Category Archive: Downtown Development
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Hill Innovation Center Gets State Funds
Thursday, July 08, 2010By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Surrounded by members of the Urban Redevelopment Committe and the Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation, Gov. Ed Rendell signs the economic development portion of the 2010-11 state budget to help create jobs.
Gov. Ed Rendell on Wednesday announced up to $8 million in state funding for a green innovation center in the Lower Hill District that may begin operations by fall.
Pittsburgh Green Innovators — to be housed in the former Connelley vocational-technical school — will be a home for new companies and training programs with an environmental theme.
In a sign of the project’s importance, Mr. Rendell traveled to the location to announce the funding for that project and sign the legislation creating the $600 million development fund, called the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
“Pittsburgh has probably transformed itself more than any other American city, and that transformation is ongoing. It doesn’t stop. Green energy is the way of the future,” he said.
In all, about $300 million of the money already has been earmarked for projects statewide.
That includes the $8 million for Pittsburgh Green Innovators and up to $30 million to lure a federal vaccine production center to Allegheny County. The center, proposed by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, would produce vaccines needed to defend against biological attacks.
Recipients of the state money must match it dollar-for-dollar with funds from other sources.
Pittsburgh Gateways, a Lawrenceville economic-development group that’s spearheading the green innovation center, is negotiating with Pittsburgh Public Schools to acquire the 300,0000-square-foot former Connelley building. Robert Meeder, president of Pittsburgh Gateways, said he hopes to close on the deal as early as September.
He said the first phase of renovations — focusing on 80,000 square feet but including the installation of environmentally friendly energy systems throughout the building — could begin in the first half of 2011. He said that work will cost about $26 million, while a later phase of renovations, covering the rest of the building, would cost an estimated $19 million more.
Officials have said public school classes, apprenticeship programs and college classes all would be offered at the center, allowing students to train for careers with an environmental focus.
In a sense, the building — employing solar, geothermal and other alternative energies — will be a giant classroom, Dr. Meeder said.
The first classes may begin in the fall, he said.
The building also will serve as an incubator for start-up businesses. Dr. Meeder said as many as 14 fledging companies may have space there by the end of 2011.
State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, an early proponent of the project, said the center already received $4 million from a previous pot of Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program dollars. The project also has received about $2 million in federal aid, and Dr. Meeder hopes to lure $7 million from corporate and foundation sponsors.
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Saxonburg’s Main Street Has Money For a Facelift
Thursday, July 01, 2010By Karen Kane, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Lake Fong/Post-Gazette From left, Chuck Matus, JRHSS Design Community; Ray Rush, Main Street Program manager; Dennis Chambers, chairman of Saxonburg Historical and Restoration Commission; and Gary Mullen, member of Saxonburg Historical and Restoration Commission outside the Hotel Saxonburg.
For all its charm and historical significance, Saxonburg’s Main Street is showing its age — and not in a way history aficionados prefer.
Some of the paved sidewalks are lifting; some street curbs are crumbling; and the green strip fronting the string of shops that comprise the bustling business district is looking a little ragged in spots.
It’s all about to be turned around, though.
Raymond Rush, the Main Street program manager, is using a recently awarded state grant of $373,027 from the Department of Community and Economic Development to design a renovation of the four-block Main Street. And he’s expecting the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to follow with a $2.4 million grant for the work.
The grants are the culmination of a partnership between the borough and the John Roebling’s Historic Saxonburg Society, a nonprofit group that sponsors the Main Street program and has deemed as its mission “the historic restoration and economic development of Saxonburg.”
The society is named for the town’s founder, who left his mark on the world with his innovations in wire cable and bridge design. The organization began as the “main street committee” of a citizens group that worked on the borough’s comprehensive plan. Members began meeting around 2000, with Mr. Rush joining about 2002. The group incorporated as an official nonprofit in 2004. Mr. Rush is an artist and historian who lives on a 100-acre farm in Clinton and who founded the annual Penn’s Colony celebration 26 years ago.
Both he and his group have been busy working on a plan to bring a spark to the heart of Saxonburg.
Before the state grant was awarded in May, the society won a $50,000 matching grant for facades in 2006 that’s been used to leverage about $750,000 in private investment, Mr. Rush estimated. The program awarded $5,000 grants to local business owners to improve building facades, and the money had to be matched. Saxonburg also received an $85,000 infusion of money over the past two years from the state Community Development Block Grant program for storm water management.
“It’s been a very vital program,” Mr. Rush said.
Saxonburg’s Main Street captured designations as a historic district on the national level in 2004 and on the state level in 2008. Some 52 historic structures are located on the four-block Main Street between Butler Street on the west end of town and Rebecca Street on the east end.
Among the historic structures is the home of Mr. Roebling, a German immigrant who founded Saxonburg in 1831. The house serves now as the offices for the Memorial Church. He innovated wire cable to take the place of hemp ropes that pulled barges for the Allegheny Canal near Johnstown, and he designed suspension bridges. He died from an injury sustained while working on the Brooklyn Bridge.
As envisioned by the society, the borough and the Main Street businesses, the best way to bring a spark to the district is to revitalize it at its core by replacing the curbs in the four-block area, renewing the planter strip beside the curb and constructing new sidewalks. The project would be topped off with installation of street lights that replicate the style of old German pedestrian lights.
“The idea is to keep with the historic elements of mid-19th Century,” Mr. Rush said.
The total project cost is estimated at $2.4 million, and it will be done in two phases, he said. He expects construction to begin in 2011 and be finished within two years. The primary firms involved are Klavon Design Associates, located in Pittsburgh’s cultural district, and GAI Engineering Consultants of Homestead.
Mr. Rush credits the borough, local businesses and the dozen or so members of the historical society for about six years of work in bringing Saxonburg to the brink of such a major revitalization.
“It’s been steady, hard work by everyone,” he said.
Linda Kovacik, borough secretary/treasurer, put it simply: “It’s just what we’ve been hoping for.”
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McKeesport Invests in Itself
Thursday, June 24, 2010The mayor calls it a renaissance. The school superintendent calls it a revitalization. Both agree that more than $80 million worth of construction and upgrades will make Mc-Keesport a more attractive city.
The school district is expected to break ground this summer on its $46.4 million plan to build two new elementary/intermediate schools and renovate a third. The first of three public hearings for that plan began yesterday.
“It’s going to revitalize the entire community,” said Michael Brinkos, superintendent of the McKeesport Area School District.
Mayor James Brewster said having new schools would help with retention.
“When most people go buy a home, they look at the school district first,” he said. “We want our schools to be attractive for someone who is considering a move to our city.”
With upwards of $40 million in infrastructure upgrades throughout Downtown Mc-Keesport, Mr. Brewster said he hoped more businesses would be attracted to the city. “I’m … trying to sell this city to businesses,” said Mr. Brewster, who worked as vice president of retail operations at Mellon Bank for 27 years before entering public service.
The city’s projects are funded mostly by state and federal dollars, according to city clerk Patricia Williams, and include:
• $1.1 million face-lift to West Fifth Avenue
• $1.3 million Streetscape Project
• $540,000 improvement to the walking trail
• $700,000 Marshall Drive Extension
• $33 million Mansfield Bridge renewal.
Improvements to the walking trail and the Marshall Drive Extension were completed in May, the W. Fifth Avenue and Streetscape efforts are under way, and work on the Mansfield Bridge will begin in 2011.
City Controller Ray Malinchak agrees “those things need attention. … We have to make the city more attractive.”
The work being done along West Fifth Avenue involves the removal of old streetcar tracks and resurfacing the Tenth Ward between Rebecca and John streets. Donegal Construction Corp. is assigned to the job.
The Streetscape project is designed to renew Fifth Avenue throughout the city’s business district and seeks to make the avenue a two-way street between the Palisades and Coursin Street. The street will be widened, the curb lines will be moved back, new asphalt will be poured, and a new sidewalk will be added as needed.
New lighting, benches, planters, signs, handicap ramps, catch basins and gas lines also are included in the work, which is being done by Power Contracting Co. of Carnegie. Traffic signals also are being added at Market and Walnut streets.
Finished last month, the Marshall Drive Extension adds a traffic signal and links Haler Heights to Route 48, providing a safer passage for Serra Catholic High School students and patrons of Tom Clark Chevrolet.
The work was done by 12th Congressional Regional Equipment Co. Inc., a Blairsville nonprofit created by the late U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, who wanted to use excess military equipment for local government projects.
Upgrades to the walking trail include improved parking areas, signs, lane striping and the completion of a trail cul-de-sac at the point where the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers meet. The trail is part of the Great Allegheny Passage, a network of hiking and biking trails spanning 150 miles from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md.
The trail improvements could be McKeesport’s greatest draw, according to Hannah Hardy, vice president at Allegheny Trail Alliance, a partnership of seven trail organizations based throughout southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland.
“We’re seeing huge development in trail towns already and expect to see more,” she said.
Small businesses like ice cream shops and delis have been popping up as part of that growth, she said.
“We’re providing opportunities for businesses and making McKeesport a safer, more beautiful place to live,” Mr. Brewster said. “We see this as our renaissance.”
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Facade Improvements, Parking Lot Planned in McDonald
Thursday, June 24, 2010By Andrea IglarIn the early 1900s, tax revenues from booming oil and coal industries funded construction of the buildings that make up McDonald’s business district to this day.
In more recent years, however, the advent of malls and other factors drew many customers away from town, but borough leaders are taking action to build on McDonald’s rich architectural heritage to attract more businesses and shoppers.
The borough is kicking off two revitalization efforts — a program to help downtown property owners improve their building facades and construction of a public parking lot for patrons of local businesses.
“There’s a big opportunity for the downtown area to thrive again, and that’s why we’re doing this,” said Tim Thomassy, head of borough council’s community development committee.
McDonald will offer $45,000 in matching grants to help owners and tenants of historically significant buildings make aesthetic storefront improvements, such as painting, pressure washing, adding awnings and replacing damaged structural materials. The amount of each grant will depend on the type of project and the total number of applications, Mr. Thomassy said.
Details of the grant program will be discussed at a public meeting at 7 p.m. today in the borough building, 151 School St.
The borough has invited the eligible owners of businesses and commercial properties that front North and South McDonald streets, between Robinson Run and the intersection with North Street, and also those that front East and West Lincoln avenues, between Station and Arabella streets.
To build a public parking lot, the borough this month is purchasing a $65,000 vacant parcel between East Barr and East O’Hara streets.
Once constructed in the fall, the parking lot will provide at least 50 spaces for shoppers, Mr. Thomassy said.
“The location is ideal because, with the façade program and other things we have going on, we’re trying to improve the downtown area so we can make it more enticing to bring new businesses into town, as well as improve the climate for existing businesses,” Mr. Thomassy said.
Both redevelopment programs are being funded partly by grants from Washington County’s share of gambling revenues.
The façade improvement program is financed with $30,000 from the gambling revenues, $13,000 from the borough and $2,000 from the McDonald Area Redevelopment Association, a nonprofit citizens group.
Purchase and construction of the parking lot will be covered by a $130,000 grant from the gambling revenues, plus $30,000 from the borough, $1,000 from MARA and a $105,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development.
A 2006 study of McDonald’s business climate, conducted by Pittsburgh consulting firm Mullin & Lonergan Associates Inc., recommended refurbishing buildings and creating a municipal parking lot.
McDonald’s business district has great potential to provide an alternative to malls and big-box stores for shoppers to come from North Fayette, South Fayette, Cecil and Mount Pleasant Township, Mr. Thomassy said.
He said McDonald’s location is attractive because it includes part of the Panhandle Trail and Route 980.
“We have a neat little town that needs sprucing up,” Mr. Thomassy said. “And if we do that, with the things that are going on around us — with the trail and the highway and all of that — we think we can really revive the downtown area.”
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Arena Will Lose Mellon Name in August
Thursday, June 24, 2010By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteSay goodbye to Mellon Arena.
The iconic silver-domed venue will lose its name when the Penguins officially move into the Consol Energy Center on Aug. 1.
That’s when a naming rights agreement between BNY Mellon and the Penguins will expire. At that point, the Igloo most likely will reclaim the name it had for much of the first 38 years of its life: the Civic Arena.
“There hasn’t been a lot of discussion but I imagine we’ll begin referring to it again as the Civic Arena,” said Mary Conturo, executive director of the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority, the building’s owner.
The arena has carried Mellon’s name since 1999, when the former Mellon Financial Corp., which merged with Bank of New York in 2007, reached a 10-year naming rights deal with the Penguins.
That agreement expired after the 2008-2009 season. The two sides worked out a one-year extension to keep the Mellon name on the arena until the Consol Energy Center opened.
Lane Cigna, a BNY Mellon spokeswoman, acknowledged in an e-mail that the arena without Mellon “will take some getting used to,” even if the building might be in its last days.
“We’re really proud of the long history we had and the very positive relationship we had with the team,” she said in an interview. “This is also an exciting time for the city. There’s going to be a brand-new facility.”
As part of the agreement, Mellon employees passed out programs before Penguins games – 8.5 million over 534 games, to be exact. That, too, will end with the move to Consol. In exchange for the employees’ work, the team donated more than $250,000 to charity.
Penguins spokesman Tom McMillan noted that it isn’t unusual for arenas or stadiums to change names as one sponsorship ends and another begins.
“When you step back, it’s more of a common sense [move to replace the Mellon name]. The building won’t be operated. The naming rights agreement is with us. We won’t be there anymore,” he said.
Like some Soviet-style purge, with the agreement’s expiration, all traces of the Mellon name will be erased from the building. Ms. Cigna said some Mellon signs will be donated to the Senator John Heinz History Center for posterity.
Ms. Conturo said she doubted the SEA would seek another naming rights partner for the 48-year-old building with a leaky roof and perhaps a date with the wrecking ball. If Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, county Executive Dan Onorato and the Penguins get their way, the Igloo, as it is known informally, will be demolished to make way for redevelopment.
“I think the sense is that it’s not likely that someone would pay significant money for naming rights at this point,” Ms. Conturo said. “I think we’ll continue to explore all revenue opportunities. But at this point, that doesn’t seem like a likely one.”
As for whether the SEA will formally identify the building as the Civic Arena come August, well, that depends. “I don’t know if there’s any old signage around or not,” Ms. Conturo said.
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YWCA’s New Green Roof Contributes to Revitalization of the Wood Street Corridor
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The 42-year-old YWCA building at 305 Wood Street received a $175,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and Eden Hall Foundation to build a new green roof.
The new retro-fitted roof will protect the building envelope from moisture penetration, with a final layer of plantscaping, and is scheduled to be completed by late Fall of this year. Benefits of the new roof will include a longer material lifespan, energy savings, sound insulation, and improved aesthetic appeal and air quality for the neighborhood.
The roof, which the YWCA hopes will contribute to securing LEED certification, will be a landmark for the green revitalization of the Wood Street corridor, and it’s coming at a great time. Point Park University‘s new $244 million state of the art Academic Village is under construction nearby.
“In the spirit of being a good neighbor as Point Park undertakes this effort, we would like to restore and aesthetically enhance our facility to become a part of this transformation, as well as create a more environmentally friendly option that safely houses our programs and services,” says Carmelle Nickens Phillips, Vice President of the YWCA‘s department of Development and Communications.
Following the Richard King Mellon Foundation and Eden Hall grant, several other local foundations stepped up to help provide support for the new roof, including FISA Foundation, The Hillman Foundation, the PNC Foundation, and one anonymous source.
Writer: John Farley
Sources: Carmelle Nickens Phillips, VP of YWCA department of Development and Communications -
Many Suggest Ways to Save Mellon Arena
Wednesday, June 23, 2010By Patricia Lowry, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteWhen I asked for ideas for reusing Mellon Arena on June 13, I hoped to get at least a handful of responses. But almost 60 of you e-mailed or called with suggestions or simply encouragement to find a way to save the arena.
Courtesy of David Julian Roth Architect David Roth's very preliminary concept study suggesting that the Mellon Arena become an urban greenhouse in partnership with the Swedish company Plantagon, which aims to produce food where much of it is consumed, in cities.
Convert it to a market house, “a large open floor filled with vendor stalls of fresh produce,” writes computer programmer Joel Hess of Etna. “Imagine that, when the weather permits, the roof of the dome would be opened to create an instant fresh-air market. … Pittsburgh would have the most impressive market house in the nation along with the recognition that goes with reusing and preserving a historic piece of architecture.”
And both the Hill and Downtown would have something they’ve long needed — a grocery store. A dedicated shuttle service and walk-ins from the new surrounding neighborhood could eliminate the need for massive amounts of parking.
Architect David Roth took the market house idea a step further, suggesting the Igloo become an urban greenhouse in partnership with the Swedish company Plantagon, which aims to produce food where much of it is consumed, in cities.
“Our arena installation would be a self-funded food agora, with Plantagon produce and local farmers market stalls in each of the perimeter bays,” Mr. Roth writes.
Although his design shows the dome replaced by a new structure, the existing dome could be glazed.
Some of you think the arena’s best use is as a transit hub.
“The arena would make an excellent regional transit center in which the T (on its future way out to the East End, of course), Amtrak rail, bus services, and (hopefully at some point!) a high-speed line out to the airport, could meet,” writes Carnegie Mellon public policy student Sam Lavery.
“The building could easily be connected to the T system along with the bus system coming in from the far corners of the county and beyond,” writes figure skating coach Bob Mock of Turtle Creek. “The building would contain a Grand Central type of atmosphere with a retail/mall corridor for commuters. In addition this would connect all of the sports venues by the T. The T could then be extended to the airport, South Side, Oakland and Monroeville.”
“There has been considerable talk about an experimental maglev train between Greensburg and the airport. I thought that the arena would be a great location for a Downtown station,” writes Gordon Marshall of Belle Vernon. “The roof could be left partially open with glass panel inserts for natural lighting and a view of the city.”
Several people mentioned the lack of natural light inside the dome when it’s closed and also suggested replacing some of the stainless-steel panels with transparent or translucent ones.
Artist Carol Skinger of Fox Chapel writes, “I can imagine a new skin that is more like a white mesh or some slightly knocked down version of white. It would be possibly perforated or, by the character of the material, be simply translucent, so when you are inside it is luminous even on a gray day.
“At night the interior lighting could be various colors so it would not always appear to be a white or yellow glow. The overall color could and would change at night as light comes through the translucent skin. I think a yellowish light dimmed way down at late night would give it such a beautiful feeling of a candle lantern.”
A retail or mixed-use development appealed to some.
“Turn it into a shopping, dining, living and entertainment area,” writes retired teacher Colleen Kinevey of Mt. Lebanon. “In the middle of the arena, in a spot which would be most convenient to the Hill District, make an open thruway connecting the Hill District to Downtown. It could be enclosed like the Jenkins Arcade or open in the fashion of a courtyard/thruway. The thruway would have to be convenient and available at all times. On both sides of the thruway could be shops, restaurants, spas, lofts, offices and theaters. There are endless possibilities.”
“A giant mall,” writes Mary Segal of West View, that “includes retail shops, food court, grocery store, child care center, movie theater and something like a fun fest place for kids with blow-up bouncies, miniature golf, a place for families to have kids’ birthday parties.”
How about a recreational use?
Retired Kennywood president Carl Hughes of Mount Washington called to suggest an indoor water park, an idea that also appealed to Avonworth High student Krystina Thomas.
“We don’t have one in the city, and during the summer you could open up the roof,” Ms. Thomas writes.
Artist Phil Rostek of Shadyside and his mother, Margaret, suggest “a major venue devoted to upscale public dancing,” with a dance floor surrounded by tables for dining, stars projected on the interior of the dome and dancing under the real stars when weather permits. The name would remain the Igloo, “where the ‘Burgh chills.” There would be dance and movement classes, too, for adults and kids.
Patricia Faloon, a professional clown who lives in Beechview, envisions a large indoor miniature golf course, with each hole interpreting one of the bridges, buildings, inclines or some other aspect of Pittsburgh.
An ice arena for kids’ hockey, figure skating and open skating would take advantage of what’s already there, two of you suggested. Or maybe an arena for professional boxing events, writes M.A. Johnson-Vaughn, passing along a friend’s idea.
Some ideas seem too similar to what Pittsburgh already has to be viable, such as a Pittsburgh Sports and Exhibition Hall of Fame Museum, a national museum of steel and industry, a giant aviary and botanical center, a home to nonprofits and a home (once again) for the Civic Light Opera.
Several writers suggested an industrial use, such as a place to assemble and warehouse solar panels and other green products. But the arena as cultural center appealed to others.
“A mall for artists,” writes former contractor John Mann of West Deer. “You could put shops all through it and have concerts and plays in the round.”
“Borrowing from the design of the Guggenheim in New York, maybe a spiral gallery could be built inside the dome,” writes Paul Carosi of Mt. Lebanon. “Visitors would take an elevator to the top and wind their way down the exhibit spaces.” He also floats the “Pittsburgh Music Hall of Fame, similar to the Experience Music Project in Seattle.”
“Since I was a little girl,” writes state welfare caseworker Lynda Regan of Dormont, “I’ve heard how Pittsburgh was the great American melting pot; a place where people of every ethnic and racial background came to work together, side by side, in the mills and factories, in order to make the American dream a reality for their kids and grandchildren.
“What I would like to see in the Civic Arena is a permanent monument to those hard-working men and women who labored all those years ago to make Pittsburgh the diverse, forward-moving city it is today. What I am suggesting is that the Civic Arena building be preserved and renovated into The Pittsburgh Folk Cultural Center, where locals and tourists alike, as well as educators, artists, performers and vendors, can come together to explore and to celebrate the contributions and traditions of the many ethnic groups which joined together to build Pittsburgh.”
Ms. Regan’s idea sounds like a permanent, ongoing Pittsburgh Folk Festival, an idea that celebrates the Hill’s history as a settlement place for immigrants of all nationalities. The dome would house classrooms, a dance studio, a small theater, ethnic restaurants, an international bazaar and a Grand Hall for banquets and wedding receptions.
Tom Galownia of Cecil has a different idea.
“If you want to really save the Igloo, then you first have to make them want to keep it, and the best way to do that in Pittsburgh, a city with low self-esteem, is to have someone else want it. So my suggestion is to start an effort to move it.
“Maybe you could advertise it on eBay. Once you get some serious interest, I guarantee you, Pittsburghers will demand it be kept.”
Architecture critic Patricia Lowry: plowry@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1590. -
Pa. Historical Panel Raises Concerns About Mellon Arena
Thursday, June 17, 2010By Katie Falloon, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has expressed concerns about the speed of the planned demolition of the Mellon Arena, prompting a response today from the Sports & Exhibition Authority.
In the commission’s letter sent Wednesday, director Jean Cutler requested more information.
“We are sympathetic with the need to move quickly, however we also want to ensure that we have received all crucial information in a fashion that allows us to fully understand both the process and the project’s effects on historic resources,” Ms. Cutler said in the letter.
Following today’s SEA board meeting, Executive Director Mary Conturo said members think moving through the process quickly is best, Ms. Conturo said. Mellon Arena will be vacant come August, and the costs of maintaining the building will fall on SEA, she said.
Utilities and insurance for the arena will cost between $78,000 and $100,000 per month, depending on whether the intention is to keep the arena dark or there is an opportunity for reuse, said Christen Cieslak, principal at Chronicle Consulting.
“We think everything done to date is very thorough and very well done,” Ms. Conturo said.