PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Isn't that Rebecca and Coal?

Anyway, I agree that is a great building!

Yep---thx for the correction.

[GeneW]

Pittsburgh to spend $120M on capital projects
Financial oversight groups push investment

It would be nice to see the city actually build things instead of just tearing things down.

[BrianTH]

The SPC also has up their new draft TIP for 2015-2018 (this will guide the allocation of most federal and state transportation capital spending in the region during the covered years):

http://www.spcregion.org/trans_ppp_tipdraft.shtml

It includes lots of mostly boring but very important maintenance, repair, and modernization projects. It also includes doing the streets in the Lower Hill (former Civic Arena) site, including the possibility of the I-579 cap (Appendix 9), although that is presently unfunded with an outstanding TIGER application. What I wasn't aware of is that they are actually already doing preliminary design work for the cap (scheduled for completion in February 2015).

Appendix 9 also notes the $360 million that will be spent on the Southern Beltway project in the covered years, with more to come afterward (puke--but that isn't the SPC's fault since that outlay is dictated by state law).

Finally, Appendix 7 details a lot of investment in new buses and new bus or station technology.

[BrianTH]

Sounds like a nice deal to allow more Mt Washington development:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2...eloper-to-swap-lots/stories/201406230089

I suppose some may object a fellowship hall is inadequate use of a lot along Grandview, but it beats the big load of nothing that has been kept there indefinitely. And redoing the former Bishop Leonard Saint Mary of the Mount Academy as residences would be great:

https://goo.gl/maps/IJIxu

[BrianTH]

There is actually very little proven correlation between this sort of ranking and business growth, but I can still hear jaws dropping in certain circles:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...gh-tax-climate-among-best-in-the-us.html
http://www.competitivealternatives.com/reports/2014_compalt_report_tax_en.pdf

Pittsburgh ranks fifth among U.S. cities for its favorable tax climate for business and 14th among international cities, according to a study titled "2014 Competitive Alternatives: Focus on Tax" that accounting giant KPMG LLP released Monday. . . . The study is a global comparison of the total tax burden that companies in 107 cities throughout 10 countries may face, including corporate income taxes, capital taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, miscellaneous local business taxes and statutory labor costs.

[Found5dollar]

can we just talk about this for a second?

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2...sts-in-large-events/stories/201406230140

there has to be a better way to deal with the mess. And we made national headlines this time.

[GeneW]

Yay! Just what Station Square needs, more surface parking!

[BrianTH]

I guess the question is how serious they are about moving forward with residential. 1200+ new units there would be pretty cool.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I suppose some may object a fellowship hall is inadequate use of a lot along Grandview,

I object... I'll take the abyss of nothingness that currently occupies that spot. I can only imagine the crappy shed that will be erected. Offering this prominent location to a religious institution so they can build a parking lot and a bingo hall is the worst possible outcome.

This 'fellowship hall' will probably look something like this:

[BrianTH]

Fellowship halls can sometimes be reasonably interesting:

http://cdhpartners.com/best-religious-structure-first-united-methodist-orlando/

CDH architects and interior designers created a modern addition to complement this traditional-styled sanctuary. In April 2012, the spacious fellowship hall was completed. It contains an 82,000 square foot contemporary worship center with a seating capacity of 350. Also included in the design is a 125-seat chapel that contains a parlor, bride’s suite, music suite, adult and children’s classrooms, nurseries, and an administrative suite. Designers placed the parking area beneath the new addition to help with its sustainability while reducing the overall footprint of the project. . . . The fellowship hall was designed to be spacious containing areas where people can meet and gather. It also contains an upscale café and a full service kitchen. An oversized sculpture resembling Stonehenge creates an imaginative divider between the fellowship hall, kitchen, and information desk. It also serves as a recreation destination for children, who play on its painted metal towers.

A custom 16-foot light fixture hangs in the center of the fellowship hall and is highly visible through glass exterior walls, which form a three-story atrium and serves as a signature feature to the new ministry center. At night this striking feature becomes a luminary for the city of Orlando.

And of course the question is not just whether you would prefer a vacant lot, but also a vacant school.

Edit: More pictures:

[Austinlee]

Glad to hear that forest city might finally be planning some development next to the station square T station. That's a great lot.

[Evergrey]

You know that's not what's going to be built. It will be much closer to what I posted (and even if it did look like that... the 'purpose' of the structure is a waste on Grandview). And I'll take the vacant school as well... because some developer would take that over eventually...

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Yay! Just what Station Square needs, more surface parking!

So Forest City is trying to justify these extra 300 parking spots as necessary for the potential 1,200 residential development... something doesn't seem to quite add up. I would think structured parking would be the way to go for such a large number of residents.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

You know that's not what's going to be built.

Do I?

From the article:

"We are in the process of re-envisioning ourselves, much like the neighborhood and the city," Rev. Stumpf said . . . . At the same time, he said, Mount Washington is seeing an influx of younger people. "We have no transitional space for fellowship" without renting a site away from the parish campus, which includes a historic church and the office building with an inadequate parking lot between them. The intention, he said, would be to build a multi-purpose building for social events, the parish's annual ethnic festival, more ministry space and a gathering space for the Pittsburgh Catholic Deaf Community, which is part of the parish. . . . "We have as members of our parish architects, a facilities manager at Pitt and others who are volunteering their time and talent to this."

That's a lot of uses they want to accommodate, and a decent architect could do something reasonably cool. In general I know some people associated with that parish, and I doubt they are really thinking along the lines of a "crappy shed" or "bingo hall" as you have alleged.

(and even if it did look like that... the 'purpose' of the structure is a waste on Grandview). And I'll take the vacant school as well... because some developer would take that over eventually...

"Eventually" has proven to be a rather long time for the vacant lot.

I do understand your concerns, but the fact is that stretch of Grandview is already dominated by relatively low-rise structures, and there is very potent NIMBY opposition to doing anything too dramatic on that particular lot, which is precisely why nothing has gotten done. So holding out doesn't actually guarantee something much better will get done with that lot, and in the meantime I would rather see the school get redone sooner rather than later.

Of course all this is subject to the design for the fellowship hall being reasonably cool.

[Austinlee]

I think a windowless bingo parlor is perfect for Grandview. You don't want the elderly getting vertigo while looking out at the city.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

So Forest City is trying to justify these extra 300 parking spots as necessary for the potential 1,200 residential development.

I thought what they were saying is the warehouse needs to be cleared to make room for the development, and only in the meantime will it be used for parking (ala the Lower Hill/Civic Arena site), and that this whole schedule was laid out in an agreement with a lender. But I agree that one line was confusing. Still, they can't be preserving all the resulting surface parking spots if they are doing a residential development, so I think the PG must have garbled the story.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

so I think the PG must have garbled the story.

Which is usually the case.

[Evergrey]

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...ent-player-eyes-the-region.html?page=all

Another major apartment player eyes the region: Cranberry edition

Add Charlestown, S.C.-based Greystar Real Estate Partners to the growing list of national apartment players scouting for business opportunities in western Pennsylvania.

Greystar, which manages 385,000 apartments throughout the country, is considering a plan to develop a new multifamily project with some complementary commercial space on property on the Northeast corner of Franklin Road and Route 228 in Cranberry Township.
The company declined to talk.

But Jerry Andree, township manager for Cranberry Township, confirmed that township staff has been meeting with Greystar about an early stage proposal on a site of at least 50 acres.

A preliminary plan for Greystar's new project provided by Cranberry Township calls for 288 residential units in a total of seven two- and three-story buildings, with 178 one-bedroom apartments and 104 two-bedroom units. The overall project also inlcudes a swimming pool and carriage house as well as 18,000 square feet of retail. The project's preliminary design includes 529 parking spaces as well as 64 units with garages.

The proposal has not yet been presented to township planning for approval.
“It’s a sizable project they’re talking about,” said Andree.

...

[Evergrey]

This article says Wilkinsburg's population has grown?

http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/neighborhoods/wilkinsburg/wilkinsburg-notes/

Wilkinsburg notes: Main Street designation, new housing on the way

Matthew Wein June 23, 2014 City Design, Wilkinsburg

Since its founding in 2008, The Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation has followed what’s known as the “main street” approach as the basis of its efforts and organization. The goal? Achieving a Main Street Designation for a stretch of Penn Avenue from the Pennsylvania Department of Economic and Community Development’s Main Street Program.

“If you’re designated, you have an ability to get higher grants,” says WCDC Executive Director Tracey Evans. “It will give us access to enterprise zone credits for business, and it really opens up a lot of resources.”

After applying in 2009 only to have the state suspend the process across the board, Wilkinsburg is in the process of applying for the designation again, and its prospects have never looked better. For the first time in over five decades, Wilkinsburg’s population has grown, residential real estate sales are up and workforce numbers have increased.

“To get a designation, you have to show the state a long checklist, that you have a sustainable organization, that you have community support, that you have a pedestrian-friendly, walkable business district,” Evans says, adding that the WCDC is currently working on a community traffic study and an engineering study of the railroad trestle which crosses over Penn Avenue, which effectively serves as a gateway to Wilkinsburg.

...

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

This article says Wilkinsburg's population has grown?

Not per the official Census estimates. Supposedly the decline is mild now, however (probably within margin of error, in fact), and I wouldn't be surprised if the workforce was actually up.

Edit: Some quick numbers:

2000 Census 19,196
2010 Census 15,930 (-17.0% total, averages out to about -327 per year)
2010 CenEst 15,925 (difference is basically April for actual Census, July for estimate baseline)
2011 CenEst 15,918
2012 CenEst 15,910
2013 CenEst 15,882 (cumulative total about -0.27%, around -14 per year, on pace for about -0.9% by 2020)

In short, if the Census estimates are right, the population decline has slowed WAY, WAY down in recent years, and really is not meaningfully distinct from flat. My guess is this is more or less accurate, with population gains in some areas being offset by continued declines in others.