PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Crap, that's a winning argument right there.

Random aside--I was actually in Boston recently and walked around Fan Pier. The views, particularly around the courthouse, are amazing.

From inside the courthouse:



That said--the view from the North Shore and South Shore in Pittsburgh are, in my view, just about as good. Boston just has better boats.

Cool, glad you got to check the area out. It's a great site and I'm lucky to be able to work on some of the development going on there. Two of the Boston guys that I've been working with totally love Pittsburgh... they say it reminds them of "a different kind of Boston"? And I agree about the views... Pittsburgh doesn't have the wide expansiveness of a coastal harbor like Boston, but it does have the hills.

As for boats... I don't think we'll ever see big yachts and smaller cruise ships on Pittsburgh rivers, but there has been talk about luxury riverboat cruises that run between Memphis and Pittsburgh -- which would be cool.

[Private Dick]

If you can stomach the cheesy music and melodrama that accompanies this video, the aerial views of Oakland are worth it:

• Video Link

[Jonboy1983]

I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned in the thread yet...

http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yo...#axzz3HfORy3px

They want to tear down that dilapidated transit terminal and replace it with a more modern intermodal facility. I hope this is considered as a first step. What I think would be a nice add is a light rail line extending from First Side along the Mon River to McKeesport. Right now, there is no real direct link, not even a direct road, linking the two -- other than heading a little upstream to cross the Mon River at the Dravosburg Bridge to follow Rt. 837 through Duquesne/Whitaker, West Mifflin, Homestead, and Southside.

Such a line would serve as a trunk route linking Downtown with the McKeesport Transit/Intermodal Center. Along the way, you could have stops near the Edgar Thompson Works, Rankin (two stops), the Carrie Furnace, Hazelwood (two stops), and the PTC before reaching 1st Avenue. If the long-discussed Arnold rail line ever comes to fruition (and is ultimately a light rail line), maybe this could be an extension of such a line. We're already talking quite a few years into the future, so it's not like anything like this is gonna happen anytime soon. Just putting it out there for thought/consideration...

[BrianTH]

The Salvation Army building is becoming a Distrikt Hotel (boutique type) with 181 rooms:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburg...-downtown.html

He added his company is pursuing an historic designation and historic tax credits for the project. The property was built in 1924 to be a hotel for young women by the Salvation Army and has been outfitted with specialized uses that include an auditorium and a gym in the basement. Afonso said the company will preserve the exterior, a historic preservation requirement, and is working with the auditorium layout. The plan calls for recruiting a new restaurant for the gym space. Greenway has hired Jason Cannon of the Pittsburgh office of CBRE to pitch the space. He said the hotel will not be limited service, offering the hybrid approach of an independent brand. "We see ourselves as a true independent hotel," said Afonso. "I think we're going to fit a little bit more of a niche that probably doesn't exist right now in downtown Pittsburgh."

More here:

http://www.post-gazette.com/business...s/201410310113

Among the local touches will be an aerial map of Pittsburgh in the lobby, and every floor will feature a backlit collage of photos from a city neighborhood. Mr. Schroeder and Victor Afonso, his partner at Greenway, hope to start demolition work inside the building within a couple of weeks and have the hotel ready for occupancy by spring 2016. . . . Mr. Schroeder said he’s not worried about the competition. Given market fundamentals and the amount of travel here, “we believe it can support the added hotel rooms and especially new product,” he said. He’s also hoping some of the Distrikt’s amenities will set it apart. There will be a living plant wall in the lobby and a zen garden on the roof. Greenway also plans to restore the building’s chapel. Greenway also plans for a full-service restaurant and a mezzanine lounge in the hotel. Mr. Schroeder said the developer has been speaking to a number of high-end restaurant operators in Pittsburgh about being part of the project.

Nice to see that sort of thing coming to that side of Downtown.

[BrianTH]

The Animal Rescue League is moving ahead with its $15 million center in Homewood along the Busway, after having addressed community concerns:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/ci...s/201410310145
http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/7...#axzz3HdGnQnWp

I have mixed feelings about this one. The scale of the investment is good for Homewood, but along the Busway, in parcels of this size, I would want more traditional transit-oriented development.

Probably the tie-breaker for me is what they do with some of the cooler historic buildings on the site. If they are just coming down, that would not be good.

[Found5dollar]

New Planning commission presentation :

http://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/sch...ion-51-644.pdf

New stuff:

*Former Civic Arena Site. Interesting stuff: The site has a 14 story difference in grade,But most of it we have already seen.

*3025 Banksville rd. small addition to a one story building. i have no idea where this is, btu it is ugly.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Found5dollar

*Former Civic Arena Site. Interesting stuff: The site has a 14 story difference in grade,But most of it we have already seen.

It looks to me like they may have changed the plan again. Compare pages 24 and 25. The latter has the same layout as the PLDP. But the former cuts back on the number of townhouses to provide for another apartment building in Block C.

That said, maybe the plan with less townhouses was older, rather than more recent, and got mixed in by accident.

[BrianTH]

Some of the minor stuff, like the 4Moms sign going on their building and the new YWCA entrance, I am actually looking forward to.

Anyway, I know they have taken grief from various people about the relative lack of through streets for cars on the easternmost portion of the Lower Hill site, but it really is dramatic how quickly the elevation changes back there. This picture still doesn't do it justice, but the arrow indicates the back corner of the site:



So I for one am completely on board with creating a series of stepped levels with parking under the steps, PROVIDED that there are in fact good pedestrian (I would actually say good pedestrian/bike) connections everywhere in the grid you would otherwise expect a street.

[Minivan Werner]

A switchback style street like Lombard (?) in San Francisco might be kind of cool there.

[Found5dollar]

Sheriff sale is back on the table for Monday... the drama still isn't over.

http://www.post-gazette.com/business...s/201410310215

August Wilson Center appears headed for sheriff's sale

By Mark Belko / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In a stunning turn of events, the August Wilson Center for African American Culture appears to be headed for a sheriff’s sale Monday.

"I have no reason to think that it's anything other than a foreclosure on Monday," Dollar Bank attorney Eric Schaffer told Judge Lawrence O'Toole of Allegheny County Common Pleas Orphans' Court during a brief hearing today.

Three local foundations had been prepared to buy the building for $8.49 million, but that deal was threatened this week by an appeal to state Superior Court filed by International Investigative Services, a Bethel Park security firm that was owed $211,711 by the August Wilson Center. It wants a lien to be placed against the property.

...

[The Best Forumer]

Originally Posted by TBone7281

Utility work behind the Terminal Building seems to be semi-wrapping up. 21st St. is open again and it looks like the continuation of Railroad Street is coming along pretty nicely.

PNC Tower has also gained some prominence since the last time I took a pic from this angle.

That's a nice shot.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Minivan Werner

A switchback style street like Lombard (?) in San Francisco might be kind of cool there.

That's a fantastic idea.

[BrianTH]

I'd like something like this, Via Timoleone in Taormina:





Google Streetview

[Jonboy1983]

^^ Hell, there are already countless "streets" like this in the Burgh, so why the hell not? I like that idea!

[photoLith]

Photos I took from this afternoon showing off the new PNC Tower. Really really wish it could have been at least 800' but anyways, its good that Pittsburgh finally has a new tower after like 30 years of nothing.

DSC_1093 by photolitherland, on Flickr

DSC_1017 by photolitherland, on Flickr

DSC_1013 by photolitherland, on Flickr

And then just an unrelated shot from Mt. Oliver. I have lived here for two years and havent really explored it until today, it has so much potential and is still largely intact with loads of beautiful turn of the century houses. Hopefully at some point it gentrifies and gets better, Id hate to see that neighborhood get torn down slowly due to neglectful property owners and slum lords.

DSC_0980 by photolitherland, on Flickr

[daviderik]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I'd like something like this, Via Timoleone in Taormina:





Google Streetview

Ummm, Where's the wheelchair access and bike lanes?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by daviderik

Ummm, Where's the wheelchair access and bike lanes?

Right, plus that.

I like Dutch-style push ramps for bikes:

[BrianTH]

Highland Ave in East Liberty is getting new streetlights:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburg...eetlights.html

[Don't Be That Guy]

Originally Posted by daviderik

Ummm, Where's the wheelchair access and bike lanes?

People don't often think that cities like Pittsburgh, New York and San Francisco would not have been built had they been subject to the American's with Disabilities Act, USDOT standards, current building codes, FEMA floodplain development standards, and other national, state and local regulations. That isn't to question the necessity of disability access, building safety, or flood insurance cost mitigation, but we've created regulations that basically outlaws replicating or expanding the dense urban forms on the varied topography of the most interesting cities in America.

Just something to consider, especially when criticizing proposed developments and master plans like the Lower Hill.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by Don't Be That Guy

People don't often think that cities like Pittsburgh, New York and San Francisco would not have been built had they been subject to the American's with Disabilities Act, USDOT standards, current building codes, FEMA floodplain development standards, and other national, state and local regulations. That isn't to question the necessity of disability access, building safety, or flood insurance cost mitigation, but we've created regulations that basically outlaws replicating or expanding the dense urban forms on interesting topography of the most interesting cities in America.

Just something to consider, especially when criticizing proposed developments and master plans like the Lower Hill.

It's an issue that you run into a lot when you're dealing with historic preservation. Walk around a historic neighborhood or try to live in a historic house (as I do) and you'll really get hit in the face at how un-accessible and un-human-friendly a lot of historic architecture is. it makes for some hard questions: do you hack up a historic storefront to add ramps or do you ignore the needs of people who want to patronize that business?