PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

And as for transportation, you never know--things could change for the better at the state and federal levels, maybe even within a few years from now.

If I were Peduto & Fitzgerald, I would be busting my ass to make sure that there are concrete, "shovel-ready" transit plans in the works by Jan 2017 when there will likely be a Democrat takeover of everything again. For the mid-terms, our best-case scenario is status quo. Worst-case crazy scary. If we get a brief window where transit funding is uncorked in a big way, they need to be ready to reap the benefits of that.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Steel City Scotty

As a "young professional" myself, I am very excited about this trend.

However, is there also a fear that Pittsburgh will start to become a much more expensive place to live as well?

For years, the city has been known for its affordable cost of living. Will that be sacrificed as a by-product of the demographic change in population?

A lot of young professionals live in cities such as New York (Brooklyn) and the D.C. area, and those are two examples of places notorious for high costs.

My opinion it's that the Burgh will continue to have large pockets of affordability for some time. Even as hot areas quickly become unafforable (Southside, Lawrenceville, Downtown, the east end, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Regent Square) there are still many "authentic Pittsburgh" neighborhoods that remain extremely afforable. I'm thinking, Troy Hill, Spring Hill, East Allegheny and parts of the Northside, other dense areas that are cheap include Millvale, Sharpsburg, Wilkinsburg, much of Mt Washington, etc.

I think the large amount of elderly mortality keeps many otherwise very desirable areas surprisingly affordable. It's good for affordability but bad for home appreciation.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

If I were Peduto & Fitzgerald, I would be busting my ass to make sure that there are concrete, "shovel-ready" transit plans in the works by Jan 2017 when there will likely be a Democrat takeover of everything again. For the mid-terms, our best-case scenario is status quo. Worst-case crazy scary. If we get a brief window where transit funding is uncorked in a big way, they need to be ready to reap the benefits of that.

Agreed. That said, I am optimistic enough to think the post-2017 window may not be all that brief. The anti-urban/anti-transit cohort is literally dying out, and while I make no guarantees about, say, the 2018 midterms specifically, sooner or later they will not even win those.

[BrianTH]

The lovely Art Institute building Downtown has been sold. The school has a guarantee to stay for three years, but after that it could be freed up for development:

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/201...using-Art-Institute/stories/201404020032

So it is possible this property will eventually contribute to nighttime population boom in that corner of Downtown (a lot of possibilities to that end are in motion).

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by photoLith

^
Eh, I dont really mind it, obviously it pales in comparison to the amazing historic buildings that surround it but it filled in a large hole on Butler. And holy crap, is that real that Peduto wants to put a restuarant or viewing thing at the top of the US Steel Tower? That would be effing amazing, Pittsburgh is lacking a public sky lobby. From what I understand there used to be a restaurant at the top of the Steel Tower but it closed in 2001 or something like that.

Peduto has tweeted about that idea, and there were a few press releases in the PG and/or Trib. He calls this vision "High Point Park," and goes on to describe US Steel's roof as the largest rooftop of any building that tall or taller. Think about it. That roof is one acre in area!

His latest version calls for I think a couple of additional floors to include a new Top of the Triangle, which was the name of that restaurant u mentioned, that closed in July, 2001. I think there is also another floor or two for indoor observation/recreational space. I forget what his idea was for the roof itself...

Below is my model/vision of what Peduto wants to place atop the US Steel Building. Something else I'd like to see is the 21 columns rising another 50 feet or so and housing wind turbines...


On the side directly overlooking the plaza, I have an observation platform jutting out some 7 feet from the edge with a transparent floor. You could stand up against one of the steel beams and look 890-some feet straight down to the plaza below! Also, I envision either an outdoor coffee shop or snack bar up there:

[doo dah]

http://highpointpark.org/
Wasn't this already discussed here?
And nope nope nope not going out on any transparent thing
We saw that on the Willis Tower in Chicago last week.

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by doo dah

http://highpointpark.org/
Wasn't this already discussed here?
And nope nope nope not going out on any transparent thing
We saw that on the Willis Tower in Chicago last week.

It certainly was, and I believe we've all commented in favor of this rooftop addition.

And while you may not want to venture out onto such a platform, who's to say others wouldn't? I sure as heck would go out of my way to see something like that.

[photoLith]

PNC rising from this evening.

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by photoLith

PNC rising from this evening.

Love it!

[East Edge]

Originally Posted by doo dah

"...Now and then there is a house of brick. But what brick! When it is new it is the color of a fried egg. When it has taken on the patina of the mills it is the color of an egg long past all hope or caring. Was it necessary to adopt that shocking color? No more than it was necessary to set all of the houses on end. Red brick, even in a steel town, ages with some dignity. Let it become downright black, and it is still sightly, especially if its trimmings are of white stone, with soot in the depths and the high spots washed by the rain. But in Westmoreland they prefer that uremic yellow, and so they have the most loathsome towns and villages ever seen by mortal eye..."

-H.L. Mencken, 1927
The Libido for the Ugly

I have to agree that this application of the yellow brick is pretty bad but i applaud the architect / developer for selecting materials that tie into the existing buildings that surround it. I think the old yellow and orange brick that used in this region are kind of cool and i hate when new structures next to it ignore adjacent materials. Prime example is the hideous Vista Grande in Mt Washington with all of its contrived applied architectural elements. If the phony-ness of it isn't bad enough they selected a a brick with pink hues so its even more of an abomination next to the St Mary of the Mount Church which is a Pittsburgh Landmark. I think the use of yellow brick with brown stone would have been much more contextual and would have a timeless appearance....without the goofy classical cast stone accents of course. Who knows maybe they would actually be selling now.

[BrianTH]

A 5-acre industrial site in Lawrenceville is being explored for redevelopment, possibly residential:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...les-next-property-to-watch.html?page=all

I believe this is the site (right next to the 40th Street Bridge north of Willow)):

https://goo.gl/maps/2cUJ1

This is an inexperienced developer and they don't have a plan yet, so it may be a while before anything happens. On the other hand, Lawrenceville is so hot right now, particularly for residential, it could come along pretty quickly.

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by Jonboy1983

It certainly was, and I believe we've all commented in favor of this rooftop addition.

And while you may not want to venture out onto such a platform, who's to say others wouldn't? I sure as heck would go out of my way to see something like that.

Oh, I know, there were lines to get in, at Willis Tower! It would be a tremendous attraction. Though I think it might have to be enclosed somehow, for safety.

How financially feasible would it be to have a platform all the way around?

[photoLith]

That lawrencville property the article is talking about I believe is bounded by 40th st, willow street and 42nd street.

[DBR96A]

Originally Posted by Jonboy1983

Peduto has tweeted about that idea, and there were a few press releases in the PG and/or Trib. He calls this vision "High Point Park," and goes on to describe US Steel's roof as the largest rooftop of any building that tall or taller. Think about it. That roof is one acre in area!

His latest version calls for I think a couple of additional floors to include a new Top of the Triangle, which was the name of that restaurant u mentioned, that closed in July, 2001. I think there is also another floor or two for indoor observation/recreational space. I forget what his idea was for the roof itself...

Below is my model/vision of what Peduto wants to place atop the US Steel Building. Something else I'd like to see is the 21 columns rising another 50 feet or so and housing wind turbines...


On the side directly overlooking the plaza, I have an observation platform jutting out some 7 feet from the edge with a transparent floor. You could stand up against one of the steel beams and look 890-some feet straight down to the plaza below! Also, I envision either an outdoor coffee shop or snack bar up there:

At least that way, Pittsburgh's tallest will once again be taller than Oklahoma City's tallest.

By the way, I don't mind yellow bricks.

[dfiler]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Nothing on their website mentions any early discount. $1225-$1345 for a 508 square foot efficiency!

That's more than I pay for mortgage on a 3 story, 6 bedroom brick home with full basement, front and back porch, yard, etc... on a nice street about a mile away. That's more than my mortgage INCLUDING the ridiculous 5.6% property tax that I pay.

These units will probably sell/rent quickly but it baffles me why people will pay that much for housing in a sterile, brand new development surrounded by parking lots. For less money you can have an entire home just a few blocks away, surrounded by trees and historic architecture. My guess is that they don't want to look at some of the decaying houses in the transitioning neighborhoods. That's probably why Penn avenue is bumper to bumper traffic in rush hour while parallel roads through homewood are nearly empty and moving at a fast pace. People don't want to be reminded of poverty.

Me? I bought a home on a half good/bad street and helped turn it into good street. But then again, I drive through homewood instead of being stuck in Penn Ave traffic.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by dfiler

That's more than I pay for mortgage on a 3 story, 6 bedroom brick home with full basement, front and back porch, yard, etc... on a nice street about a mile away. That's more than my mortgage INCLUDING the ridiculous 5.6% property tax that I pay.

These units will probably sell/rent quickly but it baffles me why people will pay that much for housing in a sterile, brand new development surrounded by parking lots. For less money you can have an entire home just a few blocks away, surrounded by trees and historic architecture. My guess is that they don't want to look at some of the decaying houses in the transitioning neighborhoods. That's probably why Penn avenue is bumper to bumper traffic in rush hour while parallel roads through homewood are nearly empty and moving at a fast pace. People don't want to be reminded of poverty.

Me? I bought a home on a half good/bad street and helped turn it into good street. But then again, I drive through homewood instead of being stuck in Penn Ave traffic.

I'm with you as I have a four bedroom house for about the same money as those apartments. But I'm assuming that there's a class of younger folk with decent paychecks who don't want to have to worry about upkeep on a house and want to live somewhere with a gym and pool and a super who comes and fixes things. Some people who spend most of their time either working or going out just want a place to sleep and hang their shirts and are willing to pay extra for that.

I'm also guessing that a lot of the tenants have recently moved here from other places where there's not a culture of home ownership and they don't even consider it. My brother-in-law lives in Oakland, CA with his wife and are both well paid professionals but still rent because it costs half a million to buy a house there. Pittsburgh is very unusual in that young people buy houses here; that doesn't happen in most other places.

[BrianTH]

Yep, and post housing bust, a lot of people are also just fundamentally adverse to purchasing homes. That attitude is not necessarily entirely justified in Pittsburgh, although if you are only planning to live somewhere a few years it can make sense even here.

Of course if some of those people currently taking units in higher-end new apartment buildings stick around the area, at some point they may well buy a home somewhere.

[dfiler]

Originally Posted by GeneW

I'm with you as I have a four bedroom house for about the same money as those apartments. But I'm assuming that there's a class of younger folk with decent paychecks who don't want to have to worry about upkeep on a house and want to live somewhere with a gym and pool and a super who comes and fixes things. Some people who spend most of their time either working or going out just want a place to sleep and hang their shirts and are willing to pay extra for that.

I'm also guessing that a lot of the tenants have recently moved here from other places where there's not a culture of home ownership and they don't even consider it. My brother-in-law lives in Oakland, CA with his wife and are both well paid professionals but still rent because it costs half a million to buy a house there. Pittsburgh is very unusual in that young people buy houses here; that doesn't happen in most other places.

Quite true about not having to worry about home ownership. My home did require a TON of work and attention.

But as for the gym, I've got unused bedrooms and one is now a gym... filled with equipment bought with money saved from not paying $1200-1400 for a studio apartment. Still working on the pool though.

While homes are mind bogglingly cheap in Pittsburgh, that's only if you are willing to buy on a transitioning block or street. With Pittsburgh on the upswing, buying on the edge of a bad neighborhood is a good tactic because it will soon become part of the adjacent good neighborhood. But that requires that buyers are willing to live on a street with some rundown houses for a few years and possibly have one or two houses on the street that look like crack houses for more than another decade.

If not willing to move to a street like that, housing is merely "affordable" in Pittsburgh instead of mindbogglingly cheap. This seems typical for cities that were once wealthy before losing half of their jobs and population, but that are now on the upswing.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

A 5-acre industrial site in Lawrenceville is being explored for redevelopment, possibly residential:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...les-next-property-to-watch.html?page=all

I believe this is the site (right next to the 40th Street Bridge north of Willow)):

https://goo.gl/maps/2cUJ1

This is an inexperienced developer and they don't have a plan yet, so it may be a while before anything happens. On the other hand, Lawrenceville is so hot right now, particularly for residential, it could come along pretty quickly.

I heard about this from my wife a few weeks ago, since she works for Rothschild Doyno. It has the potential to be the first of the South Side-like mega-projects in Lawrenceville. Really the infill of the (relatively few) vacant lots in Lower and now Central Lawrenceville is wrapping up, and expanding into the industrial-zoned areas is the only way to substantively expand the housing stock. I ultimately think just about everything in Central Lawrenceville up to the railroad tracks will be converted to residential use.

[themaguffin]

At least that way, Pittsburgh's tallest will once again be taller than Oklahoma City's tallest.

I don't really care about such things. OKC has a nice tall building, but it's very lonely up there.