more on the opening of 151 FirstSide... and even more exciting news... Falbo has a proposal to bulld 120 condos at a parking lot next to 1 Smithfield (currently the site of a hideous low-rise building recently discussed as potential Point Park University threatre-space)... there are 3 other condo proposals as well... 120 condos would most likely put this building over the 20-story mark... and a boutique hotel component could possibly increase the height even more
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07297/827963-53.stm
Condo developer confident in market for Downtown living
After 151 First Side, big plans
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
With 75 percent of the condos in his 151 First Side building Downtown sold, Ralph Falbo is ready for an encore.
He is one of four developers to submit a proposal to Allegheny County to buy the One Smithfield Street building and an adjacent parking lot Downtown at the corner of Smithfield Street and Fort Pitt Boulevard, only a few blocks from his 151 First Side complex.
He has plans to develop a boutique hotel and another 120 condos at the Smithfield Street site, so confident is he of the market for Downtown living.
"I just feel good about what we did here and the response," he said. There were people who wanted to be in [151 First Side] and couldn't afford it. I think there's an untapped market out there."
Mr. Falbo said he would offer condos in the $200,000 to $300,000 range, which proved to be the quickest selling units at 151 First Side, where prices run from $200,000 to $1.8 million for an 18th-floor penthouse overlooking the Monongahela River.
He would use the parking lot for the condos and the hotel. The One Smithfield Street building would remain as office space.
The building recently caught the attention of a panel of experts from the Washington D.C.-based Urban Land Institute. The group, which was in town to help Point Park University plot its development, suggested that the school move its Pittsburgh Playhouse from Oakland to the building, as part of an "iconic theater complex."
Mr. Falbo said he would like to talk to the university about a possible partnership.
"If they can't own it, I thought they might like to be in it," he said.
Dennis Davin, the county's economic development director, would not release the names of the other three developers to submit preliminary proposals, but said their plans involved condos or apartments.
The county received those proposals about the same time the Urban Land Institute panel finished up its work. So far, Point Park has not offered a plan. Mr. Davin said the county also has received interest from other developers who thought the time period for submitting proposals was too short and didn't file.
As a result, the county is still trying to decide whether to go with the four proposals it already has or put out another request to developers.
Mr. Falbo is hoping to build off the success of 151 First Side, Downtown's first new condominium building since 1968. He has sold 62 of 82 units in the high rise, with the bulk running from $350,000 to $450,000. About 23 buyers have moved into the building so far. Forty percent of all buyers have been from out of town.
"We're just happy as hell," Mr. Falbo said Tuesday morning before leading County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl on a tour of the complex during its grand opening.
Both politicians said the 151 First Side project has helped to usher in a residential renaissance Downtown. Luxury condos also are being developed at the former Lazarus-Macy's store, the old Union National Bank, and Three PNC Plaza, the new 23-story skyscraper under construction.
"This project was key because it was the first new one in a long time," Mr. Onorato said. "If this didn't sell, it would have put the brakes on Downtown new housing. But just the opposite has happened. This is now being viewed as, 'wow, there's a market, there's a market to service here.' "
Mr. Falbo also is planning to develop 40 condos on the South Side near the UPMC Sports Performance Complex.
First published on October 24, 2007 at 12:00 am
Mark Belko can be reached at
mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
...
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_534202.html
Downtown Condos Open
By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
John Miller is among a wave of new residents who have local officials hopeful of revitalizing Downtown.
The 35-year-old attorney with the Jones Day law firm is one of 62 individuals who have committed to purchase units at 151 First Side, a project billed as the first new residential condominium built Downtown since 1968. About 80 percent of the 78 units have been sold.
Miller is one of eight buyers who have moved into the 18-story structure at 151 First Ave., which celebrated its official opening Tuesday. He relocated to Pittsburgh in 2000 from Washington and was among the first to commit to the project after construction commenced in 2005.
"I decided to buy Downtown because the city is turning the corner and more people are living there," he said. "Also, my main reason was the convenience living Downtown offers. I don't need to spend time traveling to work, not having to deal with parkways, tunnels and bridges."
"I really believe ... we are creating an environment where people want to live, to work and play," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said during the first of two grand opening events scheduled Tuesday.
Ravenstahl was joined by Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato in praising developers Ralph Falbo, Eugene Zambrano and EQA Landmark Communities -- partners in 151 First Side Associates LP -- for risking their own funds in the $28 million project.
The city Urban Redevelopment Authority provided a $4 million loan for the project that has to be repaid, with interest.
Now that there are more residents coming Downtown, more retailers will join them, Onorato said.
"We had it so wrong for decades, We were so interested in bringing stores and other amenities Downtown, we forgot about the bodies," he said. "This project was the key. If this doesn't sell, it would have put the brakes on new housing Downtown."
When sales began at 151 First Side, prices started around $200,000. Today, prices range from $500,000 to $1.8 million for the Riverside penthouse offering a view of the Monongahela River and surrounding area. A penthouse with a Downtown view already has been sold.
The building started with 82 condos; however, several buyers have purchased and combined multiple units bringing the total to 78.
Interest in the remaining units remains strong, Falbo said.
About 40 percent of the buyers to date have come from out of town, including from San Francisco, Manhattan, Raleigh, Phoenix and Philadelphia. One is a former Pittsburgh resident now living in London, he said.
The complex offers amenities including a fitness center, concierge service, 24-hour security, parking in the interior garage and free storage space for bicycles and household items.
Ravenstahl said the city still is hoping to have 151 First Side and the Carlyle, another Downtown condo project, included in a new 10-year tax abatement program being offered by the city.
Developers of both projects obtained building permits prior to the July 1, effective date for the program.
Sam Spatter can be reached at
sspatter@tribweb.com or 412-320-7843.
County Executive Dan Onorato (left) and Ralph Falbo laugh about the proximity of the 151 First Side condos with other downtown buildings.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review
The new 151 First Side, seen here as the second building from the right, is an 18-story, 82 unit downtown condo and is the first residential unit to be built in the city since 1968.
Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/images...O-ch-10-24.pdf
Sales of New Downtown Condominiums:
BUILDING No. of Units No. Sold
151 FirstSide 78 62
Piatt Place 65 25
Carlyle 61 30
3 PNC Plaza 30 0
941 Penn Ave. 18 15
Keystone Picture 12 4
Granite Building 6 0
806 Penn Ave. 5 4
This picture shows the silver low-rise 1 Smithfield at bottom left. To the left of the structure is a parking lot where Falbo's proposed 120 condo / boutique hotel tower would be built. 1 Smithfield building would remain as office space (though I'd love to see it destroyed and replaced by a tower). 3 other residential proposals have been submitted for this site. The Urban Land Institute recent recommended that nearby Point Park University purchase this building and use it as theatre space.