PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Tequila is a "hot" alcohol, with people getting into upscale tequilas and cocktails.

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by TBone7281

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

If I have to drink sake, I actually prefer it warm.

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by eschaton

If I have to drink sake, I actually prefer it warm.

I do as well, though supposedly the higher quality ones are supposed to be served cold.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Meaning the city is becoming more polycentric, and transit planning is becoming more difficult.

In the long run, multiple major commuting nodes is good for transit systems, because multi-destinational transit networks end up being more efficient (and equitable) than radial networks. Here is an interesting read on the subject, with specific reference to a paper where Pittsburgh was one of the case studies:

http://humantransit.org/2009/12/bus-vs-rail-an-oversimplified-comparison.html

A CBD-oriented system (more commonly called a radial system) is one that views downtown as the sole destination of importance. In such a system, people who aren’t going downtown usually have to go via downtown, whether or not this is on the way. A multi-destinational system is one that tries to serve trips to many destinations all over the city. If you live in Los Angeles or Manhattan or Paris or Berlin, this distinction will seem silly to you, because your city has been multi-destinational for decades if not centuries and your transit system adapted to that reality long ago. But most American (and Australasian) cities had a period, generally ending around 1945, when they had a single extremely concentrated downtown — fueled, in many cases, by streetcar/tram networks that converged on it. And at one time, it made perfect sense that this downtown would be the sole focal point of the transit network.

Since 1945, most cities have been becoming more multi-destinational, with more important destinations (employment, retail, leisure, etc) scattered all over the city. Transit agencies were generally slow to adjust, especially since downtown tended to be where they were most appreciated and where the pre-car development pattern made it easy for pedestrians to get to them. But over time, it’s been necessary to adjust to a multi-destinational pattern in order to remain relevant to the life of the city as it is now. The paper suggests that of the four cities studied, Atlanta and San Diego are relatively far along on that path, Pittsburgh least so. (This seems to match Alan Hoffman’s observation (here, page 67) that despite the introduction of busways, the Pittsburgh network has changed relatively little for a long time.) . . .

By comparing the experience of these four cities, the authors find that the most effective system is not the CBD-oriented but the multi-destinational. Needless to say, your mileage may vary; it depends on how CBD-oriented your city still is, but even a city as CBD-oriented as Portland had great success with a multi-destinational network. Most of the major network redesigns I’ve done have been about helping CBD-oriented systems still meet their CBD need while also being relevant to a wider range of destinations.

So it could be a good thing in the long for our transit system if Pittsburgh became more multi-destinational, like Manhattan, Paris, Berlin, Portland, and so on. As suggested there, of course you need the transit system to adjust to those changes, but in recent years Port Authority has been well-managed and I think there is reason to hope such a future is possible.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by TBone7281

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

I'm on board with the trend. I still don't drink tequila straight, but I really don't drink anything straight. Otherwise I've had, and am starting to make at home, a lot of interesting tequila cocktails.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I find this interesting, because it frees up a large amount of space for potential redevelopment right near Homewood Station on the East Busway. The location is here. The buildings in question are part of a massive URA-owned complex, which includes everything behind Construction Junction, the long parking lot beside it, the small warehouse building to its immediate east, the surface lot bounded by N Lexington and N Homewood, and empty undeveloped land on the other side of the weird curve in N Lexington. There are other tenants in some of the buildings as well, but in total we're talking about 12 acres of land which could be opened up to higher and better uses.

As I recall, in the 2012-era Bridging the Busway plan, they had talked about extending McPherson from Homewood to Lexington (maybe taking over that east-west part of Lexington), and then putting mostly housing into those surface parking lots and across the street in the vacant lots. I believe they also talked about a grocery store with parking deck plus some multi-unit housing as an alternative. For the stuff east of Lexington, they talked about creating an Environmental Industries zone (or something like that), with new infill of offices and light industrial.

Of course they are already off the 2012 plan in various ways, and they have had more recent planning efforts specifically for Homewood. But that gives at least some idea of what people could possibly have in mind.

Edit: Here we go:

http://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/district9/BTB_Final_Document.pdf

Housing-focused option:





Grocery store option:



Environmental Industries concept:



I don't love everything about those plans, but at least that is some indication of the potential.

[mikebarbaro]

What is being built here again in the PTC along Second Ave? I thought the hotel project got scrapped?

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by mikebarbaro

What is being built here again in the PTC along Second Ave? I thought the hotel project got scrapped?

It's the hotel, AFAIK. It was the apartment building that got scrapped.

[Private Dick]

Hotel Indigo

[Minivan Werner]

I have to admit I kind of prefer the refurbishing of the Frank & Seder building over a high-rise, especially the more recent proposal of a high-rise that was 1/3rd parking garage. That's a really neat intersection and, if the Park Building got a little bit fixed up, it'd look about the same as it did 100 years ago.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Minivan Werner

That's a really neat intersection and, if the Park Building got a little bit fixed up, it'd look about the same as it did 100 years ago.

I like the idea for that reason too. The Mellon Branch is already fixed up, the former Macy's is in progress . . . as you note, we just need a little TLC for the Park Building, and it could be a complete set.

I might also note if you are looking down Smithfield, it lines up nicely with the Park Building, Oliver Building, and Heinz 57 building as another historic set (hopefully the new building next to the Park Building doesn't break up that effect too badly).

[photoLith]

Originally Posted by Private Dick

Hotel Indigo

Where's that?

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Unfortunately, commercial rents are at this odd price point now in the city. Certainly there is demand for new space - just in the past few weeks we've had the SAP and Amazon announcements. But the rental rates don't warrant steel-frame highrise structures, so instead we're getting more and more mid/lowrise buildings on the North Shore, Strip, Southside Works, etc. Meaning the city is becoming more polycentric, and transit planning is becoming more difficult.

I don't want to be a negative nelly but I would not want to live in this city without a car. I am not impressed with the gaps of coverage and lack of transit in many areas.

[photoLith]

I've lived here for four years now basically and I still can't figure out the bus system and anyone I know who takes the bus says it take about 4 times as long as having a car. The transit system in Pittsburgh 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 worse than any city I've lived in by far.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by Minivan Werner

I have to admit I kind of prefer the refurbishing of the Frank & Seder building over a high-rise, especially the more recent proposal of a high-rise that was 1/3rd parking garage. That's a really neat intersection and, if the Park Building got a little bit fixed up, it'd look about the same as it did 100 years ago.

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I like the idea for that reason too. The Mellon Branch is already fixed up, the former Macy's is in progress . . . as you note, we just need a little TLC for the Park Building, and it could be a complete set.

I might also note if you are looking down Smithfield, it lines up nicely with the Park Building, Oliver Building, and Heinz 57 building as another historic set (hopefully the new building next to the Park Building doesn't break up that effect too badly).

It's only a matter of time before the incredible Park Building is purchased by some developer, probably from out of town - NY or Philly and given a full restoration that it desperately needs. It's a large, intricate building. I'm guessing it requires a $20-$40 million renovation at least.

[eschaton]

New Planning Commission Presentation: Two small items, and two medium-sized to large.

1. Demolition of two existing buildings along Grandview. One building being lost is a beauty, if something of a faded glory. The other is directly behind, and a bit more pedestrian. I'd worry that it was being demolished to be land banked, but I see that Moss Architects seems to be involved with the demolition permit, and the owners apparently plan to build some sort of new single-family house for themselves there.

2. Plans are up for a new retail development which will go on Liberty near the intersections of S Atlantic and S Pacific. I'm of two minds on this development. On one hand it has nice street wall, parking is tucked away in the rear, and it will put 28,000 square feet of commercial development into a pretty dead portion of Bloomfield. On the other hand, the retail structures are only one story - I'd really like at least two floors of office space or apartments above. The design fits the modern context of the Morrow Park Apartments (which I like) and the Hyatt House hotel (which I hate) pretty well. On the whole though it beats a surface parking lot. I'd just hope for more here, but I'm guessing parking minimums pretty much preclude it without extensive reconfiguration. As a final aside, I cannot believe that BCC requested that no public benches be provided, in order to avoid loitering.

3. Point Park University is asking for a sign permit for its Center for Media Innovation.

4. Finally, the Rivers Casino Hotel...quite a creative name! Looks to be a 214 room hotel in all. I'm actually surprised at how small the hotel looks compared to Rivers Casino - it's like a tiny finger extending off of it. Seven stories in all, it honestly appears to blend so well with the existing building that most people will think it was always there.

Also, there's a new zoning report. A few items of note.

1. The Housing Authority seems to be building its first replacement for Allegheny Dwellings - a 53-unit, four building development. Confusingly (to me) this appears to be within the existing complex. I had heard residents would be spread among three new developments scattered around the North Side. My presumption was the initial developments would have to be outside of Allegheny Dwellings, because you can't really build anything new there till you knock the old things down. Maybe they're doing it in one of the steeper slope areas not currently covered with buildings however.

2. The new Penn Avenue hotel by the Children's Hospital will be built at 4520 Penn Avenue. This is a great location, as it wipes out an ugly two-story medical office building and a gigantic parking crater which breaks up the street wall on both sides of the existing building. I was a bit worried some of the rowhouses fronting on Penn Avenue would be taken out too, but it doesn't look like it. They are asking for variances, including greater height (44 feet, not 40) more stories (4 instead of 3) and a higher FAR, so we'll see if this gets through.

3. Zoning variances are being requested for the conversion of the old Bayard School in Lawrenceville into apartments. We already covered this late last year in detail in the Historic Review Commission's presentation.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by photoLith

I've lived here for four years now basically and I still can't figure out the bus system and anyone I know who takes the bus says it take about 4 times as long as having a car. The transit system in Pittsburgh 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 worse than any city I've lived in by far.

I love my bus that runs through my neighborhood and picks me up a block from my house then gets on the East Busway to take me Downtown.

[BrianTH]

I pretty much hate the Liberty retail development--it is basically just a reversed strip mall:



Part of me wishes the Rivers hotel was more vertical, but I think the continuity with the casino could be nice. Pretty boring, however:











The replacement of 4520 Penn Avenue can't happen soon enough:

[highlander206]

Originally Posted by photoLith

I've lived here for four years now basically and I still can't figure out the bus system and anyone I know who takes the bus says it take about 4 times as long as having a car. The transit system in Pittsburgh 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 worse than any city I've lived in by far.

I work Downtown. Sometimes I drive and park up at Consol and other times I take the bus. It is really nice to leave the driving to someone else, but it can take a bit longer for me to get home by bus than driving. Some stops are ridiculously close together.

[AaronPGH]

Like any city, you have to position yourself on the transit lines that make the most sense to you. I work in East Liberty, need to take frequent trips to Oakland, and sometimes downtown. So I plunked down in Friendship, where I have access to the 71s, E Busway, and multiple downtown lines. I don't frequently curse the transit system (although you all did see my 28X outburst on here recently ). I will agree the centralized nature of downtown isn't the best, but I do think we're only a few tweaks and increased frequencies away from solving a lot of issues. The 64 for instance - double the frequency of that thing and you've got a great cross-east end line that connects to a lot of these other buses and heavily improves lawrenceville access.