PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown III

[BrianTH]

I always tell people one of the most surprising things about Pittsburgh is just how pretty it is. But I think it takes a visit to really grasp that.

[ragerunner5]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I always tell people one of the most surprising things about Pittsburgh is just how pretty it is. But I think it takes a visit to really grasp that.

I would very much agree with that.

[ragerunner5]

Here is my video I did of the Oakland/University area. What a jewel of a district. Outstanding active urban space, mix of uses, amazing museums, beautiful green space and of course lots of University activity. This has to be one of the best urban neighborhood districts in the US.

I could go on and on about this area of Pittsburgh.

• Video Link

[SouthCentralPA]

Originally Posted by ragerunner5

Here is my video I did of the Oakland/University area. What a jewel of a district. Outstanding active urban space, mix of uses, amazing museums, beautiful green space and of course lots of University activity. This has to be one of the best urban neighborhood districts in the US.

I could go on and on about this area of Pittsburgh.

Another great video! Thanks for sharing

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by ragerunner5

Here is my video I did of the Oakland/University area. What a jewel of a district. Outstanding active urban space, mix of uses, amazing museums, beautiful green space and of course lots of University activity. This has to be one of the best urban neighborhood districts in the US.

I could go on and on about this area of Pittsburgh.

So first, I just want to note I really enjoy the pacing of your videos. Not too fast, but also not too slow, and it really feels like you are there and taking a good look around.

Anyway, many of us like to describe Oakland as the second-most important city center in Western PA, and third or fourth in the state, depending on how you classify University City in Philadelphia. Like University City, having world-class universities as an anchor gives it very strong fundamentals, and you also did a great job showing how it has a great legacy as an historic "civic center" in the grand "City Beautiful" style.

There are also some really cool residential areas, including the Schenley Farms Historic district, a grand early 20th Century planned development, and the Oakland Square Historic District, a late 19th Century planned development modeled on Victorian English/Irish urban design.

Back in the day, Oakland was well-served, and indeed basically developed around, streetcars. Those were torn out in favor of roads prioritizing automobiles, with buses fighting for space. But there is an ongoing project that will make Oakland the central node of a newly-expanded Bus Rapid Transit network. And adding even more rapid connections, possibly including an aerial gondola system, is a top priority for the local transit authority.

I mention all this because while Oakland itself is thriving, precisely because it is such an important and growing center in itself, improving non-auto access TO Oakland is rightly a top priority for surrounding neighborhoods, and indeed close-in suburbs. And it really should be treated, as it was planned, as a top regional destination.

[dfiler]

On Kentucky Ave in Shadyside last night i came across a major street reconfiguration that caught me by surprise. With a bit of searching, I found info about it on the PghH2O website. It is a stormwater management project that will likely be replicated elsewhere.

It involves completely rebuilt sidewalks, curbs and streets. Permeable pavers are being used in the parking lane and driveway cuts. The plan also includes an exact accounting of trees to be removed and/or planted.

Project Page:
https://www.pgh2o.com/projects-maint...-dgPKULd8kLJqU

Project PDF:
https://www.pgh2o.com/sites/default/...08.13.2021.pdf

Photos from facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/pos...75347054035159

[dfiler]

... and the presentation slides for the project kind of blew my mind. This is a significant rebuilding of public space. I'm actually impressed with the reasoning presented and the quality of the design.

https://www.pgh2o.com/sites/default/...educedSize.pdf

[Zachary R. English]

http://https://www.wesa.fm/development-transportation/2021-11-02/a-giant-eagle-apartments-and-retail-are-planned-for-a-crucial-corner-in-bloomfield

The Bloomfield Shur Save project has a new plan. No real surprise that it will include a Giant Eagle, considering they own the developer, Echo Realty. Still, that’s one of the big things the neighborhood demanded, so it’s good. Seems like many at the meeting yesterday thought 10% affordable housing was a bit too low.

“The future of the old ShurSave site in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood will include a grocery store. At a community meeting held on Zoom Monday night, the site’s owners, Echo Realty, announced that Giant Eagle will be the new development’s main tenant.

In addition to the grocery, “Bloomfield Square” would have underground parking, several small retail shops, a public plaza, and roughly 190 apartments, 10 percent of which would be affordable.”

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by dfiler

On Kentucky Ave in Shadyside last night i came across a major street reconfiguration that caught me by surprise. With a bit of searching, I found info about it on the PghH2O website. It is a stormwater management project that will likely be replicated elsewhere.

It involves completely rebuilt sidewalks, curbs and streets. Permeable pavers are being used in the parking lane and driveway cuts. The plan also includes an exact accounting of trees to be removed and/or planted.

Nice. We used permeable pavers on our driveway, and they both look and perform great.

[ragerunner5]

Originally Posted by SouthCentralPA

Another great video! Thanks for sharing

Thank you

[ragerunner5]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

So first, I just want to note I really enjoy the pacing of your videos. Not too fast, but also not too slow, and it really feels like you are there and taking a good look around.

Anyway, many of us like to describe Oakland as the second-most important city center in Western PA, and third or fourth in the state, depending on how you classify University City in Philadelphia. Like University City, having world-class universities as an anchor gives it very strong fundamentals, and you also did a great job showing how it has a great legacy as an historic "civic center" in the grand "City Beautiful" style.

There are also some really cool residential areas, including the Schenley Farms Historic district, a grand early 20th Century planned development, and the Oakland Square Historic District, a late 19th Century planned development modeled on Victorian English/Irish urban design.

Back in the day, Oakland was well-served, and indeed basically developed around, streetcars. Those were torn out in favor of roads prioritizing automobiles, with buses fighting for space. But there is an ongoing project that will make Oakland the central node of a newly-expanded Bus Rapid Transit network. And adding even more rapid connections, possibly including an aerial gondola system, is a top priority for the local transit authority.

I mention all this because while Oakland itself is thriving, precisely because it is such an important and growing center in itself, improving non-auto access TO Oakland is rightly a top priority for surrounding neighborhoods, and indeed close-in suburbs. And it really should be treated, as it was planned, as a top regional destination.

Thank for the feedback on the video, it’s appreciated.

A BRT system would be a big step forward for the area. Where would the gondola system go? That sounds interesting.

[eschaton]

HRC presentation for November finally dropped...and the meeting is today. I've noticed they've been very tardy lately with getting materials online. This is the most notable new agenda item. Essentially, they want to demolish this church on North Avenue and replace it with seven new townhouses. Four will face North Avenue, two Arch Street, and one Eloise Street (where a garage is currently located). Styles are historic-esque, but wouldn't blend in seamlessly. I really don't like the setup of the third floor balconies, for example, as they have a "cut-out" style which would be jarring in the neighborhood. That said, the church is not a period building (I believe it's mid 20th century) and the one-story scale with surface parking open on North Avenue is inappropriate for the area. I'm fine with this, I guess?

Also, the November 9th Planning Commission agenda is now online. A pretty weighty agenda compared to the last several months, with four new items.

1. The new six-story Uptown development which has been in the works for over a year is now going forward. This set of two buildings will have 171 units, and only 77 structured parking spaces (thanks Uptown Public Realm zoning!) The apartment section will be split between two buildings connected by an elevated walkway, and feature 29 studio units, 123 one bedrooms, and 19 two bedrooms. 20% of all units will be market rate. Across on Dinwiddie a third building will have 34,000 square feet of flex/coworking space. There will also be retail available along Fifth in both buildings. The design is...fine I guess. I'd prefer something a bit more traditional, but it's more thought out than the usual aluminum paneled crap, with some interesting articulation of the front façade and diagonal lines across the buildings. Gives off a real college campus vibe to me for some reason - maybe due to the big public plaza.

2. The presentation on the inclusionary zoning overlay for Bloomfield and Polish Hill is also online. It's basically identical to the Lawrenceville overlay, and we've discussed this in the past.

3. Hazelwood Green is asking for changes to the zoning of the specially planned area. It looks like they're asking for a lot of changes here, including shorter story heights, larger store square footage, higher parking maximums, and more/looser parking in general. Essentially this waters down the level of urbanity of the development, and seems to pave the way for more chain retail in particular, but the site has languished, and maybe this is needed.

4. Continental is "moving forward" on residential once again on the North Shore. The new building (which replaces an older plan for offices and condos) is six stories. There is somehow no unit count listed, but looking at the floor plans it's 109 units. There's also ground-floor commercial space. The plan continues to call for an "entertainment plaza" at the corner of W General Robinson and Mazeroski Way. A slight step up is changes to the little Red Lot 5A, which will now be slightly screened from the street by a new landscaping/street trees. The building design is very generic - reminds me of a hotel - but I guess you take what you can get from Continental.

Also, the November 18 ZBA agenda is online. Items of interest.

1. New infill house in Upper Lawrenceville. Location is here. It will look a bit strange on site because they decided to align it with what is effectively the side street rather than with 54th, but this might have been inevitable with such an odd-shaped parcel.

2. Plans for a new, four-story, 43-unit building in Northview Heights. This occupies existing vacant space within the housing project, and is being built to relocate individuals in the existing highrise on Mt. Pleasant Road, which is "irrepairable." Oddly the plan calls for ground-floor commercial - something I wouldn't think would be feasible in that location. It's fine for what it is - certainly better than what's on site now.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by ragerunner5

Where would the gondola system go? That sounds interesting.

Here is a link to a document outlining the project:

Project G

The current proposal is being called the East/Central River to River plan. It would start in the Strip District along the East Busway, go up into the Hill District, back down into Oakland, then down into the new Hazelwood development site with a connection to the planned BRT along Second Avenue.

Between those three areas, it would actually network together the three planned central East End BRT corridors (which were once the three main streetcar corridors, for that matter) without forcing people to go Downtown first. Also, the Strip District is emerging as another important residential and office/tech cluster, and the Hill is currently lacking such direction connections, so that part alone would be very useful. The Hazelwood site is an extension of an existing brownfield development with again a lot of University-related tech stuff and planned residential.

It would then continue across the Mon River into the South Hills and eventually to Overbrook with a connection to the existing light rail system. It could potentially be multi-modal, although there are so many rapid elevation changes, and a major river, involved, and aerial gondolas are a relatively cheap way of handling those challenges. And although they are not fast per se, the lack of competing traffic and straight line routing would allow connections out that far to count as still pretty rapid.

Generally, for long-standing topographic reasons, Pittsburgh has had a lack of these sorts of non-radial connections, and that has been to the detriment of places like Oakland. Nonetheless lots of people live in the South Hills and work in the Oakland area, but it is a tough commute and definitely pushes people to car commutes. So this sort of thing could be a significant, new alternative.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

This is the most notable new agenda item. Essentially, they want to demolish this church on North Avenue and replace it with seven new townhouses.

That church on North really stands out as not being at all in keeping with the density and usage there. I am definitely fine with it being replaced. I wish it was being replaced with something more ambitious, but that has been a tough area for approvals.

It looks like they're asking for a lot of changes here, including shorter story heights, larger store square footage, higher parking maximums, and more/looser parking in general. Essentially this waters down the level of urbanity of the development, and seems to pave the way for more chain retail in particular, but the site has languished, and maybe this is needed.

I'm fine with all the Hazelwood changes except the parking stuff. I get their argument that the promised transit still appears a long time off, but still I would like to see them held to the existing deal for longer, and we can see what really happens. But I suspect they will get what they want, or most of it.

Continental is "moving forward" on residential once again on the North Shore. . . . The building design is very generic - reminds me of a hotel - but I guess you take what you can get from Continental.

If you get anything at all in the end. And that "entertainment plaza" is basically just using a huge chunk of land within walking distance of Downtown as a billboard advertisement for the Pirates.

What a disaster this has been.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

That church on North really stands out as not being at all in keeping with the density and usage there. I am definitely fine with it being replaced. I wish it was being replaced with something more ambitious, but that has been a tough area for approvals.

I actually watched that section of the HRC meeting. All the commissioners were fine with the demolition of the church, but wanted the developers to see if a garage on site merited preservation - and if it could be rehabbed into a housing unit rather than just demolished for an infill alley house. The commissioners also suggested going bigger, with a taller corner feature, and trying to have a complete street wall on Arch Street through reconfiguring the buildings.

The presentation also made it clear the parcel included the three rowhouses on the corner of Arch and Eloise, and one on W North. All will get restored as part of the project.

Originally Posted by BrianTH

If you get anything at all in the end. And that "entertainment plaza" is basically just using a huge chunk of land within walking distance of Downtown as a billboard advertisement for the Pirates.

What a disaster this has been.

In defense, the new building does have ground floor retail, and I could easily see the plaza being an extended outdoor dining area for a restaurant (or two).

I am surprised there is no walkway connecting the apartment to the parking garage they just built. The new apartment building doesn't seem to have any structured parking, so they seem to be presuming all of the tenants will park there instead.

I do have to say that COVID probably completely destroyed the business plan the sports teams had for the North Shore. Parking revenue is likely in the toilet after all, which makes it much more productive to develop land for other uses (meaning largely residential).

[BobLoblaw]

Originally Posted by eschaton

The presentation also made it clear the parcel included the three rowhouses on the corner of Arch and Eloise, and one on W North. All will get restored as part of the project.

Speaking of the North Ave-facing portion of that block -- do we know what the plan is for the two buildings closest to Reddour Street? The one on the corner has been undergoing interior renovations for some time, presumably for residential. I can't tell if any work has been done on the white brick one beside it, which is a building I like for some reason, perhaps because of the big windows on the second floor. Although restaurants haven't stuck very well in the City of Asylum building, I could see utilizing the garage of the white brick building and the adjoining land in between it and the noted row house for a cool space.

[BrianTH]

Apparently there is a "contingent" sale of the former Irish Centre on Forward Avenue, partway down into the Nine Mile Run valley (hat tip Chris Briem):

https://www.thepreferredrealty.com/r...hill-pa-15217/

Location:

Former Irish Centre

It is a really interesting, and large, location, and I don't know what the allowed uses would be. But some sort of popular amenity there would be cool. With the pool, forest setting, generous land, and such, I am even imagining you could do something like a classic "resort" (think Catskills, Poconos, etc.) except right in the heart of the East End.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BobLoblaw

Speaking of the North Ave-facing portion of that block -- do we know what the plan is for the two buildings closest to Reddour Street? The one on the corner has been undergoing interior renovations for some time, presumably for residential. I can't tell if any work has been done on the white brick one beside it, which is a building I like for some reason, perhaps because of the big windows on the second floor. Although restaurants haven't stuck very well in the City of Asylum building, I could see utilizing the garage of the white brick building and the adjoining land in between it and the noted row house for a cool space.

Just looked it up online...much more of a pain in the ass now that the Pittsburgh zoning maps don't link through to the Allegheny County assessor's site any more, for some inexplicable reason.

Both buildings (and the vacant lot) were owned by the Salvation Army up through 2017. They were then sold, but not together, with two different entities buying them. The one on the corner was bought by a dude who runs a local linen rental company and his wife. The other one (and the vacant lot beside it) is owned by the same holding company which owns the City of Asylum building.

Originally Posted by BrianTH

It is a really interesting, and large, location, and I don't know what the allowed uses would be. But some sort of popular amenity there would be cool. With the pool, forest setting, generous land, and such, I am even imagining you could do something like a classic "resort" (think Catskills, Poconos, etc.) except right in the heart of the East End.

That parcel is actually zoned P (Park) even though it's privately held, so I think any use would require a variance.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

That parcel is actually zoned P (Park) even though it's privately held, so I think any use would require a variance.

Interesting. I know a gazillion parks have scattered chunks of private land used for vacation rentals, resorts, restaurants, recreational businesses, and so on, so I would assume something in that general category would be doable.

I think a long time ago, there was some talk of the Summerset development doing something there. Obviously that didn't happen then, and based on the current solar farm talk and such, I would guess it isn't likely to be resurrected. And in fact although I am generally in favor of increasing residential density within the existing urbanized area, this particular location would definitely be best suited for something that blends into the landscape, and potentially is some sort of amenity for park users.

BTW, my understanding is the existing social hall, which was never much to look at anyway, is in pretty rough shape. So I am imagining that anyone with serious plans for the property would be tearing it down.

[dfiler]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Apparently there is a "contingent" sale of the former Irish Centre on Forward Avenue, partway down into the Nine Mile Run valley (hat tip Chris Briem):

https://www.thepreferredrealty.com/r...hill-pa-15217/

Location:

Former Irish Centre

It is a really interesting, and large, location, and I don't know what the allowed uses would be. But some sort of popular amenity there would be cool. With the pool, forest setting, generous land, and such, I am even imagining you could do something like a classic "resort" (think Catskills, Poconos, etc.) except right in the heart of the East End.

Thanks... have any more details or a source for future details?

It's definitely an interesting spot. It is somewhat secluded, with few if any other buildings within sight for most of the year. Surrounded by a park, you'd think it would be a green oasis. However, it sits below an interstate bridge and is bordered by a sewage overflow stream and a 200-foot tall pile of toxic waste. You can smell the exhaust, sewage, and slag on a regular basis. Next year much of the adjacent green space will be deforested in order for a replacement bridge to be built next to the current parkway bridge and then slid into place. It will likely be a construction site for at least 4 years.

But I'm all for it! Being a frequent user of Frick Park, i would love to see something similar to how the boathouse at north park became a destination restaurant/bar.