PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[AFW523]

Millennials are being retained

Cost of living! Rust Belt Chic! Bike trails!

But no really, a 6.3 point bump is a nice stat to pimp and corroborates the eye ball test most anywhere you go in the city.
The next step is developing a strategy to retain them beyond their yuppie years.

[highlander206]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Sorry, this isn't really development related but I was downtown this evening and tonight shooting the Regatta and was walking around Markets Square when all the sudden about 1500 teens from rival high schools or some — amassed upon it. From about 6-11 they were running wild through downtown beating the — out of each other and random people. It was the most insane and idiotic thing I've ever seen. The cops tried to be hands off but that didn't really work. And its ridiculous because there were so many people from out of town to see the fireworks tonight and the Regatta. Then they go downtown and see a veritable war zone and that doesnt make people from out of town feel very safe and gives a very bad rap for downtown Pittsburgh when its barely ever like that. Apparently someone got shot as well. They had to shut down a bunch of streets as the kids were just running around them beating each other up and I saw an elderly women get beat up for no reason. And apparently this happened Friday and Saturday night as well, and on the 4th of July when some people got shot.

Sorry for the crappy video quality, I didnt want to get too close and was kinda shaky as the cops had just pepper sprayed a bunch of people right behind me.

—?! Clearly being hands off and letting them go isn't working if this has happened several times during events like this over the summer. I remember a similar issue happening during the middle of the day back in April or May after the city schools let out for the day. It is not good at all things like this seem to keep happening during events that bring people Downtown who may not get the chance to go down regularly.

I get annoyed when people from outlying areas like to claim how dangerous the city is but if things like this keep happening during the large Downtown events, it's a little hard to blame them for having that perception. Could they try to get Light Up Night to go off without a hitch this year? I'm pretty sure that's the next big event.

[Private D]

Teenagers are just a major pain in the —... especially when they get into large groups free from any close supervision. They cause way too many problems for police forces everywhere.

Still... give us a break with the — camo, dudes.

[qwho]

Originally Posted by lbh

http://devmap.io/developments/3407-forbes-ave

You've got that in the wrong spot. It is actually going to be northeast of there, right around here:

https://goo.gl/maps/HFsUx8A6cVH2

[Brentsters]

Originally Posted by Brentsters

in other non-news, the bikepgh board has an interesting discussion going on about the rail line that passes through the new aspinwall riverfront park...and that proposed riverfront 47/mosites development. apparently, this branch serviced the scrap yard, which no longer exists, so the branch may be redundant to avrr. they raise the possibility that the branch could potentially be converted to a rail trail, which would be very cool imo. it runs from aspinwall, crosses the river, and ends up basically right behind bakery square. i think this line is on top of the sweet bridge that you can see on washington blvd as it passes over the lincoln ave bridge.

anyway, another fantasy discussion, but that would be awesome if it ever happened.

looks like a concept study has recently been done for this...unclear who commissioned it though. basically, it proposes turning the brilliant branch rail line into a trail connecting aspinwall/riverfront 47 to bakery square.

https://issuu.com/ae7-arch/docs/20160706_-_brilliant_branch_design_

[cdc]

could be some new construction jobs at the airport...



http://www.post-gazette.com/business/dev...l-being-considering/stories/201608110095

"To Christina Cassotis, there are too many times Pittsburgh International Airport feels way too empty. And the CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority is weighing one possible solution — downsizing.

The authority is considering the idea of demolishing unused gates at Pittsburgh International. With the airport’s days as a hub for the former US Airways long gone, Ms. Cassotis said many gates are becoming obsolete as airline technology has advanced."

...

[bmust71]

Has anyone heard anything recently about the Garden Theatre Block? Has Trek made any moves in requesting a zoning change? Think I remember seeing something about trying to switch that area from an LNC to a UNC

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by bmust71

Has anyone heard anything recently about the Garden Theatre Block? Has Trek made any moves in requesting a zoning change? Think I remember seeing something about trying to switch that area from an LNC to a UNC

My wife's firm is working on this project. She refuses to discuss it openly, but the hints I have heard are...not good.

[themaguffin]

Macy's continues to collapse and are closing another 100 stores. I didn't see which ones were impacted.

[highlander206]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

Macy's continues to collapse and are closing another 100 stores. I didn't see which ones were impacted.

I searched it on a few news articles about it and none of them included a list of impacted stores yet so I'm guess they're still in the process of choosing which ones. Among local stores, I would be shocked if the Pittsburgh Mills one isn't on the closing list. Not sure which malls in surrounding counties have a Macy's in them.

[Urbana]

,

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by Urbana

Just a sad thing overall. I don't fly very often, but did just recently and was absolutely struck by how desolate the whole place is. The fact is that Pittsburgh will never be a hub again, so perhaps by downsizing they can alleviate the overwhelming depressing feeling you get when you are in that airport. It really is not a good look for the city.

It's been bad yes, but things lately are really starting to look up. Cassotis has done an incredible job already – non-stops have jumped from 37 cities to 58 since she took over. That's serious. And we see the beginnings of a regional network coming together with Southern Air that can feed our legacy carrier flights to support more service there. International traffic is booming and bodes well for extra service in the next few years. I could see PIT sitting at 12-14 million per year in the near future, which is a great spot to be in for a non-hub city.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Urbana

Just a sad thing overall. I don't fly very often, but did just recently and was absolutely struck by how desolate the whole place is. The fact is that Pittsburgh will never be a hub again, so perhaps by downsizing they can alleviate the overwhelming depressing feeling you get when you are in that airport. It really is not a good look for the city.

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

It's been bad yes, but things lately are really starting to look up. Cassotis has done an incredible job already – non-stops have jumped from 37 cities to 58 since she took over. That's serious. And we see the beginnings of a regional network coming together with Southern Air that can feed our legacy carrier flights to support more service there. International traffic is booming and bodes well for extra service in the next few years. I could see PIT sitting at 12-14 million per year in the near future, which is a great spot to be in for a non-hub city.

I'm glad you're optimistic Aaron. I do think that PIT hitting basically rock bottom in terms of support and flights was an opportunity to rebuild in a new and diversified way.

“We have 8.2 million passengers a year in a facility built for 35 million. There are parts of the day that it feels empty,” she said. “That’s not the impression we want to leave with people coming in, like, ‘What happened here?’”

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/dev...l-being-considering/stories/201608110095

Always annoying to hear these numbers compared. I've always hoped that having all that extra capacity will pay off long term.

[AlleghenyCityDude]

Originally Posted by bmust71

Has anyone heard anything recently about the Garden Theatre Block? Has Trek made any moves in requesting a zoning change? Think I remember seeing something about trying to switch that area from an LNC to a UNC

Last move that I heard was that Trek went before the Allegheny City Central Associations (ACCA) Board and asked for their support in changing the zoning from LNC to UNC. The surprising (in a good way) part is that their board supposedly voted right then and there to issue a letter of support for their request to City Planning. The problem is, that even UNC will not allow them to build by right what they have planned for the site so they will still face the same lawsuit and same judicial decision they faced the first time around.

The fact is, what they are proposing cannot work within any of the existing base zoning districts (though I guess it could be close if they did GI and got the environmental bonus for FAR & height).

[bmust71]

Originally Posted by AlleghenyCityDude

Last move that I heard was that Trek went before the Allegheny City Central Associations (ACCA) Board and asked for their support in changing the zoning from LNC to UNC. The surprising (in a good way) part is that their board supposedly voted right then and there to issue a letter of support for their request to City Planning. The problem is, that even UNC will not allow them to build by right what they have planned for the site so they will still face the same lawsuit and same judicial decision they faced the first time around.

The fact is, what they are proposing cannot work within any of the existing base zoning districts (though I guess it could be close if they did GI and got the environmental bonus for FAR & height).

Yeah UNC only gives them 60' vs 45' but it does give them a 3:1 FAR (4:1 if within 1500' of a major transit facility but don't think this site qualifies) vs 2:1. Should make it easier to get special exception though.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by AlleghenyCityDude

Last move that I heard was that Trek went before the Allegheny City Central Associations (ACCA) Board and asked for their support in changing the zoning from LNC to UNC. The surprising (in a good way) part is that their board supposedly voted right then and there to issue a letter of support for their request to City Planning. The problem is, that even UNC will not allow them to build by right what they have planned for the site so they will still face the same lawsuit and same judicial decision they faced the first time around.

The fact is, what they are proposing cannot work within any of the existing base zoning districts (though I guess it could be close if they did GI and got the environmental bonus for FAR & height).

Originally Posted by bmust71

Yeah UNC only gives them 60' vs 45' but it does give them a 3:1 FAR (4:1 if within 1500' of a major transit facility but don't think this site qualifies) vs 2:1. Should make it easier to get special exception though.

In keeping with the acronym theme here, — does LNC, UNC & FAR stand for?

Also, does anyone in the know have an actual guess when and if the Trek development will succeed? I mean, this is taking decades.

[bmust71]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

In keeping with the acronym theme here, — does LNC, UNC & FAR stand for?

Also, does anyone in the know have an actual guess when and if the Trek development will succeed? I mean, this is taking decades.

LNC= Local Neighborhood Commercial (East Carson, Murray Ave, Walnut St.)
UNC= Urban Neighborhood Commercial (5th ave near Consol, Baum Blvd [all of east liberty is UNC]
FAR= Floor Area Ratio (total store size [sq.ft])/(total lot size [sq.ft]). So basically FAR is the total floor area of all buildings on a lot divided by the total area of the lot. Helps create sufficient spacing between buildings and is the main way zoning laws limit the size and shape of buildings.

So Trek needs to completely rezone that area of the North Side in order to get this project off the ground. This is a rare and difficult process. And to my understanding, even if they did successfully get the zoning district changed they would still have to apply for height and Max FAR exceptions.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by bmust71

LNC= Local Neighborhood Commercial (East Carson, Murray Ave, Walnut St.)
UNC= Urban Neighborhood Commercial (5th ave near Consol, Baum Blvd [all of east liberty is UNC]
FAR= Floor Area Ratio (total store size [sq.ft])/(total lot size [sq.ft]). So basically FAR is the total floor area of all buildings on a lot divided by the total area of the lot. Helps create sufficient spacing between buildings and is the main way zoning laws limit the size and shape of buildings.

So Trek needs to completely rezone that area of the North Side in order to get this project off the ground. This is a rare and difficult process. And to my understanding, even if they did successfully get the zoning district changed they would still have to apply for height and Max FAR exceptions.

Note to self: If and when I would ever get into real estate development, try not to ever apply for zoning variances. Seems to be the kiss of death. People never agree on anything. I don't see how developers ever accomplish anything at all.

[highlander206]

Demolition has started on the Parkway Center Mall. Everything besides the Giant Eagle, which has a few years left on its lease should be gone by November. While they are still planning on a somewhat ambitious redevelopment project, it looks like they are a couple years away from anything significant happening.

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/dev...Parkway-Center-Mall/stories/201608120105

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Note to self: If and when I would ever get into real estate development, try not to ever apply for zoning variances. Seems to be the kiss of death. People never agree on anything. I don't see how developers ever accomplish anything at all.

I know I've said it before, but this example, along with what has happened wit Holy Family Church in Lawrenceville, and the long delay in opening a grocery store on Penn Avenue in Garfield, has convinced me that Pittsburgh needs major changes to its zoning code.

As it stands now, virtually every sensible development - particularly of size - needs some sort of zoning variances to go forward. This is a huge issue because the handing out of variances is not routine. While we can claim that the zoning and planning commissions will green light projects which meet with appropriate standards along with community approval, the fact of the matter is that basically any project which requires variances can be blocked by a couple NIMBYs who are willing to hire a lawyer. This is totally unacceptable. It's unfortunately a very common problem in cities across America, but cities themselves would never have been built if we had this system in place in the 19th century. It's literally impossible to build Shadyside, let alone South Side, under existing Pittsburgh zoning rules.