PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by speagles84

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

I've loved everything I've had from Draai Lagg, but I'm a big fan of Belgian-styled and spiced/seasoned beers, so I'd of course be really partial.

Not to slag on Grist House, I just haven't seen any of their beer around town, and as a parent I mostly only get to drink beer now when I go out to a "family friendly" restaurant (usually Mad Mex or Double Wide) or get a six to go from Atlas Bottle Works. I sometimes see Draai Lagg's beer at all these places - never see Grist House.

[Austinlee]

Vivien Li's vision for a 24/7 Riverfront

http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/features/vivien-li-vision-247-pittsburgh-riverfront/

[Evergrey]

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ne...age-green-celebrates-the-opening-of.html

First look: Village Green celebrates the opening of Morrow Park City Apartments in Bloomfield

Dec 16, 2015, 12:15pm EST

Jonathan Holtzman and his suburban Detroit-based Village Green Associates were celebrating the initial opening of the company’s first apartment complex in Pittsburgh and he was already vowing to pursue three more here.

The company held an opening celebration at the Morrow Park City Apartments in Bloomfield at the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Baum Boulevard, a 213-unit complex that cost about $50 million to build. It includes features such as floor-to-ceiling windows, a lobby and common areas worthy of a hotel and an indoor-outdoor swimming pool and hot tub still under construction.

Village Green has opened the first 80 apartments in the building to tenants and has leased half of them, the company reports, With the complex expected to be fully completed in the Spring, Village Green is also working towards finishing a larger project at the SouthSide Works the company also projects will be fully finished next year.

“We’ve got our eyes on the other third and fourth and fifth,” said Holtzman, CEO of the company founded by his grandfather. “All we need is to prove out that Pittsburgh is a great place to live.”

While he wouldn’t divulge specifics on new projects in the pipeline, Holtzman acknowledged eying downtown as well as a broad goal of distributing five major apartment complexes throughout the city for a Village Green that has grown into one of the largest multifamily operators in the country.

...

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/ne...age-green-celebrates-the-opening-of.html

It's a nice building. I think Village Green does a good job.

[Gilamonster]

Looks like maybe a small crane is about to go up on the Distrikt hotel site:

[BrianTH]

I also agree Morrow Park was a nice project, and I'll be looking forward to their future projects.

[JVC]

the beauty of green building, stormwater mitigation and the importance of "keeping the water out of our sewers"

before


after

[Ed007Toronto]

BIG Cements North American Presence with Pittsburgh Master Plan
http://skyrisecities.com/news/2015/12/big-cements-north-american-presence-pittsburgh-master-plan

[BrianTH]

There is a bit of buzz about the Parking Authority selling to the URA a parcel for the Mellon's Orchard project at below assessed value:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...ority-selling-lot-at-one-third-3-2m.html

The URA's argument is that with the lower-income housing component to the development plan, the price is at value (and apparently they have an appraisal to that effect).

Personally--since it is two local public authorities, the only real stakes here are who gets a little extra money in their account. And between the two I am fine with it being the URA.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

There is a bit of buzz about the Parking Authority selling to the URA a parcel for the Mellon's Orchard project at below assessed value:

I think they're referring to the appraised value, not the assessed value, because the parcel in question was only assessed as being worth $55,000.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I think they're referring to the appraised value, not the assessed value, because the parcel in question was only assessed as being worth $55,000.

That does seem correct.

[BrianTH]

The Quality Suites in Green Tree (which had been getting horrible reviews prior to its closure) is being converted into an apartment complex ("Terrain"):

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...e-hotel-slated-to-become-apartments.html

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/apa/5365650701.html

[JVC]

seems like development discussion has stalled on this forum - maybe it's the usual holiday slowdown or maybe it's something more serious

Pennsylvania unemployment rate declines slightly, but outlook grim

"Most of the losses in November came from construction companies, which cut 4,600 people from payrolls as the building season ended. It was a surprisingly sharp decline from an industry that until recently has had strong employment gains, said Mark Price, an economist at the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg."

http://triblive.com/business/headlines/9651774-74/pennsylvania-rate-state#ixzz3urtnRxaq

construction employees, month over month change, seasonally adjusted, pennsylvania


construction employees, seasonally adjusted, pittsburgh msa with significant support levels

[themaguffin]

People are busy doing the holidays and it's not a time of much news.

No, it's not something "more serious."

[photoLith]

I personally have been working insane hours at my new job so haven't had any time really to look at the forum.

[eschaton]

Has anyone been down the stretch of Penn Avenue where the Midwife Center is? I heard they have a rendering up of the new apartments they are building, but I haven't seen it myself. I guess it's too small of a project to go to the Pittsburgh Planning Commission.

[eschaton]

There's two zoning board schedules up for next year already. The January 7th is entirely boring 🞵🞵🞵🞵, but the January 14th has some small, but interesting things.

1. Two infill new-construction houses in West Deutschtown. The second is asking for a lot of variances (including no off-street parking) so I'm unsure if it will be built.

2. A vacant storefront on Baum in East Liberty (next to Tana) will be turned into a restaurant.

3. Seven new infill houses on 38th street in Lower Lawrenceville. The site is in the forgotten portion of the neighborhood, between Penn and Liberty. I'm disappointed to see they're going with detached houses (zoning doesn't require it there), along with the integral parking. On the other hand, at least the setbacks being requested are minimal.

4. It looks like the plans to transform the old Morningside School into 46 senior apartments are still going forward.

[JVC]

the new ace hotel seems to be attracting a crowd which is not surprising

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/acehotelpittsburgh/

has anyone figured out if they have a parking lot or valet parking?

[Evergrey]

http://triblive.com/news/editorspicks/9461380-74/pittsburgh-companies-kazimi

Pittsburgh shines as beacon of opportunity for tech firms

By Tom Fontaine
Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, 9:00 p.m.

Pittsburgh was not on Jeh Kazimi's radar when he eyed North American expansion for his tech startup, Breezie. Then he met an executive from an Ohio-based private equity fund who grew up near Pittsburgh.

“People who were born here or lived here, no matter where they are in the world, have such a strong connection to this place. They love to talk about it. That's how we got to know about Pittsburgh, and I'm glad we did,” said Kazimi, an India-born entrepreneur from London who splits his time between the United Kingdom and Pittsburgh.

Tom Link, director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, said such “serendipity” goes only so far in economic development.

“Once you make that connection with a company, you have to be in a position to accept it and help it flourish,” Link said.

Technology-related companies appear to be flourishing.

About 300,000 workers in tech-related jobs across the 13-county Western Pennsylvania region made a combined $21 billion in 2013, or 34 percent of the region's total wages, according to a Pittsburgh Technology Council report this year. That represented the highest share in at least 15 years and an increase of more than 15 percent from 2010, council findings show.

“There is a plurality of development-related projects being driven by the growth of the technology industry and what's occurring in our tech corridor in Oakland,” said Kevin Acklin, chief of staff and chief development officer for Mayor Bill Peduto.

He pointed to $1 billion in anticipated development at a former Hazelwood mill site along the Monongahela River, just downhill from Oakland.

For Breezie, a startup that makes tablets user-friendly for senior citizens and others, Pittsburgh is an ideal location.

Kazimi said it offers easy access to brainpower at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning that are critical to his product; the region's large health systems, insurers and senior care providers; and other large markets throughout the Northeast, Midwest and South.

Kazimi recently launched Breezie's operations out of a Forbes Avenue building in Oakland where multiple startups share office space, though he spends much of his time in the United States on the road.

“I-79 is sort of my new best friend,” said Kazimi, who lives in Squirrel Hill.

He plans to hire 30 to 40 employees in the company's first year in Pittsburgh. None would be imported from the London operation.

“I'm meeting candidates almost every single day now. They are very high-caliber,” Kazimi said.

...

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/dev...sburghs-development/stories/201512200097

Riverfront spaces have become epicenter of Pittsburgh’s development

December 21, 2015 12:00 AM

...

The biggest is the $1 billion redevelopment of the former LTV Coke Works along the Monongahela in Hazelwood into a mix of offices, housing, and research and development space, all built around cutting-edge environmental standards.

In the Strip District, Oxford Development Co. has completed the first of four office buildings at 3 Crossings, a $160 million mixed-use development that will include 300 apartments and a 575-space multimodal transportation facility.

A few blocks away, the Buncher Co. has initiated its $450 million Riverfront Landing project, with plans to turn acres of parking into offices and apartments.

New apartments also are in the works at Station Square, on the North Shore and in Lawrenceville, with new office buildings planned at SouthSide Works and the North Shore. Pittsburgh Technology Center soon may be home to apartments and a hotel.

With most projects will come plans for expanded riverfront trails and other features.

Riverfronts were once treated as orphans, but developers and businesses now see them as great amenities for employees, said Steven Quick, an adjunct professor of architecture and a research fellow with the Remaking Cities Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

Mr. Quick helped put together the Allegheny Riverfront Vision plan, a blueprint for redevelopment of 80 acres stretching from the Strip District to Lawrenceville initiated by former mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

He hopes the plan will push waterfront neighborhoods to turn themselves “inside out,” seeing the river as a front door rather than the back end.

Matthew Galuzzo, executive director of the Lawrenceville Corp., has said the Foundry at 41st project — a $35 million residential development at a former 19th-century foundry site featuring 182 luxury apartments — represented some of the first fruits of the plan.

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