PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Some pretty cool projects are seeking state funding:

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/dev...or-Pennsylvania-aid/stories/201502250123



Hopefully not all this is contingent on getting a state grant (I'd suspect the grocery store might be, but maybe not the others).

River Walk is AWESOME by the way. A total redo with residential is very exciting. Similarly, putting the Macy's building to use with an InterContinental hotel is also very exciting to me.

That sounds great.

[Brentsters]

Never heard of the Even brand, but sounds good.

http://m.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog...-is-developing-wellness-hotel-above.html

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Centre just has so much — at street level--fast-food style restaurants, front parking lots, stupid little lawn areas, blank walls . . . . and East Side is bad, the AAA is bad . . . it can hardly get worse, but I really doubt it will ever be an inviting pedestrian street.

Indeed. Thankfully it doesn't really have to be, because everyone along that corridor can walk to a much more pedestrian-friendly business district.

I feel bad for other cities where a corridor structurally similar to Centre (wide high-traffic road without anything resembling a street wall) is basically the best they have for a walkable business district.

Originally Posted by WillyC

However, it is going to be horrendous for anyone that doesn't take the bus traffic wise. It is already so horrid that I refuse to meet anyone for dinner or after work drinks unless said rendezvous starts 7 pm or later. I just don't want to deal with that madness. The city is trying to help with the sensors along Centre/Baum, but so far I've not been able to detect any difference in time wasted in the car.

My only hope is this is a long con by the Mayor to eventually force the mass transit issue in that area of the East End. Buses just aren't going to make the type of people that can afford these places happy. Anyone living in this area is going to get tired of getting smacked in the face by students with their backpacks. They are going to get tired of being late to work cause they watched the 71s drive on by without stopping because they are filled with students. They are going to get tired of having their good clothes ruined on a bus packed beyond what could be reasoned to be legal. I started carrying a gym bag not because I work out, but because I got tired of people ruining my work shoes and just wore sneakers. I've had ties and a blazer ripped by students who think a school backpack should have all the bells, whistles, loops, and velcro for a tour in Afghanistan.

I'm surprised that the 71 continues to be so congested through the corridor. For most people directly in the corridor it's not a long walk to get to East Liberty or Negley Station, which provides much quicker bus service to Downtown or Oakland.

I was thinking the other night that some sort of streetcar which runs a fixed route from East Liberty to Oakland (say going up Center, and down Baum) might make a ton of sense. This is a rough idea. Keep the route relatively small, since it's meant to be a circulator to get students and workers in a high-density corridor into Oakland quickly.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Indeed. Thankfully it doesn't really have to be, because everyone along that corridor can walk to a much more pedestrian-friendly business district. I feel bad for other cities where a corridor structurally similar to Centre (wide high-traffic road without anything resembling a street wall) is basically the best they have for a walkable business district.

Exactly the same way I feel--as the exception rather than the rule in the East End, it is no big deal as long as it doesn't keep the parcels along the route from being developed with a nice, dense, mix of stuff.

And I actually kinda like the irony that it is such a nightmate driving along there. Score another one against the very idea of urban "highways" (funneling urban traffic into a small number of routes is just a bad idea).

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Brentsters

Never heard of the Even brand, but sounds good.

That's awesome! I had actually read a little bit about the Even concept before, which I think is a very smart brand idea (lots of people are very interested in the health and fitness aspects of hotels, but don't necessarily want to pay full luxury prices to get that stuff). To get one so soon in Pittsburgh would be a nice addition to the local lineup.

Edit: Looks like they have a strategy of trying to co-locate with corporate HQs, which makes Downtown Pittsburgh a natural fit:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/20...tels-near-dozens-corporate-headquarters/

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

That's awesome! I had actually read a little bit about the Even concept before, which I think is a very smart brand idea (lots of people are very interested in the health and fitness aspects of hotels, but don't necessarily want to pay full luxury prices to get that stuff). To get one so soon in Pittsburgh would be a nice addition to the local lineup.

Edit: Looks like they have a strategy of trying to co-locate with corporate HQs, which makes Downtown Pittsburgh a natural fit:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/20...tels-near-dozens-corporate-headquarters/

I like that rendering. It looks like a future playstation incarnation.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Some pretty cool projects are seeking state funding:

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/dev...or-Pennsylvania-aid/stories/201502250123

Hopefully not all this is contingent on getting a state grant (I'd suspect the grocery store might be, but maybe not the others).

River Walk is AWESOME by the way. A total redo with residential is very exciting. Similarly, putting the Macy's building to use with an InterContinental hotel is also very exciting to me.

The River Walk complex is awesome. And huge---nearly 100,000 sf per floor. I am still a bit surprised that about half the total square footage is still being used as warehouse space. PHLF has long wanted to protect the complex via easement and also hoped to see the complex renovated and reused, either by the current owners, new owners or by Landmarks itself. Looks like that might happen.

Fingers crossed that this comes together.

[Evergrey]

more details on Oxford's latest proposal...

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...pose-146-unit-apartment-building-on.html

Oxford to propose 146-unit apartment building on Centre for East Liberty

Feb 25, 2015, 3:28pm EST

Oxford Development Co. will present a plan to build a new 146-unit apartment building a short walk from Whole Foods in East Liberty at the March 12 meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

The downtown Pittsburgh-based company, already active with projects throughout the city, proposes the project for 5739 Centre Avenue, a site on which there's now a one-story paint store. Oxford seeks to replace with a new six-story apartment building of 167,070 square feet, according to the agenda for the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Oxford declined to talk about the project.

But the project, which is expected to include two levels of parking, has also been submitted for a $1 million state grant through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program by Oxford, which is calling the project Emerald on Centre.

According to state documents, the project is expected to include 106 one-bedroom units as well as 32 studios and 8 two-bedrooms along with a fitness center and bike shop.

The project would join a host of other new multifamily projects in East Liberty and throughout the Baum-Centre corridor, including a new 100-unit project on Baum Boulevard, the three apartment buildings being developed by the Mosites Co. at East Side, the Morrow Park City Apartments under construction at Baum and Liberty, as well as others.

...

[Austinlee]

Here's a few miscellaneous construction shots i've taken around the city lately.


New buildings on Baum.

Hyatt House:






Morrow Park City Apartments on Baum:




Homewood Suites coming along in The Strip District:




From today; 10 story Holiday Inn Express & Suites on Federal St., Northshore:



View from the Post Office parking lot:



Saw this posted at the Post Office entrance on Federal St. I didn't know Abraham Lincoln stopped here on Northside 154 years and 2 weeks ago.




Progress of Tower at PNC Plaza from Arlington Avenue a few days ago:

[Jonboy1983]

Interesting little tidbit about Abe Lincoln. Given that that happened in 1861, wasn't that Allegheny City at the time? Wasn't there a train station there at the time?

I love the idea of a 5 star hotel finally coming to Pittsburgh, but I'm not so sure about the name of it. It kind of strikes me as something ordinary. Then again, the Sherry-Netherland on 5th Avenue in Manhattan doesn't sound like anything elegant right off and it's a 5-star hotel...

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by Jonboy1983

Interesting little tidbit about Abe Lincoln. Given that that happened in 1861, wasn't that Allegheny City at the time? Wasn't there a train station there at the time?

I love the idea of a 5 star hotel finally coming to Pittsburgh, but I'm not so sure about the name of it. It kind of strikes me as something ordinary. Then again, the Sherry-Netherland on 5th Avenue in Manhattan doesn't sound like anything elegant right off and it's a 5-star hotel...

Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Allegheny City

[Jonboy1983]

Interesting little tidbit about Abe Lincoln. Given that that happened in 1861, wasn't that Allegheny City at the time? Wasn't there a train station there at the time?

I love the idea of a 5 star hotel finally coming to Pittsburgh, but I'm not so sure about the name of it. It kind of strikes me as something ordinary. Then again, the Sherry-Netherland on 5th Avenue in Manhattan doesn't sound like anything elegant right off and it's a 5-star hotel...

Okay... this is a duplicate post thanks to either my computer or this site taking a —... D'OH!

[JVC]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

more details on Oxford's latest proposal...

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...pose-146-unit-apartment-building-on.html

why announce a building project and not release a rendering?
makes no sense

[Brentsters]

They didn't announce it. The information was pulled from zoning board and rcap filings.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Brentsters

They didn't announce it. The information was pulled from zoning board and rcap filings.

State (and sometimes federal) grant applications often seem to be the first "public announcement" of interesting details about major projects, I suppose because developers often want to get applications submitted pretty early in the process, but need to put enough enticing stuff into the application to have a chance at competing for a grant.

[WillyC]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I'm surprised that the 71 continues to be so congested through the corridor. For most people directly in the corridor it's not a long walk to get to East Liberty or Negley Station, which provides much quicker bus service to Downtown or Oakland.

I was thinking the other night that some sort of streetcar which runs a fixed route from East Liberty to Oakland (say going up Center, and down Baum) might make a ton of sense. This is a rough idea. Keep the route relatively small, since it's meant to be a circulator to get students and workers in a high-density corridor into Oakland quickly.

Still horribly congested. I live near Melwood and at least twice a week I want to chuck my water bottle at the bus as it goes screaming by without stopping. Then I see that it is packed to the brim and that the driver has probably already gone over some legal limit with people stacked up next to him, well past the yellow line at the front. So I can't blame him. I can only blame the transit authority for poor planning with that route. The problem is also the students. I understand they need to get to class too, but the crazy size of some of their backpacks is like adding another person or two to the bus.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Here's a few miscellaneous construction shots i've taken around the city lately. . . .

From today; 10 story Holiday Inn Express & Suites on Federal St., Northshore:



View from the Post Office parking lot:

You can already feel how that building is going to help reduce the psychological barrier of the highway/tracks/underpass. Fill in the corners on the northern side (including a redevelopment of the Post Office site) with similar buildings, and maybe cut Federal through Allegheny Center with taller structures alongside it too, and it would create even more of a sense of continuity.

[BrianTH]

Pretty nice promotional video from the Wilkinsburg CDC:

https://vimeo.com/120155176

But it would help to get the liquor license referendum passed:

https://files.ctctcdn.com/b5d68e90401/5ae63277-5b59-481a-b9a7-2305ec948c44.pdf

[BrianTH]

So if a grocery store goes into PPG, it might be from the East End Food Coop:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2...ore-for-development/stories/201502260097

With business brisk, the co-op is seeking to expand its reach. Mr. Pizzella noted that about 50 percent of its 11,000 members live 5 miles or more from the store. . . . The co-op is “early on” in its talks with Highwoods, he added. It is looking at a 15,000- to 20,000-square-foot space in 2 PPG, more than triple the size of its 4,500-square-foot East End store, which would remain open. At PPG, the co-op has hopes of “taking the existing format to another level.” It plans to emphasize fresh natural and organic foods and expand its prepared food selection, while also offering fresh meat and staples like milk, cheese, eggs and butter. As in the East End store, the PPG location would have a vegetarian cafe and coffee and juice bars. “I think we can bring something pretty unique down there,” Mr. Pizzella said.

That could actually work really well Downtown, particularly if their prepared foods were competitive.

[BrianTH]

Courtesy of Chris Briem, some very interesting material in this report (it is interesting in general, but also specifically as to Pittsburgh):

http://cityobservatory.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Surging-City-Center-Jobs.pdf

Tables 7 and 13, with accompanying text, are particularly notable. Basically, as in a lot of U.S. cities (outside of places like SF, NYC, and actually Minneapolis), before 2007 employment growth was faster in Pittsburgh's periphery versus the core (the core is defined as within 3 miles of the center of the CBD, and the periphery is everything outside of that, which is actually sort of a conservative measure for Pittsburgh, since here that will miss large portions of the East End such as Squirrel Hill, the Baum-Centre corridor, and Greater East Liberty, but include lots of southern/western lightly-developed and/or mostly residential areas). Since 2007, it has been faster in the core than the periphery.

According to this report, what has been going on is that changing composition of jobs has relatively favored core growth, but before 2007 core areas were nonetheless often at a stark competitive disadvantage in attracting employers. Since 2007 that competitive disadvantage has either greatly reduced (as in Pittsburgh) or actually reversed, which is allowing the ongoing changing composition of jobs (which in fact is even more strongly favoring core areas since 2007) to dominate in favor of core growth.

Obviously if this continues (and there are many reasons to believe it will, including that this is the sort of thing that can actually feed on itself), then it has lots of potential implications for local development--both workplace directly, and residential and retail indirectly. Of course it would be overinterpreting all this to say the periphery is entirely dead--note, for example, that by their measure only about 21% of Pittsburgh employment is core versus 79% periphery, so even slower growth rates in the periphery can add up to decent growth in gross terms. But for those drawing on pre-2007 experience and concluding that all this core area development represents an unsustainable bubble, this sort of study suggests that instead these developers might have a pretty good idea where the action is going to be for quite a while to come.