PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by DKNewYork

Yep. That's it. Looking at this view, I am more convinced it needs to go. Wonder if this corner was addressed in the RiverParc plan?

Judging by this old graphic, to some degree.



I think the blank space in those blocks signifies areas which don't have new/modified structures, not places which have no development. It looks like the majority of the "Magnolia" zone is taken up by a new seven-story residential structure. And an even taller, 22-story building is put in the vacant parking lot behind the Italian restaurant.

The plan also seems to save the two existing buildings on the other side of the alley and integrate them into a new hotel. Then the vacant lot which will soon get a "parklet" would have a 30-story high rise. Not bad overall, although one could conclude it's a bit too low density in places. I'm not sure what the "seven story townhouses" would be.

[Austinlee]

I like how "parklet" is the new buzz word. lol.
Maybe we'll get some eaglet's to live in the parklets to placate the purists.

I realize that made no sense, I just wanted to make a cool sentence.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by dfiler

Unfortunately the road system is unlikely to be reconnected. That stretch of Penn Ave encourages high-speed automobile traffic due to a number of reasons. The strip malls, parking lots, gated community wall and lack of cross streets all combine to create a high-speed urban highway. Because of the busway and gated community it doesn't seem like this can be remedied.

These certainly are not complete remedies, but I have imagined in the past a new street between Aurelia and Penn along the back of the Shakespeare Street strip mall site, with an extension of Ellsworth T-ing into it. And if you were really feeling ambitious, you could redevelop the area west of Trader Joe's (what I sometimes think of as the Club One complex) to include a continuation of this new street through to a new bridge over the Busway/tracks for an intersection with Broad. That would nicely split the difference between Penn Avenue and East Liberty Blvd. in terms of providing access over/under the Busway/tracks, and define three new "blocks" on the west side of this street (south of Ellsworth, between Ellsworth and Penn, and between Penn and the Busway) for redevelopment.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Judging by this old graphic, to some degree.



Not bad overall, although one could conclude it's a bit too low density in places. I'm not sure what the "seven story townhouses" would be.

Good point. I always thought the mention of "seven story townhouses" was awkward.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by dfiler

I've never heard of this and had to google it... Is this the park you speak of?

Yep. For what it is worth, this installation has gotten some positive attention in the public art world. See, for example, here:

http://www.popcitymedia.com/innovationnews/magnolias0627.aspx

Again, I recognize it makes no sense by ordinary urban planning standards, and yet I still like it.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

I was referring to the strip mall next to Trader Joe's.

I had never really noticed that there was a strip mall attached to the Shakespeare Giant Eagle. I just tend to not pay attention to strip malls and suburban landscapes.

That Giant Eagle does seem awkward though... I went in there once for about a minute... I suppose it's a lot easier to get in-and-out than the nearby Giant Eagle Market District.

That whole end of Shadyside needs work. The upper portion of Shady across from the Strip Mall is around half vacant lots, with a few weird little storefronts. Depending upon how good pedestrian access is after the new Busway stop, I could see several more apartment buildings there to complement the Cavendish.

Speaking of the Busway and Shadyside, this has always confused me. I know that Pierce Street was a semi-ghetto area back in the 1990s, but it's just plain bizarre that there are so many vacant lots within a two-minute walk of the Shadyside busway stop. Maybe the owner is land-banking though - I think at least one or two of the surviving wood-frame houses are homeowner occupied. It certainly would be a much better spot for an apartment building than townhouses.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Yep. For what it is worth, this installation has gotten some positive attention in the public art world. See, for example, here:

http://www.popcitymedia.com/innovationnews/magnolias0627.aspx

Again, I recognize it makes no sense by ordinary urban planning standards, and yet I still like it.

I find it to be a depressing void.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by eschaton

That whole end of Shadyside needs work. The upper portion of Shady across from the Strip Mall is around half vacant lots, with a few weird little storefronts. Depending upon how good pedestrian access is after the new Busway stop, I could see several more apartment buildings there to complement the Cavendish.

Speaking of the Busway and Shadyside, this has always confused me. I know that Pierce Street was a semi-ghetto area back in the 1990s, but it's just plain bizarre that there are so many vacant lots within a two-minute walk of the Shadyside busway stop. Maybe the owner is land-banking though - I think at least one or two of the surviving wood-frame houses are homeowner occupied. It certainly would be a much better spot for an apartment building than townhouses.

Yeah that is weird... I don't think I've ever been on that block. Why is the Pierce/Summerlea connection severed by those barricades?

And yes... bizarre that that favorably-located area is so rundown...

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Yeah that is weird... I don't think I've ever been on that block. Why is the Pierce/Summerlea connection severed by those barricades?

And yes... bizarre that that favorably-located area is so rundown...

I dunno. I used to live on South Negley on the other side of Baum/Centre, and often walked to the Busway station, and it was pretty much always like that with the barricades.

You could make a great little mini-development with this footprint there. Takes out the service station, garden store, a weird warehouse, four existing houses, and a whole lot of vacant lots and parking. Most of the area is zoned R1A however, so I think a variance would be needed.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

I find it to be a depressing void.

That's art for you. Some people will like it, some won't.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

These certainly are not complete remedies, but I have imagined in the past a new street between Aurelia and Penn along the back of the Shakespeare Street strip mall site, with an extension of Ellsworth T-ing into it. And if you were really feeling ambitious, you could redevelop the area west of Trader Joe's (what I sometimes think of as the Club One complex) to include a continuation of this new street through to a new bridge over the Busway/tracks for an intersection with Broad. That would nicely split the difference between Penn Avenue and East Liberty Blvd. in terms of providing access over/under the Busway/tracks, and define three new "blocks" on the west side of this street (south of Ellsworth, between Ellsworth and Penn, and between Penn and the Busway) for redevelopment.

I'm not sure why I never checked this before, but in the Larimer Master Plan, they are proposing redeveloping that area in the corner between Larimer Avenue and Broad, including what looks like an extension of Station Street to Broad. See Pages 18, 23, 49-50, 60, and 62-63:

http://larimerplan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2120show_130808_finalscr.pdf

Anyway, this could be a handyl new street since it would give people coming westbound on Penn or northbound on Shady Avenue a way to get to the northern part of downtown East Liberty (Broad Street and above) without going through the bust Penn/Centre intersection, or having to circle as far out as East Liberty Boulevard, and certainly couldn't hurt plans to develop that corner of Larimer.

Anyway, this could be a pretty cool new street, since it would give people coming westbound along Penn or up from Shadyside another way to get to the north part of Downtown East Liberty (Broad Street and above) without having to either go through the busy Penn/Centre intersection or circle as far around as East Liberty Blvd (which, incidentally, we sometimes do, say to get to Target through the Broad Street entrance).

With a little tweaking that could be turned into an extension of this new street across the Busway, in which case it would make sense to name the whole thing Station Street.

By the way, it is called Station Street because the East Liberty train station used to be right next to where I am proposing the new bridge would go:

http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?view=entry;cc=maps;entryid=x-084e1938

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Yep. For what it is worth, this installation has gotten some positive attention in the public art world. See, for example, here:

http://www.popcitymedia.com/innovationnews/magnolias0627.aspx

Again, I recognize it makes no sense by ordinary urban planning standards, and yet I still like it.

I have never seen the magnolia installation but will check it out next week. Glad to hear it was well-received. Richard Gluckman's light installation is on one of the buildings there and got a great write-up here in New York. I get the sense that it is considered quite an honor to be asked by the Cultural Trust to create an installation. While I like the idea of urban public spaces that display these types of temporary installations, I have always found the space at Penn and 7th to be flawed. Never mind that it detracts from Katz, it did not seem like a good outdoor venue. Plus, I always thought that a residential highrise would fit beautifully there, as the Benedum would guarantee lots of light and preserve the view. That said, much better an art parklet (there's that word again) than a parking lot.

[BrianTH]

[delete as re-post]

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by DKNewYork

While I like the idea of urban public spaces that display these types of temporary installations, I have always found the space at Penn and 7th to be flawed. Never mind that it detracts from Katz, it did not seem like a good outdoor venue.

It is pretty much worthless as any sort of usable space. In fact the only reason I ever walk into the space is to get a closer look at the sculptures. In that sense it is just one big art installation, as opposed to an art installation within a public space ala Katz.

And yet I still like it! Maybe it seems crazy to devote an entire Downtown lot to one big piece of art, and certainly it is actively trying to NOT be recognizable as a typical urban space--that is why it is both accurate to say it is a "void" of sorts, but also that is "magical", "unexpected", and other positive words I have seen associated with it. But that sort of crazy, large-scale art is something I often like, and in this case I like it for the Cultural District as such.

[BrianTH]

Incidentally, I think I first heard "parklet" being used a lot in the context of turning single parking spaces into "parks" (either permanently or temporarily), with something like "pocket park" or "minipark" being used more often to refer to something like an entire vacant lot being used for a small park. But now I am seeing more often "parklet" referring to all small parks. Not that it matters, but I think that history may explain why "parklet" suddenly seems to be growing rapidly in terms of usage.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

It is pretty much worthless as any sort of usable space. In fact the only reason I ever walk into the space is to get a closer look at the sculptures. In that sense it is just one big art installation, as opposed to an art installation within a public space ala Katz.

And yet I still like it! Maybe it seems crazy to devote an entire Downtown lot to one big piece of art, and certainly it is actively trying to NOT be recognizable as a typical urban space--that is why it is both accurate to say it is a "void" of sorts, but also that is "magical", "unexpected", and other positive words I have seen associated with it. But that sort of crazy, large-scale art is something I often like, and in this case I like it for the Cultural District as such.

It's great that you like it! Excellent, in fact. That is precisely the kind of passionate reaction that a public art installation should precipitate.

As I am rarely in town, I have not seen many of the Penn & Seventh installations. The terra cotta pile didn't exactly engage me but, as you wrote to someone else: Art...some you like, some you don't. But all good that you are pumped about what you have seen, particularly given your misgivings about the corner lot violating your urban planning sensibilities.

Speaking of art, next Monday I will be seeing the 2013 Carnegie International, which has me kinda pumped. This survey has gotten lots of great national press.

[photoLith]

Parklets are just cop outs to never develop the lot and don't add anything to the cityscape.

[GeneW]

Found this shot on Pitt's site from 1927 of what is now the Bakery Square II site:



From the description:

The Baur Bros. Company Bakery. The company was established in 1886 and incorporated in 1906 with August Baur as president. The buildings at 5711-5715 Penn Avenue containing the bakery consisting of 60,000 square feet, were built in 1888 and featured electricity. Newer buildings were built at 6452-6464 Penn Avenue in 1894-1895. While Baur Bros. was most widely known for Aunt Hannah's Bread and Buster Brown Bread, they also baked rolls, tea biscuits, and cakes.

Notice that you can see the front facade of the Nabisco building on the far left of the picture.

[Johnland]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Yeah that is weird... I don't think I've ever been on that block. Why is the Pierce/Summerlea connection severed by those barricades?

And yes... bizarre that that favorably-located area is so rundown...

I used the street view to go up and down Alder St to College Ave. You could see they were grand homes at one time, but some showing signs of poor upkeep and untended landscaping. I can never understand why property owners just let the shrubs and trees go so unkempt. I guess so long as the rent money is coming, that's all they care about.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Parklets are just cop outs to never develop the lot and don't add anything to the cityscape.

I completely disagree with this as a general principle. Small parks have been a part of cities forever, including as interior courtyards and so forth. People find them alternatively fun, relaxing, interesting, charming, and so on. The benefits of that kind of stuff may not be as easily quantifiable as more retail, office, or residential space (although I believe there is empirical evidence of higher property values next to small parks), and yet that stuff is a necessary part of allowing people to thrive in urban environments.

Of course that doesn't mean that every small park is a good idea, nor that every small park which in theory could be a good idea is in fact well-executed, nor that every small park which was a good idea at one time is going to remain a good idea forever. But the notion that small parks are never a good idea strikes me as absurd, and in fact it is a notion that many great cities manifestly reject.