PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Bricktrimble]

PA Act 135 & Blighted Properties

Has anyone ever heard of Act 135 (I guess its now Act 157 of 2014)? This article from Philly.com brings up some interesting possibilities for blighted properties in Pittsburgh:
http://www.philly.com/philly/columni...htbusters.html

Does this ever happen in Pittsburgh? Should we start of list of properties around here that could use this mechanism for upgrading?

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Bricktrimble

I lived in Northern Virginia during part of its boom time, 1986-2001, and I can tell you that population increase is not necessarily a good thing. The traffic woes in the DC metro area are true and it takes so long to get anywhere. The cost of housing also increased tremendously (fine for those selling, but not for those moving in or trying to buy into a market). We moved back to Pittsburgh to stay out of the rat race. So while the media makes it sound like increasing population is a great thing and shows a city as "successful", it does have its downside. I want enough people in Pittsburgh to make mass transit more viable, but not too many to clog the roads.

Excellent points.

The funny thing about Pittsburgh is no matter how much the city population shrinks the traffic is always still horrible.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Bricktrimble

PA Act 135 & Blighted Properties

Has anyone ever heard of Act 135 (I guess its now Act 157 of 2014)? This article from Philly.com brings up some interesting possibilities for blighted properties in Pittsburgh:
http://www.philly.com/philly/columni...htbusters.html

Does this ever happen in Pittsburgh? Should we start of list of properties around here that could use this mechanism for upgrading?

The more programs to combat blight the better.

[anotherpghdave]

Originally Posted by Bricktrimble

PA Act 135 & Blighted Properties

Has anyone ever heard of Act 135 (I guess its now Act 157 of 2014)? This article from Philly.com brings up some interesting possibilities for blighted properties in Pittsburgh:
http://www.philly.com/philly/columni...htbusters.html

Does this ever happen in Pittsburgh? Should we start of list of properties around here that could use this mechanism for upgrading?

East Liberty Development Inc. is trying to do this, most prominently with the SS. Peter & Paul Church on Larimer Avenue. It is a difficult, lengthly legal process and there's a lot of risk involved on the part of the conservator.

[BrianTH]

That's a great shot of the Strip. I generally wish the new buildings were taller--it would be cool if everything was around as tall as the Cork Factory at least--but it isn't just a market demand issue, it is also a NIMBY issue, with support from others in the region who fear too much change in the Strip. So I've resigned myself to these shorter buildings, but fortunately that is still (barely) enough to make it a thriving urban neighborhood.

I agree with the RSCA that it is disappointing that pedestrians seem to be getting the shaft when it comes to resolving the issues along South Braddock in the Regent Square business district.

I also agree rapid population growth is not something we should necessarily wish for, and that for now the overall number is misleading in that there is still an older remnant population that distorts the natural and migration balance. That said, as yet we (meaning modern humans) really haven't figured out how to run a thriving economy without at least long-term slow growth--too much of how capital investments and public finances are allocated depends on the assumption of growth--such that I wouldn't want Pittsburgh to follow the path of Japan until we figure that out. Which means we need more migrants, and particularly international migrants, to be attracted to the region.

[BrianTH]

Even more Macy's are going to close as it continues its transition into being more of a real estate holding company than a retailer:

http://www.post-gazette.com/business...s/201612230064

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Even more Macy's are going to close as it continues its transition into being more of a real estate holding company than a retailer:

http://www.post-gazette.com/business...s/201612230064

This is just a gut feeling but I believe more and more big-box stores, department stores and a certain percentage of fast food & other restaurant companies will function more and more like real estate holding companies. As the millennial generation wages stagnate and/or jobs disappear do to automation the younger generation will have less and less disposable income meaning less demand for shopping.
I read years ago that part of the genius of Ray Kroc, the man who built McDonald's into the largest international "restaurant" was not only that he sold a ton of hamburgers but that he was amassing a huge amount of prime property. So even if the restaurant business fades over time they are sitting on billions of prime real estate.

[Austinlee]

2016 may have been an embarrassing year for American politics but it WAS a good year for commercial construction in Pittsburgh.

Report: 2016 was a big year for commercial construction
Dec 23, 2016, 11:21am EST
Tim Schooley

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

Tall Timber Group is touting 2016 as the biggest year for commercial construction since 2000, based largely on activity in the industrial sector.

In a recent post for its Building Pittsburgh blog, Tall Timber Group principal Jeff Burd put the 2016 nonresidential construction in the region in $4.07 billion, the largest since the region experienced such major projects as PNC Park, Heinz Field, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and the new Children’s Hospital all under construction.

That $4 billion number only includes the first $300 million in site preparation for the BC ethane cracker which will cost at least $2 billion if not close to $4-$6 billion.

[highlander206]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

2016 may have been an embarrassing year for American politics but it WAS a good year for commercial construction in Pittsburgh.

Report: 2016 was a big year for commercial construction
Dec 23, 2016, 11:21am EST
Tim Schooley

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



That $4 billion number only counts the first $300 million in site preparation for the BC ethane cracker which will cost at least $2 billion if not more like $4-$6 billion.

I didn't realize there were so many big projects going on in the outlying counties. Did anyone here know about the cryogenic gas processing plant in Burgettstown? I don't remember seeing it mentioned in the media for as big of a price tag as it has. I am surprised to read this because it didn't seem like that notable of a year in the city. Good to see big projects in other areas though.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by highlander206

I didn't realize there were so many big projects going on in the outlying counties. Did anyone here know about the cryogenic gas processing plant in Burgettstown? I don't remember seeing it mentioned in the media for as big of a price tag as it has. I am surprised to read this because it didn't seem like that notable of a year in the city. Good to see big projects in other areas though.

I know, I kinda thought the same thing. Some of those power plant projects really fly under the radar in terms of media coverage.
Not the cracker though. That thing is the Kardashian of local construction coverage.

[highlander206]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

I know, I kinda thought the same thing. Some of those power plant projects really fly under the radar in terms of media coverage.
Not the cracker though. That thing is the Kardashian of local construction coverage.

Maybe it's because the jobs a power plant creates are so low? I did a search for the one being built in Westmoreland County and it's 300 construction jobs and 25 full time ones. The cracker plant will however do a lot more for the region and Beaver County in a way which those areas haven't seen in a long time.

[photoLith]

How many people will the cracker employ?

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by photoLith

How many people will the cracker employ?

6,000 construction jobs, 600 full time jobs to run the plant.

[AFW523]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

6,000 construction jobs, 600 full time jobs to run the plant.

Not to mention the (hopefully) significant amount of upstream supply chain jobs it should produce.

Do you guys actually want to see a petrochem cracker plant built in the Pittsburgh region?

[daviderik]

I'm a consistent Anti-NIMBY.

[highlander206]

Well, I found this article from Next Pittsburgh which illustrates the potential economic gains while going into the environmental concerns.

http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/curren...mmon-ground-2/

[BrianTH]

I wouldn't have given them such lavish tax subsidies, as I strongly suspect they would have located here anyway.

Otherwise, I think it is possible to run a modern cracker in a way that reduces the environmental impact to an acceptably low level. Run that way, the economic benefits likely make it worthwhile (like many people, I am actually more interested in the downstream development and capital investment possibilities than direct employment per se).

The problem is that ensuring that the cracker actually is run as clean as it should be requires active and motivated enforcement at all relevant levels of government. And the political situation these days is, to put it in mild terms, not always conducive to such outcomes.

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Otherwise, I think it is possible to run a modern cracker in a way that reduces the environmental impact to an acceptably low level.

How so? And what is acceptably low level?

Just wondering if you guys on here are at all familiar with "modern" petrochemical refining facilities on the Gulf Coast that are similar in operation to the one that is proposed in the Pittsburgh area...

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Perch

Do you guys actually want to see a petrochem cracker plant built in the Pittsburgh region?

It doesn't really matter what I think. I don't own the land. I don't own the capital. I just copy and paste links & information onto a message board.