PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown II

[BrianTH]

A large office complex (with some ground-floor retail and parking) is in the works for the former Ayoob properties in the Strip:

http://www.post-gazette.com/business...s/201710260077

Aaron Stauber, Rugby president, stressed Wednesday that plans for the complex are “very preliminary” but added it is the kind of development needed in the Strip, which is becoming a hub for tech companies and others. “For the Strip District, it’s large,” he said of the proposed development. “That’s the point. There’s a need for this in the Strip District.” Plans call for a 420,000-square-feet development that would include 380,000 square feet of office space, 40,000 square feet of retail, and a 1,000-space parking garage. “It’s not set in stone, those numbers, but it definitely reflects the overall concept,” Mr. Stauber said. The complex would be built on a four-acre tract bordered by 21st and 23rd streets, and Smallman and Railroad streets.

More office seems like a complementary use in this spot, with all the residential going along the river and the thriving retail district over on Penn. It is also a visually important spot as it will close off the gap next to the St. Stanislaus, finishing off the "square" around the Produce Terminal on that side. So in that context, this sounds somewhat promising:

Mike Lee, president and board chairman of Strip District Neighbors, said the community group has been working with Rugby and Al. Neyer to make some changes to the project. It has some concerns about the scale and size of the development in relationship to the produce terminal and the St. Stanislaus Kostka Church and has asked the developers to take a look at that, Mr. Lee said. “The design itself looks awesome. They really have taken the time to make it look like it’s part of the Strip with the colors and the materials, so we are very pleased with that,” he said.

The NIMBYism about the scale is frustrating, but hopefully the design in context is in fact awesome.

[eschaton]

I would honestly prefer more apartment buildings and less offices in the Strip. The primary reason being transit access to the Strip District isn't the best unless you can use the 54/86/87/88/91, or maybe take the P1/P2 to Herron Station and walk for a bit. Practically speaking, this mostly limits commutes to the Strip District to the Upper East End, Downtown, Oakland, and a bit of the North Side. Which is why a large portion of the people who take these office jobs will need to drive, and parking garages are now being built in the Strip district.

[TBone7281]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I would honestly prefer more apartment buildings and less offices in the Strip. The primary reason being transit access to the Strip District isn't the best unless you can use the 54/86/87/88/91, or maybe take the P1/P2 to Herron Station and walk for a bit. Practically speaking, this mostly limits commutes to the Strip District to the Upper East End, Downtown, Oakland, and a bit of the North Side. Which is why a large portion of the people who take these office jobs will need to drive, and parking garages are now being built in the Strip district.

Parking is still a big aspect when they are building out apartments as well. Bunker development behind Terminal Building, Three Crossings (which is mixed use), Cork Factory garage, etc.

[themaguffin]

Surprisingly decent write up from the otherwise useless Daily Caller:

Amazon Is Not Coming; Your City Has Already Lost

In the end, where will Amazon go?  The most tantalizing clue is where Amazon currently has research centers outside of Seattle.  Those six cities are Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Portland.  After removing west coast Portland and too big Boston, that leaves four cities that fit the size requirements, have strong local high technology clusters and prominent research universities:  Atlanta, Austin, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh

.

Is Atlanta too congested?  Can the progressive Bezos pick a city in Texas?  Can Minneapolis or Pittsburgh attract and retain talent?  Tough to say.  But if I had to bet, I would put my chips on those four cities.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I would honestly prefer more apartment buildings and less offices in the Strip. The primary reason being transit access to the Strip District isn't the best unless you can use the 54/86/87/88/91, or maybe take the P1/P2 to Herron Station and walk for a bit. Practically speaking, this mostly limits commutes to the Strip District to the Upper East End, Downtown, Oakland, and a bit of the North Side. Which is why a large portion of the people who take these office jobs will need to drive, and parking garages are now being built in the Strip district.

This is a fixable problem, however. Between the Busway and the tunnel under USX, you should be able to integrate the Strip into the Downtown-centric rapid transit system.

And of course transit is just one leg of the non-automobile commuter tripod: there is also walking and biking. The Strip is already well-positioned for biking commutes, and co-locating offices with residential development makes possible walking commutes.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by TBone7281

Parking is still a big aspect when they are building out apartments as well. Bunker development behind Terminal Building, Three Crossings (which is mixed use), Cork Factory garage, etc.

It's true that they're required to build those parking garages right now in the Strip, because the city still maintains the ludicrous 1 space per unit parking minimum outside of Downtown (and I think Uptown, if the new master plan got through). But anyone who rents in those buildings and works downtown is unlikely to bother driving downtown, considering the high parking costs and added delay getting into/out of garages during rush hour creates.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

Surprisingly decent write up from the otherwise useless Daily Caller

I agree the reasoning in that article is pretty sound. Personally, I would still leave Boston and Philly on the list, because it seems possible to me that despite their apparent concerns about cost and such, maybe all that can be fixed with a sufficiently large incentive package (and maybe that is precisely the purpose of all that). But otherwise, I do think Pittsburgh has some logic to it, and so do Austin, Atlanta, and Minneapolis.

[themaguffin]

URA votes for another Arena site extension...


URA votes for another extension with Penguins over land deal

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

URA votes for another Arena site extension...


URA votes for another extension with Penguins over land deal

The best part is if it is decided the Penuins have forfeited the deal next week, the Penguins still get to pick the parcel taken from them.

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by themaguffin

URA votes for another Arena site extension...


URA votes for another extension with Penguins over land deal

If anyone wants to get very frustrated, read this whole article. -_-

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/p...s/201710260172

[Austinlee]

Speaking of boondoggles, here's a photo I took while in traffic of Continental RE's new office building construction site on the North Shore. I'm glad this one is finally underway.

[BrianTH]

The only silver lining is each time the Penguins delay, there is a bit more grumbling and criticism from relevant officials. Maybe it will eventually translate into action.

Or not, as long as the Mayor and his folks want to provide them with cover. I generally like Peduto, but this is the one thing that drives me nuts (totally being in the pocket of large local institutions when it comes to development issues).

[BrianTH]

This NYT article picks Pittsburgh as its most likely Amazon HQ winner, followed by Baltimore, Philly, Toronto, Chicago, and Boston:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/b...mpetition.html

Again, whether we win or not, Amazon has done us a marketing solid.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

The only silver lining is each time the Penguins delay, there is a bit more grumbling and criticism from relevant officials. Maybe it will eventually translate into action.

Or not, as long as the Mayor and his folks want to provide them with cover. I generally like Peduto, but this is the one thing that drives me nuts (totally being in the pocket of large local institutions when it comes to development issues).

To be fair, the Penguins' deal was made during the previous administration which was much more cozy with the sports teams. The inaction on this project by both administrations has been pretty embarrassing though.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

This NYT article picks Pittsburgh as its most likely Amazon HQ winner, followed by Baltimore, Philly, Toronto, Chicago, and Boston:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/b...mpetition.html

Again, whether we win or not, Amazon has done us a marketing solid.

And this article didn't even mention Pittsburgh as one of the top biking/walking cities. The ranking the article cited appears to have only included the Top 50 cities (I saw Minneapolis, which is 46th)... and embarrassingly, Pittsburgh is now out of the Top 50 and sliding fast thanks largely to our inelastic underbounded city limits. But... among the top 60 cities... Pittsburgh ranks 5th in terms of combined walking and biking commuters.

#1 Washington 18.3% (13.7% walk, 4.6% bike)
#2 Boston 15.9% (13.5% walk, 2.4% bike)
#3 San Francisco 15.0% (11.1% walk, 3.9% bike)
#4 Seattle 14.6% (11.1% walk, 3.5% bike)
#5 Pittsburgh 12.9% (10.3% walk, 2.6% bike)

Pretty good company... Amazon 2.0 HQ Pittsburgh looks pretty similar to Amazon 1.0 HQ Seattle!

A couple of regional cities for comparison:

#14 Cleveland 6.9% (5.8% walk, 1.1% bike)
#17 Cincinnati 6.0% (5.6% walk, 0.4% bike)

Similar sized cities from both population and area perspective... but not in the same ballpark regarding walking and biking commuting.

https://www.bikepgh.org/2017/09/15/2...ike-commuters/

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

This NYT article picks Pittsburgh as its most likely Amazon HQ winner, followed by Baltimore, Philly, Toronto, Chicago, and Boston:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/b...mpetition.html

Again, whether we win or not, Amazon has done us a marketing solid.

This article nails it.

Virtually every major American airport could use an upgrade, but most big cities have international airports with many direct flights to the cities where Amazon does business. Pittsburgh lacks nonstop flights to Seattle and offers only limited nonstop service to international destinations. But the city was once a major hub for US Air, which made substantial investments in infrastructure there before it was taken over by American Airlines. The number of flights to and from Pittsburgh has dwindled since then, but they could easily be revived.

Yep!

Amazon adds that “a strong university system is required.”

Check.

Cities like Pittsburgh, Detroit and Baltimore are rich in underutilized historic buildings and neighborhoods that could be imaginatively repurposed, offering Amazon the opportunity to be a transformative force, something that seems to be part of the company’s DNA.

Hear, hear.

In practical terms, this kind of dense, vibrant and architecturally distinctive urban environment exists mostly in cities that developed before the advent of the automobile, industrial cities in the Midwest and Northeast and older cities in Canada.

Come to daddy.

“Amazon has the opportunity to help build and shape a city and region,” he said. “That’s easier in a Detroit than a San Francisco. It’s much different than just tapping the talent that’s already there. Amazon will attract people and other companies that are inspired by that.”

Salivating... Pittsburgh is affordable and on the brink of breakout success. Amazon could push us over the edge and change the city and tech scene for generations. All we have to do is beat out 237 other bids.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

The only silver lining is each time the Penguins delay, there is a bit more grumbling and criticism from relevant officials. Maybe it will eventually translate into action.

Or not, as long as the Mayor and his folks want to provide them with cover. I generally like Peduto, but this is the one thing that drives me nuts (totally being in the pocket of large local institutions when it comes to development issues).

http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/...te-development

Mayor Bill Peduto to Penguins: Start spending on Civic Arena site development

“They have been given two weeks with the URA and the SEA,” Peduto said. “Unless they're able to deliver on their end, the simple truth is we'll take back the public land that they have under the agreement and we'll start to develop the property on our own.”

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by GeneW

To be fair, the Penguins' deal was made during the previous administration which was much more cozy with the sports teams. The inaction on this project by both administrations has been pretty embarrassing though.

That is in fact a fair point, but if nothing else they could simply hold them to the deal now and start taking back development rights as allowed by the deal.

Edit: Which Peduto is now threatening to do, while being critical of the Penguins. So that's encouraging, and hopefully he follows through.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

And this article didn't even mention Pittsburgh as one of the top biking/walking cities. The ranking the article cited appears to have only included the Top 50 cities (I saw Minneapolis, which is 46th)... and embarrassingly, Pittsburgh is now out of the Top 50 and sliding fast thanks largely to our inelastic underbounded city limits. But... among the top 60 cities... Pittsburgh ranks 5th in terms of combined walking and biking commuters.

Excellent point. And we can in fact offer Amazon locations that are right in the heart of prime walking/biking.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/...te-development

Attaboy!