PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

That's a good idea. At least having people in such positions thinking about the technology could mean it gets a serious look down the road.

Peduto's success has everything to do with the fact that he *WILL* take the time to listen to ideas. Definitely a good idea to contact him and at least get those things in his mind.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by nfalvo11

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/apartments-rise-on-south-side-698339/

Apartments rise on South Side
Developers jump at opportunities after limits end



August 7, 2013 12:02 am

An artist's rendering of the eight-story, 173-unit apartment building being proposed by Oxford Development Co. at Sidney and Hot Metal streets.

By Mark Belko / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Freed last year from a restriction that prevented apartment-building for a decade, SouthSide Works is now making up for lost time.

No fewer than three apartment developments are in the works at the South Side riverfront complex, the latest a 262-unit building to be erected at Sidney and South 26th streets.

The city Urban Redevelopment Authority board is expected to vote Thursday on whether to sell a 2.5-acre parcel to the Soffer Organization, the SouthSide Works developer, and partner Village Green Development Holding LLC for $425,000 an acre for the proposed development.

But it is not by any means the only apartment project in the works at the 123-acre site along the Monongahela River.

Developer Ralph Falbo also will be before the URA board this week seeking permission to convert a proposed townhouse development on South Water Street into a four-story, 56-unit apartment complex featuring one-bedroom flats.

At the same time, Oxford Development Co. is proposing to build an eight-story, 173-unit apartment building about a block away at Sidney and Hot Metal streets.

All of the construction is taking place about a year after the URA paid Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Realty Investors $500,000 to be released from a 2002 agreement that prohibited apartment building at the SouthSide Works complex, except for about 83 high-end units under development at the time.

The agreement negotiated under former mayor Tom Murphy was part of a deal reached with Nationwide and partner Continental Real Estate Cos. to build Carson Street Commons, a 276-unit apartment and townhouse development on a 6.5-acre tract between 25th and 26th streets.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/busi...rise-on-south-side-698339/#ixzz2bGVus1vd

Looks pretty generic. No surprise. c'mon developers, does every apartment building have to look like a Hampton Inn.

[Found5dollar]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

So now the official numbers for The Tower at PNC Plaza are $240 million construction budget and 554 ft tall.

Ok so i have been keeping an eye on this construction and the web cam and i am really confused by the building method. Where is the core? We are above ground and there appeared to be a core being constructed while they were below grade but it has disappeared. Does anyone have and knowledge of how they are doing the fire stairs and elevators? are they just building the ground floor first then havign the core rise for some weird reason? Anyone?

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

Peduto's success has everything to do with the fact that he *WILL* take the time to listen to ideas. Definitely a good idea to contact him and at least get those things in his mind.

Definitely.

As I have been saying for years, Peduto is the type of politician you SHOULD have in the driver's seat of any city or municipality. He is a doer, and more importantly he is a collaborator. He himself has some great ideas of how to turn the city around, but he is also very open to the citizens' opinions of his ideas and is willing to compromise if and when necessary. It's for the good of the city and its citizens; not the guy running it...

As for my ideas and Peduto, I did inform him of my urban development blog. He said he'd check it out...

[photoLith]

Huge update.

Starting off with a new building in Lawrencville on Butler and 38th.



I think I took a photo of every restoration going on in the Mexican War Streets today, I may have missed a few, but here are the ones I saw.


DSC_6475 by photolitherland, on Flickr


New houses on Federal St.




The building on the left just got finished being renovated.




DSC_6467 by photolitherland, on Flickr


They just started rebuilding the back of this building which had previously collapsed and had just finished restoring the front facade.


DSC_6464 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_6462 by photolitherland, on Flickr


Recently restored house.


This buildings roof collapsed and the back portion collapsed and its now getting fully restored. Goes to show that no building is too far gone.


This house just a couple houses down from the previous photo is amazingly beautiful under all that crap 70s siding. I talked to the guy whose restoring this house and he plans on buying 5 of the adjoining houses and restoring them as well.


DSC_6455 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_6453 by photolitherland, on Flickr


The green house is recently restored, interior work is now being done.


Not sure what was going on with the big ugly 70s cladded green building but a whole bunch of people were working on it. Dont know if its getting restored or just interior work being done.


Both of these buildings are getting restored.


New houses getting built on Jacksonia St.




2 new condos/apartments are getting built in this former vacant lot also on Jacksonia St, near Federal St.


House on the left is getting restored.


DSC_6435 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_6434 by photolitherland, on Flickr


This one just started getting work done on the interior and I believe the exterior has been previously restored.

--------------------------------

Heres some stuff going on in Manchester right now.


DSC_6426 by photolitherland, on Flickr


This POS which was destroyed in the 50s or 60s is getting gutted and I believe the facade will be restored to its previous look.


New development of semi historic looking homes, eventually all that vacant land will be new urbanist homes.


More from the same development in Manchester.


DSC_6413 by photolitherland, on Flickr


New house on W. N Avenue

----------------------------


Newly restored apartment in Upper Lawrencville.

[DKNewYork]

Edited by Moderation. Please do not quote an entire photo thread. Thanks. (Glowrock)

PhotoLith, these pictures are beautiful and much appreciated, at least by those of us far away from Pittsburgh. As much as I like news/pics of the big developments, nothing is more encouraging to me than these photos of renovation being done in the neighborhoods. Well done and thank you!

[photoLith]

^
Thanks.

[George Woods]

It really is crazy how exponentially the pace of renovation has increased on the Northside in the last three years or so. I know so many people who already live in houses that they renovated who are now buying others elsewhere in the Northside to fix as investments. And there are so many people from other cities (and countries) buying houses, too. Some houses in Manchester that were on the city's demolition-list have actually been saved and restored because demand for Northside houses has out-paced the city's time-table for the work. It's incredible that not that many years ago, people in Manchester were begging the city to tear down what they assumed were houses that NOBODY would ever want, lest they fall down or burn and endanger theirs. Now those same houses are actually being restored in some cases. Fantastic. What really amazes me is that even little alley-houses are being snatched up and restored as the inventory of available houses becomes so sparse. It really is so wonderful. And not a moment too soon. Thanks, photoLith, for the compilation. I look at them in-person all the time, but seeing another enthusiastic onlooker putting together a slide-show is a joy.

[George Woods]

I almost feel like there could be a thread for the Northside (Allegheny City), as there is so much rehabbing going on, plus the endless fantasizing and brainstorming that can be done about the ridiculous potential that Allegheny Center could have. Not to mention the fact that, since the rest of Pittsburgh ignores the Northside (part of why it continues to genuinely feel like a separate city), there are so many fascinating nooks and crannies that most people—even people who've been here really long—have never laid eyes on. I often find that people from other parts of the city really don't know that there are other neighborhoods above the flat ones around the commons. They're always surprised to learn that the term "Northside" actually applies to fifteen or so neighborhoods that, collectively, cover an area almost the size of the entire East End, to say nothing of the surprisingly little-known fact that it was a separate, thriving city until the twentieth century.

[George Woods]

I mean, I'm obsessed with the Northside, and I extoll its virtues any chance I get, but even I still can't get over the fact that people from Mt. Lebanon are selling their houses so they can buy new-urbanist ones, next to the train-tracks, on a former industrial site, in the back of Manchester. Okay. I'm done gushing. I had to get it outta my system. Keep the eye-candy coming, photoLith.

[popstar]

Originally Posted by George Woods

I mean, I'm obsessed with the Northside, and I extoll its virtues any chance I get, but even I still can't get over the fact that people from Mt. Lebanon are selling their houses so they can buy new-urbanist ones, next to the train-tracks, on a former industrial site, in the back of Manchester. Okay. I'm done gushing. I had to get it outta my system. Keep the eye-candy coming, photoLith.

Nice posts, George Woods. Glad to know there are others that gush over the city the way I do.

[NYC2ATX]

Incredible update photolith, this sort of thing is utterly remarkable, completely inspiring.

[easy as pie]

wow, photolith, nice shots! great to see some of pittsburgh survives!

[PghSH22]

Originally Posted by George Woods

It really is crazy how exponentially the pace of renovation has increased on the Northside in the last three years or so. I know so many people who already live in houses that they renovated who are now buying others elsewhere in the Northside to fix as investments. And there are so many people from other cities (and countries) buying houses, too. Some houses in Manchester that were on the city's demolition-list have actually been saved and restored because demand for Northside houses has out-paced the city's time-table for the work. It's incredible that not that many years ago, people in Manchester were begging the city to tear down what they assumed were houses that NOBODY would ever want, lest they fall down or burn and endanger theirs. Now those same houses are actually being restored in some cases. Fantastic. What really amazes me is that even little alley-houses are being snatched up and restored as the inventory of available houses becomes so sparse. It really is so wonderful. And not a moment too soon. Thanks, photoLith, for the compilation. I look at them in-person all the time, but seeing another enthusiastic onlooker putting together a slide-show is a joy.

This is so true. I had no idea about those neighborhoods until relatively recently and Im astounded by how aweomse they look. Other than the North Shore or East Ohio street, most Pittsburghs have no idea about the historic neighborhoods above that. I didn't become aware until I read "Paris of Appalachia" a few years ago, which provided a good historical background of the area.

photoLith - awesome pics! For someone who doesn't live in Pittsburgh anymore, its great to have these as references, im definitely going to try to drive around there next time Im home.

Question for anyone who knows more about architecture than I do: Do the majority of the houses in the Northside, Southside, Bloomfield, Lawrenceville etc with ugly plastic siding covering them actually have historic facades underneath? Or were some of these actually built this way to begin with? Or a combo of both?

[PittPenn 03]

Originally Posted by PghSH22

Question for anyone who knows more about architecture than I do: Do the majority of the houses in the Northside, Southside, Bloomfield, Lawrenceville etc with ugly plastic siding covering them actually have historic facades underneath? Or were some of these actually built this way to begin with? Or a combo of both?

Some are just ordinary wood sided houses or brick without any ornamentation - of course both look much better than the artificial sidings. I do find well maintained insulbrick to be charming in an old Pittsburgh way, but I can understand that people consider this siding to be awful as well. Not sure if insulbrick was an original siding or if it was the pre-aluminum replacement siding?

This question leads to a question I have had since buying a home with Permastone siding. What happens if you take it off? Do you have a brick house covered with what was used to be an adhesive? I would love to take it off and restore the front of my house, but I am afraid of the size of job it will be. The windows were also re-cut to be modern sized, so I would have to have the original window spacing set. I can't begin to imagine how expensive that would be.

[Evergrey]

Insulbrick... the most hideous siding known to man... is not an "original siding" in most cases as it was available from the 1930s-1950s era. Sadly, Greater Pittsburgh seems to have been the #1 selling market for that blight of a siding.

[George Woods]

PghSH22, sometimes a house I never thought could possibly look nice underneath looks amazing after that shit comes off. It really makes you marvel at what the people of the era considered passé. But the vast majority of these houses still have the stuff on them. I'm always thinking that maybe one day soon, the last of the old-timers will die out en masse, and we'll see tons of diamonds in the rough popping up all over as they're renovated.


PittPenn03, I know a guy who just dealt with exactly what you're describing (the formstone, and the windows). Lemme ask him for you.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Insulbrick... the most hideous siding known to man... is not an "original siding" in most cases as it was available from the 1930s-1950s era. Sadly, Greater Pittsburgh seems to have been the #1 selling market for that blight of a siding.

Insulbrick is pretty bad. And I never got the benefit of using it to cover a brick building.

Pittsburgh also had to have been the top market for Kool-Vent, which manufactured those louvered aluminum awnings that are still seen all over town. I remember my dad telling me that Kool-Vent was a Pittsburgh-based company. The company still exists but it is in North Little Rock. Who knew...

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Insulbrick... the most hideous siding known to man... is not an "original siding" in most cases as it was available from the 1930s-1950s era. Sadly, Greater Pittsburgh seems to have been the #1 selling market for that blight of a siding.

I do like it better than vinyl, though.

Pittsburgh does have a good selection of that lovely, asbestos-laden asphalt coating its old houses... but from what I've seen I think Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo and their like compete well.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I'd also be in favor of providing Federal with a path all the way through the former mall, and supposedly people have been taking a serious look at that possibility. For example:

http://www.thenorthsidechronicle.com/northsiders-crowd-meeting-on-allegheny-city-corridor/



Of course that doesn't mean you couldn't start with the part north of a rebuilt Ohio.

Turns out that the owner of the former IBM Building at Allegheny Center has refused to waive an easement that would allow Ohio Street to be restored through the complex. The owner likes the convenience and safety of not having vehicular traffic between the office building and the parking structure. This is apparently old news but I only learned it this morning.