PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[popstar]

Originally Posted by 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

As a daily reader, thank you for the non-douchy post this time. Hopes for many more of these (and far fewer of the others) in the future

[Captain Crash]

So this new Sheetz development is for our neighbors to the south, but it's interesting...

A recently opened West Virginia Sheetz has new concept
The Morgantown location is a large-scale grocery store and café

UPDATED 11:32 AM EDT Mar 15, 2015

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia —Sheetz is opened a new store in West Virginia, but this one doesn't sell gas.

The Morgantown location is a large-scale grocery store and café on the ground floor of University Place near West Virginia University. This is the first store of its kind for the company.

The 15,000 square-foot grocery store and café concept will serve as the first retailer to offer grocery options in the downtown Morgantown area in several years.

Sheetz at University Place will triple the size of a typical Sheetz store and will provide indoor and outdoor seating for 100 people.

http://www.wtae.com/news/a-recently-open...ae4&Content%20Type=Story&linkId=12896087

This seems like a cool concept. I know a couple years ago Sheetz was kicking the tires on some urban Pittsburgh locations that would be just the standard size stores minus the gas component. But maybe with the small grocery store component added to the restaurant and such, something like this Morgantown Sheetz could work really well Downtown.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by Captain Crash

So this new Sheetz development is for our neighbors to the south, but it's interesting...



http://www.wtae.com/news/a-recently-open...ae4&Content%20Type=Story&linkId=12896087

This seems like a cool concept. I know a couple years ago Sheetz was kicking the tires on some urban Pittsburgh locations that would be just the standard size stores minus the gas component. But maybe with the small grocery store component added to the restaurant and such, something like this Morgantown Sheetz could work really well Downtown.

Sheetz is also opening an urban format store in downtown State College this year:

http://www.wjactv.com/news/features/top-...-store-downtown-state-college-4903.shtml

[BrianTH]

More details on the bike lanes being incorporated into the repaving of E. Ohio Street:

http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/7936229-74/bike-lanes-east#axzz3Udl1jCag

As that article makes clear, it isn't very expensive to incorporate bike lanes when you are repaving a street anyway. So with a modest bike budget layered on top of the City's existing repavement budget, over time you could build up a pretty robust bike network.

[photoLith]

Heres a photo I took last night, the new PNC Tower filled in the skyline quite nicely from the 31st Bridge.

[BrianTH]

Gorgeous photo.

Although as always it could be taller, there is no doubt PNC Tower is doing the skyline a lot of good by filling in the gap that used to be very prominent from that angle.

I also think that because from that angle it is not really clear exactly how far back it is located, and given the design of the building, it tends to come across as a bigger building farther away than it really is.

[JVC]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I also think that because from that angle it is not really clear exactly how far back it is located, and given the design of the building, it tends to come across as a bigger building farther away than it really is.

agreed - it's a very large-seeming building

[Topher51]

Originally Posted by eschaton

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 failed to realize that the PPS are different from the surrounding areas in that they have multiple schools over a much bigger area. It sounds more like the systems I referred to elsewhere than the ones that surround it. Since we didn't seriously consider living in the city limits, I was thinking more along the lines of how districts like Woodland Hills, Mt. Lebanon, etc are organized.

I personally would like to raise my family in an urban home like you'd see in Squirrel Hill or some of the earlier renderings of ALMONO, but I got vetoed by the woman of the house who wanted to live further out. I am glad to hear that those that do decided to move their family there will have good public schools as an option.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Gorgeous photo.

Although as always it could be taller, there is no doubt PNC Tower is doing the skyline a lot of good by filling in the gap that used to be very prominent from that angle.

I also think that because from that angle it is not really clear exactly how far back it is located, and given the design of the building, it tends to come across as a bigger building farther away than it really is.

I was in downtown last evening. The lobby was nicely lit. The glass is so transparent that you can see the wood framing of the windows on the upper floors. From the Macy's garage skybridge the building looks bulky and squat. From Wood Steet and Liberty Ave the building looks pretty tall. It appears the the tower is taller than the K&L Gates tower which is pretty tall by Pittsburgh standards.

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by popstar

As a daily reader, thank you for the non-douchy post this time. Hopes for many more of these (and far fewer of the others) in the future

Originally Posted by JVC

agreed - it's a very large-seeming building

Well that was quick.

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

It appears the the tower is taller than the K&L Gates tower which is pretty tall by Pittsburgh standards.

It is, but not by much... 20 or 30 feet maybe? I'm not sure there are official heigh numbers yet. Last I saw was like 535 for PNC Tower, 511 for K&L Gates.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Topher51

I failed to realize that the PPS are different from the surrounding areas in that they have multiple schools over a much bigger area. It sounds more like the systems I referred to elsewhere than the ones that surround it. Since we didn't seriously consider living in the city limits, I was thinking more along the lines of how districts like Woodland Hills, Mt. Lebanon, etc are organized.

In aggregate, Pittsburgh Public Schools actually performs better than seven other school districts in the county (Duquense, Wilkinsburg, Clairton, Sto-Rox, McKeesport, Woodland Hills, and Penn Hills). Given the dynamics going on in the City and in the first-ring suburbs, I expect Pittsburgh will pass some other districts (Steel Valley, for example) in the near future as well.

In practice though, PPS functions almost as if it's three districts. There's the magnets and the Colfax/Alderdice feeder, where there are gaps in test score performance between black and white students, but the white students score as highly as the top suburban school districts. Then there's the working-class white schools (mostly in the southern parts of Pittsburgh), which are average in performance. Then there's the neighborhood schools for black neighborhoods, or areas which have had total white flight out of the neighborhood schools (North Side, Upper East End, etc).

Originally Posted by Topher51

I personally would like to raise my family in an urban home like you'd see in Squirrel Hill or some of the earlier renderings of ALMONO, but I got vetoed by the woman of the house who wanted to live further out. I am glad to hear that those that do decided to move their family there will have good public schools as an option.

Right now, the area is in flux. The high school, Allderdice, is still well-regarded. And while the local middle school is now majority black, it still gets high marks overall. But Minadao K-5 is having some troubles. Enrollment is dropping. My understanding is a great deal of this is due to issues which were caused when Hazelwood kids began going to the school a few years ago.

That said, the issue should resolve. Minadeo still has high test scores for an urban school, and the feeder zone is almost entirely made up of middle to upper-middle class areas (Regent Square, Point Breeze, Swisshelm Park, and parts of Squirrel Hill). Colfax K-8 just to the north is going through a phase as the "hot urban neighborhood school" right now, however, with enrollment busting at the seams, so it may be a few years yet until things right themselves.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

More details on the bike lanes being incorporated into the repaving of E. Ohio Street:

http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/7936229-74/bike-lanes-east#axzz3Udl1jCag

As that article makes clear, it isn't very expensive to incorporate bike lanes when you are repaving a street anyway. So with a modest bike budget layered on top of the City's existing repavement budget, over time you could build up a pretty robust bike network.

I'm looking forward to the reconstruction of East Ohio Street this year and then the redevelopment of the Arc House mixed use development which is scheduled to be built AFTER the road project.

[Austinlee]

In aggregate, Pittsburgh Public Schools actually performs better than seven other school districts in the county (Duquense, Wilkinsburg, Clairton, Sto-Rox, McKeesport, Woodland Hills, and Penn Hills).

I wouldn't go around using that fact as bragging rights.

Originally Posted by eschaton

In practice though, PPS functions almost as if it's three districts. There's the magnets and the Colfax/Alderdice feeder, where there are gaps in test score performance between black and white students, but the white students score as highly as the top suburban school districts. Then there's the working-class white schools (mostly in the southern parts of Pittsburgh), which are average in performance. Then there's the neighborhood schools for black neighborhoods, or areas which have had total white flight out of the neighborhood schools (North Side, Upper East End, etc).



Right now, the area is in flux. The high school, Allderdice, is still well-regarded. And while the local middle school is now majority black, it still gets high marks overall. But Minadao K-5 is having some troubles. Enrollment is dropping. My understanding is a great deal of this is due to issues which were caused when Hazelwood kids began going to the school a few years ago.

That said, the issue should resolve. Minadeo still has high test scores for an urban school, and the feeder zone is almost entirely made up of middle to upper-middle class areas (Regent Square, Point Breeze, Swisshelm Park, and parts of Squirrel Hill). Colfax K-8 just to the north is going through a phase as the "hot urban neighborhood school" right now, however, with enrollment busting at the seams, so it may be a few years yet until things right themselves.

Could you explain to me the feeder system?

As someone who lives in the city and plans to stay here and possibly have kids within about 10 years I am very curious how the system works.

[Private Dick]

^ Don't waste your time learning about it now. It will change multiple times before you have kids.

[Minivan Werner]

Originally Posted by TBone7281

It is, but not by much... 20 or 30 feet maybe? I'm not sure there are official heigh numbers yet. Last I saw was like 535 for PNC Tower, 511 for K&L Gates.

Wikipedia says 545 for PNC and 511 for K&L Gates.

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by Minivan Werner

Wikipedia says 545 for PNC and 511 for K&L Gates.

I forget where I saw 535, I couldn't find it again. I think they're all pretty much guesses. Maybe I missed something, but I think it's been up in the air since the planned height was reduced from 40 to 33 stories. The SSP thread lists it as 545 and the diagram page says 564. Then again, the diagram page has it listed as being under Cathedral of Learning which is 535 ft. as well. So who knows.

[daviderik]

New Article from Ben Samson about raising our standards for Pittsburgh's new architecture. I couldn't agree more
http://www.thepointofpittsburgh.com/not-...ising-pittsburghs-architecture-standard/

here's a snippet:

...Nevertheless, Pittsburgh has come a long way. The city has re-branded itself as “American’s most livable city” and–under Mayor Peduto’s watch–has been named a “best all-American” vacation by the Travel Channel. There seems to be a new major project popping up every week. We have half a century of pent-up energy, waiting for Pittsburgh to rebound from its dark days of the steel industry collapse. Now that we are finally here, it is time to demand more from ourselves, including from our new buildings. We now have a great system of bike lanes, an impressive restaurant scene and a flourishing arts community. But let’s not forget about the most concrete element of our city: our buildings. A giant rubber duck is nice, but its not very permanent. We don’t have to kowtow to every developer that wants to build here anymore. There are major players from all across the U.S. lining up for the opportunity to invest in our humble city. Don’t we owe it to ourselves to ask for more than boring filler buildings?

Where are the international design competitions for an alternative to the Buncher plan for the Strip? With all of our bridges, why don’t we have one designed by Santiago Calatrava? How about some truly amazing parks along the riverfronts connected by a state-of-the-art transit system? Why do we have eyesore industrial buildings on the south bank of the Ohio, just opposite the Point? Why didn’t we save even a sliver of the Civic Arena?

The whole article is worth a read.

[Austinlee]

^I would love to see a Calatrava footbridge over the Mon river to station square. Where the bridge supports still are.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

I wouldn't go around using that fact as bragging rights.

I'm not saying this is top-notch in terms of schools by any measure. However, it's relatively rare to not see core city schools at the absolute bottom of metro performance. The reason Pittsburgh is near, but not at, the bottom is because it maintains islands of excellence within an overall impovrished school district - as opposed to the other "bad" districts, which are more universally dismal.

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Could you explain to me the feeder system?

As someone who lives in the city and plans to stay here and possibly have kids within about 10 years I am very curious how the system works.

A few years ago, PPS published handy-dandy feeder zone maps. They've scrubbed these from the web now however. Still, I remember much of how the new district "realignment" worked. Most feeder zones now follow neighborhood boundaries. If you are zoned for a give K-5, you will certainly go to a given 6-8, and then a given high school. Or maybe from a K-8 to high school, since Pittsburgh Public Schools utilizes both systems.

Generally speaking, the Colfax K-8 feeder is considered the best in the city. The feeder zone consists of all of Shadyside, Squirrel Hill down to roughly the tunnel, Point Breeze west of Dallas, and a few other enclaves (East Liberty south of Penn Avenue, parts of Homewood, etc). Colfax feeds to Allderdice for high school, but many parents opt out to have their kids go to CAPA or Sci-Tech these days.