PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

So we've discussed it a bit before, but the executive summary is that they put aside money to help the residents relocate, and they are also going to build new affordable housing units nearby as part of the the Mellon's Orchard project.

Penn Plaza is coming down in phases, and apparently all but two of the first phase residents have now been successfully relocated. However, some of them went into the second phase building, so before that comes down there will be a lot more work to do.

And of course finding something affordable for the residents doesn't mean it is always something in the neighborhood. Particularly with the Mellon's Orchard units not being available until later, some displacement is happening.

Yeah, forgive my ignorance. I seemed to remember seeing it discussed before, I just don't remember what was discussed.

In any event, it is nice to see affordable housing as part of the redevelopment taking place. It is unfortunate that some will still be displaced, but what can you do?

And yeah, I'm NOT feeding the trolls here. It would be nice if someone handed THEM an eviction notice...

[Muckk]

Was anyone else surprised to learn that this is sold out? I would have liked to attend yet I neglected to buy a ticket.

Anyone here attending?

[JVC]

City plans to expand park in East Liberty

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/bl...lans-to-expand-park-in-east-liberty.html

[BrianTH]

I love that building on Reedsdale. That is great news on its own, and it would also be great if it helped kickstart more development over there.

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by mikebarbaro

Looks like North Shore Place has replaced 2 out of 3 vacant spots in the new development with Burn a cigar bar and Southern Tier Microbrewery: http://www.post-gazette.com/business/dev...aded-to-North-Shore/stories/201603010056

Just saw this today. I'm not in to cigars but I'm pretty pumped for Southern Tier.

[Jonboy1983]

Originally Posted by TBone7281

Just saw this today. I'm not in to cigars but I'm pretty pumped for Southern Tier.

DITTO!

I love the Creme Brulee-flavored brew they make. I bought it one time at the Giant Eagle Market District, and between my mom and me that bottle was gone that night! They occasionally sell that flavor at Wegman's but I guess it's only a seasonal thing.

[Urbana]

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[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by Jonboy1983

DITTO!

I love the Creme Brulee-flavored brew they make. I bought it one time at the Giant Eagle Market District, and between my mom and me that bottle was gone that night! They occasionally sell that flavor at Wegman's but I guess it's only a seasonal thing.

I have a particular inclination towards Warlock.

[JVC]

Originally Posted by Urbana

This is big. How on earth will they extend that all the way to target???

a better question is why would they want to extend it all the way to target

no one except a handful of local residents knew enright park existed until the penn plaza situation blew up
now it's so important that it needs to be extended all the way to target

not that people always get what they want but it seems the save enright parklet campaign was intended to save their quiet neighborhood park,
not expand it all the way to target

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Urbana

This is big. How on earth will they extend that all the way to target???

My guess is they are mostly talking about a series of small green spaces and such providing some sort of continuity through that corridor. But it could involve a few somewhat bigger green spaces as well. As we have discussed, for example, that area around Eva and Beatty is pretty much a blank slate with lots of publicly-owned land available.

[JVC]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

My guess is they are mostly talking about a series of small green spaces and such providing some sort of continuity through that corridor. But it could involve a few somewhat bigger green spaces as well. As we have discussed, for example, that area around Eva and Beatty is pretty much a blank slate with lots of publicly-owned land available.

planning a business district the size of east liberty without a public square is like designing a house without a living room

the original downtown pittsburgh urban plan was laid out in 1784 and the planners included market square because a city needs to have a public space
in the early 1900's east liberty was the third largest business district in the state and the only thing resembling a public square in the area was motor square garden

[BrianTH]

This looks to be more about the new Larimer park system, but it might be interesting to attend if you have general questions about park plans in that area:

http://www.eastliberty.org/post/park-planning-community-workshop-march-8

[DKNewYork]

Today's NextPittsburgh has a short article with Holly Brubach. She expects the hotel to be open by Fall 2017.

http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/features/holly-brubach-forbes-hotel/

[BrianTH]

Hopefully they do in fact break ground in June. It is a great building.

I thought her discussion of the possibility of a semi-formal local real estate investment vehicle was interesting, but of course that is an easy way for investors to get burned, hence the preference for things like REITs.

[Private Dick]

• Video Link

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

• Video Link

So cool... Love it.

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by ks2006

I think you WAY overestimate the excitement level generated by market districts, and open air markets. It would have very little financial gain for the city, if any at all. Meanwhile you'd have an expensive old , outdated building, sitting there surrounded by parking lots for decades longer.

There will definitely be development in the civic arena site, and it will definitely be better for the city as a whole than a market. You can build a market anywhere. But you cannot expand downtown Pittsburgh anywhere but there.

Eh gg1 might actually have a point there. There's a reason why traditional central markets like Baltimore's Lexington Market, Lancaster's Central Market, Cleveland's West Side Market, and so forth, look so much like train halls of the same era (think King's Cross, Gare d'Est, Köln Hbf, etc ... or Harrisburg's train station among the tiny handful of such relics remaining in the U.S.) -- they're built to have large open interior spaces.

What else needs to have a large open interior space? An arena.

Large central markets are rarely profit centers in and of themselves, but it is definitely true that successful large central markets become destinations that both animate local neighborhoods and entire cities. You don't have to look far to see that happen. Detroit's Eastern Market is certainly spurring revitalization around itself, as are Cincinnati's Findlay Market and Kansas City's River Market. Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market is both a tourist attraction and a critical part of the local economy (this despite being significantly more cramped than most market sheds). You can say the same thing about Seattle's Pike Place Market ... and even in Baltimore, the Lexington Market is very much a dormant giant.

The point here is, don't give up on an abandoned structure without at least thinking it through, and a market is certainly a very creative reuse of an old arena. Heck, think about how different Jersey City would be if this were preserved as a market hall and the rest of Exchange Place developed around it:

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by hammersklavier

The point here is, don't give up on an abandoned structure without at least thinking it through

For the record, this decision was anything but hasty. There was a long series of public meetings, opponents were given the opportunity to introduce alternative re-use plans, there were competing economic studies, and so on.

The main problem was the simple fact the Arena was a huge impediment to redeveloping the surrounding parking lots. You can see that as they are currently preparing the site--they are doing all sort of regrading and introducing new streets that would not be possible if the Arena was still there. This was the result of the Arena being built in an era when planners were basically ignoring any sort of best practices for urban areas.

Another problem was that just maintaining the Arena was expensive, and reconfiguring for other uses would also be very expensive. It was actually a quite complex structure

Old train halls are a contrast in both respects. Generally they were fit into existing street grids, and so the only land at stake is the land they directly occupy. And they were generally very basic structures that could more easily be re-used.

In any event, again, this wasn't a hasty decision. But it was ultimately doomed by the fact that its original planners had ignored best practices, and there was no practical way to preserve it within the context of a good plan for the entire area. Indeed, near the end of the process, the opponents were basically arguing that the development plan was way too ambitious, and that is a bad position to be in (arguing that you might as well save the Arena since there is no way that land can be successfully re-used anyway).

[JVC]

Is Pittsburgh The Next Austin?

http://nreionline.com/finance-investment/pittsburgh-next-austin

"Whether or not the steel capital of the Gilded Age becomes the next silicon city of the Internet Age remains to be seen. But whatever happens, savvy real estate investors will be keeping a close eye on this city of rivers and bridges that attracted robber barons long before it captured the attention of tech giants."

[JVC]

Next chapter in the remarkable recovery of Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood: The trendy hotels come

http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2016/03/the_next_chapter_in_the_recove.html