PITTSBURGH | Development Rundown III

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by qwho

City residents question proposed redevelopment of Shadyside Giant Eagle plaza

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/c...s/201903140082


Each one of those "City Residents" named is probably a local slumlord.

I don't think NIMBYs have much ability to block in this particular redevelopment. The site is already zoned specially planned. As long as the initial rezoning under the specially planned district goes through (which I believe has more latitude than variances) it's really hard to muck with the process at the ZBA or Planning Commission level (hence LG finally winning out with their own master plan down the street).

Really they just quote two people here though. Honestly, it's absolutely insane to argue that you shouldn't put 250 units of apartments right next to East Liberty Station.

[eschaton]

In April, the URA is going to open up two city-owned parking lots in East Liberty to development. The parcels in question are here. One is the lot behind East Liberty Place South, the other is the pentagonal lot behind the Carnegie Library and the block of buildings on Baum. The long, skinny surface lot is owned by AAA, not the city. The RFP for development must include a plan for mixed-income housing and a garage to replace the lost public parking spaces, but it's described as "mixed use" so it might contain some retail or office component as well.

There's also an explainer on where development currently stands on the soon-to-be demolished Ninth Street Garage site. Basically the PPA does not want to be in joint development with the cultural trust at this time, but they're looking to tweak the development of the new garage in such a way that it will make the eventual redevelopment of the remainder of the block by the Cultural Trust easier. It's possible that the entire frontage on Penn Avenue could be given over to the Trust for a new building, rather than set aside for a parklet.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by GeneW

From the appendix of the Kidney book:

So the answer is yes, it is a Hornbostel, although a minor work and changed quite a bit.

Interesting. Looks like they did the addition, not the original set back part.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

One is the lot behind East Liberty Place South, the other is the pentagonal lot behind the Carnegie Library and the block of buildings on Baum.

I always thought that pentagonal lot would make a cool green space, but mixed-use is fine too.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I always thought that pentagonal lot would make a cool green space, but mixed-use is fine too.

Honestly it makes the most sense to put the garage on that parcel. That stretch of S Beatty basically functions as an alley, and it's much better than it being on S Euclid.

[eschaton]

Apparently there is already a deal already for the vacant lot where the now-demolished Garden Block buildings used to be. It's still going to be a Trek/Q Development project, and planned as five stories. Renderings should come out in April.

Of course, it still needs to clear ZBA. I don't see how it will not need some sort of variance.

[Urbanthusiat]

The office towers in the Penguins' development are going to be very prominent from PNC park, should be just to the left of the Gulf Tower. Being up on the hill will make them look even bigger and really extend the skyline from this angle.

[East Edge]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

The office towers in the Penguins' development are going to be very prominent from PNC park, should be just to the left of the Gulf Tower. Being up on the hill will make them look even bigger and really extend the skyline from this angle.

Im curious to see how this development would look from Mt Washington as well. I too feel that the skyline needs to continue and not drop off after the Steel Bldg.

[qwho]

Originally Posted by East Edge

Im curious to see how this development would look from Mt Washington as well. I too feel that the skyline needs to continue and not drop off after the Steel Bldg.

When the BIG proposal came out, I modeled the tallest building from it in Google Earth, and it is still there on my one PC.

The new proposal is a bit shorter but not by much, and the building seems to be roughly in the same spot on the development.

PNC Park


West End


Mon Incline

[eschaton]

So yeah, the URA met yesterday. Here was the agenda of the meeting.

We already discussed one of the projects - that the two parking lots in East Liberty are now moving towards development. Another major development is the sale of Lexington Technology Park to Icon Development was finalized. To recap. the plan is 50 affordable apartments, 75 market-rate apartments, 25 townhouses for sale, rehab of 300,000 square feet of office/warehouse/studio space, and eventual work towards more new-construction office space which is still several years down the road.

The linked article also has a few details on the new Garden Block project. it's going to be a 63-unit residential development. This seems to be a lot of units for what's planned as a five-story apartment building, but the article notes that Trek is "incorporating them into a larger site" - which could include other developments nearby (IIRC they plan to buy the old Light of Life location and the vacant lot alongside and build some sort of multi-family there as well).

Some other projects the URA covered included:

1. The closing of the lease agreement with McCaffery for the Terminal building.
2. The sale of the Schweitzer Loch parcels to allow for Light of Life to begin construction on its new shelter.
3. A $50,000 grant to Hill District CDC to complete the renovations of a portion of the New Granada Theater redevelopment plan.
4. The major construction contracts to make Liberty Green Park (the new park in the redeveloped area of East Liberty/Larimer around where East Liberty Gardens used to be) have been signed.

A bunch of other smaller things moved incrementally along, but I don't think they're major news.

[BrianTH]

One of the major retail/entertainment tenants for the first Lower Hill mixed-use complex is Punch Bowl Social, which is a chain but I am told is fun:

https://www.nextpittsburgh.com/city-...hs-lower-hill/

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

One of the major retail/entertainment tenants for the first Lower Hill mixed-use complex is Punch Bowl Social, which is a chain but I am told is fun:

https://www.nextpittsburgh.com/city-...hs-lower-hill/

Wasn't Punch Bowl Social supposed to go into the redeveloped Frank and Seder?

[East Edge]

Thanks for posting those pictures! It helps to see now how the skyline will be affected by the Penguins site. I just wish we could get 1 -2 more skyscrapers in our skyline to balance it out. Instead of just building out the Penguins site for sake of just filling it up, it would be better to make their proposed tower about 10 stories higher in lieu of one of the smaller ones and leave that space for another building as the market allows down the road.

My other hope is that a skyscraper behind the Grant building next to the City / County building could be built that is at least as high as the new PNC tower. there are very few sites left for tall buildings Downtown...well at least in areas that will visually balance things out.

[BrianTH]

A lot more Before and After pictures of the Schoolhouse Electric renovation of the Detective's Building available here:

https://www.dwell.com/article/the-de...tects-de8d0136

[Gilamonster]

By Tim Schooley - Reporter, Pittsburgh Business Times

Mar 14, 2019, 1:22 pm EDT

Next to a cordoned-off construction site on which will soon be a new building, the UPMC leadership touted its new UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Tower today as a cornerstone project, a re-prioritizing approach for vision and rehabilitation care and a new economic driver for The Uptown neighborhood.

The health system celebrated the formal groundbreaking of the new, 410,000-square-foot tower that is the first of three specialty hospitals UPMC will be constructing in the coming years at a projected total expense of $ 2 billion......

full article at: https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsbur...ilitation.html

I think that this building looks terrible.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Wasn't Punch Bowl Social supposed to go into the redeveloped Frank and Seder?

Yes! And this Post Gazette article I missed mentions that briefly, but with no explanation for the switch:

https://www.post-gazette.com/busines...s/201903130042

Before settling on the arena site, the chain had considered at least one other location in Pittsburgh — the old Frank & Seder department store redevelopment at 441 Smithfield St., Downtown.

[dfiler]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Whoa, awesome; so hopefully they can just restore that building to its former glory without getting another shit clad building to replace it. Theres a whole load of ugly 50's buildings and junk around there to tear down instead and replace. Guess I should research buildings before theyre torn down forever and replaced with trash to see if they were built by famous architects. Wonder if that building on Forbes, the old Croatian Hall building or whatever it was at 3441 Forbes that Pitt wants to tear down was built by any well known local architects....

The original, ornamental brickwork was extensive so i give it a 0% chance of being restored. It is missing the decorative cornice around the entire roof. Only the lower portion of it remains. The massive arched front entrance is gone and many of the original windows bricked up.

There are historic photos somewhere on the web but i can't seem to find them now.

[photoLith]

My favorite new development looks to be almost complete downtown.

Untitled by photolitherland, on Flickr

Untitled by photolitherland, on Flickr

They really did a bang up job on this one, wish we could see more developments with this level of good materials being built here and good looking proportions that respect the historic architecture around them.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by photoLith

My favorite new development looks to be almost complete downtown.

Untitled by photolitherland, on Flickr

Untitled by photolitherland, on Flickr

They really did a bang up job on this one, wish we could see more developments with this level of good materials being built here and good looking proportions that respect the historic architecture around them.

I walk by this all the time. I've been really impressed to see it come together. One thing I didn't expect though is they didn't seem to cut any holes in the party wall between the historic building and the new construction segment. I also can't see where the elevator core is located, even though the whole first floor of the new construction section is wide open. Perhaps I should go back and check the floor plans, but they made it seem like they were integrating the rehabbed buildings with the new construction, but they appear to be more or less completely distinct.

[eschaton]

4/4 ZBA online. Only one item of interest: Eight new townhouses in Mount Washington - right on Grandview. Unfortunately, instead being located on one of the many land-banked empty parcels, it looks like the developer is demolishing four intact homes with varying levels of historic charm. I suppose it is increasing density in the area, but I'm still kinda meh about this. I hope they put in a common rear driveway and don't have the garages all front on Grandview.