While I'm not exactly a huge fan of the casino garage, do you REALLY think you could build that amount of parking underground without it costing a minimum of $100 million JUST for the parking facility? That garage is enormous, and justifiably so, for it's full or nearly full all weekend, along with a number of weeknight evenings. The place makes an absolute fortune for the State, and I thus have no real issues with it.
At the same time, I really wish those other lots owned by the Steelers would get built on already, and I don't mean with some bullsh*t 2 story retail...
As for Station Square, I certainly hope some residential is built on some of those surface lots. While I agree it's fantastic that Pittsburgh has reclaimed so much land along the riverbanks, it's kind of sad that so much of it is currently wasted on surface parking... I'd rather have the casino/garage than huge surface lots. And yes, I believe the license for Rivers was only for a casino, not a hotel. At the same time, I really wish a private company would use an adjoining piece of property to put up a 15-20 story hotel tower, it is sorely needed over there!
Aaron (Glowrock)