PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

Man that hotel is ugly....

I agree, and I hope there will be some features added on before it's completed that will make it at least somewhat tolerable...

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Buzz Pittsburgh]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

Man that hotel is ugly....

I thought the design was alright, but the colors are very bland... Most hotels tend to be cookie-cutter designs. It seems that any new hilton, hyatt, marriott, etc built is made to look like the others in the brand. I think it must be for easier product/brand recognition.

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by Buzz Pittsburgh

I think it must be for easier product/brand recognition.

The problem is that they all are using the same cheap construction anymore, so they all end up looking like the same brand. lol.

[Austinlee]

Good work Buzz, love the photo update. The tunnel project is very interesting looking.

And yeah, that hotel design is bland as heck, especially for a riverfront location where there were highrise proposals that looked way more interesting.

It's a total Cranberry Twp style design.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

The problem is that they all are using the same cheap construction anymore, so they all end up looking like the same brand. lol.

Yeah, i honestly don't know why brands even matter anymore they are so similar looking.

[BrianTH]

I'm not fond of the design, but at least it seems to fill its lot nicely.

[Urbana]

How about an Oakland update! All images are from the CathedralCam http://www.tour.pitt.edu/cl_cam.html (a fun website if you are bored).

First, Pitt's new freshman dorms



Next, The Graduate School of Public Health, Parran Hall addition



And finally, an awesome cityscape!



Image Credit: CathedralCam, University of Pittsburgh

http://www.tour.pitt.edu/cl_cam.html

[Urbana]

Bakery Square development expects $2M federal grant for Larimer/East Liberty proposal

http://triblive.com/home/2431299-74/...federal-google

Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank is expected to announce a $2 million grant on Monday for Bakery Square 2.0 — money that developer Walnut Capital Partners of Shadyside could match with help from the state.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s office said Blank would visit the site in the Larimer/East Liberty area “to make an important announcement.”

Walnut Capital in January intends to begin work on the $120 million development, across Penn Avenue from its Bakery Square complex, by demolishing the former Reizenstein School and other structures on the site, said CEO Gregg Perelman.

Perelman said Walnut Capital has secured a tenant for the new complex, but he would not disclose its identity. It’s a local company, he said, but not Google.

Credit: Tribune Review

[BrianTH]

The new Pitt dorm creates a sort of gateway effect as you are moving into the heart of Oakland from the east, which I quite like. It is most obvious at street level, but this gives some idea:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=pittsb...h&deg=270&z=18

[Urbana]

As a reminder, the new dorm will look like this.

http://www.news.pitt.edu/sites/defau...g%20Image1.jpg

http://www.news.pitt.edu/sites/defau...g%20Image2.jpg

http://www.news.pitt.edu/sites/defau...g%20Image3.jpg

The images are far too large to post on forum.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Urbana

How about an Oakland update! All images are from the CathedralCam http://www.tour.pitt.edu/cl_cam.html (a fun website if you are bored).

First, Pitt's new freshman dorms

Is gonna be this:


http://www.utimes.pitt.edu/?p=15576

Next, The Graduate School of Public Health, Parran Hall addition

Is gonna be this:


http://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/int...hp?pageID=3486

[Johnland]

Wow..great pics. The dorm is really taking shape. Alos, I'm surprised to see the old Children's Hospital building has been torn down. Somehow that one went by me. Are there plans to replace the lot with another building, or is that a park? That'd be a great spot for a highrise right on 5th.

[Private Dick]

^ "Park" for now. Future development site for UPMC in the long term.

[Buzz Pittsburgh]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I'm not fond of the design, but at least it seems to fill its lot nicely.

True. It mirrors the density of the office buildings nearby. It makes the Hofbrauhaus look VERY out of place though haha.

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Good work Buzz, love the photo update. The tunnel project is very interesting looking.

And yeah, that hotel design is bland as heck, especially for a riverfront location where there were highrise proposals that looked way more interesting.

It's a total Cranberry Twp style design.

Thanks!

I agree... I would have liked something that popped looking from the river (or literally any other angle). I remember an old design for a hotel/condo development that was supposed to go in the Southside Works a few years ago...I can't remember what it was called or who designed it, but it definitely POPPED. It was just before the financial crisis and the recession, so I imagine it was a casualty of the credit crunch. Still a couple lots open in/near SSW, I would love to see something different come out of them.


Anyone want to speculate who's going into Bakery Square 2.0? With 400,000 sq. ft. of office space, I wonder what tenant would need that much? At first I thought maybe U.S. Steel, but I remember reading that they needed upwards of 800,000 to 1 million sq. ft. so they're likely out.

[BrianTH]

The other day I realized there are a pretty good number of medium-sized-and-growing local companies I have barely (or never) heard of. An excellent example is Industrial Scientific, which wants to build a 300K+ sqft HQ in Robinson--I vaguely recall hearing of them, but until the reporting on that project, I couldn't have told you anything about their business, nor would I have guessed they would be planning for so much growth.

So for Bakery Square 2.0, I am going to take "the field", meaning I suspect it won't be a household-name firm like US Steel or Google.

[Brentsters]

I like how the universities are making better use of their land by expanding on their existing lots and building taller on the former parking lot. Pitt has done a TON of renovations to existing buildings above Fifth Ave. Even the little extra phase of Bouquet Gardens seems to be better than the original buildout from a decade ago. Also, when CMU expands its campus north of Forbes, that giant parking lot will finally go away and there will be street-level continuity on both sides of the bridge.

I'm kind of curious as to who owns the land bounded by Fifth/Bouquet/Oakland. It doesn't function very well as a parklet, nor does it provide very much parking space. And while we're on that block, I'd like if some public art was installed on the Beehive/T-mobile building facing that corner parklet. That large beige wall just seems so bland and uninviting.

I've also wondered if UPMC purposely does not develop the Syria Mosque land out of concern that nothing will be nearly as awesome as what was there. It's like they'd rather pretend that never happened and we should forget about that corner. But then I remember UPMC doesn't give a F*** about what anyone thinks so who knows why they don't do anything with it.

[Brentsters]

Originally Posted by Buzz Pittsburgh

True. It mirrors the density of the office buildings nearby. It makes the Hofbrauhaus look VERY out of place though haha.



Thanks!

I agree... I would have liked something that popped looking from the river (or literally any other angle). I remember an old design for a hotel/condo development that was supposed to go in the Southside Works a few years ago...I can't remember what it was called or who designed it, but it definitely POPPED. It was just before the financial crisis and the recession, so I imagine it was a casualty of the credit crunch. Still a couple lots open in/near SSW, I would love to see something different come out of them.

That design is probably buried in the previous Pittsburgh thread. It was way cooler than the boring Hyatt design. I remember a previous discussion from years ago about the developer (DOC Economou?). I'm pretty sure they had Icelandic investors and the company faded quietly into the dark after the Icelandic banking crisis. They also had plans to develop the Baum/Liberty intersection, but those renderings weren't nearly as sleek.

Originally Posted by Buzz Pittsburgh

Anyone want to speculate who's going into Bakery Square 2.0? With 400,000 sq. ft. of office space, I wonder what tenant would need that much? At first I thought maybe U.S. Steel, but I remember reading that they needed upwards of 800,000 to 1 million sq. ft. so they're likely out.

I have no idea about the specific tenant, but I'd say it's likely it will be tech related. Given the current tenant mix, the new tenant would probably like to be part of that tech cluster. Obviously having all the jobs located in that area is great, but another huge positive with the Bakery Square addition is that it will also provide some much needed new housing supply to an area that really could use it. Hopefully this project will lead to the two shopping plazas on Penn being redesigned.

[daviderik]

[daviderik]

Originally Posted by Brentsters

I've also wondered if UPMC purposely does not develop the Syria Mosque land out of concern that nothing will be nearly as awesome as what was there. It's like they'd rather pretend that never happened and we should forget about that corner. But then I remember UPMC doesn't give a F*** about what anyone thinks so who knows why they don't do anything with it.

Here Here. I Love the development that Pitt has continued over the years and now with UPMC. But They have "taken over" in many ways. And some would argue not always for the better. Most of Oaklands transformation has been off the books in a certain respect. No Taxes collected for the most part from the 3rd largest business district in the state. It's like a giant non profit city. But all this leaves me wonder of an Oakland that might look very different if forbes field was still the jewel of schenley park. What kind of development might be there today if it were? That said Pitt,CMU and UPMC can take a lot of credit for the city's image today from rusty old steel town, To forward thinking tech town. Fair Trade.

[Brentsters]

The universities' expanding footprint is certainly worth noting, though my post was mainly about them utilizing their existing space more efficiently through renovations and additions on the same plot. Chevron, the Engineering building, the Public Health building, those lab buildings over by Alumni hall...all recent renovations to old buildings already owned by Pitt. Even the newest residence halls (the 2 on the upper campus and the 1 under construction on Fifth) did not take any land off the tax rolls. For the most part (at least recently), Pitt has been focusing its capital spending on property it already owns...probably because it's more cost-efficient in a time of state funding instability.

CMU seems to be more cause for concern in that regard. Their master plan has them expanding not just across Forbes, but also up the Craig St corridor as well. I certainly won't miss that shabby gas station near the bridge or the ugly, now-obsolete former National City branch. I've heard that one (also ugly) bar they demolished was pretty integral to the city's gay scene in its early years. However, if CMU builds another Collaborative Innovation Center-type building in its place I'd be happy.

On that note, it's probably also worth mentioning the CIC first drew Google (and many other huge names) to Pittsburgh...the Google office then grew so large it expanded into a long-vacant biscuit factory in a kind of crappy stretch of the city, bringing with it a hotel, gym, other businesses, etc...now that office development in spurring millions more in new investment...and will actually be adding property to the tax rolls.

And Oakland (and the city) is decidedly better off with the universities being the main economic driver versus a very old, small-capacity baseball stadium. I currently live in Chicago. Wrigley Field is an old stadium nestled into an old neighborhood. You know what kind of business it attracts...a whole lot of sports bars.

Anyways, I think the universities realize they have a very finite amount of space which is motivating them to really examine what is the best use of their resources.