PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Minivan Werner]

Can Federal be reconnected under the Mall? That is through the ground level parking. That would be better than nothing, a starting point for when the Mall is inevitably removed. Don't think there's anything stopping Ohio street from running straight through, though it's a little narrow between the white office building and the garage on the east side.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Minivan Werner

Can Federal be reconnected under the Mall? That is through the ground level parking. That would be better than nothing, a starting point for when the Mall is inevitably removed. Don't think there's anything stopping Ohio street from running straight through, though it's a little narrow between the white office building and the garage on the east side.

Since the garage has entrances on both sides, I would think you could divide it into two garages to allow Federal to pass through.

I've heard (no official confirmation) there is some sort of easement one of the adjacent buildings holds that is standing in the way of restoring Ohio Street (possibly in that spot you mentioned). Of course that is the sort of thing which potentially is subject to a public taking if necessary, although a negotiated settlement would be preferable.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Since the garage has entrances on both sides, I would think you could divide it into two garages to allow Federal to pass through.

I've heard (no official confirmation) there is some sort of easement one of the adjacent buildings holds that is standing in the way of restoring Ohio Street (possibly in that spot you mentioned). Of course that is the sort of thing which potentially is subject to a public taking if necessary, although a negotiated settlement would be preferable.

Mostly a lurker here but figured I'd post my thoughts on this since I walk through Allegheny Center almost every day...

Anyway, I think that the thing you could do which would get the most bang for the buck is to reconfigure the ring road to be two ways. The moat is what makes Allegheny Center the island.

Personally, and I'm probably certainly in the minority, but I think the would be intersection of Federal and Ohio streets is actually a really nice, albeit underutilized, pedestrian space now. The new Buhl Community park(let) is orders of magnitude better than the sunken, post-apocalyptic concrete mess that preceded it. I'm fairly certain that the Children's museum wouldn't be in favor of a reconnected street grid.

I'd certainly be in favor of a re-imagining of the Federal street connection, perhaps a pedestrian/ bike lane cut through which could integrate with the new bike lanes on the Clemente bridge.

[themaguffin]

Sorry if this was already mentioned, just saw this tidbit regarding Sun Air:

Airport provides Sun Air passengers dedicated entry/exit

Passengers flying commuter airline Sun Air Express have gotten their own space at Pittsburgh International Airport.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the details about the Sun Air gate: Fewer stairs to get to and from the small commuter plane plus a cell phone charging station and seats.

Sun Air began federally subsidized service in 2014 between Pittsburgh and several short hops in Pennsylvania and New York, including Altoona, Lancaster and Jamestown, N.Y. The airline flies eight-passenger Piper PA-31 Navajo twin-engine aircraft.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...ay-and-most-in-demand-jobs.html?page=all

[eschaton]

Checking the Pittsburgh maps, the city and/or URA owns all of the parcels which have the paths between Ridge Avenue and East Ohio Street. They do not, however, own the path on N Commons between the two residential towers at the termination of the Northern part of Federal Street, so some deal with Faros would be needed in order to continue the road through there.

Thinking about it, I agree with Lobick here. Many of us who post here (I don't know about all) support the principle of making city neighborhoods, to the largest degree feasible, areas which are not car reliant. Having entire blocks which are accessible almost entirely by pedestrian paths thus isn't a bad thing. It's not like we expect, if we put in a thru street, all of the sudden the area will perk up because people can now drive more easily from Allegheny West to Deutschtown.

Commons indeed does feel like a moat. It should be killed the same way Penn Circle has been (although even that is taking too much time it seems - Station Street and S Euclid still haven't been fixed yet). It's particularly bad the few times I've biked on it. Seems a natural fit for bike lanes, due to the excessive width.

The main problem, with Allegheny Center isn't the ugly mid-century design or even the road pattern. It's that it lacks commercial development. Everything inside Allegheny Commons park is either residential, institutional (churches, schools, Children's Museum, Aviary, New Hazlett Theatre, etc), or office. Even if you live in one of the surrounding neighborhoods, chances are you won't have reason to walk to something within Allegheny Center more than once or twice a week. In a certain sense it reminds me of the "towers in the park" sections of Manhattan built in the same period - it's pleasant to walk around on the ground level, but as it's a commercial desert there's no reason for anyone who doesn't live/work there to be there with any regularity.

The absolute best thing that could happen is if Faros levels the old Allegheny Mall and infills the eight blocks with a substantial amount of ground floor retail. Just a coffee shop and a few restaurants would make a big difference in terms of utilization, IMHO.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Everything inside Allegheny Commons park is either residential, institutional (churches, schools, Children's Museum, Aviary, New Hazlett Theatre, etc) and few office buildings.

Within the Commons, aside from the new involvement of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, this is the biggest potential development news:
http://triblive.com/business/headlines/7803921-74/hospital-allegheny-network#axzz3YRDe6Mpq

I suspect a garage of some sort will almost certainly be built. With pressures on parking in the residential streets already prompting a move to permit applications. The question ultimately will be the nature of the design and what concessions the neighborhood can extract from AGH. In general there is a good relationship between AGH and the neighborhood groups so I'd imagine a deal is eventually reached. The community meetings will be interesting and lengthy though.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Lobick

Within the Commons, aside from the new involvement of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, this is the biggest potential development news:
http://triblive.com/business/headlines/7803921-74/hospital-allegheny-network#axzz3YRDe6Mpq

I suspect a garage of some sort will almost certainly be built. With pressures on parking in the residential streets already prompting a move to permit applications. The question ultimately will be the nature of the design and what concessions the neighborhood can extract from AGH. In general there is a good relationship between AGH and the neighborhood groups so I'd imagine a deal is eventually reached. The community meetings will be interesting and lengthy though.

Wow. My wife's grandmother had care in Kindred when she died last year. I didn't realize it was closed already.

I would not mind if the newer annex was demolished, but it would be a real shame if they destroyed the old core of the hospital. I think only ten old Allegheny structures survived to the present (the hospital building, Allegheny Academy, Saint Peter Church and rectory, the old Post Office/Planetarium now in the Children's museum, the New Hazlett Theatre, and three structures around Allegheny Center Alliance Church). They could demolish the newer wings and still have 3/4ths of the block for a garage, which seems like enough space.

That said, I understand if the community groups want to stage a different fight here than mere preservation.

[BrianTH]

I'm not inherently opposed to pedestrian/bike-only zones, but if you want people to actually use them, typically they still have to look open and welcoming to the public, which usually means either doing something street-like or plaza-like. Relatively narrow, plain concrete walking paths sandwiched between buildings tend to read to people as potentially private places, and things like overhead closures and steps can also be usage killers--and with steps, there are ADA/accessibility issues as well. Of course sometimes steps and such are necessary due to local topography, but there are smart things you can do to make them inviting to the public--and in any event, this is not really one of those cases where topography is the driving force.

So ultimately, I can imagine a successful restored Federal and Ohio which incorporates a bike/ped-only zone. But there is a lot of work you would have to do to get there.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I would not mind if the newer annex was demolished, but it would be a real shame if they destroyed the old core of the hospital . . . They could demolish the newer wings and still have 3/4ths of the block for a garage, which seems like enough space. That said, I understand if the community groups want to stage a different fight here than mere preservation.

I agree with you, and I would think a bunch of different issues could be addressed together. For example, ideally this wouldn't just be a garage, but would also include some mixed-use components, like ground-floor retail spaces, and maybe some office and/or residential. The old building could provide space for at least some of that.

[BrianTH]

Nice article about North Siders taking charge of strategic vacant lots:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2...signs-for-community/stories/201504270009

[BrianTH]

By the way, I saw workers the other day starting demo on the historic buildings Point Park is going to tear down to make way for their low-rise, block-filling, student theater complex.

Pretty frustrating that no one in the local preservation community is willing to actually stand up to Point Park and the Peduto Administration.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Pretty frustrating that no one in the local preservation community is willing to actually stand up to Point Park and the Peduto Administration.

Word.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by Minivan Werner

Can Federal be reconnected under the Mall? That is through the ground level parking. That would be better than nothing, a starting point for when the Mall is inevitably removed. Don't think there's anything stopping Ohio street from running straight through, though it's a little narrow between the white office building and the garage on the east side.

There is an easement that prevents Ohio from being reopened through Allegheny Center without the permission of the owner of the white office building. But the entity with the easement does not want traffic running between its office building and parking garage.

The Children's Museum is on record saying that it would like Ohio Street reopened.

I have no idea if there is a legal obstacle to reopening Federal through the mall. However, I doubt it. The obstacle, it seems to me, would be financial.

[nfalvo11]

Long time reader, but not too interested in posting. It's none of your faults but it's really sad the topics you guys are forced to discuss considering the lack of any really interesting developments in the pittsburgh region (besides pnc tower).

Love my hometown but it's painful to watch the development and population improve at such a snails pace.

Maybe this migration map from the NY times can explain it as it states 74 percent of the PA population was born there, the 2nd lowest migration in the country. The demand in the region is not low but not high either.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/16/ups...ed-states-since-1900.html?_r=0&referrer=

[nfalvo11]

Oh and sorry for the depressing comment, still love the thread! I check in once a month and am usually disappointed that there is no big new developments.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by DKNewYork

There is an easement that prevents Ohio from being reopened through Allegheny Center without the permission of the owner of the white office building. But the entity with the easement does not want traffic running between its office building and parking garage.

I'm shocked that they care that much, given they have a second-floor walkway which connects the garage and the building anyway.

Going through that block wouldn't be absolutely required for connectivity though. You could still drive from Ridge to Ohio and just jog around the parking garage at the end. Not the best layout, but what the Children's Museum did to the old grid pattern isn't either.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by nfalvo11

Love my hometown but it's painful to watch the development and population improve at such a snails pace.

Eh, I am fine with slow and steady growth. Too many "boom" areas these days end up with lots of problems down the road. And as we have discussed around here a bit, there is also a lot more change going on than the top-line numbers would indicate. That already has some interesting implications, and it should continue to fuel positive momentum for a long time to come.

I'm also fine with decent-quality infill as long as it follows solid urban design principles and incorporates creative re-use of cool historic properties--in most cases. I would like to see more ambition Downtown and in immediately Downtown-adjacent areas, but even then I am willing to be patient, again on the belief that we are just at the beginning stages of a long, relatively prosperous, era.

Basically, if you are really paying attention--which is more or less the definition of what we do here--you can detect many entire neighborhoods going through fairly dramatic transformations. That may be less headline-grabbing than more mega-projects would be, but in its own way it is going to be pretty profound.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by nfalvo11

Oh and sorry for the depressing comment, still love the thread! I check in once a month and am usually disappointed that there is no big new developments.

I take depressing comments from former Pittsburgh residents with a grain of salt. Perception does not equal reality. The transformation of East Liberty does more for Pittsburgh than any new skyscraper could. With that said, the developments in Lawrenceville, Strip District, and the lower Hill District will continue to improve the cities vibrant inner core.

[Evergrey]

Thanks for the troll post, nfalvo.

[DKNewYork]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I'm shocked that they care that much, given they have a second-floor walkway which connects the garage and the building anyway.

Going through that block wouldn't be absolutely required for connectivity though. You could still drive from Ridge to Ohio and just jog around the parking garage at the end. Not the best layout, but what the Children's Museum did to the old grid pattern isn't either.

I am surprised as well. The previous owner of the Mall, which talked with PHLF about a renovation, had proposed the idea of opening Ohio all the way and Federal north from Ohio. The idea got no traction. The owner of the office building was uninterested and the LA owners decided to sell the complex. Maybe the new owners can revisit the issue.