PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown I

[Austinlee]

^Aaron, isn't just about every party you plan a lunatic-fest by the end of the night?

[chucka]

I took a few photos of the 3 PNC building and surrounding area.

The steel is starting to rise:




Candy Rama is gone, construction will soon start on the apartments and new YMCA:


PHLF's development of new apartments:

[UrbaniDesDev]

Originally Posted by JackStraw

It was late at night. Look, I don't even smoke any more and gave that up years ago. However, I am looking at this city on a perspective after being out west. You see the things that attract young people, and make a city thrive for young professionals. I move back to Pittsburgh, knowing that this city is a great city with a strong urban core. However, every friend I have moved away to Seattle, Denver, Austin, N.Y., Boston, and others. They close down anything cool, and everybody that I work for is a old, and very conservative thought, Rush Limbaugh listening person. The suburbs seem to be the thriving areas. I took a real chance with coming back to Pittsburgh, and now I am feeling that I am regretting it.

I do understand what you're saying JS. I moved here from Miami Beach a few years ago, before that I was in Manhattan and I could go on. It is not Seattle, Austin or SF (maybe Denver). I still get the urge to chuck it all and leave. It can be very frustrating here. I do believe there is a great future here and it has come a long way and it will be getting even better. That said, it can be a real bore. The nightlife here has dropped off significantly since I moved here. It has always seemed to go in waves here. For awhile there was an amazing selection of things to do then evreything changes. It seems we are always saying, well this is the turning point, and if we just get this it will be great. The fact is, it is very homogenized here and most people are from here, grew up here and outsiders will always be outsiders. Frankly, I am currently eyeballing New Orleans

[Austinlee]

^Dang! What's up with the wave of pessimism here lately?!? Is this cold winter weather getting to you people?? haha.

[hyperion1110]

Originally Posted by UrbaniDesDev

I do understand what you're saying JS. I moved here from Miami Beach a few years ago, before that I was in Manhattan and I could go on. It is not Seattle, Austin or SF (maybe Denver). I still get the urge to chuck it all and leave. It can be very frustrating here. I do believe there is a great future here and it has come a long way and it will be getting even better. That said, it can be a real bore. The nightlife here has dropped off significantly since I moved here. It has always seemed to go in waves here. For awhile there was an amazing selection of things to do then evreything changes. It seems we are always saying, well this is the turning point, and if we just get this it will be great. The fact is, it is very homogenized here and most people are from here, grew up here and outsiders will always be outsiders. Frankly, I am currently eyeballing New Orleans

But is New Orleans the focal point of the world's spiritual light??? I tell ya...people will be coming here by the dozens for that 2012 thing!

[hyperion1110]

Okay, maybe I missed the boat on this one a while back...or I just forgot about it. But Renaissance 3 Architects has on their website some (really horrible) renderings of a 56 unit condo tower to be built on Dithridge St in Oakland.

Here's a picture:

[Austinlee]

^My cousin has rented out of a beautiful old victorian house for 8 years at the corner of Dithridge and Centre (i think...). They are about to tear it down and I think this is what is going to be built there.

Actually not a bad idea, because across the street and next to these houses are highrise buildings, so it will be in context with the street.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by hyperion1110

Okay, maybe I missed the boat on this one a while back...or I just forgot about it. But Renaissance 3 Architects has on their website some (really horrible) renderings of a 56 unit condo tower to be built on Dithridge St in Oakland.

Here's a picture:

Good find. It was originally slated to be 17 stories but has been shrunk to 11... probably something that would only happen in this Pit(tsburgh), right?

*now back to your regularly scheduled "woe is me, I live in Pittsburgh" whinefest*

[PittPenn 03]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

*now back to your regularly scheduled "woe is me, I live in Pittsburgh" whinefest*

But come on now, the grass is always greener anywhere else...

[Johnland]

Originally Posted by hyperion1110

Okay, maybe I missed the boat on this one a while back...or I just forgot about it. But Renaissance 3 Architects has on their website some (really horrible) renderings of a 56 unit condo tower to be built on Dithridge St in Oakland.

Here's a picture:

After looking at Renaissance 3 Architects website for this project, the best I can figure is that it is going in mid-block between Centre Ave and Bayard St. If it is, then it will be located directly across the street from a house I lived in for 4 years right after college. I believe that house is still there last I checked Google Street finder map. I rented the 3rd floor. That house is sort of a Queen Ann shingle style, more or less. An older highrise condo was next door. On the other side is some church facility. At the corner of Bayard and Dithridge, the Scientologists built a horrible little suburban church. And now this 10 story condo. Times have really changed for this block. In the early 80's, there was just the one high rise condo, the rest of the block was lined with tightly packed older homes, most of which were cut into apartments for students. In summer, when the universities emptied out, the people who stayed on in the neighborhood seemed to have one season-long party session. It was quite a fun time. Howver, I can see how that corner of Oakland is now changing over to higher uses. The location was absolutley one of the best spots to live in Pittsburgh. Close to Pitt, CMU, museums, Shadyside, Sq. Hill, all the bus lines..I could go on.

[Austinlee]

^Sounds like fun John. I know that area well and you are correct; It is a very dense, happenining place.

As for the location on Dithridge: I can't really tell. We'll have to wait and see where exactly this thing is supposed to be built.

[hyperion1110]

Maybe some people are actually starting to use their thinking caps...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_544160.html

Allegheny Valley commuter rail gains ground
By Liz Hayes
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Sunday, December 23, 2007

After years of barely chugging along, the planning process for a proposed Allegheny Valley commuter rail has kicked into high gear.

The Westmoreland County Transit Authority on Thursday agreed to pay a contractor $500,000 to study the feasibility of offering commuter rail services from New Kensington to Pittsburgh, as well as from Greensburg to Pittsburgh.

The day before, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a 2008 budget that includes a $1 million earmark for commuter rail projects in Allegheny County.

Christina Stacey, spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, said about half that money is intended for planning and development of the Allegheny Valley rail line. The other half will go to the Mon Valley.

Stacey said the budget already was passed by the Senate and is awaiting President George W. Bush's signature.

State Sen. Frank Dermody, D-Oakmont, has long been a crusader for the Allegheny Valley commuter rail project.

"We need another way into Pittsburgh," Dermody said, pointing to the past year's construction hassles on Route 28 and PennDOT's plans to continue rehabilitating the expressway for several years.

Dermody, along with numerous local officials up and down the Allegheny River, for years has been searching for funding to launch a full study that will determine whether a commuter rail is possible.

Dermody and Westmoreland County Transit officials said the feasibility study will look at ridership, operation details, cost, station locations and condition of existing railroad tracks.

"Obviously, we don't want to invest millions until we're sure it works," Dermody said.

The cost of the New Kensington-to-Pittsburgh line has been estimated to be at least $140 million.

Proponents are interested in using tracks owned by Allegheny Valley Railroad, a Verona-based freight company.

Railroad President Russell Peterson said he is interested in having commuter trains run on his tracks.

"It was in 1998 that the Allegheny Valley Railroad Co. first made the lines in New Kensington available to the public," Peterson said. He said a study at that time found there were no "fatal flaws" to developing a commuter line.

Peterson's company earlier this month was awarded a $1 million grant to improve a bridge over the Allegheny River between Pittsburgh and Millvale.

Peterson said the work will replace old timber and rails and improve a junction on the bridge that connects two rail lines. The total work will cost about $1.5 million, with the railroad kicking in the remaining half-million dollars, Peterson said.

"The repairs will be improvements that last 25 years," Peterson said.

Since the bridge connects two routes, one linking Pittsburgh, Butler and Buffalo, N.Y., and the other running from New Kensington to Pittsburgh, Peterson said it will allow for the continued growth of his freight business.

"Our freight traffic continues to grow as more companies shift from trucking," he said. "As fuel costs go up, more companies consider rail."

Peterson estimated shipping products by train uses about 30 percent less fuel per mile than truck traffic.

Although the work is not being completed for the proposed commuter train, Peterson said the repairs are being made to tracks the line would use.

Peterson said it's about time the city goes back to some type of commuter rail system.

"We were the last to lose our trolleys, and we'll be the last to get them back," he said. "If one were to travel to almost any other major city in the U.S., you'll find commuter rails are more developed."

Dermody said a commuter rail would offer a good alternate to Route 28, which he said is limited in how much it can be expanded to accommodate increased traffic.

"You can't widen Route 28 -- it's between a river and a mountain," he said. "We need another way."

Liz Hayes can be reached at [email protected] or 724-226-4680.

[Evergrey]

nothin' goin' on in Pittsburgh... go away!

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_544492.html

Workers busy in region's building boom

By Bonnie Pfister
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, December 26, 2007


At age 46, David Leehan might seem a little old to be an apprentice.
The resident of Cambridge Springs in Crawford County is one of 240 ironworker apprentices alternating between classes at the Iron Workers Local No. 3 training center in the Strip District and jobs across Western Pennsylvania.

With dozens of construction projects under way and planned in the region, Leehan is confident the temporary cut in pay -- compared to wages he earned for 27 years working in natural gas, marine and other industrial construction -- will be worth it.

"If you're a good ironworker, you can make a name for yourself," said Leehan, who is pursuing the training because a union job will offer a pension and better benefits. "I'll probably keep working until I'm 65 or 70."

With the proliferation of office, hospital and university construction, the North Shore Connector work, planned upgrades to industrial plants, and drawing boards holding designs for a hockey arena and casino in Pittsburgh, industry watchers say ongoing construction is the busiest since the "Plan B" convention center-stadiums building of the late 1990s.
The value of annual construction in the region in recent years has averaged about $2.5 billion, said Jeff Burd, president of Ross-based construction consulting firm Tall Timber Marketing Group. This year, that figure is $3.5 billion.

"Other than the very, very height of Plan B, this is the highest level of construction we've approached in 20 years," Burd said.

Among the big projects are PNC's $179 million "green" office tower and hotel-condo complex Downtown; nearly 1 million square feet of headquarters for Westinghouse Electric Co. in Cranberry; and the $625 million, five-building Children's Hospital in Lawrenceville.

Less evident to casual observers, but making boilermakers popular, are upgrades to power stations in Masontown, Cheswick and Shelocta. That's in addition to U.S. Steel's November announcement that it will invest $1 billion in its Clairton coke works over the next several years, plus numerous ongoing state and local highway projects.

For the 20,000 workers represented by the region's 19 trade unions, this means a reversal of the 20 percent unemployment rate of just 18 months ago, said Rich Stanizzo, business manager for the Building and Construction Trades Council.

"In the past six months, all of the trades are between 95 and 100 percent employed," Stanizzo said. "If we're lucky, we're hoping it will last four or five years, depending on what happens in the economy."

Few observers said they see any immediate upward wage pressure, because union workers -- who make up most of the nonresidential construction work force here -- have multi-year contracts that lock in wages.

"You're tending to see planned overtime, and (night) shift work," Burd said. "With all the work that's going on right now, I'm sure a lot of these guys are feeling underpaid."

To bring more able-bodied men and women into the pipeline, trade groups have stepped up advertising and marketing of their training programs -- basically free to qualified applicants.

Jason Fincke, executive director of the Builders Guild of Western Pennsylvania, said he and his colleagues have been to 15 career fairs in six weeks, from Oakland's Schenley High to schools in rural Beaver County.

The number of apprentices in the 17 programs across 23 building trades has doubled since three years ago, Fincke said, with between 700 and 1,000 individuals enrolled.

Jason McGrorey, 22, of Erie, an ironworker apprentice taking a quick break from his structural-steel class last week, said he has experienced one of the big rewards of his field -- walking through Presque Isle Downs & Casino, fabricated with steel from an Erie company where he worked.

"You feel like you've accomplished something," he said, "especially when you can go to these places when they're finished."



Bonnie Pfister can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7886.

[Evergrey]

Pittsburgh is getting its first Jamba Juice! Maybe now we'll be able to capture a little bit of that Seattle/Denver "cool"...

On a more serious note... this article is about the resurgence of Uptown... led by Duquesne University's Power Center development.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_544467.html

Forbes Avenue a work in progress

By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, December 26, 2007


Dwight Mayo is the type of individual who can improve a neighborhood.
When he decided to locate his Transportation Solutions Corp.'s maintenance building from Washington Boulevard in East Liberty, he considered city and suburban locations before deciding on the 1900 block of Forbes Avenue, in the city's Uptown area.

As a result, about 22 of his more than 100 employees are working in a new 9,900-square-foot building on a site once occupied by three vacant structures.

His company operates about 90 shuttle buses that provide transportation to employees of such operations as the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, senior care facilities and day care centers. Users park their autos in various locations, and the buses take them to work.

"I selected the Forbes site because I wanted to be in close proximity to my major clients," said Mayo, Transportation Solutions president.
Mayo, who has dispatchers, mechanics, managers and some shuttle drivers operating at his new maintenance building and office on Forbes, is one of a growing number of companies, organizations and individuals who have decided to locate or expand in the Forbes corridor.

Dr. Francis Hurite is another one.

He decided to consolidate his practice -- Everett & Hurite Ophthalmic Association -- from two locations into one.

Hurite said he decided to buy the building that once housed the Program for Offenders Inc. at 1835 Forbes for $1.85 million and renovate the facility.

The firm's business and clinical offices in the Mercy Ambulatory Center of Mercy Hospital were closed and moved to the new site.

Other new occupants of the corridor are the Laborers' District Council of Western Pennsylvania and the Laborers' Combined Funds. They relocated in May to the Forbes-Pride Building at 1425 Forbes Ave..

Perhaps the most noticeable development along Forbes is work by Duquesne University.

One example is the $35 million Power Center that is scheduled for a formal opening in January. It's the first of a number of developments the university envisions on a two-block area of Forbes acquired by Duquesne over a period of years.

"We want the opening to be part of Pittsburgh's 250th celebration," said Steve Schillo, Duquesne's vice president for management and business, referring to the city's anniversary in 2008.

Next year also is Duquesne's 130th birthday, he said.

The first level of the 125,000-square-foot building, off Watson Street, houses a Barnes & Noble bookstore, as well as mechanical and maintenance systems.

The main entrance off Forbes houses the second floor of Barnes & Noble, the Red Ring restaurant (to be operated by the university) and a combination deli and Jamba Juice Bar outlet. Within Barnes & Noble will be a second Starbucks on campus.

Other features include a fitness center with aerobic studio, cardio machines and classroom on the second level. The third level has a gymnasium with full-sized basketball/volleyball court and other studios.

A mezzanine between the third and fourth floors will provide a walking/jogging track along the perimeter that overlooks the basketball court.

The fourth level will have another gym with a basketball/volleyball court, two racquetball courts, studios and a free weight training room.

The fifth floor will provide a ballroom with a pre-function area, balconies and kitchen. This level will provide the connection to the rest of the campus via the Frank and Florence Sklar pedestrian walkway.

"Sstudents and faculty will use the activities in the building, and we look forward to many Downtown employees and residents visiting the bookstore," Schillo said.

Duquesne's plans for the corridor include academic facilities, student housing and retail.

Those elements are included in university's 10-year campus master plan approved by the city in 2004.




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

[Austinlee]

^Could the fifth/forbes corridor through uptown become a hot new neighborhood? I think possibly so...

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by PA Pride

^Could the fifth/forbes corridor through uptown become a hot new neighborhood? I think possibly so...

Its location is awesome when you think about it... right between Downtown and Oakland and across the river from SouthSide... and hosting Duquesne University. The new arena and associated development should be a huge boost to Uptown as well.

I think the city needs to make an effort to "soften" the harsh edges caused by the heavily-trafficked Fifth, Forbes and the Blvd of the Allies on its southern edge. A Downtown-Oakland LRT line could help relieve Uptown.

Unfortunately, much of its historic building stock has been lost or is in disrepair. The city has finally cracked down on a guy from Carnegie that has bought up many properties in Uptown and converted them into illegal parking lots. The old hulking Fifth Ave. High School is mostly empty, I believe, and could be a great adaptive reuse project if the economics are right... it could be a residential conversion like the schoolhouse in Deutschtown.

[Austinlee]

Good points Evergrey. I agree with everything you said.

However, I think that while there are a lot of "missing teeth" gaps throughout that area, there is still quite a collection of nice old townhouses and large commercial/educational buildings that could be renovated and make that a hot location.

[AaronPGH]

I think the empty lots in uptown could potentially turn into a positive. It's much cheaper to build new on a blank property than to rehab. We could see some nice infill if it takes off!

[hyperion1110]

Ravenstahl looks like even more of an idiot after this one. But, kudos to UPMC for doing the right thing...in the end, at least.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07361/844779-85.stm

UPMC drops tax credit bid
Goes forward with pledge of $100 million to Promise

Thursday, December 27, 2007
By Matthew P. Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Citing the controversy that has embroiled its $100 million pledge for a city high school scholarship program, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said yesterday it was dropping its request for a tax credit in exchange for its commitment to the Pittsburgh Promise.

UPMC officials announced the pledge to the scholarship program on Dec. 5. UPMC said it would give $100 million over 10 years to fund the Pittsburgh Promise, an effort by the city and the Pittsburgh Public Schools to ensure that all graduates have the money needed to go to college.

Several days after the much ballyhooed announcement, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl on Dec. 17 asked City Council to ensure that if UPMC was ever required to make payments to the city, it would get what a proposed resolution calls a "tax credit equal to certain payment which may be made by UPMC to the Pittsburgh Promise."

His request generated controversy and drew immediate criticism from City Council members who balked at the idea of giving the medical giant a tax break. There was no mention of a tax credit or tax break at the time UPMC made its pledge to the Pittsburgh Promise.

Last week, the city school board, in an 8-1 vote, voted to give UPMC possible tax credits in exchange for its commitment. But city council members have balked at passage and called for a public hearing on the matter.

In a statement yesterday, however, UPMC said it was waiving the tax-break condition and would make its initial $10 million contribution and $90 million in matching donations to Pittsburgh Promise.

Jeffrey Romoff, UPMC president and CEO, said UPMC was waiving the provisions of its commitment that would have required City Council approval.

"The initial outpouring of enthusiastic support for The Pittsburgh Promise speaks to its immense value to the community and our children," Mr. Romoff said. "With our decision to move forward without requiring City Council approval, we ask that everyone refocus attention on what is truly important -- building and sustaining widespread and financially significant public support for The Pittsburgh Promise, which is essential for the program's success."

By removing its requirement for Council approval, UPMC believes it has eliminated the source of controversy surrounding its commitment, UPMC's statement said.

"We believe it is more important to move forward with the program than to worry about a hypothetical situation, which is highly unlikely to arise," UPMC general counsel Robert Cindrich said in a statement.

Mr. Ravenstahl could not be reached for comment.

UPMC said it would continue contributing to the Pittsburgh Public Service Fund, which the city established to seek money from nonprofits to bolster its finances. UPMC said it has given $1.5 million annually for three years and will give another $1.5 million in 2008.

UPMC said it could withhold its contribution to Pittsburgh Promise if the hospital system encounters a deficit in any year. UPMC earned a record $618 million in fiscal 2007.

"We encourage business leaders, foundations and individuals to join us in attaining the dual objectives of The Pittsburgh Promise: making higher education achievable for Pittsburgh's public school students and their parents, and enhancing the growth, stability and economic development of the City by providing a substantial incentive for families with school-aged children to reside in the City," said Mr. Romoff.

Matthew P. Smith can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-1738.

[Evergrey]

yay... looks like the bad PR finally cracked UPMC...

anyways... here is an article about a key piece of property downtown

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07361/844729-53.stm

County to seek proposals for Smithfield St. office building

Thursday, December 27, 2007
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In October, a panel of experts envisioned the One Smithfield Street office building, Downtown, as an "iconic theater complex" that would include a relocated Pittsburgh Playhouse.

Now, Allegheny County will give potential developers a chance to carry out that vision -- or another -- for the prominent piece of real estate located at the north end of the Smithfield Street Bridge.

After gauging interest in the property earlier this year, the county's Industrial Development Authority plans to seek formal proposals next month from anyone with an interest in redeveloping the building and an adjacent parking lot.

The decision could open the door for Point Park University to make a pitch for the property, either as a means of expanding its Downtown campus or to fulfill the vision of the panel of experts from the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Land Institute.

The panel recommended in October that Point Park acquire the building and make it the new home of the Pittsburgh Playhouse, now based in Oakland, as part of a theater complex that would serve as its front door.

Whether the university will bid for the real estate remains to be seen. Mariann Geyer, vice president for university advancement, said One Smithfield Street is "an idea on a list but that's about it."

Ms. Geyer said no decisions on potential acquisitions will be made until the spring, when Point Park completes a master space planning process that will help to guide its destiny.

"It remains a potential location on our list. We haven't ruled in or out any of those [potential sites] at this point because we're still working through the master space process," she said.

Point Park also may have an interest in the YMCA building on the Boulevard of the Allies, which is up for sale now that the Downtown Y has cut a deal to move to the former G.C. Murphy store on Fifth Avenue once it is redeveloped in late 2008 or early 2009.

Ms. Geyer would not comment on whether Point Park has made an offer on the YMCA building. She said the university may have something to say after the first of the year.

She added that Point Park has been concentrating much of its focus on the Wood Street corridor, where most of its main academic and residential buildings are located, and she expects that to remain the case into the future.

The university currently is the second largest real estate owner Downtown, with 14 properties under its control.

One developer who definitely intends to submit a proposal for the property is Ralph Falbo, who developed the 151 First Side condominium tower, Downtown.

Mr. Falbo has plans to erect another building with about 120 condominiums and a boutique hotel with about 80 rooms in the parking lot. There also would be underground parking. He would keep the office building intact.

"We think we're the best people to do the job. We've already done it. We'd like to do it again. Plus, we think we've got a really nice proposal," he said.

Mr. Falbo was one of four developers to respond to a request for qualifications issued by the county earlier this year relating to the One Smithfield Street property.

The county has not released the names of the other developers, but Economic Development Director Dennis Davin has said their plans involved condos or apartments.

At the same time, the county, which purchased the property for $8.2 million in 2004, has heard from others with interest in the site.

Bob Hurley, deputy director of development and business development for the county's Economic Development Department, said the interest in the property was "probably better than we anticipated."

The county is looking for the "highest and best use" for the property, Mr. Hurley said. Developers also must account for the county employees in the building -- whether they would stay or be relocated. Many county human services agencies are housed there.

Mr. Hurley said the county hopes to make a decision on a developer by early spring. If none of the proposals is to its satisfaction, it could end up keeping the status quo, he said.

Mark Belko can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-1262.