PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[BrianTH]

They are putting a new awning on the Roberts building, looks like in copper--seems very nice:



The change in the brick mix on North Shore Place is still very obvious--I could clearly see it as soon as the building came into view walking across the Fort Duquesne Bridge--and in general the building still looks incredibly cheap to me.

But Steelers' fans will get to enjoy an outdoor cabana bar, so mission accomplished I suppose:

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

They are putting a new awning on the Roberts building, looks like in copper--seems very nice:

Any chance you saw the awning after the 7/11 sign was removed? There had been some hope that the original metal was beneath the sign in relatively good condition. I learned later that it had been largely removed or destroyed by the contractor who installed the signage that covered the awning. I'm curious how bad it was. The replacement copper does look good.

I wish the URA would sell those two buildings.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Meanwhile, it looks like the final levels of The Gardens are now being framed. Again, live cam:

http://oxblue.com/open/TheGardens

It is not all that tall, but that is going to be a very large-seeming building from the street level.

Wow, the full timelapse video of the steel skeleton is super cool to watch in that link. So awesome and the fact that you can watch Tower @ PNC Plaza on the left. 2rad4me man!!

Also I personally think the massing is awesome on this project. The final design and cladding are not ideal but the massing it going to be a nice complement to the density of that immediate area unlike the upcoming [nearly] universally hated Point Park Playhouse 1 block away.

[Steel City Scotty]

Speaking of Bakery Square, I haven't driven down Penn Avenue in awhile.

Has the pedestrian bridge planned over the road to connect the new office construction with the old been completed yet?

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Yeah, all the renderings I have seen have been a little too crude to get a good idea of exactly how it will look.

Personally, I am hoping it is a pretty good match for the Nabisco building. I like that brick just on its own merits, and I think it would look cool if it all looked as if it could have been one industrial complex (albeit built over time), sort of like the Heinz complex.

However, in some of the renderings it sort of looks like they are going with a darker and more purple brick, which would be a bit disappointing for me:



But other renderings look more promising:

I love the 2D Bakery Square 1.0 building the background. Very much lends itself to Super Mario Bros.

[Urbana]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

However, in some of the renderings it sort of looks like they are going with a darker and more purple brick, which would be a bit disappointing for me:

But other renderings look more promising:

Even the more photorealistic renderings have this same frustrating dichotomy.

Some good:





Some not so good:

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Also I personally think the massing is awesome on this project. The final design and cladding are not ideal but the massing it going to be a nice complement to the density of that immediate area unlike the upcoming [nearly] universally hated Point Park Playhouse 1 block away.

Agreed. It really complements the historic Fourth Avenue skyscrapers on the same block very well.

I'm very interested to see how the cladding looks live.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Urbana

Even the more photorealistic renderings have this same frustrating dichotomy.

I guess we'll find out soon. I drive by a lot--as soon as I see a good chunk of brick up, I might just park and take a look.

[BrianTH]

This article on The Penn notes that in addition to the URA help with financing, as part of the facades deal the ELDI agreed to adjust the selling price down a bit:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...des-in-east-liberty-brings.html?page=all

That's pretty unproblematic as far as I am concerned--the normal expectation should be that developers are going to be subject to a requirement to preserve facades like this, and that should be reflected in (slightly) lower prices for the affected properties.

[BrianTH]

The airport is proceeding with opening up 8-10 more acres for development. This article notes the interesting point that they are piggy-backing on the access road that Consol needed for drilling on airport land, and based on the description it looks like the site is south of I-376 near Route 30:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ne...ity-oks-development-of-acreage-near.html

As usual, while not all that exciting, I do believe airport-related development makes sense for establishments that actually benefit from proximity to an airport. So hopefully that is what this ends up being. And it certainly beats spending billions of public dollars on highways from greenfield development areas to the airport.

Edit: Another article with more details:

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/dev...for-new-development/stories/201503140071

8-10 acres is just a first phase. Apparently the whole site, "Site 10", is something like 1500 acres. Here are what look to be some maps:

[BrianTH]

Not something to be proud of--Pennsylvania has by far the largest gap in public school funding between high poverty and low poverty districts:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/2015/0...l-funding-data-show/stories/201503140060

The results show that across the nation, high-poverty school districts spent 15.6 percent less than those in the group with the least amount of poverty.

In Pennsylvania, that difference was 33 percent, significantly larger than the next-closest state, Vermont, which had a spending difference of 18 percent between the top and bottom groups. Three others — Illinois, Missouri and Virginia — had gaps of 17 percent.

Ultimately this sort of inequality is bad for economic and land development, as it forces parents to prioritize school districts when making locational choices, rather than other factors they would otherwise be considering.

[themaguffin]

Not something to be proud of--Pennsylvania has by far the largest gap in public school funding between high poverty and low poverty districts:

Not surprising since schools districts are often tied to specific communities or a few communities rather than larger areas that include diverse income groups.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

Not surprising since schools districts are often tied to specific communities or a few communities rather than larger areas that include diverse income groups.

Yep--relatively high reliance on local taxes combined with relatively small school districts predictably will have this effect.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by Nomad Bryce

I just wanted to post some pictures of a small development of 8 townhouses on the southside flats that I've been following since I moved here.

In Fall 2013 they started a construction project at the corner of Larkins Way (Where I was living) and S 27th St catty corner to Cup Ka Joe's little garage cafe. Of course, I'm a Big Dog Coffee loyalist, but I do have to admit the little red garage cafe is very cute:



Here was the construction project in Fall 2013:


And here are the town houses now:


I apologize for the poor quality/lighting of my photos.

Are they brick? No.
Historic? No.
Do they have little garages that deprives local street parking? Yes.

BUT

I love that they kept traditional DENSITY in the neighborhood. I also love that despite not being brick, they don't have some suburban bland khaki color shingles. At the same I like that they don't try to fake a brick red color that imitates the actually historic housing. I much prefer these to the post modern house being built at 18th st:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.427699,-...3m2!1sDMoPEtDn9m5cyOXM4mcvfA!2e0!5m1!1e3

Also, whoever is doing Pittsburgh's 3d rendering on Google Maps "Earth" view is amazing, because they have already added these townhouses. We have one of the best city modeling crews in the country in my opinion.

Just wanted to share this little project.

Brian

I'm at Big Dog now as I attempt to avoid the most obnoxious holiday of the year.

I don't understand why the developer made such bizarre aesthetic decisions. One has to try very hard to design such a hideous facade.

Also... the city should follow DC's lead, who I believe has recently banned new curb cuts. (Private Dick can correct me.)

[guyFROMtheBURGH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Also... the city should follow DC's lead, who I believe has recently banned new curb cuts. (Private Dick can correct me.)

As a consultant for developers in DC... I can tell you that they have not necessarily banned new curb cuts in DC, but you definitely have to fight DDOT for any curb cuts, regardless of use. In this instance you pointed out, there's really no reason for a single family home to have a curb cut, especially if there is potential for rear access.

[JVC]

anyone know the status of the Forbes Hotel project?

"Confident that cool people do come to Pittsburgh, Ms. Brubach, a former New York Times style editor, is planning to convert the historic Granite Building Downtown at Sixth Avenue and Wood Street into a 104-room boutique hotel with three bars and a brasserie-style restaurant."

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2...downtown-Pittsburgh/stories/201410240194

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ne...ite-building-to-be-converted-to-new.html

[Topher51]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

Not surprising since schools districts are often tied to specific communities or a few communities rather than larger areas that include diverse income groups.

When I moved here, I found it odd the way the school districts were set up. In Tennessee (where I grew up) and in Virginia (where my wife taught before we came here), each county had their one school district. I imagine the funding varied from school to school based on test scores, need, etc, but nothing like it is here. Two neighboring school districts could be on opposite ends of the resource spectrum. To me, it seems like a antiquated system and I wonder how successful redevelopment projects like ALMONO will be at attracting people in their 30's and 40's with kids when the local district has long suffered and will not get better until people like them move there.

Frankly, I am highly in favor of wealth redistribution to improve neighborhoods and schools in depressed areas... but at the same time, I want my kids to go to established schools that will be an excellent environment for them to learn and grow. Call me a hypocrite, but I'd be willing to bet I am in the majority.

[Topher51]

I drove through Bakery Square and East Liberty yesterday evening for the first time since last summer. It is nice to see all of the development in person, but it seemed like not much was going on the north side of Penn. As vibrant as Centre Ave was, Baum, Penn and the surrounding streets were absolutely dead. Zero foot traffic and barely any cars.

Hopefully the redevelopment will spread into that area, but I'd image a street full of storefronts will be the last to fill up.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Topher51

When I moved here, I found it odd the way the school districts were set up. In Tennessee (where I grew up) and in Virginia (where my wife taught before we came here), each county had their one school district. I imagine the funding varied from school to school based on test scores, need, etc, but nothing like it is here. Two neighboring school districts could be on opposite ends of the resource spectrum. To me, it seems like a antiquated system and I wonder how successful redevelopment projects like ALMONO will be at attracting people in their 30's and 40's with kids when the local district has long suffered and will not get better until people like them move there.

Frankly, I am highly in favor of wealth redistribution to improve neighborhoods and schools in depressed areas... but at the same time, I want my kids to go to established schools that will be an excellent environment for them to learn and grow. Call me a hypocrite, but I'd be willing to bet I am in the majority.

While school funding inequities are a big issue in terms of local property taxes, I am unconvinced they matter much in terms of school performance. The largest studies I have seen concluded that only the locally-funded percentage of school budgeting is correlated with performance - not state-provided funding - suggesting the association between funding levels and performance is really picking up SES variation across districts.

As to Pittsburgh Public Schools in particular, my understanding (as a parent with a child enrolled in PPS) is it is above average for a large urban school system, having both a robust magnet program and a "favored quarter" in the Lower East End with good neighborhood schools. Indeed, the area ALMONO is being built goes to neighborhood elementary, middle, and high schools with performance far above the district medians. So there is no reason to think the schools in that area will totally turn off middle-class families with children.

I do think with the planned higher density there are likely going to be fewer parents choosing ALMONO as an option however. Outside of NYC, few parents put renting in a midrise as their prime option, even if they desire urban living.

[BrianTH]

Looks like Bellevue and Wilkinsburg got enough signatures to put a liquor-license referendum on the ballot:

http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/7909307-74/wilkinsburg-bellevue-liquor#axzz3UXzTUMJz

I definitely think it would be good for Wilkinsburg (my municipality) and in fact we signed the petition.