LG Realty presents design plan for new $130 million-plus redevelopment of Penn Plaza (Washington: apartment)

[xdv8]

This controversial project is moving forward. Looks like the planning commission needs some more information about how the size/shape of Enright Parklet will be impacted.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburg...r-new-130.html

I am no fan of LG Realty or its principals but I believe this will have a positive impact on East Liberty and the entire East End.

[eschaton]

There are pictures in the latest Planning Commission presentation which have already been snipped by others and made into jpgs. The last time I direct linked to such pictures however it was taken down as a copyright violation, so I won't link to them directly. You can find em here though.

[xdv8]

Yes, I looked at them last week. They are basically just site plans with info on the finishing but no renders. It does look like they are treating the development with the gravitas the location deserves.

The main takeaways, for me at least:
New connection from Penn to Negley via new stretch of South Saint Clair St meeting Eva St, slightly breaking up the super block. The initial plan was to re-connect St. Clair but the community opposed that idea.

ELDI purchase of a parking lot to expand the re-configured Enright.

LG gave a plot (on Negley near Eva) to URA/city for future affordable housing.

A large non surface parking lot will face much of Euclid.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by xdv8

Yes, I looked at them last week. They are basically just site plans with info on the finishing but no renders. It does look like they are treating the development with the gravitas the location deserves.

The main takeaways, for me at least:
New connection from Penn to Negley via new stretch of South Saint Clair St meeting Eva St, slightly breaking up the super block. The initial plan was to re-connect St. Clair but the community opposed that idea.

ELDI purchase of a parking lot to expand the re-configured Enright.

LG gave a plot (on Negley near Eva) to URA/city for future affordable housing.

A large non surface parking lot will face much of Euclid.

It was updated with new pictures this week, which include crude black and white renderings of the first phase. The Whole Foods building will be at the corner of Penn and the new S St. Clair stub, with a second floor of offices above. In the rear there will be a large parking garage which will front on S Euclid, with a green roof and 2-3 four-story apartment buildings with dimensions roughly similar to the new Eastside Bond placed on the top.

One aspect you didn't mention is the turn lane from Penn to S Euclid is being eliminated, which means there will be a "sharp corner" again there.

[SteelCityRising]

I love the project. Very dense!

Also interested to learn more about the Mews on Butler project. Sad, too, to see two more historic buildings being torn down in Uptown.

[Geeo]

I'm anxious to see detailed drawings of what the buildings will actually look like. I know Washington, DC has an urban Whole Foods as part of a larger mixed-use structure, so I'm hoping it's something like that. This development will be a great anchor for that end of the East Liberty business district, with Target at the other end. Hopefully it will lead to more pedestrian traffic along Penn, which seems to have mostly occupied storefronts these days.

[wpipkins2]

[quote=eschaton;

One aspect you didn't mention is the turn lane from Penn to S Euclid is being eliminated, which means there will be a "sharp corner" again there.[/QUOTE]

I remember you expressing concern about that intersection. I was pleased with the new street wall and lack of setbacks. I was not sure of how the parking would be handled. I really like it and the development appears larger than I thought it would be.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

I remember you expressing concern about that intersection. I was pleased with the new street wall and lack of setbacks. I was not sure of how the parking would be handled. I really like it and the development appears larger than I thought it would be.

Keep in mind the renders so far are just showing the eastern structure, which will be on the east side of the new S St. Clair spur. There will be another whole building going in at the corner of Penn and Negley yet. Plus it looks like ELDI is going to do two small affordable housing projects on the fringes of this project - one with land donated by LG, and the other due to purchasing the nursing home on Amber Street.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by eschaton

and the other due to purchasing the nursing home on Amber Street.

That is one of the most depressing nursing homes I've ever been in. I used to make deliveries there.