PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[BobMcKelvin]

Anti-development NIMBYism even exists in places with almost zero development.

http://triblive.com/local/valleynews...-more-business

[bmust71]

Heard some interesting news from a friend yesterday. He said he saw a rendering from 'The Davis Company' out of Boston for the 9th and Penn Block. Apparently the picture showed a 25 story mixed use tower for the site with condos and other uses. This is the same company that renovated the Union Trust Building. This is the first time I have heard about this and don't remember seeing any mention of it earlier. Can't find anything online so I guess it hasn't been made public yet

[photoLith]

^
I hope they plan on preserving the two remaining historic buildings left on that block.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

Well, then youre with someone who is complaining about not having a say in someone else's organization after they made the free decision to not have a say in that organization.

Sounds like you're not understanding how it works... and your 88% number is wrong.


As an independent voter (or as any party-affiliated voter) , you can choose whoever you agree with the most (even in a state with fully closed primaries) -- in the general election.

Yeah after I made that post & left my laptop & continued to think about it, I realized that my argument was wrong. And I was confusing primaries with general elections. I are not good at politix.

Originally Posted by eschaton

This is off topic, but one should keep in mind that compared to basically every other country in the world, we have the most democratic means of selecting party candidates in the world. Basically everywhere else, party candidates are either chosen via backroom deals, or solely by card-carrying, dues-paying members of the political party (which are typically no more than a percent or two of the general electorate).

Of course, in those countries, there are typically more than two parties to choose from. Basically the U.S. response during the Progressive era for the parties having too much internal power was regulating them and opening up the candidate section process, while elsewhere in the world they just ensured that there were no legal obstructions to formation of new parties, so whenever you felt your issues weren't being addressed you could help form another one.

I saw a thing on tv a few years ago about this in Japan. Watching footage of a minivan driving around Tokyo with megaphones blaring the name of a candidate and basically saying nothing about him. I wasn't quite sure if it was a Japanese game show or an election.
It made me curious how the arguably most modern country in the world could be so progressive with such a hollow political process.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

It never ceases to amaze me how some people seem mortally convinced that any building over two stories is destined to cause a massive increase in local traffic. I can only assume they are simply bad at math.

Originally Posted by BobMcKelvin

Anti-development NIMBYism even exists in places with almost zero development.

http://triblive.com/local/valleynews...-more-business

I think it's just the human instinctual reaction of fear about "change". People are afraid of change because you don't know if the change is going to be for the better or the worse until it manifests itself and then is too late to do anything about. So the most nervous among us freak out when something new is proposed.
As for the new store in Tarentum, it reads that other business owners object. I would imagine because of the old saying "Anyone who thinks competition is good for business has never been in business". My old boss, the owner of Med-Fast Pharmacy told me that one.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Yeah after I made that post & left my laptop & continued to think about it, I realized that my argument was wrong. And I was confusing primaries with general elections. I are not good at politix.

Yeah, you're a logical fellow, so I had a feeling you might have been talking about the general election

[Wave]

This linked article from December mentioned that the cultural trust is working "every day" to get a development going there and they were "actively moving forward with a three block development" Perhaps this the fruit of their labor.

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/ci...s/201612160148

Originally Posted by bmust71

Heard some interesting news from a friend yesterday. He said he saw a rendering from 'The Davis Company' out of Boston for the 9th and Penn Block. Apparently the picture showed a 25 story mixed use tower for the site with condos and other uses. This is the same company that renovated the Union Trust Building. This is the first time I have heard about this and don't remember seeing any mention of it earlier. Can't find anything online so I guess it hasn't been made public yet

[themaguffin]

A couple of Strip items in the PBT, but all behind the paywall...


New York investor buys key produce industry property in the Strip

Big changes coming to Smallman

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

A couple of Strip items in the PBT, but all behind the paywall...


New York investor buys key produce industry property in the Strip

Big changes coming to Smallman

Whoa, that actually caught me by surprise a little bit. The Consumer Produce building is obviously in a pretty prime location based on all of the dev going on in the area (and it no longer really "fits" the neighborhood), but I had no idea they would consider moving out. The offer must have been substantial.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by photoLith

^
I hope they plan on preserving the two remaining historic buildings left on that block.

The Cultural Trust has owned those buildings (along with the Pizza Parma building next door) since 2007, when I believe they bought them as part of the defunct RiverParc plan. The plan at the time was to include those buildings into a new structure and/or rehab them. Eyeballing the buildings from the outside they seem to have identical floor plates, which means merging the two buildings with larger structure would not be difficult. The buildings are also designated historic landmarks as part of the Penn-Liberty Historic district, which basically precludes demolition without the HRC giving expressed approval.

Originally Posted by TBone7281

Whoa, that actually caught me by surprise a little bit. The Consumer Produce building is obviously in a pretty prime location based on all of the dev going on in the area (and it no longer really "fits" the neighborhood), but I had no idea they would consider moving out. The offer must have been substantial.

It's basically the last domino to fall. Now the only land not at least under speculation is the along the river all the way up to Lawrenceville is the "Cork Factory Lawn." - and I think even that is just being land banked.

[contellus]

Is CP the only building still actually making use of the AVRR tracks running down Railroad Street?

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by contellus

Is CP the only building still actually making use of the AVRR tracks running down Railroad Street?

I believe so. The PCA building had loading docks which went right up to the rail, but it recently closed and is looking to sell its property, meaning it can't be in use by anyone else in the Strip District, though it almost certainly is in Lawrenceville.

[TBone7281]

6 years ago today they announced the Tower at PNC Plaza. Makes me long for a new skyscraper project.

[themaguffin]

Yeah it would be nice to have another prominent building before the decade ends, even if not as big as the PNC tower...

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by TBone7281

6 years ago today they announced the Tower at PNC Plaza. Makes me long for a new skyscraper project.

I remember I was working late one night back then, a few months before the announcement, and one of my designer coworkers was still in the office. I walked over to him to chit chat and see what was keeping him so late and the rendering for the tower was up on his screen. I yelled "WHAT!!!???" really loud, and he closed the window, made me promise not to say anything. That was a really hard secret to keep in. lol

[themaguffin]

BTW, this page I believe has the beginning of our PNC tower conservation, even before the details were announced...


http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=100544&page=453

[BrianTH]

I should never have clicked that link--now I am sad again about what happened to all those great facades, including the ones that Point Park at the time had said they would save in place.

[mikebarbaro]

Today's PBT article talks about changes at Core Realty but more interesting is the mention that Kaufmann's Grand on Fifth Ave. (old Macy's building) is completing lease agreements for the retail space of the project. I'm interested in knowing who all leased space already...

Link: http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburg...-to-start.html

[highlander206]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I should never have clicked that link--now I am sad again about what happened to all those great facades, including the ones that Point Park at the time had said they would save in place.

I'm guessing a lot of the original historic facades in those buildings were covered up? From Google Streetview of the current tower spot circa May 2011, I found found 3 buildings I wish we could have saved from a quick eyeball look.

[eschaton]

Building permits have gone through for the Miller Street Apartments in the Lower Hill District. We talked about this a few years back. It's going to be a 36-unit building, replacing this historic building and the vacant lot next door. It's a shame the building couldn't be saved, but my understanding is it's in worse shape internally than it looks from the front (the entire back half of the building has no roof).