PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Urbana]

Originally Posted by fizzard

Damn... look at that street life!
If I could get my hands on 50s and 60s urban planners it would not be pretty!

[PITairport]

"Developer seeking anchor tenant for proposed Smithfield Street skyscraper"

http://triblive.com/business/headlin...#axzz2VKEATEkh




Separately, Burns & Scalo continue to praise the strength of the local commercial real estate market as they seek an anchor tenant for their proposed 16 story building downtown... but seems like they have quietly given up on this smaller 4 story development 2 miles west of downtown.



Their lot is showing for sale.

[BrianTH]

PMC reportedly is in fact working with Kimpton on converting the Reed Building to a hotel, specifically a Hotel Monaco. As discussed in the article, this would be the first in a new niche for Downtown, and would be close enough to the Convention Center to be part of that mix:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...-hotel-690366/

And also, the new outside Dollar Bank lions are going to be unveiled today:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...n-duty-690368/
http://triblive.com/aande/architectu...#axzz2V1cnPvTf

The original (restored) ones are already inside, but Fourth Avenue needs its outside lions!

[photoLith]

Originally Posted by Urbana

Damn... look at that street life!
If I could get my hands on 50s and 60s urban planners it would not be pretty!

If I had a time machine I would not kill hitler, first on my list would be the likes of Robert Moses, the entire upper crust of gm, and any and all urban planners from the 40s-mid 70s.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

PMC reportedly is in fact working with Kimpton on converting the Reed Building to a hotel, specifically a Hotel Monaco. As discussed in the article, this would be the first in a new niche for Downtown, and would be close enough to the Convention Center to be part of that mix:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...-hotel-690366/

Looks like Glowrock was right!

...


Here's some more info on East Liberty:


http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/4...#axzz2VAnfimxy

Allegheny, Pittsburgh officials ponder $13M transit plan in East Liberty

...


The money would fund a 550-space public parking garage connected to the Eastside III development, maintaining a new busway station, a new street that connects the Highland Avenue bridge to the Target store, the revamping of Penn Circle to convert all of it to two-way traffic, pedestrian improvements around Obama Academy and Highland Avenue, including increased lighting, safer cross-walks and signal upgrades.

Money would also be used for a public art piece that would be seen as motorists enter East Liberty from the east and a public plaza at Broad Street and Highland Avenue that could include a stage and green space.

Although Transit Revitalization Investment Districts were authorized by the state in 2004, the East Liberty plan is believed to be the first in the state. Unlike tax-increment financing projects, the transit districts do not have to be designated as blighted.

Tax-increment financing can be a controversial issue because money that would otherwise be paid in taxes goes toward the project.

Robert Rubinstein, acting executive director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, said without the public subsidy, the project would not be feasible.“There's still lots of obsolete and dysfunctional infrastructure in the district. This is a good way to fix those problems,” he said.

The planned $345 million in development involves seven projects: Eastside III and Bakery Square 2.0, which include housing and retail space; renovating the former YMCA into a hotel; rehabbing two historic buildings; constructing a two-level cineplex with a restaurant; construction of a hotel at Highland Avenue and Broad Street; and construction of East Liberty Place South for low-income housing.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Looks like Glowrock was right!

Indeed, and I am glad I was wrong! Hotel Monaco is one of those brands that can help market Downtown/Pittsburgh in general.

[Evergrey]

http://grist.org/people/pittsburghs-...he-smoky-city/

Pittsburgh’s next mayor sees a green future for the “smoky city”

By Ben Adler



...

Q. Did your advocacy on alternative transportation and “complete streets” work to your advantage in the election?

A. The voting base has changed in this city. It’s become younger and it’s become more progressive. That’s why I was able to win, quite honestly. Where the old voting bloc had dictated local elections for past 40 years, there’s a new progressive movement that has been able to win every contested race against the old guard. And not just in this election cycle, but going back about six years now, and to them, complete streets is on the agenda. It’s groups like Progress Pittsburgh that have helped to push it; it’s groups like Bike Pittsburgh that have advocated. And the last component is a city government that gets it.

...

Q. You mentioned retrofitting heavy rail for passengers. What other plans do you have for mass transit?

A. With Allegheny County, we have a very small light rail system and a large bus system. We don’t have matching funds like other cities do to go to the federal government and do a light rail expansion, which we need to do. The vision I have is a system that runs countywide in a spine: north, south, east, west, with bus lines as feeders. We have to decide as a region: Either that’s our vision for the next 20 years, or we’ll fail to ever become a 21st-century city.

In the city itself, I envision multimodal. It would be not just heavy rail. That rail might be one part of a multimodal system that would then connect into a light rail system which would connect into a complete street model that would incorporate … access for bikes and pedestrians. That would then tie into water taxis. That would be a way of getting anywhere in the city without having to get into a car to do so.

...

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Indeed, and I am glad I was wrong! Hotel Monaco is one of those brands that can help market Downtown/Pittsburgh in general.

Agreed. A Hotel Monaco can do wonders for an area, no doubt about it!

Besides, I might have to save Evergrey's comment for posterity, for it might be the only time I've ever heard "Glowrock was right!"

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Urbana]

Originally Posted by PITairport

"Developer seeking anchor tenant for proposed Smithfield Street skyscraper"

http://triblive.com/business/headlin...#axzz2VKEATEkh

They must be deep in talks with an anchor for 350 Fifth. There is no way they would have pushed it this far if not. In the article it quotes an Oxford official as saying they will have a decision in two months!

[EventHorizon]

Originally Posted by Urbana

They must be deep in talks with an anchor for 350 Fifth. There is no way they would have pushed it this far if not. In the article it quotes an Oxford official as saying they will have a decision in two months!

Very interesting... although the restoration of the old Frank & Seder building would be fantastic as well.
I stumbled upon a 1930 newspaper article from the Pittsburgh Press talking about the history and value of the Smithfield & Fifth area... has a great old photo too:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...2211%2C4359315

[bmust71]

Originally Posted by Urbana

They must be deep in talks with an anchor for 350 Fifth. There is no way they would have pushed it this far if not. In the article it quotes an Oxford official as saying they will have a decision in two months!

It said in the article that they could have a decision in two months. He may have just said that to get everyone off their backs for a little while. I just want to know who they could possible be talking to.

[Urbana]

Originally Posted by bmust71

It said in the article that they could have a decision in two months. He may have just said that to get everyone off their backs for a little while. I just want to know who they could possible be talking to.

US Steel and Shell are two that immediately come to mind.

[markson33]

With People's and Equitable merging, they might have a need for a large consolidated office. Equitable signed a long term lease on Liberty, but I could still see them relocating.

[Evergrey]

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburg...ice-again.html

Google expanding its local office again

Google is expanding again at Bakery Square.

Sources familiar with the plan who spoke anonymously indicate that the computing giant (Nasdaq: GOOG) is expanding into another 50,000 square feet of office space within the established building at Bakery Square, a former Nabisco bakery. Walnut Capital is also working to develop a second phase for Bakery Square on the former site of a public school across Penn Avenue, a phase expected to include 400,000 square feet of office space. That plan has come with obvious speculation that Google could help to anchor that project as well.

Gregg Perelman, managing partner of Walnut Capital Partners, the owner of the Bakery Square complex in Larimer, said he could not comment. But a press event is scheduled for Friday morning by Google and a host of area politicians.

Overall, Bakery Square has operated at 100 percent leased for its office space, so it remains to be seen where in the building Google might expect.

A spokeswoman for Google was not immediately available.

The tech giant first moved into Bakery Square in 2010, starting with a lease of about 40,000 square feet. Google expanded to more than 100,000 square feet within a little more than a year and its new expansion will take its presence at the East End development to more than 150,000 square feet.

[glowrock]

That is a very, VERY good sign. Thanks for posting this, Evergrey!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[BrianTH]

Just the other day, someone in a PG comment section was claiming Google was planning to pull out of BKSQ and return to the CMU campus. I guess not.

[Urbana]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Just the other day, someone in a PG comment section was claiming Google was planning to pull out of BKSQ and return to the CMU campus. I guess not.

I don't see why they would ever do this, I believe they entered Bakery Square because they were so stifled in the CMU space.

Speaking of CMU, I found this article, published recently, that details an expansion of the University Center Building. This expansion will replace what is now a loading dock and an unsightly concrete area along Forbes.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid...01513,0.002411

The Project will be designed by Cannon Design in collaboration with Lami Grubb.

http://www.cannondesign.com/

Article: http://www.cmu.edu/piper/stories/201...ty-center.html

[chiaroscuro]

Investment group plans Seventh St. apartments

An out-of-town investment group is poised to convert the upper floors of part of the six-story former Schneider Engineering building into 41 apartment units. The city planning commission expects to be briefed on the proposed development next week.

Just up the street, Trek Development Group owns the 60-unit, fully leased Century Building. It also has been talking to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust about converting three trust-owned buildings at 819, 821 and 823 Penn into 30 apartments and 4,800 square feet of commercial and retail space

.

Was this part of the PCT's original RiverParc plan?

[BrianTH]

Street view of the Schneider Engineering Building (quite handsome and a great location):

http://goo.gl/maps/s7z9y

Penn Avenue site (the corner building, 823, is nothing special, but 819 and 821 are gems):

http://goo.gl/maps/CHsvS

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by chiaroscuro

Was this part of the PCT's original RiverParc plan?

I believe both projects would be occurring within the former footprint of RiverParc. And in fact one silver lining to the demise of RiverParc could be the preservation and re-use of some of the cool historic buildings remaining within that footprint.