PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown III

[eschaton]

September 17th Planning Commission agenda is now online.

1. Review of the 933 Penn Avenue residential conversion project. We've already discussed this when it went before the HRC (and frankly, that presentation had more detail) so I'm not sure what to say other than it will be another nice asset for the Cultural District, fixing one of the ugliest remaining facades in the area.

2. A new PWSA pump station near the Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge. Not sure what else needs to be said about a necessary bit of infrastructure, but at least the planned pump house isn't ugly.

3. The PC will be reviewing the first two of Gainey's new zoning proposals (city-wide inclusionary zoning and the changes to minimum lot size/lot size per unit). Unfortunately, there's no items attached yet. That said, I did check back on the project page, and did find this. This is considerably better than the first draft. Not only are lot sizes per unit eliminated for residential moderate, high, and very high densities, but the minimum lot sizes are shrunk for moderate and high (and eliminated for very high). Also notably, unlike what the earlier draft suggested, these rezonings are for all residential zones, meaning single-family homes on smaller lots are now legal, and it's much easier (coupled with the planned parking reform) for the economics of legal 2-3 unit buildings make sense.

It's also worth noting that other aspects of the new plan are moving forward, like a DAM meeting on September 19 on the Sheraden TOD upzoning. Because of how DAM meetings work, there are no materials yet, but we should see some more detail in the next month or so.

Edit: In other news, it appears that a 199-unit apartment project proposed at 50 25th Street has finally come unstuck, with construction soon to begin. This site has been something of a "hole" in the Strip's redevelopment, as the prior owners did not sell to Oxford like all of their neighbors for the Three Crossings development.

[Austinlee]

Really interesting article about the history of the Pgh Public Schools from the 1980s until now. Recommended read if you are interested in the topics of the PPS, magnet schools, desegregation efforts and the like. Well, it's an opinion piece but I learned a lot while reading it.

https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion...s/202409150068

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Really interesting article about the history of the Pgh Public Schools from the 1980s until now. Recommended read if you are interested in the topics of the PPS, magnet schools, desegregation efforts and the like. Well, it's an opinion piece but I learned a lot while reading it.

https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion...s/202409150068

I've been following this closely, as I have two kids in PPS, both of which are in the magnet system (Dilworth and Obama respectively). Haven't posted on it here because it seems quite tangential to development (except insofar as PPS may sell the buildings - I hope they don't make choices on what to close based upon the potential sale value of the buildings).

My kiddo at Dilworth is in fifth grade now, so it's his last year there. Seeing the school go neighborhood will be tough, because it's a school that honestly works well as is - it's integrated, the demographics closely mirror the district as a whole, and his being there has been a wonderful experience. I think the merger with Fulton will probably be fine. If anything, my bigger concern is the school will get whiter/more segregated, as the number of black families in East Liberty and Highland Park is falling rapidly. It being zoned for Westinghouse for high school is a bigger concern, though probably not one which impacts us directly, as we're just outside of the local feeder zone.

Middle school, though, is up in the air. Son wants to go to Sci-Tech, though there's always twice as many people who apply than get in. Seems like if this goes through, there will be a lot more slots, which helps him. And Obama will turn into our locally-zoned school, meaning it works fine for him as backup. Only in both cases the middle schools will be shifted to new buildings.

[eschaton]

First residential project for Hazelwood Green going forward:



It will be a 50-unit (80% affordable) project. Many of the units are intended to be reserved for single parents working their way through college.

Not sure the exact parcel, but its going on Lytle Street relatively close to the park (and thus Mill 19).

[eschaton]

I'll do another short development wrap-up, though there's only minor things bubbling along.

1. There's now Development Activities Meetings (DAMs) scheduled for all three of the planned TOD upzonings - for Polish Hill (Herron Station), Sheraden (West Busway), and Mt. Washington/Belzhoover (South Hills Junction). Again, the draft documents can be found here. I wish there were actual maps of the planned new zoning areas, but I'm sure in the next few months they'll go to the Planning Commission.

2. Looking over notes for finished DAM meetings, I saw this interesting project planned for Uptown. Looks like they plan to convert the existing 304 Jumonville Street into a four-story mixed-use building. Ground floor would have two commercial tenants and a rooftop cafe. Found more info on Instagram. Looks to be a 66-unit project, and is 10% affordable.



3. October HRC has been online for awhile now. There's nothing much of interest, unfortunately.

4. October 10 ZBA is also online. A very light agenda, which is normal due to the streamlining of ZBA review. The planned cat adoption center in Highland Park will be reviewed, as will plans for a new daycare in Lawrenceville (agenda says Stanton Heights, but it's here.

[eschaton]

Shoulda waited 24 hours to do a development wrap-up, because next week's planning commission agenda has dropped. It's pretty lengthy and substantive, though not much that's novel.

1. A minor zoning text amendment which changes community homes in residential zoned areas from conditional to special exception. I believe this is a loosening of zoning. I'm a bit confused why this wasn't packaged with the series of amendments to comply with the Fair Housing Act, since it's related to the various changes around assisted living and multi-suite residential. Maybe the process uncovered changes that needed to be made here as well.

2. The Commission is reviewing two different Hudson Companies residential projects in North Oakland - The Parker (directly adjacent to The Julian, which is still in construction), and the residential conversion of 450 Melwood. At 166 and 42 units respectively, it's pretty remarkable how much added density has been dropped onto this block in a short period of time. These aren't really new presentations though (OPDC was given materials months ago) so I won't belabor the actual plans, save to note that the Julian/Parker configuration is pretty much the ideal density levels for North Oakland.

3. Next week, the commission is having an initial briefing on the proposed city-wide ADU changes and eliminations of parking minimums. I looked through the planned legislation, and it appears that surface parking lots are limited to 75 spaces in EMI-zoned areas, 25 spaces across most RIV areas, and prohibited not only in downtown/the North Shore, but large portions of Oakland as well (which will likely grow over time, since the UC-zoned areas are going to be extended to North Oakland and perhaps the three TOD zones.

Also, the October 17 ZBA is now online. There's really nothing worth reviewing, but I'd note it for completeness's sake.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I've been following this closely, as I have two kids in PPS, both of which are in the magnet system (Dilworth and Obama respectively). Haven't posted on it here because it seems quite tangential to development (except insofar as PPS may sell the buildings - I hope they don't make choices on what to close based upon the potential sale value of the buildings).

My kiddo at Dilworth is in fifth grade now, so it's his last year there. Seeing the school go neighborhood will be tough, because it's a school that honestly works well as is - it's integrated, the demographics closely mirror the district as a whole, and his being there has been a wonderful experience. I think the merger with Fulton will probably be fine. If anything, my bigger concern is the school will get whiter/more segregated, as the number of black families in East Liberty and Highland Park is falling rapidly. It being zoned for Westinghouse for high school is a bigger concern, though probably not one which impacts us directly, as we're just outside of the local feeder zone.

Middle school, though, is up in the air. Son wants to go to Sci-Tech, though there's always twice as many people who apply than get in. Seems like if this goes through, there will be a lot more slots, which helps him. And Obama will turn into our locally-zoned school, meaning it works fine for him as backup. Only in both cases the middle schools will be shifted to new buildings.

Interesting. Thanks for mentioning your families situation as an example. As a guy who has no kids I don't know much about this stuff but it's interesting to hear how this affects city residents. I will try to keep up with it by reading any articles and it's definitely a pertinent city topic IMO, even if it is not directly related to development. Cheers

[Johnland]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Shoulda waited 24 hours to do a development wrap-up, because next week's planning commission agenda has dropped.
2. The Commission is reviewing two different Hudson Companies residential projects in North Oakland - The Parker (directly adjacent to The Julian, which is still in construction), and the residential conversion of 450 Melwood. At 166 and 42 units respectively, it's pretty remarkable how much added density has been dropped onto this block in a short period of time. These aren't really new presentations though (OPDC was given materials months ago) so I won't belabor the actual plans, save to note that the Julian/Parker configuration is pretty much the ideal density levels for North Oakland.


Also, the October 17 ZBA is now online. There's really nothing worth reviewing, but I'd note it for completeness's sake.

This building, the Parker, is actually very nice looking. Nice because of what it lacks, no orange panels, no random window sizes, no exaggerated roof overhangs, etc. I'd love to this kind of building right on Centre Ave or Baum Blvd.

[deja vu]

Duquesne University held the ribbon cutting for its new student apartment - dubbed McGinley Hall - on Thursday, Sept. 12 -

Duquesne names new student apartment building after board chair, alum Jack McGinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette logo
Maddie Aiken | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
September 12, 2024

John “Jack” McGinley said he’s never been sandbagged as badly as he was on Thursday. The long-time trial attorney and Duquesne University board chair thought he was attending a dedication ceremony to name Duquesne’s newest student apartment building “Spiritan Hall” Thursday afternoon. But, to Mr. McGinley’s surprise, the university had actually named the 11-story building after him. The Duquesne alumnus smiled and laughed as university officials revealed a large sign reading “McGinley Hall” in front of 100 Duquesne students, faculty, board members, alumni and Pittsburgh community members...

Source: John Colombo | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[Austinlee]

^That's a chonky building. Looks like it has been cultivating mass. The Uptown corridor has been densifying nicely.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

^That's a chonky building. Looks like it has been cultivating mass. The Uptown corridor has been densifying nicely.

The university line and no less than six large apartment complexes are in various stages of development. At some point in the future, Uptown will be a massive construction site with the University Line construction adding to the mix. This does not include all of the construction underway or planned for the Lower and Upper Hill District. I was in the Hill District over the weekend and noticed homes and and apartment building almost completed in the area of the former and notorious Roberts Reed Housing complex.

[IMG]http://[url=https://flic.kr/p/2q6tYaM][/url]Uptown by William Pipkins, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]http://[url=https://flic.kr/p/2q6pnkA][/url]Uptown by William Pipkins, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]http://[url=https://flic.kr/p/2p7zsvr][/url]Uptown Construction Update Pittsburgh by William Pipkins, on Flickr[/IMG]

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

The university line and no less than six large apartment complexes are in various stages of development.

Trying to count up the pending uptown projects:

1903 Fifth Avenue: - 254-units, not sure the affordable count. No sign construction has started.

1718 Fifth Avenue: - 240 units, 10% affordable. This project has been low profile since a DAM report last year, but would replace the entire block, taking out one decent building in the process. No sign of work yet.

Phoenix on Forbes: - 211 units, 10% affordable. Don't think this is underway yet.

Fifth and Dinwiddie West: - 171 units, 20% affordable. Been stuck in developmental hell since 2021. Not sure the current status here.

City's Edge: - 110 units, with 77 affordable. Construction has begun on this.

New WestRise Capital Project: - 66 units (10% affordable) - in planning

Standard on Fifth: - 51 units (78% affordable) - construction underway.

That adds up to 1,103 units across seven projects.

[AaronPGH]

Damn. That's great for Uptown and will really make the neighborhood pop once the BRT is fully realized.

[pj3000]

Not sure how I feel about this. I'm kinda into it and at the same time maybe seems a bit cheesy and it might not age well. Like... isn't beautiful and functional classic urban infrastructure enough on its own? I think it's pretty damn cool that Pittsburgh has 3 of the exact same yellow suspension bridges in a row. So why doe we feel compelled to fuck with that? Can't we just keep it as it is and continue to do all the event programming and closing it off for games and concerts like we do now? What marginal benefit does closing it off to traffic, installing planters, seating, and cornhole courts really provide? Does contemporary urban planning of our public spaces now mean that things should be "Disneyfied"?

If it was coupled with more planned residential development on the North Shore and a T line, then I'd be all for it.

Allegheny Conference on Community Development, City of Pittsburgh, and Allegheny County downtown Pittsburgh "Vision Plan" includes conversion of the Sixth Street Bridge (Clemente) into an auto-free public space.

[srahman75]

I agree, I feel this isn't necessary. Places like Market Square would be better to pedestrianize first before something like this

[eschaton]

IMHO this only makes sense if they pedestrianized the final blocks on both ends. This means Sixth Street up to Penn, and Roberto Clemente up Isabella (or, even better, East General Robinson).

By far the biggest issue I think is Fort Duquense Boulevard intersection. people zip along at near highway speeds, despite the 10th Street Bypass existing. Having a nice pedestrianized bridge doesn't mean crap if it's awkward for pedestrians to actually get to the bridge. I can't see any easy way to fix this though, as I think the intersection is too short to have a smooth elevated pedestrian bridge over the road, which is what would really be needed.

[qwho]

Makes it look like an abandoned bridge

[AaronPGH]

Man, y'all are poopers. I love this idea and the more enticing pedestrian link it provides between the two sides of the river. These are the creative ideas I want to see all around downtown.

Agreed on pedestrianizing it wll the way up to Penn, though.

[dfiler]

Fascinating proposal! I'm withholding judgment until better understanding the impacts to traffic, events, tourism, etc.

The Highline in NYC is spectacularly popular. It rapidly became one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city and helped revitalize the neighborhood. This isn't exactly analogous but there are some useful comparisons.

I could imagine this becoming synonymous with the ballpark experience. Fans would have an amazing approach walking to the stadium and it would make the view from the park even more interesting.