Officials want Downtown Urban Village. (Pittsburgh, Taylor: sales, apartments, condos)

[MathmanMathman]

Ok, I guess we've heard the downtown village concept ad nauseam.

Pittsburgh officials want to create a Downtown 'urban village' atmosphere | TribLIVE

In the 1990s it was Fifth and Forbes...the downtown mall. Thankfully that didn't happen as we've seen Lord & Taylor, Saks, and Lazarus closed. I like what I saw in Seattle

Pike Place Market - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pike Place Market has clusters of shops located near the waterfront. I think a start has been made with The Strip. But I think Pittsburgh has made a mistake by not having riverside restaurants, bars, and shops. I see the Buncher Project as just further sterilizing the riverfront. Apartments, Condos, and Corporate buildings don't bring life to the shoreline.

Belltown in Seattle is a neighborhood of shops, bars, and pubs. I think what is needed is lots of human scale places to attract people. And while I know it is expensive and probably not possible, really, having public transit, preferably LRTs, leading from the outside the city to downtown can attract a portion of the 1 million people in outer Allegheny County. That transportation is needed as driving to Downtown and parking can be a pain.

[Hopes]

It would be nice if a true village was created with the exclusion of chains. We don't need another shopping district that's like all of the others in the region. I don't care if the development looks different. The businesses need to be different too.

That said, I don't think it's thankful that Lord and Taylor and Saks closed. Those stores were unique to the region, especially Saks.

[PreservationPioneer]

New skyscrapers are coming to our downtown at the expense of human scale historic buildings. "Urban villages" depend on those human scale buildings. You can make Market Square or Lawrenceville an urban village, but you can't do the same with Gateway Center.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by Hopes

It would be nice if a true village was created with the exclusion of chains. We don't need another shopping district that's like all of the others in the region. I don't care if the development looks different. The businesses need to be different too.

That said, I don't think it's thankful that Lord and Taylor and Saks closed. Those stores were unique to the region, especially Saks.

What killed Saks was the lack of Steeler gear.

[AaronPGH]

This article is really low on details. Basically just a bunch of people talking about what they wish would happen. Did I miss specifics in there on an action plan or something?

[pman]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

New skyscrapers are coming to our downtown at the expense of human scale historic buildings. "Urban villages" depend on those human scale buildings. You can make Market Square or Lawrenceville an urban village, but you can't do the same with Gateway Center.

you are correct, and the lady walking about parking is also off the mark, all downtowns have parking problems. "enough parking" is anathema to successful downtown. one might say, taking downtown back from the car is probably what's necessary

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by Copanut

What killed Saks was the lack of Steeler gear.

LMAO. True dat.

[FreightTrainRunning]

Pretty lazy article. First it says this:

Over the years, redevelopment cleaned the air and rivers, brought skyscrapers, and rid Liberty and Penn avenues of smut parlors. Yet, despite a thriving Cultural District when theaters book events, Downtown resembles a ghost town after 5 p.m.

And then half-way down the page, it says this:

“I've seen foot traffic increase a lot since Market Square (reopened),” said Anna Ciaccio, sales manager for Boutique la Passerelle on Wood Street, one of the newest shops Downtown. “Market Square is hopping. I was there on a Tuesday night, and all the tables were filled.”

So which is it? Is downtown a ghost town or is it hopping?

Anecdotally, my wife and I had dinner at 6-Penn at 9:30 on Saturday night and the place was packed on a bitter cold February night.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by pman

you are correct, and the lady walking about parking is also off the mark, all downtowns have parking problems. "enough parking" is anathema to successful downtown. one might say, taking downtown back from the car is probably what's necessary

In my experience most vibrant downtowns are parking hell. It's hard to find parking in crowded popular places. Good public transit is needed.

[Evergrey]

crap article