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  #4001  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2021, 4:30 PM
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Originally Posted by AaronPGH View Post
Newer companies, especially in tech, have already said this is a permanent change. That employees will be able to work remotely going forwards, with scattered in-person moments here and there. It's absolutely more progressive company behavior to be allowing flexibility like that, and it's something that the best talent is going to demand from here on out.
It has nothing to do with being "progressive", but rather about reducing costs and moving in the direction of eliminating people (who sit in front of computer screens all day performing what have become almost menial tasks, which more and more people have attained the skills to do) as actual employees.

"Tech talent", with their demands for flexibility, have unknowingly been playing right into a situation that the collective c-level desires. They've naively been "demanding" to become independent contractors.
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  #4002  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2021, 6:40 PM
dboakland dboakland is offline
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Originally Posted by pj3000 View Post
It has nothing to do with being "progressive", but rather about reducing costs and moving in the direction of eliminating people (who sit in front of computer screens all day performing what have become almost menial tasks, which more and more people have attained the skills to do) as actual employees.

"Tech talent", with their demands for flexibility, have unknowingly been playing right into a situation that the collective c-level desires. They've naively been "demanding" to become independent contractors.
That's deeply cynical but probably true.
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  #4003  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2021, 7:32 PM
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That's deeply cynical but probably true.
Yep, it's both.

It's funny how employers in "tech" were tripping over themselves 10 years ago to offer in-office "perks" like food, laundry service, happy hours, games, massages, gym, bike allowance, transit reimbursement, even childcare... in an effort to keep employees working long past the tradtional 9-5.

And tech workers responded to all of this by signaling that they really don't need nor want to actually be there anyway.

So, many higher ups said, "Great, we never wanted to pay for all of this shit anyway... we only offered it in trying to attract a set of young-ish workers who had a unique skillset... but now that skillset ain't all that unique, so good, stay the hell home and do the work for us. We'll be here making the decisions."

This is just a step. Long-standing aspects of corporate culture have become "flexible" over the past couple decades... time, benefits, office... and this has not been driven by the employee, although it has been deftly positioned that way. Office hours have become flex-time. Sick and vacation time (and even Holiday, in some cases) has morphed into PTO, or even WFH when ill. Robust health coverage into including FSAs. Company phones into a standard monthly reimbursement. It goes on and on, but is especially creeping into the all-important 'salary and benefits' part of working for a company.
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  #4004  
Old Posted Jan 15, 2021, 2:28 AM
dboakland dboakland is offline
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Originally Posted by pj3000 View Post
Yep, it's both.

It's funny how employers in "tech" were tripping over themselves 10 years ago to offer in-office "perks" like food, laundry service, happy hours, games, massages, gym, bike allowance, transit reimbursement, even childcare... in an effort to keep employees working long past the tradtional 9-5.

And tech workers responded to all of this by signaling that they really don't need nor want to actually be there anyway.

So, many higher ups said, "Great, we never wanted to pay for all of this shit anyway... we only offered it in trying to attract a set of young-ish workers who had a unique skillset... but now that skillset ain't all that unique, so good, stay the hell home and do the work for us. We'll be here making the decisions."

This is just a step. Long-standing aspects of corporate culture have become "flexible" over the past couple decades... time, benefits, office... and this has not been driven by the employee, although it has been deftly positioned that way. Office hours have become flex-time. Sick and vacation time (and even Holiday, in some cases) has morphed into PTO, or even WFH when ill. Robust health coverage into including FSAs. Company phones into a standard monthly reimbursement. It goes on and on, but is especially creeping into the all-important 'salary and benefits' part of working for a company.
Post industrial employment is looking more and more like pre-industrial employment...without the agriculture.
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  #4005  
Old Posted Jan 15, 2021, 3:10 PM
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Originally Posted by pj3000 View Post

This is just a step. Long-standing aspects of corporate culture have become "flexible" over the past couple decades... time, benefits, office... and this has not been driven by the employee, although it has been deftly positioned that way. Office hours have become flex-time. Sick and vacation time (and even Holiday, in some cases) has morphed into PTO, or even WFH when ill. Robust health coverage into including FSAs. Company phones into a standard monthly reimbursement. It goes on and on, but is especially creeping into the all-important 'salary and benefits' part of working for a company.

Yep, things are changing. Progressive companies are moving away from sick and PTO days, and towards unlimited days. You know, just do the job they hired you to do well, and no questions. I'm not sure what's not to like there. And what's wrong with flex hours? Not everyone works the same way and if the job doesn't require 100% everyone punching the time clock at exactly the same time, I see no issue. I actaully find this flexibility pretty adult. Being treated more like a human versus the property of an organization. Your posture on this topic reinforces my original point. That Pittsburgh's corporate culture lags behind other cities for the most part. Other than the rare unicorn here and there, they aren't offering anything comparable to companies in other cities.

I'll drop the tangent now.

Last edited by AaronPGH; Jan 15, 2021 at 3:30 PM.
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  #4006  
Old Posted Jan 15, 2021, 3:44 PM
themaguffin themaguffin is offline
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Yep, things are changing. Progressive companies are moving away from sick and PTO days, and towards unlimited days.
Unlimited days doesn't play out as nice as it sounds though.

Quote:

But unlimited vacation policies can be a Trojan horse, particularly for young people who are newer to the workforce and less likely to take time off in the first place. On the surface, the offer seems generous, even altruistic; it implies employers trust their employees and encourage work-life balance. In practice, however, “unlimited vacation” is a misnomer. Employees often take fewer vacation days if their company has an unlimited policy, since there’s no framework for how many days they can—or should—take off.

Managers can decline to approve time off, especially if there’s an implicit assumption that nobody can take more than two to three weeks of vacation per year. And when they leave the company, employees can’t cash out on the paid time off that they have accrued (which is required by law in a number of states). For workers in their twenties who are more likely to job hop and let vacation time go unused, that can mean foregoing a sizable chunk of cash.


https://www.fastcompany.com/90398810...-always-a-perk
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  #4007  
Old Posted Jan 15, 2021, 3:56 PM
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^ Unlimited vacation is complete bullshit.

"Sure, just do the job we hired you to do, and when you've completed that task, take off for as long as you want! We have plenty of people now that can step in while you're on vacation. We'll figure out a task for you to do for us when you decide you want to work again."

That's a great way to make oneself an invaluable part of a company, right? On track for a promotion!

This is exactly what I'm talking about... making oneself less and less valuable as an actual employee/team member of an organization, and becoming more and more of a hired gun to complete menial tasks.

If that's what someone desires, great. Indpendent contractor here I come!

Older, often larger companies that are not looking to be acquired or merge or significantly alter the makeup of their governance and management realize that moves like this are no way to sustain and continue to build the orgnaization. Maybe that's not "progressive", but it is often what has worked for a century... and many Pittsburgh-area companies do likely fall into that category. Pittsburgh's bigger companies, by and large, are not going to offern the same level of "employee focus" that Bay Area and Austin and the Pacific NW and Nashville and NC and many other locales' companies are purportedly offering, however, they do offer relative stability and long-term growth potential in comparison.
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  #4008  
Old Posted Jan 15, 2021, 5:15 PM
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I think we can just leave this at "we agree to disagree" and move on.
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  #4009  
Old Posted Jan 16, 2021, 3:35 PM
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Good snowy morning in Pittsburgh!

Here is this morning's construction camera view of CMU's Fifth Clyde Residence Hall and Commons. This hall is seeking LEED Gold and on track to open August 2021.


Source: OxBlue


Meanwhile, CMU's Doherty Apartments have been completely demolished as of last fall, to make way for the planned Forbes Beeler Residence Hall, which has been delayed until Spring 2021. There is still an OxBlue camera set up where you can see the site. Not much to see right now -


Source: OxBlue


In other news, on Tuesday (01/12/21), the Planning Commission approved Duquesne University's demolition request for the Life's Work building at 1323 Forbes Ave. Demolition is expected to begin in June, after abatement is finished.

Quote:
Duquesne University building $53.6 million College of Osteopathic Medicine
Sandra Tolliver | Next Pittsburgh
January 13, 2021

Duquesne University wants to demolish the Life’s Work building on its Uptown campus this summer to begin building its College of Osteopathic Medicine next spring.

On January 12, the university got approval from the Pittsburgh Planning Commission for the demolition of the building at 1323 Forbes Ave., which it acquired in 2019 for the land. Once the new building is constructed, its investment in the site will exceed $53.6 million.

In their presentation to the Planning Commission yesterday, the university said that demolition of the Life’s Work building work would begin in June. Crews have been doing interior abatement for several months. Construction of the new building would start in March 2022. SLAM Collaborative is designing the building in collaboration with WTW Architects...

Source: Next Pittsburgh | Courtesy Duquesne University / WTW Architects

Last edited by deja vu; Jan 16, 2021 at 3:48 PM.
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  #4010  
Old Posted Jan 18, 2021, 11:37 AM
BobMcKelvin BobMcKelvin is offline
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https://nextpittsburgh.com/latest-ne...nhandle-trail/

They are trying to extend the Panhandle Trail to Carnegie and the West Busway. Please add your comments/letters!!!
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  #4011  
Old Posted Jan 18, 2021, 4:54 PM
dfiler dfiler is offline
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Thanks for the heads up on that work at CMU deja vu. That reminded me to go check their construction cams.
https://www.cmu.edu/cdfd/project-updates/index.html

It is nice to see another surface parking lot on 5th avenue has been put to better use. That new 6 story residence hall is exactly the right scale and density for the area.

Similarly, I like how CMU's new residence hall on Forbes will handle parking. The previous building on the sight had street adjacent surface parking lots. The new/proposed development will reduce the amount of parking and put it behind the building. The front of the building and property are being optimized for pedestrians rather than parking.

With this in mind, CMU seems to be doing a good job of fixing past urban planning mistakes. Their students and employees are best served by a campus that prioritizes walkability.
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  #4012  
Old Posted Jan 20, 2021, 2:25 PM
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The mixed-use redevelopment of the Shakespeare Street Giant Eagle has been rejected by the ZBA.

The Village of Shadyside NIMBYs have seemingly won. They won't have to worry about their condo units being in shadow. It may of course be back in scaled-down form, but once again a few busybodies with money get overrule development which would help the city as a whole.

This epitomizes everything awful about Pittsburgh zoning. Though I know it's honestly not that atypical of what we see elsewhere.
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  #4013  
Old Posted Jan 20, 2021, 3:20 PM
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1/26 Planning Commission agenda is now online. Looks like the formatting has changed slightly from the past. Two items - one of which is substantial:

1. Changing a two-unit house on Wightman Street to multi-unit residential. Honestly this seems like a screw up to me - something that should have gone to ZBA.

2. The new apartment building planned for the "Marathon Lot" at 3500 Forbes in Oakland. This is not a new project to us, because it's been reported upon in the media and elsewhere (I think OPDC) in the past. The building is still ten stories and approximately 300 units, with a small amount of ground-floor commercial at the corner of Forbes and Semple. There's some nice new renderings of the building in context with the existing buildings on Forbes though - will really help the "urban canyon" vibe.
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  #4014  
Old Posted Jan 20, 2021, 3:31 PM
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^ I really despise these massive, aluminum-sided college apartment buildings. Would've been nice to see something a bit different in exterior design.
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  #4015  
Old Posted Jan 20, 2021, 10:00 PM
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Originally Posted by BobMcKelvin View Post
https://nextpittsburgh.com/latest-ne...nhandle-trail/

They are trying to extend the Panhandle Trail to Carnegie and the West Busway. Please add your comments/letters!!!
Hell yeah, I live in Carnegie and I used to bike all the time but biking here is a nightmare. This would be fantastic news for Carnegie.
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  #4016  
Old Posted Jan 21, 2021, 2:00 AM
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Peduto's office has proposed a further "tweak" to the zoning code to limit the number of front-facing garages in townhouses. Essentially it would mandate rear-facing (or sideyard-facing) parking for any lot which has access other than on the primary street frontage. It also says when alley access is not available, "shared curb cuts" are encouraged. I'm not entirely sure what this means - are they saying to have one gigundo curb cut which covers two towhouses next to one another?

It's a nice thought, but I literally cannot think of a single case where a townhouse has been built with a front-facing driveway if it had alley access. Last year's elimination of parking minimums was more impactful. Though if they really wanted to accomplish something, legal 2-3 units in rowhouse neighborhoods with no off-street parking would be even better.

Edit: I just realized one place it will cause huge issues is in areas with huge grade changes. There are lots of townhouse lots where the "alley frontage" is 1-2 stories higher or lower than the "main frontage." Since the zoning change applies to all residential attached usages, not just areas zoned R1-A, this could cause significant problems developing these properties.
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  #4017  
Old Posted Jan 21, 2021, 4:15 PM
Don't Be That Guy Don't Be That Guy is offline
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Delete

Last edited by Don't Be That Guy; Jan 21, 2021 at 4:25 PM.
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  #4018  
Old Posted Jan 22, 2021, 2:19 PM
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Hell yeah, I live in Carnegie and I used to bike all the time but biking here is a nightmare. This would be fantastic news for Carnegie.
I really feel for the west end and south hills bike folks. A safe bike route into the city is sorely overdue at this point.
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  #4019  
Old Posted Jan 22, 2021, 5:27 PM
eschaton eschaton is offline
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February HRC presentation is up. Lots of minor storefront changes on East Carson next month. Also, an updated design for October Development's planned infill homes in the Mexican War Streets. Other than that, mostly small residential projects - although the plan to convert a former butler's residence from a garage to a more residential use is interesting.

Also, the Feburary 11th ZBA is now online. While there are a fair number of items on the agenda for that week, there is nothing particularly interesting.
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  #4020  
Old Posted Jan 22, 2021, 6:30 PM
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^
Man, wtf. October development usually makes great new infill. Those tin sided monstrosities are horrific. When in the eff are Pittsburgh developers going to get over this horrid fetish of covering everything in oddly colored tin and metal? Just use bricks dammit.
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