to proceed and $14 million toward an estimated $24 million cost of buying rights of way through Cecil and Robinson and parts of Mount Pleasant and South Fayette.

That leaves the turnpike with a $10 million shortfall for property acquisition and a $593 million shortfall for the construction, chump change compared with the almost-unthinkable $3.5 billion needed to build the final 50 miles of the 100-mile Southern Beltway and Mon-Fayette Expressway system.

Where will the turnpike get the money?

Ask your lawmakers.

It was their colleagues who passed legislation in the 1980s that directed the toll-road agency to build the Greensburg Bypass, Beaver Valley Expressway, Mon-Fayette Expressway, Southern Beltway, a second Lehigh Tunnel and other projects.

Many of the ex-legislators who ordered the wish-list of toll road projects without providing sufficient means to pay for them are gone, collecting state pensions.

Construction will begin in February on a $20 million Residence Inn by Marriott, the second hotel to be built on the North Shore near future stations on the light-rail extension.

Consider the new office buildings, the 1,255-space parking garage, other planned development, existing businesses and attractions and plans to make the T a transfer point for North Hills buses. It looks as if Heinz Field and PNC Park ridership will be incidental by comparison.

Besides, hundreds of people with no other means of transportation have to get to the jobs at expanding North Shore facilities.

Some cheapskates think I'm a shill for the Port Authority on this $435 million project. They have no vision.

They still can't understand the federal money can't be spent on any other project or on the deficit-ridden operating budget, despite the fact that fares are to be increased and service is to be drastically cut.

Certainly the 1.2-mile North Shore Connector project will place added burden on the authority's operating expenses.

But if officials haven't figured out how to fund public transit and make it more efficient by the time the line opens five years from now, you might as well forget about the Port Authority altogether.

Evergrey

10-01-2006, 03:00 PM

Brownsville is a small and very historic town 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River in northwest Fayette County. Founded in the late 1700s, it is one of the oldest towns in the region... but unfortunately today exists as little more than a ghost town. Its population is now about 2800, down from 8000 in 1940. Its primary business district is almost completely abandoned. Brownsville does have many interesting features... such as the 1790s Nemocolin Castle and the oldest continually-inhabited residential district in Western PA.

The latest pie-in-the-sky idea to revive this historic community is a velodrome.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06274/726488-58.stm

Brownsville leaders loath to back bike arena
Sunday, October 01, 2006

By Cindi Lash, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

BROWNSVILLE, Pa In a years-long quest to attract development and revive the sagging Dust Bowl that is its Downtown, Brownsville has had hopes raised and hopes dashed.

The "Williamsburg on the Mon" historic theme park? Never happened. Neither did the shopping strip or the Indian gambling casino that was supposed to draw thousands of tourists to the once-vibrant Fayette County river town.

Now Brownsville's leaders are considering yet another proposal to revitalize their historic but down-at-the-heel Market Street business district: an indoor bicycle arena to train cyclists and hold races.

Proponents of the plan, including leaders of the Brownsville Area Chamber of Commerce, have argued that the velodrome and adjacent parking garage could be the catalyst they've sought to revive a town drained by the demise of industry and to lure back some of the 20,000 people who once made homes here.

The plan shown last month to Brownsville officials depicted a complex on properties bordering and east of Market Street, including the sites of the U.S. Post Office, the Public Library, an American Legion post and a handful of the few remaining Downtown businesses.

Other details of the plan, including its cost, the identity of its developers, and sources of financing, have not been disclosed.

But Brownsville Council last week gave approval for CB Richard Ellis in Pittsburgh, a real estate brokerage and management firm representing the developer, to determine how much a feasibility study of the project would cost.

Local officials said that because they would not have to pay for the analysis or study, they are eager to listen and learn more about the project. They said they were told it would include a covered 250-meter oval wood track built to standards required for Olympic- and world-class track cycling races and training facilities for elite cyclists.

There are about 20 velodromes in the United States but only one, in Carson, Calif., that meets those indoor standards, according to USA Cycling, the national governing body for the sport. The well-known Lehigh Valley Velodrome in Trexlertown, Pa., is an outdoor facility.

Mayor Lewis Hosler said he believes interest in cycling is on an upswing, and the facility would attract college events as well as athletes and spectators who would patronize local businesses.

"It can't hurt to listen,'' he said. "I just want something to bring us out of this position and make us prosperous again.''

But he and other officials said their hope remains tempered by caution, given their experience with unfulfilled past proposals.

For much of the past 15 years, this Fayette County town of about 2,800 people also has been at odds with Ernest E. and Marilyn Liggett, the Churchill couple who bought up more than 100 properties in the early 1990s and announced various plans to develop their real estate for shopping and gambling.

None of those things happened, leaving Brownsville to battle for years with the Liggetts and corporations they operate over unpaid taxes and fines for thousands of dollars in repeated building code violations.

"The concept of it, and council agrees unanimously on this, is intriguing. We all agree that we do need something, and if you have a draw, the surrounding communities will get a boost from it,'' Council President Jack Lawver said. "We're not against development, but we'd like to know who we're working with.''

So would many Brownsville residents, who have been asking if the Liggetts, who own property in the area proposed for the velodrome, are part of this proposal as well.

Mr. Lawver said he and other borough officials asked for information about the developer when they met last month with representatives from CB Richard Ellis and architects for the plan, but got no answer.

"They say it's not important. It is important. People out on the street ask me and when you say, 'I don't know,' people give you a blank stare and say, 'What aren't you telling us?' " Mr. Lawver said.

Mr. Lawver and Mayor Hosler said they learned of the project several weeks ago when staffers for state House of Representatives Democratic Leader H. William DeWeese, whose district includes Brownsville, asked them to attend a presentation at a Brownsville restaurant. They also learned that Mr. DeWeese had included $15 million in the state's capital budget toward velodrome construction and other costs.

Jack Norris, chairman and chief executive officer of CB Richard Ellis in Pittsburgh who met with Brownsville officials, did not return calls last week. Nor did Ernest Liggett and his attorney, Lee Grimm of Pittsburgh.

Tom Andrews, a spokesman for Rep. DeWeese, said private developers approached Rep. DeWeese's staff within the last six months. Mr. Andrews would not disclose their identity and said he did not know whether the Liggetts were involved.

Rep. DeWeese has not been involved directly in those discussions, and the state has not committed to providing any funding for the project, Mr. Andrews said. The capital budget is a wish list of potential projects that may or may not be funded and that require matching funds, he said.

Jo Lofstead, another aide to Rep. DeWeese who attended presentations about the project, said that Mr. Norris said Mr. Liggett had approached CB Richard Ellis about managing his Brownsville properties. But she said Mr. Norris said that inquiry was coincidental and unrelated to the velodrome project.

USA Cycling is not involved with the project and did not know about it until last week, spokesman Andy Lee said. He said the organization does not build velodromes but would provide consulting assistance if asked.

Mr. Lee said he frequently hears about plans for new velodromes but knows of none that have been built in recent years. The Lehigh Valley facility is the hotbed of track cycling in the eastern United States and has produced a number of Olympic-level riders but cannot accommodate athletes who want to train year-round, he said.

"We'd welcome it from standpoint that it's in our best interest to expose more people to track cycling. We'd be happy to see it if it's a solid business model and presents opportunities for kids.''

Brownsville is preparing for a hearing Oct. 26 in which officials will seek to persuade a judge to order the Liggetts to pay fines and possibly serve jail terms for failing to repair or clean up trash on 11 of their most dilapidated Downtown properties.

Most of those properties are in the Market Street strip, including a commercial structure at 17-19 Market that has been condemned. The properties were cited last year by Code Enforcement Officer Donald Baugh for broken foundations, windows and other building code violations.

The Liggetts appealed to Common Pleas Judge Steve Leskinen after District Judge Ronald Haggerty found them guilty of those violations. Earlier this year, they also appealed other citations written for those properties on different dates to Common Pleas Judge Ralph Warman.

Judge Warman dismissed that batch of citations in September because the borough did not present its building code to demonstrate the violations existed, but noted that the borough could refile the citations, Brownsville Solicitor Melinda Dellarose said.

District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon has joined the case and has said she will ask Judge Leskinen to consider a jail term if he upholds citations before him, Ms. Dellarose said. Mrs. Vernon got involved, even though the citations are summary offenses, because of the unusual nature of a case involving so many uncorrected violations, the solicitor said.

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(Cindi Lash can be reached at clash@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1973. )

Evergrey

10-03-2006, 05:42 AM

apparently South Carolina has been eliminated from the Westinghouse site search

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06276/726867-28.stm

Western Pa. in running for Westinghouse campus
Tuesday, October 03, 2006

By Patricia Sabatini, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Westinghouse Electric Co. expects to announce next month whether the Pittsburgh region has won the race for a new engineering campus being planned in anticipation of a resurgence in nuclear reactor orders.

The Monroeville-based company, which has been working with government officials in a number of regions on a package of incentives for the expansion site, has narrowed the list of contenders to Western Pennsylvania and the Carolinas, spokesman Vaughn Gilbert said yesterday.

A final decision is expected by mid-November, he said.

Mr. Gilbert wouldn't be more specific about where the company was looking, but it is believed that the choices have been narrowed to two sites, one in northern Allegheny County and the other in the Charlotte, N.C., region.

The new facility would house about 1,000 engineers and support staff initially, but the work force eventually could double, Mr. Gilbert said.

Westinghouse, whose largest business is servicing nuclear power plants, is expecting a surge of orders for nuclear reactors in the United States and elsewhere.

The company, which is in the process of being sold by British Nuclear Fuels PLC to Japan's Toshiba Corp., is planning to hire 400 to 500 workers per year over the next five years to meet the expected demand and to replace a wave of retirees.

Mr. Gilbert said Toshiba has "made it clear it will be investing in the business and taking the long-term approach."

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(Patricia Sabatini can be reached at psabatini@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3066.)

Evergrey

10-03-2006, 05:44 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06276/726870-53.stm

Workshop to handle rise of ideas for 'Bakery Row'
Tuesday, October 03, 2006

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20061003ho_bakery_450.jpg
Walnut Capital's plan for Bakery Square at Eastside in East Liberty/Shadyside would combine retail, office, hotel and residential space.

By Patricia Lowry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh Board of Education won't decide whether to sell the Reizenstein Middle School building for at least two years, but that isn't stopping developers from eyeing the site -- and it isn't stopping community planners from thinking about what would be best for the neighborhood.

Make that neighborhoods. The Reizenstein site touches Shadyside and East Liberty, and it's a stone's throw from Point Breeze.

The 2004 East Liberty master plan established a vision and strategy based in part on what already was happening, as Home Depot, Whole Foods Market and the rest of the Eastside development moved in: Strengthen the edges of the business district and work toward and within the center, bringing Penn Avenue back as a regional Main Street with offices and apartments above first-floor shops and restaurants. The plan, detailed in my Aug. 24, 2004, story, also spells out the roles of East Liberty's other primary streets and reinforces connections to its adjacent communities.

"East Liberty is starting to pick up some steam, and I believe in large part because we have a community-supported master plan that provides developers an opportunity to plug into it," said Rob Stephany, director of commercial development for the nonprofit East Liberty Development Inc.

But the plan stops short of that stretch of Penn Avenue.

"We never thought it would be on the market," Stephany said.

Now that it might be, ELDI plans to host a community design workshop for an area it's calling Bakery Row, named for the Nabisco buildings and the long-lost Baur Bros. Co. bakery, built in the 1890s on part of the Reizenstein site. Co-sponsored by Shadyside Action Coalition, the workshop will focus on Penn Avenue from the East Liberty commercial core to Fifth Avenue. It'll be held from 7 to 9 p.m. tomorrow in Calvary Episcopal Church, 315 Shady Ave., Shadyside.

Old maps show that part of Penn Avenue, then still known as the Greensburg Pike, was a mix of residential and commercial buildings. In 1872, houses sat where Reizenstein is, opposite the Eastern Exchange Hotel, the back of which overlooked stockyards and the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks. In the triangle at the juncture of Fifth and Penn avenues sat the Point Breeze Hotel. By 1904, there were brick and frame houses on both sides of Penn, but the Point Breeze Hotel had vanished. In the 1920s and '30s, the street became more commercial following construction of the first Nabisco building in 1917, but as late as 1939, and likely later, there were still clusters of houses.

Behind Penn Avenue, on land now occupied by Reizenstein's parking lot and the adjacent Village of Shadyside, there was an ethnically diverse neighborhood of small-scale streets, historic houses and businesses, all swept away in the late 1960s to create a Great High School that was never built.

"To a certain extent the neighborhood has come to realize that urban renewal is not a good thing, that rebuilding some fabric is a good thing, but they are specific about what the quality level of that development should be," Stephany said.

Restoring the old street pattern and creating a new residential and commercial neighborhood could be desirable, he said, and that's what some neighbors have expressed -- if the restored streets connect to a development that enhances the neighborhood.

But with a dozen or more flat acres close to affluent neighborhoods, the Reizenstein site also would be appealing to big-box retailers.

Across the street, Walnut Capital Partners has designs on -- and designs for -- turning the former Nabisco plant on Penn into the anchor of a six-acre, mixed-use development called Bakery Square at Eastside, with retail and office space, a 1,200-car parking garage, a hotel, 38 residential units and a fitness center. It's considering a bid on the Reizenstein site, when and if it becomes available.

Also up in the air is Giant Eagle's plan to add a GetGo gas station and perhaps a corner coffee shop on Shady Avenue near Penn.

"We're still looking at that strategic opportunity," said Giant Eagle spokesman Dick Roberts.

The plan met with vocal opposition when it was unveiled at a community meeting in July 2005.

"Shady Avenue is such a grand place until it gets to that Giant Eagle area," Stephany said. "I'd like to figure out how it can maintain dignity through that zone."

At tomorrow's meeting, architect Rob Pfaffmann, ELDI's urban design consultant for Bakery Row, will present a brief overview of the neighborhood, which will be followed by small-group breakout discussion sessions.

Residents, property owners, business people, institutional leaders and developers are invited to attend the workshop, the beginning of a community design process that should lead to a community vision for what might be the juiciest piece of East End real estate to come down the pike in a long time.

themaguffin

10-03-2006, 12:33 PM

Some news on the planned Strip marketplace...

Neighbors in the Strip receives $700,000 to support public market hall
Neighbors in the Strip (NITS) has received a $700,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop the region’s first year-round public market hall along Smallman Street between 16th and 21st Streets.

The project involves a renovation of a 30,000-42,000 square-foot portion of the Pennsylvania Railroad Fruit Auction and Sale Building, built in 1926 as a produce terminal.

The federal grant represents one fifth of the project cost. Additional funding is being provided by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development and local foundations. NITS will issue RFPs to select an architect and contractor. Construction will begin in 2007.

“We are one of the few major cities that doesn’t have a public market,” says Cindy Cassell with NITS, citing Cleveland’s West Side Market and Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal as models. “The idea is to make a strong community gathering place, not a private enterprise.”

The market hall will house 50 vendors, a stage, certified kitchen, seating areas and public restrooms. Vendor space will range from 100 to 2,000 square feet.

Cassell links the market to city housing and tourism. “With residential coming in, this presents a stronger draw for local shopping and is an additional marketing tool for the Convention Center.”

A diverse product mix will feature food and non-food products by local wholesalers, retailers and small manufacturers, and will expand on the Strip's current offerings. The market will support community sustainable agriculture, feature food demos and become an additional anchor for the district.

PittPenn 03

10-03-2006, 02:03 PM

I noticed in the Charlotte business paper the other day that Westinghouse was there looking at office space. I have and have had a bad feeling about this. I am sure PA will not measure up to the corporate welfare that NC will provide. Also I am sure Westinghouse is dying to jump on the trendy train and have a large presence in the oh so sexy Charlotte scene.

It sure would be nice for a change if a company had some pride in its history and keep itself close to its origins. I am not going to be holding my breath on this one.

apparently South Carolina has been eliminated from the Westinghouse site search

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06276/726867-28.stm

Western Pa. in running for Westinghouse campus
Tuesday, October 03, 2006

By Patricia Sabatini, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Westinghouse Electric Co. expects to announce next month whether the Pittsburgh region has won the race for a new engineering campus being planned in anticipation of a resurgence in nuclear reactor orders.

The Monroeville-based company, which has been working with government officials in a number of regions on a package of incentives for the expansion site, has narrowed the list of contenders to Western Pennsylvania and the Carolinas, spokesman Vaughn Gilbert said yesterday.

A final decision is expected by mid-November, he said.

Mr. Gilbert wouldn't be more specific about where the company was looking, but it is believed that the choices have been narrowed to two sites, one in northern Allegheny County and the other in the Charlotte, N.C., region.

The new facility would house about 1,000 engineers and support staff initially, but the work force eventually could double, Mr. Gilbert said.

Westinghouse, whose largest business is servicing nuclear power plants, is expecting a surge of orders for nuclear reactors in the United States and elsewhere.

The company, which is in the process of being sold by British Nuclear Fuels PLC to Japan's Toshiba Corp., is planning to hire 400 to 500 workers per year over the next five years to meet the expected demand and to replace a wave of retirees.

Mr. Gilbert said Toshiba has "made it clear it will be investing in the business and taking the long-term approach."

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(Patricia Sabatini can be reached at psabatini@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3066.)

BANKofMANHATTAN

10-03-2006, 04:33 PM

I'm sure Charlotte is looking pretty "sexy" for the lack of a better term, to Westinghouse. NC is booming these days...

themaguffin

10-03-2006, 04:38 PM

Here's the Charlotte article.

Let's not let ego get in the way. Charlotte wouldn't be picked because of trend, but because of $$$. If we chase trend and miss the big picture, we will never catch up. Also keep in mind that Westhinghouse is looking at Pittsburgh locations.

Westinghouse may bring 2,000 jobs
Charlotte Business Journal - September 22, 2006by J. Lee HowardSenior staff writer

Westinghouse Electric Co. is scouting the Charlotte region for a site to establish a 1 million-square-foot engineering campus that would have as many as 2,000 employees.

The operation would design, plan and build nuclear power plants in the United States, Asia and Europe, the company says.

Westinghouse has been on a campaign to hire up to 500 workers per year for the next four to five years to meet rapidly rising demand in the nuclear power industry, says Vaughn Gilbert, company spokesman.

He confirms Charlotte is a contender for the 2,000-employee campus, along with South Carolina and the western Pennsylvania region near Westinghouse's Pittsburgh headquarters.

The company will likely choose a location in November, Gilbert says.

The campus probably will have 1,000 employees initially but eventually double its work force, he says.

Gilbert declines to disclose the company's space requirements, but sources say the campus ultimately could encompass as much as 1 million square feet.

Its work force would comprise highly educated engineers and technical workers. Annual salaries at the campus could top $90,000, local sources say.

Part of the anticipated demand for the campus' services stems from extensive tax incentives Congress enacted last year to promote investment in nuclear energy.

Charlotte-based Duke Energy Corp., for example, is among the major U.S. energy companies that are weighing construction of nuclear plants. In Duke's case, it has proposed a plant in Cherokee County, S.C., that would cost $4 billion to $6 billion. Duke would own it jointly with Atlanta-based Southern Co.

Duke expects to make a final decision on the proposal by 2010. The plant would start generating electricity in 2016.

In addition, several developing nations are pursuing nuclear power generation, further boosting the need for Westinghouse's design and engineering services.

Demand for electric power is expected to soar by as much as 50% over the next 30 years, according to the Washington-based Electric Power Research Institute. The institute attributes the spike to global population growth and the maturing of developing markets such as China and India.

Nuclear plants offer a clean, cost-efficient alternative for supplying that power, says Mitch Singer, an EPRI spokesman.

About 12 companies, including Westinghouse, are expected to build about 30 nuclear reactors in the coming years to meet the anticipated rise in demand.

The Charlotte area is a strong choice for the new campus because of its proximity to N.C. State, Clemson University and other engineering schools, as well as to Duke Energy, one of the nation's leading providers of nuclear power, says Tony Plath, an economics professor at UNC Charlotte.

Duke uses Westinghouse technology locally at its McGuire and Catawba nuclear stations, says Rita Sipes, a Duke spokeswoman. The company also has selected Westinghouse's next-generation plant design for the Cherokee County operation, she adds.

Having a major Westinghouse engineering campus so close to home probably wouldn't make much difference in service, Sipes says. Westinghouse always has been responsive to Duke, regardless of where its technicians are based, she says.

But, if the campus is located here, Charlotte and the local economy would benefit greatly from adding a strong corporate citizen, she says.

Mecklenburg County may have a tough time competing for the project, Plath says, noting that surrounding counties will likely prove attractive. In particular, he cites higher levels of economic-development incentives available in neighboring S.C. counties such as York and Lancaster.

Westinghouse is pursuing the expansion project even as a global consortium of businesses is poised to buy the company.

Several Japanese companies -- including Toshiba Corp. -- and Baton Rouge, La.-based The Shaw Group Inc. are expected to purchase Westinghouse by year end in a deal valued at $5.4 billion.

Gilbert says the sale is progressing, but he believes it will have no significant impact on Westinghouse's plans for the nuclear engineering campus.

The Staubach Co. is working with Westinghouse on site selection.