PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

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.

I'm interested to see how that all develops, but I am afraid Point Park's campus is going to serve to cut First Side up into two distinct halves. The university really owns everything around Wood now and I am not sure it will be possible to maintain a sense of continuity through there.

I've been really impressed with the way the design of Poros pulled Market Square into that alley/Market Street. In contrast, Ruth Chris occupies a similar position on the other side of PPG place, and yet the design doesn't at all have that effect, and last I knew the other side was mostly a brokerage. I'm imagining if there was a Poros-style treatment on both sides of that part of Market Street, and something similar along the 4 PPG side of the plaza (I don't actually know 4 PPG at all--could its first floor be used that way?), suddenly you could have continuity between Market Square and BoA, which brings me too . . .

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.

I'd start with the suggestion of making it into an actual boulevard with a nice median of some sort. Put an inviting, pedestrian friendly "gateway" of some sort into the open lots along Market Street south of BoA, plus the aforementioned Poros-style redesigns along Market Street north of BoA, and it may not be such a psychological barrier.

Whether that actually means that area and Market Square would be part of one thing or two things ultimately would not be so important to me. I just think there is potential there to have a real continuity of activity.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

I might rank Ft. Pitt Blvd as slightly worse.

True. I guess I meant the core of Downtown, since Fort Pitt is the boundary of Downtown. The state of Fort Pitt doesn't actually stop pedestrian activity in Downtown, since there's no reason to walk there (unless you're crossing the Smithfield Street Bridge on foot).

Fort Duquense Boulevard is pretty horrific too, but there's not a single worthwhile thing fronting on it, unless you happen to like CAPA (I don't). At least Fort Pitt has the amazing 200 block still.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

I find the tower's presence along Wood to be equally abysmal.

Agreed. The whole street level is a throwback to the worst of urban design.

[Evergrey]

hopefully it's not Kratsa... developer of turd hotels throughout the region

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2015/10/26/three-finalists-to-redevelop-hunt-armory.html

Exclusive: The three finalists to redevelop Hunt Armory

Oct 26, 2015, 2:52pm EDT

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh has chosen three developers as finalists to redevelop the Hunt Armory in Shadyside, with options including everything from apartments to a hockey rink to a collaborative office space with a climbing wall.

So far, the URA is avoiding discussion of the three developers and their proposals until they get a chance to present their plans to the Shadyside community at a scheduled meeting on Monday, Nov. 2 at Calvary Episcopal Church. But two of the developers confirmed their pursuit of the project as well as that of the third, who could not be immediately reached for comment.

The developers are: Walnut Capital Partners, which owns key property in Shadyside’s Walnut Street business district, is the developer of Bakery Square and is pursuing new projects throughout the city; a joint venture of The Mosites Co. and McKnight Realty Partners, the developer of the mixed-use East Side project in East Liberty working in tandem with a firm that has taken on major historic redevelopments downtown that include Heinz 57 Center and the Henry W. Oliver building; and Harmar-based Kratsa Properties, one of the region’s most active hotel developers.

Gregg Perelman confirmed Walnut Capital has proposed a residential conversion of the building, which would total 105 units.

Walnut Capital is working with a team of downtown Pittsburgh-based Strada Architecture as the designer and with local builder Massaro Corp., which did the buildout on company’s Highland building residential conversion in nearby East Liberty.

Steve Mosites, principal of Mosites, said his firm is pursuing what he described as a combination of an collaborative office environment along with a climbing wall. It’s an approach patterned after Brooklyn Boulders, a company which has designed such facilities in New York and suburban Boston, offering recreation along with collaborative work space with free Wi-Fi for entrepreneurs and fledgling companies.

Mosites is working with Pfaffmann + Associates on the plan.

Kratsa plans to convert the facility into a recreational facility that could include a hockey rink among its amenities.

...

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

hopefully it's not Kraptsa... developer of turd hotels throughout the region

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2015/10/26/three-finalists-to-redevelop-hunt-armory.html

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

hopefully it's not Kratsa...

Agreed. Apartments or office would be fine with me.

[summersm343]

How many tower cranes are up in Pittsburgh right now?

[Gilamonster]

I believe only one; SkyVue apartments.

[photoLith]

^
Uh, for sure not just one, about 5-7; East Liberty has about three, the Gardens downtown still has one I believe or did until just a week or so ago, Skyvue in Oakland, and I believe that new apartment block in the Southside has two.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

I might rank Ft. Pitt Blvd as slightly worse.

Fort Pitt Blvd... one of the least traveled one-way, 3-lane streets anywhere. Functions as a lightly-used, "waterfront" service road.

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I'd start with the suggestion of making it into an actual boulevard with a nice median of some sort. Put an inviting, pedestrian friendly "gateway" of some sort into the open lots along Market Street south of BoA, plus the aforementioned Poros-style redesigns along Market Street north of BoA, and it may not be such a psychological barrier.

Yup... and continue the actual boulevard all the way east through Uptown to Oakland.

Get rid of the concrete Jersey barriers on Allies and Bigelow, so we have actual north and south boulevards that aren't high-speed, no-mans land death traps leading into the city. Do it, and in the case of Blvd of Allies, watch what happens to Uptown in terms of investment and redevelopment.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by photoLith

^
Uh, for sure not just one, about 5-7; East Liberty has about three, the Gardens downtown still has one I believe or did until just a week or so ago, Skyvue in Oakland, and I believe that new apartment block in the Southside has two.

Thank you sir

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

Fort Pitt Blvd... one of the least traveled one-way, 3-lane streets anywhere. Functions as a lightly-used, "waterfront" service road.

You could probably get away with turning it into a one-lane road easily. Turn the lane nearest the highway into a green strip densely planted with trees to help mute the sound from the highway. Then on the other side expand the sidewalk and add a protected bike lane. Since there's no parking there now, I don't see any reason to add parking. You haven't reduced traffic flow at all, and made the street much more pleasant and multi-modal.

I would consider eliminating at least one of the ramps for Market/Wood as well. There's no reason to have more than one off-ramp into town, and there are plenty of other places Downtown to get access to 376.

[Minivan Werner]

Originally Posted by eschaton

You could probably get away with turning it into a one-way road easily. Turn the lane nearest the highway into a green strip densely planted with trees to help mute the sound from the highway. Then on the other side expand the sidewalk and add a protected bike lane. Since there's no parking there now, I don't see any reason to add parking. You haven't reduced traffic flow at all, and made the street much more pleasant and multi-modal.

I would consider eliminating at least one of the ramps for Market/Wood as well. There's no reason to have more than one off-ramp into town, and there are plenty of other places Downtown to get access to 376.

I like that idea. There's a lot of restaurant/retail potential along the river particularly in the block between Market & Wood, but it's not very friendly to really any kind of traffic, vehicular or pedestrian. Bike lane + green strip would be fantastic.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by eschaton

You could probably get away with turning it into a one-way road easily. Turn the lane nearest the highway into a green strip densely planted with trees to help mute the sound from the highway. Then on the other side expand the sidewalk and add a protected bike lane. Since there's no parking there now, I don't see any reason to add parking. You haven't reduced traffic flow at all, and made the street much more pleasant and multi-modal.

I would consider eliminating at least one of the ramps for Market/Wood as well. There's no reason to have more than one off-ramp into town, and there are plenty of other places Downtown to get access to 376.

I'm assuming you're suggesting a one-lane road, which I definitely think could work, especially given the lack of traffic on it now. Though I would keep furthest south lane for traffic and install a planted median on the middle lane, with the lane closest to the sidewalk as a 2-way bike lane. That way, you still get the benefit of noise blocking, more separation from traffic, and more room for a widened sidewalk for pedestrians and outdoor seating, and more room for bike lanes.

[Evergrey]

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...7-picks-texas-design-firm-to-master.html

Riverfront 47 picks Texas design firm to master plan Allegheny riverfront site

Oct 27, 2015, 12:33pm EDT

Riverfront 47 LP, which is preparing to redevelop a mile-and-a-half stretch of land along the Allegheny River, has hired Texas-based Overland Partners as the design firm to establish a master plan for the former Azcon Metals property.

Overland, named by Architect Magazine as one of the Top 50 Design firms for 2015, has developed a practice that has resulted in projects and planning work that has included everything from university buildings ( including one at Penn State University), a resort in Mexico, churches and cultural centers as well as the Texas headquarters of Clear Channel.

Beyond the breadth of the firm’s work, the joint venture partners of Riverfront 47, which includes The Mosites Company and Allegheny Development Partners lead by Aspinwall residents Susan and Currie Crookston, are eager to work with a firm they say has strong experience with sustainable approaches and planning.

Steve Mosites, principal of The Mosites Co., said he first became familiar with Overland because of work the firm did on the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden in Oakdale.
“They do awesome work,” said Mosites. “From a master planning standpoint, I just thought they would be great. They’ve been doing sustainable architecture since the early 1990s. Some of the stuff they brought to the table is really ingenious.”

Overland Partners joins downtown-based Environmental Planning & Design, a firm that designed the Aspinwall riverfront park spearheaded by Susan Crookston that helped to first motivate her and her husband to buy the neighboring 47 acres that operated for generations as a scrapyard.

Crookston said Environmental Planning & Design, which also has done design and urban planning work that includes the South Shore Riverfront Park at the South Side Works along with many others in the region, will also work with Overland. She said the two firms will work toward the goal of having “the green space seamlessly flow together” through the 47-acre site, which extends from Sharpsburg, through Aspinwall and into parts of O’Hara Township.

...

Overland's Clear Channel HQ in San Antonio (apparently Clear Channel has changed their name to iHeartMedia)

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...7-picks-texas-design-firm-to-master.html



Overland's Clear Channel HQ in San Antonio (apparently Clear Channel has changed their name to iHeartMedia)

Wow, that's the HQ of the company that bought just about every radio channel in the country? Pretty average looking.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

Fort Pitt Blvd... one of the least traveled one-way, 3-lane streets anywhere. Functions as a lightly-used, "waterfront" service road.



Yup... and continue the actual boulevard all the way east through Uptown to Oakland.

Get rid of the concrete Jersey barriers on Allies and Bigelow, so we have actual north and south boulevards that aren't high-speed, no-mans land death traps leading into the city. Do it, and in the case of Blvd of Allies, watch what happens to Uptown in terms of investment and redevelopment.

We should tear down some of Ft Pitt Blvd and reclaim the waterfront like they did in San Francisco.

[markson33]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

We should tear down some of Ft Pitt Blvd and reclaim the waterfront like they did in San Francisco.

I was driving by there the other day thinking it would be an ideal location for a capped park above the parkway. Turn it really into a Blvd.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

We should tear down some of Ft Pitt Blvd and reclaim the waterfront like they did in San Francisco.

A deck-park over the highways could be cool.

Edit: Should have refreshed first, but it is in fact a good idea!

A description I wrote five years ago now:

Not the outermost elevated part, but the elevated part next to the existing sunken parts of Parkway East, get lowered down to be level with the sunken part of Parkway East. There is a merge between the Fort Pitt and Fort Duquesne bridge inbound sections prior to Stanwix, and the Stanwix entrance and Wood Street interchange are eliminated. Then all that leveled/sunken portion gets decked over from Fort Pitt Boulevard to the outermost elevated part, perhaps reusing some of the structure of that outermost elevated part.

Those outermost elevated Parkway lanes are eliminated and converted to park, but to compensate, extra capacity is added to the now-level and sunken Parkway East by eliminating the Stanwix interchange and related ramps, plus the ramp from Wood down to the Mon Wharf parking, plus the odd elevated path between Wood and the Smithfield Bridge. So Stanwix, Market, and Wood would all now just end in a T at Fort Pitt Blvd.

The Mon Wharf parking will be eliminated. Part has been absorbed by the now level/sunken Parkway East, and the outermost part, under what is now a deck-park, would be filled in with soundproofing features and amenities--this could be a good opportunity to use some skylights, courtyards, and so on.

[TBone7281]

The proposed huge LED screen that was to be part of the Kossman building renovation has been rejected. Some NIMBY quotes, etc. Basically, it was rejected on the grounds that it would probably end up being a big 🞵🞵🞵 advertisement screen.

http://www.wtae.com/news/Proposed-huge-L...-Pittsburgh-Planning-Commission/36081168