PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

Is there any images of what is actually going to built on the arena site? Are the plans for a while back definitive. I always assumed those to be conceptual only.

Based on the article, it seems that no definitive plans have been made as of yet. My guess is that substantial residential will be built first along with perhaps some retail buildings (or retail will be part of the residential buildings) and office space will be built later on. Not sure though, of course.

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Minivan Werner]

You'd think we'd at least know the street grid by now.

[Wheelingman04]

That restoration and infill is fabulous. Pittsburgh has it made compared to most cities and I can be unbiased about that stuff.

[pyrohy]

PhotoLith great photos dude. I noticed that building in uptown getting renovated the other day, was completly unaware. I would love to see the lower-end of Forbes heading towards 22nd st bridge to be renovated. Plenty of old storefronts waiting to shine and make that section hoppin.

Anyway one of the cooler and less talked about items in the hill district is all the old synagogues from back in the day when the neighborhood was home to Russian/Eastern European Jews

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=40.441...4fv436uwcBB8fg

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=40.446...WqHPgMFsg&z=19

[glowrock]

Two bits of information. Looks like a Miller's Ale House is going to be located in SouthSide Works next to Hofbrauhaus where Toby Keith's place was supposed to be. Another large restaurant with ample outdoor seating integrated into the Riverfront Park already there. Excellent news in my opinion! Secondly, it appears that the State has committed to $15 million in funding for the infrastructure needed for the former Civic Arena site. Hopefully this means the roads and infrastructure required to get development going over there will be started soon and we can perhaps see some real development go on there by early 2014!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by PghSH22

Yes, you did. Either that or you are just extremely dense.

This is from 2010, but it reinforces my point.

http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/pitt-r...hold-bachelors

April 14, 2010

Pitt Report: Pittsburgh's Young Workforce Among Top 5 Most Educated in U.S.; Almost Half Hold a Bachelor's Degree or Higher

Plus, Pittsburgh takes number one spot for percentage of the 25-to-34 set with graduate and professional degrees, tied with Washington, D.C., according to Pitt's University Center of Social and Urban Research

...

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Loft conversion of old school in the Hill and new townhomes or whatever being built all over the place around the school on Reed St and Miller St.

'Lost triangle' targeted for acute face-lift(Diana Nelson Jones/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,03/15/13)

[GeneW]

KDKA stories about both the Buncher Strip District plans and the Hazelwood "Almono" river front plans.

I like this:

The plan is to connect Hazelwood’s existing street grid through the old mill property, right down to the river.

“It’s how things come perpendicular down to the river to connect to the shoreline that brings that value deep into the neighborhood.” Doyno said. “That’s a new concept for Pittsburgh – how do we get that value deep into the neighborhoods?”

Riverlife’s Schroeder said it’s exciting to consider how Almono will transform not just the empty mill site, but the areas around it.

“You’ll have, ultimately, a seamless feel and Hazelwood will be a bigger place than it is now,” Schroeder said.

I also like how they talk about how The Waterfront is an example of how not to do waterfront development.

[PghSH22]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

This is from 2010, but it reinforces my point.

http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/pitt-r...hold-bachelors

Direct quotes from my post:

"Due to my personal experience", "Not sure if this is because those of us that grew up there were bored and wanted something new (which can happen to anyone in any city regardless of size)", "I believe".......

Where did you get that I thought that I was reciting factual/scientific based information? I even said "not sure" because I was clearly stating thoughts/opinion based on MY life as a Pittsburgh native and giving commentary based on the general experiences that I have had among my demographic in the past 5-10 years and what I have felt to be a general attitude towards the city (both negative and positive). Of course I cannot and dont think that I speak for every 25-30 year old Pittsburgher, but I think that I am a good representation of your average post-grad, middle class Pittsburgher that is purposefuly well attuned to how my peers percieve our city (both at home and in other cities). I spend an absurd amount of time defending Pittsburgh and trying to educate people about the progress it has made and what life is really like there because the vast majority of people I come across in NYC (from all over the country/world) have an extremely incorrect/dated view of Pittsburgh and are completely unaware of what it going on there. We know that great things are happening in Pittsburgh because we are from there and purposefully seek out the positive press/statistics released, but realistically the vast majority of people in this country (let alone the world) are completely ignorant to these developments and have very warped views of what the city is actually like. Obviously the more Pittsburgh development progresses and the more positive press it recieves (such as the Yale journal article) the more aware people outside of our region will become of it, which was one of my main points. Were some of my opinions based more on perception than factual data? Sure, but this is why i tried to clearly convey them as opinions/observations. BrianTH responded to my comments with extremely interesting/relevant information that I genuinely enjoyed reading and will help to more fully impact my views (which is the point of the posting board). You came off with some bizarre rant that completely mischaracterized what I was trying to express, for seemingly no reason.

[PghSH22]

[QUOTE=Evergrey;6049736]Great points, BrianTH. It is a fool's errand when regions desperately try to "retain" their youth... and plug the "brain drain".

Regions obsessed with "brain drain" and retention (which informed Pittsburgh policy until very recently) only seem to recognize those who leave... placing priority on anecdotal sob stories about the son who left for NYC (ironically a massive net domestic migration loser)
QUOTE]

Incorrect:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...ng-8-3-million

[themaguffin]

ironically a massive net domestic migration loser

Incorrect:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...ng-8-3-million

Unless something has changed recently, the statement that NYC is a net domestic migration loser would be true. It, along Boston and many other major destination of foreign migration have benefitted from significant foreign migration in terms of population growth, while on the domestic fronts, they have had net losses.

[PghSH22]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

Unless something has changed recently, the statement that NYC is a net domestic migration loser would be true. It, along Boston and many other major destination of foreign migration have benefitted from significant foreign migration in terms of population growth, while on the domestic fronts, they have had net losses.

Touché. I dont know the breakdown so that may or may not still be the case. Just happened to come across this this morning and found it interesting considering the recent discussions. Regardless, 161K plus growth in two years is nothing but positive news regarding the population health of a city, whether its foreign or American driven.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

It, along Boston and many other major destination of foreign migration have benefitted from significant foreign migration in terms of population growth, while on the domestic fronts, they have had net losses.

In fact these are two different stages in one overall process. In Stage One, these "immigration gateway" cities get a large inflow of foreign migrants. In Stage Two, some of those foreign migrants or their children move on to different places in the United States. Stage Two registers as a domestic migration outflow. And I would again suggest that being part of that process is to the net benefit of these cities.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by glowrock

Thanks for those shots, photoLith.

Ditto!

Not the biggest thing, but I am very excited to see the storefronts on the Wallace Building being restored, which will contribute a lot to the street-level character of that part of East Liberty.

[Steel City Scotty]

Does anyone know the story behind the decision to demolish the former Damon's building at The Waterfront to make way for a new hotel?

I realize there was a murder at the restaurant a few years ago, and I'm guessing that business was bad...it just seems rare that you see a building get torn down only about 10 years or so after it was constructed.

Maybe there just simply wasn't a better spot to build the new Hampton Inn & Suites?

[Steel City Scotty]

Eh, I guess this article kind of answers my question...

Topic: Restaurants
Publication: Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Date: October 27, 2011
A Hampton Inn & Suites will replace a razed restaurant at The Waterfront.

Columbus-based Continental Real Estate Cos., which 10 years ago developed the mixed-use property in Homestead, West Homestead and Munhall, is bringing the hotel to the former site of Damon's Grill on West Waterfront Drive. The restaurant's parent company, Damon's International Inc., filed for bankruptcy in fall 2009.

Continental has sold most of the development to a Beachwood, Ohio-based company, DDR Corp. A Continental division, Continental Hotel Partnership LLC, will own the hotel under a holding company it created, Waterfront Hotel Partners LLC.

"We do understand The Waterfront very well and all the traffic that's generated there by the movie theater and the restaurants and amenities that are on the site," said David Kass, a majority owner of Continental Real Estate Cos.

The Damon's building was demolished last week.

The $10 million cost to develop the hotel includes purchasing the property for $1.5 million. Continental Building Systems has broken ground on the hotel, which will be a 113-room, 20,000-square-foot building. A fall 2012 opening for the four-story hotel is projected, Kass said.

The success of an adjacent Marriott hotel -- the Courtyard Pittsburgh West Homestead/Waterfront -- drew the developer to the site, Kass said.

Continental is developing hotels nationwide in a partnership with Columbus-based RockBridge Capital LLC. The pair developed the Hyatt Place Pittsburgh-North Shore hotel that opened last year.

Continental is part of a partnership, North Shore Developers LP, with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pirates to develop projects on the North Shore.

But, it still seems strange to me that they only got a decade of use out of the Damon's building...

[glowrock]

This doesn't seem strange to me at all, SteelCityScotty. The restaurant was definitely not the best use of the land there, and quite frankly the place was a disaster. Not saying that the hotel is an amazing piece of architecture or anythring, but it's certainly a much better use for the land than the former Damon's was...

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Evergrey]

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...o-city-679679/

Pittsburgh Today report finds population shift as young people move to city

March 17, 2013 12:22 am



...

The study found that after years of steep declines, the Lawrenceville neighborhood has gotten substantially younger as the population stabilized. From 1990 to 2010, the number of residents 65 or older dropped from 25 to 16 percent.

From 2000 to 2010, the number of young adults, ages 18 to 24, increased by 25 percent. Across the city, the increase in that age group was 17 percent.

...

2013 Pittsburgh: Today & Tomorrow


a few tidbits from the report:

The region’s population of 20- to 34-year-olds grew by 7 percent over the past five years

...

More people are moving to the region than leaving each year, and most are young adults. The region’s 25- to 34-year-old workforce has become one of the best educated in America

...

The belief that southwestern Pennsylvania has a problem retaining and attracting young adults that’s more severe than in other regions in the country had become a mantra, a local truism that is no longer true and hasn’t been for quite some time.

A MYTH DEBUNKED

This misconception dates to the early 1980s when the catastrophic collapse of the steel industry triggered an exodus of young adults that was truly alarming. At its peak in 1984, some 50,000 residents left and more than 70 percent of them were under the age of 39. Not only did they leave, they also took their families and future families with them. In doing so, they reshaped the demographic makeup of the region in ways that continue to be seen today in a population that is older than most and experiences more
deaths each year than births.

But the crisis was short-lived. In 1994, the region posted a net migration loss of fewer than 9,000 people, according to U.S.Census Bureau data. And young people made up a much smaller portion of those who departed, while retirees accounted for a larger share.

Southwestern Pennsylvania continued to recover. And after 2008, more people have moved into the region than have left—a trend that continues today and has helped stabilize the Pittsburgh MSA population, which continues to experience more deaths than births each year due to its still-oversized number of elderly residents.

The majority of new arrivals are well under the age of 40 and the greatest numbers are leaving nearby metropolitan areas such as New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., in favor of living and working in southwestern Pennsylvania.

“It’s not a recent phenomenon that you can say it isn’t true that young people are leaving Pittsburgh any more than you would expect,” said Chris Briem, a regional economist at UCSUR. “But there’s a persistence of memory in Pittsburgh. If you’re older and have memories of when young people were streaming out you’re probably going to believe that until you die.”

...

Much of that growth is in professions that demand a high level of education. And that is reflected in the region’s workforce. More than 48 percent of its workers aged 25-34 have a bachelor’s degree or higher. That’s fifth highest in the nation, behind Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Austin, according toCurrent Population Survey data compiled by the Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

...

more people have moved into the region than have left in recent years, and they tend to be better-educated young adultsmigrating to job opportunities.

...

[PghSH22]

Thats amazing news. I am not, and never have rooted against Pittsburgh and want nothing more than for these types of developments to continue. I will certainly be utilizing this report the next time that I am made fun of from being from a "backwater steel town". As mentioned before, this type of demographic and population shift is pretty recent for Pittsburgh and takes time to influence perception both locally and nationwide. This report seems to perfectly compliment the closing thought of my original observations:

"I can say that comparing visiting home 5 years ago to my most recent trip over Christmas is remarkable in terms of how much more lively the city feels and how much more there is to do in many different neighborhoods. I think that if I had had a similar range of quality social opportunities that are offered today in neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and East Liberty throughout high school and college, I would probably have had a different view of living in Pittsburgh post-graduation. Hopefully newer grads are beginning to feel the differences that are definitely occurring and are more inclined to stick around."

Does anyone know if these population gains and younger demographic shifts are specific to the "city", or the "region" in general? If these are for the Southwest PA region as a whole, what does the city picture look like? Just curious because I am partial to "city life" and would love to see the city limits see the majority of these increases.

[Steel City Scotty]

I was really happy to read the report from Pittsburgh Today...but then got a little sad reading this article about the construction of the "elegant, convenient and commodious market house" in Allegheny City, which was later demolished to make way for Allegheny Center.

Eyewitness 1863: As war rages, Allegheny City builds for the future
March 17, 2013 12:22 am
By Len Barcousky / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Even while the continued existence of a "United States" remained in doubt during the dark years of the Civil War, political leaders and business people in Allegheny City, now Pittsburgh's North Side, were planning for the future.

In the spring of 1863, a new public market was ready to open on Diamond Square at Federal and Ohio streets.

"As a whole we think our neighbors across the river have quite eclipsed us in the matter of providing for the public convenience an elegant, convenient and commodious market house, which must needs produce a very handsome addition to the city revenues," a report in The Daily Pittsburgh Gazette said on March 9. "We rejoice with them in the successful completion of a work of such magnificence in the midst of these war times."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...#ixzz2NpMqO46s