[pj3000]

In other news... amazing how quickly plans completely change. So much for the "tech hub" planned at the former Sears Outlet on the riverfront in Upper Lawrenceville. Sounds like the developer didn't even notify the community development corp they worked with about the change. I'm sure the developer saw the $$$$ and that was that.

Amazon primed to take all of former Sears Outlet space in Lawrenceville

https://www.post-gazette.com/busines...s/202012090185

With business booming as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the e-commerce giant confirmed Wednesday that it will take all 260,000 square feet of space in the former Sears Outlet at 27 51st St.

It plans to use the space for a new delivery station, said spokesman Andre Woodson.

“The new station will power Amazon’s last-mile capabilities to speed up deliveries for customers in the Pittsburgh area,” he wrote in an email. It is designed to “support the growing volume of customer orders.”

The deal with Amazon also represents a change in direction for Spear Street, which had been planning to convert the warehouse that was used for decades to sell scratched and dented appliances into office and high-bay research and development space.

But Lawrenceville community groups that negotiated community benefits with Spear Street based on plans for office and research and development space weren’t thrilled to hear that Amazon is moving in.

Lauren Connelly, executive director of the Lawrenceville Corp., said that she has worries about the amount of traffic an Amazon distribution center could generate in the densely packed neighborhood and how that would be managed.

She also has questions about the size of the fleet and what the overall operation will look like. ‘We have concerns and we want to know exactly what is being proposed here,” she said.

Ms. Connelly said the community benefits agreement based on the original plan for the redevelopment included a riverfront trail, sidewalk improvements and a traffic mitigation plan designed to encourage tenants to use mass transit. She is hoping that stays in place.