North Shore update (Carnegie, Duquesne, Denver: hotel, neighborhoods, theater)

[nuwaver88]

I saw a backhoe beside some busted up concrete in the parking lot acrosss from Jerome Bettis' 36 Grille today. This is where the new indoor/outdoor concert venue is supposed to be. Could there be an official groundbreaking announced soon?

In the Del Monte Building between Bettis and Calico Jack's is a new brewpub restaurant called Rivertowne North Shore. I have been to the one in Monroeville for wings and beer, which were both great. They serve only their own beer that they brew themselves. They are due to open by the end of the month.

The new Marriott Residence Inn looks like a handsome addition to the North Shore and should open within a few months. It is supposed to have a nice restaurant and an outdoor pool.

The Hyatt Place is not as big or as advanced in the contruction stage but will fill in another parcel nicely against the Fort Duquesne Bridge.

There seemed to be a hub bub of activity around Rivers Casino. I am getting more used to the traffic pattern around there. Hopefully others are too. I would not mind seeing more aesthetically appealing lighting around the canopy/entry area. It looks generic. Overall, the casino is attractive, IMHO.

The new Sportsworks is a nice modern building that fits in well with the Carnegie Science Center and it's future plans.

Still no sign of contruction of the Fairfield Inn. Kratsa had planned to break ground last year on this 150 room, ten story hotel on Federal Street up against the North Shore Expresssway. The building that housed the former 222 Bar still stands. Is this a case of an owner holding out for too much because he/she knows it's value? Just a thought.

The subway is coming along nicely from what I can see along Reedsdale. When the two new stations are built on the North Shore and this opens in two years, we are going to see a more attractive area at street level.

Heinz Fied is still average.

PNC Park is still gorgeous.

It is obvious that city planners did not focus much on housing for this area, at least initially. The focus has obviuosly been on the sports fans and visitors of the other entertainment options. It is an entertainment district that will be highly attractive when it all comes together in a few years. I would have preferred it to be developed differently. I guess there was a big concern about getting people to move in and out more easily. I'm looking forward to see how this area looks in about five years when it is nearly fully developed.

[raubre]

Originally Posted by nuwaver88

I saw a backhoe beside some busted up concrete in the parking lot acrosss from Jerome Bettis' 36 Grille today. This is where the new indoor/outdoor concert venue is supposed to be. Could there be an official groundbreaking announced soon?

In the Del Monte Building between Bettis and Calico Jack's is a new brewpub restaurant called Rivertowne North Shore. I have been to the one in Monroeville for wings and beer, which were both great. They serve only their own beer that they brew themselves. They are due to open by the end of the month.

The new Marriott Residence Inn looks like a handsome addition to the North Shore and should open within a few months. It is supposed to have a nice restaurant and an outdoor pool.

The Hyatt Place is not as big or as advanced in the contruction stage but will fill in another parcel nicely against the Fort Duquesne Bridge.

There seemed to be a hub bub of activity around Rivers Casino. I am getting more used to the traffic pattern around there. Hopefully others are too. I would not mind seeing more aesthetically appealing lighting around the canopy/entry area. It looks generic. Overall, the casino is attractive, IMHO.

The new Sportsworks is a nice modern building that fits in well with the Carnegie Science Center and it's future plans.

Still no sign of contruction of the Fairfield Inn. Kratsa had planned to break ground last year on this 150 room, ten story hotel on Federal Street up against the North Shore Expresssway. The building that housed the former 222 Bar still stands. Is this a case of an owner holding out for too much because he/she knows it's value? Just a thought.

The subway is coming along nicely from what I can see along Reedsdale. When the two new stations are built on the North Shore and this opens in two years, we are going to see a more attractive area at street level.

Heinz Fied is still average.

PNC Park is still gorgeous.

It is obvious that city planners did not focus much on housing for this area, at least initially. The focus has obviuosly been on the sports fans and visitors of the other entertainment options. It is an entertainment district that will be highly attractive when it all comes together in a few years. I would have preferred it to be developed differently. I guess there was a big concern about getting people to move in and out more easily. I'm looking forward to see how this area looks in about five years when it is nearly fully developed.

Thankyou for the update (esp. regarding the amphitheater.) Now I wish there would be some kind of retail for the area (a drug store or something.) The North Shore seems to much like a ghost town in the afternoon. I know people work there, but they don't seem to come out, even for a break.

[BrianTH]

Ever since the "North Shore" as distinct from the North Side was conceived, it was imagined as a place for people from the suburbs or out-of-town to come spend money and then leave without ever having to mix with a lot of local residents (they might not put it quite that bluntly, but that is the gist of what they were after). These days that sounds like a dated notion as people have become more interested in lively, mixed-use areas, but at the time the master-plan for the North Shore was concocted this sort of isolated hotel-and-venue complex was all the rage.

[TelecasterBlues]

[quote=nuwaver88;13406212]
Heinz Fied is still average.

PNC Park is still gorgeous. quote]

Heinz is nothing to scoff at...but it still amazes me how we built such a masterpiece in PNC, a place that 10 years later is still the unanimous best ballpark in all of baseball(excluding classic parks), yet more or less we didn't reach anything all that remarkable with Heinz Field. It didn't take long for Seattle, Denver, Boston, etc to leap ahead with better designs. Kind of a shame.

And the North Shore gives me such a headache...such a great location with TONS of possibilities, but I think it may be doomed due to its development coming just a few years too soon as per BrianTH's explanation. I really hope they can continue to add to it and bring more to the location, I'll just keep my fingers crossed over the next few years.

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by nuwaver88

...
The subway is coming along nicely from what I can see along Reedsdale. When the two new stations are built on the North Shore and this opens in two years, we are going to see a more attractive area at street level.

Heinz Fied is still average.

PNC Park is still gorgeous.

It is obvious that city planners did not focus much on housing for this area, at least initially. The focus has obviuosly been on the sports fans and visitors of the other entertainment options. It is an entertainment district that will be highly attractive when it all comes together in a few years. I would have preferred it to be developed differently. I guess there was a big concern about getting people to move in and out more easily. I'm looking forward to see how this area looks in about five years when it is nearly fully developed.

If there was a true comprehensive plan for developing the entirety of the North Side, things would certainly be different. I for one, don't see any problems focusing development of entertainment and other commercial venues in the blocks between the river and the highway/railroad viaduct. Much like Dowtown and the Hill, these act as physical barriers within a neighborhood. They're not impassable by any means, but I'm sure everyone is familiar with the colloquial term "on the wrong side of the tracks".

That said, I personally don't think there is a "wrong" side of the tracks on the North Side. However, there certainly is a more disrespected side. The design of light rail route is indicative of this. No, if there was long-term forethought into this, city planners would have acknowledged the strength of the North Side neighborhoods as a residential hub and further spur redevelopment there. And add to this the concept of tying the neighborhoods together with the commercial/entertainment complex of the North Shore via the light rail or perhaps a street-bound train. You're telling me the North Side would still be undesirable then?

The focus should be on trying to extend light rail service to the North and South Sides (and Oakland obviously). Otherwise, I've been pretty thoroughly convinced that the city's policies towards the rail system have a racial slant to them.

[Geeo]

No racial slant at all. The light rail lines in the South Hills are there because the right-of-way has been there since the turn of the last century when the original trolley lines were built. It was rebuilt to light rail standards in the 80s. The rest of the right-a-way in the east and north were abandoned long ago. The city does not fund the transit system - Port Authority is a county entity and receives no city funding.

[Craziaskowboi]

Regarding Heinz Field's architecture, there's only so much that can be done with a football stadium relative to a baseball park.

[nuwaver88]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Regarding Heinz Field's architecture, there's only so much that can be done with a football stadium relative to a baseball park.

I respect that. The super structure of Heinz Field is fine. It has a cool profile from the river and over by Station Square. Most people however find it too bland, too gray on the outside. I am not keen on the aluminum siding or the umbrellas either. The limestone down lower on the exterior is nice. The exterior is especially unattractive at the north and south end zones. When it is due for an upgrade in a few years, lets's use a different color than gray, it looks like primer and is unfinished. My brother said that the "unfinished" look was a trend in architecure a decade or so ago. I am not fond of it. As for the yellow seats, they do add a touch of color to the area. The only problem is, when Pitt gets 30,000 against Rutgers it looks pretty bad. It really shows up.

[Copanut]

Who cares, that dump is used what, about 30 days a year. I would have built it even cheaper, you don't need anything pretty looking to attract 60K drunks. Just my opinion.

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by Geeo

No racial slant at all. The light rail lines in the South Hills are there because the right-of-way has been there since the turn of the last century when the original trolley lines were built. It was rebuilt to light rail standards in the 80s. The rest of the right-a-way in the east and north were abandoned long ago. The city does not fund the transit system - Port Authority is a county entity and receives no city funding.

Yeah I am aware of the difference between the city and Port Authority in this regard and that both are in dire financial situations. What compounds this issue is that transit issues are ongoing while major issues within transit cannot be addressed until these financial problems are shored up at least to some extent.

As for the "racial" sentiment, I'm not fully sticking to that statement. I merely put it up there to play devil's advocate as I've surely heard similar statements elsewhere. The "middle/upper class white folks of the South Hills get their shiny trains while the mostly black East and West Ends get the dingy buses". You're probably right though that historically it all checks out and that these gripes are mere coincidence. However, with plans calling for an East End to North Side train/metro some 100 years old, isn't it high time for that to see the light of day? It made sense then and makes sense now, save for finances.