Category Archive: Historic Properties
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Kennywood sale shouldn’t change much
By Kim Leonard
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, December 12, 2007A Spanish company’s purchase of local icon Kennywood shouldn’t diminish its low-key charm and may mean more investment in the century-old amusement park in West Mifflin and its sister parks, industry experts say.
Parques Reunidos of Madrid in March plans to acquire Kennywood, Idlewild & SoakZone, Sandcastle Waterpark and other properties belonging to Kennywood Entertainment of Pittsburgh. Officials announced the deal Tuesday but didn’t disclose a price.
“There is quite a bit of backing there,” Kennywood spokeswoman Mary Lou Rosemeyer said of Parques Reunidos. But, she said, “we don’t expect them to come right in and build a new roller coaster. We are strong the way we are.”
Parques Reunidos operates 61 amusement, animal and water parks including the Madrid Zoo, with annual revenue exceeding $570 million and visitors topping 22 million.
“We have tremendous respect for the work of the Kennywood management team and are delighted to acquire such a quality organization. … We are anxious to continue the gold standard of entertainment they have established,” CEO Richard Golding said in a statement. Company officials could not be reached for further comment.
The Kennywood properties would be the company’s second U.S. acquisition, Rosemeyer said.
Parques Reunidos bought Palace Entertainment of Newport Beach, Calif., the nation’s largest water parks and family recreation center operator, for $330 million in October and took ownership of 33 sites, including the Wet ‘N Wild park in Greensboro.
Parques Reunidos has grown quickly since its acquisition in January by the London-based Candover private equity investment fund for $1.22 billion. Kennywood said the Spanish company approached its owners with an offer as part of a plan to expand its ownership of family entertainment venues worldwide.
Kennywood Entertainment has been a family business since F.W. Henninger and Andrew McSwigan bought the flagship West Mifflin park, once a picnic area accessible by trolley, from Monongahela Railway Co. in 1906.
Rosemeyer said the timing was right for a sale. The two controlling families are in their fourth and fifth generations of ownership, with more than 100 shareholders ages 8 months to 80-plus.
Harry Henninger, Kennywood’s chairman, said the experience visitors expect will continue.
“Nothing will seem different, even to the folks working at the parks,” he said. “Existing management and staff will remain in place.” The parks have 235 full-time employees, although Kennywood’s work force swells to 1,500 during the operating season.
“Kennywood is one of the most respected independent operators in the industry,” said Dennis Spiegel, president of consulting firm International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati.
The amusement park industry has consolidated in the past five years, he said, and Kennywood’s reputation made it attractive to Parques Reunidos.
One of the biggest deals last year was Sandusky, Ohio-based Cedar Fair LP’s $1.24 billion acquisition of five parks from Paramount Parks. Cedar Fair, operator of Cedar Point park in Sandusky, bought Kings Island near Cincinnati; Kings Dominion near Richmond, Va.; Carowinds, near Charlotte; Canada’s Wonderland in Toronto; and Great America in Santa Clara, Calif.
Rosemeyer said the Kennywood parks experienced their best summer this year; the three Pennsylvania parks drew more than 2 million visitors.
Brett Petit, vice president of marketing for Palace Entertainment, said the Kennywood deal might have something to do with the falling U.S. dollar against the stronger euro.
“It is a great time to buy,” he said, and Palace has been pleased with its acquisition by Parques Reunidos because the company understands the theme park business. “They understand weather issues and guest issues. It would be different if a big bank had bought us.”
Parques Reunidos has united smaller parks, allowing them to exchange ideas and buy more efficiently. It plans to open rides at several Palace sites next year, Petit said.
Peter Alexander, a former Disney theme park planner who owns Totally Fun Co. of Tampa, Fla., said American park operators have bought properties overseas for years, and the reverse is happening.
The announcement took local officials and some of Kennywood’s biggest fans by surprise.
The sale of any family-owned business is sad, West Mifflin Mayor John Andzelik said. “You wonder what foreign investors are going to come in and do.”
Bill Linkenheimer of Ross, past national president of the American Coaster Enthusiasts, which held a convention at Kennywood, said he thought the park’s sale eventually would happen.
“I’ve heard about the Spanish company,” he said, “and from what I understand, they don’t have a standard operating theme. They buy parks and allow them to run somewhat autonomously. Kennywood’s success is the result of being unique.”
The sale announcement occurred as Kennywood’s corporate officials and West Mifflin leaders were meeting with legislators in Harrisburg about a dispute over the borough’s amusement tax.
Kennywood, arguing the tax is unfair and targets the park, hasn’t paid it in about 18 months and owes about $1.5 million, Andzelik said.
Republican state Sen. Robert Regola of Hempfield has introduced a bill to repeal the tax. The Senate Finance Committee is reviewing the bill.
Staff writers Ron DaParma, Brad Bumsted and Rick Stouffer contributed to this report.
Kim Leonard can be reached at kleonard@tribweb.com or 412-380-5606.
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Salvation Army plans please North Side groups
By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, December 12, 2007Neighborhood groups welcomed the Salvation Army’s decision to build a worship and service center in the North Side and not remodel a Greek Orthodox church.
“We are pleased that the Salvation Army has decided to reinvest in the North Side community and continue to provide, and even expand, services at their current location,” said Paul Carson, a Mexican War Streets resident who is president of the North Side Neighborhood Coalition.
The Salvation Army’s plans to convert Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church into a worship and social service center had concerned neighbors who thought a homeless program would be located close to homes, schools and playgrounds.
“We were getting pressure from the community, but the decision was more dollars and cents,” said Maj. Robert J. Reel, divisional commander. The Salvation Army will raze two buildings it owns on West North Avenue near the closed Garden Theatre and build a center there.
The church would have required extensive renovations, he said.
“It makes more sense to build … without making adjustments and trying to retrofit,” Reel said.
Concerns remain that the North Side is being deluged with social service programs, but community leaders said the neighborhood is poised for an economic infusion.
The Salvation Army project and plans to renovate the Garden Theatre will help “build up the area,” said Robin Rosemary Miller, president of the North Side/North Shore Chamber of Commerce.
“There is a lot of money to be invested in this neighborhood,” she said.
Holy Trinity’s 300-family congregation plans to build a home in McCandless.
Reel said the Salvation Army’s approximately $4 million project will begin sometime next year.
Craig Smith can be reached at csmith@tribweb.com or 412-380-5646.
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Canonsburg landmark gets new life
By Lori Humphreys
The Almanac
Serving the South Hills of Pittsburgh
December 5, 2007If Historical and Architectural House Preservation had a mascot it would be turning cartwheels at the news that Canonsburg’s John Roberts House will be saved from demolition.
Thanks to a band of intrepid Canonsburg residents and business owners, the architecturally and historically important 17th and 18th century stone and brick Georgian style home, nominated to the National Register, will be restored and gain a new identity as an arts education center. It will be owned and managed by the recently formed not for profit corporation the Washington County Cultural Trust (WCCT).The Roberts House rescue began in December 2006, when Canonsburg resident and WCCT trustee Andrew J. Tarnik purchased the property. Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation bought the property from Tarnik and will hold it for one year while the WCCT raises money to restore the home. Landmarks will retain an easement on the home’s exterior which will preserve its architectural integrity for future generations.
President of the WCCT Board of Trustees Ellen Sims is described by fellow trustee and Secretary – Treasurer Joe Gowern as the ‘glue that holds us together’. She shared the organization’s vision for the house and property.
“The restored Roberts House, a Canonsburg and regional landmark, will be an art center bringing nationally and internationally recognized artists to Canonsburg to teach and exhibit. We organized as the Washington County Cultural Trust so that in future we can help preserve other Washington County landmarks for use by the arts,” she said.
Canonsburg artist James Sulkowski and WCCT trustee looks ahead to the day when the home will attract artists, students and visitors. He helped to develop a business plan for a Center for the Arts.
Mayor Anthony L. Colaizzo and WCCT trustee is excited about the opportunity a restored Roberts House offers.
“This is another milestone making our community attractive for our residents and visitors,” he said.
Other officers and members of the board of trustees are: Vice President Joseph P. Salandra; Canonsburg councilwoman Jean Popp; Joseph Solobay, Marge Dellorso, James P. Liekar, Esq., The Honorable Katherine Emery, Canon – McMillan School District Superintendent Nick Bayat, and Mike Melone.
There is a fortuitous symmetry between the home’s proposed future and past. Though named for John Roberts who owned it from 1808 – 1815 and had a store and post – office there, it is more closely aligned with Jefferson College. It was a residence for Jefferson College presidents, vice -presidents and faculty for over 30 years. The ties to Jefferson College extended to the early 20th century. According to local historian James T. Herron, Jr., Bettie and Natalie Snyder, the daughters of Henry Snyder, Jefferson College professor, resided here.
The home continued as a place for learning. Catherine Munnell Croker, organist at the First Presbyterian Church lived and taught piano lessons there.
The Roberts House is intertwined with Canonsburg’s development, from John Canon, the town’s first developer and namesake to today’s plans for its future. Canon first sold the land in 1796 to Rev. John McMillan, educator and pastor of Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church. Their names continue into the present combined as the Canon – McMillan School District.
As important as the John Roberts House is historically it is also one of the most significant architectural landmarks in the region. Renowned Pittsburgh architect Charles Morse Stotz records the house in The Architectural Heritage of Early Western Pennsylvania.. His book first published in 1936 and republished in 1966 is the bible of regional homes and buildings of architectural interest built before1860. The House is also featured in the 1975 Washington County History and Landmarks Foundation publication Preserving Our Past.
In photo and drawings Stotz detailed the homes important features like the classic doorway with its half circle fan light, that has not changed materially since the 1936 photo. He also drew interior woodwork including doors, banisters, balustrades and fireplaces. According to Simms the woodwork is intact. However, the living room and dining room fireplaces are missing.
“If anyone knows where they are and would like to donate them we’d love to have them,” she said.
The WCCT is planning its campaign to raise money to repay Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation and fund the restoration. The group has received a $5,000 seed grant from Pennsylvania through the offices of State Senator Barry Stout and State Representative Tim Solobay.
The WCCT application for 501 C3 tax exempt status is pending. The goal is to have each person in the community take part in not only preserving the last symbol of Canonburg’s great educational and cultural heritage but making the Roberts House the newest symbol of the town’s vibrant educational and cultural present. Checks can be made to WCCT/Roberts House, P.O. Box 45, Canonsburg, PA 15317.
Copyright Observer Publishing Co.
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Farmers like option to ‘save’ agriculture
By Michael Aubele
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Sunday, December 2, 2007Butler County farmer Ed Thiele said he has no regrets about enlisting in the state’s Farmland Preservation program.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me I was foolish for doing it,” he said. “But I did it to preserve the ground. We have to do something to preserve our farmland. We’re losing too much of it.”
The state paid Thiele $363,432 in 1996 for development rights on his dairy farm in Jefferson and Winfield townships. The easement guarantees the farm remains designated for agricultural use.
Thiele likely could’ve earned much more by selling his farm, or a portion, to a developer. But he said he has plans to keep the farm working and pass it on to his children.
The goal of the program is to conserve valuable farmland that can’t be reclaimed once it’s developed, That’s because the soil won’t be suitable for agriculture after it’s been so seriously disturbed.
Thiele and a few other Butler County farmers said the state’s program has been successful in reaching that goal. “There are always people stopping by, asking if I’ll sell them a portion to build a house or a church,” he said. “I tell them right off the bat that there’s a deed restriction on it.
“It’s a pretty big decision if you’re going to do it. If you’re going to do it, you’d better make sure it’s the right thing,” Thiele added. “If your goal is to make money, don’t get into the program. If it’s to preserve the land, then do it.”
Thiele said that once a farmer decides to sell development rights to the state, there’s no turning back.
“It’s not something you can get into and then get back out of again,” he said. “I’ve heard of cases where people tried to get out by paying back the money plus interest but couldn’t.”
According to the state Department of Agriculture, there are more than 100 farms in Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler and Westmoreland counties that are protected by the state’s program. About a dozen of those farms are in the Alle-Kiski Valley — the bulk of them in Butler County.
Agriculture department officials said more than 370,000 acres are preserved in the state, representing about 5 percent of the state’s farmland.
“Pennsylvania leads the nation in farmland preservation,” said Doug Wolfgang, director for the agriculture department’s Bureau of Farmland Preservation.
Wolfgang said it is unknown how many of the state’s farms would qualify for the program. The USDA, he said, has classified 7.65 million acres in Pennsylvania as farmland.
According to the American Farmland Trust, about 150,000 acres in the state have been developed over the last 10 years.
“Pennsylvania is blessed with a lot of good soil that’s better used in the long run keeping it farmland,” said Jim Baird, American Farmland Trust official. “There is other suitable land available to put buildings on to deal with growth.”
Ed Goldscheitter, who farms in Buffalo and Clinton townships, agreed and said that’s why he decided to protect his land through the state’s program.
“For 40 years I’ve been concerned about losing farmland to development and urban sprawl,” he said.
Goldscheitter has two parcels in the state’s program. He said he intends to pass the property down to family.
“We’re stewards of the land,” he said. “You just can’t keep putting up housing plans on it and continuing to destroy it. It’s not something we can let disappear because we don’t understand the value of it.
Goldscheitter said that when he decided to enter his second parcel into the program, he was one of the farmers forced to wait for funding to become available.
But he declined to say he felt any disappointment at having to wait. He said that’s the nature of the program.
“It is more difficult to get in now,” he said. “You make the assumption that farmers want to keep their land in the family and continue farming.”
Goldscheitter said he doubts farmers seek out the program to make money.
Fellow Butler County farmer Harold Foertsch estimated that he could earn three times as much money by selling his land to a developer than by selling development rights to the state.
Still, Foertsch said that didn’t dissuade him from applying this year for the program.
Foertsch farms corn, beans, wheat and potatoes and raises cattle. He said he’s seeking to have 100 acres protected and has been told his farm was accepted although he hasn’t been paid yet.
Like Thiele and Goldscheitter, Foertsch said his concern is watching good farmland turn into developed property that can’t be returned to agricultural use.
Farming for Foertsch is a family affair and he said he plans to keep it that way.
“It’s a way of life,” he said.
Michael Aubele can be reached at maubele@tribweb.com or 724-226-4673.
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Farmers line up to preserve land for agriculture
By Michael Aubele
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Sunday, December 2, 2007Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation program arguably is the leading program of its kind in the country in terms of money spent on protecting land and acres acquired.
Since creating the program in 1988, the state has invested roughly $1 billion in purchasing development rights — known as easements — from farmers who want to ensure their land remains dedicated to agricultural use.But even with the vast amount of money being spent on easements and success of conservation efforts, many interested farmers find themselves being told they have to wait for a chance to participate.
While the state has preserved more than 3,300 farms, about 2,000 farmers have their names on a program waiting list, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Meanwhile, the state ranks sixth among those losing farms to development most rapidly.
Agricultural experts say even though Pennsylvania’s farm preservation efforts could be considered a model program, more funding is needed to prevent prime farming land from being converted to housing, commercial or industrial developments.State leaders say finding additional funding might will be difficult and that there’s no guarantee throwing more money at the program will make it more successful.
“It is the nation’s leader, unquestioned,” Jim Baird, an official with the American Farmland Trust, said about Pennsylvania’s program. “But there really is more that needs to be done.
“The development pressure that is out there still is looming.”
The Trust, a nonprofit created in 1980, is lobbying Congress to allocate more money to farmland preservation and was involved in helping Pennsylvania create its preservation program.
The federal government spends money on protecting farms through the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program. But Baird said the bulk of money being spent on farmland protection is done at the state and county levels.
Farmers who enter the program voluntarily sell development rights to the state, which guarantees that the farms remain agricultural land. This is “for perpetuity,” according to the state’s agriculture department.
Through Pennsylvania’s program, easements are purchased from farmers through state, county or local dollars or a combination.
Farmers interested in the program apply through the county. They must meet criteria, such as soil type, acreage and location.
The program is competitive. Farms are ranked and then offers are made by the county through an appraisal process. Final approval comes from the state.
As for the farmers waiting for a chance to participate in the program, state and county officials said they keep confidential the names on the program waiting list.
The backlog, state officials said, is an indication of how well the program is working.
“The key to Pennsylvania’s success has been farmers’ willingness to participate,” said Doug Wolfgang, director of the agriculture department’s Bureau of Farmland Preservation.
State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, said the state spent a record $102 million on easements last year when Growing Greener II was approved. In 2005, he said, the state spent from $35 million to $40 million on the program.
“That boost saved an awful lot of farm acreage that otherwise wouldn’t have been funded,” Ferlo said.
The state appropriated $40 million for this year, said Betty Reefer, Westmoreland County farm preservation administrator.
But, Reefer expects the appropriation to drop to about $34 million for next year.
“Whether or not there will be another effort for conservation that might be in the early stages of debate, I don’t know,” she said. “I’m thinking there will be a slight decrease in next year’s appropriation, but it’s not until February that the state announces what the appropriation will be.”
“It is likely to be less than this year’s allocation because the Growing Greener II bond monies have been obligated,” Wolfgang said.
Reefer said she’d like to see more money allocated because her county can only protect about 10 percent of the farms on her waiting list each year.
“The most applications we’ve gotten in one year was 65,” she said. “And in one year, the most we can protect is maybe five farms.
“We just don’t have the adequate funding to move ahead with it. I wish we had enough dollars to protect the farms of all the farmers that apply.”
She said some farms have been on the county’s waiting list for as long as 10 years.
“That shows that the level of dedication among farmers is very strong,” she said. “I’m sure there were opportunities that might have come along to subdivide or sell part of their farms.”
Reefer said now is the time to dedicate the funding to protecting those farms.
State Rep. John Pallone, D-New Kensington, sees it differently, however. While an ardent supporter of the program, he doesn’t believe that pumping more money into the program is the answer.
“The intent of the program is being met, based on my knowledge of it,” he said. “I think we’re meeting our goals, and I don’t know that throwing more money at the program will make it any better.”
Pallone suggested the state might be on the tail end of farms that would qualify for a preservation easement.
“It becomes a matter of whether or not it would be prudent to preserve these lands,” he said. “Obviously, we want to preserve as much green space as possible and as much farm land as we can,” he said. “But, and I say this with reservation, I don’t know that we should preserve 100 percent of our farmland. If we continue to do things at a reasonable pace, we can implement reasonable controls on development.”
Pallone said that, at the county level, officials are working diligently to review the applications and that throwing more money at the program could jeopardize how thorough the review process is.
Ferlo said that, at some point, the state might revisit how it funds its farm preservation program but that, right now, it’s not being discussed.
“We have to deal with the hand we’ve been dealt,” he said. “There are so many competing needs out there, such as infrastructure. I want to fund all of these programs, but it’s a question of whether or not the Legislature has the appetite for binding debt.”
HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS
The state’s Farmland Preservation program was developed in 1988 to help slow the loss of prime farmland to nonagricultural uses. The program enables state, county and local governments to purchase conservation easements (sometimes called development rights) from owners of quality farmland. Counties participating in the program have appointed agricultural land preservation boards with a state board created to oversee this program. The state board is responsible for distribution of state funds, approval and monitoring of county programs and specific easement purchases.
Eligible farms must be part of an Agricultural Security Area (ASA), which is a designation made at the local level based on several criteria. In addition to being part of an ASA, the farm is rated against other eligible parcels according to the following criteria:
• Quality of the farmland. State regulations require that easements be purchased for farms containing 50 acres or more. Parcels as small as 10 acres may be preserved if adjacent to existing preserved farmland or used for the production of crops unique to the area. At least half the tract must either be harvested cropland, pasture or grazing land and it must contain soil that meets the state’s quality criteria .
• Stewardship. Farms are rated on the use of good conservation practices and best management practices of soil nutrients and control of soil erosion and sedimentation.
• Likelihood of Conversion. Easements offered for sale to counties will be scored and ranked for acquisition based on a variety of factors, including proximity of farm to sewer and water lines; extent and type of nonagricultural uses nearby; amount and type of agricultural use in the vicinity; amount of other preserved farmland in close proximity.
Farmers can receive the proceeds from easement sales in a lump sum payment, installments up to five years, or on a long-term installment basis. Many farmers use the proceeds from easement sales to reduce debt loads, expand operations, and as a way to pass on farms to the next generation.
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
COMPETING WITH DEVELOPMENT
According to American Farmland Trust, Pennsylvania ranks sixth in the country among states losing prime farmland to development. Here’s a look at the top 10.
1. Texas
2. Ohio
3. Georgia
4. North Carolina
5. Illinois
6. Pennsylvania
7. Indiana
8. Tennessee
9. Michigan
10. Alabama
Michael Aubele can be reached at maubele@tribweb.com or 724-226-4673.
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Rebuilt West Newton station newest gem on riverside trail
By Richard Robbins
For The Valley Independent
Monday, November 26, 2007Jack Cusick eyeballed the sloping, overhanging roof, the antique-looking lights attached to the red-brick exterior and the smartly appointed conference room and office, and said, “It’s a culmination.”
Cusick was talking about West Newton Station on the Youghiogheny River Trail, a new structure that resembles the old Pennsylvania and Lake Erie Railroad Station devastated by fire four decades ago.
The rebuilt West Newton Station will serve as a visitors center for trail users and as headquarters for Regional Trail Corp., the nonprofit partnership that sponsored the development of the Youghiogheny River Trail.
An open house at the station is slated from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday.
The $750,000 one-story building represents an effort that started in the late 1980s with the “concept” of converting the abandoned P&LE rail line into a biking-hiking trail. Cusick was on the original Regional Trail Corp. board of directors and now is a trail volunteer.
The idea grew into reality. One estimate places the number of annual visits to some portion of the 132-mile Great Allegheny Passage, which includes the Youghiogheny River Trail, at more than 700,000.The West Newton Station will have special appeal because the design came directly from blueprints left behind by the P&LE, said Cathy McCollom, regional director of Trails Town Initiative, an alliance of towns along the passage from Cumberland, Md., to McKeesport.
With the West Newton facility, visitor centers are available about every 45 miles.
John Markle, a West Newton businessman and retired educator, lauded the Yough River Environment and Education Center, headquartered in a railroad car next to the station.
He said the center reflects the growth of the trail concept from small pieces. In its final form, sometime next year, the combined Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Towpath will stretch 335 miles from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.
Richard Robbins can be reached at rrobbins@tribweb.com or 724-836-5660.
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Pittsburgh architect draws admirers, awards
By David M. Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, November 25, 2007Pittsburgh architect Art Lubetz admires the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, the 20th-century visionary who designed Fallingwater in Fayette County and other masterpieces inspiring to generations of architects.
Lubetz differs with the master, though, on one professional observation.
“Frank Lloyd Wright used to say he didn’t draw a line until he had the whole building in his mind,” says Lubetz, 67, of Oakland. “That might be true. He might have been a super-duper genius. But for schleps like me and most other architects, it’s hard work to get there.”
The self-effacing comment hardly meshes with how others see him.
Lubetz is a visionary thinker in his own right, a gifted architect whose designs have added flare, vigor and rare dimensions to many buildings and abodes throughout his native Western Pennsylvania and other locales across the nation, say his peers, associates and a former student.
He speaks out to preserve worthy old structures, loves cats, collects vivid Czechoslovakian vases, reads vociferously, draws insight from 17th century philosopher Baruch Spinoza and admits that years ago, he once pushed his Alfa Romeo to 118 mph late at night on the Parkway West.
Lubetz recently received an American Institute of Architects Honor Award at the Design Pittsburgh Awards. He was recognized for “extremely well done” work in the expansion and renovation of the Squirrel Hill branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He is founder and president of Lubetz Architects, an Oakland-based firm celebrating its 40th anniversary this fall.
“It’s notable that Art brings that kind of passionate approach to all the work he does, whether it’s residential, commercial or a public building, like a library,” said Anne-Marie Lubenau, an architect and executive director of the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, a nonprofit that supports quality architecture.
“He is continually searching to bring fresh ideas to architecture, thinking out of the box, and creating places for people that are inspiring,” she said.
The library project, completed in April 2005, transformed what had been a nondescript structure at the corner of Forbes and Murray avenues into an architectural showcase with copper trimmings and abundant aqua glass. The glass-cube lobby juts out an angle toward Forbes Avenue. The $4.7 million renovation added 7,000 square feet, or 38 percent, new space for library users.
“Our buildings generally are noticeable,” says Lubetz, petting a pair of calico cats — Za and Ha — that paw at the architect for a share of his attention. The cats, sisters, are named after architect Zaha Hadid.
“As a result, people imagine that we are arrogant or something,” he says, “but it’s not for people to notice us. It’s for people to notice the architecture and notice what’s been done, so that maybe their awareness will be raised when they think about architecture.”
“I’m very intrigued by materials that are acted on by nature and change over time. We like copper because it changes. Glass changes throughout the day depending on how the sun hits it.”
The library’s glass walls and skylights were designed to let in sufficient sunlight to create the feeling of reading on a porch.
“Lots of light. That’s one characteristic of almost all our work. Light activates the life within architecture,” Lubetz said.
The panel of architects that bestowed the award said the library’s design “makes people re-think any preconceptions” about urban public libraries. “We bet this place just hops because it really strikes us as a place the community can own,” the panel said.
Among previous awards, Lubetz received honors for his Lincoln Towers housing complex near New York City and his design of the Hartford, Conn., City Hall.
He has taught architectural studio courses at Carnegie Mellon University since 1988. His wife, Karen Myres, a former CMU educator, is president of the Executive Women’s Council.
Former student Dan Cohen, 23, of Squirrel Hill, a recent CMU graduate, described Lubetz as inspirational.
“He taught us architecture is more than just four walls and a roof. It’s more than a pretty facade,” Cohen said. “It’s about putting into it this extra level of thought, which hopefully can translate over to something that the user can experience, and that’s what makes great architecture.”
As president of Preservation Pittsburgh in 2000, Lubetz was one of the leaders of a successful effort to block an attempt to demolish six square blocks of buildings in Downtown — the core of then-Mayor Tom Murphy’s development plan in the Fifth and Forbes corridor.
“He is a Pittsburgh architect who has long been in the forefront of modern design, but has enormous respect for the architecture of our past, and he is willing to stand up and defend it,” said Arthur Ziegler, president of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, another organization that opposed the plan to raze 68 buildings.
Lubetz has battled through some tough challenges — physical and professional — over the course of his life.
As a 19-year-old architecture student at then-Carnegie Institute of Technology, Lubetz was diagnosed with cornea disease that was leading to blindness. The prognosis threatened his career, but cornea transplants saved his vision. In his early 40s, he suffered a bout of multiple sclerosis that debilitated his right leg. A rigorous therapy regiment restored his use of it.
In July 1996, tragedy struck when his partner, architect Jill Watson, was killed in the crash of TWA Flight 800 near Long Island, N.Y. “She was a partner in the firm and in life and even in drawing. We would fight each other to put the next line on the paper,” Lubetz said at the time.
At a 40th anniversary celebration for his business, a guest asked Lubetz: “Wow. How did you do it?”
“Sometimes I can’t figure it out,” says Lubetz. “Our work is and has always been unusual.
“I think three characteristics I have gotten me through. I’m doggedly determined because I love what I do. I’m tenacious. And I have a major ability to deal with disappointment. I work hard for what I want and I work even harder to be happy with what I end up getting.”
David M. Brown can be reached at dbrown@tribweb.com or 412-380-5614.
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District presses to close Schenley
By Bill Zlatos
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, November 20, 2007Sixty-eight percent of the materials tested at Schenley High School contained asbestos, according to a report released Monday by city schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt.
AGX Inc., Wexford-based environmental consultants, collected 406 samples from the plaster, ceiling, tiles, carpet and other areas of the Oakland school and found that 277 contained asbestos.The firm collected the samples five years ago, but the Pittsburgh Public Schools released the data for the first time to quell concerns that the district was overreacting to the asbestos problem.
“This is the only building I know (in the district) where every ceiling, every wall on every floor has asbestos in it,” said Richard Fellers, the district’s chief operating officer, during a tour of the building with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The danger of the asbestos and falling plaster, coupled with the cost of renovating the school, has prompted Roosevelt to recommend for a second time that the school board close Schenley after this school year.
During the past four years, estimates for the cost of abating the asbestos and renovating the building’s mechanical systems have ranged from $42.4 million to $86.9 million. Roosevelt has touted $64.4 million as the best estimate.“You’re talking about a basic gut job where every system needs to be replaced,” Roosevelt said at a news conference yesterday.
Fellers and a team of architects and other professionals noted some of the 10,000 patches made to repair falling plaster last summer. Asbestos was used in the 91-year-old building for binding plaster, insulation and as a fire retardant.
Patches, bubbles or sites of fallen plaster sealed with bridging compound could be seen in some hallways. In some stairwells, hallways or classrooms, fallen plaster had caused holes or exposed the brick behind a radiator.
Roosevelt assured that the school is safe. He said the district monitors the plaster three times a week and the air quality once a week.
“Every decision I make is based on the question: ‘Would this be right for my child?’ ” Roosevelt said.
He has suggested that Schenley’s ninth-, 10th- and 11th-graders go to the former Reizenstein school in East Liberty and graduate with a Schenley diploma.
Schenley’s asbestos problem is compounded by a lack of ventilation that causes the plaster to bubble and fall. Because of the school’s historic status, Fellers said, the district was required to choose a type of window that preserved the building’s architectural character but accelerated its deterioration through insufficient ventilation.
The proposal to close Schenley has stirred student and parent protests. Schenley advocates went to Allegheny Common Pleas Court last week in an unsuccessful attempt to block the school board from hiring an architect and construction manager for the renovation of Reizenstein.
The uncertainty over the school’s fate has caused a family feud.
Vidya Patil, the district’s acting director of facilities, is in charge of maintaining the building and keeping it safe. His daughter, Oona, 16, is a junior at Schenley and unhappy with the proposal to close it.
“I’m very concerned about the deteriorating condition in the building — particularly the asbestos,” Patil said. “The amount of monitoring and dollars it takes to keep it safe is almost unbearable.”
Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com or 412-320-7828.