[UrbaniDesDev]

Welcome to The Pittsburgh Development Thread
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/3Rivers4.jpg

Here are some developments in and around downtown Pittsburgh

Three PNC Plaza
• Location: Downtown, Fifth Avenue
• Function: Retail, office, condos, hotel
• Opening: 2008
• Cost: $178 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PNC3c.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PNC3b.jpg

Progress as of 12/08
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0023.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0029.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0028.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0032.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0041.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0042.jpg


Combined with the following projects will completely transform Pittsburgh's deteriorating Fifth and Forbes corridor;

Fifth Avenue Redevelopment
• Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation
• Downtown, Market Street and Fifth
• Retail and apartments
• Opening: Winter 2008
• Cost: $2.5 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/FifthAvenue300.jpg

along with;

Market Square Place
• Downtown
• Fifth/Forbes Avenues
• Function: Retail and apartments
• Opening: Early 2009
• Cost: $32 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/MarketSquarePlace.jpg

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

Progress as of 12/08
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0018.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0024.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0033.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0043.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0047.jpg

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

and;
Piatt Place
• Fifth Avenue and Wood Street
• Residential/Office/Commercial

The transformation begins as of 10/07...
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Fifth-Forbes9-07.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PiattPlace5a-1.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PiattPlace7-1.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/piatt_300.jpg

Progress as of 12/08
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0044.jpg


August Wilson Center for African American Culture
• Downtown
• Liberty Avenue
• Function: Performances, exhibitions, education
• a Smithsonian Venture
• Opening: Early 2008
• Cost: $36 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/AfricanAmericanCulturalCenter2.jpg

Progress as of 12/08
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0045.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0046.jpg


The Hardware Lofts
• 12th & Penn Avenue
• Residential
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/HardwareLofts_300.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/201758-600-0-1.jpg


100 Seventh Street
• Seventh Street and Fort Duquesne Boulevard
• Residential
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/TheEncore2.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/DowntownTheEncoreLiving2.jpg

151 First Side
• Downtown
• Fort Pitt Boulevard
• Function: Condos
• Opening: summer 2007
• Cost: $26 million
Construction finishing up as of 9/07
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/151FirstSide8-07.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/151FirstSide2.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/151FirstSide-3.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/101FirstSide3.jpg


The Carlysle
• Downtown
• Fourth Avenue & Wood Street
• condo conversion
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Carlysle.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/carlyle_450.jpg


They are now planning to convert their neighbor also
The Commonwealth
• Fourth Avenue
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CommonwealthBuilding-1.jpg


The Granite Building
• Downtown
• Sixth & Wood
• condo conversion
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/GraniteBuilding.jpg


941 Penn Avenue
• Downtown/Cultural District
• Loft conversion
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/941Penn.jpg


806 Penn Avenue
• Downtown/Cultural District
• Loft conversion
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/806PennAvenueLofts.jpg





New Arena with surrounding development plans
• Uptown/The Hill
• Fifth Avenue
• Function: Penguins hockey, other uses
• Opening: End 2009
• Cost: $290 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PittsburghArena.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PittsburghArena2.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PittsburghArena3.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PittsburghArena4.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/1222psite-a.jpg

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

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/1222parena-a.jpg

Progress as of 2/09
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0123.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0124.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0130.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100_0133.jpg

The Chelsea Condos
• North Oakland
• Apartments
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ChelseaPittsburgh2.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ChelseaPittsburgh3.jpg

Squirrel Hill Mixed Use Development
• Squirrell Hill
• Apartments
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/SquirrelHillMurrayForward.jpg

The Baum-Liberty Development
• Shadyside
• Apartments
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/baum-liberty.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/baum-liberty_media_kit_Page_5.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/baum-liberty_media_kit_Page_4.jpg


The Beacon Apartments
• Squirrell Hill
• Apartments
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/BeaconStreetbldginSquirrelHill-1.jpg

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


The Glass House works
• Bloomfield
• Apartments
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/GlassLoftsinFriendsip.jpg

The Vista Condos
• Mount Washington
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/vista-a.jpg


The Vici
• Mount Washington
• Condos
• Construction to begin Summer '07
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ViciMountWashington.gif

American Eagle Outfitters Headquarters
• SouthSide Works
• Function: Office building
• Opening: Fall 2008
• Cost: Not disclosed
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/AmericanEagleOutfitters.jpg

The CLEAN Cathedral of Learning at The University of Pittsburgh
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CathedralCleaning.jpg


The Bill Gates Center for Computer Sciences
• Oakland
• Carnegie Mellon University Campus
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/GatesCenterforComputerScienceonCMUc.jpg

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


Majestic Star Casino
• North Shore/Chateau
• Function: Slot machines
• Opening: Summer 2008
• Cost: $435 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CasinoPlan.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/MajesticNorthShore3.jpg

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

progress as of 8/08
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/DSC04792.jpg

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



Children’s Hospital
• Lawrenceville
• Penn Avenue
• Opening: Early 2009
• Cost: $575 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ChildrensHospitalCampus.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ChildrensHospitalCampus2.jpg

Progress!
Ready for GRAND OPENING in MAY '09
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/childrens_hospital01_l_500.jpg



Point Park University
• Location: Downtown, Boulevard of the Allies
• Function: Dance studios and performance space
• Opening: Fall 2007
• Cost: $15.4 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PointParkUniversityexpansion.jpg

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

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/20090210point_park_univ.gif

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PPUTheterelev4thAve.gif

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PPUBoAlliesElev.gif

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


Duquesne University Expansion
• Forbes Avenue
• Uptown
Progress as 9/07;
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Duquesne10-07.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/DuquesneUniversitymasterPlan2.jpg

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

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



Hotel/condos
• South Side, SouthSide Works
• Opening: 2009
• Cost: $30 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/SouthSideWorksHotel.jpg
Progress as of 12/07;
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/BridgesidePoint2.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/SouthSideWorks9-07.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/HotMetalBridge6.jpg

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

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/SouthSideWorks29-07.jpg

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


and across the Mon;

Bridgeside Point II
as of 12/07
• Lab and office space
• South Oakland, Pittsburgh Technology Center
• Opening: Spring 2008
• Cost: $46 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/bridgesidedesign.jpg


Int The Strip...
Hampton Inn and Suites
• Smallman Street
• Strip District
• Hotel
• Opening: Summer 2007
• Cost: undetermined
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/StripDistritHamptonInn.jpg


North Shore Live
• Location: North Shore, North Shore Drive and Art Rooney Boulevard
• Function: Amphitheater, entertainment venues
• Opening: Late 2008
• Cost: $48 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/NorthShoreLive.jpg

Surrounding North Shore development;

Hyatt Place Hotel
• North Shore Drive
• North Shore
• Opening: End 2008
• Cost: Undetermined

Office Building
• North Shore
• next to Equitable Resources headquarters
• Opening: 2009
• Cost: Undetermined

Residence Inn
• North Shore
• Hotel
• Opening: Summer 2008
• Cost: $20 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/nsdevelopment-1.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/NorthShore2a9-07-1.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/NorthShore9-07.jpg



And in East Liberty...

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/EastLiberty9-07.jpg

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


The Indigo Hotel
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/HotelIndigoEastLiberty.jpg

Bakery Square
• Larimer/East Liberty
• Penn Avenue
• Hotel, retail, offices, housing
• Opening: 2009
• Cost: $105-$125 million
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/BakerySquare.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/BakerySquare4.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/BakerySquare2.jpg



Highland/Stadterman building
• East Liberty
• Housing, hotel
• Opening: Mid 2009
• Cost: $37 million

Liberty Park Development
• East Liberty
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/LibertyPark.jpg


The Glass House
• Friendship Arts District, Penn Avenue
• Condos
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/GlassHouse.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/GlassHouse2.jpg


The Armstrong Cork
Completed and FULL!
• The Strip
• apartment conversion, open
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ArnstrongCorkApartments.jpg


The Heinz Lofts
• North Side
• Apartment conversion, open
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/HeinzLofts2-1.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/HeinzLofts.jpg


New Greyhound/Transportation Center
• Grant Street @ Eleventh Street
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/GreyhoundStation.jpg

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

NEW SUBWAY EXTENSION to the North Shore

and construction begins as of 9/07...
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/T-Line9-07.jpg

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

• Convention Center Station
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ConventionCenterStation.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ConventionCenterStation2.jpg


• Gateway Center Station
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/GatewayCenterStation2.jpg


• Allegheny Station
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/AlleghenyStation.jpg


• PNC Park Station
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PNCParkStation.jpg


North Shore developments
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Bettis1r.jpg

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

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

• North Shore Riverfront park
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/riverwalk28.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/riverwalk21-1.jpg


• Riverfront park Fountain
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/riverlife_photo3_400x260.jpg


• Delmonte Center
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/610960-R1-01-23_002a.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/20040611dsdelmontedrawing_450.jpg


• Convention Center River Front Park
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ConventionCenterPark.jpg



The Cultural District residential area, in full swing and growing
• Convention Center Hotel
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/108_tmp1541.jpg

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


Penn Avenue downtown residential district
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PENN002_sm.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CulturalDistrict9-07.jpg


Marriott Courtyard
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/pitcy_b1a.jpg


North Craig Street Offices
• Oakland
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/NorthCraigStreet.jpg


Market House Lofts
• Shadyside
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/MarketHouseLofts.jpg


Lofts on Baum
• East Liberty
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/loftsonBaum190to410.jpg


Acute Care Medical Facility
• Oakland
• Bigelow Boulevard @ Bayard Street
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ActureCareMedicalFacility.jpg



Fairmount Housing
• Friendship
• Penn Avenue
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/FairmountHousing.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/50_0011_architecture.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Senior-apartments-.jpg




Pitt Biomedical Center Tower
• Oakland
• Fifth Avenue
• Complete
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PittBiomedicalScienceTower.gif



Here is a rendering of the "Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa (East of Pittsburgh)
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ShanksvilleNationalPark.jpg



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

[UrbaniDesDev]

Construction is due to begin by early next year. Currently squabling over how much money should be pitched in by the state since PNC had a huge year this year, it's hard to justify handing them money. Like always there are the politics going on now. There are many other projects being proposed, by a number of different developers from all over, for Fifth/Forbes Avenue Corridors. It is an exciting time for downtown Pittsburgh.

[Wheelingman04]

Thanks for posting those renderings.

[UrbaniDesDev]

I should also mention the already hugely successful South Side Works
This is very exciting. It has open the flood gates to more inner city development due to the great response

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/augflightl81.jpg
Aerial View


http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Carson.jpg
The New Carson Street



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

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

[UrbaniDesDev]

Duquesne University breaks ground for new Recreation Center. This will also break ground for the start of new growth in the Uptown/Hill District areas. The last areas around downtown to begin the great transition. I believe this is the beginning of a much larger trend than anyone realises.

The NEW Forbes Avenue and the new Entrance to Uptown Campus
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/DuquesneUniversityMasterPlan.jpg

The New Recreational Facility Breaks Ground!
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/DuquesneUniversityRecreationFacilit.jpg

Phase I of the Master Plan
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/DuquesneUniversitymasterPlan2.jpg

Post-Gazette article;
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04337/420499.stm

Pittsburgh Business Times article;
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/03/13/daily25.html?f=et74&hbx=e_du

[Coldrsx]

very unique developments...good on yah pitts

[UrbaniDesDev]

This article talks about $500 million invested in "East Side" neighborhoods, where the revival continues. It seems that all areas in the city are in play and on the upswing

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/business/s_434173.html

[chuikov]

I love Pittsburgh.

Uptown/Bluffs/Soho is the place for investment.

[volguus zildrohar]

And they say nothing's going on in Pittsburgh.

[BANKofMANHATTAN]

anyone know the specs on the new convention center hotel (height/etc)? or what exactly they are going to be doing w/ the "cultural/theatre" district?

some good projects going on here to say the least - hope there's more to come.

[UrbaniDesDev]

The height of the hotel keeps changing. They are leveraging for more money from the state/city that will determine the height.

The Cultural District is doing well. The last major hurdle is the section shown below. Otherwise, Penn Avenue being lined with new upscale restaurants, The newest set to open is
9on9, at Ninth and Penn and SixPenn, at Sixth Street. Apartments and lofts are filling most of the historic buildings along Penn and Liberty and 100 Seventh Street is set to start renting this month (top Picture).
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/pic_from_above_250.jpg

Penn Avenue/Cultural District
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PENN002_sm.jpg

Penn Avenue/Cultural District/O'Reilly Theater
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PennAvenueOReillyTheater.jpg

[PA Pride]

Nice compilation UrbanDesDev...

[wrightchr]

this is a great rundown of pittsburgh projects. can someone explain to me what the "subway" projects are? are these new stations for the expansion of the port authorities LRT line?

[UrbaniDesDev]

Unfortunate news on the proposed convention center hotel. It seems they may shrink its size a bit.

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

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06083/675804.stm

[UrbaniDesDev]

this is a great rundown of pittsburgh projects. can someone explain to me what the "subway" projects are? are these new stations for the expansion of the port authorities LRT line?

The stations pictured above are part of a controversial expansion proposed to the North Shore/Stadia developments. The controversy is about the very expensive underwater crossing proposed. The subway is expected to eventually continue to the airport from the North Shore expansion route.

I have a problem with the route because, yet again, bypasses all existing city neighborhoods and caterer to suburbanites and their needs, missing a built in already city committed large group of mass transit riders.

[UrbaniDesDev]

PaPrideAlso, urbandevi: Do you run or contribute to the "Proud Pittsburgh" Website? I looked at it and it is a good idea (if not a tad cheesy, but thats ok). As you can see from my name, I have much Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh pride! So as master P would say, I am Bout it, bout it.


Thanks PaPride
I will look into "Proud Pittsburgh"

[Evergrey]

i like that Giant Eagle condo project

[UrbaniDesDev]

I like the Giant Eagle project also. The renderings don't do it justice. Great details and a slick modern look

[UrbaniDesDev]

This is the proposed expansion route for the subway. They are saying that the convention center line will be sacrificed for the expensive underwater route to the North Shore but I believe they will both be completed .....eventuallly......

There is already a station at The Pennsylvanian on the MLK Busway. It had been shut down years ago. They should revive it and extend the T along the bus route (Purple Arrow). This should have been done to begin with.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PotentialFuture.jpg

[Brandon716]

Wow, this is a great compilation of things going on. Looks like quite a bit!

[mayhem]

151 First Side and the Asian Intl Center are very nice :) Looking forward to visiting Pittsburg for the 1st time this year.

[wrightchr]

The stations pictured above are part of a controversial expansion proposed to the North Shore/Stadia developments. The controversy is about the very expensive underwater crossing proposed. The subway is expected to eventually continue to the airport from the North Shore expansion route.

I have a problem with the route because, yet again, bypasses all existing city neighborhoods and caterer to suburbanites and their needs, missing a built in already city committed large group of mass transit riders.

thanks UrbaniDesDev

[UrbaniDesDev]

here's another rendering of the proposed Convention Center Hotel that is in dispute.

When you start something, finish it!
Finish this project as it was originally designed!

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

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/153_tmp764.jpg

[RamsayHank]

here's another rendering of the proposed Convention Center Hotel that is in dispute.

When you start something, finish it!
Finish this project as it was originally designed!

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

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/153_tmp764.jpg

Hmmm - these renderings were volunteered by Viñoly when he designed the convention center, but they were not formally part of the convention center hotel proposal. They were never in the running (unfortunately) for the hotel design. The newest design (it's posted further up in this thread) that I've found is at http://www.pgh-sea.com - the site also has a couple of good drawings of the development going on between the stadiums.

[macmini]

I have just one thing to say goddamn!!!!!!!! There is alot going on in pittsburgh some really nice projects the PNC building looks eloquent.

[FlyersFan118]

Pittsburgh. Is. The. Shiznit.

I'd love to see the new arena built. The Penguins need to stay where they belong. It looks like a nice arena too. The old Igloo just ain't cutting it anymore.

[UrbaniDesDev]

I'd love to see the new arena built. The Penguins need to stay where they belong. It looks like a nice arena too. The old Igloo just ain't cutting it anymore.

well the Igloo was ground breaking at the time. It used to open, one of the first to do so!
I still think it looks great....from a distance
It is a nightmare inside tho
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/conven2.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/Igloo2.jpg

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

I will miss it, but Lemieux's plan is great. It has to win the license

[UrbaniDesDev]

I wanted to post this project.
I found it noteworthy. It's on Penn Avenue, in the "no mans land" between Bloomfield and East Liberty.
That in itself is a feat.
It also reminded me of many of the projects I saw in San Francisco's SoMa District

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PennAvenue3.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PennAvenue4.jpg

[UrbaniDesDev]

Here's my latest shot of the changing skyline
100 Seventh Avenue
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/100SeventhAvenue.jpg

[JBinCalgary]

great looking projects in pittsburgh!

[Evergrey]

I LOVE that group of old houses right next to that Penn Ave. project. Could you elaborate more on that project, UrbaniDesDev?

[UrbaniDesDev]

I really don't know anything about it. It just appeared out of no where. I haven't heard anything or read anything about it. I thought I knew of all projects going on in town. It was a surprise. There are no signs there. I had to stop and take some pictures. It seems to be residential above and appears to have a 2 story space on the bottom, I'm hoping for commercial. This will begin to fill the gap between the 2 neighborhoods of Bloomfield and East Liberty. I would like to see the commercial with residential above model of Penn Avenue in Bloomfield and East Liberty become a continuous mixed use urban Boulevard. I hope the bottom will not simply be for parking. It looks like it could be interesting spaces and promote the gallery type spaces that are flourishing in Bloomfield.

I'm hoping this will secure the survival of the older structures next to it. It appears there was a concious effort to have them preserved. They are in terrible condition but are great pieces.

Notice, what appears to be old houses on the left of the pic below is actually a mural. It has a young bride climbing the stairs. It's been there forever.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/PennAvenue2.jpg

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

[UrbaniDesDev]

Good article on the debate of who wins casino in Pittsburgh. It seems someone is actually interested in seeing that the residents of the city end up the winner

http://www.sopghreporter.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=65&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=3778&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1089&hn=sopghreporter&he=.com

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/blackb0329.aspx

March 29, 2006
Blackbird Lofts project gets $50,000 from URA – and is almost complete

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%205/BlackbirdLofts.jpg

The Urban Redevelopment Authority approved another piece of funding for the Blackbird Lofts project in Lawrenceville, a $50,000 Community Development Investment Fund Grant. The money will help the nonprofit Lawrenceville Corporation acquire a share of the Blackbird building, at 36th and Butler streets, from the Artists and Cities nonprofit, which is phasing out of operation.

The Lawrenceville Corporation’s share of the building will be developed as an innovative art studio/retail hybrid, explains executive director Kate Trimble.

The LC’s space will be divvied up into about 10 studios of 400-500 square feet each. “We’ll jury in professional artist tenants on the basis of artistic merit,” Trimble says.

The studios -- meant for working, not living -- will be open for public browsing and buying. “It’ll be a really unique facility,” Trimble says. “There’s no place [in Pittsburgh] where you can come in and see artists in their natural habitat, interact with them and take home a piece of art.”

While the construction of the new Blackbird building is now complete, the interior is expected to be finished in a few months.

The for-rent artists’ studios will occupy about two-thirds of the Blackbird’s first floor. Sharing the ground floor will be the Pittsburgh Dance Connection, which bought the remaining third. Fifteen market-rate, loft-style condos –- most of which have already sold for $99,000 to $385,000 –- make up the building’s second and third floors.

Source: Kate Trimble, executive director, Lawrenceville Corporation

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/89th0329.aspx

Downtown officially becomes Pittsburgh’s “89th neighborhood”
http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%205/Downtown---the-89th-neighb.jpg

Although Downtown is home to several thousand residents –- including both college students and permanent residents –- it has never been officially counted as one of Pittsburgh’s 88 neighborhoods.

A few months ago, Downtown Neighborhood Association executive director and Downtown-dweller John Valentine and other residents set out to change that. On April 11, the economic heart of the city will finally be recognized as its “89th neighborhood.” That night, at an invitation-only event at the Rivers Club, Mayor Bob O’Connor, City Councilor Tonya Payne, County Executive Dan Onorato and other movers and shakers will be on hand to celebrate the occasion, Valentine says.

“Downtown’s happening now. Pittsburgh is the greatest city around and we’re about to undergo our next renaissance,” he adds.

Source: John Valentine, Downtown Neighborhood Association

[PA Pride]

^Hell yeah! This city fuckin rules man.


Thanks Urbandev for spotting/photographing/sharing those new townhouse buildings with us... That is EXACTLY the type of project that gets me excited... Modernism mixed in with the existing structures but they blend nicely and linking hoods together so this city will be one big continuous stretch of awesome urbanity instead of segregated neighborhoods that don't seem cohesive.

I love the burgh!

[UrbaniDesDev]

Check out this site. It's great. It presents a wonderful argument as to why the Isle of Capri is the best for Pittsburgh.
But, best of all is the 3D proposal video, listed under MultiMedia. You'll love it!!!
http://www.pittsburghfirst.com/default.aspx

Casino Hotel
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CasinoHotel.jpg

Casino entrance
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CasinoEntrance.jpg

[Wheelingman04]

^ Awesome man. Pittsburgh friggin rules!!

[SJPhillyBoy]

I am glad to see these proposals for Pittsburgh and hope they all get built. It will only contribute to the cool city that it is.

[Evergrey]

Here's an update on a proposed condo development in Mt. Lebanon

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06089/677896-55.stm

Mt. Lebanon Planning board hears more about condominium design
Thursday, March 30, 2006

By Laura Pace, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Plans for a 60-unit upscale condominium complex at Washington and Bower Hill roads met a few questions, but no major protests, at a Mt. Lebanon planning board meeting Tuesday night.

Zamagias Properties hopes to build a $28.8 million, two-building complex with a public park and 9,000 square feet of retail. The developer also wants $13 million in tax relief to build the project.

Planning board member Robin Cutler Levine, who is an architect, was concerned about the design for the buildings, one of which would be Tudor and another which would be collegiate Gothic.

She asked the architect how it would avoid looking "too cartoonish or too Disney-ish" in the large scale, which will be at least six stories.

Board member Jeff Funovits said he worried that while those styles were reflected in Mt. Lebanon, they weren't necessarily found on Washington Road.

Greg Weimerskirch, of Urban Design Associates, said the firm studied the architecture of Mt. Lebanon and of Oakland, which tends to have larger scale apartment buildings in those periods, mixed with other styles.

Tim Rogers, who owns property adjacent to the site at 10 Oak Way, currently has tenants who park on the property. He was concerned that his tenants wouldn't have a place to park near his units.

Mr. Weimerskirch said he believed Mr. Rogers would be able to work out an arrangement with the Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority since the developer would be providing 18 parking spaces for the public on the site to replace those lost to the development.

Planning board member Tom Dempsey Jr. said the complex would provide a nice entrance to the municipality at its northern border.

"Really, it's impressive," he said.

Zamagias hopes to seek preliminary approvals from the planning board in May and a recommendation for final approvals in June. The commission will have the final say.

The application for tax relief will follow a separate schedule, which was not announced at the meeting.



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

(Laura Pace can be reached at lpace@post-gazette.com or 412-851-1867. )

[Evergrey]

I'm hoping this will secure the survival of the older structures next to it. It appears there was a concious effort to have them preserved. They are in terrible condition but are great pieces.


Here's a close-up of those awesome houses I took this summer

http://i.pbase.com/g3/86/571686/2/57349775.100_1417.jpg

[Evergrey]

an answer to your question about the Penn Ave. development, UrbaniDesDev:

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pennsr0405.aspx

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%206/Senior-apartments-.jpg

April 5, 2006

60 senior apartments, 7,500 sf retail in Friendship/Garfield
By the fall, senior citizens from Garfield and elsewhere will be living in apartments they helped to imagine. And below them on the ground floor as many as six new office/retail tenants will enliven Penn Avenue.

The Fairmont Apartments, at Fairmont and Penn Avenues at the Garfield/Friendship border, are the culmination of a long-term community planning process, says Becky Mingo, director of the Friendship Development Associates.

Back in 2001, Friendship, Garfield and Penn Avenue stakeholders were working on a master plan for the area; meanwhile, Mingo recalls, city government was under a mandate to close “nonperforming” senior housing projects, and the city housing authority was looking at the senior residences at the top of Garfield Heights.

“Seniors said, ‘We’re very independent, rather than being isolated at the top of the hill, we’d like to be right on a bus line,’” says Mingo.

In the resulting building, designed by Rothschild + Doyno Architects and built by Mistick Construction, the apartments will be leased to seniors by Presbyterian Senior Care, while the FDA will retain ownership of the retail spaces.

The one- and two-bedroom apartments are designed to be handicapped-accessible, and the building will feature lots of common recreation space and laundries on each floor.

The storefronts have a full glass façade in the front, and, thanks to the slope of Penn Avenue, a few will feature ceilings up to 20 feet high -- tall enough to add a mezzanine, Mingo says. “Now leasing!” she adds.

Source: Becky Mingo, Friendship Development Associates

[Evergrey]

April 5, 2006

Cork Factory restoration to get $1.5m for parking garage, public trail
Another piece of funding will be coming in shortly for the mammoth Armstrong Cork Factory rehabilitation in the Strip District.

The vast, three-building former industrial complex -- built from 1901-13 and closed as a manufacturing facility in 1974 -- is being made over into 295 loft-style apartments. The project will also feature a restaurant, an extension of the Allegheny Riverfront trail (with public access), and, thanks partly to state funding, a 427-space parking garage with retail on the first floor.

Until recently, the Armstrong Cork Factory had dashed a decade’s worth of redevelopment schemes. This time, though, the $60 million renovation by McCaffery Interests of Chicago and building owner Chuck Hammel (also head of Strip-based trucking company Pitt-Ohio Express) is nearing completion and leasing has begun.

The latest public financing should be officially in place soon, URA officials say. In March, Governor Ed Rendell “invited” the agency to apply for -- meaning they’re very likely to receive -- a state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant of $750,000, which would fund the parking garage. Part of the garage would be for tenants, with the remainder available for public parking. The new structure will also include 47,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

A second state grant from the Growing Greener II fund will support another rehab: About $759,000 to repair the collapsing 30-foot “seawall” at the property’s edge along the Allegheny River. The wall, in turn, will more literally support an extension of the riverfront trail -- which currently ends at 16th Street -- on through the Cork Factory property at 23rd Street.

Source: Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh

[Evergrey]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060321/cltu047.html?.v=46

Expansion of Pittsburgh Technology Center Moves Forward
Tuesday March 21, 11:51 am ET
University related tech park on the riverfront will add over one million square feet of high tech R&D space.


PITTSBURGH, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Oakland Keystone Innovation Zone (GO KIZ) is a collaboration formed by regional economic development organizations to increase technology company formation, location and growth by better leveraging the combined assets of the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. For the past year the GO KIZ Space Subcommittee has been focused on expanding the amount of space for high tech start ups and corporate research centers in close proximity to the universities.

This week City Council gave final approval for $43 million in infrastructure funding setting in motion the expansion of the Pittsburgh Technology Center.

GO KIZ Board members Jerome Dettore, Executive Director of the City of Pittsburgh's Urban Redevelopment Authority, and Dennis Davin, Director Economic Development for Allegheny County, shepherded the expansion of the Pittsburgh Technology Center through the public approval process. The Urban Redevelopment Authority is managing the site planning and coordination of private developers interested in the site.

The expansion of the riverfront Pittsburgh Technology Center could double the size of the current development by adding over one million square feet of high tech lab and office space to a growing concentration of university R&D, corporate research centers and high tech start up companies spanning through the South Side, Hazelwood, Oakland and Lawrenceville sections of Pittsburgh.

The expansion of the riverfront Pittsburgh Technology Center is the latest step in an emerging movement to redevelop and interconnect the Greater Oakland area around Pittsburgh's university-health care hub. These activities will provide a more inviting environment for the growing number of university spinouts, companies locating in the region to access the university-hospital complex, and for graduates of the universities, helping the region to better capture the technology value being generated by the Oakland institutions.


Greater Oakland Keystone Innovation Partners:
Allegheny Conference on Community Development and Affiliates, Allegheny
County Department of Economic Development, Carnegie Mellon University,
Idea Foundry, Innovation Works, MPC Corporation, Pittsburgh Life Sciences
Greenhouse, Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation, Pittsburgh Technology
Council, The Technology Collaborative, University of Pittsburgh,
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Urban Redevelopment Authority
of Pittsburgh




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Greater Oakland Keystone Innovation Zone

[Evergrey]

...and my conversation with myself continues...

any of yinz silent pittsburghers going to the Pirates home opener today? Michael Keaton's throwing out the first pitch... that'e enough reason to go!

Here's some more condo news for yinz

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/04/10/story7.html

Developers converting Emsworth elementary school into condos
Pittsburgh Business Times - April 7, 2006by Robert Sandler
Want a chalkboard on the wall of your bedroom? How about kindergartners' cubbyholes next to the coats in the closet?

In a few months, you can have all that -- plus a view that extends almost to the Ohio River. The former Emsworth elementary school, built in 1881 but empty for the past few years, is about to be renovated into 12 condominiums.

The project will be named Walnut Ridge, where units of 1,200 to 1,800 square feet will sell for between $150,000 and $180,000, according to developer Rick Criscella, owner of Americo General Contractors of Etna. He bought the building, in partnership with his brother Lou Criscella and friend Marty Lazzaro, for $140,000 last year. Criscella said he expects development costs to be about $70 per square foot, or $1.5 million.

He said the quiet location above Ohio River Boulevard probably would be appealing to young professionals who may want a condo but prefer a quiet suburb to the busier neighborhoods, such as Downtown or the South Side.

"In South Side, you have ... a gazillion bars," Criscella said. "You can come back here and relax."

The building also is close to bus lines and is a 15-minute drive to either Downtown or Pittsburgh International Airport, he said.

While Criscella said the redevelopment will aim to retain or reuse many of the old building's features, including chalkboards, large windows and hardwood floors, it also will include modern additions. The changes include constructing stairways in many units to create two-level condos and adding an extra story onto part of the building.

The stage in the school's auditorium will be split between two condos, creating a small ledge overlooking each unit's living room. The basketball hoop which hangs above part of the auditorium (the room also was used as the school gymnasium) won't be saved. The wood floors will be picked up, sanded and re-installed, said architect Gerald Lee Morosco.

Figuring out how to turn classrooms, rest rooms and common space more than a century old into a modern residential building was "sort of working out a puzzle," said Morosco, owner of South Side-based Gerald Lee Morosco Architects PC.

"We have endeavored to be very sensitive to the fabric of the existing building," he said.

Emsworth also is looking forward to the increase in property tax revenue from the project, said Mayor George Rossi.

"It's been an eyesore in the borough, and it was one of the things that I really wanted to achieve, getting that developed."

Tom Yargo, manager of Coldwell Banker Pittsburgh's Shadyside office, agreed that the location and character of the building would make it intriguing to the public. The ability to drive Route 65 the entire way to Downtown without a tunnel would also be appealing, Yargo said.

"For the location, Emsworth borough has never ever had anything like this in terms of a residential project," he said. "I've seen a number of different uses of an old church or an old school -- they seem to (have) an allure, something that I think people are generally comfortable with."

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

[Wheelingman04]

A lot of people in Wheeling and surrounding areas say yinz too.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06101/681134-53.stm

Baltimore-based developer of entertainment districts eyes site near Heinz Field
Tuesday, April 11, 2006

By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Get ready for Pittsburgh Live.

The entertainment and retail developer that was involved in the redevelopment of the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and a new entertainment district in Louisville, Ky., is close to securing land on Pittsburgh's North Shore.

David Cordish, chairman of The Cordish Co. in Baltimore, said Cordish Co. and Continental Real Estate Cos. are partnering to buy and lease several tracts of property between Heinz Field and PNC Park.

The development will be closer to Heinz Field than the baseball park, according to Mr. Cordish.

Continental and Cordish have been in negotiations for more than a year. Art Rooney II, Pittsburgh Steelers president, said through a spokeswoman that the negotiations were moving forward but not completed.

Cordish hopes to build one of its signature urban "Live" districts, which can be found in Louisville, Kansas City, Baltimore and elsewhere. "Power Plant Live!" in Baltimore and "4th Street Live!" in Louisville feature shops, clubs, restaurants and bars, many of which are chain or franchise outlets and can already be found in Pittsburgh.

Louisville's version, for example, has a Hard Rock Cafe, a Red Star tavern, a T.G.I. Friday's, Lucky Strike Lanes and a Saddle Ridge rock-n-country saloon.

Cordish also specializes in development around baseball stadiums, having designed retail and entertainment venues with the San Francisco Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Nationals. Mr. Cordish said the Pittsburgh Live development "will become a meeting place for the entire region."

Continental, meanwhile, is moving ahead with other developments on the North Shore. It hopes to open three new restaurants -- Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, Calico Jack's Cantina and East Coast Saloon -- by this summer's baseball All-Star game.


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

(Bill Toland can be reached at btoland@post-gazette.com or 1-412-263-1889. )

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/pittsburgh/s_442302.html

North Shore may go Live!

By Sam Spatter and Kim Leonard
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, April 11, 2006


A Baltimore developer is negotiating to build nightclubs, restaurants and stores on eight acres next to Heinz Field, promising to draw thousands of visitors to the North Shore every weekend.
The Cordish Co., a developer with entertainment projects in several cities, said it is working with Continental Real Estate Companies to build one of its Live! Entertainment District developments on land between Heinz Field and PNC Park.

"The project will be comparable to other Cordish Live! Districts, such as Fourth Street Live! in Louisville," company Chairman David Cordish said in an e-mail to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

"It will become a meeting place for the entire region, and an amenity not just for the North Shore but the entire Downtown," Cordish said. "Millions of visitors will come every year, as they do in our other projects."





The project would include land next to the Steelers' stadium that once was set aside for an amphitheater. The entertainment center would extend east, past ramps leading to the Fort Duquesne Bridge, said Frank Kass, chairman of Continental, which oversees development of land between Heinz Field and PNC Park.

Cordish said his company and Continental plan to lease the property now used for parking from the development team that includes the Steelers and Pirates.

"We hope to have a deal completed by the end of May," Kass said.

Steelers President Art Rooney II said through a spokesman Monday that negotiations continue with Cordish, but nothing is definite yet.

The Cordish Co. has deals for entertainment developments around other sports complexes -- with the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals, and near the new Nationals stadium planned in Washington, D.C., David Cordish said.

The Louisville, Ky., Live! project that Cordish compares to his plan for Pittsburgh brought an exclamation point to a deteriorating section of that city's downtown, officials there said.

Cordish bought the Louisville Galleria, a failed enclosed mall, from the city for $1, gutted it and invested $75 million to create an open entertainment district with a Hard Rock Cafe, Lucky Strike Lanes, Scully's Bar, Rascal's Comedy Club and Red Cheetah bar/dance club.

Crowds on a typical weekend night average 5,000 to 8,000 people, said Patti Clare, director of project development for the city's Downtown Development Corp. The complex has been open for about two years, and it might expand, she said.

Fourth Street Live! retained the mall's atrium, but opened up the building at both ends to allow traffic to flow through. The mall had closed off Fourth Street, which still can be closed for concerts and other events.

The Louisville project also includes about 100,000 square feet of office space, in an adjacent building.

"It's been a tremendous success, both in terms of attracting residents and as a tourist attraction," said Matt Kamer, spokesman for Mayor Jerry Abramson.

Retail business and nightlife had sagged in the city's central downtown, Kamer said. "This really has been a lightning rod for development and growth and excitement in the area."

Fourth Street Live! and the city's Louisville Slugger Field for its AAA-affiliate team to the Cincinnati Reds are credited with sparking a building boom that is bringing 1,800 new homes to the city, he said.

Cordish is receiving a tourism tax credit from Kentucky -- rebates that represent a percentage of sales tax money generated by tenants. The rebates are capped at $16 million over 10 years.

The city agreed to provide free parking after 6 p.m. on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday, Kamer said, in a city-owned garage next to Fourth Street Live!

In St. Louis, Mo., Cordish is planning Ballpark Village, a $450 million retail, entertainment and residential district in partnership with the Cardinals.

Ballpark Village would cover six city blocks and connect to the new Busch Stadium, which opened yesterday. It would contain 450,000 square feet of stores, restaurants and nightclubs, plus 1,200 residential units, 400,000 square feet of office space and 2,000 parking spaces.

Cordish -- perhaps best known for its Power Plant development, which helped to turn Baltimore's Inner Harbor into a tourist attraction -- doesn't plan any residential buildings at the North Shore development, Kass said.



Sam Spatter and Kim Leonard can be reached at sspatter@tribweb.com.

[Evergrey]

hey evergrey, have you heard about this new project yet? it sure sounds exciting!

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/pennave0412.aspx

April 12, 2006
More artist studios, apartments and, maybe, a restaurant for Penn Ave
Though residents were sad to see it go after 30 years in the neighborhood, the closure in 2000 of the Eat’n Park restaurant at Penn and Fairmont in Friendship/Garfield presented a great redevelopment opportunity, says Friendship Development Associates Executive Director Becky Mingo. The FDA bought the property, and began a master planning process for the site.

This fall, construction will begin on a new corner building designed by architect Arthur Lubetz that will include retail on the ground floor, 8--10 for-rent artist studios and about 15 loft-style apartments that will be sold to mixed-income buyers. It will adjoin another new building that will include 60 senior-citizen apartments and street-level retail.

Still, Eat’n Park is missed, Mingo says. “We’re hoping for a restaurant” in part of the new corner building, she says.

The for-rent artist studios, of 200--500 square feet each, will be novel for the Garfield/Friendship Penn Avenue stretch.Though the first wave of Penn Avenue artists bought empty fixer-uppers, Mingo says there’s now a new market segment, “usually someone who has a home they’re happy with, and needs an extra work space.”

Source: Becky Mingo, Friendship Development Associates

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%207/SouthSideOfficeCondos.jpg

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/surety0412.aspx

April 12, 2006
$60m Surety Center supports international business – right here on the Mon
Coming up for final approval of the city planning commission this month is the Surety Center, a bland name for an unusual project to be built next to the Hot Metal Bridge on the South Side.

The Surety Center, designed by architects Pfaffmann + Associates, will be a 325,000 square foot office condominium building, created as a “home office away from home” for East Asian businesspeople – especially those from China and Korea – working in the United States.

The condos will be made up of 800-square-foot modules, Pfaffmann says, which can be linked together to form larger office spaces. Depending on how many sub-units each occupant buys, up 220 office condos could be sold.

The design is novel, too. Inspired by an East Asian “lucky fish” shape, the nine-story design incorporates Feng Shui principles. The ground floor will feature a pan-Asian restaurant and a business club, among other amenities. Because the developers -- a group of American and Asian investors -- anticipate that occupants will take advantage of the pedestrian-friendly Carson Street and South Side Works and will take public transit to and from the airport, a smaller parking field will be required, Pfaffmann adds.

“I asked and everybody asks, ‘Why Pittsburgh?’” Pfaffmann says. “In surveys [of potential buyers], they tended to be family-oriented. They want an affordable place where they can raise children, a place less intense than Los Angeles or New York. Also, they wanted to be near the creative innovations in technology at Carnegie Mellon and Pitt.”

Construction on the $60 million project is expected to begin at the end of 2006.

Source: Rob Pfaffmann, Pfaffmann + Associates

[Wheelingman04]

^That is one darn good-looking building.

[UrbaniDesDev]

This is great news! Regarding the development between the ball fields, it seems to lack direction, outside of the success of the offices. I always felt that the promenade would be the new hot spot for Pittsburgh, like Baltimore Harbor. The buildings along the promenade don't seem to acknowledge the beauty of the promenade or their location much at ground level. They should have had the ground floor commercial spaces' floor to ceiling windows slide away to allow seemless indoor outdoor seating. Right now it is separated from the outside. This group seems to know what they're doing. They will surely pump life into this area. Right now it looks like a groom waiting at the alter. All dressed up....

Station Square will have some serious competition. It's a good thing

[UrbaniDesDev]

I went past the site of the "Surety Center" today. It looks like there is already prep work being done on the site. It might be unrelated but there are construction trailers being set up there.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06102/681315-28.stm

PNC putting $24.5 million into development
The investment will cover the costs of four East Liberty buildings
Wednesday, April 12, 2006

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PNC Financial Services Group is contributing $24.5 million to the development of East Liberty's Eastside project, a multi-building, Whole Foods-anchored complex that soon could include a Borders bookstore.

PNC's investment, covering the costs of four new buildings along Centre Avenue, will be made in the form of a $14 million loan and a $10.5 million grant from a community development arm of the bank. The grant money will be repaid with federal New Market Tax Credits -- the result of a low-income neighborhood revitalization program created at the end of the Clinton administration.

"It is not philanthropy for us," said Dave Gibson, a vice president and lending manager for community development banking at PNC.

"We get a real return."

Two of the four buildings already are under construction along Centre, near the Whole Foods grocery that opened to much fanfare in 2002. One is 33,000 square feet, with a parking deck, and the other is 11,000 square feet.

The developer, The Mosites Co., already has commitments from Walgreens, PNC, Starbucks, a dentist and a wine and spirits store.

It also is in "active discussions" with Ann Arbor, Mich.-based bookstore-chain Borders about an anchor spot in one of the two other new buildings planned for that block, according to Mark Minnerly, Mosites' director of real estate development.

The two other buildings along Centre would be 25,600 square feet and 14,600 square feet, ending at the Highland Avenue bridge.

The money from PNC will assist with the development of both properties -- part of "Eastside 2," as the developer calls it.

A Borders spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.

A new East Liberty bookstore would be a "huge home run and very exciting for the neighborhood," said Rob Stephany of East Liberty Development Inc.

Beyond Highland, Mosites has plans for a third development phase that would span from the Highland Avenue bridge to the East Busway terminal. It already has control of the old Kinsgley Association building and some Pittsburgh Parking Authority lots. Mr. Minnerly said he also expects this year to purchase the National Indoor Tennis facility to make room for future development.


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

(Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752. )

[RamsayHank]

This is great news for CMU & for the city...

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060412bwmaggates1_450.jpg

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060412cmu_gates.gif

CMU's Gates Center design veers off the yellow brick road
Wednesday, April 12, 2006

By Patricia Lowry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

With angled exterior walls and a slate and zinc skin, the Gates Center for Computer Science will be a radical departure for Carnegie Mellon University, dominated for a century by classically inspired buildings clad in a subtle tapestry of buff and yellow brick.

The design, by Atlanta-based Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects, stirred controversy when it was shown for the first time on campus last week. While the School of Computer Science is pleased with the design, some architecture faculty members say the building is too big and too idiosyncratic.

The $88 million building, expected to be completed in 2009, will rise out of a natural ravine that the campus' original designer, architect Henry Hornbostel, envisioned as a sports stadium surrounded by buildings -- none of which was ever built. Over time, parts of the ravine were filled in with a motley crew of small, ad hoc buildings surrounded by larger, better-designed ones, creating what the university calls the West Campus.

"The challenges of the site presented an opportunity to move in a new direction," said Ralph Horgan, vice provost for campus design and facility development. He said it's time for CMU "to move beyond 'the yellow brick road.' "

"I credit the architecture department for pushing me toward a contemporary design," said Randal E. Bryant, dean of the School of Computer Science.

The push came during meetings of the project's Design Review Committee, which selected the Scogin-Elam firm from a field of more than two dozen that had been narrowed to three. The committee comprises representatives from the schools of computer science and architecture as well as campus administrators and CMU trustees.


One of its members, computer science professor Guy Blelloch, said the committee was especially impressed by the firm's design of the Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University. It makes good use of interior spaces to help foster collaboration and portray the personality of the school, he said, and makes creative use of a limited site -- all goals for the Gates Center, which needs to establish a sense of place both inside the building and out, as the heart of the West Campus.

Unveiled to students, faculty and staff last week, the 209,000-square-foot Gates Center is in two parts: a six-story structure and a smaller, trapezoidal, four-story one, connected by a glass-enclosed lobby with pedestrian bridges. Between and around the two buildings, Michael Van Valkenburgh has designed a naturalistic landscape interwoven with pathways.

Although the Gates Center's exterior is to be clad in zinc and slate, one or the other may be used exclusively. Mack Scogin showed building elevations, but the university declined to release them to the media, saying the design, which has stirred controversy on campus, is still in the works.

At Scogin's presentation to the architecture department, several faculty members questioned the building's size, height, shape, skin, energy efficiency and window design and location. The windows are arranged in an irregular pattern and each is surrounded by contrasting materials in asymmetrical patterns that aim to visually expand the zone of the windows. Scogin said his inspiration came from Hornbostel, who often exaggerated scale.

The Gates Center's angled exterior walls will give office occupants better views from their windows, rather than the backs of some nearby buildings. Scogin said. The building's shape "is not arbitrary. It's quite calculated."

The university wanted two distinct buildings for the Gates Center, to provide a second fund-raising and naming opportunity for another lead donor, not yet identified. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed $20 million toward the center's cost.

But that idiosyncratic shape, irregular window pattern and distinctive skin bring the higher costs and greater inflexibility of a handmade building, said architecture professor Volker Hartkopf, director of CMU's Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, which researches advanced building systems and technologies.

Because the center's research places CMU in a national leadership position for building performance, Hartkopf thinks the Gates Center should be a high-performance building, one that achieves greater energy efficiency and interior flexibility than what is planned. The architects are aiming for a building that consumes 30 percent less energy than allowable under code and a silver LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

"A building that's bigger on top is environmentally counterintuitive," Hartkopf said, because its expensive cantilevers shade what's beneath them, contributing to heat loss and the building's cost.

Hartkopf also believes the university is trying to accomplish too much with the Gates Center, which will sit atop a 150-car parking garage and house 318 offices as well as labs, computer clusters, lecture halls, classrooms and a 250-seat auditorium. The result, he said, is a building that's too large and awkward for its 5.6-acre site.

"We can't afford to dig down," Scogin said at the presentation. "It has to be this high."

In relation to its closest neighbors, the larger of the two Gates Center buildings will rise above Hamburg, Smith and Newell-Simon halls on the West Campus but won't be as tall as Wean and Doherty halls and Purnell Center for the Arts, all on the East Campus.

"I didn't expect it to come so high," CMU architecture archivist Martin Aurand said. The author of a forthcoming book on Pittsburgh's topography, Aurand consulted with Scogin's team on how the building should relate to the campus. But he supports the building, saying it's the right time and place and the right architects to move away from the tradition of yellow brick.

As the design evolves over the next few weeks, Scogin said he will address all of the concerns presented to him. Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year.

[Evergrey]

Thanks for that post, RamsayHank... the model and description of the building seems rather bizarre... but i guess this type of architecture is de rigeur at high-profile university campuses these days. I'll reserve judgment until I see a better rendering.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06102/681646-100.stm

Gourmet market chosen for old Lazarus building
Steaks, sushi among the offerings
Wednesday, April 12, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Washington County developer will open a European-style gourmet market Downtown as part of its $40 million-plus redevelopment of the former Lazarus-Macy's department store.

Millcraft Industries Inc. announced today its market will feature Jeanette-based DeLallo Italian Foods and Omaha Steaks. It plans to open the 12,000-square-foot store on Wood Street by the end of the year.

The store will feature freshly prepared foods, including entrees, salads and soups, business catering, fresh fish and sushi, specialty breads, a delicatessen, produce and Fresh Omaha meats. The Omaha products will include a new line of steak products called Omaha Fresh and Omaha Fresh Angus that will be available only at the store.

In catering to Downtown office workers and residents, the store will offer call-ahead ordering and grocery delivery. A Downtown market long has been at the top of the priority list for Downtown residents and city officials, who have been trying to court grocers for the past several years.

"We want this concept to become a true destination," said Lucas Piatt, Millcraft Industries vice president of real estate. "The market needs to serve the people who live and work Downtown, but we also feel that people will travel from around the region to shop here."

The market will be part of a redevelopment that will include condominiums, two-story rooftop townhouses, office space, and ground- level retail.



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

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

[Evergrey]

Here's some more info on the planned gourmet food market downtown... I really like the concept and I think it's awesome that they got a local Italian grocer involved with this... and from what I've read about this grocer... it seems that there may still be a market for a full-scale Giant Eagle-style grocer downtown

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/business/s_443117.html

Gourmet food market planned for Downtown

By The Tribune-Review
Wednesday, April 12, 2006


A new grocery store concept with a European flavor should open by the end of the year in the former Lazarus, Downtown.
Millcraft Industries announced today that its Shoppes at Piatt Place, a retail, office and residential complex planned in the former department store, will include a grocery store with a full line of products from DeLallo Italian Foods, based in Jeannette, Westmoreland County, and a new line of Omaha Steak products known as Omaha Fresh and Omaha Fresh Angus.

The 12,000-square-foot market – known for now simply as a European market -- will front on Wood Street and focus on fresh prepared foods including entrees, salads and soups, business catering, fresh fish and sushi, specialty breads, European delicatessen items, produce and Fresh Omaha meats.

Customers in Downtown offices and the growing number of residences in the city’s center will be able to call ahead to order groceries, and have their orders delivered.

Lucas Piatt, vice president of real estate for Millcraft, said the market “needs to serve the people who live and work Downtown, but we also feel that people will travel from around the region to shop here.” Millcraft will hire a management company to run the store, and will decide on a name later.

Michael M. Edwards, president and chief executive of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, which has worked to bring a grocery store to the Golden Triangle, called the Millcraft announcement great news, and said it is one amenity that prospective residents have looked for as they decide whether to move downtown.

http://www.delallo.com

[Wheelingman04]

Editorial: Point of growth / Downtown benefits from a robust university
Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It's come a long way from its inception as a women's business college in the 1930s. With 3,400 students, nine academic departments and several master's degree programs, Point Park University is hitting its stride not only as an institution of higher learning but also as an increasingly bigger player in the future of Downtown.

For proof of the latter, just take a walk near Wood Street and the Boulevard of the Allies, its campus nerve center. Few people realize that 600 Point Park students live Downtown (another 130 are housed at Chatham College in Shadyside). And more are coming.

Other numbers tell an impressive tale. When President Katherine Henderson, who is now on sabbatical, arrived nine years ago, the school had 29 percent fewer students. It had an operating budget of $24 million, compared to today's $60 million.

Recent news that the private, liberal-arts university has closed on a deal to buy a large parcel of property nearby is not only more evidence of the school's robust health but also support for Downtown's upturn. Point Park purchased five properties, most of it now surface parking, between Fourth and Forbes avenues for $2.5 million. The building that will go up there will be used for classrooms, housing or athletics. Whatever is built in that key block below Smithfield Street could be connected to Point Park's University Center on Wood.

Prior to this latest land deal, Point Park has been constructing new dance and performance studios along the boulevard and has been preparing two existing buildings on Wood Street for use as dorms for another 160 students. With Downtown recasting itself as a place for more people to live, the university's expansion stands to inject youth and energy into this growing residential cohort.

At the same time, Point Park must, of course, provide greater security for its student residents in the Golden Triangle. Last week, Paul Hennigan, the school's acting president, said the university will add up to seven security guards to maintain round-the-clock coverage in the residence halls plus daytime and evening foot patrols. While any college also relies to an extent on municipal police, the heightened presence of Point Park's campus officers will bring an added measure of safety for anyone, student or not, in that corner of Downtown.

Point Park deserves Pittsburgh's support for continued success as a growing university. Perhaps now more than ever, the city and its visitors are lucky to have the school as a prosperous and responsible Downtown neighbor.

[UrbaniDesDev]

The list of projects just seems to be continuous now. Delallos is perfect for that location. It will be absolutely unique to the area. I go to the one in Jeannette all the time. Very Euro, lots of prepared dishes, breads and the best deli in town.

PPU seems to be a big piece of the downtown puzzle falling into place. What a great NEIGHBORHOOD!

Pasta and steak
mmmmmmm

[Evergrey]

yet another article on the grocery

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06103/681810-53.stm

Downtown grocery to open by 2007
Developer planning European-style gourmet market in former Lazarus-Macy's building
Thursday, April 13, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



A Washington County developer is stepping up to cater to the appetite for a market Downtown.

Millcraft Industries Inc. announced yesterday that it plans to open a European-style gourmet market on Wood Street by the end of the year as part of its $40 million plus redevelopment of the former Lazarus-Macy's department store.

The market will offer freshly prepared foods, including entrees, soups and salads, fish and sushi. A delicatessen, specialty breads and produce also will be available.

Lucas Piatt, Millcraft vice president of real estate, said the 12,000-square-foot store will have the feel of a "New York City-style" market and will cater to the needs of those who live and work Downtown. They will be treated to "all the best stuff you expect in a European urban market."

Among the amenities the store plans to offer are call-ahead ordering and grocery delivery.

The market will feature lunch meats, cheeses and other products from Jeannette-based DeLallo Italian Foods as well as a new line of Omaha Steaks products, including Omaha Fresh and Omaha Fresh Angus that will only be available Downtown.

Mr. Piatt is hoping the novelty of the store and the exclusive line of steaks will help to make the market a destination for suburbanites, in addition to being a convenience for Downtown residents.

"We want this concept to become a true destination. The market needs to serve the people who live and work Downtown, but we also feel that people will travel from around the region to shop here," he said.

The market is part of an overall redevelopment of the vacant four-story Lazarus-Macy's store, closed in 2004, that includes 22 two-story rooftop townhouses, 25 condominiums, 180,000 square feet of office space, and 50,000 square feet of retail space.

A Downtown market has long been at the top of the wish list for city officials, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and groups interested in bringing more housing into the Golden Triangle.

There has not been a grocery store Downtown since Market on the Square, a meat and food store attached to the G.C. Murphy's building in Market Square, closed in late 1994. That site had been a fixture for groceries since 1929.

Interest in a market has surged in recent months with the Lazarus-Macy's redevelopment, the $170 million PNC office tower planned on Fifth Avenue, proposals to revitalize other sections of Fifth and Forbes avenues, and a host of residential projects under way Downtown.

"Certainly a grocery store is a watershed event for the creation of a neighborhood Downtown and we think it's great," said Mike Edwards, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

Millcraft also had talked to Giant Eagle and the McGinnis Sisters about supplying the market, but in the end settled on DeLallo, in part because the Piatt family had shopped at DeLallo's Jeannette store for years and enjoyed the quality of the products.

Likewise, Nebraska-based Omaha Steaks products are featured at Millcraft-owned restaurants at Southpointe, Washington County, and in Moon.

"We talked to a ton of other stores. We didn't want to wait for them to make decisions. We wanted to move fast. Our project is moving fast, and we know there's a market there [for a store]," Mr. Piatt said.

He said the Downtown market will be the prototype for four such stores planned around the region. The other locations haven't been determined.

Fran DeLallo, a family member who is part of the grocery business, said they are planning an array of specialty sandwiches, breads, and lunches and dinners for the market. He added he was impressed by Millcraft Chairman Jack Piatt's knowledge and interest in gourmet foods.

"He wants stuff that's a cut above. He wants stuff that's really special. They want to do a lot of specialty things," he said.

Lucas Piatt said Millcraft is talking to several unidentified retailers about occupying space in the Lazarus-Macy's building.

Millcraft also is expected to meet with Mayor Bob O'Connor later this month to unveil final details of a proposed residential and retail development aimed at revitalizing a number of government-owned buildings in the Fifth and Forbes corridor, including G.C. Murphy's.

Mr. O'Connor, meanwhile, may announce as early as today the selection of a designer to help create a master plan for the entire corridor. The designer would develop standards for buildings, streets, sidewalks and other aspects of the corridor, with input from the Downtown Partnership, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, property owners and others.


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

(Staff writer Rich Lord contributed to this article. Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. )

[Wheelingman04]

Just within the last year Pittsburgh is really starting to boom. I hope the population of the city and metro area starts to go up soon too. There is just not enough immigrants moving into the area and many old people are dying.

[AaronPGH]

All of this is so overwhelming. Thank you guys for putting this thread together! It's been sorely needed!

Within the past year we've seen announcements go from a standstill practically, to a trickle, to a stream, and now it seems as the dam has broken. It's about time. I love this city and it's so exciting to see all of this stuff growing up around me. Urban development freaks like us aren't the only people noticing these things either, all of my friends seem to be all geeked up about the city recently. Anyone else notice the sudden positive shift in attitudes in the city? Hopefully it's not all Super Bowl related. :haha:

:cheers:

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06103/681895-100.stm

Mayor, planner search Downtown for a new vision
Thursday, April 13, 2006

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor and architect Don Carter kicked around a variety of ideas for revitalization today as they strolled through Market Square, launching a planning process for Downtown's core that they hope to complete in a five-week sprint.

"Look at this place now," Mr. O'Connor said, gesturing at the lunchtime crowd. "I want it to be that way at 6 at night, Saturday afternoons."

"Downtown housing is such a driver now throughout the country," said Mr. Carter, a principal at Urban Design Associates. "Let's do some planning around this new demographic trend."

The mayor has hired Urban Design Associates to create a new vision for Downtown's retail corridor. He said he expected that the firm would receive around $35,000, half from the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority and half from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

"Everybody agreed we should have a vision, what the streets should look like, what the sidewalks should look like, lighting, where it should be greenspace," the mayor said. "Should we get more greenspace? If the [G.C.] Murphy's building should stay, what should it look like? How does it blend in with the new? ... Also, how does it blend in with the Cultural District?"

Mr. Carter said he'd start by assembling the many prior plans for the area and gathering public data. In May he'll conduct a multi-day "charette" at which developers, city agencies, City Council members, and all organizations involved in Downtown commerce would reach a consensus on what should be done with an area that includes historic gems and eyesores.

Then he'll produce a master plan that suggests which land uses are most appropriate, how buildings should sit on their lots, and how public infrastructure should look. If it is adopted by the city, developers would have to live by it.

Mr. O'Connor said he wants the work done quickly so a city representative can take it to the International Council of Shopping Centers convention, which starts May 21 in Las Vegas. "Timing might be everything," he said.

He has not decided whether to personally attend the convention.

Mr. O'Connor said he's still in the process of chosing a new name for the Fifth-Forbes corridor, and has started calling it "Fifth-Market or Diamond Market."

The keys to spurring development there, he said, are opening opportunities up to local developers and not insisting on one, large, government-driven development.



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

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06104/682180-53.stm

Mayor seeks 'clear vision' for Fifth-Forbes retail corridor
O'Connor plunges into planning for Downtown
Friday, April 14, 2006

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



That almost-triangular building at the corner of Liberty Avenue and Market Square might be a goner.


Bill Wade, Post-Gazette
Don Carter, president of Urban Design Associates, left, and Mayor Bob O'Connor talk in Market Square yesterday about plans for the Downtown corridor. At left in background is Mr. O'Connor's chief of staff, B.J. Leber.
Click photo for larger image.



The restaurant-heavy block bounded by Forbes Avenue, Wood Street and Market Square could become a warren of apartments, with shops at street level.

The old G.C. Murphy's on Forbes, though historic, may be history.

Those were some of the initial ideas Mayor Bob O'Connor and architect Don Carter bandied about yesterday at a walk-and-talk meeting in sunny Market Square that kicked off a five-week sprint toward a new Downtown plan. With the hiring of Mr. Carter's Urban Design Associates, the mayor plunged into an enterprise that proved treacherous and fruitless for his predecessor.

"That square should be green space," he said, pointing across Fifth Avenue to a roughly triangular block that runs to Liberty Avenue with one remaining business, a Chinese restaurant. "Tear that down."

Gesturing at the lunchtime crowds, he said, "Look at this place now. I want it to be that way at 6 at night [and] Saturday afternoons."

So did Mayor Tom Murphy in 1998, when he detailed plans to give Downtown's steadily deteriorating shopping strip to an out-of-town developer. Mr. O'Connor, then a councilman and mayoral rival, joined that plan's critics.

Mr. Murphy's plan later collapsed. The new mayor's approach is different, but not controversy-proof.

Rather than one developer, he's embracing efforts by PNC Financial Services Group, Washington County-based Millcraft Industries, and maybe Washington, D.C.-based Madison Marquette to bite off smaller chunks.

In 1998, he said yesterday, "You didn't have PNC. You didn't have [Millcraft owner Jack] Piatt. Now you have more of the pieces coming together."

He doesn't want mass demolition, though there may be some, possibly including the G.C. Murphy's building.

Would he use eminent domain to seize private property, as Mr. Murphy considered? "I don't think," Mr. O'Connor said. "Hopefully, that's not necessary. ... I think that's a last resort."

Much of the property in the area is already owned by the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority or PNC.

The URA and the private Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership will split the cost of Mr. Carter's fee of around $35,000.

Partnership CEO Michael Edwards said he wants "a clear vision" that unites the development already occurring Downtown, and gives potential new investors the lay of the land.

Mr. Carter said he'll start by assembling prior plans for the area and gathering data. In May, he'll conduct a multi-day brainstorming session at which developers, city agencies, City Council members and Downtown organizations would reach consensus on which blocks should be retail versus residential, how building designs should mesh, and how sidewalks and lighting should look.

"We can invest, can do what it takes," the mayor said of the infrastructure work.

If the resulting plan is adopted by the city, developers would have to live by it.

"We think the fact that the mayor is engaged in finding a solution for revitalizing Downtown is a very positive development," said Gary Saulson, PNC's director of corporate real estate. He said the company has designed its proposed office/retail/hotel/condominium complex set for Fifth Avenue, and doesn't expect to make big changes.

Mr. O'Connor said he wants the plan done quickly so a city representative can take it to the International Council of Shopping Centers convention, which starts May 21 in Las Vegas. "Timing might be everything," he said.

Mr. Carter outlined his guiding principals.

"Downtown housing is such a driver now throughout the country," he said. "How do we incorporate hundreds of housing units into this development?"

He said he wants to improve the flow of people through the city's "pearls on a string," including PNC Park, the Cultural District and Market Square. Fifth Avenue should return to its roots as a shopping hot spot, he said.

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation President Arthur Ziegler, a critic of Mr. Murphy's plan, said he likes the new mayor's approach so far.

"We are engaged and encouraged, and looking forward to positive, open-market development," he said. He said he hoped most of the buildings in the block bounded by Forbes, Wood, Fifth and Market Square could be preserved, including G.C. Murphy's.

Downtown merchants and shoppers reacted cautiously.

Mr. Murphy "wanted to kick the little guys out," said Victor Musgrove, owner of V.I.P. Styles on Forbes. "I don't think that needs to happen."

Mr. Carter said existing retailers are "part of the solution."

"He needs to change the parking situation," said Jerome Wilson, a former Downtown resident who moved to Penn Hills, and shopped yesterday at Mo Gear. "How come the meters only get you seven minutes for a quarter?"

The development would include some new parking, but not acres of it, said Mr. Carter.

Scott Zerbe, owner of Alvin's Jewelry Shop, said he'd heard 20 years of redevelopment talk. "It's too late for the little guys," he said. "They've depleted the street for so long."


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

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

[UrbaniDesDev]

There are many of the small business that are present in the area are not a good match with the type of development that is being proposed there. Low-end jewelry stores, specializing in "stupid gold", baggy pant sports gear stores, cheap wig stores and discount dollar stores will probably be replaced with more high end type retailers.

The corner of Liberty and Market Streets I understood as being a part of the PNC development. I had hoped, due to its limting size, would become a parklet, perhaps with an info kiosk situated on it.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/20051221_WAP_PNCplazasite_230.jpg

He doesn't want mass demolition, though there may be some, possibly including the G.C. Murphy's building.

I hoped the GC Murphy building will be preserved. I also understood that the group from DC, Madison Marquette, planned to use it in it's development and not have it removed. It gives a good referance to the pedestrian scale that should be further developed.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/MarketSquareForbes.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/ForbesAboveMarket.jpg
Now with the intense interest in downtown it will be even more important to acknowledge the importance the areas existing building. Its the existing buildings that will give the downtown it's real urban flavor and with the popularity and success of downtown will now be under attack and we will be told they are not needed or wanted as a part of downtown's future.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/CitySpires.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/MarketSquare.jpg

These 4 historic buildings on Fourth Avenue, I always felt, would be great for developing a mass concentration of residential reuse and would have a great impact on the Market Square area. They are, in my opinion, a great group. a great opportunity to develope Park Avenue type residences in Pittsburgh.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/FourthAvenue2.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/FourthAvenue.jpg
There presance from Market Square is a key to redevelopment.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/FourthFifthAvenues.jpg

I question the use of Don Carter and UDA as consultants. They have tended toward very suburban style solutions.

[PA Pride]

Urbandesdevi: I know what you are trying to say about the "human scale" needed for downtown and the market square area, but I think alot of those rundown 3-5 story buildings have no more use in the several blocks surrounding the square..... I used to eat lunch on the 15th floor of PNC 1 building and look around downtown, and mostly downtown is a nice mix of midrise to highrise buildings with some great parks thrown in (Mellon square; katz plaza; market square) but the area between Market square and fifth and also from market square to smithfield st is just mostly lowrise, rundown, taken-up-room buildings and I believe a large percentage of them should be torn down and that area should be re-oriented for higher density with mixed use buildings, tree lined streets if possible, but new buildings should be closer to the size of that magnificent cluster you showed above ^. Thos buildings are tall, ornate and I think new buildings should match the scale of those closer than the size of the Murphy building.

Pittsburgh has one of the smallest downtown's in the country; We also have one of the densest which is a huge advatage for our city that some other rust belt cities don't have which is gonna make it harder for some of them to get their downtown areas popular again because shit is just spread out and not as "happenin" as our downtown has the potential to be.. We really need to dense up what little space our goldent triangle doesn't already have skyscrapers or large buildings on currently.

I believe the buildings directly in Market Square such as the primanti building and the Oyster House building... all those definitely need to stay.. But alot of the other structures such as the old NRM store and the McDonalds... They need to come down and have 8-30 story residential and ideally mixed use so we get grocery stores; deli's/specialty food shops; corner boutiques; funky coffee and cafe shoppes; but make sure there is alos some office space and plenty of residential apartments and condos being piled on top of all of this so we have the population density needed to keep the area vibrant and supporting the existing businesses and future businesses... The great potential for downtown Pittsburgh is once we start having a 24 hour, sizable downtown population, visitors and suburbanites and out of towners will see and feel the energy that our downtown emits and that will only fuel momentum and exitement for Pittsburgh as a city...

I get excited just thinking about it...

Anyway, my point is; Dense up downtown as much as possible cause there is not very much extra space and lots to build on downtown so capitalze as much as possible on what we do have; Renovate all those great old bank buildings like you said , on Fourth street and other surrounding streets; and let's get downtown jumping again like this was the 1930's or 40's!!!!

[PA Pride]

Oh, one more thing Urbandesdevi: I love you bro, but how about resizeing those downtown shots you keep posting... I have a high resolution on my computer and I still have to step back 4 ft away from my screen to see these giant pics you post... Imagine what it's like for some of the other forumers trying to read and look at Pgh, with lesser resolution monitors? I know they are struggling... Just a suggestion... Thanks!

[UrbaniDesDev]

Thanks PA Pride. I realized after this last post the pics were oversized.

The buildings I'm particularly concerned with preserving are between Fifth and Forbes and Market Square and Wood Street. That includes the GC Murphy building. That does not include the old McDs and the old NRM, being across Forbes Avenue. Development can be integrated with the old, not always replacing it.

The block bounded by Forbes and Fourth Avenues and Market Square and Wood Street, I think should be developed as a 'Mega-Block". This would include the 4 historic taller towers on Fourth, shown above. Most of the south side of Forbes, incl the McDs and NRM, would be replaced and redeveloped to provide the necessary parking and a development sympathetic to those towers. Highlighting and augmenting these towers.

I suppose my concern is that we do not "throw out the baby with the bath water" and that we proceed with caution. The success of downtown will now attract more and more developers. I'd hate to see a free for all happen removing what makes the downtown unique.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06107/682661-192.stm

Editorial: The place to be / On many fronts, Downtown is turning around
Monday, April 17, 2006

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A growing, pulsating and revitalized Downtown seems headed for Pittsburgh's not-too-distant future.

Following the collapse six years ago of the city's single-developer, master renovation plan, small entrepreneurs, big business, a private university and city government are carving out manageable chunks of the Golden Triangle to raze, build and transform. In doing so, they're creating a patchwork of commercial and residential projects that, piece by piece, will bring a desperately needed social and economic liveliness to Downtown, maybe even after dark and on weekends.

By year's end, Millcraft Industries, Inc. -- the company behind the $40 million redevelopment of the former Lazarus-Macy's store into retail and office space and luxury condominiums and townhomes -- plans to open an upscale, European-style gourmet market-delicatessen on the ground floor featuring freshly prepared foods from soup to sushi, DeLallo Italian Foods and an exclusive line of Omaha steak products.

Last week Mayor Bob O'Connor announced the hiring of Urban Design Associates architect Don Carter to develop a master plan for Downtown's retail corridor in five weeks time that will consider the best use of existing lots, green space, lighting, parking and try to ensure that current and future developments will mesh well.

Add to this PNC Financial's previously announced $170 million office-hotel-condo project, Point Park University's expansion and other independent residential developments -- and slowly but surely the city will have a critical mass of Downtown inhabitants.

The more people who live Downtown, the greater the demand for businesses like gourmet groceries and entertainment venues. (Now, if only someone could build condominiums in the $80,000 to $120,000 range for the middle-class folks.)

Soon enough, it won't be the same old Dahntahn. Thanks to believers in Pittsburgh in the public and private sector, the neighborhood is growing and going upscale, and that can only buoy the Golden Triangle's lifeblood and nightlife. It's only a matter of time before Downtown becomes the place to be.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06107/682729-65.stm

Pittsburgh's newest neighborhood ... and the week in review
Monday, April 17, 2006

It's official. Mayor Bob O'Connor proclaimed Downtown as the newest neighborhood, the 89th in the city, at a reception Tuesday that also honored Henry and Elsie Hillman.

"We're going to redd up Pittsburgh," Mr. O'Connor promised in language any real Pittsburgher could understand. His sentiments were echoed by Mr. Hillman, who accepted an award for the couple's longtime commitment to developing and revitalizing Downtown.

As a lifelong Pittsburgher, Mr. Hillman said he was impressed by much of what the city has to offer. "But I have a wish that it could be even something more," he said in pushing for "a long-range continuing program to make it one of the cleanest cities in the world."

Such ambition is on the way to being met by a new administration and the efforts of many groups, including the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and the Pittsburgh Downtown Neighborhood Association. They coordinated the evening with the Rivers Club, where the reception was held and was underwritten by Bob Fragasso of the Fragasso Group.

An initiative to develop more housing and the amenities that support residential growth is under way, with $500 million in investments at work. An off-leash dog park and grocery stores are planned so people living Downtown can have the same conveniences as other neighborhoods -- just small examples of the details that promise to transform the Golden Triangle.

The PPG ice rink built by the Hillmans for the city is another example, as is their continuing support for the arts that help to bring people from all over the region to Downtown. Their widespread philanthropy extends beyond Downtown, of course (remember when Elsie stepped forward to open the public swimming pools when the city couldn't afford to do so?), but those applauding their generosity were united in appreciating their efforts in the 'hood.

The powerhouse crowd of movers and shakers at the reception included County Executive Dan Onorato, PNC president Sy Holzer, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust president Kevin McMahon and Trust real estate head Dave DeSimone, PDNA board chair J.D. Fogarty and executive director John Valentine, PDP head Michael Edwards, Kim Lopez of the Rivers Club, David Bishop, Joe Lagana from Neighbors in the Strip, the Hillman Foundation's Ron Wertz and Dave Roger, Pam Golden from the Allegheny Conference, Millcraft's Lucas and Jack Piatt, Lynn Popash, Susan Golomb, David Malone, Larrimor's Tom Michael, Molly and Peter Blasier, U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, Peter Sukernik, Damien Soffer and Krista Foster from the Soffer Organization, the R.K. Mellon Foundation's Mike Watson, Betsy and Mike Marcu, Eric Springer, state Rep. Dan Frankel, Dutch McDonald, Holly Brubach, Scott Bergstein, Dr. Bill and Cindy Swartz, Three Rivers Arts Festival's Elizabeth Reiss, Pittsburgh Roars' Marguerite Jarrett and many more.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060417AO_seen1BYLIZ_450.jpg
Honorees Elsie and Henry Hillman


http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060417AO_seen4BYLIZ_450.jpg
John Valentine of Pittsburgh Downtown Neighborhood Association and Kim Lopez of the Rivers Club

[Evergrey]

UrbaniDesDev: Do you have any updates on these 48 townhouses to be built by Sota on the south end 18th St. on the South Side? There was an article on this development last May... and then today a PG article about suburbanites moving back to the city featured this rendering. I was wondering if anything has been completed yet... or if work has started.-

http://www.post-gazette.com/images3/20050531loc_ssidethomes_450.jpg

[Grego43]

Thanks for all the great information. As a Pittsburgh native who's lived in Chicago, NYC, and now South Florida (I'll always be a Pittsburgher), I'm thrilled to see the city gaining so much traction. It's such good news to see all the residential development taking shape...LONG OVERDUE! The architecture is fresh & exciting for the most part and it will make a great mark on the city.

Please folks, don't start calling this lastest boom yet another Renaissance. That implies rebirth, for which you must have a death or decline. I hear people discuss the "latest renaissance" and it really is a negative! I wish people would just see it as part of the normal cycle for a growing, organic, exciting city.

Speaking of growing, I rarely read anything positive about the Mon-Fayette, Southern Beltway combination. Take a look at similarly-sized cities; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Charlotte, Indianapolis, etc., with [I]extensive, well-planned [I]expressway systems. Then look at the business climate/population gains in those cities/suburbs...its not too late to catch up and the Mon-Fay, S. Beltway will go a long way to making the region more attractive to business. While I'm mouthing off...I believe the North Shore Connector is a HUGE waste...PAT went for the glam, high profile project instead of the practical. They should have gone to Oakland/East End where the population density would provide for many, many more boardings. I know the official story is the NSC will allow eventual airport service...but does anyone really believe that will ever come to be? Sorry for the soap box ranting...just wanted to throw in my two cents.
:tup:

[Evergrey]

Welcome aboard, Grego43! Don't worry about the rant... we encourage these types of discussion here! Be sure to check out the Northeastern subforum for more news on the great things going on in Pittsburgh.

While the Mon-Fayette project leaves opinions divided, I think just about everyone here agrees that the North Shore Connector plan is a bit misguided. Though I'm glad to see any extension of the light rail system, an Eastern Corridor extension would have been infinitely more useful. The proposed airport connection isn't nearly as important in my opinion... as linking the city neighborhoods.

[Grego43]

Thanks for the welcome, Evergrey.

I agree, linking city neighborhoods is probably most important and yields the greatest ridership, though not as vanity driven as the north shore or the airport routes. Portland, OR has a LRT system that manages to cover all the bases, but alas, no sexy downtown subway. ;)

[UrbaniDesDev]

Welcome Grego43. There is much controversy over the Mon-Fayette Expressway. There is a lot of evidence that a new freeway actually pulls business from the city to the "new" suburbs. but anyway.... There seems to be a lot of talk of a Second Avenue LRT line headin down the Mon-Valley. Though this would be great, I'm convinced this will put an end to any chance of a real neighborhood line going to Oakland. I just don't see the money available for doing both or for them to exist together. The proposed Second Avenue line shoots out of the city with no stops in the city neighborhoods but everyone is so anxious to have something move forward. Again, anyway...

And you're right, I don't think "Renaissance" is the right word for what's happening here. I see it as just finally turning a corner and not a trend at all, but simply is becoming the norm here. Almost all of the city neighborhoods have a major buzz going on and they all seem to be moving ahead with consistent momentum. What is really nice is all the "Renaissance" developments of the past fit in, like pieces of a great puzzle. It all just seems to be falling into place here. It will just be a matter of time that the rest of the country will see the progressive moves made here and the long standing image of Pittsburgh will slowly be replaced with what the reality is here.

I moved here from So Florida and before that NYC. A lot of bang for the buck here. You need to come back. That seems to be a trend also! ;)

Evergrey, I will surely check that out the situation @ S. 18. I know there have been continuous plans for that area due to the success of the town-houses that have been built there.

[Evergrey]

Consol Energy is moving from Upper St. Clair to new digs at Southpointe... at least they didn't move to West Virginia. They plan to create 476 new high-paying jobs.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/pmupdate/s_444986.html

Consol to build new HQ in Washington County

By Tribune-Review
Tuesday, April 18, 2006


Consol Energy Inc. is planning to build a new corporate campus that will bring 476 new, high-paying jobs to Washington County, Gov. Ed Rendell announced today during a visit to the region.
The company, now based in Upper St. Clair, will get state money in excess of $1.6 million toward the project. Consol had said early this year it was looking at sites for a new headquarters, including the Southpointe II development in Cecil.

About 400 to 450 workers are based at the current headquarters on Route 19, across from South Hills Village mall, and Consol now has 2,700 workers statewide. The new jobs are a variety of professional positions, including miners, supervisors and trainees.

Last July, Consol sold the Upper St. Clair building and took a long-term lease. Southpointe II is a mixed-use development planned on the old Western Center property, which sits next to the Southpointe business park. Southpointe is home to more than 140 companies, and 6,000 workers.

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06109/683097-53.stm

Outside experts to evaluate Trust's riverfront project
Wednesday, April 19, 2006

By Tim McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Six architecture experts from outside the city will help review the final proposals for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's residential development on the Allegheny River, Downtown.

The outside experts are Michael Banner, president of nonprofit developers Los Angeles LDC; Robert Campbell, architect and Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for the Boston Globe; Mario Cucinella, environmental architect based in Paris and Bologna; Edward A. Feiner, former chief architect, U.S. General Services Administration; Harvey Lichtenstein, chairman, Brooklyn Academy of Music LDC; and Fernando Romero, founder and director, Laboratory of Architecture Mexico City.

They and eight other local jury members will study three proposals for the six-acre site on Fort Duquesne Boulevard, between Seventh and Ninth streets, and recommend one to the Cultural Trust board of trustees late next month.



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

(Tim McNulty can be reached at tmcnulty@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1581. )

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

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06109/683149-53.stm

City planners OK building height variance, hear about other projects
Wednesday, April 19, 2006

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city planning commission yesterday approved a proposal to construct a nine-story, metal and glass building with an Asian design flavor at the SouthSide Works. Specifically, the commission had to allow the building to be taller than 75 feet, because the zoning for SouthSide Works restricts all but three buildings to that height.

The proposed Surety Center would be 100 feet tall. The developer, Surety Pittsburgh, and Pfaffman and Associates architects are tailoring the building, in part, as an incubator for Asian businesses. It will include space for retail and residents as well.

The design honors aspects of feng shui, said Robert Pfaffman, whose firm studied Asian buildings in preparing its designs. Feng shui is the art of knowing what goes where so that positive energy is not blocked.

Commission member Barbara Mistick, the director of the Carnegie Library system, abstained from the vote. She later said she had nothing to do with the project because Pfaffman and Associates has worked and is working with the Carnegie Library on Homewood and Hill District branches.

The commission also was briefed on two Downtown projects : PNC Financial Services Group's plans to create a park in the grassy block where the old Public Safety Building once stood, at Grant Street and Second Avenue, and Millcraft Industries' proposal to build two stories on the former Lazarus-Macy's building at 301 Fifth Ave. for condominiums.

Also at yesterday's meeting, the city Planning Department proposed rezoning from residential to commercial the block of Murray Avenue bounded by Forward Avenue, Morrowfield Avenue and Maeburn Road in Squirrel Hill to conform with commercial use.

In a proposed change on the North Side, and as part of Map Pittsburgh, a citywide updating of current land use, parcels of Allegheny Center would go from residential to commercial. The area is largely park land and institutions, but it includes several complexes of high-rise apartments and smaller condominiums. The zoning change would allow people to keep living where they are but disallow new residential development in that district.

Allegheny Center includes the Children's Museum and the National Aviary.

The commission will consider the Squirrel Hill rezoning and the Allegheny Center change in two weeks.



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

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

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06109/683171-53.stm

$269 million Downtown redevelopment plan unveiled
Wednesday, April 19, 2006

By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060419acw_plans2_450.jpg
Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette photo / Strada LLC illustration
Above is Market Square as seen today and below is an artist's rendering of a redeveloped Market Square, looking southwest toward Forbes and Fourth avenues.
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20060419ho_Forbesvillage_450.jpg

A developer showed Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor a $269 million vision for Downtown's shopping district yesterday, and asked for exclusive rights to city-controlled properties there.

In doing so, Washington County developer Millcraft Industries Inc. and its partners significantly upped the ante in the competition for Downtown real estate, saying they hope for a deal with the city by May 20.

Mr. O'Connor called their plan "very impressive. ... It's a pretty good plan, and they've brought a good team together."

That team includes Ira M. Morgan, a Squirrel Hill developer who loaned $120,000 to Mr. O'Connor's losing bids for the mayor's office and served as his campaign treasurer, and two commercial real estate brokers.

Millcraft is already working on the $52 million revamp of the former Downtown Lazarus, now Piatt Place, which is to include 180,000 square feet of office space, 50,000 square feet of stores including a food market, 25 condos and 22 rooftop townhouses. A model condo is to open next month.

Millcraft wants to add two more Downtown projects. Market Place Square would be a historically sensitive rehabilitation of the G.C. Murphy's building at Forbes Avenue and Market Square, turning it into apartments. Forbes Village would be a largely residential reworking of the block between Forbes and Fourth avenues, flanking Market Square.

In all, they would add 45,000 square feet of offices, 200,000 square feet of stores, 805 homes and $217 million in costs, above and beyond the Piatt Place project.

Lucas Piatt, Millcraft vice president of real estate, said the condominiums would "mostly" sell for $100,000 to $150,000, which is less expensive than most of the housing now under development Downtown. "We think it's time to open the market up for more affordable housing Downtown," he said.

Given the city's OK, Millcraft could start building apartments "right away," he said.

Millcraft isn't asking the city for a subsidy, nor for free property, but it does want exclusive options on 19 properties owned by the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority, he said. Given that, its marketers would take their plan to the International Council of Shopping Centers convention, which starts May 21 in Las Vegas.

"For us to be able to take these properties and market them to the retail community, in order to get the big names, we need control," Mr. Piatt said.

Brokers CB Richard Ellis and Langholz Wilson Ellis would market the properties.

"We think people view Pittsburgh as an opportunity," said Herky Pollock, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis.

"From here, we have to sit down with the [Pittsburgh] Downtown Partnership, the Cultural Trust, the URA," said Mr. O'Connor. "We will probably evaluate [Millcraft's] and one or two other options."

He said he'll consider a potentially competing plan by developer Ralph Falbo, and is open to ideas from Washington, D.C.-based Madison Marquette, which had floated a $50 million to $60 million Downtown effort. He said he hasn't heard from Madison Marquette recently.

Mr. Falbo said it would "take powers stronger than us to determine whether [his plans and Millcraft's] can be blended or done separately" and added that there's "plenty of action for everyone in Pittsburgh."

Madison Marquette has a policy of not commenting until a contract is signed.

Mr. Piatt said he was intrigued by a proposal made yesterday by City Councilman William Peduto to waive city property taxes on Downtown housing for 10 years, and on offices and hotels there for five years.

"For these properties to be ultimately extremely successful, the city has to help out in that way," Mr. Piatt said, adding that his plan doesn't count on a tax abatement.

Though other ambitious Downtown plans of the past decade have faltered, this can succeed, he said.

"The trend is Downtown, across the nation," he said. The Cultural District, South Side and office districts are doing well.

"There's one little area that just needs some TLC, and that's the Fifth and Forbes corridor."


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

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

[Evergrey]

Here's some renderings of Piatt Place from Strada LLC's website:

http://www.stradallc.com/files/piatt_place_8.jpg

http://www.stradallc.com/files/piatt_place_7.jpg

http://www.stradallc.com/files/piatt_place_6_1.jpg

Check out Piatt Place's awesome website: http://www.piattplace.com

[AaronPGH]

Insanely awesome!

[Evergrey]

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/rand0419.aspx

April 19, 2006
$20M think tank set to open in Oakland

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%208/popc-thinktank.jpg

Set to open this month in Oakland, the newly built Rand Corporation Building will provide much-needed office space for the internationally recognized, highly respected “think tank”. A privately funded organization that helps to improve U.S. national policy and decision making through research and analysis worldwide, with just 3 other major locations in the U.S., Rand selected Pittsburgh from among many other cities to expand their local presence by over 600%, thanks in large part to Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Their choice of location is solid confirmation of the enormous potential of this region, and of its transformation to a “knowledge-based” workplace.

In addition to the 200+ highly paid and skilled positions this move will create, the 114,000 s.f. building, developed by the Pittsburgh-based Elmhurst Group in partnership with local union building trades and Pentrust Real Estate Advisory Services Inc., brought $20 million of new construction to Pittsburgh.

Areas of Rand’s research activities center on such timely issues as homeland security, energy, the environment, education, health care, aging, children, transportation, defense, justice, and many others. Rand’s board is made up of 27 Trustees with international business and government experience, including Paul O’Neill who helped bring Rand to Pittsburgh.

Source: James Noland, PenTrust Real Estate Advisory Services, Inc.

[Evergrey]

Surety Center (the Asian Business complex using feng shui on the South Side) now has a website!

http://www.suretycenter.net

[Wheelingman04]

Thanks guys for keeping us updated.

[UrbaniDesDev]

Here is more on the Market Square plan. How exciting is this, and they seem to actually be happening

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

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/pittsburgh/s_445102.html

[PA Pride]

^Actually, that building in particular isn't very exciting, but with all the other downtown projects all added up, this is huge!!

[UrbaniDesDev]

No, you're right, not very exciting on it's own but I refer to the mass of interest now in downtown, also it says it will be "affordable"

I am concerned. It seems to be right against those four beauties I spoke of just days ago.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/UrbaniDesDev/FourthAvenue2.jpg

I can't imagine it jamming inhere without removing one of them
hmmmm

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06112/684244-147.stm

North Shore extension appears on track
FTA signals it will give Port Authority more cash for project
Saturday, April 22, 2006

By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Port Authority officials appear ready to move ahead with a light-rail extension to the North Shore and may have found the extra money to cover soaring, inflation-driven costs.

Clues about their intentions for the multimillion-dollar undertaking surfaced at authority board committee meetings yesterday.

Henry Nutbrown, manager of engineering-construction, said the Federal Transit Administration is ready to sign a full-funding agreement for its share of the costs; that a pre-award meeting is scheduled next week with the low bidder to bore twin tunnels beneath the Allegheny River, an indication that a contract is pending; and that the project will be submitted to Congress in June for a 60-day review, typically little more than a bureaucratic formality.

He said he expects to hear good news.

But, he cautioned, "I'm the eternal optimist. The board makes the final decision, and the board has not done that."

If all goes as Mr. Nutbrown outlined, the board is expected to approve a $156.5 million contract to launch construction at its May 26 meeting, five days before a 120-day limit expires on a joint bid by West Mifflin-based Trumbull Corp. and Japan-based Obayashi Corp.

The bid was $21.5 million over engineering estimates. But the Federal Transit Administration, reacting to unprecedented impacts on construction brought about by high energy, cement and steel costs on projects across the nation, is said to be willing to provide more money.

The last cost estimate for extending the light-rail system to the North Shore and building three stations stood at $393 million, with $314.4 million from the FTA and other federal sources. The money cannot be used for operating expenses or transferred to other capital projects.

Mr. Nutbrown refused to divulge the latest estimate or discuss how much extra federal funding the authority may receive.

"These are sensitive issues" still in various stages of negotiations and approvals, he said.

The pending contract covers about half of the civil work needed to build the 1.5-mile extension north of Gateway Center station, Downtown. It includes boring twin tunnels under the Allegheny and constructing 1,200 feet of cut-and-cover tunnel along the western side of PNC Park and a station shell there.

Mr. Nutbrown said the project has to be run past Congress again because of changes that included dropping a spur from Steel Plaza station to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and "right-sizing" on the North Shore Connector to bring costs closer to budget.

The authority rejected a first round of bids for the twin tunnels last September as too high. The contract was repackaged, but the bids opened in February also exceeded budget.

On May 26, the board can award the $156.5 million contract "conditionally," with an understanding that the Federal Transit Administration will come through with approvals and funding as anticipated. Another option is to get the low bidder to agree to an extension, not likely given rapid inflationary increases in the construction industry.

While twin tunnels and the North Shore alignment have triggered some criticism, proponents of the project argue it is a key to continuing development and interest in the North Shore and tying it to Downtown, similar to how the T has helped shape Station Square.


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

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

[Evergrey]

Sellers of South Side houses find the market is theirs for the asking
Fast-rising values make area the place to be
Pittsburgh Business Times - April 21, 2006by Robert Sandler
Would you pay $174,900 to live on an alley behind a sports bar and a funeral home? That would be more than a threefold increase over its sale price just six years ago.

In the Pittsburgh market in general, housing values don't rise more than 2 percent to 4 percent per year, real estate agents say. But houses like that example on Wrights Way are common on the South Side, where some sell for six or seven times as much as their previous owner paid.

"It's the hot area in town attracting that 20-, 30- and maybe 40-something crowd that can walk out their door into some nightlife, some activity and what's going on in their city," said Ted Knowlton, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Pittsburgh.

The inexpensive housing stock and aging population have made many of the homes easy for investors to acquire and make some easy money.

"There's a lot of older people that are moving out or passing away or what have you, so a lot of these older homes are getting bought up by investors who are renting them for a profit," said Bart Hardy of O'Hara-based Howard Hanna Real Estate Services Inc.

The fast-rising values have attracted investors such as Lance Harrell to buy an old run-down house cheap, fix it up and sell it quickly for a substantial profit. Harrell flips houses throughout the area, but says South Side is the best place to make a quick profit of $40,000 or 50,000.

"You can sell it for a lot more on the South Side," Harrell said. "The market is a lot stronger, so houses sell a lot faster."

A property with off-street parking is "like gold in the South Side," he said. "That's the big selling point. You can probably ask another $15,000 for it."

Jason Moots, an agent for Coldwell Banker who also sometimes buys and flips houses, said prices are rising so fast on the South Side that it's not so easy to make a profit anymore.

"The South Side's a great place to do it," he said. "The problem is, a year or two ago, you could pick up properties cheap down there. Nowadays, it's hard to find a dump for under $100,000."

Even the South Side Slopes, which once had been thought of as unsafe or less desirable than the flats, are gaining popularity.

"People are starting to move up the hill a little bit because the prices have been a little more reasonable," said Catherine McConnell, an agent with Coldwell Banker.

McConnell is listing a house at 2320 Primrose St. in the Slopes for $249,000. If it were in the Flats, she says, she could get another $50,000 for it.

"There are some people that don't want to climb up steep streets," she said. "Other people find it's worth it because the view is pretty magical."

Living in the steep slopes can be cost-effective and provide health benefits, too, McConnell noted: "Who needs a Stairmaster in their bedroom if you've got stairs to walk up and down to get to your house?"

But the Slopes are much more affordable for the general population and usually still close to the nightlife and other amenities of East Carson Street.

"The Flats are becoming somewhat unreachable for a number of buyers," said John Adair of Coldwell Banker. "People are migrating up the hill just because it's still a very convenient location and it's close to the schools."

Property values are rising slowly in close-in South Hills neighborhoods. But the South Side Slopes, especially on Mission and Pius streets, has gained value, he said.

"Appreciation is 1 percent in Beechview or Brookline or other parts of Mount Washington," Adair said. "But South Side is just mind-boggling."

WHAT'S NEXT?

Investors are speculating on what will be the next neighborhood to take off as South Side did. Many are focused on Mexican War Streets, Regent Square and Lawrenceville's burgeoning arts district.

"You're seeing developers who, South Side got too expensive for them, went to Lawrenceville and made new housing, both loft and condo style, and are rehabbing old row houses just like they did on South Side," Knowlton said. "Prices are starting to climb, particularly along Butler Street."

The other area that speculators are betting on spreads out from the new Children's Hospital under construction on Penn Avenue into Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Friendship and Garfield.

"There's speculation of in two years what that will be when Children's opens up," Hardy said. "Penn Avenue prices have climbed because of speculators and people getting set up for new businesses (in) that whole area around the hospital."

Moots agreed that the blocks closest to the hospital, such as Main Street and 43rd Street, are popular for speculators.

"Those immediate streets near the hospital, a lot of people are fixing those up, and speculating with the hospital that a nurse or doctor will want them," Moots said.

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

[Evergrey]

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/04/24/focus3.html?t=printable

Existing residents in Downtown units optimistic about new construction
Pittsburgh Business Times - April 21, 2006by Robert Sandler
In the next year, hundreds more people will move into buildings now under construction in Marty Nahemow's neighborhood, Downtown.

Nahemow, who lives in Gateway Towers, is looking forward to the new neighbors, hoping they bring more restaurants and businesses to the area. And while he suspects that all the new construction will make it harder to sell the condominiums in his 38-year-old building, after a year or two, he expects sales will pick up, values will rise and the entire area will improve.

"There's no question that when new stuff appears, it's competition," he said. "The value of property in this building is geared to the quality of Downtown living, and I think we will have no problem remaining a premium building in Downtown."

New housing is under construction all over Downtown, including 82 new condominiums at 151 Fort Pitt Blvd., 61 condos carved out of an old office building at 300 Fourth Ave., and 151 new apartments at 100 Seventh St. Smaller numbers of apartments and condominiums also are in the works in the Cultural District and in the former Lazarus-Macy's building.

Even with about 400 new units preparing to open in the coming year, the residents of Downtown's existing buildings aren't worried about the new competition; they're optimistic about what the change will mean for their properties.

"When everything is said and done, this will still be the best building in town," said Nahemow, 74. "We have the location nobody can compete with. I can sit at my dining room table and look at Mount Washington, the rivers, the South Side (and Point State Park)."

Mary Ann Powers-Sherrin, property manager of the Penn Garrison Apartments, which when it opened in 2001 was the first major new residential project Downtown in decades, is equally confident that her building will be in good shape for years to come.

"We are so excited to see other competition coming into the area," Powers-Sherrin said. "... We're looking for everyone else to have as much success as we have."

While the Penn Garrison took about a year to get fully leased, she said, it's been mostly full since then. Today, the building is 99 percent occupied.

The new competition shouldn't affect rental rates, she said, which are between $850 and $3,000 per month for units ranging from 636 to 2,700 square feet.

"Right now, our rates are comparable to everyone else, and I see our rates being comparative to everyone else's," she said.

The Tower at Chatham Center, built as an apartment building in the 1960s and converted to condominiums in the 1980s, also is expecting that increased competition will lead to more success for everyone.

"I think that any new residential construction can only help the existing residences," said Beth Reed, building manager of The Tower at Chatham Center.

"As there's more residential property Downtown, then the amenities that go with it will come," she said. "We see it all as a positive thing."

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

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http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/04/24/focus4.html?t=printable

Downtown's changing demographics
City living appeals to select, but growing, few
Pittsburgh Business Times - April 21, 2006by Tim Schooley
Holly Brubach can still feel the financial vertigo of stepping out of the New York City real estate market into the value decompression of Pittsburgh.

It's a free fall from a height of $1,000 a square foot there to here, where a grand a month can get you a fairly luxurious apartment.

"I was so stunned by the difference between real estate prices here and in New York, said Brubach, a Shaler native.

In a city still struggling to stay out of bankruptcy, with a double-digit office vacancy and exorbitant parking taxes, there are plenty of people in town asking the same basic questions:

Who are these people who are going to move Downtown?

After decades of suburban development siphoning the life from their urban cores, such queries could prove to be questions of what it means to be a city in a new century.

For Downtown Living promoters, Brubach represents an ideal answer to that question: an accomplished, well-known author and executive at the top of her profession who can live anywhere and has.

After an international career as a journalist that led her to live in Paris and Milan along with New York, Brubach, 51, decided to buy the Granite building Downtown late last year, with plans to move to Downtown Pittsburgh.

An ornate Richardson-style, seven-story office building on Sixth Avenue, the Granite building Downtown cost her about $925,000, according to county records. At the same time, she is working to sell her 3,000-square-foot New York loft for $3.1 million.

She expects to invest $3.5 million to convert the building and move in later this year, selling the remaining lofts to others.

"There are some people who've told me I'm crazy for doing this," she said, noting those people are more likely to be from here than from New York.

With Brubach just one example, the established Downtown population of a few thousand suggests that the restless suburbanite is not the lead candidate.

A Carnegie Mellon University study called the Market for Housing in Downtown Pittsburgh demonstrated that only 30 percent of Downtown residents came from the suburbs. Instead, 38 percent of the residents who lived Downtown came from outside the region, with the remaining 32 percent moving Downtown from elsewhere in the city.

That population is a mix mostly of young, single professionals and older empty nesters.

For Rita Caputo-Formhals, a broker who specializes in urban loft sales for Downtown-based we do property management, the skepticism about Downtown living is frustrating because she said the Downtown residential market has never been fully served.

"The people who are educated to want that type of lifestyle are in the city, but they're not Downtown because the product has never been there," said Caputo-Formhals.

Caputo-Formhals said she has demand from clients right now that she has difficulty serving, with half her calls coming from people who want to live Downtown.

Against the current resident profile, Caputo-Formhals expects the Downtown resident to change in complexion in the future. "Most of them are suburbanites," she said. "They're dumping the big houses in Mount Lebanon and coming into town."

tschooley@bizjournals.com | (412) 481-6397 x244

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http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/04/24/focus5.html?t=printable

Developers say Mount Washington condos will satiate building demand
Work on luxury condos to start this summer
Pittsburgh Business Times - April 21, 2006by Robert Sandler
Sometimes good things do come to those who wait. Even if those people aren't waiting by choice.

After years of delay, developers are preparing to break ground this summer on three separate luxury condominium projects on Mount Washington, together building about 60 units, all of which will sell for more than a half-million dollars.

Since 2002, developers Craig Cozza and Dan DiPardo have been fighting for their separate projects, getting the proper zoning and defending lawsuits from nearby residents. Now that they've won the battles and are in the process of getting their permits, other high-end projects have gotten under way around town, and the market is waiting for their buildings, Cozza said.

"I think there's such a pent-up demand for Mount Washington, we feel great about it," Cozza said. "The market's come to us now. We were struggling with the comparables before. It's actually worked out well."

Both developers pointed to the success of sales at other new condo buildings including 151 FirstSide, Downtown, and The Metropolitan Shadyside. Those buildings are bringing in sales at between $300 and $340 per square foot, they said. That has told Cozza and DiPardo where they can price their Mount Washington projects.

"Hopefully, we can bring our numbers in below that," DiPardo said. "If we do our homework and build them right, we could be very competitive and give you the Mount Washington view."

DiPardo expects prices on the 10 condos in his building to start at $500,000 and go up.

Cozza says his two buildings, the Vici and Bella Vista, will be the first two buildings over 40-feet tall on Mount Washington since the Trimont was built in the 1980s. At about 76-feet tall, the Vici will be have 14 condos that start at about $900,000. The nearby 100-foot-tall Bella Vista will have 37 condos priced as low as $525,000.

The name Vici is Italian for victory, which Cozza says celebrates the Pittsburgh Steelers' recent Super Bowl win, Bob O'Connor's win last November as mayor and his winning approval of all necessary zoning permits for the project. The Bella Vista name has been a source of such controversy during the legal battle that Cozza is trying to come up with a new name.

"I'd rather be open in the building and finished now, but it has worked somewhat to our advantage," Cozza said.

"Before, we were creating the market, we were going to be the ones out front. Now we're actually seeing that it does happen with projects that really aren't that far ahead of ours."

Cozza said he expected all three projects would work well together, offering different city views, different amenities and slightly different price points.

There's plenty of pent-up demand for condos on Mount Washington, DiPardo agreed.

"I don't think you can call this a zero-sum game," DiPardo said. "The fact that he's building something is great. It all depends on what you're looking for."

Both developers were impressed at the high prices that units in all three buildings are expected to fetch.

"I still shake my head," DiPardo said. "Where's this money coming from in Pittsburgh?"

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

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http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/04/24/focus6.html?t=printable

FirstSide developers find raising condo prices doesn't deter buyers
Prices have gone up an average of 26 percent
Pittsburgh Business Times - April 21, 2006by Robert Sandler
Living Downtown is proving to be far more popular than even some of its biggest supporters thought.

The 82 condominiums under construction at 151 FirstSide have been so popular that the developers have raised prices five times in the year the sales office has been open. While prices at most new condominium buildings typically increase 10 percent or 15 percent during construction, prices at 151 FirstSide have gone up by an average of 26 percent.

"We've raised them, but not necessarily equally across the board, so that the increases have reflected the market and the market's preference for the units," said Carole Clifford, a Coldwell Banker Pittsburgh agent who leads the 151 FirstSide sales office.

A person who bought the smallest one-bedroom condominium with a view of Downtown when sales started in March 2005 would have paid $188,000. Almost all of those small units with city views have sold.

The least expensive unit still available costs $290,000, while it originally was listed below $260,000, Clifford said. The penthouses, which started at $1.4 million, are now asking $1.8 million, she said.

And the steel has barely come out of the ground.

Developers expect that with any new condominium construction, prices will increase as time passes. Some of that is due to higher prices of materials, but much of it is because of demand. As the building rises out of the ground, the theory goes, more people will see it as a potential home and not a construction site.

Buyers also will pay more because there are fewer units available -- "kind of like the market economy," Clifford said.

But the price increases on 151 FirstSide, especially for the lowest-priced units, have exceeded all expectations.

Clifford, a veteran residential real estate agent Downtown, said she's seen housing prices increase that fast one other time.

"About five years ago, right around the time PNC Park was being built, values at Gateway Towers shot up 37 percent almost literally as they broke ground," she said. "If you look at that experience and what we're seeing now, it seems that people need to be reminded that there's a residential neighborhood called Downtown Pittsburgh."

The FirstSide building, developed by O'Hara-based Zambrano Corp., Strip District-based EQA Landmark Properties and Downtown-based Ralph A. Falbo Inc., is expected to welcome its first residents in late spring or early summer of 2007.

"To have gone through the winter (and) had the kind of sales we had, we're elated," Ralph Falbo said. He said he expects sales to increase even more when the building's structural steel comes out of the ground in late May or early June.

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

[AaronPGH]

Sellers of South Side houses find the market is theirs for the asking
Fast-rising values make area the place to be
Pittsburgh Business Times - April 21, 2006by Robert Sandler
Would you pay $174,900 to live on an alley behind a sports bar and a funeral home? That would be more than a threefold increase over its sale price just six years ago.

In the Pittsburgh market in general, housing values don't rise more than 2 percent to 4 percent per year, real estate agents say. But houses like that example on Wrights Way are common on the South Side, where some sell for six or seven times as much as their previous owner paid.

No fucking way! That's my neighbor's house they're talking about! Wrights Way baby. I cashed in before it got so hot. :banana:

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

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%209/DowntownTheEncoreLiving1.jpg

April 26, 2006
The Encore's 151 units now getting first tenants
This past weekend the Encore on 7th opened its doors to its first tenants. Three tenants have moved in with several more to follow in coming weeks.


The largest new construction rental project in downtown in several decades, the Encore is part of a wave of new residential projects planned or under construction in that area. It is the second in a series of anticipated housing projects sponsored by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust which assembled the land for the project, decided on the programmatic use of the site and managed a competitive process to select Lincoln Property Company as the developer of the project.

The $40 million project by Lincoln Property Company features 151 units ranging in size from an 830 square foot one-bedroom apartment to a 2,600 square foot penthouse.



Site amenities include a fitness center, private terrace and resident lounge. Each unit features nine-foot ceilings, in-suite washer and dryer, custom designed kitchens with cherry and maple cabinetry, granite counters, walk-in closets, and balconies with scenic views. Parking is available through the Theatre Square garage.

The project is financed by the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh , Bank of Amerca and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

"We are excited that we are able to complete this project in one of the most dynamic neighborhoods in the city", said Kevin Keane, senior vice president of the Lincoln Property Company.


For leasing information and pricing, call the Encore on 7th’s management office at 412-454-0800.


Source: Lincoln Property Company

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

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/Dev%20News/Issue%209/highlandparkremodels02.jpg

April 26, 2006
Highland Park CDC sells two houses as part of its Mellon Street redevelopment strategy
The Highland Park Community Development Corporation, in conjunction with East Liberty Development Inc., will close on the sale of two houses this week as part of its $2.5 million transformation of the 800 block of Mellon Street in Highland Park.


“This location is of critical importance for the Highland Park and East Liberty communities," said Ernie Hogan, director of real estate for ELDI. "It’s part of an overall strategy to develop 200 for-sale housing units in the area.”


The Mellon Street strategy includes the renovation of four houses and one apartment building on the block. The two properties under agreement, at 807 and 817 Liberty Avenue, are historically significant Queen Anne style houses. Selling for $225,000 and $300,000, respectively, each house features three bedrooms, one and a half baths and an optional finished third floor.


Project financing has come from a variety of sources, including the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, Citizen's Bank and Senator Jim Ferlo’s office.


Additionally, the project received a $60,000 grant for the Restore America program, sponsored by HGTV and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The houses will be featured on HGTV’s Restore America program in July.


The other two houses at 813 Mellon and 815 Mellon are offered for sale by Wendy Bott of Coldwell Banker Shadyside office. For more information, please call 412-363-4000.



Source: Ernie Hogan, director of residential real estate, East Liberty Development Inc.

[Wheelingman04]

Downtown condo development is really taking off like it is in Cincinnati. I am proud of Pittsburgh. It is keeping up with urban trends.

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Here's a picture of the AWESOME Market House Lofts above that Giant Eagle in Shadyside... from Pop City!

http://www.popcitymedia.com/galleries/Default/shadyside01.jpg

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06118/685819-53.stm

Mayor's search for Fifth-Forbes developer is winding down
Friday, April 28, 2006

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor is entering the final leg of his search for a developer to rejuvenate the downtrodden Fifth and Forbes retail corridor Downtown.

In an interview yesterday, Mr. O'Connor said he hopes to make a selection in two to three weeks, after completing meetings with one or two more developers who have expressed interest in the work.

"We want to make sure that we have not only the best plan but the developer who can deliver," he said.

Next week, Mr. O'Connor plans to meet with Ralph Falbo to discuss his vision for the Fifth and Forbes avenues corridor.

Mr. Falbo, who is developing the 151 First Side condominium tower on Fort Pitt Boulevard, pitched plans in February for $75 million to $100 million in redevelopment, including construction of an 18- to 20-story residential building bordering Forbes and Fourth avenues. He also proposed reusing the old G.C. Murphy's store for residential and retail.

The city also is trying to arrange a meeting with Washington, D.C.-based developer Madison Marquette, which has worked with the private Pittsburgh Task Force on a $50 million to $60 million retail and residential plan for lower Fifth Avenue involving Murphy's and other city-owned structures in the corridor.

Mr. O'Connor has been uneasy, however, about the high public subsidies -- $24 million -- the developer originally sought for the project and refused to give the firm exclusive rights to develop the city-owned buildings in February.

While there's some talk that Madison Marquette's interest in the corridor has waned, Jerome Dettore, city Urban Redevelopment Authority executive director, said he is talking to the firm about possible dates for a presentation to the mayor.

"They have not confirmed that they're going to do it yet, but we talked about dates and I assume they're putting together their team or strategy," he said. "They are talking to me, which tells me that they have some level of interest."

Mr. O'Connor already has received a proposal from Washington County developer Millcraft Industries Inc. for $217 million in redevelopment that would involve 45,000 square feet of offices, 200,000 square feet of stores, and 805 residences. Millcraft is spending $52 million to turn the former Lazarus-Macy's department store into a retail, residential and office complex.

Besides Mr. Falbo, Madison Marquette and Millcraft, Mr. O'Connor said there could be "one or two others" with an interest in making a pitch for work in the corridor.

But if they want to be included, they better hurry.

The mayor said he wants to have a decision on a developer or a team of developers within a couple of weeks and then make the relationship more formal through a letter of intent, exclusive options or some other arrangement.

"He certainly is on track to get things resolved here, which is pretty exciting," Mr. Dettore said.

Running concurrently with the selection of a developer will be the work of architect Don Carter and his firm, Urban Design Associates.

In conjunction with developers, city agencies, City Council and various Downtown stakeholders, Mr. Carter's firm is trying to build a consensus on which blocks of the Fifth and Forbes corridor should be retail versus residential, how building designs and city blocks should mesh, and how sidewalks and lighting should look. The product that emerges would serve as guidelines for developers working in the corridor.

"They're just going to complement what a developer is doing," Mr. O'Connor said.


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