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Category Archive: City Living

  1. East Liberty High-Rise Reduced To Rubble

    Courtesy of KDKA

    (Click play button to view video)

    A local high rise has now been reduced to a pile of rubble.

    The Auburn Terrace high rise in East Liberty was imploded around 9:30 a.m.

    The building was located in the 6200 block of Auburn Street.

    The Housing Authority received a grant from the federal government to pay for the project.

    It is trying to get rid of outdated buildings and put residents in better housing.

    (© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

  2. PNC Bank Invests $5 million Loan in Landmarks Community Capital Corporation

    PHLF News
    July 24, 2008

    PNC Bank, a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, has invested a $5 million loan in Landmarks Community Capital Corporation’s Urban Economic Loan Fund.  The Urban Economic Loan Fund provides short-term flexible financing at below market rates to non-profit organizations involved in revitalizing their communities. 

    Dr. Howard B. Slaughter, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Landmarks Community Capital Corporation (LCCC) said,  “This first investment in the Urban Economic Loan Fund will be the catalyst for more development in urban markets throughout Pittsburgh, where an economic stimulus is important for neighborhood revitalization, which advances more stability and creates viable places to live and work.  We are appreciative of PNC’s willingness to invest in the Fund and have already made commitments to utilize this funding.”

    $5,000,000.00 Check Presentation – State Representative Joe Preston; Linda Morris,V.P. PNC Bank; Councilman Rev. Ricky Burgess; Mayor Luke Ravenstahl; Dr. Howard B. Slaughter, Jr., CEO, Landmarks Community Capital Corporation; Lloyd Wright, Senior Executive Assistant to PA State Senator Jim Ferlo and (front center) Mrs. Sarah Campbell, Community Activist in Homewood for 30+ years.

    “LCCC has already demonstrated its ability to effectively finance urban development,” said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.  “This significant investment from PNC will allow Dr. Slaughter to help reverse the disinvestment in Pittsburgh’s urban cores and be a differentiating factor in supporting the financing of Pittsburgh’s urban fabric – exponentially and strategically.  This will be critical for sustainable urban revitalization.”

    Congressman Mike Doyle stated, “This initiative is another important contribution to the revitalization of our community.  I want to commend PNC Bank and Landmarks Community Capital Corporation for working together on this Urban Economic Loan Fund.”

    City Councilman Ricky Burgess, whose district this is said, “PNC has consistently committed themselves to the communities of the City of Pittsburgh.  I am confident that this worthy loan investment will be of great benefit to the urban cores of our great city, and will encourage other organizations to follow suit.  My sincere thanks to PNC and Landmarks Community Capital Corporation for their efforts.” 

     

    “Landmarks Community Capital Corporation’s loan program supports PNC’s goal of strengthening communities through investments and partnerships with local organizations,” said Linda F. Morris, Senior Vice President & Western Pennsylvania Market Manager, PNC Bank.  “Our commitment makes it possible for Landmarks Community Capital Corporation to offer below-market interest rates on loans, which will stimulate initiatives in affordable housing and community development.  These are sustainable projects that should have a positive ripple effect throughout the region.”

    State Representative Joe Preston said, “I am very pleased that PNC continues to support

    the neighborhoods.  First by providing banking services, and now reinvesting their dollars in the communities.  The leadership at PNC and Landmarks Community Capital Corporation are greatly appreciated.” 

    State Representative Jim Ferlo stated, “Once again PNC has made a strong statement demonstrating their commitment to the neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.  This is a real win-win for our City because we can have the utmost confidence in the stewardship of this commitment as well. 

    Landmarks Community Capital Corporation’s track record of investment speaks clearly to their dedication to quality projects that meet with their high standards for preservation, sustainability, and green building principles.

    I am very excited by what can be achieved through PNC’s outstanding commitment and I applaud Dr. Slaughter’s continued efforts on behalf of Pittsburgh neighborhood reinvestment.”

    Scheduled speakers at the press conference include:   Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Mayor of Pittsburgh; Mr. Charlie Batch – President & CEO Batch Development Company, Inc. and Landmarks Community Capital Corporation Board Member; Honorable Ricky Burgess, Pittsburgh City Council District 9; Ms. Linda Morris, Senior Vice President & Western Pennsylvania Market Manager, PNC Bank; Dr. Howard B. Slaughter, Jr. , CEO, Landmarks Community Capital Corporation; Honorable Joseph Preston, Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 24; Honorable Jim Ferlo, Pennsylvania State Senate District 38, Mr. Doug Smith, Sr. Vice-President, Wilbur Smith Associates and Chair, Landmarks Community Capital Corporation Board.

  3. Heathside Cottage’s mystery adds to its appeal

    By Bob Karlovits
    TRIBUNE-REVIEW
    Saturday, July 19, 2008

    It sits atop Fineview, peering over Downtown like one of the gargoyles that lurk through the house.
    Jack Miller from the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation knows some of the history of the home — known as Heathside Cottage — that could have been on its perch before the Civil War. It is dated 1855 on a plaque near its bay window, but continuing research debates that.

    "The story is in the bricks," Miller says with a sigh.

    The Heathside Cottage is dated at 1855, but may be just a bit newer. - Sean Donnelly/Tribune ReviewCharm from the 19th century is an obvious feature of the home the foundation has up for sale. The two-bedroom home with solidly repointed brick, plastered walls and decorative wood inside and out is being marketed at $189,900.

    The home, which had a guest spot in Rick Sebak’s 1977 "North Side Story," also has a one-car garage, a stylistically matching shed, a bricked patio and a garden area that once was a dilapidated home next door.
    "I love it," says filmmaker Sebak about the home. "It is the kind of house that just makes you want to visit and spend some time there."

    The home is small with high ceilings in its two main levels, but low ones in the basement where former owner Judith Harvey hung signs saying: "The ceiling is low, the archways lower, anyone over 5 feet, DUCK."

    Upstairs, the 10- and 11-foot ceilings give space to rooms that otherwise are tight and small. It is not a home for big parties, big people or big families.

    The first floor consists of a kitchen-dining room, parlor and den. Upstairs are two bedrooms and a bath, with a skylight over the staircase adding another touch of airiness to the home.

    The outside is dominated by ornate, wooden trim that Miller jokes earned the home the name of the "witch’s house" from neighborhood kids.

    Harvey, who is retired, serves as librarian of the Frank B. Fairbanks Rail-Related Archive for the foundation. She moved out of the home at the end of June.

    The shapes of the windows sometimes match that of the walls. - Sean Donnelly/Tribune ReviewHarvey bought the home in 1992 as a project to restore. After her husband died in 1996, she moved in permanently and continued her work, adding ornamental gargoyles as she went. In 2000, she entered into an arrangement with the foundation known as a retained life estate.

    Under that arrangement, Miller says, the title of the home was transferred to the foundation, but she retained the right to live there. She remained responsible for taxes and maintenance, but received a charitable income-tax deduction.

    She also received a similar deduction this year for the unused part of her donation to the foundation. History & Landmarks officials then received control of the property to manage or market whatever way they wished,

    Harvey does not want to discuss matters, but Miller says he believes she simply grew tired the work that comes along with taking care of a property.

    Al Tannler, director of historical collections for the History & Landmarks, says no data exists on the construction of the home. But it may be related to a cluster of like homes called Evergreen Hamlet in Ross.

    Col. James Andrews, a self-taught stone mason and engineer, bought the Fineview property in 1862, so Tannler believes he "had the home built and may have named it" Heathside, which shows up on a stone above the bay window.

    He did work for Joseph Kerr (1816-1888), an architect who designed the Gothic Revival Evergreen Hamlet homes. Therefore, Tannler suggests, Kerr is a likely suspect for the design of Heathside.

    That whole story, though, puts it behind the 1855 date, but that doesn’t matter too much, he says.

    Former owner Judith Harvey liked gargoyles in the Gothic interior. - Sean Donnelly/Tribune Review"It’s significance is its rare quality," he says, "and the fact that it is one of a few of its kind."

    Bob Karlovits can be reached at bkarlovits@tribweb.com or 412-320-7852.

  4. Urban Redevelopment Authority completes Millcraft deal

    By staff and wire reports

    Pittsburgh Tribune Review
    Tuesday, July 8, 2008 

    The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority completed the $2.31 million sale of five Downtown buildings, including the former G.C. Murphy store, to Washington County developer Millcraft Industries Inc.The deal was completed June 30 and deeds recorded July 3 in Allegheny County. The authority board approved the sale at its June 12 meeting. The properties will comprise Millcraft’s Market Square Place project, a mixed-use development that will include the future home of the Greater Pittsburgh YMCA.

    The Bedell Building, the Headgear Building, the Candyrama Building and the D&K Building, at the Fifth and Forbes corridor, are included in the sale.

     

  5. Buhl Building ready for its closeup

     

    Friday, July 04, 2008

     

  6. Market Square street closure may alter apartment project

    By Jeremy Boren
    TRIBUNE-REVIEW
    Thursday, July 3, 2008 

    The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, a major investor in Market Square’s revitalization, might nix a new seven-unit apartment complex if the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership sticks to a plan to close some of the square to vehicles.The foundation is spending $3.5 million to renovate three vacant buildings on Graeme Street into Market at Fifth, a plan for seven upper-floor apartments, a ground-floor restaurant and a rooftop garden.

    The partnership’s plan would close Graeme, the apartments’ entrance, and nearby McMasters Way as part of a $4.8 million to $5 million Market Square overhaul that, so far, has gone smoothly.

    “We do not see how people are going to want to rent apartments on a dead-end street. People do not frequent dead-end streets,” said attorney Anne E. Nelson, who voiced the concerns at a meeting of the city Historic Review Commission.

    “If Graeme Street is closed, Landmarks does not know whether it should complete construction of the project,” Nelson said.Arthur P. Ziegler, the foundation’s president, said there’s time to develop the apartments as something else if a compromise can’t be reached and the street is closed. 

    The commission approved Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s preliminary plans for Market Square, but members urged the partnership, a nonprofit that represents Downtown business owners, to find a solution with the foundation.

    “We’re going to do what’s best for the square,” said Dina Klavon, the designer the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership hired to guide Market Square’s overhaul.

    Klavon said she’s open to changes and plans to meet with Pittsburgh History & Landmarks officials.

    “We’re trying to give Market Square back to the pedestrian,” said Mike Edwards, president of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. “Right now it’s a thoroughfare. We want it to be a destination.”

    Edwards said renovation of Market Square could start in spring.

    The most striking feature about Klavon’s design is that it would make Market Square resemble a one-level European piazza.

    The roadway would be flush with sidewalks and outdoor cafes, which would be differentiated by using various types of pavement and cobblestone.

    Traffic and parking would be permitted on the perimeter of the square. No traffic would be allowed in the middle, where Market Street and Forbes Avenue meet.

     

     

    Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.comor 412-765-2312. 

     

  7. Historic review panel OKs Market Square makeover

    Thursday, July 03, 2008
    By Rich Lord,
    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 

    Work on pedestrian-friendly project might begin next spring

    The proposed $5 million revamp of Market Square got a boost yesterday when Pittsburgh’s Historic Review Commission gushed over the reduced traffic, piazza-type design and nicer trees.

    “This will be a miniature Parisian square,” said commission Vice Chairman Paul Tellers, whose motion to approve was unanimously adopted.

    The commission put one condition on its approval: It wants project architect Dina Klavon to meet with the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation to discuss concerns about the closing of alleys running from the square to Fifth Avenue.

    The foundation is spending $3.5 million renovating four buildings near the square, and some of the second- and third-floor apartments would be accessed via one of the alleys, Graeme Way.

    “If people want to drop other people off, or unload things to their apartments, they can’t get there,” said Anne E. Nelson, the foundation’s attorney.

    Also closed to cars would be McMasters Way. Cars would be able to enter the square using Forbes Avenue and Market Street, and could drive around its perimeter. They could no longer drive through its center.

    “We’re trying to give Market Square back to the pedestrians,” said Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership President Mike Edwards, whose group is leading the charge to repair the square. “Right now, it’s a thoroughfare. We want it to be a destination.”

    The redesign would replace the network of streets, curbs and raised tree planters with a flat, curbless surface. Commission members questioned whether that would be safe, but accepted Ms. Klavon’s contention that paving walkways with brick, plaza areas with terrazzo and streets with granite squares called Eurocobble would safely separate people from cars.

    They also wondered whether “interactive” lighting that changes as people walk by it was really necessary to create a “wow factor.”

    “The elegance will be the wow factor,” said commission Chairman Michael Stern.

    Construction could start in the spring, said Mr. Edwards.

    Rich Lord can be reached at rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542.
    First published on July 3, 2008 at 12:00 am
  8. Public Hearing at Historic Review Commission on Redesign of Market Square

    PREPARED TESTIMONY OF

    ANNE E. NELSON, ESQ.

    GENERAL COUNSEL

    PITTSBURGH HISTORY & LANDMARKS FOUNDATION

    BEFORE HISTORIC REVIEW COMMISSION, CITY OF PITTSBURGH

    PUBLIC HEARING ON MARKET SQUARE REDESIGN

    JULY 2, 2008

    Landmarks is investing $3.5 million to restore four historic buildings in Market Square located between Market and Graeme Streets, the design of which was predicated on Market and Graeme being open to vehicular traffic from Fifth Avenue into the Square.  This project includes retail on the first floor and seven affordable apartments on the upper floors that will use Graeme Street as an entrance.  We will have a green roof and are doing the buildings to LEED standards.

    However, the redesign plans chosen close Graeme Street and that has us alarmed.  We do not see how people are going to want to rent apartments on a dead end street. People do not frequent dead end streets; they want the ability to bring people to the door, load and unload things.  Furthermore, how will the trash be collected?

    Historically, Market Square has always had full traffic access.  Removing traffic from the street has worked almost nowhere in the United States and almost every street where traffic was removed  has been reconverted to have traffic flowing again in order to bring people back.  Examples of traffic removed include East Liberty and Allegheny Center in Pittsburgh, and traffic was eliminated on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia and Fourth Street in Louisville and both lost retail and now have it back since traffic was reopened.

                If Graeme Street is closed, Landmarks does not know whether it should complete construction of the project.  I ask you, would you like to live on a dead end street that has no provisions for dropping off or turning around?  When thinking about this question, remember that in Pittsburgh during a lengthy part of the year, the days are short and the weather is bad.

                We question our investment of $3.5 million in Market Square if Graeme Street is closed.

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation

100 West Station Square Drive, Suite 450

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Phone: 412-471-5808  |  Fax: 412-471-1633