Mt. Washington Hotel/Condo Plan

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by AaronClark

I'm not sold on the "italian style" villas. Just regular modern, glass villas would be nice. Or something that blends in more with Mt. Washington/Pittsburgh architecture. Why something so tacky? This isn't EPCOT center....and I'm worried that they're not going to mesh very well with the modern glass tower.

So I believe this is a sketch from the architect for the proposed project:

http://www.desmone.com/content/ID6b817416_3a15_4057_9e1e_578eb6a656b0_Image2.jpg (broken link)

It looks like they intend to interpret "coastal Italian villa" in a fairly modern sense (which isn't inappropriate: Italy itself is still building coastal villas in a more modern style). Judging from that sketch, more than anything else I think the phrase is supposed to invoke the somewhat organic pattern of the condos as they flow around the hillside (plus maybe the reddish roofs).

By the way, there is a lot architecture one might loosely called "Italianate" in Pittsburgh. The Buhl Building downtown is actually a fascinating example:

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation » Buhl Building ready for its closeup

You'll also see homes with Italianate details in most of the older residential neighborhoods, including the Mexican War Streets, South Side Flats, Shadyside, and so on. In fact, the American Foursquare we own in Regent Square has Italianate detailing, despite the Foursquare itself being more of a Prairie/Craftsman style.

[jtpgh]

just wanted to add an update to this thread. Last week (6/22/10) this project was approved by zoning/planning.

This was the third and last zoning hurdle for this project to move forward. the changes in zoning were approved last fall, by planning commission, City council voted in the spring agreeing with the change, and just last week was the approval of the more detailed plans of the specifucs.

Obviuosly there will continue to be check points, but as of right now, the developer has excercised his options on the all of the property and will begin demolishing buidling in the next 3 months.

They currently anticipate a 2013 completion

[nuwaver88]

Originally Posted by jtpgh

just wanted to add an update to this thread. Last week (6/22/10) this project was approved by zoning/planning.

This was the third and last zoning hurdle for this project to move forward. the changes in zoning were approved last fall, by planning commission, City council voted in the spring agreeing with the change, and just last week was the approval of the more detailed plans of the specifucs.

Obviuosly there will continue to be check points, but as of right now, the developer has excercised his options on the all of the property and will begin demolishing buidling in the next 3 months.

They currently anticipate a 2013 completion

The final hurdle and also the biggest is the ah, funding. Hopefully, investors will see that the nation is coming out of the recession and that Pittsburgh never really was as deep into the recession and fared much better than most other places. Getting the residents on board up there was no small feat. Back in the 80s and early 90s they shot down anything and everything. The demographic is younger and more progressive now. Another thing about this project is that is near Shiloh Street. Shiloh Street is underrated business corridor in Pittsburgh. It has several bars and restaurants, a coffee house called Grand Brew, an ice cream place, all within a five minute walk of the proposed plan. I think streets like Shiloh and also Virginia Avenue will see revitalization as improvements continue on Mt. Washington.