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  #2941  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 3:00 AM
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Originally Posted by BrianTH View Post
I can't tell you the number of times I was told that Sharpsburg would NEVER revitalize.

Location, location, location.
Yeah, I hear you. I used to hang out in Aspinwall for a spell (not that it was a cool place to hang out, but I dated a girl who lived there), and people in Aspinwall acted like Sharpsburg was some total hell hole that should be bulldozed flat. I always thought it had a WAY better business district than Aspinwall did/does. Sharpsburg's location is really convenient, in between two bridges to the east end and upper Lawrenceville, easy access to downtown via 28, and riverfront setting (with 28 behind the town, not in front of it, like Etna and Millvale), and a pretty racially diverse population.


I have to admit though... I was once one of those people back in the late 90s/early 00s who didn't believe Lawrenceville could ever revitalize...
so definitely don't take real estate investment advice from me.
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  #2942  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 3:10 AM
DKNewYork DKNewYork is offline
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Big developments aren't inherently bad. Take for instance London Terrace in NYC. Built in 1929, it has 1700 apartments and is beautiful.
London Terrace is, indeed, beautiful. The fourteen buildings (all connected on one block in Chelsea), built between 1923 and 1929 , did originally have just over 1,700 apartments. But the density was not well received. The NYT editorialized against allowing this level of density, pointing out that London Terrace brought to Manhattan "more crowded human density than found in Calcutta."
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  #2943  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 3:11 AM
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Ok, I'm on a posting roll.. but I'll chill after this one.

I've often wondered about almost all of these. I'm sure we know the background stories about some of them (Sq hill Theater, babyland)


The 9 most inexplicably empty buildings in busy areas of Pittsburgh

https://www.nextpittsburgh.com/featu...in-pittsburgh/

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After the slow-motion collapse of the steel industry in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Pittsburghers got used to the presence of empty buildings. But today, with the city growing and thriving in so many ways, it’s worth asking: Why are there still empty and seemingly abandoned eyesores in prominent places?

Our curiosity here is about the individual buildings that have inexplicably stayed vacant for a long time in busy areas. Here are nine we wish would get rehabbed and reopened very soon.

2223 Murray Avenue, Squirrel Hill


Squirrel Hill Theater, Forward Avenue, Squirrel Hill


Anthon’s, Penn Avenue, East Liberty


3404 Penn Ave. at Doughboy Square, Lawrenceville


Penn Avenue at 24th St., Strip District


Babyland, corner of Penn Avenue and S. Negley, East Liberty


The former Froggy’s, Market Street, Downtown


Smithfield Cafe, Smithfield Street, Downtown


Penn Avenue and Main Street, Bloomfield
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  #2944  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 5:39 AM
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Just because some breweries move into a neighborhood doesn't mean its revitalized. It means that people will go there and think they're cool for going into a "crappy" neighborhood. Just like how Braddock now has some nice breweries. Didnt help out the town really at all, and there's still hundreds of abandoned historic houses that the Braddock council is idiotically itching to tear down to make the neighborhood an urban prairie with no hope for the future, as the Braddock city council is full of all old dumb yinzers who can't see into the future.
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  #2945  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 1:07 PM
eschaton eschaton is offline
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Sharpsburg's "authenticity" - now that gentrification has started - will last even less time than Lawrenceville. I say this because it has particularly unique circumstances for a historically working-class borough in that it's in a top-ranked school district (Fox Chapel). Yeah, the elementary school which Sharpsburg feeds to has always been the lowest ranked by far, but this has mostly been a factor of the student body being made up of poor kids. Once prices rise, and the poor people are pushed out to Cheswick or something, and enough younger people with kids stick around (I already know a few) the local feeder school will improve to be equal to the other ones. At that point it will really only be the cruddy housing quality holding the borough back, and as Lawrenceville shows, eventually prices do rise enough to warrant teardowns and replacements.
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  #2946  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 1:10 PM
eschaton eschaton is offline
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Originally Posted by pj3000 View Post

Penn Avenue and Main Street, Bloomfield
I've heard this one is owned by the guy who owns the pizza place catty corner. He bought the building with plans to make it into a sports bar, but the conversion has been slow going.

Every time I look at it I shake my head, due to the stupid choice to have the new entrance be off on the edge of the building, rather than directly on the corner.

It would be an awesome location for a diner or something, although I'm not sure due to the small footprint there's enough space for a kitchen.
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  #2947  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 1:33 PM
eschaton eschaton is offline
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Some small development stories:

1. The new plan for the Sears Outlet in Upper Lawrenceville - turning it into tech/flex space while keeping the original building intact - may be in trouble due to parking. Pittsburgh's new riverfront zoning puts strict limits on how much surface parking is allowed - 75 spaces. It appears Spear Street is going to blow way, way past this, asking for 590 spaces. They are trying to partially ameliorate this by doing things like installing a section of riverfront trail and heavily screening the parking from the river, but obviously this is going to be a big test on how committed Pittsburgh is to the new zoning code. The city may ultimately force the developer to build a parking garage if they want to go forward with the plan. I have to say that I can see things both ways here, if only because Upper Lawrenceville is kinda a fringe area, and to be honest I think this is probably an interim plan with hopes of eventually upgrading.

2. As was widely expected, the ZBA rejected the new 13-story, 188-foot tower proposed by Wexford in Oakland. Once OPDC came out in opposition I figured it was doomed, though I still don't understand why the Walnut Capital building got their blessing and this did not. This is really a sad decision though, because the opposition came down to "too dense for Oakland" and "not enough parking" - in the second-biggest business district in the city.
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  #2948  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 2:07 PM
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Wasn't Froggy's given the green light for demolition, or is there still a fight over this? Personally, I'd hate to see this face the wrecking ball. If it must, I just hope its replacement is something worthy...
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  #2949  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 2:52 PM
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Originally Posted by eschaton View Post
Sharpsburg's "authenticity" - now that gentrification has started - will last even less time than Lawrenceville. I say this because it has particularly unique circumstances for a historically working-class borough in that it's in a top-ranked school district (Fox Chapel). Yeah, the elementary school which Sharpsburg feeds to has always been the lowest ranked by far, but this has mostly been a factor of the student body being made up of poor kids. Once prices rise, and the poor people are pushed out to Cheswick or something, and enough younger people with kids stick around (I already know a few) the local feeder school will improve to be equal to the other ones. At that point it will really only be the cruddy housing quality holding the borough back, and as Lawrenceville shows, eventually prices do rise enough to warrant teardowns and replacements.
Kerr Elementary is brand new this year. Newest, most technology advanced school in the entire district. This should help change the school performance numbers.
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  #2950  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 2:54 PM
highlander206 highlander206 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton View Post
Some small development stories:

1. The new plan for the Sears Outlet in Upper Lawrenceville - turning it into tech/flex space while keeping the original building intact - may be in trouble due to parking. Pittsburgh's new riverfront zoning puts strict limits on how much surface parking is allowed - 75 spaces. It appears Spear Street is going to blow way, way past this, asking for 590 spaces. They are trying to partially ameliorate this by doing things like installing a section of riverfront trail and heavily screening the parking from the river, but obviously this is going to be a big test on how committed Pittsburgh is to the new zoning code. The city may ultimately force the developer to build a parking garage if they want to go forward with the plan. I have to say that I can see things both ways here, if only because Upper Lawrenceville is kinda a fringe area, and to be honest I think this is probably an interim plan with hopes of eventually upgrading.

2. As was widely expected, the ZBA rejected the new 13-story, 188-foot tower proposed by Wexford in Oakland. Once OPDC came out in opposition I figured it was doomed, though I still don't understand why the Walnut Capital building got their blessing and this did not. This is really a sad decision though, because the opposition came down to "too dense for Oakland" and "not enough parking" - in the second-biggest business district in the city.
Geeze, 590 spaces? That sounds rather excessive for a building of that size. From what I remember seeing on here, it didn't seem like the building was going to be expanded at all too.

Very disappointing about that building in Oakland too. Especially considering all of the other midrise stuff that has been built in basically that same area over the last five years...
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  #2951  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 3:00 PM
highlander206 highlander206 is offline
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Originally Posted by pj3000 View Post
Kerr Elementary is brand new this year. Newest, most technology advanced school in the entire district. This should help change the school performance numbers.
Was Kerr that low performing of an elementary school, or was it just lower compared to the rest of top notch Fox Chapel? I really hope Sharspburg doesn't gentrify at the level of Lawrenceville. It is very unique for a lower income borough to be part of a such a good district, so I hope the borough can be as proactive as possible up balance growth with lower income families being able to afford to live there.
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  #2952  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 4:24 PM
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Originally Posted by highlander206 View Post
Was Kerr that low performing of an elementary school, or was it just lower compared to the rest of top notch Fox Chapel? I really hope Sharspburg doesn't gentrify at the level of Lawrenceville. It is very unique for a lower income borough to be part of a such a good district, so I hope the borough can be as proactive as possible up balance growth with lower income families being able to afford to live there.
Only low performing in comparison to the two other, wealthier Fox Chapel elementary schools. Many of the students are still from middle to upper middle and wealthy families in O'Hara and Fox Chapel. It's just that the less advantaged kids from Sharpsburg bring the test scores down.

One of the big gentrification issues in Sharpsburg is that something like 60-70% of residents are renters. That doesn't bode too well for keeping a more economically/racially diverse population that it currently has. There are some homeownership initiatives underway there, as well as some land trust activity.
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  #2953  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 4:59 PM
highlander206 highlander206 is offline
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Originally Posted by pj3000 View Post
Only low performing in comparison to the two other, wealthier Fox Chapel elementary schools. Many of the students are still from middle to upper middle and wealthy families in O'Hara and Fox Chapel. It's just that the less advantaged kids from Sharpsburg bring the test scores down.

One of the big gentrification issues in Sharpsburg is that something like 60-70% of residents are renters. That doesn't bode too well for keeping a more economically/racially diverse population that it currently has. There are some homeownership initiatives underway there, as well as some land trust activity.
Thanks for the info, yeah I thought that was more of the issue with Kerr. I'm sure for the people of Sharspburg, it's still a vastly better elementary school than similarly priced rent wise alternatives.

True, that will be a big issue in the future with the borough that heavy on the side of renters. It does sound like though they're being more proactive to try to keep things somewhat in check before the same attempts were made in Lawrenceville.
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  #2954  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 5:06 PM
highlander206 highlander206 is offline
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Thank goodness the god awful people of Core are finally going to be out of the way soon at the old Downtown Macy's!

Quote:
Florida firm to take over redevelopment of landmark Kaufmann’s/Macy's building Downtown

A Florida developer with local ties will take over the sputtering redevelopment of the former Kaufmann’s/Macy’s department store, a project that has been plagued by delays for the last four years.

Fontainebleau Development announced Wednesday that it is acquiring the landmark building on Smithfield Street from Philadelphia-based Core Realty, which has owned the property since 2015.


https://www.post-gazette.com/busines...s/201910300127
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  #2955  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 10:14 PM
BrianTH BrianTH is offline
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Thank goodness. It was one What the Fudge? moment after another with Core.
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  #2956  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 10:53 PM
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I just saw the local NBC news on this... all they talked about was how tailgating space was being eliminated. That’s what they led with, focused the story on, and interviewed people about... wtf?


The 'crown jewel': City, developer reach agreement on new condos, offices and retail on the North Shore

https://www.post-gazette.com/busines...s/201910300161



Quote:
The city and a Columbus, Ohio, developer have reached a deal on the development of two more lots on the North Shore, including one that will house an eight-story complex featuring about 48 residential units, a 445-space parking garage and retail and office space.

Pittsburgh Stadium Authority board members voted unanimously Wednesday to clear the way for the latest development, which will be built on Gold Lot 4 adjacent to the Hyatt Place Hotel and PNC Park.

In addition, the new deal — an amendment to the option agreement covering the land between the ballpark and Heinz Field — will give Continental Real Estate Companies until Dec. 31, 2024, to develop Lot 2, which has been the source of friction between Mayor Bill Peduto and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 48 condominiums would represent the first housing to be built between PNC Park and Heinz Field. It has been a priority of Mr. Peduto, who has pushed Continental, the developer hired by the Steelers and the Pirates, to include housing in the Lot 4 development. The eight-story building also will be the tallest that Continental has developed on the North Shore.

Other elements of the plan include four floors of office and retail; a public courtyard and green space with retail and entertainment components; and the privately funded, six-story garage, which will include about 72 spaces for residents.
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  #2957  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 1:10 AM
CowsDontEatCorn CowsDontEatCorn is offline
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Oakland development rejected

Wexford Science + Technology LLC's proposal for a new office and lab tower at 3340 Forbes Avenue in Oakland did not win over the Zoning Board of Adjustments, which rejected the proposal as too tall and too dense to be granted the variance and two special exceptions it sought for the project.

In a seven-page ruling, with chair Alice Mitinger recusing, the zoning board argued that Wexford didn't prove an overriding need to build a new tower well beyond the district's height limits.

. . .

The ruling, which elaborated on a variety of related issues and concerns over contextual building height and residential compatibility, among others, represents a victory for community leaders who opposed the plan.

That included Councilman Bruce Kraus and Oakland Planning and Development Corporation, along with some residents of Oakland who spoke out against the proposal out of concern for too much density and its impact on nearby parking.
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  #2958  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 1:15 AM
highlander206 highlander206 is offline
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Originally Posted by BrianTH View Post
Thank goodness. It was one What the Fudge? moment after another with Core.
They've been absolute trash. It should be criminal with how poorly they've treated the exterior of that building.

As another aside, I can actually live with the design of that new North Shore building. Thoughts and prayers for the people who come in a few times a year from Murrysville to tailgate though!
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  #2959  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 2:16 AM
BrianTH BrianTH is offline
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I just hope that North Shore project actually happens, and sometime this century.
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  #2960  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 3:02 AM
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I know it's happened in other cities, but the deals that the city made with the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins should be made into a case study of why sports franchises shouldn't receive development rights. (In addition to the subsidies they received for the stadium.)
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