PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Sounds great. Hopefully someone can dig up some information (I am striking out).

Could it be The Overlook?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by doo dah

Could it be The Overlook?

Seems like it might be the right location:

http://www.rdcollab.com/process_library_overlook.html

And if not that is another cool project!

[glowrock]

When new developments are making their way into Braddock and Homewood you know the Pittsburgh area is really starting to take off in a very, very positive direction!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by George Woods

Why do you hate America?

Hate America?! Whoa whoa whoa, now!

I'm a PATRIOT! Isn't that plain to see when you look at my rig??

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I like the atypical-for-Pittsburgh colors. Otherwise it seems pretty conventional, but nonetheless a nice addition in terms of needed rental units.

Yeah. I actually love this project for Pittsburgh. I think it is perfect for a transition between downtown and the Strip. And I think it will be far better than people are giving it credit for right now. I'm a fan of Front Studio projects in Pittsburgh and NYC. They definitely bring a "big city" design element to Pittsburgh and we're lucky they've done a number of good projects here.




On the other hand... the other residential projects recently mentioned here... not really a huge fan of the designs at all. To me, they scream 'projects'... which is what they basically are. We'll look at these in 30 years and say, that's what public housing looked like in the 20-teens. And it seems as though Rothschild Doyno has the local market cornered... jeez. Those angled rooflines on the Overlook must've caused chaos in the studio...








Remember, the above are all different projects.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

On the other hand... the other residential projects recently mentioned here... not really a huge fan of the designs at all. To me, they scream 'projects'... which is what they basically are. We'll look at these in 30 years and say, that's what public housing looked like in the 20-teens. And it seems as though Rothschild Doyno has the local market cornered... jeez. Those angled rooflines on the Overlook must've caused chaos in the studio...





Remember, the above are all different projects.

I like all of those except for this one. Where is that? That roof-line belongs on a strip mall facade or a suburban office building, not an urban apartment building.

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by GeneW

I like all of those except for this one. Where is that? That roof-line belongs on a strip mall facade or a suburban office building, not an urban apartment building.

I think that is Dinwiddie and Colwell Sts.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by glowrock

When new developments are making their way into Braddock and Homewood you know the Pittsburgh area is really starting to take off in a very, very positive direction!

It wasn't too long ago there were plenty of people around saying we wouldn't see that in our lifetimes. And if you look around the darker corners of things like the newspaper comment sections, you'll still find such people. It can be tough to convey how dramatically expectations can and should change when a core urban area shifts onto a positive, self-reinforcing track.

[themaguffin]

It's great to see this, but I'm holding off on saying that Braddock has turned any corners. The economy is bleak and it's not ideal to live there and commute to a job center in the city or elsewhere and current conditions don't make it a desirable place to live, so unless something significant changes, it's going to continue to be bleak. Homewood could be in a better position given its location, but we'll see.

[photoLith]

Yeah I don't see Braddock changing in the foreseeable future. That housing is most likely low income or subsidized housing so it won't change Braddock for the better I doubt.

[Steel City Scotty]

Didn't Braddock just get its first and only restaurant (in quite awhile) within the past year or so?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Found5dollar

Also, it looks like the cross state amtrack routes have been saved. Only cost 15.5 mil a year...

Good thing too:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/loca...ittsburgh-see-ridership-increase-707557/

That 1 percent overall [Amtrak] gain was exceeded by the increase on the Pennsylvanian, serving Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Philadelphia and points in between. Ridership on that route was up 3.3 percent, to 218,917, the railroad said. On the Capitol Limited, serving Chicago, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., the gain was 1.2 percent, to 229,668. Both routes have seen ridership gains in each of the past four years. . . . Boardings and alightings at the Pittsburgh station totaled 135,137, up about 5,700 from the previous year.

If my math is right, Pittsburgh station traffic was up about 4.4%, so it appears it was contributing disproportionately to the already disproportionate ridership gains on its two routes.

Now it would be nice if we could get back to planning upgrades so there is actually decent service between Pittsburgh and at least Philly, and maybe to Chicago and eventually DC.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by Steel City Scotty

Didn't Braddock just get its first and only restaurant (in quite awhile) within the past year or so?

I don't know if Braddock has only one restaurant, but Kevin Sousa (chef/developer of Salt of the Earth in Garfield) recently opened Magarac in Braddock. Not only that, but apparently he and his family moved to Braddock.

[GeneW]

The guys, The Brew Gentleman, are building a brewery/brewpub in Braddock.

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Good thing too:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/loca...ittsburgh-see-ridership-increase-707557/



If my math is right, Pittsburgh station traffic was up about 4.4%, so it appears it was contributing disproportionately to the already disproportionate ridership gains on its two routes.

Now it would be nice if we could get back to planning upgrades so there is actually decent service between Pittsburgh and at least Philly, and maybe to Chicago and eventually DC.

I still think leaders from Pittsburgh and Cleveland and other points west of there should collaborate on improving train travel along the Chi-Pitts corridor. Train travel to Philly and New York is more desirable, but it is inhibited by geography unlike the corridor to Chicago.

I suppose a alignment to New York via Erie and southern New York State wouldn't be too unreasonable. That land is more level. Not much excavating would be required...

[markson33]

I would still love to see HSR along a DC/PGH/CLE/DT/CH route. That seems to make a lot of sense, although the DC/PGH stretch would be expensive.

[Evergrey]

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/the-next-move/2013/10/no-vacancy-at-the-brix-at-26.html

Oct 15, 2013, 11:47am EDT

No vacancy at the Brix at 26

Another new apartment project is fully booked.

The Brix at 26, the redevelopment of a former department store building into 87 apartments in the South Side, leased its last remaining unit last Friday, reports Jim Scalo, principal of Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services, which redeveloped the East Carson Street building and reopened it as apartments in February.

When I caught up with Scalo about the successful culmination of the project, he was both pleased about the result and cautious about the depth of the rental market for the prices the Brix charged.

“We kept our standards very high. We kept our rents with a $2 per square foot average, which was the highest in the marketplace,” he said. “We could’ve leased this building a lot sooner if we lowered our price.”

Anybody else remember when $1,000 a month for an apartment seemed like an extravagant amount of money? The math on the Brix puts it at $2,000 for a 1,000-square-foot unit, although most of the units at the Brix are not that large. It's certainly a far cry from the building's long-term use as the former regional headquarters for Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

...

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by Jonboy1983

I suppose a alignment to New York via Erie and southern New York State wouldn't be too unreasonable. That land is more level. Not much excavating would be required...

Train travel from Pittsburgh to the east coast via an Erie/Buffalo/Rochester/Albany/etc. route makes little practical sense though. It would have to tie in to Amtrak's NYC/Boston-Chicago Lake Shore Limited line in Erie. That would make an already ridiculously long train ride unbearable. It would be great to have Pittsburgh connected via a more direct passenger rail line with Erie and the eastern Great Lakes, but the chances of that happening are awfully slim.

[BrianTH]

Chicago to Philly via Pittsburgh and Chicago to DC via Pittsburgh should both be on the nation's long-term HSR map. Which of those gets done first and when is largely a matter of politics.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by GeneW

I like all of those except for this one. Where is that? That roof-line belongs on a strip mall facade or a suburban office building, not an urban apartment building.

Like them? Yikes...

The only one I like is the second one in the list above, the one in East Liberty on Penn. Not surprising it is the only one NOT designed by Rothschild Doyno. Not sure what their deal is with the multi-colored red, brown, orange, and yellow brick motif... but I'm definitely not a fan. I guess I'm just not getting it... kinda like I don't get the Hyatt Place on the Northshore or the Hampton Inn Oakland revamp... why the crapola colors?