Happenings in Pittsburgh!! (Carnegie, California, Houston: travel, jobs, hospital)

[guylocke]

Market District is getting a Moe's Southwest Grill! I love Moe's, they are all over Florida where I lived this summer. They are "casual food" not "fast food," meaning, they are fresher and better than fast food but not quite a restaurant.

Mike Geiger wants to bring a taste of Mexico to Market Square.

Mr. Geiger and his partner, John Iaquinta, plan to open their third Moe's Southwest Grill -- and their first Downtown -- at 210 Forbes Ave. this summer, across from the old G.C. Murphy store.

"It's just a great spot for business, for lunch, for all the events that happen throughout Market Square," Mr. Geiger said.

Moe's will take over space now occupied by Dogs Dun Wright and City Cafe, both of which are closing and relocating.

Mr. Geiger and Mr. Iaquinta now operate Moe's restaurants in Cranberry and Collier. The Market Square location will feature up to 32 outdoor seats and 40 to 50 indoors.

Market Square getting taste of Mexico

[guylocke]

This is a fantastic program in Pittsburgh that allows nominated neighborhoods to share money and funding ($400,000) decided by the Urban Redevelopment Authority for local business, commerce, and residential. There are currently 9 on the list including Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, East Liberty, Southside, and the Strip District, all of which has seen semi- to major upgrades and revitilization since being added to this program.

Allentown and West End are officially joining to the list!

Mainstreets funding expected to revitalize 11 neighborhoods

After focusing on safety first, grant shifts to business development

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Mainstreets funding expected to revitalize 11 neighborhoods


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[guylocke]

The former Roth Carpet showroom in Bloomfield is being converted into a 30,000 square foot office property poised to help the neighborhood. That entire portion of town, including Lawrenceville and East Liberty, is seeing major growth in business. The number of professionals buying up property (thanks in part to Children's) in that area is astonishing. I hope the entire area turns around completely!

“Professional office space is the best use for its floor space, and is appropriate for the economy that’s being generated around both hospitals,” says David Light, who along with his father Harvey, is developing the project. The property, which includes three connected buildings that were formerly used for light manufacturing, warehouse and sales space, will provide tenants with floor plates ranging in size from 1,200 to 5,000 square feet.

A new addition will house a flex space for tenants, and a meeting space, pavilion and rooftop garden for the community. “It solves a function of the building and benefits the community.

Bloomfield redevelopment project to house 30,000 sf office space, green features

[guylocke]

UPMC just bought the Palace Inn hotel in Monroeville for 19 million and converted it into an adult outpatient center with an ambulatory surgery center, an urgent care center, physician offices, and pediatric services. Seems to me it will very similar to UPMC St. Margarets (where I actually write you from as we speak!)

Mark my words, UPMC will become the most aggressive, largest, and most impressive health care center in this country within a couple decades. The synergy in Pittsburgh for health care is truly incredible from everything that is brought to the table from UPMC, Pitt, and CMU. Between the three of them (and the plethora of other facilities in the region) they have everything covered from bioengineering, to software creation, to robotics, to chemistry, to artifical intelligence, to genetics.... etc)

UPMC expects that renovations of the existing building will be completed by 2010. Also yesterday, UPMC closed on the purchase of a sloped, 3-acre parcel just behind the Palace Inn it could use it for parking.

Meanwhile, Craig Cozza, head of Cozza Enterprises, more than doubled the $7.5 million he paid for the property in 2006, when he bought it from the family of the late Al Monzo, the Inn's pugnacious proprietor.

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UPMC buying Palace Inn for $19 million


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[efe1]

info although not confirm that a billionare from florida is begining to visit the south of the city due to his interest in low income real estate

[BrianTH]

guylocke,

The development of professional office and retail space in Bloomfield/East Liberty/Point Breeze is clearly benefiting the nearby residential neighborhoods, and I think many other East End neighborhoods as well. Indeed, the hospitals, universities, and other major employers in Oakland have long been crucial to the success of the East End neighborhoods within easy commuting distance, such as Shadyside and Squirrel Hill, and even slightly farther out neighborhoods like Highland Park or Regent Square. So, it seems to me these additional developments are just making that employment pie much bigger, and that should accelerate and expand the scope of residential neighborhood development across the East End.

PS Isn't UPMC already?

[juliegt]

Originally Posted by guylocke

This is a fantastic program in Pittsburgh that allows nominated neighborhoods to share money and funding ($400,000) decided by the Urban Redevelopment Authority for local business, commerce, and residential. There are currently 9 on the list including Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, East Liberty, Southside, and the Strip District, all of which has seen semi- to major upgrades and revitilization since being added to this program.

Allentown and West End are officially joining to the list!



Mainstreets funding expected to revitalize 11 neighborhoods

The URA also has fantastic programs for people buying/renovating homes in many neighborhoods around Pittsburgh. Low interest loans and more. I just looked at their website yesterday and was impressed by what they offer. When I was in Pittsburgh I met people who had gotten their loans through URA and were very happy with the deal they got.

[guylocke]

I agree with you BrianTH! As coincidence would have it, I just watched a lecture at St. Margaret's about the progress on Children's and the current standing of the program. All I have to say is, oh my lord almighty.

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is going to be one of the most impressive Children's Facilities in the WORLD. It is already the fastest growing Children's facility in the country. On another note, they have surpassed EVERY SINGLE growth goal that they set in 2004 by large margins. The amount of research that has been poured into Children's has been exponentially rising at EXTREME rates, in fact, that was one of the largest reasons that this new hospital was built, they are completely out of room for research expansion at the current Children's. On a side note, Pittsburgh is in trial I clinical phase of CURING diabetes type I in children. Let's hope it all goes well!

I can't even remember half of what they said, but this Children's Hospital and Research Campus in Lawrenceville is bigger and more impressive than you could ever possibly imagine. I was blown away.

We are receiving grants from the NIH at unprecedented speed and are recruiting elite talent from all over the country.

Truly amazing. I wish I had the powerpoint to show you!

[BrianTH]

guylocke,

I think it is also an encouraging sign for the entire region that it is a Children's Hospital, and not a medical institution associated with the other end of life (because I have seen people dismiss the growth of the medical field in Pittsburgh as dependent on an aging population). And these things tend to create positive cycles: a Children's Hospital is an attractive employer for young professionals in the medical field (as you note, from all over the country), but it is also an attraction for young professionals in other fields who are thinking about having children.

Meanwhile, the first young professionals who arrive to work in these places are also often buying affordable homes in nearby neighborhoods and renovating, and patronizing Home Depot, Whole Foods, local bars and restaurants, and so on. As their careers progress, they may move on to more high-end, family-oriented, and otherwise mature neighborhoods (although they might also buy an even nicer place in the local neighborhoods), but then these newly renovated homes and businesses in the nearby neighborhoods become an attraction for the next wave of young people. And so on.

So, the overall trajectory really is quite exciting, and I do think these ripple effects are already proving their worth throughout the East End. And while there are no guarantees, so far this appears to be a pretty stable set of trends.

[guylocke]

guylocke,

I think it is also an encouraging sign for the entire region that it is a Children's Hospital, and not a medical institution associated with the other end of life (because I have seen people dismiss the growth of the medical field in Pittsburgh as dependent on an aging population). And these things tend to create positive cycles: a Children's Hospital is an attractive employer for young professionals in the medical field (as you note, from all over the country), but it is also an attraction for young professionals in other fields who are thinking about having children.

Meanwhile, the first young professionals who arrive to work in these places are also often buying affordable homes in nearby neighborhoods and renovating, and patronizing Home Depot, Whole Foods, local bars and restaurants, and so on. As their careers progress, they may move on to more high-end, family-oriented, and otherwise mature neighborhoods (although they might also buy an even nicer place in the local neighborhoods), but then these newly renovated homes and businesses in the nearby neighborhoods become an attraction for the next wave of young people. And so on.

So, the overall trajectory really is quite exciting, and I do think these ripple effects are already proving their worth throughout the East End. And while there are no guarantees, so far this appears to be a pretty stable set of trends.

Very articulate. I agree completely. The presenter of the lecture sort of laughed at one point when showing the huge growth at Children's and said, and this during a time of "and I quote, declining birth rates in Pittsburgh."

He was being sarcastic, of course, but the declining birth rates is a fact. Hopefully all this buzz and enormous amount of research and resources being poured into Children's will spark the interest of young families wanting to relocate to an affordable city. I think it's important to note that money isn't being poured into Children's to try to jump start it or make it competitive, it's being done to keep up with demand! Children's is doing VERY well economically and the amount of space and facilities they require to maintain that sort of growth is enormous.