PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[JVC]

Originally Posted by GeneW

It works for me.

yep, it's fixed which is a good thing

ever since they changed their concept their yelp ratings have suffered

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-livermore-pittsburgh?sort_by=date_desc

thing is the livermore is located on a prominent corner in east liberty
so it's important for the neighborhood that they continue to stay open

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by eschaton

This is a little down in the weeds, but I noticed that the City Planning is finally posting not only the planning and zoning commission reports, but also those of the historic review and art commissions. The HRC reports have a lot of interesting information (at least to me) but I'm not about to go back and read through a years worth of archived reports or anything.

This isn't new, the HRC minutes have been posted on the city's website for at least the last few years. I'm in there quite a few times for various projects on our house. I think that we've had to present before the board three times now: once for a porch demolition and replacement, a new fence and gate along the front of the garden and a new man-door into the garage. We've also gotten "over-the-counter" approval for a few other projects in the past but they've gotten stricter these days about making you come in and present your project to the board.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by GeneW

This isn't new, the HRC minutes have been posted on the city's website for at least the last few years. I'm in there quite a few times for various projects on our house. I think that we've had to present before the board three times now: once for a porch demolition and replacement, a new fence and gate along the front of the garden and a new man-door into the garage. We've also gotten "over-the-counter" approval for a few other projects in the past but they've gotten stricter these days about making you come in and present your project to the board.

Looking over the site, I might have been confused in the past, because the archive covers all meetings from 2007-2013, while the schedule covers 2014 and on.

Honestly, it sounds like the process needs to be reformed in some way. If the commission is bogged down in such minor details of residential properties, it will make it very unwieldy to consider the creation of entirely new historic districts (which is something I think the City should consider. Maybe some system where smaller projects go in front of a smaller committee dealing with the particular historic district, only being shunted to the main commission if there is an appeal?

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Looking over the site, I might have been confused in the past, because the archive covers all meetings from 2007-2013, while the schedule covers 2014 and on.

Honestly, it sounds like the process needs to be reformed in some way. If the commission is bogged down in such minor details of residential properties, it will make it very unwieldy to consider the creation of entirely new historic districts (which is something I think the City should consider. Maybe some system where smaller projects go in front of a smaller committee dealing with the particular historic district, only being shunted to the main commission if there is an appeal?

Bogged down? That's their whole reason for existence. Those were major changes to the street face of my house and I whole-heartedly agreed that they should have been reviewed before they were implemented. There's no point in having a historic district if no one is policing it.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Bogged down? That's their whole reason for existence. Those were major changes to the street face of my house and I whole-heartedly agreed that they should have been reviewed before they were implemented. There's no point in having a historic district if no one is policing it.

Is Manchester part of the historic district or is it Allegheny West specifically?

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Is Manchester part of the historic district or is it Allegheny West specifically?

Manchester has it's own district as does Deutschtown and The Mexican War Streets. None of the districts are quite contiguous with the neighborhoods borders. For instance, the AW district doesn't cover most of North Ave and the western most half block of Beech.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Manchester has it's own district as does Deutschtown and The Mexican War Streets. None of the districts are quite contiguous with the neighborhoods borders. For instance, the AW district doesn't cover most of North Ave and the western most half block of Beech.

All maps here:

http://pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/zoning/historic-preservation

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Bogged down? That's their whole reason for existence. Those were major changes to the street face of my house and I whole-heartedly agreed that they should have been reviewed before they were implemented. There's no point in having a historic district if no one is policing it.

My point is if the number of historic properties tripled (which I think it should) that level of attention to detail on the part of the existing Historical Review Commission would probably be impossible.

More broadly speaking, presuming resources are limited it's probably more in the interest of the city to protect a larger number of properties to a limited degree than a great number of properties to a comprehensive level.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Lobick

All maps here:

http://pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/zoning/historic-preservation

Interesting.

"Historic District Maps

Allegheny Commons Parks
Allegheny West
Alpha Terrace
Deutschtown
East Carson
Manchester
Market Square
Mexican War Streets
Murray Hill Avenue
Oakland Civic Center
Oakland Square
Schenley Farms"



I had to look up Alpha Terrace.

[JVC]

excellent article about the need for public development in east liberty

http://1839mag.com/pittsburgh/concern-fo...love-the-future-of-the-new-east-liberty/

"Bridging cultures is organic to East Liberty. We simply need to make room, make space for them – squares, gardens, music cafes, Sunday brunch, events, galleries, studios, and so on."

[BrianTH]

I was hoping a non-paywall version of this would pop up, but another new brewery is coming to the North Side (Spring Hill):

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ne...hs-of-protests-zoning-board-brewery.html

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Interesting commentary about being ambitious when it comes to public transit projects:

http://buildingpittsburgh.com/2015/12/14/lets-raise-the-vision/

I thoroughly enjoyed reading that. I love how it suggests just coming up with the necessary funds to plan and erect the adequate transit infrastructure needed come 2030. In that regard, I doubt a BRT line along 5th Avenue would adequately handle the ridership demand for that corridor.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I was hoping a non-paywall version of this would pop up, but another new brewery is coming to the North Side (Spring Hill):

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ne...hs-of-protests-zoning-board-brewery.html

Yet ANOTHER business coming to Spring Hill. Just kidding, besides Meme's Market this would be about the only one. Lol. It sounds interesting to me, I will check it out.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Yet ANOTHER business coming to Spring Hill. Just kidding, besides Meme's Market this would be about the only one. Lol. It sounds interesting to me, I will check it out.

Supposedly that property has a banquet hall and bowling alley, so at least it could potentially check a few boxes just by itself.

[BrianTH]

Some food-related stuff from NextPittsburgh . . .

Smallman Galley, a cool restaurant incubator concept, is opening in the Strip:

http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/eatdrink/e...ds-four-more-reasons-to-visit-the-strip/

Smallman Galley encourages you to think “and” rather than “or,” with a communal setup based on European food halls. Diners can order from any or all of the restaurants, then grab wine, local beer and cocktails from a central bar (run by Will Groves). The space will be constantly changing as chefs refine and rework their concepts—and after a year and a half, a new crop of hungry chefs will take over.

The same article also notes the Ace Hotel will have mini bottles of Wigle in their mini bars, which is cool.

Meanwhile, Zagat used to more or less ignore Pittsburgh, and now it is their #1 food city of 2015:

http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/pittsburgh...ed-the-1-top-food-city-of-2015-by-zagat/

To compile the list, Zagat asked its editors around the country to “make a case for the city they believe had the biggest year in food by examining at the caliber of new openings, award-recognition and national media attention had by each, be it their home turf or elsewhere.” . . . “While hefty Italian bread sandwiches from Primanti Bros. remain musts on the Pittsburgh culinary circuit, as of late it’s an abundance of more refined food glories that Steel City is becoming known for. Consider the don’t-mistake-it-for-Brooklyn neighborhood Lawrenceville, where as of this year, locals now eat fried chicken and carrot slaw sandwiches for lunch at the Vandal, then jamon croquetas with leek ash aioli for dinner at Morcilla (pictured), chef Justin Severino’s low-key Spanish follow-up to Cure. Chaz & Odette, with its jerk pork and yam coulis, debuted in Shadyside, just as Station made its mark on Bloomfield with dishes like miso-poached apple,” says Zagat writer Alia Akkam. “Downtown, well-known restaurateur Richard Deshantz opened täkō, serving chorizo and Wagyu short rib tacos alongside newfangled tequila cocktails. Perhaps the most robust symbol of Pittsburgh’s ascent is the arrival of a retro-utilitarian Ace Hotel, home to acclaimed Brooklyn butcher Brent Young’s just-opened Whitfield. Bethany Zozula and pastry chef Casey Shively—who also did time in New York at Del Posto—are the stars of the female-fueled kitchen, turning out Americana-inspired creations like rabbit accompanied by semolina gnocchi and parsnip bread smothered in whipped Pennsylvania honey. With its geography straddling both the East Coast and the Midwest (likelihood of poaching more chefs from those areas = high), this town is poised for even more exciting things in 2016,” Akkam adds.

Note the mention of the Ace Hotel again--as expected, that is the sort of brand that pays off in terms of media mentions.

[BobMcKelvin]

Originally Posted by JVC

excellent article about the need for public development in east liberty

http://1839mag.com/pittsburgh/concern-fo...love-the-future-of-the-new-east-liberty/

"Bridging cultures is organic to East Liberty. We simply need to make room, make space for them – squares, gardens, music cafes, Sunday brunch, events, galleries, studios, and so on."

Great article.

In the recent past, do you believe there is a specific location where we missed a great opportunity to put this idea to work?

I am familiar with East Liberty, but not as intimately as many on this board are. I know there are several surface lots within "Penn Circle" that could be preserved for green space, but I believe much of the core and the main arteries are pretty well established. It's kind of hard to create a centrally located plaza in an already-built environment, no?

But I am probably not aware of some great candidates...I disagree with the removal of Enright Parklet and I certainly agree that a pedestrian plaza should be incorporated by closing some streets to traffic like was discussed several pages ago, but that's not necessarily something we need to do right now or we miss our chance as the article would suggest.

[eschaton]

It's interesting to me there are now three different breweries in the works for the North Side. This will mean the North Side will have four. In contrast, even though the East End of the city is much larger and unarguably more developed, outside of Lawrenceville I think East End and Copper Kettle are the only true microbreweries. When you factor in Millvale now having two popular breweries (one of which is amazing), the Allegheny is really turning into the "microbrew corridor" of Pittsburgh.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by eschaton

It's interesting to me there are now three different breweries in the works for the North Side. This will mean the North Side will have four. In contrast, even though the East End of the city is much larger and unarguably more developed, outside of Lawrenceville I think East End and Copper Kettle are the only true microbreweries. When you factor in Millvale now having two popular breweries (one of which is amazing), the Allegheny is really turning into the "microbrew corridor" of Pittsburgh.

Very true, I've also thought this as well. However, the Mon has quite a few as well (Brew gentleman, voodoo, hofbrahaus, and copper kettle is right up from the river).

Just curious, do you like Grist or draai lagg more?

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by eschaton

It's interesting to me there are now three different breweries in the works for the North Side. This will mean the North Side will have four. In contrast, even though the East End of the city is much larger and unarguably more developed, outside of Lawrenceville I think East End and Copper Kettle are the only true microbreweries. When you factor in Millvale now having two popular breweries (one of which is amazing), the Allegheny is really turning into the "microbrew corridor" of Pittsburgh.

Originally Posted by speagles84

Very true, I've also thought this as well. However, the Mon has quite a few as well (Brew gentleman, voodoo, hofbrahaus, and copper kettle is right up from the river).

Just curious, do you like Grist or draai lagg more?

Grist House Brewing is seriously perfection. I went one time this summer and was blown away.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/pittsburgh...ed-the-1-top-food-city-of-2015-by-zagat/

Note the mention of the Ace Hotel again--as expected, that is the sort of brand that pays off in terms of media mentions.

Forumer AaronPgh who works at Ace is throwing a NYE party there with some great DJ's. Anyone who wants to check out Pittsburgh's hottest new hotel should probably go check it out then. I plan on going with my girlfriend.