PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[BrianTH]

Here is an example of a street sort of like what they might be imagining (or which perhaps I am just imagining they are imagining):

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

Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, and as of 2011 had approximately 300 shops. . . . Oxford Street is designated a bus lane along its entire length, open only to buses, taxis and two-wheeled vehicles in the daytime on all days except Sundays.

Of course Pittsburgh doesn't have the same taxi presence as London (to put it mildly), and in Pittsburgh they seem to be talking about dedicated bike lanes which I don't believe Oxford Street has much if any of, but my point is there are in fact examples of thriving city streets that are really streets in the way old-school pedestrian malls are not, but which nonetheless don't allow private cars.

[BrianTH]

By the way, this was the "old" vision for Smithfield, which is not really so old--it was a late-stage (2012) Ravenstahl initiative:

http://m.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-...h-how-can-city-get-them-shop-there/4088/

Basically, the idea was to replace the bus lane with bike lanes, and upgrade the facades and streetscapes. And maybe that is still all Peduto is really talking about, but I would be interested if it was a different approach.





More info:

http://www.post-gazette.com/businessnews...h-s-Downtown-retail/stories/201211140175
http://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/mayor/110512_Downtown_Action_Strategy_2_.pdf

[BrianTH]

It looks like the Pittsburgh MSA finished 2013 reasonably well in terms of jobs growth:

http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.pa_pittsburgh_msa.htm

The preliminary report is that year-over-year jobs were up 14,200 (+1.2%), which is not bad--jobs growth was a bit stronger in some prior months, but weaker earlier in 2013, and nationally and statewide December was relatively weak. In fact Pennsylvania was only up 19,000 (+0.3%) in December yoy, so a huge portion of the state's job growth was concentrated in the Pittsburgh MSA.

The industry-specific patterns were largely the same as they have been recently (e.g. mining looks good percentage-wise but it is still being dwarfed by white-collar stuff in gross terms, government employment losses are still a significant drag, and so on).

[Brentsters]

It seems that "old" vision was used as a starting point for the vision described in the article. If done right, I think it could be very successful and transformative. Hard to say based on the information available, but I'm intrigued.

Though not exact matches, State St. in Madison and Fulton St. in Brooklyn come to mind. State St. is mainly for pedestrians, but buses and taxis are allowed. And bikes, of course, though there are no separate lanes or cycle tracks. Fulton is restricted to buses and local delivery. Both of these examples have different demographics...but they show there are variations and not all "pedestrian malls" are destined to be East Lib redux.

Oh, and Peduto is definitely familiar with the complete street concepts.

http://www.billpeduto.com/2013/02/28/83-...ing-safer-more-accessible-neighborhoods/

http://bikepgh.org/mayoral-candidate-bill-peduto-answers-bikepgh-qa/

[photoLith]

Recently restored houses on middle street in east Deutschtown.

[BrianTH]

Pittsburgh is the most affordable major real estate market in the world!

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox.html

See also Figure 2 here:

http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf

Note that this was just among markets in certain countries with more than 1M in population--there are smaller markets in the U.S. and elsewhere which are more affordable than Pittsburgh by this measure--and the author of the blog post above has some other quibbles with the study. But the basic point remains that Pittsburgh, for now, has a relatively favorable balance of income opportunities versus housing costs, even in a global comparison.

[photoLith]

PNC from about a minute ago.

[DKNewYork]

Just received from PittsburghTODAY: Job growth numbers from the last 12 months benchmarked against 14 other American cities. Same growth numbers that Brian reported a few days ago. Pittsburgh did the same as the benchmark average. What strikes me more and more when I see these reports is not how well Pittsburgh is doing but rather how badly Cleveland is doing. Shame.

http://pittsburghtoday.org/view_economy_...n=Jan+28%2C+2014+Eblast&utm_medium=email

[BrianTH]

This is a cool project in Garfield:

http://www.popcitymedia.com/devnews/bunkerproject012914.aspx
http://www.bunkerprojects.org/

They have a crowdfunding campaign if you are interested in supporting it:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bunker-projects-artist-residency-gallery-space

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by DKNewYork

What strikes me more and more when I see these reports is not how well Pittsburgh is doing but rather how badly Cleveland is doing. Shame.

Philadelphia is also lagging, albeit not as badly as Cleveland. All this is not particularly good news for Pittsburgh, because ultimately its network ties to nearby cities is likely to be an important fundamental factor with respect to future growth and prosperity.

[DKNewYork]

I heard a bit more about the Skinny Building restoration while in Pittsburgh this week: Confirming that the intention is to bring the building back as close to its original look as possible. As the building has so much glass, it was decided that insulated double pane glass would be needed to keep the building from being drafty. The budget does not currently contain enough money for this more expensive glass but PHLF is looking for ways to get it done. Also, it turns out that the Skinny and Roberts buildings floor plates do not line up at all---I was told that the floors are "way off," particularly on the second level. This will not slow down the exterior restoration work but will be an issue down the road.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

This is a cool project in Garfield:

http://www.popcitymedia.com/devnews/bunkerproject012914.aspx
http://www.bunkerprojects.org/

They have a crowdfunding campaign if you are interested in supporting it:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bunker-projects-artist-residency-gallery-space

It looks as if it's directly upstairs from the new Roboto location.

While that's a pretty good place for a gallery, I'm not sure if I were an artist I'd want to live there. I'm sure the shows will be hell on concentration.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by DKNewYork

I heard a bit more about the Skinny Building restoration while in Pittsburgh this week: Confirming that the intention is to bring the building back as close to its original look as possible.

Great news!

Also, it turns out that the Skinny and Roberts buildings floor plates do not line up at all---I was told that the floors are "way off," particularly on the second level. This will not slow down the exterior restoration work but will be an issue down the road.

That may mean it cannot be much more than a non-functional facade of sorts, maybe letting in some light and/or being used for displays. That would be unfortunate but perhaps not surprising.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Pittsburgh is the most affordable major real estate market in the world!

In what I suspect is a related point, Pittsburgh was also ranked very highly in a recent study of intergenerational mobility:

http://blog.triblive.com/thisjustin/2014...chieve-the-american-dream/#axzz2rhuF9Tel

It seems likely to me some of the underlying factors are the solid local educational opportunities straight through college and grad school, a growing pool of decent-paying jobs, and the relatively low cost of living.

Anyway, hopefully developers are taking notice of all this.

[DKNewYork]

On Monday I heard:

• PMHC has just approved the boundaries devised by PHLF for nomination of the Penn Avenue business district in Wilkinsburg as a National Historic District;

• Asbestos remediation at the Penn-Lincoln Hotel should be completed in 60-90 days, then (unfortunately) the building will be demolished by the county and the site readied for redevelopment---PHLF will then have control of the site---one developer has already contacted Landmarks with an offer to develop the property and two adjacent parking lots;

• Exterior restoration and cleaning of the Wilkinsburg train station will occur in the spring so the station is "shell ready" and it can be marketed to a developer;

• The Hamnett Place I project, which includes the Crescent and Wilson buildings, is fully-rented and out-performing projections;

• PHLF is currently arranging financing for Hamnett Place II, which involves another five abandoned buildings.

Edit: Should have mentioned that the Crescent and Wilson buildings have long waiting lists, which is the impetus for renovating the other buildings.

[DKNewYork]

Given the various discussions here about various modern Pittsburgh buildings, I thought some might like to know about a new guidebook published by PHLF:

Pittsburgh Architecture in the Twentieth Century: Notable Modern Buildings and Their Architects by Albert Tannler, a PHLF historian and archivist, chronicles many of the outstanding twentieth-century buildings in metropolitan Pittsburgh. It is a good read and excellent reference with over 300 photos. I assume it is available in local bookstores and through Amazon and B&N, but I know it can be purchased directly from Landmarks:

http://www.phlf.org/landmarks-store/

[BrianTH]

The owner of the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill is looking at doing a similar sort of upscale first-run movie theater Downtown:

http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/movies/20...-theater-Downtown-1/stories/201401290031

It is all very preliminary, but I suspect that would provide a HUGE marketing boost for Downtown residential development if it worked out.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by DKNewYork

On Monday I heard:

• PMHC has just approved the boundaries devised by PHLF for nomination of the Penn Avenue business district in Wilkinsburg as a National Historic District;

• Asbestos remediation at the Penn-Lincoln Hotel should be completed in 60-90 days, then (unfortunately) the building will be demolished by the county and the site readied for redevelopment---PHLF will then have control of the site---one developer has already contacted Landmarks with an offer to develop the property and two adjacent parking lots;

• Exterior restoration and cleaning of the Wilkinsburg train station will occur in the spring so the station is "shell ready" and it can be marketed to a developer;

• The Hamnett Place I project, which includes the Crescent and Wilson buildings, is fully-rented and out-performing projections;

• PHLF is currently arranging financing for Hamnett Place II, which involves another five abandoned buildings.

Edit: Should have mentioned that the Crescent and Wilson buildings have long waiting lists, which is the impetus for renovating the other buildings.

I can't thank you enough for this update--but thanks!

The demand for decent housing in Wilkinsburg is really quite remarkable, and if some of these high-profile projects in the commercial area work out, that should only increase. So at some point I hope we start seeing some serious interest in an East Liberty Transit Center/Eastside III-type project.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I can't thank you enough for this update--but thanks!

The demand for decent housing in Wilkinsburg is really quite remarkable, and if some of these high-profile projects in the commercial area work out, that should only increase. So at some point I hope we start seeing some serious interest in an East Liberty Transit Center/Eastside III-type project.

You're welcome. I get the clear sense that the PHLF people involved in Wilkinsburg think the town is one or two projects away from attracting significant private sector developers. Hopefully that is not too far down the line.

Re the National Historic District: With PMHC's blessing, the application will now be submitted to Interior Department. No idea how long approval typically takes, but with that designation, Federal tax credits will make many private projects more viable and more attractive.

[DKNewYork]

W/r/t last week's discussion of temporary public art installations...

During Monday morning's snowfall and temperature plunge, I was checking out some projects downtown and saw the "magnolia" installation at Penn and Seventh. Didn't love it but it was benign and even pleasant. But standing there all I could think is how perfect a residential building would look on that site.

But...Phyllida Barlow's TIP, which is installed at the entrance to the Scaife Wing of the Carnegie, is truly amazing. The International is great as well. Check it out.