Ambitious new residential project in the works for...CHATEAU?!? (Beaver: houses, neighborhood)

[eschaton]

Read all about it here and here. Well, both articles are behind paywalls, but you can get around both by using incognito mode in your browser.

No word yet on the number of units in development, but a 13-acre site makes it sound like...quite a good deal.

The URA lot is that empty triangular lot near the West End Bridge. The property owned by Peter Smerd is the warehouse next door. I think the Gregg Stein property in question is the one just to the north of that, as it's clear the Cardello Building is owned by a different group entirely.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Read all about it here and here. Well, both articles are behind paywalls, but you can get around both by using incognito mode in your browser.

No word yet on the number of units in development, but a 13-acre site makes it sound like...quite a good deal.

The URA lot is that empty triangular lot near the West End Bridge. The property owned by Peter Smerd is the warehouse next door. I think the Gregg Stein property in question is the one just to the north of that, as it's clear the Cardello Building is owned by a different group entirely.

I saw this article this morning. Pretty crazy, hopefully it gets built (and maybe it'll push an extension of the T).

[bradjl2009]

Well, almost anything would be an improvement for that area with how terrible the riverfront is once you get past the casino. I don't see PennDOT doing much about Rt 65 for several years at least though. It would be very expensive to revert what was built there, create some massive backups to rebuild, and it just doens't seem like something on their "to do" list either.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

Well, almost anything would be an improvement for that area with how terrible the riverfront is once you get past the casino. I don't see PennDOT doing much about Rt 65 for several years at least though. It would be very expensive to revert what was built there, create some massive backups to rebuild, and it just doens't seem like something on their "to do" list either.

IIRC someone on the forum - one of our resident highway nerds - said within the last year that money is already appropriated for rebuilding Route 65 as is. Given trying to reverse highway projects once they are in planning is like trying to turn around a supertanker, this probably means 65 is roughly locked in as it is for at least the next 20 years.

[norcider]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

Well, almost anything would be an improvement for that area with how terrible the riverfront is once you get past the casino. I don't see PennDOT doing much about Rt 65 for several years at least though. It would be very expensive to revert what was built there, create some massive backups to rebuild, and it just doens't seem like something on their "to do" list either.

It's Beaver Avenue that could see a re-birth. The area along the river trail past the casino isn't terrible it's just not used by many business' these days. That part of the city has tremendous potential, maybe this new development will kick start that.

[Geeo]

It looks like what may get done is reverting Beaver Avenue to two-way again, which would be a big held with access to that area. The development sounds like it would be very doable, given the flat layout of the land and access to downtown and north shore. It's a logical next step for that area. it's pretty quiet over there with nor residents and no other activity.

[norcider]

Originally Posted by Geeo

It looks like what may get done is reverting Beaver Avenue to two-way again, which would be a big held with access to that area. The development sounds like it would be very doable, given the flat layout of the land and access to downtown and north shore. It's a logical next step for that area. it's pretty quiet over there with nor residents and no other activity.

There was, or maybe still is a strip club over there. But yeah, we need the right kids of activity!

[Geeo]

Had no idea there was a strip club over there! Maybe they feed off the casino patrons? I used to work in one of the industrial parks over there years ago. There was some light industry and offices, but we had to go across the Ohio River Blvd. highway wall for lunch, so we always felt cut off from everything. That elevated highway was the worst thing they ever did to that neighborhood.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by eschaton

IIRC someone on the forum - one of our resident highway nerds - said within the last year that money is already appropriated for rebuilding Route 65 as is. Given trying to reverse highway projects once they are in planning is like trying to turn around a supertanker, this probably means 65 is roughly locked in as it is for at least the next 20 years.

Thanks for the title haha.

Yes, it is going to stay the same unfortunately. That project is scheduled to start once west Carson street it opened. It's already past design now anyways, so it's too late.

I think if there were more connections from one side to the other (pedestrian, vehicular, etc), it would work well enough to connect it to the rest of the northside. The cost to lower the profile of the highway, and adding dozens of intersections isn't feasible IMO.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Geeo

Had no idea there was a strip club over there! Maybe they feed off the casino patrons? I used to work in one of the industrial parks over there years ago. There was some light industry and offices, but we had to go across the Ohio River Blvd. highway wall for lunch, so we always felt cut off from everything. That elevated highway was the worst thing they ever did to that neighborhood.

Not true at all. In addition to the elevated highway, they demolished the entire historic building fabric of that area (minus a few old warehouses like this). Chateau was after all originally the portion of Manchester close to the river. Beaver Avenue was basically identical to East Carson in terms of having a long, unbroken Victorian commercial district. That's why Manchester doesn't have a commercial district today - because urban renewal destroyed it. They wanted to do the exact same thing with the South Side and Carson Street (which is why the Birmingham Bridge is so over-engineered) but that plan was thankfully defeated.

Originally Posted by speagles84

I think if there were more connections from one side to the other (pedestrian, vehicular, etc), it would work well enough to connect it to the rest of the northside. The cost to lower the profile of the highway, and adding dozens of intersections isn't feasible IMO.

I don't think new road connections would help that much, because for some reason when they demolished the whole neighborhood they decided to move the streets around, so the two branches of West North Avenue, for example, no longer align.

I think making both sides two way would help quite a good deal - it's not like Beaver Ave or Chateau Street are high-traffic roads as it is. One more cut-through - maybe around Sheffield Street - would be a big help as well.