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  #21  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2007, 11:35 PM
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It appears that 151 FirstSide is complete from a structural standpoint. I assume the move-in phase is underway at present. One of the upper floors was illuminated last night... either somebody moving in or already moved in. It's the brown tower at bottom center.

     
     
  #22  
Old Posted Oct 23, 2007, 6:49 PM
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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_534165.html

First new condo building in decades opens in Pittsburgh

By The Associated Press
Tuesday, October 23, 2007


There's a new addition to the downtown skyline.
Local authorities and a real estate developer today officially opened a building touted as the first newly built condominium complex in the Downtown area in decades, and they hope it will breathe new life into the city.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato toured several of 151 First Side's 82 units, priced from about $200,000 to $1.8 million. A developer said 62 of the units had been sold, including 23 that have closed.

City authorities have been trying for years to revitalize Pittsburgh's Downtown, particularly a blighted corridor along Fifth and Forbes avenues, in part by encouraging residential housing.

Experts say Pittsburgh historically has had less housing stock in its Downtown area, which is small and bordered by three rivers, than other U.S. cities. And it ranks among cities with the highest number of commuters, they say.
That trend, officials hope, may be changing with the apparent demand for urban dwellings such as those at 151 First Side.

"It shows the interest in Downtown Pittsburgh, and I really believe that we're turning the corner," Ravenstahl said in the lobby of the building, which stands along the Monongahela River. "We're starting to create an environment that people really want to live, work and play in."

Onorato said the market will dictate whether developers build 500 or 5,000 units Downtown over the next five to 10 years.

"We had it all wrong for two decades," he said. "We were so worried about bringing stores down here and retail and other amenities, we forgot to bring the bodies to Downtown Pittsburgh. It's all about the bodies now. It's about housing."

Onorato said about 40 percent of the people who had purchased units at 151 First Side were from other cities. Some 73 percent were from Pittsburgh's suburbs, according to a 151 First Side statement.

Twenty condominiums in the building are still for sale and have not been completed. The remaining units carry prices exceeding $500,000. Some buyers moved in several months ago, even as construction continued on other units.

Ralph A. Falbo, one of the building's developers, said 151 First Side was the first new condominium complex built Downtown since the 1960s.

The $28 million project was undertaken by Falbo and two other developers from the Pittsburgh region.



Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

...


btw, when they say Downtown Pittsburgh is "small"... they mean small in area, only 0.68 sq. miles, rather than small in "stature"... that 0.68 sq. miles has about 27,000,000 sq. ft. of office space where about 150,000 people work. There are a bunch of other condo projects under way downtown, including a conversion of a century-old 20-story tower and the 700-unit Riverparc project which will feature multiple towers.

KDKA video
http://kdka.com/topstories/local_story_296131937.html


from left to right: County Executive Dan Onorato, Interim Mayor Opie, Developer Ralph Falbo on 4th-floor patio

Last edited by Evergrey; Oct 23, 2007 at 7:13 PM.
     
     
  #23  
Old Posted Oct 23, 2007, 7:01 PM
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Our little baby is all grown up...

Did they add any adornment to that flat, plain wall at the bottom of the tower?
     
     
  #24  
Old Posted Oct 24, 2007, 5:20 AM
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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.

     
     
  #25  
Old Posted Oct 25, 2007, 3:17 AM
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That blank wall on the bottom ruins the building. Ugh. At least this is acting as a catalyst for other downtown developments.
     
     
  #26  
Old Posted Oct 26, 2007, 6:21 PM
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Good for Pittsburgh! I agree, though, that the blank wall detracts from the building.
     
     
  #27  
Old Posted Oct 26, 2007, 6:46 PM
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maybe that blank wall will be the site of a mural!
     
     
  #28  
Old Posted Oct 27, 2007, 1:26 AM
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btw, this is the first time I've seen the structural height in meters or feet for this tower... courtesy of SkyscraperPage

18 floors (we knew that)
61 meters
200 feet

Another 200-footer for Pittsburgh!
     
     
  #29  
Old Posted Nov 6, 2007, 3:50 PM
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http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2007/11/05/story3.html?b=1194238800^1544421

Friday, November 2, 2007

Some of First Side's first owners already testing resale market

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Ben Semmes

It was 2005 when newlyweds John and Christianna Elash put a deposit on a one-bedroom condominium at 151 First Side.

They closed on the Downtown condo for $235,000 at the end of July and moved in shortly after.

"This was our first place together we were going to buy," said John Elash, who works at the Allegheny County Courthouse, Downtown.

But now the pair -- who have decided to find a larger home in anticipation of starting a family -- are among at least 10 buyers at the building who are putting their units back on the market.

"Their lives change," said Carole Clifford, an agent with Coldwell Banker Real Estate Inc. Pittsburgh who is marketing four units at the building for resale, including the Elashes'. "People die. They get divorced."

The 151 First Side development, which celebrated its grand opening last week, has been hailed as a sign of the resurgence of the Golden Triangle, where the last new condo building was completed in the late 1960s.

The success of the project, which has sold about three-fourths of its roughly 80 units, is seen by many as a bellwether as other residential projects come on-line Downtown.

But the real test for the building may come now, as first-time buyers attempt to resell their units in what is a sluggish real estate market nationwide.

Marketing for the Downtown condo project, being developed by Ralph A. Falbo Inc. with Strip District-based EQA Landmark Properties and O'Hara-based Zambrano Corp., began in July 2004.

When sales started in March 2005, the smallest one-bedroom with a view of Downtown sold for $188,000. But these units quickly sold out and the developer raised the prices on the remaining units. The price for the property's most expensive unit, the penthouse, ran to nearly $2 million.

A least five of the units that are back on the market are owned by residential property investors who hope to flip their condos for a profit. The other sellers, while not traditional "flippers," also hope to profit on their short ownership. The Elashes, for example, are marketing their unit for $304,900.

"We weren't looking to flip it," John Elash said. "We are not looking to make too much money."

Of Clifford's four units, two of them are buyers who are looking to flip their properties, she said. The remaining buyer is selling because, like the Elashes, her personal situation has changed since she purchased the condo.

Cliff Schultz, condominium division manager of O'Hara-based Howard Hanna Real Estate Services Inc., said his company is marketing six properties at the building for resale even though only about half of those units have closed. Of the six, he said, "only three were true flippers."

"Not everyone has closed yet," Schultz said. "I think there will be a chance that we will be picking up some more listings there in the future."

Excessive speculation that drove up condominium prices was fairly common in hot real estate markets in recent years, but Schultz said that doesn't appear to be the case at 151 First Side, where only about 15 percent of the units are up for resale.

"I don't think anyone feels that 10 or 20 percent is too high," Schultz said. "When it gets over that, I think it influences a lot of developers putting really high prices on their products. I think the percentage was much higher in other cities."

bsemmes@bizjournals.com | (412) 208-3829
     
     
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