PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown III

[ks2006]

Originally Posted by mikebarbaro

The current warehouse behind Allegheny Station on the North Shore is to become Eleven 06 condominiums. If I remember correctly it was supposed to become a hotel but I guess that fell through. I really like to rendering where The Esplanade towers are shown in the background. This is also a Piatt Sotheby project.

Here are some renderings...

This looks cool, when is it supposed to be built? It seems like Pittsbugh's "downtownish" area is expanding in many directions lately - North Shore, this area, Strip District, and soon the Lower Hill and even Uptown. Very cool to hear this, if most of this stuff gets built, then Pittsburgh is going to have a larger and more vibrant feeling downtown area than any of its peers

[ks2006]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I also think that fundamentally businesses like Penn Mac - even though they own their buildings - will eventually get pushed out. The "Old Strip" was built on the model of suburbanites driving in for the weekend, parking all day, and wandering around (kinda like tailgaters at Steelers games). Parking is getting more scarce as the areas around the most built up commercial part of Penn are redeveloped, and it will get worse as time goes on. Additional urban congestion is starting to dissuade some of them from coming in as well.

Regarding this, I am wondering how Philly's similar area has not had much change even though other parts of the city have been changing rapidly. No, not talking about Reading Market (IDK why some people think that is like the Strip), I mean Italian Market neighborhood in South Philly, which is pretty similar to the Strip for food markets and restaurants.
Its pretty close to Center City too, and close to I95 and Columbus Blvd., so it has good transit access. IDK if Philly has any mechanism to keep it as is so that chains haven't take over.

[pj3000]

^ mentioned previous page

[eschaton]

The Post Gazette has an article up about the upcoming ZBA hearing on the new Garden Block building on the North Side. The most notable thing is that Stephen Pascal - the NIMBY who lives in New York who got the previous project defeated (which ultimately resulted in the buildings being destroyed) is still at it, having hired a lawyer to challenge the five-story height of the new project. However it looks like he has no legal standing to do so in this particular case, which only had to do with the parking variance being asked for by the developer.

[East Edge]

Dam right I am! I typically keep my mouth shut but this is horrible...I think the balconies are on the wrong side of the building!!Face the river angled towards the city view you idiots! I have NEVER seen a riverfront development proposal that doesn't capitalize on the riverfront. They put absolutely ZERO thought into planning the riverfront side of this building. What does Riverlife have to say about this? I understand maintaining a riparian edge to the river but this looks desolate and forgotten about. Please send this project back to the drawing boards. Shame on the designers / developers of this project. You should be embarrassed!! I'm embarrassed that a local architectural firm designed this who should really understand the value of riverfront development in this city. 75% of the apartments boast a sliver of a river view that will get approx 1 hour of sunlight in the summer but not the rest of the year. Oxford has been around here long enough to understand this too. Horrible.

Originally Posted by Bricktrimble

I'm pretty sure you are being facetious, and I would add that this is another metal panel monstrosity that will look like crap in 20 years. Look at the building next to it - The Cork Factory. Its still enduring because it has simple architecture and materials that are warm and human-scaled. Not much to tie this new building into the community. Although I do like the balconies!

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by East Edge

Dam right I am! I typically keep my mouth shut but this is horrible...I think the balconies are on the wrong side of the building!!Face the river angled towards the city view you idiots! I have NEVER seen a riverfront development proposal that doesn't capitalize on the riverfront. They put absolutely ZERO thought into planning the riverfront side of this building. What does Riverlife have to say about this? I understand maintaining a riparian edge to the river but this looks desolate and forgotten about. Please send this project back to the drawing boards. Shame on the designers / developers of this project. You should be embarrassed!!

To be fair, they're working with a long, skinny parcel which doesn't align well to riverfront views at all.

[eschaton]

The last Historic Review Commission presentation of the year is up. A relatively short presentation for December, only six items. Four of the items on the agenda are small residential projects on the North Side, and the two others (901-805 Bingham on the South Side, and 915 Liberty Downtown) are retreads of last month with some minor modifications.

[East Edge]

Originally Posted by eschaton

To be fair, they're working with a long, skinny parcel which doesn't align well to riverfront views at all.

A first grader could design a better riverfront facing facade and riverfront park.

[AaronPGH]

Woof. The RDL architects listed on the KBK proposal have one of the worst portfolios I've seen. http://rdlarchitects.com/projects/

[Don't Be That Guy]

Originally Posted by East Edge

A first grader could design a better riverfront facing facade and riverfront park.

It's not clear from the posted Planning Commission presentation, but from looking at the county tax maps, the developers of this project do not own the riverfront parcel. The property where a trail and riverfront improvements would go is owned by URA.

[eschaton]

12/3 Planning Commission presentation up. This is the last presentation of the year. Three projects for next week, all of them renovations of historic buildings downtown.

1. First up is 915 Liberty, which has already been covered in the HRC presentations for the past two months. The building is apparently being rebranded Maginn Lofts. I don't see a unit count anywhere, and there are still only floor plans of the new first story and the rooftop deck. I'm presuming 1-2 units per level however. EDIT: PBT confirms the number of units as 11 - possibly less if some buyers want to combine units.

2. There are planned facade renovations for 610 Wood Street, a handsome historic building near the corner of Liberty. There's few details, and relatively little work besides facade restoration will be done.

3. Finally, there's planned work on 329 Boluevard of the Allies. Even less information is available here, but it appears to be entirely related to the rear of the parcel.

[eschaton]

I've been wondering what's been going on with the former Plantscape building on Liberty Avenue, which is now mostly demolished. Apparently it's a condo project? It was originally intended to be a 20-unit building, but apparently there's interest among buyers for larger units, so the final unit count will likely be smaller. The building is being designed by Desmone, and the first floor will have a "doggie daycare." Construction is expected to be over in 12 months.

I'm just shocked that I've not seen anything at all about this in the ZBA agendas or elsewhere. Projects of this size usually don't get all the way to construction with no press whatsoever.

[eschaton]

So, there's a presentation on the Bloomfield Development Corporation's website which has renderings of the updated plans for the Hampton Inn on Penn Avenue near Children's Hospital. The new design by Indovina is an upgrade from what we've seen before, and changes the lobby so that it opens directly on Penn Avenue, which is appropriate for an urban neighborhood. In addition the latest Bloomfield-Garfield Bulletin reports the new plan adds three rooms (now 118) and seven parking spaces (now 67). I don't like that car access is off of Penn (meaning two curb cuts are retained), but I don't think car ingress/egress off the alley is feasible, and it's no more curb cuts than were already there.

The Bulletin has some other low-level development news as well, including renovations to a 16-unit apartment building on Penn Avenue, three infill module homes in Garfield, and the conversion of the B'Nai Israel Synagogue into a 45-unit apartment building.

[Don't Be That Guy]

Originally Posted by eschaton

So, there's a presentation on the Bloomfield Development Corporation's website which has renderings of the updated plans for the Hampton Inn on Penn Avenue near Children's Hospital. The new design by Indovina is an upgrade from what we've seen before, and changes the lobby so that it opens directly on Penn Avenue, which is appropriate for an urban neighborhood. In addition the latest Bloomfield-Garfield Bulletin reports the new plan adds three rooms (now 118) and seven parking spaces (now 67). I don't like that car access is off of Penn (meaning two curb cuts are retained), but I don't think car ingress/egress off the alley is feasible, and it's no more curb cuts than were already there.

Nice! I don't love that black brick, but overall that's a very nice building with a nice scale and streetwall presence, and a big improvement over the run-down houses and medical offices currently there. Indovina has really hit some home-runs with their recent project designs.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Don't Be That Guy

Nice! I don't love that black brick, but overall that's a very nice building with a nice scale and streetwall presence, and a big improvement over the run-down houses and medical offices currently there. Indovina has really hit some home-runs with their recent project designs.

To be clear, none of the houses on that stretch are getting demoed - just the weird office building with the round windows and the surface parking lots on either side.

I actually think the brick rowhouses immediately to the right have some potential if they're ever restored. I wouldn't care much about the frame homes further down the block though.

[Bricktrimble]

Originally Posted by Don't Be That Guy

Nice! I don't love that black brick, but overall that's a very nice building with a nice scale and streetwall presence, and a big improvement over the run-down houses and medical offices currently there. Indovina has really hit some home-runs with their recent project designs.

Black brick is all the rage with architects right now. See Baumhaus on Baum Blvd, etc. The thing I am surprised (not surprised) is the back of the building and the allowance to use fiber cement panels and other low quality materials. It seems like urban sites where all sides of the building can be seen should have the same requirements all the way around.

[BobMcKelvin]

Anyone know where I can find some satellite/aerial images of Pittsburgh from the past year or so? I’m even willing to pay if the quality is right.

Google Maps most current imagery is July 2017, Apple Maps only a month or two newer than that. Mapquest also has aerial images but they are even older.

It’s nice to read about and see pictures of these new developments but I really like seeing them on a macro level to watch how the city transforms.

[pj3000]

It’s a nice design... especially for a Hampton Inn. Maybe this location might feature actual edible breakfast food.

Though I might be kinda pissed about that design if I was one of the unit owners in that newly proposed condo building on Penn in the Strip...

[BenM]

Originally Posted by BobMcKelvin

Anyone know where I can find some satellite/aerial images of Pittsburgh from the past year or so? I’m even willing to pay if the quality is right.

Google Maps most current imagery is July 2017, Apple Maps only a month or two newer than that. Mapquest also has aerial images but they are even older.

It’s nice to read about and see pictures of these new developments but I really like seeing them on a macro level to watch how the city transforms.

I haven't used most of these satellite mapping tools, but one of them should give you what you are looking for.

[BobMcKelvin]

Originally Posted by BenM

I haven't used most of these satellite mapping tools, but one of them should give you what you are looking for.

Awesome!

Wego.here.com has imagery from last summer. A lot of big changes to pore over.