PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[eschaton]

I think Peduto is going to win by a wide margin. I'm probably going to vote for Welch just because his ideology aligns more with mine, but I don't think Peduto has done a terrible job, he's just been a little too eager to get in bed with business for my tastes. It was very interesting to me that pretty much as soon as Welch announced his candidacy Peduto immediately veered to the left regarding his rhetoric with Uber for example.

[eschaton]

New zoning report. A few items of note.

1. It looks like a restaurant/brewery is going in at the former Spaghetti Warehouse site that Oxford bought. Give the Hub (the parking garage a block away) is supposed to have some first-floor retail, depending upon what Oxford does with the Acheiva site you could have another little mini-retail nexus developing in the Strip.

2. In bad news, Carlow is looking to expand one of their parking lots in Oakland from 62 to 169 spaces. This is actually in violation of zoning, as EMI-zoned areas should use a parking garage when there are over 150 surface spaces. I'm not even sure how they'd do it, as there's very little space to expand, given Pitt owns the parklet up at the corner of Darragh Street. Presumably it will involve changing the grade of the existing lots so it's flatter, allowing for the removal of the existing slopes, but it still doesn't seem like that would gain 100+ spaces all by itself.

3. Two vacant buildings on East Ohio Street in West Deutschtown (seen here - the two on the right) - will be rehabbed and combined to allow for a new restaurant on the first floor, three apartments above, and another three apartments in the rear.

4. A new mini-development is going in on Joncaire Street in Oakland (Panther Hollow). It will involve two-unit buildings, with 12 units in total.

5. Yet another application for a medical marijuana dispensery - this one on that Forward Avenue parcel in Squirrel Hill that Buncher has been trying to redevelop.

There's a couple of other small projects, but nothing seriously worth mentioning.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by photoLith

So who do you guys think will be elected as the next mayor? I hope it's Peduto again.

It appears Peduto will easily get re-elected. I don't love everything he has done, but overall he seems fine.

Of course as a Wilkinsburg resident I don't get to vote on it, but I certainly do have a stake in what happens in the City.

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by eschaton

New zoning report. A few items of note.

1. It looks like a restaurant/brewery is going in at the former Spaghetti Warehouse site that Oxford bought. Give the Hub (the parking garage a block away) is supposed to have some first-floor retail, depending upon what Oxford does with the Acheiva site you could have another little mini-retail nexus developing in the Strip.

That's semi-interesting, considering the space next door is currently being renovated to be a distillery (Port of Pittsburgh Distillery) at the former location of Artistry.

[BrianTH]

NIMBYs kill another project, get it replaced with worse project:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/ci...s/201705090047

I didn't love the specific apartment plan they killed, but now it is going to be a much smaller amount of office space and a whole bunch of parking. Nice work, NIMBYs! You successfully pulled up the ladder behind you!

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

NIMBYs kill another project, get it replaced with worse project:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/ci...s/201705090047

I didn't love the specific apartment plan they killed, but now it is going to be a much smaller amount of office space and a whole bunch of parking. Nice work, NIMBYs! You successfully pulled up the ladder behind you!

Not shocking sadly. I wonder what happened with the Zulema apartment building? I presume it's dead, but I haven't heard word either way for at least a year.

[eschaton]

Pittsburgh Business Times has expanded "Crane Watch" - both into the suburbs and to include projects of less than $10 million. Check out the map here.

Speaking of my own neighborhood, I never saw this rendering of Morningside Crossing before...

[Johnland]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

NIMBYs kill another project, get it replaced with worse project:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/ci...s/201705090047

I didn't love the specific apartment plan they killed, but now it is going to be a much smaller amount of office space and a whole bunch of parking. Nice work, NIMBYs! You successfully pulled up the ladder behind you!

Wow. So they'd rather have office space which will be a dead zone after 5 pm with all that parking than the addition of more neighbors. They're in Oakland for crying out loud. They can't handle four whole stories??

[contellus]

Originally Posted by Johnland

Wow. So they'd rather have office space which will be a dead zone after 5 pm with all that parking than the addition of more neighbors. They're in Oakland for crying out loud. They can't handle four whole stories??

I would suspect that at least some of the neighbors' hesitance towards apartments comes from the proposed Zulema project down the street.

There's also the short-term benefit to the neighbors of the office use being a renovation rather than a full demolition/construction of a new apartment building. Not saying either are particularly good reasons, FWIW.

[eschaton]

Took a look at the URA agenda for tomorrow. Items of interest.

1. Funding is moving along for both the Detectives Building/Schoolhouse Electric in East Liberty and the new Squirrel Hill Gateway Lofts retiree housing structure.

2. The URA is buying two vacant lots and one abandoned commercial storefront from the Housing Authority in Uptown by the corner of Forbes and Mittenberger. There are two other vacant lots owned by a private holder adjacent to these lots, so the URA may be hoping to assemble a marketable medium-sized parcel for redevelopment.

3. The URA is also trying to market these vacant lots at the border of Uptown and Downtown.

4. The URA is contracting with an engineering company to further the conversion of N/S Euclid and Station Street (former Penn Circle) back into two-way streets.

Not much else of incredible interest, but feel free to browse.

[Johnland]

Originally Posted by contellus

I would suspect that at least some of the neighbors' hesitance towards apartments comes from the proposed Zulema project down the street.

There's also the short-term benefit to the neighbors of the office use being a renovation rather than a full demolition/construction of a new apartment building. Not saying either are particularly good reasons, FWIW.

What is the proposed Zeluma apartments project?

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Johnland

What is the proposed Zeluma apartments project?

Back in 2014, a developer acquired this block of rowhouses on Bates Street. The plan was to build an eight story apartment building and a hotel, which possibly would also include getting the city to sell the (little used) Zulema parklet behind in order to increase the square footage, along with closing Zuelma along the back side of that block (presumably between the two branches of Coltart.

Given it's been three years and nothing has happened, I presume the plan is dead. They paid a pretty penny for those vacant rowhouses though ($2.9 million) so something should presumably be done eventually with that area.

[eschaton]

Checked out the building permits today. A few interesting new mini-projects.

1. This blighted, decaying storefront has stood out on Fifth Avenue for years. Currently there are plans to build six four-story townshouses with integral garages in its place. Given the orientation of the lot, they're likely going to be accessed off a common driveway of of Fifth Avenue and oriented facing it, meaning they'll be very shallow (hence the height). A nice little mini-project for the area.

2. A small infill project here in Lawrenceville is moving along. It was supposed to include four houses, but I only see permitting for three right now.


3. Building permits are out for several smaller sized projects in the city, including the Murray/Forward senior apartments, the redesign of the St. Augustine Friary, and the planned mini-steam plant in Uptown.

[themaguffin]

PBT had an article that Abercrombie might merge and at least two companies might be the other party. One if American Eagle. If so, that could impact the region. Have no idea if that would be positive or negative in terms of employment.

[eschaton]

New Planning Commission presentation. Four projects this week, two rehabs, and two new buildings.

1. 420 Boulevard of the Allies (former Art Institute building) is seeing about $7 million in work. This is pretty minor work related to a new ADA ramp, new loading dock in the rear, the addition of a roof patio, and minor facade repair.

2. 625 Stanwix Street (a parking garage with a building stuck on top) is going to have almost all of its windows replaced.

3. The Oakland office building on Forbes Avenue which will go by the CVS has landed in more concrete form. It will be an eight story, 102-foot building, with 68 parking spaces. The design is very boxy and generic, but it's a massive increase in localized density, so I won't complain too much.

4. Another office project has also landed - Buncher's new building at the corner of 15th and Smallman (District 15). As was previously reported, it will be four stories and have 150 surface parking spaces. The building has a very small footprint on the block - way less than 50% of the total block will be taken up by the structure, which will hug the new extension of 15th street, leaving the rest of the block for surface parking. There will be a setback from Waterfront Place and a large surface plaza at the corner. About the only good thing I can say is it looks like by switching from the L-shaped building in the rough plans to this typology, they leave themselves open to filling in the other half of the block with a higher and better use at some later point.

[Minivan Werner]

625 Stanwix is the ugliest building in the city IMO.

[Bricktrimble]

Originally Posted by Minivan Werner

625 Stanwix is the ugliest building in the city IMO.

Can you really call that a building? Parking garages can look nice. Take a look at the General Robinson garage or some of the others on the North Shore. But don't look at the garages in the Golden Triangle since they are not great examples.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Back in 2014, a developer acquired this block of rowhouses on Bates Street.

In a city that has some of the best architecture in the country and also some of the wonkiest, I nominate this block for one of the ugliest in Pittsburgh. Impressive!

[Johnland]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Checked out the building permits today. A few interesting new mini-projects.

2. A small infill project here in Lawrenceville is moving along. It was supposed to include four houses, but I only see permitting for three right now.

The abandoned looking building on the left looks like Federal style, which was in fashion mostly before the Civil War. It could possibly be an 1840's, 1850's building.

[photoLith]

^
That building is Italianate and most likely from the 1870's or so.