PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[eschaton]

Another zoning report is up. Items of interest:

1. A mini-grocery store going in on Brownsville Road in Carrick.

2. A new four-story mixed use structure in Homewood South. It's not clear what will be in this building, but they are asking variances for both a medical office and a restaurant. The location is very close to the Wilkinsburg busway station, so it's a good spot for employment.

3. An infill three-unit walkup apartment on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield.

4. The Lawrenceville Corporation affordable housing projects on Penn Avenue have been continued twice now from earlier zoning agendas. This doesn't seem to be a good sign.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

2. A new four-story mixed use structure in Homewood South. It's not clear what will be in this building, but they are asking variances for both a medical office and a restaurant.

That's pretty intriguing. I've been watching the renovations of the big factory on Susquehanna, and it is looking pretty good. It sounds like this project could be a significant step toward building up a big cluster around there (there is plenty of land for it).

Of course eventually, I'd love to see an East Liberty Transit Center-type project right at the Busway station, which would involve replacing the surface parking with structured parking of some sort and then adding apartments, retail, maybe offices, and so on.

[BrianTH]

A food truck park is being opened in Millvale:

http://www.post-gazette.com/life/foo...s/201708020154

The outdoor and indoor space is the part of the Millvale Riverfront Park that once was Mr. Small’s Skatepark, right on the riverfront trail and River Front Drive beneath the 40th Street Bridge to Lawrenceville. So plans call for lots of bike racks for customers who’ll come for a daily rotation of up to six of the region’s food trucks, plus a bar with 30 craft beers beneath a beer garden deck, outdoor tables, fire pits and a game yard for corn hole and other pursuits. There’ll be music and other events outside and inside, as the business grows into part of a warehouse the borough now uses for storage. . . .

Food truck parks are popular in other cities, from Austin, Texas, to Portland, Ore. The Langs have visited several and say they want theirs to be less static than some. They want to be able to rent their space for weddings and other events and include other local businesses besides food trucks. “A collective of all things Pittsburgh,” according to their website, which describes it as “a fun place to hang with your friends or your kids, a place to unwind after a day in the office, a place to cap off your most recent river rendezvous, a place to plan your next epic adventure, a place to congregate ... A backyard party.” . . .

[T]his will be the brothers’ business, and one they see being open seven days a week, at least for dinner, and also for lunch on weekends and warm-weather holidays. The adjacent trail, part of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail system, makes it bike-accessible to several breweries, including Millvale’s Grist House and Draai Lang and Sharpsburg’s Dancing Gnome and forthcoming Hitchhiker, plus all the breweries over in Lawrenceville. It’ll also be close to the nearby Riverfront 47 development, which makes Shawn Lang say, “The timing is awesome.” They hope to start working on the property within a few weeks and start holding some pop-up events this season, and then be more in full swing by spring. “The outdoor space is what’s guaranteed to happen right way,” says Matt Lang, who says that is about 8,000 square feet. They’ll start with about 2,000 square feet of the warehouse, which has about 6,000 more square feet that they could eventually move into. On a busy night, there could be 200 or more customers at any given time.

Millvale's annexation into Pittsburgh's hipster belt continues.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Millvale's annexation into Pittsburgh's hipster belt continues.

Sometimes I wish I was ten years younger so I could properly enjoy Millvale's renaissance.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Sometimes I wish I was ten years younger so I could properly enjoy Millvale's renaissance.

Over the years I've missed a lot of what is going on in that area due to a combination of having kids and a relative lack of proximity, but I am thinking of maybe organizing some bike outings to this place if it takes off.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Over the years I've missed a lot of what is going on in that area due to a combination of having kids and a relative lack of proximity, but I am thinking of maybe organizing some bike outings to this place if it takes off.

When I first moved to Pittsburgh back in 2005, shows at Mr. Smalls were basically the only reason to go there. I think the french bakery was already open, but that wasn't a draw for me at age 26.

[BrianTH]

A lot of cool things are happening in Allentown these days (although as discussed in the article, it still has some issues too):

http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/city-d...s-main-street/

Meanwhile, those cheapo WOW flights through Iceland are really paying off in terms of Brits promoting visits to Pittsburgh:

http://www.mtv.co.uk/travel/news/8-r...ver-thought-of

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Over the years I've missed a lot of what is going on in that area due to a combination of having kids and a relative lack of proximity, but I am thinking of maybe organizing some bike outings to this place if it takes off.

I have a hybrid bike and love riding the trails. Please let me know if you do this because I would love to participate.

[Austinlee]

Whoa! This concept of futuristic travel was just announced like a year ago and Pittsburgh is already on the list. I say bring it on. Awesome.

High-speed ‘Hyperloop’ tubes could connect Chicago, Columbus and Pittsburgh
By Kimball Perry
The Columbus Dispatch
Posted Aug 4, 2017 at 12:01 AM

http://www.dispatch.com/news/2017080...and-pittsburgh

The almost 500-mile corridor from Chicago to Columbus to Pittsburgh could become a “mega-region” connected by high-speed tubes that drive economic growth across four states, officials for Hyperloop One believe.

Now, “there’s not even a direct highway linking the three” cities, Y.J. Fischer of Hyperloop One told a Columbus audience of freight experts Thursday.

Fischer, who wouldn’t answer questions from The Dispatch after her talk, is crossing the globe evangelizing Hyperloop One. The transportation company insists it will revolutionize how and where people live and work and how goods are moved.

“We are combining the speed of a plane with the capacity of a train,” Fischer said. It would be as convenient as a subway.

Hyperloop One aims to build large vacuum tubes that will whisk pods, carrying people and goods, at cruising speeds of 671 miles per hour, allowing a Columbus resident to commute 29 minutes to work in Chicago or 18 minutes to Pittsburgh.

Listen to the latest Cbus NEXT podcast


The technology uses pods magnetically elevated inside vacuum tubes. That reduces friction, maximizing speed. Electro-magnetic technology shoots the pod through the tube. All rides are planned to be non-stop. Tubes eventually will have on- and off-ramps to link nationwide.

Hyperloop One is calling the 47-minute Chicago-to-Columbus-to-Pittsburgh route “Hyperloop Midwest.” At 488 miles, it is the third longest of the 11 proposed routes. Hyperloop Midwest is one of 11 U.S. and 35 international finalists — out of 2,600 applicants — for the first Hyperloop One route.

“Hyperloop Midwest” was mentioned by Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd at an April conference as the example of how the new transportation system can shorten travel times and no longer rely on geography to define where we work or live.

He noted that the midwest mega-region includes four states, 15 professional sports teams, six major airports and, importantly, 181 college and universities. It’s also in the middle of the country and its supply chain.

“This is really about creating an economic mega-region by making opportunities for employment expand to a much greater area,” Llyod said at that conference, “We see the opportunities for some of the most famous universities, who are generating some of the most brilliant minds, to open up employment opportunities and an economic region.”

Imagine, Fischer said, travel with no more weather delays because there is no weather inside the tube. Travelers won’t need time tables because Hyperloop One is on demand and personal. She didn’t mention the cost to ride or use the service. And she never discussed what it would cost to build or where that money would come from.

The hyperloop also would help manufacturing and supply chains, she said, allowing factories and plants to be located anywhere because the pool of workers and suppliers would expand exponentially on Hyperloop One’s speedy routes.

“This stuff could happen within a couple of years,” Lloyd said in April. “We’re not talking decades.”

18 minutes from Pittsburgh to Columbus or 47 minutes from Pittsburgh to Chicago. Holy fuck.

[photoLith]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Sometimes I wish I was ten years younger so I could properly enjoy Millvale's renaissance.

As someone who lived there for the past four years, you aren't missing much in Millvale. At least not yet. I couldn't want to move out of that trash neighborhood, sorry. Moving to Oakland now to be around not rednecks/heroin addicts.

[Austinlee]

If anyone is interested, this link about the Hyperloop was highly informative. It's an hour+ talk with some of the industries leading minds and well worth a watch for any futurists or transportation fans.

https://hyperloop-one.com/blog/full-...hallenge-event

TL;DR: Basically it comes down to get a project of this size off the ground is: 1. A genius idea in the first place. (Hyperloop would leapfrog the technology of High Speed Rail which is perfect for the US who has no HSR) 2. It must have collaboration between all parties. Private, public, regulatory bodies, local state & federal support and private & possibly public investment too to make it work. That sounds like an impossible task but If you watch the video, all of these entities are excited about this idea and seem to want it to work.

[BrianTH]

A high speed connection to Chicago (and eventually other parts of a Chicago-hub system) would be truly transformative of Pittsburgh's future prospects. And in fact, it almost inevitably would be the connection point between any such system and an East Coast system.

So hopefully they can make this work.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

A high speed connection to Chicago (and eventually other parts of a Chicago-hub system) would be truly transformative of Pittsburgh's future prospects. And in fact, it almost inevitably would be the connection point between any such system and an East Coast system.

So hopefully they can make this work.

Yes, sooner or later it would be inevitable to connect the loop from the BosWash corridor to the Chi-Pitts megalopolis thus connecting the two most populated regions in the US by far (BosWash) is 52+ million and Chi-Pitts is 59 million if you count Detroit and up to Toronto.

[BobLoblaw]

Here's a photo of the Strip from today. I think this gives a good sense of just how massive the Buncher apartment building is going to be (I think it will wrap around the parking garage all the way to 21st Street), and an overall view of how the river side of Railroad Street is filling in. I hope the exterior finishes of the Buncher building turn out to be pretty strong and somewhat varied (I liked the renderings o-k), because that will certainly be one long, unbroken wall of building.

[The North One]

The Hyperloop is a fantasy, I wouldn't hold my breath.

It's ridiculous what this country comes up with just to avoid the topic of high-speed rail.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by The North One

The Hyperloop is a fantasy, I wouldn't hold my breath.

I don't know--there are a lot of pretty serious development efforts ongoing (including a CMU team), and various people are predicting we could see commercial systems within 5-10 years. That's because the basic logic of it is pretty compelling--putting the vehicles in low-pressure tubes solves a lot of the practical problems associated with conventional open-air high-speed rail. And the far higher speeds greatly expands the range at which they could compete with and beat airplanes--as in potentially all the way to transoceanic range (although that may be more than 5-10 years).

[highlander206]

Originally Posted by photoLith

As someone who lived there for the past four years, you aren't missing much in Millvale. At least not yet. I couldn't want to move out of that trash neighborhood, sorry. Moving to Oakland now to be around not rednecks/heroin addicts.

Sadly, the river towns along the Allegheny River in general are populated with a lot of people like this. Before getting my degree I worked in a store in that area and I've seen so many miserable looking people in my life as the locals did.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by The North One

The Hyperloop is a fantasy, I wouldn't hold my breath.

It's ridiculous what this country comes up with just to avoid the topic of high-speed rail.

Precisely.

[photoLith]

Was just in downtown Brownsville and it's incredible, they're building a new 6 story building downtown and restoring about 4 historic buildings too. Thought the downtown was just eventually going to be all demolished but someone is finally investing in it.

[bmust71]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Was just in downtown Brownsville and it's incredible, they're building a new 6 story building downtown and restoring about 4 historic buildings too. Thought the downtown was just eventually going to be all demolished but someone is finally investing in it.

Interesting... is there an article or any other news about what's going on over there? I remember seeing a photo thread from you or someone else on Brownsville and its a fascinating little town