PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown III - Page 140

eschaton · #**2781** Posted **Sep 11, 2019, 12:46 PM**

The URA is reportedly on the precipice of inking a deal with the new owner of SouthSide Works (Somera Road Inc) in order to develop the three remaining vacant parcels along the riverfront. Some sort of extension was always likely, given Soffer's initial development agreement had almost expired.

In total, the developer plans to expend $20 to $25 million to revitalize the complex as a whole. This includes $1-$2 million to upgrade the town square and other public spaces.

There are no plans as of yet for what will go on the three remaining empty parcels. Unsurprisingly, the developer also plans to attempt to develop new uses for the vacant retail storefronts mostly located along S 27th Street.

The URA is planning to lease the vacant tracts of land to Somera, rather than selling it. The 99-year ground leases on two are set up to dramatically increase the cost to the developer if the first parcel does not begin development before 2022, with the URA also able to send RFP's out to the wider community if they fail to begin moving.

miked_6 · #**2782** Posted **Sep 11, 2019, 1:23 PM**

can someone send Somera Road the plans for the initial design for the TCS Hall at CMU? something like that would be at home in SSW.

eschaton · #**2783** Posted **Sep 11, 2019, 2:16 PM**

According to the PBT (behind paywall) the URA is moving to sell the remaining brownfield site by the 62nd Street Bridge to the City of Pittsburgh. This will likely have longer-term ramifications for development in the city, because the City plans to use the site to develop a new, consolidated location for the Department of Public Works, which means eventually vacating the considerable acreage the city owns in the Strip District and elsewhere.

spoonman109 · #**2784** Posted **Sep 18, 2019, 2:18 AM**

The Pittsburgh Business times summarized recently all the major tenants looking for office space over the next few years.

Dollar Bank (over 100K square feet) lease in 3 Gateway is up in 2020
FNB (consolidate into a single headquarters)
K&L Gates
EQT
PriceWaterhouse

Dollar Bank and FNB are the bigger ones I think in terms of square footage.

eschaton · #**2785** Posted **Sep 18, 2019, 2:18 PM**

I noticed this morning that Hazelwood has a brand-new draft community master plan online.

Unlike some other neighborhood master plans I've recently seen, it has a pretty robust development section. The plan is not shy about arguing that a comprehensive rezone of Hazelwood is in order - and by that I mean upzoning to allow for denser redevelopment everywhere that is developable (e.g., not parkland, undermined, or a steep slope).

Austinlee · #**2786** Posted **Sep 18, 2019, 6:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by spoonman109

The Pittsburgh Business times summarized recently all the major tenants looking for office space over the next few years.

Dollar Bank (over 100K square feet) lease in 3 Gateway is up in 2020
FNB (consolidate into a single headquarters)
K&L Gates
EQT
PriceWaterhouse

Dollar Bank and FNB are the bigger ones I think in terms of square footage.

Nice.
I have maintained for a couple years that the most likely candidate for a new signature tower downtown, even if it were modest in height would be FNB.

Interesting to see the others listed; Isn't EQT still tied to the errrm, EQT Tower on Liberty Ave?

Muckk · #**2787** Posted **Sep 18, 2019, 7:16 PM**

Didn't EQT just lay off a sizable amount of their employees? If I recall they are taking something like 50+ departments and downsizing them into 9 or so.

PITairport · #**2788** Posted **Sep 18, 2019, 7:24 PM**

"The ownership of the New Federal Cold Storage building at 1501 Smallman confirm they are pushing forward with a plan to demolish the block-sized relic of a structure to make way for a new 21-story office project."

https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsbur...the-strip.html

BrianTH · #**2789** Posted **Sep 18, 2019, 8:00 PM**

21 stories there would be great.

photoLith · #**2790** Posted **Sep 18, 2019, 9:07 PM**

Yes EQT just laid off a ton of people downtown. I know 3 people who lost their jobs about a week or so ago. The natural gas industry is kinda going to shit right now, I'll probably be out of work soon too.

eschaton · #**2791** Posted **Sep 19, 2019, 1:13 PM**

10/10 ZBA is up. Items of interest.

1. Seven new rowhouses on the northern fringe of the Central Northside (here).

2. Construction of two new single-family homes in Mount Washington (here). House on the right will apparently be torn down and replaced.

3. A new three-story mixed use building on Ellsworth in Shadyside. The location is here. They've been trying to replace that old house formerly used as a dentist office for quite some time - I think this is at least the third time it's gone before the ZBA. I'm sure a combination of the restrictive LNC zoning and small parcel size is making it difficult to redevelop.

There's also a handful of sign permits, modifications of existing buildings, and the like.

In other news, there is apparently a new brewery coming to Garfield in the spring. And the Post Gazette has a very long article regarding the failures of historic preservation in the city of Pittsburgh over the last few decades - focusing primarily how the city itself has demolished many historic structures, in large part because the existing process for gaining historic buildings and packaging them for resale before they deteriorate is so cumbersome that the current system leaves few alternatives.

photoLith · #**2792** Posted **Sep 19, 2019, 3:10 PM**

^
Are those new rehouses going to be on the right wooded sloped side of the street for the first 1st one?

eschaton · #**2793** Posted **Sep 19, 2019, 3:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoLith

^
Are those new rehouses going to be on the right wooded sloped side of the street for the first 1st one?

Yes. There's a big un-divided parcel there which they plan to construct the houses on. However, the parcel is zoned hillside, which is why they need so many variances in order to begin construction.

I think the argument can be made that since it's directly across the street from what was a dense block of rowhouses (prior to blight) the city should allow infill at a similar density fronting on W Jefferson. This stands in stark contrast to most areas zoned hillside, which generally front on twisty streets, are very sparsely laid out, and would be quite prominently seem interrupting the green band of the hillsides from many directions.

dfiler · #**2794** Posted **Sep 19, 2019, 3:32 PM**

New tenants will soon start moving into a strip of 10 recently renovated storefronts on Wood St in Wilkinsburg.
http://wilkinsburgcdc.org/private-de...lMPPRU666lGUlQ

This along with the train station renovation could be the spark that finally succeeds in kicking off a revived Wood St!

Jonboy1983 · #**2795** Posted **Sep 19, 2019, 5:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianTH

21 stories there would be great.

Oh man, I was looking at a sreet view from the Veterans Bridge looking back toward the Strip to get a better idea of what a building like that would look like. Imagine the Homewood Suites hotel put in its place - and 3 times taller...

I would LOVE to see something like that built there! I wonder who a possible tenant would be. I'm not sure if FNB would want to be there or if they'd prefer to be in Downtown.

photoLith · #**2796** Posted **Sep 19, 2019, 5:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfiler

New tenants will soon start moving into a strip of 10 recently renovated storefronts on Wood St in Wilkinsburg.
http://wilkinsburgcdc.org/private-de...lMPPRU666lGUlQ

This along with the train station renovation could be the spark that finally succeeds in kicking off a revived Wood St!

What's really holding back Wilkinsburg is their insanely high homeowners taxes. I had a friend that was going to buy a house in Wilkinsburg years ago but they didn't as the taxes would have been tens of thousands of dollars.

AaronPGH · #**2797** Posted **Sep 19, 2019, 5:36 PM**

The architect tapped for that 21-story building has a lot of great looking stuff on their portfolio page:

https://www.brandonhawarch.com/portfolio/

eschaton · #**2798** Posted **Sep 19, 2019, 6:02 PM**

Looks like one of the long-languishing Strip condo projects (a 21-unit eight-story structure at Penn and 23rd) will soon begin construction.

BrianTH · #**2799** Posted **Sep 19, 2019, 6:04 PM**

I used to dream about being a wealthy retiree, and redoing that block of Wilkinsburg as an artist's colony type space. Glad to see it didn't need to wait for me!

Wilkinsburg does have very high statutory tax rates, but it also has low assessed values--and prices for that matter. It also has abatement programs. And of course a lower earned income tax than the City.

All this means the tax hit for a comparable property in, say, nearby parts of Pittsburgh is not nearly as big as you might think, particularly if you have a decent ratio of earned income to house value. Still, it is definitely an issue.

The plan is to use the abatement programs and other things to help encourage enough new investment to increase various property values, which would allow lowering statutory tax rates over time. It is going slowly, but there are signs it might be working at least somewhat.

bossride · #**2800** Posted **Sep 20, 2019, 10:56 AM**

The Post Gazette has a comprehensive article on Pittsburgh's historic structures, both the ones still here and the ones torn down. There is an interactive map that is very telling.