PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/loca...irst-campus-building-in-35-years-707990/

Central Catholic to construct first campus building in 35 years

October 17, 2013 12:06 pm


By Mary Niederberger / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Central Catholic High School construct the first new building on its Oakland campus in 35 years when it breaks ground on a new state-of-the-art STEM facility on property it bought recently.

The Catholic boys' school purchased six row houses on South Neville Street along what was previously the perimeter of the school campus. Those houses will be demolished on Wednesday to make room for the new science, technology, engineering and math facility, which will sit across the quadrangle from the main school building.

The school has been implementing a STEM curriculum in the past two years and the new facility will give Central Catholic an opportunity to expand and enhance that curriculum with state-of-art equipment, said Eric Starkowicz, director of marketing and communication.

The campus has three buildings, the main school, the gymnasium and the Christian Brothers House, where faculty members reside and student art classes are held.

While the campus has undergone numerous renovations since the school opened in 1927, the last new building constructed was the gymnasium in 1978.

...

[sunderml88]

http://cups-of-tea-and-history.tumblr.co...ana-someone-made-this-beautiful-map-of-a

[bruchaus]

I hope this isn't a redundant post that I somehow missed from over two years ago but here it is:
Pittsburgh Public Transport

[Private Dick]

^ It's incredibly unrealistically foolishly and ridiculously overbuilt, as far as number of lines (and overlapping lines) goes, yet then has far too few stops on those main lines to make it useful.

The student receives an F.

[bruchaus]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

^ It's incredibly unrealistically and ridiculously overbuilt, as far as number of lines goes, yet then has far too few stops on those main lines to make it useful.

They get an F.

I think the creator of this is a poster here, and was posted this on his blog as part of his thesis.

Definitely has a lot of lines, but there are also a lot of stops that are really useful on some of them.

I wouldn't give an F, pretty harsh! Maybe a "Needs improvement."

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Wiz Khalifa

I think that's because they are including the surrounding neighborhoods with the golden triangle into the calculation of "downtown" job density, which is considerably skewing the numbers for downtown. The strip, uptown, south and north shores all have large empty and/or under-developed areas within their borders. If they just used the ~.65 square miles of the triangle itself, it would easily exceed Oakland in job density.

You cans see the maps of what they are calling "downtown" here.

I think you are exactly right about Downtown's jobs density being dragged down by their definition--although oddly, when I put in Oakland it seemed to also lump in Downtown as per the map (that can't be right given the jobs count for Oakland, however).

Anyway, holding aside the underrating of Downtown, I still think that is true the core area of Oakland (apparently defined as Census Tracts 402, 404, 405, and 9822) is really jobs dense.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by George Woods

Speaking of the map, it says that the lot holds 35 parking-spaces. Is that a typo? Because way more than 35 cars are in there on a daily basis. And how about the fact that it's labelled "SM". [sigh]

There is a lot straight behind the PAA that may only hold 35 cars. I agree the one along Bigelow can clearly hold WAY more than that:

http://goo.gl/maps/dgQLB

It is owned by Presbyterian University Health System Inc., incidentally, which I assume means it is owned by UPMC. Maybe they have a sharing deal with Pitt where it only gets 35 passes? No clue.

[Wiz Khalifa]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Why is there no interest in residential development in Downtown Pittsburgh?

Residential development and conversions are actually exploding right now in Downtown Pittsburgh. You have to realize that Downtown PGH is anywhere from 1/4-1/6 the size in land area of CC, depending on CC's loosely defined its boundaries. So while right now the triangle is only home to around 8,000 people, that still comes out to a population density of 12,000 per square mile which is almost half of CC's 26,000 per square mile.

It is perfectly conceivable for Pittsburgh's downtown population density to equal Center City's in the next decade if it adds just another 5,000 people to the triangle. If the current growth rate continues, it would take fewer than 10 years to reach that level.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

There is a lot straight behind the PAA that may only hold 35 cars. I agree the one along Bigelow can clearly hold WAY more than that:

http://goo.gl/maps/dgQLB

It is owned by Presbyterian University Health System Inc., incidentally, which I assume means it is owned by UPMC. Maybe they have a sharing deal with Pitt where it only gets 35 passes? No clue.

The long narrow parking lot right beside the north wall of the PAA is, I believe, owned by the PAA. That lot was there, being used by the PAA, as far back as I can remember, which was before the Syria Mosque was torn down.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by bruchaus

I think the creator of this is a poster here, and was posted this on his blog as part of his thesis.

Definitely has a lot of lines, but there are also a lot of stops that are really useful on some of them.

I wouldn't give an F, pretty harsh! Maybe a "Needs improvement."

I know. I was being jokingly harsh on purpose. Should have included a . We've definitely seen it and discussed it before over the past year or two.

[BrianTH]

I believe these are the rowhouses Central Catholic is tearing down. I probably shouldn't have looked--they are pretty nice.

http://goo.gl/maps/RFP4r

[Evergrey]

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...oad-and-river-still-key-in.html?page=all

Oct 17, 2013, 1:45pm EDT

New $50M CSX plan to ripple through "the Rocks"

...

CSX announced Thursday they chose a 65- to 70-acre site that spans McKees Rocks into Stowe Township, a project expected to cost up to $50 million and begin construction in 2015. The new hub for CSX, which will allow trucks and trains to efficiently transfer cargo, will be part of its National Gateway project, “an $850 million public-private partnership to create a highly efficient and environmentally friendly double-stack cleared rail corridor on the CSX network between the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest.”

Along with the investment by CSX, the project comes with federal and state government funding as well, including a $35 million Pennsylvania Transportation Assistance Program Grant. CSX estimates the National Gateway will create more than 9,000 jobs in Pennsylvania. The company recently completed a project at the SouthSide Works to deepen the tunnel to allow it to double-stack its cars there

CSX's plan will bring in a major new rail operator to the riverfront towns after the former Lake Erie & Pittsburgh railroad went bankrupt and closed up from good in the mid-1990s.

In a prepared statement, Taris Vrcek, executive director of the McKees Rocks Community Development Corporation, put the news in context with Trinity’s plans, $2 million in corporate commitments for Main Street development on lower Chartiers Avenue, and the $40 million reconstruction of West Carson Street.

He said this signals “a new beginning for McKees Rocks, Stowe Township and our neighboring communities.”

...

[Evergrey]

the more grocery options in the urban core, the merrier...

Supermarket opens in Pittsburgh's Hill District, the first in three decades

October 17, 2013 11:51 am





By Ed Blazina / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Hill District's long-awaited Shop 'n Save supermarket opened this morning in the Centre Heldman Plaza.

Neighborhood and elected officials, including Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, celebrated the opening of the 29,500-square-foot grocery at 10 a.m. The full-service facility, described as the first in the neighborhood in more than three decades, ends what has been known as a "food desert" there.

After many starts and stops, the $12.5 million store was completed by Ross Markets. In a press release, owner Jeff Ross said the store will have more than 100 employees, 95 percent of them minorities and 65 percent from the neighborhood.

...

[Steel City Scotty]

Originally Posted by DKNewYork

The long narrow parking lot right beside the north wall of the PAA is, I believe, owned by the PAA. That lot was there, being used by the PAA, as far back as I can remember, which was before the Syria Mosque was torn down.

I was just about to chime in and ask if one of these big parking lots in Oakland that people have been referring to is on the land that was never redeveloped after the Mosque got torn down.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by Steel City Scotty

I was just about to chime in and ask if one of these big parking lots in Oakland that people have been referring to is on the land that was never redeveloped after the Mosque got torn down.

I hate that the Mosque was torn down but hate as much that the site has remained a surface parking lot for 21 years and counting.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Wiz Khalifa

Residential development and conversions are actually exploding right now in Downtown Pittsburgh. You have to realize that Downtown PGH is anywhere from 1/4-1/6 the size in land area of CC, depending on CC's loosely defined its boundaries. So while right now the triangle is only home to around 8,000 people, that still comes out to a population density of 12,000 per square mile which is almost half of CC's 26,000 per square mile.

It is perfectly conceivable for Pittsburgh's downtown population density to equal Center City's in the next decade if it adds just another 5,000 people to the triangle. If the current growth rate continues, it would take fewer than 10 years to reach that level.

What is the defined boundaries or the generally agree upon boundaries for Downtown Pittsburgh?

[BrianTH]

That CSX project is a big deal--it it tied to the opening of the expanded Panama Canal, which should shift a significant portion of freight traffic bound for the North American interior from West Coast ports and railroads to East Coast ports and railroads:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_expansion_project

By the way, that location is way closer to Downtown than I was imagining when I first read about plans to put a new terminal in the Pittsburgh area as part of the National Gateway project. Not that it doesn't make sense as a location, but this is another big win for the core area and Allegheny County.

[themaguffin]

The strict boundaries would be the area bound by the rivers to the north and south and I-579 on the East (the triangle you would see on a map of downtown as these would be the borders)

I would assume given how small of an area that - generally speaking close in adjacent areas like the Lower Hill District/Uptown/Arena/Duquesne University area to the East, the Strip District to the NE, Station Square to the immediate south and North Shore across the river to the north are included as the are natural extensions and have offices, hotels and to varying degrees, residential components.

Boundaries or not, even with pretty good residential growth, it will never be Center City, but it will be a lot more than it is now, which is a lot better than even a decade ago.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by summersm343

What is the defined boundaries or the generally agree upon boundaries for Downtown Pittsburgh?

This "CBD" map is probably close, except instead of bulging out to include the Lower Hill the border would continue straight down along Crosstown. This "official" map is Census Tract-based, which is why it includes the Lower Hill (for whatever reason the Lower Hill is included in Tract 201 with Downtown):



By the way, the curve in the northeast corner is following the railroad, so it makes more sense than you might think looking at just a street map.

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

That CSX project is a big deal--it it tied to the opening of the expanded Panama Canal, which should shift a significant portion of freight traffic bound for the North American interior from West Coast ports and railroads to East Coast ports and railroads.

Off topic, but I guess that's one of the reasons why they're dredging the Delaware River in Philly.

Although, does CSX have a rail line from Philly to Pittsburgh, or does CSX own the B&O alignment. I know that Norfolk Southern has their freight line that uses the old PRR main line, and by virtue of that they own the massive Conway Yard, right?