Category Archive: Architecture & Architects
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Black leaders seek delay in Schenley decision
By Bill Zlatos
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, February 27, 2008A group of black community leaders is urging the city school board tonight to postpone or vote against a proposal to move students from Schenley High School in Oakland.
In a letter dated today to board members, the Black Political Empowerment Project or B-PEP urged the board to reconsider Superintendent Mark Roosevelt’s proposed closing of Schenley. Roosevelt wants to close the school because of the estimated $64.3 million cost of removing asbestos and upgrading the building.
Under Roosevelt’s plan, to be voted on today, the district would close Schenley and move students this fall while it decides whether to shut the school down permanently or renovate it. As a result, the board is considering the following actions:
* Relocating Schenley students who would be in grades 10 through 12 to now-closed Reizenstein in East Liberty; * Shifting 174 students in the robotics technology program at Schenley to Peabody High School in East Liberty: and * Sending ninth graders who live in Schenley’s feeder pattern to a proposed University Prep School at Milliones in the Hill District.
B-PEP Chairman Tim Stevens recommended hold off on moving the Schenley students until the district develops a comprehensive approach to meeting the needs of the nine high schools that did not meet federal academic standards.
Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com or 412-320-7828.
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North Side groups at odds over former bank’s historic status
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
By Mark Belko,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe city planning commission will leave it up to City Council to decide whether a North Side building linked to prominent Chicago architect D.H. Burnham will be preserved or perhaps face the wrecking ball.
In a 3-1 vote with one abstention, the commission decided to take no action on the proposed nomination of the former Workingmen’s Savings Bank on East Ohio Street as a city historic structure after North Side groups and residents offered mixed views of the designation, with some favoring it and some opposed.
A Lawrenceville company, Bentley Commercial, recently purchased the vacant Beaux Arts-style building with the intent to redevelop it. At one point, Bentley stated it had plans to demolish the structure, triggering the nomination to preserve it.
Since then, some North Side neighborhood groups have been working with the developer to try to devise a plan that would preserve the building, built in 1902, while allowing development to proceed.
Some fear the designation, which would protect the building from demolition, could interfere with development.
Pam Minton, vice president of the Deutschtown New Hope Council, said restoration could be extremely expensive. With a historic designation, “I know what will happen, it will just sit there,” she said.
But those who supported the designation said there could be tax credits and other incentives for historic renovation that could lower Bentley’s costs.
Rather than making a recommendation, the commission decided to take no action, meaning it automatically goes to City Council, which will have 90 days to act on the nomination.
In a separate action, the commission did recommend a historic designation for a Homewood house at 7101 Apple St. that once served as headquarters of the National Negro Opera Company.
Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First published on February 27, 2008 at 12:00 am -
Public Hearing Before the Planning Commission of the City of Pittsburgh on the Workingman’s Savings Bank City Historic Structure Nomination
PREPARED TESTIMONY OF
ANNE E. NELSON, ESQ.
GENERAL COUNSEL
PITTSBURGH HISTORY & LANDMARKS FOUNDATION
BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION, CITY OF PITTSBURGH
ON THE WORKINGMAN’S SAVINGS BANK
CITY HISTORIC STRUCTURE NOMINATION
FEBRUARY 26, 2008
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation urges the Planning Commission to recommend to the City Council the designation of the Workingman’s Savings Bank as a City Historic Structure.
The Workingman’s Savings Bank is the anchor building on the west corner of E. Ohio Street; the historic Teutonia Mannerchor serves as the east anchor. Removing an anchor building, one of the original elements remaining on that side of East Deutschtown, will have a detrimental impact on the neighborhood. Designating the property to City Historic Structure status will not only ensure its preservation, it will encourage the future development of the area to be consistent with the size, scale, design and character of the surrounding neighborhood. This designation will have a positive impact on the adjacent properties and the surrounding neighborhood by promoting the proper redevelopment of the area.
Furthermore, the incorporation of the building into a larger development is a viable option that may benefit the owner through the use of federal historic preservation tax incentives. The Workingman’s Savings Bank was determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places on February 24, 1986. Buildings listed on or eligible for the National Register may qualify for a 20% historic rehabilitation tax credit. A property owner may also donate a preservation easement to a qualified organization to receive a charitable contribution deduction. The combination of these two historic preservation tax incentives has successfully been used on developments in Pittsburgh including the Heinz Lofts and the Armstrong Cork Factory. Our organization would be interested in receiving one. If not eligible for the National Register, a 10% tax credit is also available for substantial rehabilitation costs since the building was constructed prior to 1936.
Finally, I would like to present a letter dated February 11, 2008 from Christopher Ponticello, Legal Counsel for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, that states the Diocese has received no payment from the successful purchaser of the building in exchange for the Diocese to relinquish its rights to the property. The Diocese’s attorney should be contacted for more information.
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation supports the nomination of the Workingman’s Savings Bank to a City Historic Structure.
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Vote on closing Schenley High School delayed
By Bill Zlatos
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, February 21, 2008City schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt said he delayed a vote on closing Schenley High School to give supporters time to raise money to fix it and to study if it would be cheaper in the long run to repair the structure.
“We think it is indeed worth the time and exploration,” Roosevelt told members of the school board at Wednesday’s agenda review meeting. “It does not imply a decision has been made either way.”
Roosevelt said the district is studying whether it would be more cost-effective to fix Schenley because of its sturdy construction compared to a more recent building that might not last as long.
The Oakland school has 1,086 students and was built in 1916. Roosevelt last year recommended closing Schenley because of the $64.3 million cost of renovating it and removing its asbestos.
The board yesterday discussed his proposal to make a couple of moves he believes necessary whether Schenley is permanently closed or temporarily shut down for repairs.
Those actions, to be voted on Feb. 27, involve moving Schenley students in grades 10 through 12 to Reizenstein in East Liberty in the fall. At the same time, the 174 students in the robotics technology program at Schenley would be relocated to Peabody High School in East Liberty.
Ninth-graders from Schenley’s feeder pattern would go to a University Prep School at Milliones in the Hill District. Eventually Milliones would expand to a grade 6-12 school.
Ninth-graders in the International Baccalaureate and international studies programs, both of which are at Schenley, would go to Frick School in Oakland.
Board member Sherry Hazuda questioned whether it would make more sense to keep Schenley open while fixing it as opposed to shutting it down.
Richard Fellers, chief operations officer, warned that fixing Schenley while leaving part of the school open could endanger students from falling plaster.
“We think it would be cost-effective, faster and removes the health risk” to close the building, he said.
At one point, Roosevelt and board member Mark Brentley became involved in a heated exchange when Brentley criticized the move of black students from the Hill District to Milliones.
“We take very seriously our obligation to better serve kids that the data tell us are not doing well off,” Roosevelt said.
Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com or 412-320-7828.
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Millions could go to revamp landmark Union Trust Building
By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, February 19, 2008An investment group that paid $24.1 million to buy the ornate Union Trust Building plans to spend “several million dollars” more to bring the landmark structure back to life.
The group, led by executives of the Mika Realty Group in Los Angeles, promises to refurbish the nearly empty, block-long structure at 501 Grant St., Downtown, and restock its 595,000-plus square feet of rentable space with new office and retail tenants.
“We really want to bring something wonderful to the city. This is a once-in-a-lifetime location. The building is irreplaceable, so we want to get it right,” said Rick Barreca, CEO of Mika Realty.
“I’d like to see a retail bank come into the ground floor, and I’d like to see a nice restaurant,” said Barreca. “We want to have a mix that everybody in the building will be able to take advantage of, and that people in the surrounding area will be happy to come to.”
Hopes are that Larrimor’s, the upscale clothing retailer that occupies a prominent corner at Grant Street and Fifth Avenue, will continue its long relationship with the building, he said.
Barreca is one of the investors in the group headed Michael Kamen, founder of privately held Mika, and a business associate, Gerson Fox of Los Angeles.They’ve hired the Pittsburgh-area architectural firm of Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates to design the upgrade.
Plans are to clean the building’s facade and install new exterior lighting, signage and new windows on the ground level retail area that rings the building, topping them with decorative glass awnings. The building would get its first on-site parking with 60 new spaces planned on one of its two sub-basement levels accessible from William Penn Place.
Planned lobby improvements include a new security desk, benches and a new lighting package to brighten space underneath the colorful rotunda. Lighting will highlight ceiling mosaic tiles and stained glass above several building entry points.
“We’re working with a historic consultant on the exterior to be careful not to disturb any of the historic features,” Kosar said.
“We’re also looking at adding new artwork and possibly some displays that could be changed seasonally, Barreca said.
The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation is happy with Mika’s plans for the building, said Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., president of the South Side preservationist organization. The foundation has offered to work with the developers to help them secure historic tax credits for some of the renovation work, if the group decides to pursue them, he said.
Designed in Flemish Gothic style by noted Pittsburgh architect F.J. Osterling and built in 1916 for industrialist Henry Clay Frick, the building opened in 1917 as the Union Arcade, an upscale, indoor mall with 238 shops and more than 700 office tenants.
In 1922, it came to be owned by Union Trust Co., and after a 1946 merger, by Mellon National Bank and Trust Co., predecessor to Mellon Financial Corp., now Bank of New York Mellon.
Mellon decided to vacate its substantial presence in the building in May 2006 and DeBartolo Property Group LLC, the owner since 1984, stopped aggressive efforts to keep other tenants, leaving it in its present state.
It eventually defaulted on its mortgage, and ownership passed to Philadelphia-based insurance firm Cigna Corp., holder of the loan.
Chances to fill the building’s office space have likely improved thanks to a recent tightening of the Downtown office market. And interest in both the office and retail space has been high, said Jeffrey Ackerman, a commercial real estate broker with CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh.
Ackerman represented Cigna in a nationwide marketing effort to find a buyer for the building and brokered the deal with the purchasing group.
Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.
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Union Trust sale a done deal
By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, February 7, 2008The sale of the historic Union Trust Building, Downtown, was completed Wednesday to principals of Mika Realty Group of Los Angeles.
Purchase price for the ornate, 11-story building that covers a full block of Grant Street, was $24.1 million, according to documents filed with the Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds office.
The purchase was expected to be completed last week. It was delayed because of the complicated nature of the transaction, said Jeffery Ackerman, commercial real estate broker with CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, who negotiated the deal.
The new owners intend to restore the grandeur of the building that was designed in Flemish Gothic style by noted Pittsburgh architect F.J. Osterling and built in 1916 for industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The buyers were not available for comment yesterday.
The group, which includes Michael Kamen, founder of privately held Mika, and a business associate, Gerson Fox, also of Los Angeles, plans to continue using the structure as an office building and to attract a mix of upscale retail tenants to the first level.
The sale price was about $6 million below its $30.75 million market value, including land, as listed in public records. But local real estate experts said it was not a bargain-basement deal, noting that the building is nearly empty with the exception of a few retail tenants on the first floor.
“It’s a beautiful building with a lot of character,” said Jim Geiger, senior vice president with Grant Street Associates-Cushman & Wakefield, a Downtown commercial real estate firm. “It has a lot of things going for it, but it will be a challenge to fill the office space in light of today’s office market.”
Seller of the building at 501 Grant St. was Teal Rock 501 Grant Street LP, a unit of Cigna Corp. of Philadelphia.
Cigna has controlled the property since 2006, when it assumed ownership from long-time owner, Florida-based DeBartolo Property Group LLC, which defaulted on a mortgage held by Cigna.
The building ran into trouble after Mellon Financial Corp., its major tenant, relocated employees to other buildings Downtown in May 2006, and most other tenants followed suit due to uncertainties with their leases.
For the buyer, the purchase price, which works out to about $40.50 per square foot based on the 595,000-square-feet of leasable space in the building, is lower than it would cost to try to duplicate such a grand structure in the city, said Ned Doran, of GVA Oxford, the commercial leasing arm of Oxford Development Co.
Questions to be determined are how much they will spend to upgrade the building and their ability to attract tenants, Doran said.
Ackerman has said a number of large office users and retail prospects already have looked at the building.
The purchase was welcomed by Tom Michael, who owns upscale Larrimor’s clothing store in the building, the largest remaining retail tenant. Michael said he had talked to Michael Kamen of Mika recently.
“We are optimistic about moving forward and filling the building with quality tenants,” said Michael. “They have a large plan in the works for the building.”
Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907
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Sale of Union Trust Building completed for $24.1 million
By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, February 6, 2008The historic Union Trust Building in Downtown Pittsburgh has been sold.
Mika Realty Group of Los Angeles completed the previously announced purchase of the 11-story building from Teal Rock 501 Grant Street LP, a unit of Cigna Corp. of Philadelphia, on Tuesday for $24.1 million.The purchase, through Mika’s Five 501 Grant St. Partners LLC, was recorded today at the Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds offfice.
The new owner will continue to use the building for offices, plus first floor retail, said Jeffrey Ackerman, commercial real estate broker with CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, who negotiated the sale.
Efforts will be made by Ackerman and Jeremy Kronman, also of CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, to locate tenants for the 800,000-square-foot building which is nearly empty, except for several retail tenants on the ground level.
Previously known as Two Mellon Bank Center, the building was designed in Flemish Gothic style by noted Pittsburgh architect F. J. Osterling and built in 1916 for industrialist Henry Clay Frick.
Sam Spatter can be reached at sspatter@tribweb.com or 412-320-7843.
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Tale of two buildings: Different countries, but similar styles
Sunday, February 3, 2008
By Mike Filey,
TORONTO SUNA quick look at the two photos that accompany this article might lead the reader to think they are of the same building viewed from different angles.
But on closer inspection, it’s obvious they are two totally different structures. One shows the Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh, Pa., while the other is of what we now call “old” City Hall in the heart of our city. The former was constructed from 1883-88, while construction of the latter began in 1889 and took a decade to complete.
The fact that the two buildings are similar in appearance should not come as a surprise since the architect of the Toronto building, Edward James Lennox, was inspired by the work of well-known American architect Henry Hobson Richardson.
In fact, Lennox often made trips south of the border to see various Richardson projects created in a style that had become known internationally as Richardson Romanesque. A couple of those buildings were in nearby Buffalo, N.Y., but it was Richardson’s Allegheny County Courthouse that caught Lennox’s eye.
The young Toronto architect unabashedly used many of its architectural elements in his design for what was initially planned as Toronto’s new combination courthouse/city hall.
Today, the Pittsburgh building is still being used for its original purpose, that of a courthouse. And although Lennox’s building was initially planned to serve as both Toronto’s new city hall and a courthouse for the County of York, it actually served only a single purpose, that of Toronto’s City Hall, from the day it opened in the fall of 1899 until our new City Hall opened across Bay St. 66 years later.
The project began to take shape in 1884 when Lennox proposed replacing the old county courthouse on Adelaide St. E. with a new one at a cost of $400,000. Nothing happened.
In a second report presented to council three years later, Lennox estimated the cost of the new courthouse would now be $690,000. He also introduced the idea of building a new city hall at a cost of $570,000 to replace the old, outdated one at Front and Jarvis. He then went on to suggest that the city could save money by combining the two uses, courthouse and city hall, under one roof. This building could be built for approximately $1 million , thereby saving the taxpayer a nifty $260,000.
More discussions ensued and it wasn’t until 1889 that work on the dual purpose structure — the cost of which had by now escalated to $1,650,000 — actually began. The completion date was set for January 1893.
Progress was slow, painfully slow, with architect Lennox blaming the general contractor for the hold-ups. The delays prompted the following comment in the May 30, 1895 edition of the Globe newspaper: “It is gratifying to note that there has been as yet no fatal accidents attending the building of the new (municipal building) project although several employees have become incapacitated through old age.”
Eventually, and in an effort to get the project back on track, Lennox fired the contactor and assumed full control himself. By now the cost had mushroomed to $2 million. Four more years of work followed and when Mayor John Shaw officially opened the building on Sept.18, 1899, the cost of the long drawn-out project had risen to more than $3 million.
Interestingly, when it did open it was as Toronto’s new city hall with the county courthouse remaining ensconced in its ancient (1852-53) building on Adelaide St. E. It appears that county and city officials couldn’t agree on what proportion of the total building cost each would pay.
Among the invited guests on opening day was the proud yet frustrated architect, Edward James Lennox. Proud because his creation had become one of the continent’s architectural wonders; frustrated at the criticism he faced from the politicians and the newspapers over the building’s final cost.
And the architect’s frustration continued to grow as the city officials refused to pay the various bills he had submitted for the 15 years of work he had undertaken on the constantly changing project. The amount he billed the city totaled exactly $269,658. Of that, a mere 25% was for actual architectural work. The remaining amount covered all the extra work Lennox was forced to undertake himself once work had commenced on the new building.
The arguments over just how much of that bill the city would pay lasted for years and it wasn’t until January 1912, almost 13 years after Mayor Shaw officially opened Toronto’s wonderful new city hall, that architect/contractor Lennox, fed up with the whole matter, accepted the city’s offer of $121,615 — an amount that was less than half of what he requested