PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown III

[Johnland]

Latest CMU clunker: I think I'm over these clunky, odd angled, obtuse buildings. It sits in the center of museums, universities, and institutes and rather than being beautiful it's ugly. We waited decades for this piece of crap?

[shantyside]

the space district???

Astrobotic expansion could spur creation of 'space district' in Pittsburgh, officials say

https://triblive.com/business/techno...officials-say/

"Pittsburgh’s leading space company said Tuesday it plans to move some of its operations into a $20 million office building on the North Side and more than double its workforce.

Astrobotic, a Manchester-­based company that builds equipment to send to the moon, said it has bought a five-story building on Reedsdale Street and will expand its offices and labs there.

The company’s CEO, John Thornton, said Astrobotic wants to lead the growth of a potential “space district” in the area of the Allegheny light-rail station on the North Shore."

[BrianTH]

I definitely do not like CMU's dominant house style (although I liked the Gates Center), but the scale is good, and I agree it is great to finally complete piecing together that part of Oakland.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Johnland

It sits in the center of museums, universities, and institutes and rather than being beautiful it's ugly.

I mean, I don't particularly love the Museum of Art, and the former GATF Building (4615 Forbes) is a truly perfect example of Brutalist ugly.

So in that sense, the museum (ICA) base of this building is almost contextual to a fault.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I do think that the core of Oakland, in/around Pitt, is a bit of an architectural mishmash, insofar as you can see the original City Beautiful style of the core of the neighborhood, mid-century misadventures, and more modern attempts to orient it as a properly urban campus. I don't thik we should take a wrecking ball to the oldest stuff, but things like the Hillman Library (even with the planned changes to the street level to make it less of a fortress) were unfortunate.

Intellectually, I find the sort of "civic center architecture through the ages" look of that part of Oakland interesting. I agree it is a total mess in many ways, and a nightmare from a modern urban planning perspective. But it is such an irredeemable mess that I am actually pretty tolerant of the individual components.

[DoctorDevelopment]

Has there been any discussion about development on Fifth Avenue near Carlow in Oakland, on the left before the entrance ramp down to the parkway and the Boulevard of the Allies? I feel like that's been an unattractive dead zone for a long time. I checked Google Maps, and it looks like there used to be a body shop and what appears to be an old school on that land about 10 or so years ago.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by DoctorDevelopment

Has there been any discussion about development on Fifth Avenue near Carlow in Oakland, on the left before the entrance ramp down to the parkway and the Boulevard of the Allies? I feel like that's been an unattractive dead zone for a long time. I checked Google Maps, and it looks like there used to be a body shop and what appears to be an old school on that land about 10 or so years ago.

So I might garble this a bit, but back circa 2012 there was something called the Oakland 2025 plan, and it included plans for developing that area, called the Western Portal. See Section 5.5 on Pages 104-09:

https://explore.publicartarchive.org...-Plan-2018.pdf







All this was opposed by the OPDC and it stalled out by the late 2010s.

Eventually Walnut Capital's Oakland Crossings plan emerged, and after some negotiations and modifications the Oakland Plan was adopted last year. As I understand it, there were some elements of the Oakland 2025 plan that influenced the Oakland Plan.

But I don't think it really includes anything like the old Western Portal per se. Instead, as I understand it, that area is now included in what is called the Innovation District, and among other things that really limits the ability to include residential. The old plan was all office and hotel anyway, but given the current development climate, this limit might be a significant barrier. But we shall see.

[shantyside]

we're lucky to have CMU - they build quality architecture because it attracts quality students

the forbers beeler apartments is a lot nicer than the five over one stick construction garbage you see all over the city





same goes for the fifth and clyde residence hall

[datadriven]

What happened to the original ornamentation on the Grant Building?

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by datadriven

What happened to the original ornamentation on the Grant Building?

The ornamentation was removed during a mid century modernization project.

[shantyside]

550 Market St Units 22 & 23 at three PNC - formerly owned by thomas tull and which was originally a 7 bed penthouse that he tried to sell for $13.9 million

can be yours now for $4,950,000 - 6 bed, 7.5+ bath

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...2_M45122-12574

[themaguffin]

Why is a specific condo for sale relevant?

[deja vu]

Because it proves that the entire real estate market in Pittsburgh is collapsing. Duh!

[shantyside]

Originally Posted by deja vu

Because it proves that the entire real estate market in Pittsburgh is collapsing. Duh!

if a condo downtown sells for $4 million dollars, that would be the opposite of a collapse

[themaguffin]

The point is that individual real estate listings are not very relevant to the thread.

Start a real estate thread.

[shantyside]

After high-profile projects rejected, calls for zoning reform mount in Pittsburgh

https://www.wesa.fm/development-tran...-in-pittsburgh

"City Council must “reform our broken zoning ordinances [and] legalize abundant housing,” Christopher Beam, a member of Pro-Housing Pittsburgh, said during public comment last week. The recent zoning decisions “delayed and prevented hundreds of affordable and market-rate homes from being built in Pittsburgh.”

Another speaker, Andrew Bryk, noted that zoning rules allow drive-through banks to be built on Penn Avenue, but “we can’t build places for people to live and buy groceries. We have our priorities backward.”

[shantyside]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

The point is that individual real estate listings are not very relevant to the thread.

Start a real estate thread.

development is a business - see the development known as liberty east which is mainly unoccupied and not yet providing a return on investment and probably never will - see the development known as century 3 mall which has been condemned and will eventually have to be demolished at a huge cost to the community

am i the only one here who has a degree related to development? have any of you worked for a developer or a contractor or an architecture firm or a bank or a realtor or a planning firm? would be curious to know

[deja vu]

I am a licensed architect. I earned my professional degree from the school you just complimented, a few posts back. I work with developers, planners, and contractors every day of my professional life. I don't really bring that up on this forum. Because it isn't really relevant. Your professional and personal background should not make your opinion more or less valid here.

No one said development is not a business. You're missing the point. We all have varying interests and passions. If your passion happens to be looming real estate bubbles and how horrible some urban developments are, that's fine.

But this thread has been diluted with inane, axe-grinding posts that keep bringing up the same topics. It comes off as trolling. You genuinely might not be trying to do that. Or maybe you are. I have no clue. If it is trolling, I'll await a snarky reply, followed by a mod swooping in to delete it. If you want to harp on about the same three things, start a new thread instead of cluttering this one. I promise I'll even subscribe to it.

Post a comment. Read the response(s). Respond non-cheekily (or not at all). Then move on with your life. Repeat with vigor, until it is a habit. It's basic forum etiquette.

And.... Go!

[photoLith]

This is a development thread, not a real estate thread.

[shantyside]

Originally Posted by deja vu

I am a licensed architect. I earned my professional degree from the school you just complimented, a few posts back. I work with developers, planners, and contractors every day of my professional life. I don't really bring that up on this forum. Because it isn't really relevant. Your professional and personal background should not make your opinion more or less valid here.

No one said development is not a business. You're missing the point. We all have varying interests and passions. If your passion happens to be looming real estate bubbles and how horrible some urban developments are, that's fine.

But this thread has been diluted with inane, axe-grinding posts that keep bringing up the same topics. It comes off as trolling. You genuinely might not be trying to do that. Or maybe you are. I have no clue. If it is trolling, I'll await a snarky reply, followed by a mod swooping in to delete it. If you want to harp on about the same three things, start a new thread instead of cluttering this one. I promise I'll even subscribe to it.

Post a comment. Read the response(s). Respond non-cheekily (or not at all). Then move on with your life. Repeat with vigor, until it is a habit. It's basic forum etiquette.

And.... Go!

explain to me what this forum is about - it's title is "Development Rundown III" so obviously it has something to do with development

be specific please

i'm guessing this forum is meant to be what like what eschaton does - just repeating announcements from other sources like the pittsburgh planning commission, or what wpipkins does posting photographs

it's not really meant to be a forum where the development's commercial success or failure is discussed, or its impact on the community, or its architectural merits

it's simply a place for announcements and photographs and renderings of building that are being developed or under construction - it's not a place for opinions or in-depth analysis

is that correct?

also one more question - is there a moderator here like yac from city-data, or is moderation handled by forum members by saying things like ignore this person or start a new thread elsewhere?

and one more personal question if you don't mind - did you grow up in pittsburgh or move here later in life for college?