PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[photoLith]

That shit is hideous. Developers and architects need to put a stop to that horrid corrugated metal they love putting on everything, it looks like absolute hell and developers love that horrendous crap.

[Evergrey]

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...om-in-pittsburghs-east-end.html?page=all

Tracking the boom in Pittsburgh's East End

Mar 19, 2015, 2:45pm EDT Updated: Mar 19, 2015, 2:47pm EDT

As Larimer ramps up for $30 million in investment from a Choice Neighborhoods grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Todd Reidbord of Walnut Capital Partners remembers how his firm’s Bakery Square development might have played a small role in helping the community be awarded the major competitive grant.

“What other Choice Neighborhood applicant kicks off their meeting with HUD at a Google office overlooking the community?” said Reidbord, recalling how the Google office at Bakery Square hosted a meeting with HUD officials.

It’s the kind of anecdote that demonstrates the expanding borders of revitalization in the city’s East End as East Liberty’s redevelopment shows signs of maturity and development activity extends into neighboring communities.

Reidbord joined Kyra Straussman, director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, and Mark Minnerly, director of real estate for the Mosites Co., developer of East Side, in a panel discussion moderated by City Councilman Dan Gilman on the subject of the boomtown that the city’s East End is becoming, at an event hosted by NAIOP Pittsburgh.

Boomtown is not an overstatement for what’s happening in the city’s East End right now.

Currently, Mosites, which developed Whole Foods and Target in the neighborhood, is building three apartment buildings totaling 360 units in the heart of East Liberty while Walnut Capital’s Bakery Square 2.0 continues to fulfill a master plan to total 350 apartments along with more than 450,000 square feet of office space along nearby Penn Avenue.

...

[Evergrey]

Sean Luther to lead Downtown Complete Streets effort

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ne...rgh-downtown-partnership-launch-new.html

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...om-in-pittsburghs-east-end.html?page=all

Yes, I would say Larimer is very well positioned for the future being within eyeshot of Bakery Square and Target, etc as evidenced by that awesome $30 million grant.

But northeast of there is a loong way off from rehabilitation IMO. Driving through Lincoln-Lemington a couple days ago and it was horrible. One of the worst areas in the city. Every bit as run down and bombed out as Homewood depsite not being terribly far from all the glitzy new developments of downtown East Lib.

[Austinlee]

I don't know if any of you have seen the new signage on the river side of the Del Monte building. The Big Hearts Pet Brands sign is up. It should be called Big Logo Pet Brands because the lettering is humongous.

In other North Shore news, the new 10 story hotel going up on Federal Street is just at the point where it is overtaking the neighboring SpringHill Suites hotel in height for anyone who cares.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

But northeast of there is a loong way off from rehabilitation IMO. Driving through Lincoln-Lemington a couple days ago and it was horrible. One of the worst areas in the city. Every bit as run down and bombed out as Homewood depsite not being terribly far from all the glitzy new developments of downtown East Lib.

Certain streets are worse off than others, but there are plenty of parts that are pretty well-kept with nice homes. I have two friends who live there and the parts that they live in are basically quiet and suburban.

[Brentsters]

New planning agenda has renderings for the 5500 Baum project. Not the same bland boxes we've been seeing. This and the Morrow City building are similar to the sweet infill Minneapolis has been getting.

http://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/schedule65/presentation-65-695.pdf

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by Brentsters

New planning agenda has renderings for the 5500 Baum project. Not the same bland boxes we've been seeing. This and the Morrow City building are similar to the sweet infill Minneapolis has been getting.

http://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/schedule65/presentation-65-695.pdf

Wow, that's a lot larger than I expected.

Not sure how I feel about the design but it's at least different.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

Certain streets are worse off than others, but there are plenty of parts that are pretty well-kept with nice homes. I have two friends who live there and the parts that they live in are basically quiet and suburban.

You're not going to convince me that Lincoln-Lemington wasn't bombed out.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Brentsters

New planning agenda has renderings for the 5500 Baum project. Not the same bland boxes we've been seeing. This and the Morrow City building are similar to the sweet infill Minneapolis has been getting.

http://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/schedule65/presentation-65-695.pdf

That is awesome! This is what we talk about all the time wishing this larger massing was used more commonly as infill. Modern, sexy and large. This is the shit.

[kenyanpunk01]

New to the thread but been reading for a really long time. I love the passion here for the city. Don't find that many places. So I decided to post a picture showing the scale of the PNC tower and the Gardens (nearly topped i believe?) that I took about a week ago. I really do think they'll look fantastic together from this angle.


also as a bonus, I've always loved the views in PGH. Some cliched...but some with an appreciation for the little things. Hope y'all enjoy.







this might be my favorite building in PGH so far, because the sight lines for your eyes are so pleasing.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by kenyanpunk01

New to the thread but been reading for a really long time. I love the passion here for the city. Don't find that many placed. So Idecided to post a picture showing the scale of the PNC tower and the Gardens (nearly topped i believe?) that I took about a week ago. I really do think they'll look fantastic together from this angle.


also as a bonus, I've always loved the views in PGH. Some cliched...but some with an appreciation for the little things. Hope y'all enjoy.







this might be my favorite building in PGH so far, because the sight lines for your eyes are so pleasing.

Thanks dood! That last pic is gnarly. We have a very passionate set of people on this thread and others who have lots of great ideas on how to make this great city even better. It's an exciting time, and welcome.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

You're not going to convince me that Lincoln-Lemington wasn't bombed out.

Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar has a ton of vacant lots, but unlike Larimer, from what I've seen most of the houses still standing seem to be in okay shape. You don't see that many boarded up homes, or true ruins driving around anyway. Given it's position on the edge of the city, I wonder if to some extent it "went downhill" before it even was completely built out - meaning some of the empty lots in the further streets were simply never developed.

Originally Posted by Austinlee

That is awesome! This is what we talk about all the time wishing this larger massing was used more commonly as infill. Modern, sexy and large. This is the shit.

The only thing I don't like about it is the retail component seems to be an afterthought. It's hidden under a ledge, with no clear place to put signage. If it's some faceless medical office, that might be fine, but if a restaurant or shop wants to go in there it will suck for visibility.

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

That is awesome! This is what we talk about all the time wishing this larger massing was used more commonly as infill. Modern, sexy and large. This is the shit.

It looks like it ate a Motel 6.

[BrianTH]

Nice pics! I agree the combination of PNC Tower and The Gardens is going to be great from Market Square. It is funny that it used to look very open gazing east from Market Square, and now it is all getting walled off at once (in a good way--I think Market Square is made all the more awesome by that sort of "clearing in the forest" feel it is developing).

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by TBone7281

It looks like it ate a Motel 6.

This render is what made me say that:




I'm much more impressed from other angles:

[BrianTH]

I don't know exactly when, but I do think it is inevitable that at some point Lincoln-Lemington will get pulled into the East End redevelopment vortex. The key, of course, is downtown East Liberty--it is is already amazing what has happened there, and yet it still has so much more potential. It is truly like a whole new (although really old) small city is being developed there, such that it is also going to support its own "suburbs", and that is what places like Larimer and (I believe) Lincoln-Lemington inevitably are going to become.

[BrianTH]

I'm not sure I actually like 5500 Baum, but it is definitely different. And I sort of feel like Baum-Centre has become our designated district for largeish oddball buildings that don't necessarily work well on a human/pedestrian scale. As I have previously stated here, I think that corridor is more or less a lost cause in terms of being a classic walkable neighborhood, so my feeling is that as long as the density and uses are good, you might as well give developers a pretty free hand.

[BrianTH]

Turning Downtown into a complete streets showcase makes sense from a lot of angles. It is already a heavily multi-mode area, with the potential (indeed the need) to be even more so. It is also a very manageable size such that you can do something pretty comprehensive without a huge investment. And these days it is also our top calling card neighborhood, meaning that what we do there can become a big part of the ongoing rebranding efforts.

And yet for all that, expect a lot of pushback from those who think that anything but a 100% focus on cars is at best a waste of money, and more likely a socialist plot.

[BrianTH]

Is PMC actually getting started on its Schenley conversion? I think that is significant news if so. Of course 180 units is sort of a drop in the bucket these days . . . .