PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by East Edge

I think i like the white better with black window frames. I wonder if they are thinking of a 2 tone with the street level and cornice being dark gray and body being white. The dark gray all over would be interesting kind of like the dark green building on Wood street near PPU but with our gray sky climate i think the white is just brighter and more eye catching.

I can't figure out what color scheme is currently being implemented.

[photoLith]

I rode my bike past the Penn Rose building yesterday and the other half is now painted white, I'm thinking that grey is just a primer for the white. The middle section however is still unpainted.

[Minivan Werner]

I like the grey/green on the left over the all white.

[photoLith]

Some Oakland updates from a couple of days ago.

IMG_1439 by photolitherland, on Flickr
Skyvue

IMG_1430 by photolitherland, on Flickr

IMG_1431 by photolitherland, on Flickr
Soon to be destroyed Arby's, good riddance.

IMG_1435 by photolitherland, on Flickr

IMG_1436 by photolitherland, on Flickr

IMG_1437 by photolitherland, on Flickr
The new hotel being built behind the Pittsburgh Club or whatever its called.

[BenM]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Some Oakland updates from a couple of days ago.

IMG_1437 by photolitherland, on Flickr
The new hotel being built behind the Pittsburgh Club or whatever its called.

It doesn't look like the revenue from that lease they signed with the hotel is helping very much.

Contents of Pittsburgh Athletic Association set for sheriff's sale

[eschaton]

New Historic Review Commission presentation. Warning, it's 561 pages long, containing 25 projects. Mostly small remodeling projects on historic homes, but a few things of interest.

1. 197 Western Avenue (Shamrock Cafe) is having extensive facade restoration done so it won't be so much of an eyesore any longer. They're also adding some outdoor seating to the existing side parking lot, and fencing off most of the remainder (looks like car access will only be from Maolis Way, with only a small gap in the fence in the front for people).

2. City Theatre on Bingham Street is planning to build a small extension to its existing building, which will mostly be tucked within a private alley already on the same parcel. The expansion overshadows the original church dimensions IMHO and probably violates the spirit of Pittsburgh's preservation guidelines, but it might be "read" from the street as being a floating building attached to the theatre's side.

3. Trek is applying "after the fact" for the rear facade changes made to the shell of the Garden Theatre in the North Side. These changes were not made by them, but the previous developer, so I have some sympathy. That said it was a pretty terrible hacking up, basically demolishing half the building and losing any functionality it would have as a theater in the future, in the name of meeting city zoning's parking requirements, and hopes of attracting a tenant.

4. Work is (finally) being done on the New Grenada Theater in the Hill District. There are extensive pictures of existing conditions, but nothing in the way of renderings.

5. There's some information in the presentation about the scattered site affordable housing rehabs Mistick is doing on the North Side. The overall project envelope is Central North Side west of Federal, California-Kirkbride below Morrison, and a small portion of Perry Hilltop around Chautauqua Street. Mistick is moving to refurbish many of their properties within this general geographic area.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by eschaton

New Historic Review Commission presentation. Warning, it's 561 pages long, containing 25 projects. Mostly small remodeling projects on historic homes, but a few things of interest.

1. 197 Western Avenue (Shamrock Cafe) is having extensive facade restoration done so it won't be so much of an eyesore any longer. They're also adding some outdoor seating to the existing side parking lot, and fencing off most of the remainder (looks like car access will only be from Maolis Way, with only a small gap in the fence in the front for people).

2. City Theatre on Bingham Street is planning to build a small extension to its existing building, which will mostly be tucked within a private alley already on the same parecel. The expansion overshadows the original church dimensions IMHO and probably violates the spirit of Pittsburgh's preservation guidelines, but it might be "read" from the street as being a floating building attached to the theatre's side.

3. Trek is applying "after the fact" for the rear facade changes made to the shell of the Garden Theatre in the North Side. These changes were not made by them, but the previous developer, so I have some sympathy. That said it was a pretty terrible hacking up, basically demolishing half the building and losing any functionality it would have as a theater in the future, in the name of meeting city zoning's parking requirements, and hopes of attracting a tenant.

4. Work is (finally) being done on the New Grenada Theater in the Hill District. There are extensive pictures of existing conditions, but nothing in the way of renderings.

5. There's some information in the presentation about the scattered site affordable housing rehabs Mistick is doing on the North Side. The overall project envelope is Central North Side west of Federal, California-Kirkbride below Morrison, and a small portion of Perry Hilltop around Chautauqua Street. Mistick is moving to refurbish many of their properties within this general geographic area.

Thanks for posting and summarizing the monthly HRC presentations. They are appreciated.

[BrianTH]

The Mon Wharf Switchback is actually under construction:

http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/city-d...rf-switchback/

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

The second time I was inside was for an after party at some young entrepreneur's condo in 2012 (I didn't know him; His company made some type of eyeglass ware but a lot of my friends were at the party spinning music all night), also on one of the top floors. It was after some DJ played at what was then Static nightclub and the afterparty went until after sunrise. It was awesome seeing the sunrise from his huge condo windows come up over the city.

Ha! I was at the same afterparty I think. Remember that night vividly...I took home some crazy hot guy from the party. The view up there was insane.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

Ha! I was at the same afterparty I think. Remember that night vividly...I took home some crazy hot guy from the party. The view up there was insane.

Yep, you were there. Great night! I miss hanging out with you at after parties and such. We must do it again on occasion for old time sake.

The view was in fact ridiculous.

[BrianTH]

The large South Side apartment project planned for the Atlas Materials Recycling site has gotten zoning approval despite being longer than allowed by the Interim Planning Overlay District (which I see as a good thing):

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburg...t-project.html

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

The large South Side apartment project planned for the Atlas Materials Recycling site has gotten zoning approval despite being longer than allowed by the Interim Planning Overlay District (which I see as a good thing):

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburg...t-project.html

IIRC the building only slightly exceeded the length requirements. It was something like 528 feet in length and the maximum allowed was 500 under IPOD. Given they were just following the length of the city block, I think it was the right decision - it's not like an arbitrary pass-through in the middle of the block would have been widely used. 

[eschaton]

Pittsburgh Business Times has a paywalled article about a planned expansion to the current building at 2949 Smallman Street. They will be adding two stories and 15,000 square feet to the current structure. If you look on the side frame, there are two renderings, which unfortunately cannot be blown up unless you have a subscription. Something seems off about the perspective from the street-side corner - as if the expansion is tilted, but that may just be due to perspective and the low resolution. Regardless, it looks ugly as sin to me. I know the building isn't under HRC review, but given it's a historic facade I wish the city could have them bump back the additional stories a little bit so that it feels more like two separate geometries rather than a facadectomy.

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Pittsburgh Business Times has a paywalled article about a planned expansion to the current building at 2949 Smallman Street. They will be adding two stories and 15,000 square feet to the current structure. If you look on the side frame, there are two renderings, which unfortunately cannot be blown up unless you have a subscription. Something seems off about the perspective from the street-side corner - as if the expansion is tilted, but that may just be due to perspective and the low resolution. Regardless, it looks ugly as sin to me. I know the building isn't under HRC review, but given it's a historic facade I wish the city could have them bump back he second story a little bit so that it feels more like two separate geometries rather than a facadectomy.

Ugh, when this came up originally a few months ago, the theory was that it would only affect the tacked on part between Common Plea and the corner building. This is horrendous.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Pittsburgh Business Times has a paywalled article about a planned expansion to the current building at 2949 Smallman Street. They will be adding two stories and 15,000 square feet to the current structure. If you look on the side frame, there are two renderings, which unfortunately cannot be blown up unless you have a subscription. Something seems off about the perspective from the street-side corner - as if the expansion is tilted, but that may just be due to perspective and the low resolution. Regardless, it looks ugly as sin to me. I know the building isn't under HRC review, but given it's a historic facade I wish the city could have them bump back he second story a little bit so that it feels more like two separate geometries rather than a facadectomy.

Seriously? They want to dump a giant turd on top of that handsome italianate building?

[BrianTH]

An alien spaceship crashed in The Strip today . . .

[photoLith]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Pittsburgh Business Times has a paywalled article about a planned expansion to the current building at 2949 Smallman Street. They will be adding two stories and 15,000 square feet to the current structure. If you look on the side frame, there are two renderings, which unfortunately cannot be blown up unless you have a subscription. Something seems off about the perspective from the street-side corner - as if the expansion is tilted, but that may just be due to perspective and the low resolution. Regardless, it looks ugly as sin to me. I know the building isn't under HRC review, but given it's a historic facade I wish the city could have them bump back the additional stories a little bit so that it feels more like two separate geometries rather than a facadectomy.

That is simply awful and destroys an otherwise beautiful and well preserved building.

[Minivan Werner]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

An alien spaceship crashed in The Strip today . . .

???

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Minivan Werner

???

[Minivan Werner]

Ohh! Thanks.