PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II - Page 729

BrianTH · #**14561** Posted **Oct 24, 2015, 12:46 PM**

Assembly-line-style Blaze Pizza is scouting franchise locations in Pittsburgh:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ne...avorite-pizza-place-plans-move-into.html

Interesting comments near the end:

Quote:

Florian said he’d like to be in “all the key markets in Pittsburgh," specifically referencing Market Square, calling it one of the great urban squares in the country. Yet he also acknowledged the challenges of finding locations in the region, something with which other restaurant companies have also struggled. “What’s surprising to me is just how sold out Pittsburgh is in terms of space,” he said. “It’s incredible what’s happening there.”

Austinlee · #**14562** Posted **Oct 24, 2015, 1:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Assembly-line-style Blaze Pizza is scouting franchise locations in Pittsburgh:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ne...avorite-pizza-place-plans-move-into.html

Interesting comments near the end:

Quote:

Interesting comments near the end:

Quote:
Florian said he’d like to be in “all the key markets in Pittsburgh," specifically referencing Market Square, calling it one of the great urban squares in the country. Yet he also acknowledged the challenges of finding locations in the region, something with which other restaurant companies have also struggled. “What’s surprising to me is just how sold out Pittsburgh is in terms of space,” he said. “It’s incredible what’s happening there.”

It's probably because you have to chop the top of a mountain off to make space for new strip malls. Much more expensive than a city like Columbus for example where you just expand outward.

BrianTH · #**14563** Posted **Oct 24, 2015, 3:07 PM**

Maybe Blaze Pizza can go into the Aldi's project . . .

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/dev...itions-to-Aldi-site/stories/201510240063

Quote:

About 4,700 square feet will be devoted to retail, with another 2,350 square feet earmarked for a restaurant, said Jen Bee, a senior architect with Desmone Architects, which is helping on the project.

Anyway, interesting comment about their target tenants:

Quote:

Ellen Levin, the design architect for the project, said the new building and the Aldi expansion are expected to function together, with the materials complementing one another. She said Mr. Odell is expanding because of the interest by tech companies in locating in the area. “A lot of tech companies are coming from the west,” she said. “Instead of wanting to be in a suburban parking lot, they want to be in the city. They want to be able to run down and get coffee and experience the whole urban thing.” Mr. Odell, she added, already is talking to prospective tenants about taking the space, although she did not know whether he had reached any deals. Construction of the new building and the additions is expected to start next spring and be finished in the fall of 2017.

BrianTH · #**14564** Posted **Oct 24, 2015, 3:12 PM**

Looks like Blaze is late to the game:

http://www.post-gazette.com/life/plate/2015/10/22/This-week-s-restaurant-news/stories/201510220192

Quote:

Choose your dough, then your sauce, your toppings, oils and seasonings at V3 Flatbread Pizza, starting tomorrow 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. at 11 Fifth Ave., Downtown, where they’re giving away pizza to the first 100 customers. The shop is part of a national fast-casual flatbread trend such as &pizza, a Washington, D.C.-based pizza chain that opened in 2012 with 14 locations and, thanks to an infusion of $10 million, is growing. V3 is from Varol Ablak of Ablak Holdings, the man behind Vocelli Pizza, the Turkish-born founder who moved to the United States in 1969. Mr. Ablak and his family opened the first Vocelli in Mt. Lebanon in 1988. Rock n Joe Coffee Bar which he also has a hand in, is also scheduled to open this week around the corner from V3.

I might note I ate at an &pizza in DC on a trip back in the spring, and it was fantastic. If V3 is as good that is a great addition.

photoLith · #**14565** Posted **Oct 24, 2015, 11:39 PM**

Photo I took today showing some of the development going on at Carnegie Mellon.

DSC_0224

Steel City Scotty · #**14566** Posted **Oct 25, 2015, 12:16 AM**

Not the greatest quality image, but I snapped this shot of the work being done at UPMC Presbyterian while visiting the Pittsburgh Popcorn Company on Fifth Avenue in Oakland today and thought I would share it.

Minivan Werner · #**14567** Posted **Oct 25, 2015, 12:48 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoLith

I was in Market Square tonight and Poros is finally open, Ive been really excited to see this open as it will almost incircle Market Square with activity and it was packed. Everyone looked like they were loaded with money that was there, which is nice to get a higher brow clientele for Market Square. I saw the Crazy Mocha was closed and looked like that interior space is under renovation, I dont know what for though and I dont know if I just never noticed this before but a Franktuary also is open down Forbes Avenue just off of Market Square. Anyways, heres some photos from tonight.

Great pics. What kind of camera?

photoLith · #**14568** Posted **Oct 25, 2015, 1:22 AM**

The camera doesnt matter so much anymore, as most dslr's are basically the same thing, but anyways, its a nikon df.

JVC · #**14569** Posted **Oct 25, 2015, 10:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Found5dollar

New Planning Commission presentation is posted.

http://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/schedule65/presentation-65-709.pdf

new stuff:

* Renovation of 5900 Penn Ave in East Liberty. First floor retail, second floor offices. Kind of sad they will be destroying the huge mural, but more activity in this area is a plus.

*422 First ave, downtown. First Avenue Lofts.Yet another switch fo an office building to apartments.

*5631 Baum, Aldi building expansions and offices across street. Tons more rendering and plans for this. The Aldi building expansion looks even better, the Garage with a few offices across the street looks just as bad. At least there is retail on the first floor...

*bakery square 2.0 with its nightmarish, seemingly endless, artificially lit hallways comes to second avenue

and in east liberty, keeping it simple and classic is always a good policy

ks2006 · #**14570** Posted **Oct 26, 2015, 3:58 PM**

Wow, Market Square really seems to be constantly improving. It looks like it could become an area a little like Penn Quarter in DC, with a large variety of restaurants and some other nightlife. I think there is even a lot of potential for apt/condo renovation nearby as you head toward the Mon, right?

even though it's not anchored by an arena, its not that far of a walk to Consol. and they don't seem to be making any progress with new development directly around Consol anyway.

Austinlee · #**14571** Posted **Oct 26, 2015, 4:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ks2006

Wow, Market Square really seems to be constantly improving. It looks like it could become an area a little like Penn Quarter in DC, with a large variety of restaurants and some other nightlife. I think there is even a lot of potential for apt/condo renovation nearby as you head toward the Mon, right?

even though it's not anchored by an arena, its not that far of a walk to Consol. and they don't seem to be making any progress with new development directly around Consol anyway.

There are something like 150 restaurants within a 10 minute walk of there. There's also been probably 20+ huge office to apartment renovations in the last couple of years, a couple new apartment towers have gone up along the rivers. So, I think you have described what has already happened. What will happen next is probably just a little bit more of the same.

Austinlee · #**14572** Posted **Oct 26, 2015, 4:42 PM**

What ever happened to Thee Overlooke At West End Pointe?!?

http://www.poharchitects.com/residential_overlook.html

http://www.popcitymedia.com/devnews/westend013013.aspx

GeneW · #**14573** Posted **Oct 26, 2015, 5:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ks2006

Wow, Market Square really seems to be constantly improving. It looks like it could become an area a little like Penn Quarter in DC, with a large variety of restaurants and some other nightlife. I think there is even a lot of potential for apt/condo renovation nearby as you head toward the Mon, right?

even though it's not anchored by an arena, its not that far of a walk to Consol. and they don't seem to be making any progress with new development directly around Consol anyway.

We were down in that are on Saturday night looking for a late dinner after seeing a movie at the Waterfront (where there's nothing to eat) and ended up getting a table at our third choice. Even in the pouring rain, at ten o'clock at night that area of downtown was busy as heck. Tako on Sixth said that it would be an hour wait for a table. Imagine saying that ten or even five years ago.

eschaton · #**14574** Posted **Oct 26, 2015, 5:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ks2006

Wow, Market Square really seems to be constantly improving. It looks like it could become an area a little like Penn Quarter in DC, with a large variety of restaurants and some other nightlife. I think there is even a lot of potential for apt/condo renovation nearby as you head toward the Mon, right?

even though it's not anchored by an arena, its not that far of a walk to Consol. and they don't seem to be making any progress with new development directly around Consol anyway.

I think as great as Market Square has become,it's basically hemmed in on most sides by larger-scale buildings which don't have pedestrian-friendly street levels. So you see spill over onto the far sides of the framing blocks, but not really any further.

The one exception I can still see is Wood Street. The new PNC building took out one side of a block, but there's still one and a half blocks of low-scale buildings in splitting distance of Market Square, many of which are getting facade renovations right now. I could easily see a major resurgence here, but for the most part I think there's greater potential now elsewhere, like the Cultural District and First Side.

BrianTH · #**14575** Posted **Oct 26, 2015, 6:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschaton

I think, as great as Market Square has become, it's basically hemmed in on most sides by larger-scale buildings which don't have pedestrian-friendly street levels. So you see spill over onto the far sides of the framing blocks, but not really any further. The one exception I can still see is Wood Street. The new PNC building took out one side of a block, but there's still one and a half blocks of low-scale buildings in splitting distance of Market Square, many of which are getting facade renovations right now. I could easily see a major resurgence here, but for the most part I think there's greater potential now elsewhere, like the Cultural District and First Side.

Forbes Avenue could have been great all the way up to Smithfield, but we are letting it slip away between PNC Tower and the Point Park student theater. That's a real shame.

Anyway, I think there is long-term potential to tie in the area around Market Street between BoA and Fort Pitt/Stanwix and Point Park. You've got some cool buildings and lots of infill possibilities over there. In fact, that Iron Gate Inn we were just discussing is illustrative of some of the possibilities.

However, to make that work in conjunction with Market Square, versus really being its own thing, you would have to be smart about bridging BoA and maybe also PPG Place. Fortunately you would have those open lots on both sides of Market, along the southern side of BoA, to work with.

Evergrey · #**14576** Posted **Oct 26, 2015, 6:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Forbes Avenue could have been great all the way up to Smithfield, but we are letting it slip away between PNC Tower and the Point Park student theater. That's a real shame.
.

Why wasn't PNC Tower's street-level presence designed to be at least as good as Three PNC's (bank branch, Andy's bar, Fairmont's welcoming lobby)?

eschaton · #**14577** Posted **Oct 26, 2015, 6:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianTH

However, to make that work in conjunction with Market Square, versus really being its own thing, you would have to be smart about bridging BoA and maybe also PPG Place. Fortunately you would have those open lots on both sides of Market, along the southern side of BoA, to work with.

I see that area developing separately as First Side develops a more distinct identity. First Avenue is one of the undiscovered wonders of Downtown, IMHO - easily the narrowest and most intimate major street Downtown. Not much of anything in terms of retail back there but Iron Gate and a Thai place at either end, but with the new Holiday Inn, and the Graphic Arts conversion, there should start to be more non Point Park activity back there. The 300 block is a mess, but the other blocks all have tons of potential.

I think Boulevard of the Allies is honestly the worst single street downtown, however, and I don't see any easy way to fix it. Indeed, I think it's likely that in the city's quest to get cars off of smaller streets Downtown like Smithfield, BoA will get worse before it gets better.