PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown III

[dfiler]

Originally Posted by Jim D

Secondly, when is the City going to wake up and build parking in this part of the city? I know a lot of folks that just won't visit for dinner because they really don't want to drive around looking for street parking. There is one 22 space lot, and after that you are on your own. Why is the city always reactive and not proactive. And if the city doesn't want to build the parking then when these large Apartment developments want to move in, they should be required to provide both tenant and some public parking.

I advocate for the exact opposite.

Eliminate parking minimums entirely and instead enact parking maximums. Lawrenceville is already thriving with more than enough patronage for the restaurants. That's partly because the neighborhood isn't taken over by parking. It's the type of urban space people enjoy being in. Adding parking would reduce density, lesson that appeal and hurt businesses.

Apartments without parking are great in high-density, walkable neighborhoods served by public transit. That's what eliminates traffic and parking problems, people without cars. Yeah, it's harder for other people to _drive_ into the neighborhood but the businesses are already booming due to the high density and significant foot traffic.

Just putting that out there. Many people are in favor of reduced parking rather than more parking.

[eschaton]

The URA is meeting today, and the agenda is online.

The most interesting thing to note here is that the plan for a further stage of Summerset at Frick Park is 100% dead, with TIF funding expiring. To summarize, the original road plans were for Phase 3 to be an extension of the Swisshelm Park road grid. The NIMBYs in the neighborhood pitched a fit about increased traffic on their streets, so the plan was redesigned to have no road connectivity into Swisshelm Park, requiring a bridge over Nine Mile Run to the remainder of the development. This was too much infrastructure to be warranted, so ultimately the plans for this phase, which included 102 single-family homes, 37 townhouses, and 78 condo units, were abandoned. Instead most of the land will be set aside for expansion of Frick Park, with approximately 15 acres set aside for a solar power facility.

There are various other projects - mostly small-scale community development - though it is notable that the LiveNation project (minus the parking garage, thank goodness) is still moving forward.

I also saw today that groundbreaking on The Standard in Uptown has begun. As a reminder, it's this project - a 51-unit (fairly generic) Rothschild-Doyno project. Still, it feels like the successful launching of multifamily in the city is a rarity these days, and something to be cheered.

Also, Giant Eagle has landed Barnes and Noble as a retailer for The Meridian. I know brick and mortar bookstores are kind of old hat these days, but my daughter is not a fan of ebooks and is really stoked she won't have to go to the waterworks any longer. I presume it will be a decent draw - I never see that retailer empty.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I also saw today that groundbreaking on The Standard in Uptown has begun. As a reminder, it's this project - a 51-unit (fairly generic) Rothschild-Doyno project. Still, it feels like the successful launching of multifamily in the city is a rarity these days, and something to be cheered.

I think the Standard is pretty low... Looks low-income circa 1997

Originally Posted by eschaton

Also, Giant Eagle has landed Barnes and Noble as a retailer for The Meridian. I know brick and mortar bookstores are kind of old hat these days, but my daughter is not a fan of ebooks and is really stoked she won't have to go to the waterworks any longer. I presume it will be a decent draw - I never see that retailer empty.

This is a great addition to the area, but damn I'm going to miss that big parking lot.

[Austinlee]

Penguins, Live Nation reveal revised design of performance venue for Lower Hill

https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsbur...-penguins.html

Revised plan to push forward with concert venue on Lot E site and hold off on garage comes with Live Nation taking over design process of facility at a lower price tag than previous plan....

I don't really love the exterior design of this but I also thought Stage AE was fugly when it opened but I have to say, over the last few years of going to a bunch of indoor and outdoor concerts at AE, I do love the functionality of that place. I will try to remain optimistic that this will be a cool event space.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Penguins, Live Nation reveal revised design of performance venue for Lower Hill

https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsbur...-penguins.html






I don't really love the exterior design of this but I also thought Stage AE was fugly when it opened but I have to say, over the last few years of going to a bunch of indoor and outdoor concerts at AE, I do love the functionality of that place. I will try to remain optimistic that this will be a cool event space.

I think it's an improvement over Desmone's first few attempts... which were in typical Desmone fashion, absolute cheap-looking crap.

[Austinlee]

^Yeah, it's not the worst design i've ever seen.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by pj3000

This is a great addition to the area, but damn I'm going to miss that big parking lot.

I'm eager to see how this development turns out. What is the word on the street in the east end about this project? Are people jazzed for it or are they not into it?

[dmaTN]

America's Coolest Neighborhoods --- Not Lawrenceville this time, but the 'burgh is represented ...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tri...&ei=44#image=1

[Jim D]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I think it's an improvement over Desmone's first few attempts... which were in typical Desmone fashion, absolute cheap-looking crap.

The reality is, this isn't what it will look like either. Or they will end up using cheaper materials on the exterior. I've yet to see a design for the old igloo property that actually made it to reality. They all start out interesting, but by the time they go to put metal to the ground, the interesting bits have all been removed.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

I'm eager to see how this development turns out. What is the word on the street in the east end about this project? Are people jazzed for it or are they not into it?

I mean, it's a major positive change... what used to be a rather desolate, auto-first area is now becoming neighborhood-ish. With the removal of the Club One Fitness concrete monolith and that weird little office building across Penn for the planned next phase of Bakery Square, it's on its way to becoming one of the major hubs of activity in Pittsburgh.

I really can't see any valid reason for nearby residents not to be jazzed about it.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I really can't see any valid reason for nearby residents not to be jazzed about it.

A fair proportion of residents of the Village of Shadyside seem to hate it, based upon how they organized a NIMBY campaign in an effort to defeat it.

Echo Realty had to make major changes, including moving the multifamily section closer to the street so that shadows wouldn't be cast on their property, but they were still salty, IIRC.

That whole condo development was such a huge mistake, in retrospect.

[dfiler]

Originally Posted by eschaton

A fair proportion of residents of the Village of Shadyside seem to hate it, based upon how they organized a NIMBY campaign in an effort to defeat it.

Echo Realty had to make major changes, including moving the multifamily section closer to the street so that shadows wouldn't be cast on their property, but they were still salty, IIRC.

That whole condo development was such a huge mistake, in retrospect.

Those NIMBYs made me incredibly mad. They built a walled enclave in the middle of the city. They literally walled themselves off from the neighborhood and have a guard hut at the one entrance. They put a brick wall up all along the Penn Ave sidewalk.

And then they have the nerve to complain about something being next to them on the other side of their wall. THEY are the problematic neighbor, not the mixed use development next door.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by dfiler

Those NIMBYs made me incredibly mad. They built a walled enclave in the middle of the city. They literally walled themselves off from the neighborhood and have a guard hut at the one entrance. They put a brick wall up all along the Penn Ave sidewalk.

And then they have the nerve to complain about something being next to them on the other side of their wall. THEY are the problematic neighbor, not the mixed use development next door.

If I was building a condo neighborhood right in that area at that time, I would've built a wall too... but probably a higher one.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by dfiler

And then they have the nerve to complain about something being next to them on the other side of their wall. THEY are the problematic neighbor, not the mixed use development next door.

The funniest thing I remember from one of the news stories was an older woman who complained that the plan was "suburban in nature" and not befitting an urban area.

IIRC, it came out she was also a small-time landlord in Shadyside.

[eschaton]

June 25th Planning Commission agenda is online. There are two new items for next week, though neither one of them is a surprise per se.

The first, and less interesting, is the historic nomination for Pittsburgh Stained Glass Studios (in the West End). This was in front of the HRC earlier, and thus there's not much new here.

More interesting, however, is the dropping of the preliminary land development plan for the next phase of Bakery Square. The presentation itself is here, while the PLDP (here) provides additional detail. The zoning text is also available, though I find that less useful.

Regardless, we've seen earlier drafts of this plan floated in the media. By far the There is one interesting change here though, which is the plans now show the retention of the Trader Joes building. This seems to have happened quite recently, as the conceptual drawings show it gone, and even the planned subzones for the new area cut directly through the building. I'd like to think this is due to the efforts of preservationists (the building is the old East Liberty Post Office, and we know Walnut Capital had wanted to knock it down to widen the sidewalk). However, the plan also includes retention of the surface parking lots around it, which leads me to think that there might be long-term lease reasons to not include it as part of the redevelopment yet. Also, it looks like the first building constructed will be right on the corner by the Busway - which makes sense, because the site is cleared, and they don't need to evict any tenants. Regardless, a huge step up for the area is on its way.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by pj3000

If I was building a condo neighborhood right in that area at that time, I would've built a wall too... but probably a higher one.

I moved to the city proper in 1986. I was in middle school and attended Florence Reizenstein Middle. The school was adjacent to the townhouse development and it was still under construction during that time. At the same time Liberty Station opened across Penn Avenue. The anchor store at that time was Phar-Mor discount pharmacy and a Equibank branch. Other than that the area especially the immediate area was desolate and sleepy. The traffic was horrendous but the area was not considered bad by any stretch of the imagination.

Our gym teacher Mr. Drenovich used to take our class mountain bike riding through the complex. I do not think we were welcomed and this is probably why my teacher chose this route. Reizenstein, Ellis School for Girls, and a US Military storage facility shared a back alley with the complex.

[eschaton]

Another development wrap up.

First, the July HRC is now online. While it's quite small this month, there is an updated presentation on 933 Penn Avenue. While there's less renderings than we saw last month, what is provided is in higher resolution (including nice views of the outside seating area), and they go into some detail on why they believe they cannot restore the few remaining elements of the original building (like the arches on the upper story).

Second, while the July 11th ZBA isn't online, the individual documents are. The only notable one here is a small infill mixed-use building on the 5800 block of Bryant Street. This project will include ground floor commercial and four residential units on the upper stories. The design looks decent enough, and fills in the last remaining true vacant lot in the Bryant Street business district (there are a few others, but they at least have some uses, like parklets/outdoor seating, or the gross surface parking lot for Bryant Street Lofts.

Also in ZBA news, I see that HUdson Companies let it slip in the ZBA hearing for the Parker (the new mirror of the Julian) that they have a third building in planning on the same block. The third apartment would go across the street, in the plot now covered by the UPMC Melwood building. It's pretty remarkable to consider how much density is being crammed into a relatively small area on the fringe of North Oakland in just a few years.

I also have an eyeball report that the new 267-unit apartment building in Upper Lawrenceville along Butler Street has broken ground, as of this weekend.

Also, I saw a few days back about the sorry state of the Hunt Armory redevelopment. The bottom line is local NIMBYs back in 2015 stopped the redevelopment into anything other than a skating rink. That redevelopment plan (which involved a parking deck, and building a new rink on top) fell through, as it was too expensive. The Penguins have a more stripped-down plan, which involves no structured parking, but leasing 50 spaces from Calvary Episcopal Church, with the remainder parking at East Side Bond. NIMBYs think (of course) that many will choose to park on "their streets" instead.

[Jim D]

"The city of Pittsburgh has halted construction at the new $1.5 billion UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Oakland, claiming that work started on some aspects of the project without the required permits."

Apparently the permits in question have been going back and forth and the City and each time a new permit is created. The original permits were supposedly created 6 months ago.

Has anyone ever heard of the city stopping construction on a major project before? This sounds ridiculous. Shouldn't the City be helping to get things done, not stopping them? On large projects like this, this puts hundreds of folks out of work until it's resolved. Not to mention time is money.

Doesn't sound like a good way to build a welcoming climate for developers.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

There is one interesting change here though, which is the plans now show the retention of the Trader Joes building. This seems to have happened quite recently, as the conceptual drawings show it gone, and even the planned subzones for the new area cut directly through the building. I'd like to think this is due to the efforts of preservationists (the building is the old East Liberty Post Office, and we know Walnut Capital had wanted to knock it down to widen the sidewalk).

I wonder if it would be possible to preserve just the cooler eastern side of the building. It would still be out on the planned wide sidewalk but could be a cool historic feature.

[qwho]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Also in ZBA news, I see that HUdson Companies let it slip in the ZBA hearing for the Parker (the new mirror of the Julian) that they have a third building in planning on the same block. The third apartment would go across the street, in the plot now covered by the UPMC Melwood building. It's pretty remarkable to consider how much density is being crammed into a relatively small area on the fringe of North Oakland in just a few years.

Having worked in that building I'm torn on if it should be completely leveled or not... The front facade is kindof historic-looking. Inside I can absolutely say it has no 'charm' or anything. It has been completely transformed into a cubicle wasteland. When I worked there, the consensus was that it was a repair center for trucks. The historic maps of Pittsburgh someone posted here one time seem to show it was a location of The White Company, which would make sense. Anything earlier than 1923 shows Luna Park.