PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown III

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

which one is that?

The new Wholefoods development on Penn Avenue between Negley and Penn Circle. I was shocked at how huge it appears from every angle in East Liberty. I have an amazing view of the East End plateau from my home. Bakery Square and the new Phillips building really dominate the skyline. There is a swath of newness and all the new LED lit intersections sparkle like hell at night.

[qwho]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

The new Wholefoods development on Penn Avenue between Negley and Penn Circle. I was shocked at how huge it appears from every angle in East Liberty. I have an amazing view of the East End plateau from my home. Bakery Square and the new Phillips building really dominate the skyline. There is a swath of newness and all the new LED lit intersections sparkle like hell at night.

Anyone got a picture? I can't seem to find a construction cam if there is one...

[photoLith]

Yeah that development really adds a lot to the Sliberty skyline. Much better than those skuzzy public housing that was there before.

[bmust71]

Originally Posted by qwho

Anyone got a picture? I can't seem to find a construction cam if there is one...

Here are some pics I took over Thanksgiving...

*Edit* Having trouble posting pics... trying to use Flickr

[Austinlee]

Driving through the strip today you can really see construction sites everywhere. I know there has been a lot of infill already in the last 5+ years but at the current time you can really start to see the future of the area and how much denser it is going to be.

[bossride]

Nice overview/look into the crystal ball for Downtown and the Strip.

https://www.publicsource.org/pittsbu...eid=a16a3faf7f

[eschaton]

The January 7th ZBA agenda is online, which is the first presentation of the new year.

Regardless, only one big item - conversion of the former Gladstone school into 53 units of housing. The documents themselves are pretty skimpy. There's a site plan on the final page, but it's scanned at such low resolution that it's basically unreadable. Regardless, a significant number of additional units in Hazelwood seems to be a net win to me.

[eschaton]

January 21 ZBA agenda now online. Not sure what happened to January 14th, will keep an eye out for it. Regardless, there are three items of interest:

1. Infill house in Fineview. Very little information in the presentation. Looks like they plan to demolish an existing frame home (probably abandoned) and build a new one, which will spill over into a now vacant odd-sized corner lot. I'd be interested to see renderings, because that home should have incredible views of downtown.

2. Infill home in Central Lawrenceville. It's typical Lawrenceville infill, meaning it completely clashes with the homes on either side of it. Seems to be replacing a small intact frame house, which again is par for the course in Lawrenceville now. At least the lot has alley access and they are putting the garage in the rear.

3. Finally, a pretty substantial infill project in California-Kirkbride. This reconstructs several empty blocks at the far west of the neighborhood, and will add a community center, a new 30-unit mini-apartment and 12 units of semi-attached housing. This project has been in the works for awhile, having been mentioned in the URA agenda, and having gotten special rezoning through the Planning Commission (changing the apartment footprint to industrial zoning to allow for multi-family). It still needs a ton of variances to get through, but I can't see too many NIMBYs in this area. There's certain aspects of the project I don't like (particularly the change of a street intersection to a cul-de-sac), but overall, one can't complain about new residential investment in one of the city's most blighted neighborhoods.

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by eschaton

3. Finally, a pretty substantial infill project in California-Kirkbride. This reconstructs several empty blocks at the far west of the neighborhood, and will add a community center, a new 30-unit mini-apartment and 12 units of semi-attached housing. This project has been in the works for awhile, having been mentioned in the URA agenda, and having gotten special rezoning through the Planning Commission (changing the apartment footprint to industrial zoning to allow for multi-family). It still needs a ton of variances to get through, but I can't see too many NIMBYs in this area. There's certain aspects of the project I don't like (particularly the change of a street intersection to a cul-de-sac), but overall, one can't complain about new residential investment in one of the city's most blighted neighborhoods.

It looks like there's a lot of (well-intentioned) ambition and promise in this project. Have local residents been involved in the planning process at all?

[MN/WI]

Do people of Pittsburgh like having all their bridges painted yellow? For me it's kind of cartoonish and garish.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by deja vu

It looks like there's a lot of (well-intentioned) ambition and promise in this project. Have local residents been involved in the planning process at all?

I'm not even sure if California-Kirkbride has a community organization. In 2010 it only had 761 residents, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was around 600 in the 2020 Census.

Originally Posted by MN/WI

Do people of Pittsburgh like having all their bridges painted yellow? For me it's kind of cartoonish and garish.

It's just the bridges close to downtown. They're supposed to be gold, not yellow, to go along with the universal black/gold colors of the sports teams.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by MN/WI

Do people of Pittsburgh like having all their bridges painted yellow? For me it's kind of cartoonish and garish.

I think they do. And they are painted 'Aztec Gold', not yellow. The color is so named because the ancient Aztec civilization had its origins in Pittsburgh.

The original Aztecs lived in what is now downtown Pittsburgh and eventually got tired of being a Sun-worshipping people in cloudy Pittsburgh, so they floated down the Ohio River (on boats made of the earliest known steel) to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico, then floated down the coast to central Mexico.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I think they do. And they are painted 'Aztec Gold', not yellow. The color is so named because the ancient Aztec civilization had its origins in Pittsburgh.

The original Aztecs lived in what is now downtown Pittsburgh and eventually got tired of being a Sun-worshipping people in cloudy Pittsburgh, so they floated down the Ohio River (on boats made of the earliest known steel) to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico, then floated down the coast to central Mexico.

I actually had a friend and coworker (now departed sadly) who, when he was visiting Pittsburgh, looked around and said..."Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to build a city here? The Inca?"

[psuhoops123]

I actually like the Aztec Gold along with the other bridges painted black. I live in Upper Lawrenceville and the 62nd bridge is due for a new coat. It would be really cool if were able to paint that black. Painting bridges aren't cheap though.

Originally Posted by MN/WI

Do people of Pittsburgh like having all their bridges painted yellow? For me it's kind of cartoonish and garish.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by psuhoops123

I actually like the Aztec Gold along with the other bridges painted black. I live in Upper Lawrenceville and the 62nd bridge is due for a new coat. It would be really cool if were able to paint that black. Painting bridges aren't cheap though.

I think Pittsburgh has more than enough dark colors to go around... the varying shades of brown and gray are pretty much the "colors" of Pittsburgh, especially in the wintertime. Plus, there are plenty of black RR bridges.

In northern climates, I'm all for color to help brighten up the landscape.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I actually had a friend and coworker (now departed sadly) who, when he was visiting Pittsburgh, looked around and said..."Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to build a city here? The Inca?"

Oh right, I misspoke!... it was the Incas, not the Aztecs. That's a good quote.

[eschaton]

The city has now posted the January 14th ZBA. Though they seem to have made an oopsie, because the link goes to a second copy of the January 7th agenda. Fortunately the links to the individual projects work, so I'm just going by those. Not much, but something to discuss.

1. New infill home in Central Lawrenceville. This is actually just around the corner from where I used to live, filling in a long-time vacant space between two brick homes used as a side yard. They have made the interesting choice to set the home back considerably on the property, giving it a substantial front yard and essentially having the attached garage front directly on the alley. It appears based upon some of the site plans they are going to attempt to save the tree in the front of the home, which would be great, as the impact from the street would be unchanged - a pleasant "notch" in the street wall. The design itself isn't half bad either, though it's not like it gives us a big idea about things like cladding.

2. This is just amusing NIMBYism, but some dude in Banksville wrote to the ZBA to protest his next-door neighbor operating a dogsitting business out of their home.

3. A new outdoor seating area for the only bar/restaurant in my neighborhood. I really wish the food there was better.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by eschaton

2. This is just amusing NIMBYism, but some dude in Banksville wrote to the ZBA to protest his next-door neighbor operating a dogsitting business out of their home.

A bit of NIMBYism, probably (and likely a good dose of hyperbole in the complaint )... though I can definitely sympathize with the appelant. I wouldn;t want to live next to a dog-sitting business. My next door neighbors have two dogs and I pretty much have grown to hate one of them

It's an idiot retriever, so it's beyond stupid and barks at everything whether the dog is in the backyard or inside the house at the big front window: people walking by on the street... that's good for about 10 minutes of nonstop barking; mail/UPS/FedEx/Amazon... that's good for at least 30 minutes; squirrel... maybe only 5 minutes; me in my own backyard... depends on how long I want to endure being barked at before going back inside; and if something makes it bark while they're not home... we're talking hours of incessant barking.

In general, dog owners make bad neighbors.

Originally Posted by eschaton

3. A new outdoor seating area for the only bar/restaurant in my neighborhood. I really wish the food there was better.

Is that the Bulldog Pub? If so, I hear you on the food... they obviously just don't care. Which is odd, because it seems like they could do a really good business given their location as "the only game in town". But it's like they try to make the food bad.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by pj3000

It's an idiot retriever, so it's beyond stupid and barks at everything whether the dog is in the backyard or inside the house at the big front window: people walking by on the street... that's good for about 10 minutes of nonstop barking; mail/UPS/FedEx/Amazon... that's good for at least 30 minutes; squirrel... maybe only 5 minutes; me in my own backyard... depends on how long I want to endure being barked at before going back inside; and if something makes it bark while they're not home... we're talking hours of incessant barking.

I hear ya. My nextdoor neighbor has two dogs, both of them pitbulls I think. One of them (her sons really, though she watches it a lot) is just fine, but the other one might as well be Cujo. The friggin thing has, over the six plus years we have lived here, never gotten used to us, and continues to try and attack us through the fence whenever we get close enough (like, trimming the grass on that side of the yard). It has busted through the fence slats multiple times in an attempt to bite us, requiring us to reinforce the fence with additional bolts. Thankfully it doesn't bark that much, so whenever it's not trying to kill us, we don't really notice it's there.

Originally Posted by pj3000

Is that the Bulldog Pub? If so, I hear you on the food... they obviously just don't care. Which is odd, because it seems like they could do a really good business given their location as "the only game in town". But it's like they try to make the food bad.

Yep, that's the place. I really want to like it, given it's local, but it's just...not good.

I stopped by once during quarantine to pick up a six, and they have totally redone the interior now. It doesn't look like an "old man bar" any longer. Maybe the food will get an upgrade too.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I hear ya. My nextdoor neighbor has two dogs, both of them pitbulls I think. One of them (her sons really, though she watches it a lot) is just fine, but the other one might as well be Cujo. The friggin thing has, over the six plus years we have lived here, never gotten used to us, and continues to try and attack us through the fence whenever we get close enough (like, trimming the grass on that side of the yard). It has busted through the fence slats multiple times in an attempt to bite us, requiring us to reinforce the fence with additional bolts. Thankfully it doesn't bark that much, so whenever it's not trying to kill us, we don't really notice it's there.

Yikes. You don't need me to tell you, but be careful with that thing. Bad pitbulls are just truly terrible creatures.

Originally Posted by eschaton

Yep, that's the place. I really want to like it, given it's local, but it's just...not good.

I stopped by once during quarantine to pick up a six, and they have totally redone the interior now. It doesn't look like an "old man bar" any longer. Maybe the food will get an upgrade too.

Well that's encouraging. I used to pop in there for a beer every so often, which it was fine for. Regarding the food, it always puzzled me, because they would advertise specials on their board and even had certain food nights, like wing night or burger night or whatever... but it was all just bad. It reminded me of Pittsburgh bar/restaurants in the 1990s/early 2000s... offering terrible food because that's what they were expected to offer, and there were few other options for a decent, casual meal at a tavern.