Oakland's Future (Pittsburgh, Washington, Bellevue: real estate, college, to live)

[TelecasterBlues]

Just curious about what people think Oakland may become within the next decade or two. There's been a lot of reports stating that commercial office space is sitting at 0 or near 0% vacency within the Oakland area, and with downtown Pittsburgh requiring the demolition of other structures and somewhat tricky placement of buildings in a lot of areas, do you think Oakland could see some midrises or even highrises within its future? It doesn't really have the population and Pitt sort of conflicts with that idea...but I wonder if Oakland could become something of a second skyline for Pittsburgh in the way that Bellevue and Buckhead have emerged near Seattle and Atlanta? Definately nowhere near the same level as those two...but do you think companies could elect to build and locate in Oakland as an alternative to downtown?

[Hopes]

Oakland is simply too congested already. Plus, it's a hassle to commute there with traffic.

It would make more sense to build skyscrapers on the North Shore and North Side since it's right across the bridge from downtown.

There are also many smaller buildings that can be torn down in the downtown triangle area, the strip district area, and the uptown area.

I just think there are still many other options for skyscrapers that are better than the oakland area.

[fleetiebelle]

Some taller buildings might be a good option for some of those vacant/parking lots on the Fifth/Forbes corridor through Uptown. It would help link Oakland and Downtown.

[Copanut]

There was a time when both the Steelers and Pirates played in Oakland, how did people deal with the traffic then?

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

Some taller buildings might be a good option for some of those vacant/parking lots on the Fifth/Forbes corridor through Uptown. It would help link Oakland and Downtown.

Why this isn't the case already is beyond me.

I think Oakland could stand to grow horizontally long before it really growing up vertically. For Oakland I see in the immediate future continued growth along the Mon at the PTC/Hazelwood LTV site and the Baum-Centre corridor towards East Liberty.

Like Fleetibelle just said, I think its growth along the Forbes/Fifth corridor towards Uptown is inevitable. This is great news for Uptown because you basically have Downtown and Oakland growing TOWARDS each other with Uptown between them.

The Hill District is also between the two and it stands to be infilled as well. The Hill is different than it was decades ago, and has many vacant lots. I think Oakland development is already pushing towards the Upper Hill area near Centre Ave. I think much of the Hill development hinges on the development around the Civic Arena in the Lower Hill and partially why that even though the Hill is seemingly prime real estate geographically, development is so stagnant. I don't think continued negative perception of the Hill area can deter Oakland's vigorous development for long. The Herron Hill area is actually a quite pleasant and quiet area. The views from the hilltop there I would say rival those offered by Mount Washington. Transportation would have to improve because traversing between the Hill and Oakland is quite cumbersome. A new incline or aerial tramway like BrianTH and I have been discussing would go miles in alleviating travel between the two areas.

[nuwaver88]

We are going to see some sizable buildings go up in the next few years in western Oakland around Craft Avenue and also in the old Allegheny County Health Department area. This will add to the demand of sprucing up the area heading towards Downtown. The area around the Birmingham Bridge leaves a lot to be desired. There is hope that the Consol Energy Center will spur development Uptown. The distance from Craft Avenue to Consol Energy Center is less than two miles. Some momentum each way will connect the two areas. The area around the Birmingham Bridge is a great location because one can walk over to the South Side from there. I would be surprised if this area is not fully developed by 2020 if not sooner. Pittsburgh has too much going for it right now as we emerge out of the recession. I expect some of the projects that were put on hold to be revived. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09098/961217-28.stm This article is from one year ago.

[Impala26]

In adding with nuwaver88's sentiments, the Birmingham Bridge was fitted with bike lanes a few years back. Having used it several times, I must admit that makes a great biking avenue in both directions. The only issue is the connections on either end of the bridge, especially on the north end. Unless cyclists take the sidewalk along Fifth Avenue, taking Forbes proves real hostile, and I would love to see traffic calming implemented in this area to make it more accommodating. The bike lanes would see even more use if this were so. This however doesn't really do anything to address biking in the Uptown area, but that's a different beast entirely.

[BrianTH]

I don't see true skyscrapers, but like others above I see a lot of big projects spreading the dense core of Oakland in multiple direction (into the Bluff and also toward Bloomfield), plus new development in the Hazelwood LTV. And I also think some sort of new public transit is inevitable, because parking and driving are already difficult, and it is just going to get worse.

[raubre]

Oakland is OK. But I personally wouldn't want to live there. Too, too many college kids.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by raubre

Oakland is OK. But I personally wouldn't want to live there. Too, too many college kids.

I hear Big Ben is moving there.