PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Private Dick]

The Buncher project was shit from the beginning. I think we more or less determined that numerous pages back in this thread. I'm glad that the city council members are taking a closer look at this... fully knowing what an ignoramus Ravenstahl is.

From the article: "This site is of incredible significance ... The entire region will be watching to see that the design of the project meets the highest urban design standards that are seen across the country in terms of architecture, environmental sustainability and public space improvements," the letter said.

With a company like Buncher? Good luck.

From Riverlife: The current Riverfront Landing plan shows a 50-to-70 foot setback between the water and the building line, with little definition of how the riverfront will look or how it will be improved.

That's because Buncher doesn't give a fuck about anything like that.

[daviderik]

Allegheny County agencies launch Pittsburgh airport development plan

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...an-644059/?p=1

A 195-acre tract of land at Pittsburgh International Airport could be the next big development site in Allegheny County, with plans to designate it as a world trade center filled with office buildings, research and development space, a hotel and jet hangars....Aided by the Marcellus Shale boom, some energy companies are looking for more space in the region. U.S. Steel also is considering a possible move out of the U.S. Steel Tower Downtown when its lease expires in 2017.

Could mean more business moving out of the city. I always thought building the airport in moon was to far away from the city and could hurt business.

[BrianTH]

I think there is a lot to like about the current plans for the Strip, but I am fine with people working to make them better, and to ensure they are well-executed.

However, it would be a real shame if the project was actually killed.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I think there is a lot to like about the current plans for the Strip, but I am fine with people working to make them better, and to ensure they are well-executed.

However, it would be a real shame if the project was actually killed.

I completely agree with you, BrianTH. Improvements are great, but killing it would be a disaster!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by glowrock

I completely agree with you, BrianTH. Improvements are great, but killing it would be a disaster!

Aaron (Glowrock)

I also agree. We've seen way too many great projects die off for quite a few reasons. I wish the ambitious retail/office/hotel project where the BNY Mellon client services center is now actually went up instead of falling victim to the early 1990s recession. Then we wouldn't have ended up with the waste of space that client services center is. I don't want to see this happen with the Strip and/or the Mellon Arena sites either. They are gateways into Downtown for God's sake!

About this "world trade center" project for the Airport, I have mixed feelings about that. I don't want to see some other suburban office park go up here. I see what they want to do with the land surrounding Miami International Airport. Something that would mirror that would be fine with me. I understand the buildings wouldn't be very tall considering the runways for airplanes are right there...

[BrianTH]

The airport development apparently would be marketed to firms who want either direct access to a taxiway, or to be in a foreign trade zone.

That kind of thing isn't really a rival for, say, a CBD like Downtown or Oakland--it is very specific to being at an airport. Accordingly, I think it will likely more just add new site locations to the region, as opposed to taking them from somewhere else in the region.

[chiaroscuro]

http://triblive.com/news/2147011-74/...2009-2010-2012

Map of Uptown developments

Long-troubled area undergoing a renaissance

By Jeremy Boren

Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 12:01 a.m.
Updated 4 hours ago

Multimillion-dollar renovations to apartments, townhouses and restaurants are helping Uptown shed its reputation as a derelict “drive-through” neighborhood, say urban planners and enterprising developers.

“It’s crazy to have such a convenient, interesting area between two big employment centers without many places to live or to stop,” said Jonathan Hill, a partner in a venture to turn the former Fifth Avenue High School into 65 loft-style apartments. “A lot of people got used to the idea that you blink twice and you’re through Uptown and into Oakland. That’s changing.”

Thoroughfares Fifth and Forbes avenues in the heart of Uptown connect Downtown and Oakland, Pennsylvania’s second- and third-largest economies behind Philadelphia. Some see potential to create rental properties that could command Golden Triangle-worthy rents of $1,000 a month or more amid the vacant lots and century-old abandoned buildings on Fifth Avenue. Others plan to cater to the lower-income set.

The result could introduce a mix of working class and professional residents to a long-troubled neighborhood that dwindled to roughly 700 people.

“I hate it when people roll their eyes, saying, ‘Oh, you’re moving into Uptown.’ Years ago, maybe that was warranted, but these neighborhoods change,” said Steve Schillo, Duquesne University’s vice president for management and business. “It’s a great place to live and to work.”

Schillo plans to walk to work on campus. He and his wife are moving next week from their Squirrel Hill home into a two-bedroom unit in the Fifth Avenue School Lofts. It’s 90 percent leased, surpassing the expectations of Hill and Casey Steiner of Impakt Development of Edgewood.

Rents range from $725 for a 390-square-foot studio to $2,950 for a 2,000-square-foot loft. Hill said prices average about $1.25 per leased foot, about 25 cents per foot cheaper than Downtown.

Nonprofit Action Housing Inc. is hoping demand will be as strong on the other end of the market.

Action Housing started an $11.8 million renovation of the former Shanahan Warehouse building behind the Fifth Avenue School Lofts on Forbes Avenue. Ten of the 43 apartments will be designed to accommodate deaf or blind tenants. Thirty-five one-bedroom units will rent for $590 a month, and the eight two-bedroom units will be $710 a month, including utilities.

“It’s for people who are making money but not making a lot of money,” said Linda Metropulos, a sustainability consultant for Action Housing.

She expects UPMC Mercy workers to rent the apartments. She said the project is part of a larger move to eliminate the disconnect between people who work at Uptown’s three anchor employers — UPMC, Duquesne and the Pittsburgh Penguins — and people who live there.

Pittsburgh police report instances of some of the most serious crimes such as robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and theft in Uptown have been dropping. Serious offenses declined to 114 reported in 2011, down from 202 in 2007. Rates of lesser offenses declined, as well. Prostitution (38) and drug-related violations (37) were the most prevalent secondary offenses in 2011, crime statistics show.

“It felt to us like the neighborhood is in the beginning of a revival, and we’re glad to contribute to that,” Metropulos said.

Others are contributing as well.

On nearby Dinwiddie Street, Trek Development is completing the second phase of what could become a $25 million development of 72 townhouses and apartments.

Last week, Blue Line Capital, a development group headed by businessman Kevin Nord, bought two buildings on Fifth Avenue across from Consol Energy Center and T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant. Nord said he plans to build 10 lofts and a hockey-themed restaurant that features Pittsburgh’s largest rooftop bar.

At the opposite end of Fifth Avenue, L.W. Molnar & Associates is starting to lease 47 one- and two-bedroom units in the Portal Place Apartments near Carlow University. Rents are $1,300 and $1,700 a month for one- and two-bedroom units.

Technically in Oakland, Portal Place is two blocks from Uptown’s border marked by the Birmingham Bridge. Molnar’s long-term plans call for adding more apartments and, later, retail and office space.

Developer Skip Molnar said Consol Energy Center will anchor development on one end of Fifth Avenue.

“We’re hoping that our project will become an office, retail and residential anchor on the other end,” he said.

Jeanne McNutt, executive director of Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh, said she hopes each project is catalytic, spurring others to invest in Uptown’s aging housing stock.

“We’re becoming a pretty urban neighborhood again after decades of disinvestment,” McNutt said. “It’s all starting to fall into place.”

Jeremy Boren is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7935 or jboren@tribweb.com.

[BrianTH]

So the Hotel Indigo project in East Liberty appears to be moving forward:

http://epicdevelopmentspgh.blogspot....6/project.html

What I didn't realize is they were planning to redo that whole block:



You can see more renderings here (under Properties), and to me it looks absolutely fantastic. I am particularly glad they appear to be restoring the building at Kirkwood and Whitfield, which is a great old building:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=pitts...,0,-19.25&z=19

[chiaroscuro]

Hopes for mega-hotel in city far from dead

[glowrock]

Definitely looking forward to seeing Hotel Indigo moving ahead and starting construction. Yet another vital piece in the East Liberty revitalization puzzle!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Jonboy1983]

Great news about the Hotel Indigo project in East Liberty as well as the on-going project to lure a mega hotel adjacent to the Convention Center. The most recent word from months ago was that hotel chains were interested in running such a hotel. Omni was among them...

[jmcleanva]

Originally Posted by Jonboy1983

Great news about the Hotel Indigo project in East Liberty as well as the on-going project to lure a mega hotel adjacent to the Convention Center. The most recent word from months ago was that hotel chains were interested in running such a hotel. Omni was among them...

Definitely would be great for the city to score another major hotel. But, I'm wondering if prospective hotel operators feel confident enough in the Pittsburgh hotel market to take the risk. What are current occupancy rates? Anybody know?

[themaguffin]

That's problem, nobody is interested in developing a large convention center hotel without a significant gov't handout.

[markson33]

The numbers for the hotel didn't come close to working, even with the subsidy. It's possible that as the market improves the revenue per room will increase, but the financing picture is even tougher now than when they started the process.

Drove by the Indigo site yesterday. Their really moving along. Really stoked about that project - big risky project that could have a "transformative" effect on that part of East Liberty.

[Jonboy1983]

I remember reading fairly recently that occupancy rates for Pittsburgh hotels were pretty high when compared to other markets of similar size. Still, that doesn't translate to an overall less-risky venture for such an undertaking...

Still, I hope something is done. I don't want to see this get the axe. Pittsburgh can use another mega hotel IMO...

[BrianTH]

I wouldn't mind seeing it happen, but I'd be more excited about a couple boutique hotels Downtown, more B&Bs in the North Side, and so on.

[jmcleanva]

Folks, I really believe the key for Pittsburgh to become a bigger force in the convention hosting business lies in the vitality of the Cultural District. We are lucky in that the Convention Center lies just on the outskirts of this dynamic corridor. Make no mistake: I can't think of another mid-city that offer a similar cluster of attractions within their city, not to mention so close to their Convention Center. It really reflects the rich cultural legacy left behind by the city's industrial benefactors.

Having said all that, I think more needs to be done to promote and nourish this area.

I'm curous about what ideas you all have for making this area better, and somehow packaging and promoting it within the context of a tourist/convention-goer draw.

Two ideas that I have been thinking about: (1) the CD really needs a stand-out, independent jazz club (2) needs one of the area museums (the Carnegie, or Frick) to open a branch in this area in which they could rotate some of their permanent exhibits.

Do you have any thoughts?

[Urbana]

New rendering from DLA+ for the Burns and Scalo office building on the Mon.


Credit: DLA+

[Jonboy1983]

Overall, not a bad looking rendering. Just one issue tho. Is it just me or does there appear to be a glass lobby? If so, then why is it facing a side street/parking area instead of Monongahela River Boulevard?

[MattofSloppyVariety]

Unless I missed it, anyone know what's going on in Penn Circle across from the Social Security office?