PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Evergrey]

I like Nordenberg Hall... very classy looking

[Urbana]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

I like Nordenberg Hall... very classy looking

From the east it looks great, from the west, I maintain that it looks a bit awkward.

[BrianTH]

The "gateway" effect it is creating along Fifth is pretty cool:



I think the church is what makes the view from the other side challenging, but I think it will look OK when finished:

[KINGPIN]

Here are a few more recent eyebrow raising articles from the post gazette...

With Downtown Pittsburgh office space tight, is new skyscraper on horizon?
April 21, 2013 12:12 am
Share with others:
By Mark Belko / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Even with two new office buildings in the works Downtown, there just might be room for a third.

With office vacancies at a 30-year low and demand high, conditions could be aligning for a developer to take a chance on building another skyscraper in the Golden Triangle, local real estate experts say."It would fill up, I think," said Gerry McLaughlin, the Newmark Grubb Knight Frank executive managing director who has worked in the market for 35 years. "Yeah, I do think there probably is a need for additional space Downtown. How much, I'm not sure."

The Jones Lang LaSalle real estate firm has called Pittsburgh one of the tightest office markets in the country. The Class A office vacancy rate Downtown was a mere 5.6 percent at the end of last year and a fraction lower at 4.9 percent at the end of the first quarter -- the lowest since the early 1980s, according to Mr. McLaughlin.

And with many of the major office towers ranging from 92 to 99 percent full, the two new buildings in the pipeline -- the Tower at PNC Plaza and the Gardens at Market Square -- may not be enough to satisfy demand.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/busi...scraper-on-horizon-684364/#ixzz2REMm7Zqu

Work begins on $160 million reconstruction of Hill District's Addison Terrace community
April 22, 2013 1:22 pm
Share with others:
Groundbreaking held for Addison Terrace project
By Rich Lord / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The reconstruction of the Addison Terrace public housing community in Pittsburgh's Hill District will eliminate an isolated pocket of poverty and instead reach down to and cross Centre Avenue, officials said today at the groundbreaking for the $160 million project.

"The idea is to go straight down to Centre Avenue," said city Councilman Ricky Burgess, who also chairs the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh's board, as he stood on a dusty plateau strewn with earth-moving equipment with a full view of Downtown. "We can actually rebuild some of the business corridor. ... In a very short period of time, this community will be transformed."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/loca...-terrace-community-684536/#ixzz2RENq0TD6

Realty fight reflects Strip District change
Wholesale business hinging on ruling for produce terminal
April 21, 2013 12:10 am
B]By Joe Smydo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Sunny's Fashion at Penn Avenue and 21st Street in the Strip District is one of many storefronts and sidewalk vendors that help draw in shoppers to the area. The Strip District has evolved over the years, as restaurants and retail have taken the place of wholesalers.
The 62-year-old Consumers Produce Co. has changed with the times, absorbing parts of other wholesalers as they went defunct, moving to modern quarters and rolling out new services to keep customers happy.

The Strip District, the company's home, also has evolved over the years, taking on more of a tourist and retail persona as its trademark wholesale produce industry shrank.

"I would no longer consider the Strip District the wholesale food industry hub it once was," Consumers Produce chairman Alan Siger, whose father co-founded the company, said.

But what will become of the Pittsburgh Produce Terminal, a neighborhood showpiece and 120,000-square-foot, five-block-long symbol of the fruit- and vegetable-selling scrum? Judge Robert J. Colville of Allegheny County Common Pleas Court may have the final word on that.

Allegheny Valley Railroad and the city Urban Redevelopment Authority are awaiting Judge Colville's ruling on the railroad's suit aimed at preventing the terminal -- opened in 1929, according to court papers -- from becoming part of Buncher Co.'s proposed $450 million development along the Allegheny riverfront. There is no timetable for the judge's ruling.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/loca...ip-district-change-684355/#ixzz2REOO3P5N

[bruchaus]

Once again, CMU's building design outpacing Pitt's.

[Urbana]

Originally Posted by bruchaus

Once again, CMU's building design outpacing Pitt's.

I don't know that the design is all that more visually appealing, I will say though that CMU's focus seems to be on more revolutionary architecture than safe architecture. Their construction in the past 10 years has been anything but run of the mill. It seems to be an extension of institutional principals. Pitt is preparing for a future that sees it staying about the same as far as academic prowess and research go, whereas CMU must build for the future where they are counted among the ranks of top 10 universities even more than they are already.

[bruchaus]

Originally Posted by Urbana

I don't know that the design is all that more visually appealing, I will say though that CMU's focus seems to be on more revolutionary architecture than safe architecture. Their construction in the past 10 years has been anything but run of the mill. It seems to be an extension of institutional principals. Pitt is preparing for a future that sees it staying about the same as far as academic prowess and research go, whereas CMU must build for the future where they are counted among the ranks of top 10 universities even more than they are already.

Pitt seems to be trying to build buildings that match the way the campus looks already. Perhaps they fear building another Posvar hall? They seem to be taking the safe route, while CMU, as you have stated, are building for a different future. As a Pitt grad, I would have liked to see them take a risk design wise and build something a little more visually striking.

[bruchaus]

Not sure how I missed the news about Ace Hotel coming to Pittsburgh. Love it.

[Urbana]

These seem to be some preliminary rendering of the Mosites development in East Liberty. Outdated though they may be, this is what was on the drawing boards.









Image credit: http://www.pwwgarch.com/portfolio/urban-design
Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff Goettle

[Wiz Khalifa]

Originally Posted by Urbana

These seem to be some preliminary rendering of the Mosites development in East Liberty. Outdated though they may be, this is what was on the drawing boards.


Image credit: http://www.pwwgarch.com/portfolio/urban-design
Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff Goettle

If those designs are outdated, then buncher's plans must have come out of a time-warp.

[BrianTH]

Yet another possible grocery store plan for Downtown:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/busi...ery-at-pittsburghs-market-square-684776/



Assuming they will be doing prepared foods, a Market Square location makes a lot of sense, and it also works pretty well in terms of serving the Downtown resident population.

[markson33]

IMHO that space is too small to be an effective grocery. The PPG food court is my favored option for a grocery.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by markson33

IMHO that space is too small to be an effective grocery. The PPG food court is my favored option for a grocery.

I think the floorplate is around 5000 sqft, which does seem on the small side. I wonder if they are thinking about doing multiple levels (a not uncommon solution for urban groceries).

[markson33]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I think the floorplate is around 5000 sqft, which does seem on the small side. I wonder if they are thinking about doing multiple levels (a not uncommon solution for urban groceries).

I seem to recall that it was 5,000 SF on two floors (2500 each), but in either case too small.

Most of the smaller concept grocery stores are at lease 15,000 SF these days.

A 5,000 SF grocery store is not a grocery store at all - its a convenience store.

[BrianTH]

Allegheny County website says the parcel is 5,780 sqft, and I think the building pretty much occupies it.

If you did two or three levels, you might have something worth calling a grocery store.

[Evergrey]

too small to be a grocery... it could be a butcher shop or something like that... when it comes to Downtown grocers... I believe someone has to "go big or go home"...

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

too small to be a grocery... it could be a butcher shop or something like that... when it comes to Downtown grocers... I believe someone has to "go big or go home"...

I agree 100 percent, and I could easily see someone putting in a 2- or even a 3-story grocery store somewhere Downtown. I remember seeing the PPG food court mentioned in a previous article about the possibilities with that and the winter garden, and I would have to say that the former food court would be an excellent location for a grocery store. Anything in or near Market Square would be very centrally located to Downtown in general.

Regarding new highrise development, I would love to see more skyscrapers erected in Downtown or close to Downtown.

[BrianTH]

A couple legal victories for the Buncher project (in two of the actions brought by the AVR):

http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/3905342-74/buncher-railroad-board#axzz2RR62ZFN6

[Steel City Scotty]

After six years, it's almost finally complete...

Long-delayed addition nearly complete at Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown hotel
April 25, 2013 12:03 am
By Mark Belko / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It has been a very long time in coming for Stephen Berry: 2,067 days from the time a building permit was issued in 2007 to when the temporary occupancy permit was awarded this month.

That's five years, seven months and 28 days -- or 2,976,480 minutes -- to complete perhaps one of the longest running construction projects in the city's history: the modest 20,000-square-foot addition to the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown hotel, formerly known as the Hilton when the project began.

But then again, who's counting?

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/busi...rgh-downtown-hotel-684849/#ixzz2RVOIhF9W

[BrianTH]

I like how the addition looks from the outside--it is well-integrated with the existing building, and to me gives the hotel a sort of nautical, sailboatish look from several angles.