Happenings in Pittsburgh!! (Oakland: school, live in, shop)

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

Free Saturday parking highlights holidays (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07307/830836-52.stm - broken link)

Thanks for posting that, we'll be in town on one of those weekends so we can go!

[fleetiebelle]

For those interested in green construction:

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Hank Dittmar, chief executive of The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment, will give the sixth annual David Lewis Lecture on Urban Design.
Dittmar will give a talk, "Tradition and Sustainability: Truly Green Architecture and Urbanism," on Monday, Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Lewis, Distinguished University Professor in Carnegie Mellon University¹s School of Architecture and founder of Urban Design Associates, will receive the Athena Award of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) from President and CEO John Norquist. CNU is an international non-profit organization that promotes the creation and restoration of compact, walkable, mixed-use cities, towns and neighborhoods.

The lecture is sponsored by the Heinz Architectural Center of the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture and underwritten by Urban Design Associates.
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[fleetiebelle]

Phipps extends Chihuly exhibit through February

"Chihuly at Phipps: Gardens & Glass," the fanciful installation of glass art by Washington state artist Dale Chihuly that courses through the rooms of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, has been extended 3 1/2 months.
The conservatory anticipated a decrease in attendance when summer ended, but the opposite has occurred. That, coupled with visitors saying they'd like to bring out-of-town family and friends to see the show over the holidays, prompted the decision to continue it through Feb. 24 from the originally scheduled Nov. 11 closing.

If you haven't been yet, you really should go. The installations are just beautiful.

[guylocke]

Luxury condo's going up in Mt. Lebo!!

Plans move forward for luxury condos in Mt. Lebanon - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

When Lisa Perrone was thinking about moving from Cincinnati nine years ago, she found Mt. Lebanon listed among the best places to raise a family and chose a home.
"I love this town. I love Mt. Lebanon," Perrone said Friday as ground was broken for the development that will include her new condominium.

Washington Park Condominiums, located at the corner of Washington and Bower Hill roads, will offer two- and three-bedroom luxury condos with six different floor plans. The 40 units are priced from $380,000. The complex will include 14,000 square feet of retail space.

Construction is expected to get under way in March, said Michael D. Heins, chief financial officer for the developer, Zamagias Properties. The project has a 16-month construction schedule.

That will allow Perrone time to put her home in Virginia Manor up for sale next May and give her a year before she moves.

[guylocke]

More "green" going up in Pittsburgh, we're on a roll!!

Pop City - Eaton Corp. plans $24 M LEED-certified expansion; 30 new jobs created (http://www.popcitymedia.com/timnews/eaton1107.aspx - broken link)

Cleveland-based Eaton Corp. is planning a $24 million, 120,000 square foot expansion to its electrical division headquarters in Moon Township.

The addition will combine its tech center and corporate offices, creating at least 30 new jobs within 3 years and retaining 756 existing positions. The project will also showcase innovation in sustainable building design.

"Our customer briefing center will be a green lab, a way to bring customers in to demonstrate the application of our products," says John White, director of energy management and environmental solutions for Eaton.

Eaton is one of the world’s leading suppliers of electrical control products and power distribution equipment, with 62,000 employees worldwide. The LEED-certified building will feature Eaton’s sustainable electrical products, many of which will help the company’s commercial and industrial customers achieve LEED status. Eaton's power command lighting controller, technology that automatically controls the level of room lighting based on the available sunlight in the room, has made the biggest impact, White says.

Construction will be completed in mid-2008.

[guylocke]

Quantum V coming to Southside Works next!!

Pop City - 160,000 sf Quantum V office complex next up for 34-acre SouthSide Works (http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/ssw1107.aspx - broken link)

Soffer Organization is planning Quantum V, the latest addition in its 34-acre SouthSide Works.

The 160,000 square-foot office building will feature five, 30,000 square-foot levels and offices with nine-foot ceilings.

Part of the redesign of a block along S. Water St. that will also feature a 140-room, five-star boutique hotel, for-sale condos and Hofbrauhaus, Quantum V will be constructed near South Shore Riverfront Park.

"The first floor can be a traditional office layout or signature restaurant with riverfront dining. We're in the process of pre-leasing right now," says Steven Kasunich, with Soffer. Plans call for up to 30,000 square feet for first-floor retail.

"Retail is doing very well here; we're ninety-eight percent occupied on the retail level. For some merchants, Pittsburgh is their best location. We're ninety-five percent cccupied as far as offices, and we have 84 units of lofts and flats that are well leased," says Fulton, describing SouthSide Works. Soffer is currently evaluating design proposals for Quantum V.

[guylocke]

According to Seirra Magazine, Pennsylvania is home to two of the top 10 Greenest Schools in the country.

Carnegie Mellon and U. Penn

Cool Schools: Ten That Get It - November/December 2007 - Sierra Magazine - Sierra Club

You'd expect innovation from a school renowned for its tech programs, and Carnegie Mellon University delivers with student-designed green roofs on several buildings, what it claims was the country's first ecofriendly dorm, and a collaborative research center with a modular raised-floor system that doubles the amount of fresh air circulating in the building.

[guylocke]

People are wild about the Steelers, who knew?..

Survey names Steelers strongest local brand in sports - USATODAY.com

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers are more than just a good football team. They're also a powerful brand.

The franchise was named the strongest team brand in its local market compared with scores of other professional sports teams across the country in a new consumer survey, the 2007 Turnkey Team Brand Index.

The Steelers ranked first among 122 team brands in the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball in home-market strength.

A total of 12,000 sports fans in 47 markets nationwide participated in the online survey by Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, a New Jersey-based market research and executive search and recruiting firm.

"The Steelers are the model brand for a team," Turnkey's president and chief executive, Len Perna, said in a statement. "Down through their history, ownership, players, coaches, stadium and style match the hard-nosed work ethic of their city."

[guylocke]

I have been waiting for this for a long time!! Finally, Comcast will have some much needed competition!! I can't WAIT to dump them and try FiOS!! It only talks about the television service but you can also get high-speed internet and digital phone service via FiOS. I've heard the entire package will only cost $99/month.

Verizon to launch FiOS TV in region

After a year of saying that it was coming, Verizon announced the launch of its FiOS TV service in the Pittsburgh area -- but not within the city -- yesterday.

The service, which will deliver TV via fiber-optic lines rather than the airwaves or cable, is being rolled out in more than a dozen local suburbs in what the company hopes will be the start of a major expansion.

Verizon touts the service as for its all-digital picture and sound quality, as well as for features such as an interactive media guide that replaces text listings with colorful graphics and "widgets" that allow a user to view weather and traffic information by ZIP Code.

FiOS Premier, the first tier of service beyond standard local television, will offer more than 200 channels for $42.99.

FiOS will be available in 14 suburbs: Bethel Park, Franklin Park, Hampton, Indiana Township, McCandless, Mt. Lebanon, O'Hara, Ohio Township, Peters, Ross, Sewickley, Shaler, Upper St. Clair and West View.

Even as it announced the start of service in those communities, Verizon continued to negotiate for licenses that would allow them entry into other communities. So-called "local franchise agreements" are required by state law in order to regulate customer service standards, rights of way and municipal revenue percentages. Just this week, officials in Nottingham, Washington County, agreed to grant Verizon a franchise for the new service.

[guylocke]

Alrighty all, I've decided to close up shop on these forums for several reasons. Mainly, because apparently it is we homosexual Pittsburgh cheerleaders who are destroying the fabric of city-data.

Anyway, I'm going to concentrate my time elsewhere, good luck to everyone and take care!!

Perhaps someone will keep this particular thread alive?? I think it has been very informative and people seem to enjoy it.