PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Austinlee]

^It's still a beautiful building at street level it's just the cladding and shitty upgrades that degrade it. It would in my mind be downtown's jewel in the crown renovation. I'm sure it will happen someday. Great location, great architecture. I'm not too worried.

EDIT: I will say, I certainly hope that when they level the ugly saks turd (can't wait!) and build that proposed housing tower I hope it compliments and takes into consideration the gem it sits next too and does not detract from it. In my opinion almost all of the big projects downtown have been very considerate of their location and well designed in recent years. I'm hopeful.

[BrianTH]

The former Saks location is surrounded by great historic buildings--the Park Building, Oliver Building, and Mellon Bank Branch. There is definitely an opportunity to do something cool that could be both contemporary and contextual, and I am very interested to see the design.

[daviderik]

I've been inside the park building many times....to get a Big Mac.

[daviderik]

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/...r-town/?src=fb

"The team is putting the finishing touches on their brand new home, a new stadium overlooking Downtown Pittsburgh."

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by daviderik

I've been inside the park building many times....to get a Big Mac.

Yep!

[BrianTH]

My dentist was actually in the Park Building until just recently. From what I could tell there were only a few original touches left.

[BrianTH]

The long-planned hotel for the former Don Allen location in Bloomfield is moving along, with construction scheduled to start next spring:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...mfield-664261/



Not a stunning design achievement, but it seems urban appropriate and it is a reasonably dense use of this parcel.

[glowrock]

Good news! Frankly, given the extreme lack of hotel rooms in the entire Pittsburgh region, any little bit of new inventory is nothing but a very, very good thing!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by glowrock

Good news! Frankly, given the extreme lack of hotel rooms in the entire Pittsburgh region, any little bit of new inventory is nothing but a very, very good thing!

Especially in the East End. Hotels here are seriously lacking.

[Found5dollar]

there is a hand full of new renderings of the PNC tower here:
http://www.thetoweratpncplaza.com/#gallery

new ground floor and facade renders.

[daviderik]

Awesome!

[Jonboy1983]

Those renderings look impressive. I can't wait to see this thing once it's actually built in a couple of years.

[Austinlee]

^Totally.

We have 3 years to discuss, fight, deliberate and speculate on this building. But of course it will be built as planned with or without all of our professional opinions.

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

^Totally.

We have 3 years to discuss, fight, deliberate and speculate on this building. But of course it will be built as planned with or without all of our professional opinions.

Three years? What part of 2015 is this supposed to be completed by? If it's 1st quarter, that gives us a little over 2 years from this point -- 2 and a quarter years at the longest...

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Jonboy1983

Three years? What part of 2015 is this supposed to be completed by? If it's 1st quarter, that gives us a little over 2 years from this point -- 2 and a quarter years at the longest...

I meant from 2012-2015. I don't know what month it's supposed to be done!

[bevansr]

Has there been any progress on future plans for the site where the Mellon arena once stood? I saw a lot of interesting ideas at first, but was unsure if any of these were becoming a reality. Being a planning student myself I believe this would be a great space for a hotel or arena district similar to the arena district in Columbus.

[kosi3]

That would be amazing for Pittsburgh but I wonder if that area of town could support that type of setup like there is in Columbus. A mixed use area would be best but that area of town still doesnt have the best reputation, at least until Duquesne and Pitt start redeveloping Uptown. That area still tends to be a ghost town after 5PM unless there is an event.

[Found5dollar]

steel is starting to go up on the PNC tower!

look at the webcam!
http://www.thetoweratpncplaza.com/

it looks like it is the garage columns, but still, this is great! we should be getting the big crane in less than a week.

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

I meant from 2012-2015. I don't know what month it's supposed to be done!

Fair enough.

Originally Posted by kosi3

That would be amazing for Pittsburgh but I wonder if that area of town could support that type of setup like there is in Columbus. A mixed use area would be best but that area of town still doesnt have the best reputation, at least until Duquesne and Pitt start redeveloping Uptown. That area still tends to be a ghost town after 5PM unless there is an event.

I agree that a mixed use development would work very well. Regarding hotel development (if they do put one there) it needs to be larger than that dinky little cookie-cutter-type thing they built right next to it. It's an urban core setting, not some far out suburb! There needs to be something at least in the 18-25-plus-story range (or 300-500-room ballpark) in my opinion. It's close to a multi-purpose, year-round facility pretty much, and I think it will demand such a use later if it doesn't already... That's just my 2cents...

Originally Posted by Found5dollar

steel is starting to go up on the PNC tower!

look at the webcam!
http://www.thetoweratpncplaza.com/

it looks like it is the garage columns, but still, this is great! we should be getting the big crane in less than a week.

Heck, it's progress.

[pyrohy]

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...me-mat-664780/


Good ideas in rethinking pedestrian infrastructure for the North Side n'at