PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown I

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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_542879.html

Standard & Poor's hikes Pittsburgh's rating

By Michael Hasch
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, December 15, 2007


Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said Friday he was pleased to learn that Pittsburgh's bond rating was raised by Standard & Poor's from the lowest investment grade because of improved finances that have led to a projected surplus for this fiscal year.
The New York-based debt rating firm raised the city's credit rating one level, to BBB from BBB-.

"The stable outlook reflects Pittsburgh's stable economy, which is experiencing limited but positive employment growth," according to a statement from Standard & Poor's.

Ravenstahl said the upgrade is based upon improved financial operations over the past two years and a projected surplus for fiscal year 2007.

"Today, the world's finest credit experts have told us, for the second consecutive year, that our responsible approach to financial management is paying dividends," he said.
Pittsburgh officials are projecting an $18.7 million surplus in the year ending Dec. 31.

"Although the city faces challenges in balancing its operations in the out-years, management is aware of the city's position and is building up reserves in advance of possible shortfalls," said John Sugden-Castillo, a credit analyst for Standard & Poor's.

Moody's Investor Service upgraded the city's credit rating 14 months ago and removed Pittsburgh from its watchlist of cities and companies whose ratings are likely to change. The removal makes Pittsburgh a more secure, attractive option for bond investors.

It was the first upgrade to the city's general-obligation debt by Moody's since March 2005, a few months after an oversight board signed off on a recovery plan to bring Pittsburgh back from the brink of bankruptcy.

"By driving down the cost of government, spending less and saving more ... we've been able to grow our savings account, proving to the world that we are an attractive city to invest in with a bright future," Ravenstahl said.



Michael Hasch can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7820.

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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_542863.html

Beer-and-pretzel restaurant plan revived

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, December 15, 2007


Construction of the Hofbrauhaus at the SouthSide Works on the South Side might finally be ready to start.
The Soffer Organization and representatives of Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh will seek the approval of the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority at a URA board meeting in January.

Soffer is the developer of the SouthSide Works, while Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh would operate the German-styled beer and pretzel restaurant that will be built behind the Cheesecake Factory toward the Monongahela River.

If the URA gives its approval, construction could start in May and the facility could open by the first quarter of 2009, said Mark Dellana, Soffer's vice president of development.

"We will begin demolition of the existing foundation on the site for the Hofbrauhaus, and that should take about a month and a half," Dellana said. The property would then be turned over to Hofbrauhaus in May.
The development group has endured a series of setbacks that delayed the project, said Nick Ellison, a principal in Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh along with Eric Haas.

Soffer officials announced plans for the facility in 2005, and in July 2006, Ellison and Haas said they hoped to have it open by the fall of this year.

Problems began when the federal government started to require companies issuing franchises to fully disclose their resources, similar to what is required when a company issues stock, Ellison said.

"It was difficult to get the State of Bavaria, owner of Hofbrauhaus, to make that disclosure," he said.

Meanwhile, Hofbrauhaus' option on the SouthSide Works site expired, and Ellison said the Soffer Organization began marketing the property before Bavaria finally agreed to provide the required information, he said.

"We then offered 80 investors, through a private offering memorandum, the opportunity to invest in the project. We needed 30 but only 15 agreed," he said.


The project ran into another snag when the Pennsylvania Legislature in July allowed Allegheny County to impose up to 10 percent tax on the sale of alcoholic beverages to help pay for Port Authority operations, he said.

"We cancelled the project, but Huntington Bank's Cincinnati office agreed to provide us with a loan to move the project ahead," Ellison said.

The Hofbrauhaus will have space for about 1,000 customers and create 180 to 200 jobs.

It will be the third Hofbrauhaus in the U.S., Ellison said. The first was opened in 2003 in Newport, Ky., outside Cincinnati. The second opened in 2004 in Las Vegas.



Sam Spatter can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7843.

[Evergrey]

In a city filled with beautiful historic structures... there are many opportunities for create re-use of buildings. Many of you are famliar with the church conversion trend here in Pittsburgh.... but banks are also a favorite target for conversions. I wonder if hyperion has been to the Vault...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_542261.html

Banks reborn as nightclubs, restaurants and a spa

By The Tribune-Review
Thursday, December 13, 2007


Back in the day, banks were built with a grandeur and strength in both material and design.
These magnificent shrines to commerce were built with tall granite columns, marble counters and brass cashier cages. The structures spoke of trust, reliability and permanence.

Fast-forward to the next century, and enter the world of credit cards, ATM machines and online banking.

The permanence of those banks as imposing buildings remains, but many have been renovated into new establishments, such as clubs, coffeehouses, condos, restaurants -- and even a spa.

Here are a handful found throughout the area -- and one with plans for the future.


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Carson City Saloon, South Side

You want a nightclub, you want a big, sturdy, solid building. Something that the bass from a Timbaland or Kanye West track isn't going to shake apart. So why not a bank?

Carson City Saloon inhabits a space built for the German National Depository in 1896. It also was a Mellon Bank, then a Citizens Bank. Typical for its time, the massively imposing, thick-walled neoclassical building conveys fortress-like safety and stability. It's an attractive structure, if not particularly festive or fun.

But inside, it has been totally transformed into a spacious, high-ceilinged cavern of sports, television and beer. One thing that remains from its bank beginnings is the giant, steel walk-in vault in the far back wall. Once, it probably served to reassure customers and intimidate potential robbers. Now, it's just another decoration on the wall between the kitchen and the digital jukebox.

Carson City Saloon, 1401 E. Carson St., South Side. Hours: 11:45 a.m.-1:45 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays, noon-midnight Sundays. Details: 412-481-3203.



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Perk Coffee Gallery, West End

The vault of a West End bank is now a treasure house of coffee, wraps, soups, sandwiches and an ever-changing selection of home-cooked entrees. New to the scene as of Nov. 17, Perk Coffee Gallery began serving customers in the safe deposit vault where generations of banking clients once stored their valuables.

Toni Herd, a Munhall resident and the owner of Perk Coffee Gallery, was looking for a space to open a coffee shop and art gallery that would become part of the West End's revitalization. An artist friend told her about this available space.

Constructed in 1927 for the West End Savings and Trust Co., the building had been subdivided into an indoor mini-mall for shops and a National City Bank branch office.

Herd fell in love with the tiny space, especially when she learned she could fill the adjoining vault with tables and chairs for her customers.

She offers homemade dishes such as macaroni and cheese or green beans and smoked turkey alongside the lighter options that include vegan wraps, red beans and greens salads. The $6.25 Saturday lunch special menu features smoked and barbecued ribs or chicken, collard greens or baked beans, a corn muffin and a choice of cole slaw or potato salad.

Right now, most of Herd's customers are people who work in the neighborhood. But there's a number of art galleries nearby, and the walls of Perk Coffee Gallery are lined with original artworks created by Herd and other local artists.

"I'm hoping the area will become a place (for artists and their customers) to hang out comfortably," she says.

Perk Coffee Gallery, 22 Wabash St., West End. Hours: 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Details: 412-773-1057.



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Rockwell's Red Lion Restaurant, Elizabeth

The building that houses Rockwell's Red Lion Restaurant in Elizabeth originally was built for the First National Bank of Elizabeth in 1906. The bank closed its doors permanently seven years later. The building housed a drugstore and a second-hand store and stood vacant until the Rockwell family purchased and renovated it, opening the restaurant May 14, 1980.

Framed old photos on the restaurant walls are a reminder of life in Elizabeth as far back as the late 1800s.

The restaurant is run by Orrie Rockwell Jr. and his children, Lynn McHolme, who runs the business office, and Orrie Rockwell III, who is the chef. The menu changes periodically to feature seasonal dishes. Chef Orrie's specialties include roasted duck with blackberry and black cherry demi-glaze ($21.95), salmon with blueberry glaze ($16.95) and chicken with apricot glaze ($14.95).

The restaurant will hold a Christmas wine tasting and dinner Dec. 22. Cost of the four-course meal is $40.

Rockwell's Red Lion Restaurant, 201 Second St., Elizabeth. Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays. Details: 412-384-3909.



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The Vault Coffee & Tea Bar, Brighton Heights

There are banks, and then there are savings and loans. The former typically is a marble-floored financial institution whose Doric columns and gilded ceilings radiate fiduciary gravitas. The latter is the bank's folksy cousin, with functional carpeting and color schemes that recall the Brady Bunch rec room.

It makes sense that The Vault Coffee & Tea Bar, a mainstay of the Brighton Heights business district, should take up residence in a former savings and loan. Its homely intimacy serves its quirky sensibility well.

You won't find a bank vault in The Vault -- at least not on the main floor. But you will enjoy spotting vestiges of its former life while you wait for barista Matt Haberman or owner Bradley Richards to make your espresso.

The small lectern where folks used to fill out deposit slips now holds napkins. Beneath a sign that proclaims "Today's Interest Rates" is a menu that touts stuffed grape leaves, Chicken Feta Mojo, bagels or toast. Another sign invites customers to "angry up" their usual cup of Joe with a shot of espresso.

The original office couches, where anxious customers waited for loan approval, now serve as posterior magnets in the small upstairs balcony. It's strewn with laptops and back issues of Spin. If the coffee doesn't wake you up, the loud blue walls will.

Customers Michele Knickerbocker and Michelle Ligon, both nursing students and moms, park themselves by the counter, where bank tellers reportedly served customers from behind bulletproof glass.

"I have two kids, and you can bring them here," Knickerbocker says. "People don't act annoyed that they're around."

The Vault Coffee & Tea Bar, 3619 California Ave., Brighton Heights. Hours: 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. Details: 412-734-1935.



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The Sewickley Spa, Ligonier

Money-related puns abound with satisfied patrons at The Sewickley Spa, who often tell the owner that they got a wealth of a wonderful treatment with rich pleasures. Given that their pampering took place in a former bank vault, there's no better way to describe it, says Dorothy Andreas Tuel, owner of the Ligonier spa that is housed in a former Mellon Bank building.

"People really get a kick out of it," she says. "It's a conversation piece as well as a relaxing treatment."

Andreas Tuel -- who also owns The Sewickley Spa at Sewickley, and The Sewickley Spa at Wisp Resort in Maryland -- opened the Ligonier location in 2001. She says she was thrilled to discover that the Mellon Bank building was available, after looking around Ligonier for a new spot.

With plenty of open spaces, the bank building was easy to convert into a spa, she says. The building, with its granite columns, still retains some of its turn-of-the-century bank look, and some banking remnants -- like a $20 bill from the 1940s -- were found during the renovation. Inside the spa, visitors can get pampered with more than three dozen treatments, mostly skin and body therapy.

The Sewickley Spa, 112 N. Market St., Ligonier. Hours: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Details: 724-238-3878.



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Pittsburgh Engineers Building, Downtown

The former bank that now houses the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania was built in the heart of Pittsburgh's financial district, Downtown, at the turn of the last century by famed architect Daniel H. Burnham. He also designed the Flatiron Building in New York City and Pittsburgh's Union Station, now the Pennsylvanian, among many other buildings.

Members and guests of the Engineers' Society have the privilege of eating inside the bank vault during daily lunches. But you'll have to make friends with an engineer; unfortunately, the club dining room is not open to the public.



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Discovery & Interactive Science Center, Greensburg

A former Mellon Bank building in downtown Greensburg could become an interactive, hands-on science center if Douglas Lingsch and his wife, Mari-Pat, can make it happen.

The Bedford couple hope to open the Discovery & Interactive Science Center -- run as a nonprofit, similar to the Carnegie Science Center -- in the fall of 2008 or 2009.

The granite-block structure was built in 1928 for the Barclay-Westmoreland Trust Co. and has been vacant since Citizens Bank closed its branch in March 2005. In September, the Lingsches bought the vacant building for $258,000. Douglas Lingsch says it remains in good condition, and he anticipates spending about $1 million to convert it.

The lobby of the former bank would be completely renovated, and a mezzanine floor would be added to create more exhibit space. The bank's two vaults -- whose 800- to 1,000-pound doors have glass panels exposing the gears -- would be part of the attraction.



Typical for its time, the massively imposing, thick-walled neoclassical building conveys fortress-like safety and stability. But inside, it has been totally transformed into the Carson City Saloon, a spacious, high-ceilinged cavern of sports, television and beer.
Jasmine Gehris /Tribune-Review


The Carson City Saloon, South Side, inhabits a space built for the German National Depository in 1896. It also was a Mellon Bank, then a Citizens Bank.
Jasmine Gehris/Tribune-Review



Toni Herd, a Munhall resident and the owner of Perk Coffee Gallery, was looking for a space to open a coffee shop and art gallery that would become part of the West End's revitalization. An artist friend told her about this old bank.
Heidi Murrin/Tribune-Review


A customer waits at the counter at The Vault Coffee & Tea Bar, Brighton Heights.
James Knox/Tribune-Review


A former Mellon Bank building in downtown Greensburg could become an interactive, hands-on science center if Douglas Lingsch and his wife, Mari-Pat, can make it happen.
Tribune-Review file


The Sewickley Spa, Ligonier, is housed in a former Mellon Bank building."People really get a kick out of it," says owner Dorothy Andreas Tuel. "It's a conversation piece as well as a relaxing treatment."
Sean Stipp/Tribune-Review

[Evergrey]

this is a couple months old... but it's a huge deal... it's a $60 million mixed-use development for Ambridge... an old river town about 15 miles west in Beaver County along the Ohio River across from Aliquippa... an Australian investor has begun site preperations in Downtown Ambridge

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07298/828172-57.stm

Reviving Ambridge

Long-vacant American Bridge office proposed as site for senior living complex

Thursday, October 25, 2007
By Brian David, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Lake Fong/Post-Gazette
The interior of the American Bridge office building in Ambridge, which has been vacant for 25 years. Sewickley builder William Marra hopes to rejuvenate the site and convert it to housing for senior citizens.The town of Ambridge is proving that there are different ways to break from the past.

You can keep the structures, preserving what's good and strong from the past while growing new uses within that framework. That's what's happening in the south end where a Sewickley builder wants to convert the old American Bridge office building into a senior housing complex.

You can hang onto the past while preparing for something new. That's happening in the middle of town, where a new high school is on course to open in January next door to one built in 1918.

Or you can obliterate the past, clearing it away to make room for something new. That's happening in the northern end of the borough, where a development group led by an Australian businessman is demolishing industrial buildings in the first tangible phase of an ambitious rebuilding plan.

Along with a recently completed street-scaping that spruced up the town's historic district and a steady trickle of small businesses moving into the industrial district, these projects have a number of people believing things are on the upswing.

"This [town] could be reborn, and this would help get it reborn," William Marra said of his proposal for the American Bridge building.

As he sees it, if 77 people move from Ambridge-area houses into his building, that gives a sudden boost to the local supply of mid-priced homes. In that vision, the new school and new businesses would draw young families to those homes, pumping new life into the town.

His optimism is shared by the local leader of the Northern Ambridge Redevelopment Project, Bill Sutton.

"I think Ambridge is on the cusp of busting loose," said Mr. Sutton, who spearheads day-to-day work on behalf of Australian builder Rob Moltoni. "It has the potential to be the West Side of Pittsburgh, developing sort of the way the South Side did over the last 10 years."

Gene Pash is a believer as well.

"Ambridge is coming back," the chairman of the Ambridge Area Redevelopment Council said. "I see embers and sparks throughout the area."

The private, nonpartisan group recruits businesses to the Ambridge area's bountiful supply of industrial space and helps them tap into resources available for "brownfield" development, the reuse of contaminated industrial property.

Mr. Pash is a brownfield developer himself: He is president of Value Ambridge Properties, which owns and operates the Ambridge Regional Distribution and Manufacturing Center in the former Armco seamless pipe plant.

Ambridge is also home to the Port Ambridge Industrial Park, 122 acres of the former American Bridge site, and New Economy Business Park, another re-claimed factory, which is part of the Northern Ambridge project.

"Brownfields redevelopment of all these old buildings is the wave of the future," Mr. Pash said. A big advantage to it is that sewer lines, water, roads, even rail lines are already there. "These developments can use things our grandparents already paid for," he said.

Mr. Pash, however, is happy to see some of the industrial property being demolished; the Northern Ambridge developers have cleared the former H.H. Robertson property on 14th Street and will soon be in demolition on the area between 14th and 11th.

Mr. Sutton said that area will most likely be used for retail and business development -- to some degree a brand new downtown, built from the ground up with all modern considerations, like parking and building styles.

The rusting, collapsing industrial buildings that were there, and are still there in some places, served to break the town up, separating the Duss Avenue and Merchant Street commercial corridors and to some extent isolating the historic district around Old Economy Village.

"What this does is it moves some of the heavy industrial/blighted areas out of town -- out of the heart of our town," Mr. Pash said.

He sees that as a huge boon to the community as a whole.

"There's plenty of land here for businesses, but if it's in a place where you don't want to raise your children, it won't work," he said. "The community needs to thrive."

That's one reason the Northern Ambridge project has drawn attention. Another is the sheer scope of it: an estimated $60 million.

The Northern Ambridge project, first proposed in 2003, covers 60 acres bounded by 11th Street, Duss Avenue, 19th Street and Merchant Street, and includes the site occupied by Centria Inc., and New Economy Business Park, both of which are at the northern end of the project area.

Development in the heart of the town between 11th and 15th streets will be more dramatic, with most buildings demolished and the area put to new uses.

Mr. Sutton said the project's agents are closing on the last of five parcels. He expects demolition to begin early next year, with building starting on the H.H. Robertson property about the same time.

A tireless cheerleader for Ambridge and Harmony Township, Mr. Pash totes around a folder full of pictures of companies that have settled there in recent years, including several trucking firms, Avelli Concrete, Herr-Voss Stamco, Pocket Nurse and Ace Hardware.

As it happens, Mr. Marra was on his way to Ace Hardware when he saw a "for sale" sign on the American Bridge office building, to some extent demonstrating the domino effect that can push development ahead.

"There's no one big, three-block-long project," he said -- but there are more small projects than most people realize.

Mr. Pash hands out key chains with little mirrors and the message: Our town is a reflection of you.

He also puts signs up where development is going on, saying "Proud Past, Bright Future." The slogan is a successor to others the redevelopment council has used: "Life After Steel" and "Stronger Than Steel."

Will the good things happening in Ambridge be enough to prove those people right? It remains to be seen.

But Mr. Sutton is optimistic.

"I'm pretty excited about Ambridge right now," he said.

First published on October 25, 2007 at 5:49 am
Brian David can be reached at [email protected] or 724-375-6816.


renderings begin on page 33
http://www.eswp.com/PDF/Bort%20Michael.pdf

[Austinlee]

^It will be interesting to see how this huge redevelopment in Ambridge will affect that towns fortunes.

[hyperion1110]

Evergrey, I have somehow managed to never go to the Vault. Everyone keeps saying how great it is, too. So, I guess I'm going to have to check it out.

[hyperion1110]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07351/842375-100.stm

Bakery Square financing approved

Monday, December 17, 2007
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh City Council today approved tax incremental financing to allow a developer to convert the former Nabisco bakery into a $113 million shopping, residential and hotel complex.

Council voted 7-1 in favor of the TIF, which will let developer Walnut Capital defer part of the money it would pay in property taxes and use it for debt service on the project. Councilman Jeff Koch voted no.

The project had generated controversy recently because the union UNITE HERE, which represents hotel workers, said a hotel that is part of the project should be covered under the special tax arrangement. If that were the case, the hotel under city law would not be allowed to oppose an attempt to organize workers there.

But the city Urban Redevelopment Authority ruled that the 120-room hotel is a separate project that would be built in the air space above the complex that would be covered by the TIF, so the special financing would not apply there.

The Bakery Square development along Penn Avenue in Larimer also would include a 990-space parking garage, 132,000 square feet of retail space, 153,000 square feet of office space and 38 residential units.


First published on December 17, 2007 at 11:49 am

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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_543324.html

Living the high life Downtown

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, December 18, 2007


Gateway Towers was Downtown's first major condominium building, and it's still the best, its residents say.
Built 43 years ago at the edge of Gateway Center, the Towers has a wealth of amenities -- a library; a fitness center with a sauna, shower and lockers; a billiard room; TV lounge; and a large meeting room with a kitchen. Businesses not only surround the building; they fill the first three of its 26 floors.

"Not only have I lived here for 20 years and found it the best building," Luigi Caruso said, "but now I have my barbershop on the first level, something I have been trying to do for about five years."

In addition to Luigi's shop, other businesses include a dentist, a doctor, an allergist, an interior designer and an executive headhunter.

New residences are being built across Downtown, and finishing touches are being put on buildings such as 151 FirstSide, with 82 units, and Piatt Place, the expanded former department store with 65 units.
But owners say Gateway Towers, where renovations are under way, has unique touches not likely to be found elsewhere -- including a chandelier in the lobby that comedian Phyllis Diller is said to have donated.

Jul Troiani and his wife, Jackie, live in a top-floor penthouse, and two of his children live in a unit a floor below.

"The building is just great," he said. "It offers me the opportunity to live near my Downtown restaurant (Papa J's Centro on the Boulevard of the Allies) and investments, and near my Strip District office. Yet, it fulfills all my needs as a resident."

Sylvia Magiotta returned to Pittsburgh three years ago after 14 years in Florida, and says she likes having access to Downtown activities from her home in the Towers. The building provides the security she wants and a place to meet friends, she said.

The 500 occupants have a wide range of ages, from Amir Ali, 15 months, son of Dr. Aris and Liz Ali, to Edward D. Loughney, 102, a former executive vice president at Gulf Oil, which was headquartered in Pittsburgh until the 1980s.

Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services took over management of the building in January, and Charles Diloreto, the property manager, listed a few more of its pluses.

Gateway Towers has a computer and Internet service in its library for residents to use. Residents can use the computer to check on progress of work being done in the building, he said. Residents can call for service any time because the system is connected to the security center, which is always staffed, Diloreto said.

The library is two large rooms -- one with research books and hardback novels, the other with paperbacks.

Unit owners with cars can lease space in the underground garage for $180 a month. And Diloreto noted the building was the first Downtown condo to offer Flexcar, a service with a fleet of cars that are loaned out for a fee.

Carol Clifford, real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Real Estate and a Towers resident, said the building has a turnover of about 5 percent a year, and 12 units are available for sale. It was built in 1964 with 308 apartments and converted to condominiums in 1979. Because of consolidations by various owners, it now has 268 units.

Small residences there sell for less than $100,000, and larger ones go for $1 million or more. Still, when sales were slow during high mortgage interest rates in 1987, building owner Commonwealth Fort Associates of Illinois put 94 units up for auction, and some went for prices as low as $25,000.

Renovations to the Towers are ongoing. The building's facade has been cleaned and repaired at a cost of about $600,000, and a second phase of work will restore exterior panels and windows.

The building's reserve fund is expected to cover the work, as it did the first project, Diloreto said. The only assessment ever levied on owners there came in 2005, and was used to repair the parking garage flooded by a big water main break Downtown. Since then, flood insurance has been acquired, Diloreto said.

As part of a five-year plan, the building's entrance, lobby and all public corridors will be refurbished, using energy efficient practices, he said.

Speaking of the lobby, residents contend Diller acquired a chandelier from a prop room at MGM Studios and had it installed in the building as a gift. She was one of the investors in the towers and often stayed there during visits to Pittsburgh.

Diller, contacted in Los Angeles, said she doesn't recall the chandelier story.

Still, "I'm 90," she said, "and it is probably something that I would have done."



Sam Spatter can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7843.


By the numbers

1964 -- Gateway Towers built
26 -- number of floors

15 months -- age of youngest resident

102 -- age of oldest resident

$180 -- parking cost for monthly lease

12 -- units for sale

268 -- condos in the building

$100,000-$1 million -- range of condo prices

Source: Tribune-Review research


Chuck Diloreto, property manager of Gateway Towers, Downtown sits in a 3,400 square foot unit for sale in the building with an asking price of $850,000.
Justin Merriman/Tribune-Review

front and center.. to the left of the Hilton... 268 condos... that's about 3 times as many as FirstSide and about 1/3 the the number of the proposed Riverparc

[EventHorizon]

New Hilton planned on jail annex site Downtown

http://postgazette.com/pg/07352/842606-100.stm

Tuesday, December 18, 2007
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County has reached a deal with Kratsa Properties to build a 156-room Hilton Garden Inn at the site of the old jail annex on Ross Street.

The county's Industrial Development Authority approved the sale of the property to Kratsa for $1.55 million this morning. The six-story hotel also will feature underground parking on the site, which is nearly half an acre.

"It's a pretty great deal," spokesman Kevin Evanto said. "It takes a tax-exempt property and puts it back on the tax rolls. It's another hotel Downtown."

First published on December 18, 2007 at 11:24 am


Where exactly is the jail annex site? Is that the area behind the Grant Building?...

[Evergrey]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_543372.html

Downtown hotel to be built on site of demolished jail annex

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, December 18, 2007


A new 156-guest room Hilton Garden Inn hotel will be built on a vacant site at Forbes Avenue and Ross Street, following sale of the property to Kratsa Properties for $1.55 million.
The sale was completed at today's meeting of the Allegheny County Industrial Development Authority.

Kratsa will build a six-story structure with an underground garage on the nearly one-half-acre site. It previously was the site of the county Jail Annex, which was demolished four years ago.

The hotel building is still in the design phase and will be submitted to the City of Pittsburgh Planning Commission in 2008.

"We are putting a prime piece of Downtown real estate back on the tax rolls and bringing additional hotel rooms to the Golden Triangle," said County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.
"The best things about the hotel is the underground garage, and the developer is using private funds. No county funds are involved," he said.

One of his first decisions after being elected chief executive was not to build another county building on the site, claiming there was enough vacant space available Downtown to house county offices , said Dennis Davin, director of the county's Department of Economic Development.

"The previous administration had secured $55 million to build a Human Service Tower on the site, but I didn't believe we needed new space," Onorato said.

Instead, he used $8 million of that amount to buy the One Smithfield (former United Way) building at One Smithfield St. for the human service department.

And now, the county is seeking proposals for the building and its adjoining parking lot from private investors, Davin said.

"We had issued a Requests for Development Proposals earlier for the property and obtained four proposals. But other developers complained there was not enough time to submit their proposals so we are opening up the requests with a mid-February deadline," Davin said.

He expects to receive about 10 proposals when the deadline arrives.

Meanwhile, Onorato plans to move county office personnel out of leased space into the current Morgue building, once the new morgue and lab facilities have been completed in the Buncher property on Penn Avenue in the Strip District.

"We will not sell the Morgue because it is an historic landmark," he said.

The sale was first decided by the Industrial Development Authority at its August meeting when a resolution was passed to enter into a sales agreement with Kratsa Properties.



Sam Spatter can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7843.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by EventHorizon

Where exactly is the jail annex site? Is that the area behind the Grant Building?...

Yes, it is that vacant lot.

[EventHorizon]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Yes, it is that vacant lot.

Wicked! I wonder how tall a 156-room hotel could get?

Here's a pictures of a 156-room hotel in Manhattan that's 22 stories:


I hope we get something at least that height.
Four Points Hotel

[Evergrey]

It's 6 stories

[EventHorizon]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

It's 6 stories

Yeah, just caught that bit. Not quite what I was Imagining.

I hope the design is good though.

[Evergrey]

so much for the goodwill generated by UPMC's announcement of a $100 million "gift" to the Pittsburgh Promise... why must UPMC act with such arrogance?

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_543375.html

Council delays vote on UPMC tax credits

By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, December 18, 2007


Pittsburgh City Council today dealt a setback to UPMC's hopes of locking in potential tax credits equal to the $100 million it pledged to help fund The Pittsburgh Promise, a scholarship program for city public school graduates.
The council voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on the matter and delay a resolution that would give UPMC tax credits if the state Legislature ever gives Pittsburgh the right to tax some nonprofits. The city could choose whether to collect those taxes from UPMC or give up a portion to The Pittsburgh Promise, according to a resolution Mayor Luke Ravenstahl introduced to City Council on Monday.

"We shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth," UPMC general counsel Robert Cindrich told council members during a heated debate on the matter this morning. "(This is) the only condition that UPMC has asked for. ...We will give $100 million. Please don't ask us to give it twice."

Cindrich noted that while UPMC as a whole is considered a tax-exempt organization, the giant hospital system does pay some taxes such as parking and sales taxes. It also pays property and income taxes on its for-profit operations.

Council President Doug Shields said the resolution "may not even be legal" and scolded UPMC and Ravenstahl's administration for not revealing the stipulation on Dec. 5, when UPMC's $100 million gift was announced.
"It's not the council that you didn't tell it's the people of the city of Pittsburgh that you didn't tell on Dec. 5 that there are side deals here," Shields said. "I think you owe an apology to the people of Pittsburgh," he said to UPMC officials.

Councilman Bill Peduto said City Council hasn't been given enough time to debate the resolution.

"For so many reasons this is just plain wrong," Peduto said. "I think it's highly inappropriate that we are given only 24 hours to debate this bill. This is a very uncommon practice that's going on today."

Pittsburgh would not "necessarily give up future tax revenue in the unlikely event that it gets the right to tax nonprofits," UPMC spokesman Frank Raczkiewicz said in a statement released this morning.

He said the city would have the option to collect taxes from the nonprofit, but UPMC would reduce its donation to the Pittsburgh Promise proportionally. UPMC posted a record $618 million profit last year.

The credits would come into play only if the state Legislature authorized Pittsburgh to collect so-called "payments in lieu of taxes" from nonprofits.

There is no apparent movement in the Legislature to authorize such taxes, even though some politicians, including City Council members, have sought that authority.

"UPMC seems to be confusing charity with extortion because they're saying, you won't get The Pittsburgh Promise money if you don't give us tax amnesty," said Jeanne Clark, of the Squirrel Hill chapter of the National Organization for Women.

"If you let this legislation pass into law you are abdicating your responsibilities as elected officials," Regent Square resident Barbara Daly Danko, who has a son set to graduate from Schenley High School, told council members. "Backroom or back-nine deals are not acceptable to the public and should not be acceptable to you."

UPMC has said it will give The Pittsburgh Promise $10 million to help the class of 2008 attend Pennsylvania public, private and trade schools after graduation. UPMC pledged up to $90 million over the following nine years in matching funds.



Jeremy Boren can be reached at [email protected] or 412-765-2312.

[hyperion1110]

Hmm...I get what people are saying about UPMC...the whole thing does seem to be a bit shady. However, I think people should be more outraged at Ravenstahl. How could he have thought this was the way in which a mayor should handle himself?? This is more irresponsible than using using our emergency vehicles so he can go to his concert!

We elected the moron, though...we deserve what we get...

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by hyperion1110

Hmm...I get what people are saying about UPMC...the whole thing does seem to be a bit shady. However, I think people should be more outraged at Ravenstahl. How could he have thought this was the way in which a mayor should handle himself?? This is more irresponsible than using using our emergency vehicles so he can go to his concert!

We elected the moron, though...we deserve what we get...

Well, of course, Ravenstahl is a fool and is easily manipulated by UPMC. He is merely the implement by which the UPMC empire is holding this city hostage. UPMC realizes their days of untaxed profits in the billions may come to an end some day if the state government ever gets its head of its ass... so they devise a "charitable donation" to Ravenstahl's as-of-yet unfunded Pittsburgh Promise. This is designed to act as a shield from criticism for UPMC's greed, and to generate political support here in Southwestern PA against a potential non-profit taxation discussion statewide. UPMC gives a gift of $9000 worth of celebrity golf to our starstruck boy-mayor in order to get him on their side. Ravenstahl's embarrassing failure known as Pittsburgh Promise suddenly is legitimized with a huge infusion of cash from the white knight known as UPMC, and UPMC is granted eternal non-taxable status.. even if there is a future where the state government allows the city to coerce payments from tax-exempt institutions. UPMC and Ravenstahl announce UPMC's "$100 million donation" to Pittsburgh Promise amidst much media fanfare and goodwill, failing to mention UPMC's demand of eternal non-taxable status. This little condition finally comes to light a couple weeks later as UPMC and Ravenstahl (and his loser henchman Motznik) attempt to shoehorn this diabolical contract through council at the 11th hour before the holiday break.

You are right... the city of Pittsburgh gets what it votes for. I felt physically ill when this corrupt dumb-luck mayor received his coronation. He's bungled the Pittsburgh Promise. He's bungled the casino. He's bungling the arena/Hill District negotiations. Everyone thought he finally came through with the UPMC donation... but now the sordid details come to light.

[cdc]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Everyone thought he finally came through with the UPMC donation... but now the sordid details come to light.

No kidding! UPMC really played him.

Futhermore, if you read the latest from the PG:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07352/842608-100.stm

"The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's pledge of $100 million to fund college tuitions would supplant the healthcare giant's $1.5 million-a-year contributions to city of Pittsburgh coffers, its top lawyer said today.

That could mean other nonprofit entities, on whom the city relies for $4.2 million a year, or 1 percent of its budget, could choose to contribute to the Pittsburgh Promise and not the city, too."


Supplant?? That will blow a hole in the city budget. Ouch.

[Evergrey]

That's a good point, cdc. In addition to potential future taxes, UPMC is using this "gift" as a way to shirk current payments. It's also important to note that only $10 million of that gift is guaranteed. The remaining $90 million is "matching funds". UPMC will donate $1 for every $1.50 the Pittsburgh Promise raises from other sources, totaling up to $90 million. Considering Pittsburgh Promise has only raised $10,000 so far... these matching funds may not add up to much. So for $10 million, Ravenstahl is willing to "sell the city dahn the river" (as he so famously accused DeSantis of doing).

[UrbaniDesDev]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Yes, it is that vacant lot.

it's dissapointing it will only be 6 stories. The site could do better