Pittsburgh Area Development - Request for Info & Updates (Oakland: homeless, authority)

[eschaton]

Looking over zoning materials, there's a major new residential development being proposed in Squirrel Hill on the site of the former Irish Center (essentially surrounded by Frick Park).

Eight stories, and looks to be around 150 units. Pretty isolated, but should rent very well provided they can get it past zoning. The parcel is technically zoned parkland, so they need to jump through some hoops, and I could see Swisshelm Park complaining about the traffic it will cause on Commercial Street.

[Higherho]

Lower Hills, Live Nation venue got its final approval! This is going to be huge for that area I feel and pull more people (other than sports) to the area. I am very happy that all parties agreed on what will provide the Greater Hill District Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund a boost and it’s well deserved. We need to correct a major wrong doing from our Pittsburgh past and I think this is a great first step in doing that.

https://www.publicsource.org/lower-h...eid=39ce1d146d

[412Burgh]

Originally Posted by Higherho

Lower Hills, Live Nation venue got its final approval! This is going to be huge for that area I feel and pull more people (other than sports) to the area. I am very happy that all parties agreed on what will provide the Greater Hill District Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund a boost and it’s well deserved. We need to correct a major wrong doing from our Pittsburgh past and I think this is a great first step in doing that.

https://www.publicsource.org/lower-h...eid=39ce1d146d

The major wrong doing of our past? Do you really feel that the civic arena separating the "hill" from downtown that had much of an impact?

Reality check, they just "reconnected it" with that colossal waste of money for that "park" cap over 579. Guess what, now that's reconnected undesirables are able to get into downtown more quickly from the hill and are creating more crime, homelessness and drug usage.

"Right the wrong"? I'd say our politicians who separated the Hill back then knew exactly what they were doing and the downtown area benefited from it for decades, and now that it's reconnected, downtown is on a steady downward spiral. Surprise surprise.

[eschaton]

Another major development in Uptown has been dropped. This is a 211-unit building at 1625 Forbes.

There's not really a good rendering to look at yet as still images, but there was a presentation a few days ago for the Hill District, and some renderings were included in the youtube video.

Looks like a nice project. I'm glad they aren't wiping out the few remaining houses on the west side of the block for it.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Looking over zoning materials, there's a major new residential development being proposed in Squirrel Hill on the site of the former Irish Center (essentially surrounded by Frick Park).

Eight stories, and looks to be around 150 units. Pretty isolated, but should rent very well provided they can get it past zoning. The parcel is technically zoned parkland, so they need to jump through some hoops, and I could see Swisshelm Park complaining about the traffic it will cause on Commercial Street.

People are complaining about this. The park is a thing which people will defend.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

People are complaining about this. The park is a thing which people will defend.

I am not understanding their complaints, though. This isn't developing a greenfield property from scratch. This is the redevelopment of a brownfield site (improving upon a declining low-density structure that is already on that parcel). All the complaints I see are from people saying this will ruin the park.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I am not understanding their complaints, though. This isn't developing a greenfield property from scratch. This is the redevelopment of a brownfield site (improving upon a declining low-density structure that is already on that parcel). All the complaints I see are from people saying this will ruin the park.

The problem is that although the parcel is privately owned, for some arcane reason it was zoned as parkland, which puts extreme barriers up against new development (height limitations, impossible to build anything beyond a single family house, etc.).

I am not sure why they're going this way, when they could get a spot rezoning for the parcel first.

[Moby Hick]

Rezoning it is a huge transfer of wealth from the city to the developers. That's my main issue.

[eschaton]

A pretty small-scale development, but Giant Eagle is attempting to have a new Getgo built in Homewood, at the corner of Fifth and Frankstown. The site currently has Hook Fish and Chicken on the front end, and a lot of vacant parcels zoned for residential on the back side of the block. Giant Eagle would essentially redevelop the entire block (other than the last remaining house still standing. It needs to rezone the vacant lots as UI (Urban Industrial) to proceed.

It sounds like there is some community opposition to this, mainly from neighbors not happy about a gas station being next door to them.

I have...mixed feelings about this personally. I'm not sure this is needed, given the intersection already has two (!) gas stations. It arguably makes one of the worst intersections in the East End even worse as well. On the other hand, the newer GetGos are much closer to mini grocery stores than convenience stores, so it would provide more grocery access in a pretty food desert section of the city.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

Rezoning it is a huge transfer of wealth from the city to the developers. That's my main issue.

I could see this argument if the city was selling off a parcel it owned, but it's been in private hands by the Irish Center of Pittsburgh since 1966, if not even earlier.

Are you saying that most of the amenity value of the apartment building is access to the public park, which the city owns? I guess I can understand that, but the city gets back tax revenue in return which is far greater than what it would get out of the space being undeveloped.