PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by Jonboy1983

You know what I don't get? That article says 8k people live Downtown. Try telling that to the US Census Bureau. They seem to think that only ~3,500 live there. Come to think of it, I disagree with the Census.

Also, I thought the Downtown population soared to 100k during the day...

WTAE has a special on the other night about the restaurant/foodie evolution happening in Pittsburgh... it claimed that 12K people lived downtown...

[greg42]

I know there are a lot of new housing units downtown, I'm guessing well north of 1000 in the last several years, maybe 1500 even although I don't think 2000 new ones. 8000 population including the jail might be reasonable. 12000 doesn't seem realistic. I doubt the downtown housing unit count is higher than 3000 even if we count Point Park dorm rooms. Maybe it hits that number if you count jail cells. But would it average 4 people per unit? No. Downtown in particular will likely be closest to two people per unit. I'd be pretty floored if we've reached a count of 6000 units downtown, even inlcuding the jail cells, unless you include hotel rooms.

Sometimes they use greater downtown numbers that might include Strip and/or North Shore (at least the place at 9th St bridge) or maybe Uptown.

[Private Dick]

For some odd reason, I don't think prisoners should be considered residents of downtown.

They're not quite participating in the downtown life really...

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

another project for Lawrenceville

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburg....html?page=all

Originally Posted by greg42

You should be happy! Burgh'ers is really amazing stuff. Fits right in with all the rest of the restaurants that have opened around there. Top notch cocktail program included. They do plenty of non-burger items if you must but IMO their burger beats the other typical best burgers in town. I know, I'm thinking I remember you are vegetarian? Ah well. I think you'd still find something. The guy Moletz knows his food.

Great news! I stopped by their place in Harmony on the way home from Grove City a few years ago. Good stuff.

[JVC]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Penn isn't the front? I'm honestly not sure what you are looking for here..

one of the first things a decent architecture school teaches new students is when building in a city like rome build as the romans do

at the beginning of the design process an architect goes to the site with his sketchbook and then walks around the area making drawings to document and understand the local building typology - then with that understanding he designs the new building to fit in with the existing architecture

there is a very specific east liberty building typology when it comes to entrances (it's basically a global standard)
1. the entrance is located at the front of the building
2. the entrance has signage or lettering announcing the name of the building

why the architect and developer of the oddly named "The Penn at Walnut on Highland" is blatantly refusing to follow this basic architectural rule and instead forcing residents to enter through a dark alley back door entrance is a bizarre mystery

in the hope that it's not too late for the designers to fix their plan, here are a few examples of how front doors are done in east liberty

[BrianTH]

It will be very interesting to see where Downtown proper ends up in terms of residents in the 2020 Census. That's still far enough away that you could fit in a lot more conversions and maybe a few significant new residential builds.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by JVC

there is a very specific east liberty building typology when it comes to entrances (it's basically a global standard)
1. the entrance is located at the front of the building
2. the entrance has signage or lettering announcing the name of the building

why the architect and developer of the oddly named "The Penn at Walnut on Highland" is blatantly refusing to follow this basic architectural rule and instead forcing residents to enter through a dark alley back door entrance is a bizarre mystery

Once again, the new entrance on Penn apparent in the updated renderings seems to have addressed your concerns (I assume it will in fact have some sort of signage or lettering).

This:



Is probably pretty much the same as this:

[JVC]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Once again, the new entrance on Penn apparent in the updated renderings seems to have addressed your concerns (I assume it will in fact have some sort of signage or lettering).

there are plenty of good optometrists in the area that can help with vision improvement

what you continue to point to in that rendering is what architects and builders refer to as a "side door"

the "side door" is different from the "front door" which serves as the main entrance to the building and gives "direct access to the street"

the door you're referring to at the liberty building is the "front door" of the building - it's the main entrance and it gives tenant "direct access to the street"
the building also has a "side door" located on sheridan street and a "back door" located on kirkwood

[eschaton]

FWIW, I actually like the splash of near-cobalt blue in the new rendering. Besides Bakery Living (which is hideous) it seems like every new construction apartment building in the city is shades of tan, gray, and rust.

[JVC]

Originally Posted by eschaton

FWIW, I actually like the splash of near-cobalt blue in the new rendering. Besides Bakery Living (which is hideous) it seems like every new construction apartment building in the city is shades of tan, gray, and rust.

there should be a rule that every new building in the city has to look something like this hideous piece of garbage

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by JVC

merriam-webster defines "side-door" as "a door in one side of a structure"

Again, Penn isn't the front? If the front side counts as a side, does that mean all front doors are also side doors?

notice how in the rendering the door you have circled the door is located at the left "side" of the building - that's why it is correctly referred to as a "side door", it's on the left "side" of the building

Notice how the door to the Liberty Building, which you posted yourself, is similarly on the "right side" of the building as you are defining the term.

If your argument is that all doors to upper floors must be centered and not toward one end of a building, then I disagree there is any such rule in architecture in general or as applied in East Liberty.

[PGHFan]

Whatever side it is on it certainly is not an eye-catching entrance. But maybe that blue piece is supposed to indicate where the door is. Its kind of a mish-mash architectural style that, at least to me, has too much going on in too small a space. Reminds me of those pasted together old facades and new buildings that are around Washington Circle in DC.

[JVC]

as opposed to the architectural piece of crap that is currently beginning construction on the corner of penn and highland in east liberty,
the original design for the site by the developer of the odeon project hit all the right notes

- it had a front door with a nameplate
- it had a side door also with a nameplate
- it had a cornice similar to the cornice on the target design

[JVC]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Again, Penn isn't the front? If the front side counts as a side, does that mean all front doors are also side doors?

Notice how the door to the Liberty Building, which you posted yourself, is similarly on the "right side" of the building as you are defining the term.

If your argument is that all doors to upper floors must be centered and not toward one end of a building, then I disagree there is any such rule in architecture in general or as applied in East Liberty.

that language got revised

the penn-highland building does not have a front door

the door you have circled is not the front door because it is not the main entrance to the building - it is a secondary entrance, or "side door"

refer to the odeon rendering to understand how to correctly design an apartment building for that site

[Evergrey]

Hopefully this comes with a Dollar Tree.

http://www.post-gazette.com/business...s/201503050117

Developers show renewed interest in hotel at convention center's doorstep

March 5, 2015 12:30 AM

By Mark Belko / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
There may be life for a headquarters hotel next to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center after all — or some type of mixed-use development at the very least.

The Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority has received five responses to a request for qualifications issued in January to gauge interest from developers in building a mega-hotel or some other type of signature project at the convention center’s doorstep.

“It was a good mix of local and national firms. We’re encouraged by the response and we think it’s a positive reflection of the strength of the Pittsburgh market,” SEA executive director Mary Conturo said Wednesday.

She would not name the firms that responded. Nor would she divulge the types of projects they are pitching, saying she had yet to study the information.

The number of replies is two more than the SEA received in 2010 when it issued a request for proposals for a hotel. Three hotel companies responded at that time, but no deal was reached; they wanted more than $50 million in public subsidies to complete the project.

This time around, the SEA did not list any potential subsidy in the request for qualifications. In fact, it stated the goal is to “minimize the level of public financial participation in the project and to attain the most distinctive, highest quality and marketable project possible.”

...

[Minivan Werner]

The mixed use idea seems intriguing... Though I'm not sure what kind of market there'd be for office space or apartments specifically attached to a convention center, I guess that's for them to figure out.

If nothing else the mixed use idea will simply add more floors and hopefully the development will pop out of the skyline, as the original hotel plan was going to do.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by JVC

there should be a rule that every new building in the city has to look something like this hideous piece of garbage

That's a condo building, not an apartment building.

Can't say I'm a fan regardless, but at least Art Lubetz was trying something different from the generic apartment buildings which are so common now nationwide.

I really wish we had more architects interested in New Classical architecture, both in Pittsburgh and nationally, but that's not really relevant to this thread.

[GeneW]

Sigh. Is there a dumber argument to have than "is a door at the front of an apartment building a front door?"

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by JVC

A much better and more appropriate design for a prominent corner lot. Again, why can't Pittsburgh believe that it deserves nice things?

I just hope that the materials used on the new design are of decent quality... though with Walnut Capital and Strada at the helm, I'm unfortunately not too confident about that, given their collaboration at Bakery Square and Strada's work down the street and on the north shore.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Sigh. Is there a dumber argument to have than "is a door at the front of an apartment building a front door?"

No... it's not a dumb argument at all. It's absolutely critical to building and streetscape design.