URA approves lease of Produce Terminal to Buncher (Pittsburgh, McDonald: 2015, leases)

[BrianTH]

Articles here:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10343/1109437-53.stm

URA board approves Fruit Auction building lease to Buncher | Pittsburgh Business Times

As noted in the articles, this is a necessary step in the plan to add a bunch of residential units along the river behind the Terminal.

[nuwaver88]

Buncher sure does love to buy up Strip District property and, at least by their history, sure likes to sit on it for years and years. Having this area determined "blighted" will help Buncher pocket more money until THEY decide it is time to develop, not the market. I am not not a fan of Buncher until proven otherwise.

[BrianTH]

We'll have to see if it works, but this is all part of a deal between the City, URA, and Buncher to actually start developing Buncher's Strip properties.

The "blighted" designation is about accessing various public development programs. But it could also give the City/URA (not Buncher) the power to take properties . . . they claim no interest in doing so, but you can see why people would be nervous.

[pman]

the ura should require development take place bt a certain date like on the north shore. it would seem lile the blighted designation is a heavy handed tactic. they should.fight it

[BrianTH]

I liked the suggested compromise of just declaring the parking lots blighted.

[szug-bot]

you guys seem to be in the know about this biz.

since i was a kid, i wanted to restore buildings, properties, and/or structures. how do people get into this? business degrees? architectural degrees?

i am not really clueless - i just dont know how to get into this type of work. i am an (now a long-time) unemployed civil engineer (not crazy about that choice of career and do not want to go back to it).
i prefer numbers and design more than business wheeling and dealing (that can be fun, though). maybe i should try to get employment with an architectural firm?

any information would be helpful. i simply love cities and buildings with character -and i love the idea of re-use.

[BrianTH]

The people responsible for bringing the money to the table also tend to have the largest say in design, at least on the big issues. For detail work, and sometimes conceptual work, you could look at architectural and engineering firms. There are also government bodies that exercise oversight.

[gallacus]

Does anyone know of an estimated timetable for when the Master Plan will be presented, when construction should start, and when construction should be finished? If there's no official statement of those estimates yet, anyone care to venture a guess?

[BrianTH]

The current wholesaler leases expire in 2012, and those leases will be honored, with the possibility of short extensions.

That implies to me they aren't planning to start construction until late 2012/early 2013. Buncher's lease expires in five years, so I am guessing that they expect completion by the end of 2015.

As for the plans, the firms have been hired and are supposedly at work. I'd guess sometime in the second half of next year, maybe on the later end.

[Copanut]

I still say that the strip lost a lot of its luster when they paved over the Belgian block and allowed a stinkin' McDonalds down there.

my two cents