Lower Hill District then and now (Pittsburgh, Washington: real estate, neighborhood, to move)

[airwave09]

This is a great little series on the post-gazette. In memorial of the currently in the process of being demolished arena. I have to admit that I'm excited to wonder what growth anew will come in the years ahead in this historic neighborhood.

Lower Hill District - Then and Now

[BrianTH]

It will likely take a while, and it is too bad we don't have the historic neighborhood to work with, but I am also eager to see this land reclaimed for urban uses.

[jmrun1126]

I'm just a little concerned because I haven't seen any clear plans for development even though the Penguins/Consol Energy Center management asserts there are such plans.

[stburr91]

Originally Posted by jmrun1126

I'm just a little concerned because I haven't seen any clear plans for development even though the Penguins/Consol Energy Center management asserts there are such plans.

Last I'd heard, there were no developers committed to developing the area, so I can't see how there could be plans yet.

[BrianTH]

They had a conceptual master plan at the time they were going through the public hearings (PDF):

http://www.pgh-sea.com/images/LHR_Me...on20100317.pdf

Note there are some inconsistencies in that document, such as the rendering not matching the details later in the presentation.

[h_curtis]

Originally Posted by jmrun1126

I'm just a little concerned because I haven't seen any clear plans for development even though the Penguins/Consol Energy Center management asserts there are such plans.

It might sit for year or even decades. I wouldn't hold my breath on that area. If Walmart gets into the act, then it will start to move. You will have other businesses trying to leach of their business. Not what I would like, but I wanted the Civic Arena used for the people of Pittsburgh as it was designed, so my hope are shattered. Now I just want to see it cleaned up and hopefully an area that might prosper. That being said, deep pockets would be nice. Can't get much deeper than Walmart.

[BrianTH]

Stapler=Civic Arena, burning the building down=Walmart:


Milton Waddams from Office Space My stapler classic toon - YouTube

[jmrun1126]

Not only did the Igloo destroy that area of the Hill District (i.e. uprooted families, tore down historic buildings), but the Igloo seemed to really disconnect that whole area from downtown, so hopefully reconnecting the area will be the first step.

And to whoever said that the area could sit sit for a number of years, I definitely agree. It could turn into a huge parking lot.

[Impala26]

H_Curtis, one of the key themes you often hit on with the trouble redeveloping this site is the fact that it's on a hillside and the fact that it's basically cut off from Downtown by the "moat" formed by I-579. As shown in the Penguins/SEA master plan proposal, it is inherently obvious that by "capping" over that moat in some way would be just what the doctor ordered for this case. And if you really don't think folks are going to walk uphill in any way, you're dead wrong. I work at Washington Plaza and I see droves of people walking to their cars in the sea of parking lots daily. Also, the streets around the UPMC mega-complex in Oakland are even STEEPER than those in the Lower Hill. When we are talking about the Lower Hill we are NOT talking about the South Side Slopes here...

In the end really, with the abundance of thoroughfare and transit access to this location and the large amount of UNDEVELOPED, PRIME real estate I cannot see this area being anything less than a true extension of Downtown sometime in the 2020's.