PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Austinlee]

Are there any skilled programmers here who would like to do all Pittsburgh boosters a favor and create a Pittsburgh metro real time population clock just like the one on the top left side of this census page:

http://www.census.gov/popclock/


I would love to see a real time clock with the four bars showing birth's per second, deaths per second, in-migration per second and thus calculating the fourth bar of net gain per ___ amount of time.


HINT: Just click on that census link and then click "Page" drop down button on your browser near the top right and then click "View Source". Maybe a little copy/pasting of the html code but with up to date Pittsburgh population numbers.

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Heck, the AAA building violates them too:

Man, looking at that blank wall for the AAA building, seems like you could EASILY build street-level retail into that thing and activate that whole side. And based on how huge (and somewhat space wasted) the building is, I think AAA could easily figure out a way to reconfigure things inside to give up that little bit of space.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

Man, looking at that blank wall for the AAA building, seems like you could EASILY build street-level retail into that thing and activate that whole side. And based on how huge (and somewhat space wasted) the building is, I think AAA could easily figure out a way to reconfigure things inside to give up that little bit of space.

That is a great idea! It was proposed and dismissed as unsafe back when the building was first renovated for retail and office (testing my memory here but maybe around the mid 80s). After that project went under, Triple A took over the building. But given how much East Liberty changed in the past few years, the notion of opening those blank walls to the city should definitely be explored.

[BrianTH]

Since the AAA building is an historic market building, I would be a little reluctant to mess around with the exterior too much. The interior has been changed around a lot, but similarly I would want to preserve as much of the original open space and details as remain.

That said, it looks like it originally had some more openings (maybe vehicle openings) on the Centre side. Here is a photo from 1955:



Zoomed in:



From this streetview you can see some of the not-quite-matched brick:

http://goo.gl/maps/gRpW5

So maybe you could open those back up, then do something different with the landscaping on that side (maybe hardscaping for a patio look, or just widen the sidewalk?).

Edit: Landmarks Design Associates is who reconfigured it as a shopping center for the AAA (which then mostly failed, so the AAA took over more space). They still have a page up about it:

http://www.ldaarchitects.com/motorsquare.htm

[BrianTH]

Incidentally, aside from the street wall issue, I am not generally in a rush to do anything about the AAA building since it is occupied and appears to be in reasonable repair, and there are many other possible projects in East Liberty. But it sure is a landmark building in a variety of ways, and eventually it would be cool if it could be re-used in a somewhat more prominent way.


Motor square garden by Turbo Dog 470, on Flickr


East Liberty Market House by Paul Lowry, on Flickr

[Evergrey]

What implication does this have for the development of transit and walkable urban districts in our region?

Jan 9, 2014, 12:24pm EST

Staying more than 1,000 miles closer to home in Pittsburgh

It’s a telling statistic to consider as new Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto starts his term with fresh transportation goals and Pennsylvania begins formulating how to distribute more than $2.3 billion in new transportation funding.

The average Pittsburgh driver put 1,068 fewer miles on the odometer in 2011 than five years before, according to a recent study by U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer research organization.

According to U.S. PIRG’s Transportation in Transition study published in December, Pittsburgh’s decline in vehicle miles traveled per capita was the fifth largest of the 100 urbanized areas studied, dropping 13 percent from 2006 to 2011, the most recent year for which information is available.

...

The report’s basic conclusion:

“The time has come for cities and states to shift their transportation priorities away from investments in expensive unnecessary new highways, and toward the maintenance and repair of our existing infrastructure and the development of new transportation choices for Americans.”

[Found5dollar]

^ is that building open to the public? I've always wanted to go in, but it looks like it is just for people with business at AAA...

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Found5dollar

^ is that building open to the public? I've always wanted to go in, but it looks like it is just for people with business at AAA...

I think there are still a couple different tenants, and AAA is open to anyone anyway (they do a lot of services there for non-members, like title transfers and such).

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

What implication does this have for the development of transit and walkable urban districts in our region?

It definitely strengthens the case for prioritizing repairing and maintaining existing roads over building new road capacity, and also addressing existing but unmet transit needs with new/upgraded systems.

Predicting the need for more walkable development (core-area or indeed suburban) is also pretty obvious.

Where things get complicated is predicting future transportation needs in, say, 25-30 years, in part because no one is quite sure what automated cars are going to do to transportation patterns. Not overinvesting in roads or parking remains a good idea because automated cars will likely need less and/or different road and storage systems. But whether automated cars will substitute for, or rather complement, transit is a harder question to answer.

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

It definitely strengthens the case for prioritizing repairing and maintaining existing roads over building new road capacity, and also addressing existing but unmet transit needs with new/upgraded systems.

Predicting the need for more walkable development (core-area or indeed suburban) is also pretty obvious.

Where things get complicated is predicting future transportation needs in, say, 25-30 years, in part because no one is quite sure what automated cars are going to do to transportation patterns. Not overinvesting in roads or parking remains a good idea because automated cars will likely need less and/or different road and storage systems. But whether automated cars will substitute for, or rather complement, transit is a harder question to answer.

Sure, accommodating the advancement of automated cars will be necessary, but I still think better transit should be something to invest in nonetheless...

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Jonboy1983

Sure, accommodating the advancement of automated cars will be necessary, but I still think better transit should be something to invest in nonetheless...

Absolutely.

The point I was making was more about prioritization. There are people arguing that eventually, a lot of transit will not be necessary as people without cars or the ability or the inclination to drive will still have cheap and efficient means to get around without transit, namely a publicly-available fleet of automated cars (particularly if you contemplate some smart ridesharing, fleeting vehicles to improve high-speed fuel efficiency, and so on). That really isn't a proven concept, of course, and in a way it is not so much the elimination of transit as a different way to provide transit.

But in any event, the time at which automated cars and the infrastructure to use them efficiently is in place everywhere necessary for that vision to become possible is still quite a ways off. In the meantime, we have a legacy of underinvesting in transit and as a result a bunch of unmet transit needs right now.

So prioritizing meeting currently unmet transit needs is a reasonable response to this long-term possibility of automated cars revolutionizing all transportation. Of course some people would say that was the right approach anyway, but to the extent necessary this is another argument in its favor.

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I think there are still a couple different tenants, and AAA is open to anyone anyway (they do a lot of services there for non-members, like title transfers and such).

Yes, you can get your drivers license renewal photo taken there. Also, the building houses the Shadyside Hospital School of Nursing.

[photoLith]

They hate cameras in there though, they told me I wasnt allowed to take photos inside because of tersts, because AAA is such a huge target after all.

[Steel City Scotty]

A new article about the August Wilson Center...

Looking to save the August Wilson Center
January 9, 2014 10:41 PM
By Mark Belko/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The court-appointed conservator for the August Wilson Center for African American Culture is taking her first stab at raising the profile of -- and money for -- the financially ailing Downtown facility.

At the same time, former U.S. bankruptcy judge Judith Fitzgerald is speaking to a number of organizations interested in either buying or leasing the building or those that have ideas for its use.

"All of it is intended to try to keep the mission of the center viable," she said.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/business/201...tories/2014011000580000000#ixzz2q0Pt4l1v

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by photoLith

They hate cameras in there though, they told me I wasnt allowed to take photos inside because of tersts, because AAA is such a huge target after all.

I hate that attitude. Owners and tenants of historic buildings should take pride in showing them off, and should also recognize it is their civic duty to do so.

In fact, I strongly suspect that in coming years, East Liberty is going to emerge as a significant tourist hub, between the new hotels, restaurants and other night life, Transit Center, and all-around good location for various amenities. And given the decent number of historic buildings remaining in and around East Liberty, I could see something like self-guided historic walking tours becoming popular.

So it would be a shame if owners of buildings like the AAA building didn't support such things. On the other hand, I think it is reasonable to hope their attitude may also just reflect outdated notions of casual visitors in East Liberty, which will naturally fade over time.

[BrianTH]

I'm still guessing the AWC will survive as a program of some sort, but with either a new home or a radically scaled-down presence in its current building. In either case, some other entity will take over all or most of the Downtown building.

The reason I think that is that I just don't see the numbers ever working out for them with their current building. And if the big foundations and agencies were going to bail them out without caring about the numbers, I think they would have done it already.

[DKNewYork]

From today's Pgh Biz Times. Nothing really new here but interesting to realize that support for Buncher's Produce Terminal concept is not completely contrarian these days...

Mayor Peduto’s biggest real estate challenges

When Bill Peduto took on the role of Pittsburgh mayor January 6, he pledged a new era for city government at a time when there’s fresh signs of urban growth on which to build.

In his campaign for mayor and during his years on City Council, Peduto has never held back on offering a barrage of policy plans.

Of course, as a city that’s long been operated by the machine of the local Democratic party, Peduto can expect to face some pushback as he seeks to make changes.

Here’s a look at some of the challenges that lie ahead for the new mayor:

Downtown Living & Parking

Peduto has expressed a goal of growing the residential population of the greater downtown area to 20,000, nearly double what it is now.

Yet, with more residential development comes the need for more parking, an area of contention on the North Shore. At the groundbreaking for North Shore Place, Barry Ford, president of Continental Real Estate, said a neighbor told him upon hearing a new building was going up between Heinz Field and PNC Park: “‘Dude, this is the second time you’ve displaced me from my Steelers parking spot. I wish you’d stop.’”

Peduto finds himself leading a city with limits to its public transportation and parking needs. That’s matched by suburban expectations for personal transportation that drive up development costs and often put more limits on already tight space on which to build.

Neighborhood Investments

Peduto has vowed to bring new investment and support to long-neglected neighborhoods such as Homewood and Allentown.

Funding, however, is in short supply. Last year, the city received about $13 million in key federal community development block-grant funding. Nearly 10 years ago, the city typically received about $20 million.

One well-known community development professional has already told me he’s wary about limited resources going to neighborhoods that may not be organized enough yet to make best use of them.

The Buncher Project

For all the criticism, the Buncher Co.’s proposal to tear down a third of the Smallman Street produce terminal also comes with the pledge to renovate the rest with private money at a cost of more than $20 million.

This is in a building that has never met basic code requirements for plumbing, heat and electrical service, daunting upfront costs for a private developer.

After opposing Buncher’s plans, Peduto will need to carefully vet the financial backing of competing plans for the produce terminal and assess how much to publicly support such a project.

Ideals v. Reality

“Let me be clear: the qualities that make a city successful are the same ones that make a city honest,” Peduto said at his inauguration, pledging to operate city government as openly as possible.

Like any politician, Peduto has major supporters, with sponsors of his inauguration including ALCO Parking Corp., United States Steel Corp., Carnegie Mellon University and Parkinson Construction, according to his program. It can be a fine line between being fair and open and knowing who your supporters are and what they want from you.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I'm still guessing the AWC will survive as a program of some sort, but with either a new home or a radically scaled-down presence in its current building. In either case, some other entity will take over all or most of the Downtown building.

The reason I think that is that I just don't see the numbers ever working out for them with their current building. And if the big foundations and agencies were going to bail them out without caring about the numbers, I think they would have done it already.

I, too, think the Center will survive in some form, but not as ambitious as originally conceived and surely not in the Liberty Avenue building. The local foundations feel hoodwinked and I don't see any additional funding in the pipeline...unless the bankruptcy results in the desired transparency and expenses are slashed, which means moving to cheaper digs. What a shame! But their bad for over-reaching. Let the speculation begin as to what happens to the building. I am hoping that the Pgh Public School District does not get it.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Since the AAA building is an historic market building, I would be a little reluctant to mess around with the exterior too much. The interior has been changed around a lot, but similarly I would want to preserve as much of the original open space and details as remain.

That said, it looks like it originally had some more openings (maybe vehicle openings) on the Centre side.

A bit reluctant to mess with the building as well, but it would be an interesting idea to explore. Street retail could well help continue the momentum of the neighborhood---particularly the streets on which the building would be opened. I would at least be interested to see what a sensitive architect would propose---it might be interesting. That said, probably not going to happen. I believe that AAA owns the building and I am not sure what their incentive would be.

[BrianTH]

At the groundbreaking for North Shore Place, Barry Ford, president of Continental Real Estate, said a neighbor told him upon hearing a new building was going up between Heinz Field and PNC Park: “‘Dude, this is the second time you’ve displaced me from my Steelers parking spot. I wish you’d stop.’”

I know you can't stop people like that neighbor from saying things like that. I just wish people in charge of developers with exclusive rights to large amounts of prime land were not echoing them.