PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Question, how would the airport operate while this construction is going on? I'm guessing the new terminal is going at a different location from the current terminal. But it would seem they would have to redesign the whole runway set up as well.

From the FAQ:

15. Will there be any disruption in service during the construction period?
Just as there wasn’t any disruption in service when the current terminals were opened in 1992, there won’t be any disruption during this construction period. In fact, this is one of the biggest advantages of Alternative 2. For the most part, the existing terminal will function as it currently does while the new TMP terminal is being constructed. Passengers will see no real difference in their experience during construction.
The construction site can be isolated from the Security Identification Display Area (SIDA) or the secure areas of the airfield and terminal. The ability to secure the construction site in this manner, the ease of establishing construction vehicle access and material staging areas are key contributing factors to estimating the program and the financing costs for the project and the 3-year construction period.

16. Will passengers be impacted at all during construction?
No, passengers will continue to use the existing Landside Terminal and train, which will operate below ground of the construction site. There should be no real change in the passenger experience during construction.

They are basically just absorbing the open space between the landside and airside terminals, under which the people mover is running (and which used to house the E Gates, for those of us who remember those days). The D and C gates which face landside will be removed, but obviously they don't need them these days.

So it is pretty clever--they will basically be building the new stuff inside the old stuff, and when the new stuff is ready they can do the switchover, then figure out what to do with the old stuff (which will probably be demolished).

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Article on the former Emerald on Centre, now Coda on Centre:

https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsbur...t-liberty.html

Leasing starts in November, with opening scheduled for March.

Not sure how they increased the unit count from 146 to 172 after the building was approved by zoning, but it's good nonetheless.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by qwho

I wonder if the Hyatt will still be as convenient as it is today? The only reason I am even willing to pay as much as they charge is so that I can basically fall out of bed into the security line...

Way, way less convenient. It won't even be directly connected to the new parking, let alone the new terminal.

Based on the images, they do plan to keep the current structured parking with the connection to the hotel. I also assume they will put most of the surrounding parking lots up for redevelopment. So it would seem you could basically build an entire new small city over there. But unless I am missing something, access to that area, including the Hyatt, would have to be by shuttle.

[BrianTH]

The microneighborhood of Duck Hollow is getting a new bridge over Nine Mile Run, to allow for fire truck access. The old bridge (off of which we have fed many ducks and fish) will remain as a ped/bike bridge:

http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/...ld-soon-change

Predictably, they found a Duck Hollow resident to complain about traffic. As Duck Hollow will still be a dead end, I'm not really seeing that as a legitimate concern.

Now if they ever connected a bike/ped trail through to Carrie Furnace and on to Braddock, that would lead to a nonstop hipster invasion:

https://friendsoftheriverfront.org/w...-Section-1.pdf

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

The microneighborhood of Duck Hollow is getting a new bridge over Nine Mile Run, to allow for fire truck access. The old bridge (off of which we have fed many ducks and fish) will remain as a ped/bike bridge:

http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/...ld-soon-change

Predictably, they found a Duck Hollow resident to complain about traffic. As Duck Hollow will still be a dead end, I'm not really seeing that as a legitimate concern.

Now if they ever connected a bike/ped trail through to Carrie Furnace and on to Braddock, that would lead to a nonstop hipster invasion:

https://friendsoftheriverfront.org/w...-Section-1.pdf

There's not a project anodyne enough that someone won't complain about it.

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

This slide from the video seems to provide the best annotated overview of the plan:

Leaving part of the car rental building after demolition... accidental or on purpose?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by TBone7281

Leaving part of the car rental building after demolition... accidental or on purpose?

If I understand what you are referring to, part of that is powerplant, I believe. So maybe it is all ancillary to that.

Edit: There is also a bunker-looking opening in the area I am looking at. I wonder what that is all about.

Edit#2: Oh, it is a pass through for a roadway:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pi...!4d-80.2413113

Is that for baggage and such?

[GeneW]

Pittsburgh's North Side to get protected bike lane on Allegheny Circle

The protected-bike-lane train keeps on rolling through Pittsburgh. Last month, City Paper reported on Oakland receiving Pittsburgh's first counter-flow, protected bike lane and other big bike-infrastructure changes coming to the student-heavy neighborhood.

Now, the North Side is the benefactor of improved bike infrastructure. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto's office announced on Sept. 12, the soon-to-come installation of a cycletrack, or two-way protected bike lane, coming to Allegheny Circle, called Commons on road signs. Currently, the four-lane, one-way road loops around the former Allegheny Center, now called Nova Place. Peduto said in a press release that the road needs to be redesigned to create a "multimodal, pedestrian-friendly urban street."

"The failed design of Allegheny Circle as a four-lane, high-speed ring road has needed improvements like this for decades," said Peduto in the press release. "This redesign will further enhance the ongoing transformation of Allegheny Center into a hub for 21st-century infrastructure and development in the North Side."

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Well, we already know that article is based on some inaccurate premises, like that Amazon would prefer to start with an existing building (they would actually prefer to start with a shovel-ready site). We've also discussed the Seattle flight issue, and I for one am convinced it wouldn't be hard to make sure such a flight was available.

Briem is concerned about whether the state offering large incentives would be a good idea, but that doesn't mean they won't do it--see the Shell cracker.

I think the most serious issue is whether we could really supply 50,000 tech workers. But I also think it is important to understand that wouldn't be the first year--it is a total that would build up over phases over many years.

So, Amazon would have to be convinced Pittsburgh would start retaining/attracting more tech workers, if Amazon (and perhaps others) were providing that sort of demand. And that is the choice they will have overall, because the places with large tech work forces already are also the ones where it is already expensive, whereas this is likely going to be an issue for any place with lower costs--their ability to support this sort of tech growth will be unproven. But I'd suggest if they want to take the latter path, Pittsburgh will be as competitive as any such city.

Good points.

Originally Posted by photoLith

I sure hope Pittsburgh gets the new Amazon headquarters, but I have a feeling NYC, Detroit or Chicago will get it.

Detroit, despite being a large metro of around 5 million I think is missing a world class tech university. The closest is probably Ann Arbor but that may not be enough.

Originally Posted by Minivan Werner

My money's on Boston.

I also tend to think Boston would be the top choice. They have loads of top tech talent. The biggest factor would be cost of living being a deal killer for them.

[dfiler]

I'm not sure how i feel about the proposed airport redevelopment. A new airport could be nice but I can think of plenty of ways a billion dollars in transportation funds could be better spent in pittsburgh. Off the top of my head, with a billion dollars we could have a real mass transit system. Our current mass transit is so limited that it is hard to depend or base your lifestyle on it.

Millennials are flocking to cities where life isn't all about parking lots and long highway commutes. And similarly, wooing companies in the tech sector is easier when a city is comprised of livable, walkable neighborhoods within close proximity of convenient transit. The potential for landing the amazon HQ2 isn't an isolated scenario. It's just a prominent example. Most companies will soon have similar location preferences if they don't already.

In my opinion, a smaller and allegedly more convenient airport is not worth the billion-plus dollars. The Pittsburgh airport just needs new carpet and paint to satisfy most people. Or is there something i'm missing?

[dfiler]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

The microneighborhood of Duck Hollow is getting a new bridge over Nine Mile Run, to allow for fire truck access. The old bridge (off of which we have fed many ducks and fish) will remain as a ped/bike bridge:

http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/...ld-soon-change

Predictably, they found a Duck Hollow resident to complain about traffic. As Duck Hollow will still be a dead end, I'm not really seeing that as a legitimate concern.

Now if they ever connected a bike/ped trail through to Carrie Furnace and on to Braddock, that would lead to a nonstop hipster invasion:

https://friendsoftheriverfront.org/w...-Section-1.pdf

I suspect that when the brownfield around carrie furnace is developed, there will be renewed interest in using the hot metal bridge for traffic. I forget the exact parties involved, but a stipulation of using that bridge for auto traffic is that it also include a bike/pedestrian trail. If that happens, a riverfront trail between duck hollow and the hot metal bridge will be seen as a no-brainer by even non-bikers. I hope to see it in my lifetime!

Details on the proposed trail can be found on Friend's of the Riverfront's website:
https://friendsoftheriverfront.org/t...rail-building/

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by dfiler

I'm not sure how i feel about the proposed airport redevelopment. A new airport could be nice but I can think of plenty of ways a billion dollars in transportation funds could be better spent in pittsburgh. Off the top of my head, with a billion dollars we could have a real mass transit system. Our current mass transit is so limited that it is hard to depend or base your lifestyle on it.

Millennials are flocking to cities where life isn't all about parking lots and long highway commutes. And similarly, wooing companies in the tech sector is easier when a city is comprised of livable, walkable neighborhoods within close proximity of convenient transit. The potential for landing the amazon HQ2 isn't an isolated scenario. It's just a prominent example. Most companies will soon have similar location preferences if they don't already.

In my opinion, a smaller and allegedly more convenient airport is not worth the billion-plus dollars. The Pittsburgh airport just needs new carpet and paint to satisfy most people. Or is there something i'm missing?

A billion dollars would only extend the T about 3 -5 miles in any direction. At least underground. I think our airport could use the upgrade.

I think the new terminal renderings show a surprisingly sparse and wide open design. Not sure if I like that or not.

[bevansr]

What do guys think about utilizing the old Western Penitentiary Site, and adjacent properties for a potential Amazon campus site? They could do some really cool things with the Western Building, plenty of room to expand/do whatever they want, easy access into and out of town, close to the airport and waterfront access?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by dfiler

I'm not sure how i feel about the proposed airport redevelopment. A new airport could be nice but I can think of plenty of ways a billion dollars in transportation funds could be better spent in pittsburgh. Off the top of my head, with a billion dollars we could have a real mass transit system. Our current mass transit is so limited that it is hard to depend or base your lifestyle on it.

If you gave me an unfettered $1.1 billion in public capital to spend, I also wouldn't spend it this way.

But as a matter of federal law, that's not possible. The money for this is mostly (83%) being generated by the airport itself (including bonds, which the airport will pay off through its own revenues). Federal law as currently interpreted actually prohibits the airport from contributing such funding to non-airport projects. The remainder (17%) will be from grants, which are also likely earmarked for airports projects. Note many of these programs are funded by things like ticket fees and aviation fuel taxes, so there is really not even an indirect possibility of retasking those funds for other modes of transportation.

In that context, I'm fine with this. Basically, if the airport didn't spend this money, 17% would go to airports elsewhere, another large chunk (by my math, something like 61%) would just go to higher operating and maintenance costs. The remaining 22% would also have to go to some other airport project, or at most returned to airlines in the form of lower landing fees. But they support the project too, because they recognize their implicit investment in the project is worth it for a better airport (and likely lower operating costs themselves).

In short, basically this money has to be spent on the airport. And this seems like a well-thought-out way to spend it.

[dfiler]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

A billion dollars would only extend the T about 3 -5 miles in any direction. At least underground. I think our airport could use the upgrade.

I think the new terminal renderings show a surprisingly sparse and wide open design. Not sure if I like that or not.

It doesn't seem that Pittsburgh's density merits the cost of underground transit beyond perhaps a bit of downtown. Even if $1+ only extends rail 10 miles, that's really significant. It would completely transform life in the city. A new airport doesn't seem to offer that transformative effect.

Although, as pointed out in the post below, when funds are earmarked, this either/or priority discussion is purely academic. The people involved can be faulted for spending money on the airport instead of transit within the city. Instead, that debate is better targeted at a higher level of bureaucracy.

Originally Posted by BrianTH

If you gave me an unfettered $1.1 billion in public capital to spend, I also wouldn't spend it this way.

But as a matter of federal law, that's not possible. The money for this is mostly (83%) being generated by the airport itself (including bonds, which the airport will pay off through its own revenues). Federal law as currently interpreted actually prohibits the airport from contributing such funding to non-airport projects. The remainder (17%) will be from grants, which are also likely earmarked for airports projects. Note many of these programs are funded by things like ticket fees and aviation fuel taxes, so there is really not even an indirect possibility of retasking those funds for other modes of transportation.

In that context, I'm fine with this. Basically, if the airport didn't spend this money, 17% would go to airports elsewhere, another large chunk (by my math, something like 61%) would just go to higher operating and maintenance costs. The remaining 22% would also have to go to some other airport project, or at most returned to airlines in the form of lower landing fees. But they support the project too, because they recognize their implicit investment in the project is worth it for a better airport (and likely lower operating costs themselves).

In short, basically this money has to be spent on the airport. And this seems like a well-thought-out way to spend it.

What are the benefits of the new airport in concrete terms? So far I've only had the chance to get information via brief media snippets. An in depth description would be quite interesting.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

I think the new terminal renderings show a surprisingly sparse and wide open design. Not sure if I like that or not.

They are arguing that format maximizes their flexibility and ability to grow in the future. Part of their point about the current terminal is with the growth of things like kiosk check-in and such, they have way too much space at ticketing and not nearly enough at security, but they can't re-task the space according to present balance of needs. Having essentially a big open box means you can change how it is divided up functionally over time.

I also think it was basically a luxury forced on them by the fact they presumably needed to shut down all the gates on the landside-facing sides of C and D. That creates this large triangular space that otherwise couldn't be used, so you might as well roof it all over and create a very spacious terminal.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by dfiler

What are the benefits of the new airport in concrete terms? So far I've only had the chance to get information via brief media snippets. An in depth description would be quite interesting.

If I understand correctly, it will lower the operating costs of the airport, which will mean that gate fees charged to airlines will drop (or not increase as rapidly at least) making it more cost competitive for airlines to have flights out of Pittsburgh.

In addition, the footprint of the airport is way too big for the level of air traffic, so the Authority could sell off some of the land to private developers.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by bevansr

What do guys think about utilizing the old Western Penitentiary Site, and adjacent properties for a potential Amazon campus site? They could do some really cool things with the Western Building, plenty of room to expand/do whatever they want, easy access into and out of town, close to the airport and waterfront access?

Interesting idea, but I am not sure that is a large enough footprint, particularly if you don't tear down the historic building (which I would love to see preserved in some form as a regional attraction).

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by dfiler

What are the benefits of the new airport in concrete terms? So far I've only had the chance to get information via brief media snippets. An in depth description would be quite interesting.

This FAQ at the project website is pretty good at explaining all that, if you have a little time to spend with it:

http://pittransformed.com/about-faq/

The executive summary is:

The Benefits:

Generate $1.66 billion in economic activity*
Create 10,641 direct and indirect jobs*
Generate more than $28 million in state and local income tax*
Reduce operating expenses
Increase non-airline revenue opportunities, including real estate and concessions
Enhance the customer experience
Improve the security screening process
Reduce wait, travel times for passengers and their bags
* Temporary Design & Construction only

Individual FAQs then provide somewhat more detail on a lot of those items. For example:

A detailed financial study of total ownership costs determined that the TMP could best achieve the ACAA’s and stakeholder’s customer service and financial objectives at the lowest cost. Additionally, the TMP will provide the following benefits:

Reduces operating expenses:
addresses higher expenses compared to peer airports
automated people mover
complex baggage handling systems
facility size and configuration

Improves facilities to support continued growth of airline service and to better serve the change over to the origin/destination market:
provides more flexible space options to accommodate better response to market changes
provides best opportunity to enhance non-airline revenues

Improves customer experience through the adoption of new configuration and technology:
security screening
pre-boarding
international arrivals
value-added services

And so forth.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

If I understand correctly, it will lower the operating costs of the airport, which will mean that gate fees charged to airlines will drop (or not increase as rapidly at least) making it more cost competitive for airlines to have flights out of Pittsburgh.

In addition, the footprint of the airport is way too big for the level of air traffic, so the Authority could sell off some of the land to private developers.

The third main category of benefit is making it function better for passengers. That might not be directly monetized by the airport itself (a lot might take the form of what is called consumer surplus, although my guess is some of that will end up as airline profits too). But of course that is ultimately the point of having an airport in the first place, to provide a service to passengers which they value, and so adding to that value is a core benefit.

After that there are some other things too. At least in the short term, construction will bring a lot of jobs and local tax revenues. They are also suggesting airlines might save on their own costs. They argue re-doing the gates and other spaces will make it easier to add more flights and airlines. They expect improved revenues from concessions. International arrivals would not be a bodge job. All that adds up when thinking about the overall cost/benefit equation.