Category Archive: Historic Properties
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Local companies in command of Fifth-Forbes development
By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW REAL ESTATE WRITER
Sunday, January 8, 2006Local developers finally hold the keys to unlocking the economic potential of Pittsburgh’s deteriorated Fifth-Forbes retail corridor.
That’s a good thing, says Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., president of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, the preservationist organization that developed Station Square.
Ziegler has long advocated giving a variety of companies a role in developing the area in and around Fifth and Forbes avenues.
He applauds the fact that Washington County-based Millcraft Industries Inc., headed by members of the Piatt family, now has the lead in trying to find new uses for the former Lazarus-Macy’s department store, and that the J.J. Gumberg Co. of Braddock Hills owns and is spearheading efforts to redevelop the former Lord & Taylor department store building.
Ziegler also salutes Oxford Development Co.’s involvement in PNC Financial Services Group’s recently announced plan to build a $122 million office/hotel/condominium building along Fifth Avenue that will be home to Reed Smith, one of the city’s largest law firms.
“I think those are major steps and a breakthrough in efforts to develop Fifth-Forbes,” said Ziegler, who has suggested the city should copy a plan that helped Baltimore revitalize part of its downtown.
In Baltimore, an $800 million project driven mainly by private investment and fueled by historic preservation tax credits is being used to renew a 26-block area.
The city developed a package of buildings, specific uses and quality levels, and offered the packages to developers on the open market, he said.
If Pittsburgh’s leaders adopt a similar plan, more local and national developers might be persuaded to take a look at redeveloping pieces of Fifth and Forbes, Ziegler believes.
“This demonstrates the fact that there are other local developers who would possibly be willing to get involved in Fifth-Forbes if the opportunity were available,” he said, referring to the involvement of Millcraft, Oxford and Gumberg.
Three out-of-town developers have considered becoming the master developer for city-owned properties Fifth-Forbes, only to walk away, and now the private-led Pittsburgh Task Force is currently working with Madison Marquette, a company based in Washington, D.C., on a development plan for Downtown.
Ziegler has hopes that project also will be successful, but if it is not, then he believes the city should open up the field to other developers.
New Mayor Bob O’Connor already has said he would consider allowing other private developers to buy Downtown properties owned by the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority if the Madison Marquette plan fails.
In the meantime, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks has offered to help the city preserve several deteriorated buildings Downtown, including 439 Market St., an historic three-story building off Market Square.
Last month, the city’s Historic Review Commission approved a plan to preserve the unique facade of the 130-year-old structure while demolishing a majority of the rest of the building.
The plan is for the city’s engineering and construction department to shore up the building’s side walls with bracing and put up a temporary roof and rear wall that would be replaced once a development plan is in place for the area.
Landmarks, which joined with the historic preservation group Preserve Pittsburgh to support partial demolition of the building, has offered the city a no-interest loan of up to $75,000 to help pay for the work.
Real estate notes:
Funding for construction of 15 second-floor, loft-style condominiums over retail space and rehabilitation of seven houses on Penn Avenue and North Fairmount Street in the city’s Garfield neighborhood has been approved by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. The project will get $660,000 in Neighborhood Revitalization funds. The agency also approved $2 million for Peebles Square in Wilkinsburg. These funds will be used to build 12 new single-family detached three-bedroom homes and to rehabilitate eight existing owner-occupied homes and create a regional park.
Construction activity in the six-county Pittsburgh region increased substantially in November compared to the same month last year. Total new contracts issued reached $178.3 million, a 94 percent increase over the $92.1 million a year ago, according to the Research and Analytics unit of McGraw-Hill Construction. For the 11-month period, total contracts issued reached $2 billion, an 11 percent decline from $2.26 billion for the same period a year ago.
The management office of Station Square, South Side, has relocated to Suite 317 in the Landmark Building, which is on the opposite side from where it was formerly located, said Tom Schneck II, Station Square’s director of marketing.
James P. Kelly, Grubb & Ellis vice president, has been given the job of finding tenants for the Mon Valley Community Health Center in Monessen, since the current occupant, Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services Inc., plans to relocate 200 of its employees into the former Montgomery Ward building in Charleroi.
Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II Inc. has selected Jeremy Kronman and Tom McDonald of CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh to market 2000 Park Lane, a seven-story office building it purchased in North Fayette. Computer Associates International Inc., former owner of the building, will lease about 25 percent of the 231,213-square-foot building, and Fisher Scientific Co. LLC occupies about 64 percent. Brad Heming of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the seller, and Jeff Gilder of Wells Real Estate Funds represented the buyer.
Several members of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler’s Pittsburgh office participated in the sale by Simon Property Group Inc. of Cheltenham Square, a 638,098-square-foot regional shopping center north of Philadelphia. Thor Equities LLC paid $71.3 million for the property, plus assumption of an existing $54.9 million bank loan, and Chris Turner and Claudia Steeb with John Pelusi, executive managing director and managing member, were involved.
An office building at 100 Commercial St., in the Bridgeville Industrial Park, Bridgeville, has been sold by Proud Mary LLC to Great Lakes Warranty Corp. for $700,000, according to a deed filed in the office of Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds.
— Contributor: Sam SpatterRon DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.
Images and text copyright © 2004 by The Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review © Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Grants help churches restore their beauty
By Violet Law
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, November 25, 2005Rain no longer trickles down through the roof during worship services at the Pittsburgh New Church in Point Breeze.
New equipment at Zion Christian Church in Carrick allows Spanish-speaking members to understand and take part in worship services.The stained-glass windows that filter light into the sanctuary of Bellefield Presbyterian Church in Oakland have been restored to their former glory.
In its 10th year, a program by Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation that offers grants and technical assistance to houses of worship to maintain their facilities has not only helped preserve historically significant architecture in the region but has strengthened congregations that have wrestled with crumbling structures.
More than 130 grants have been awarded to 88 churches in Allegheny County during the past decade.
The program, which includes historic religious properties grants and technical assistance awards, began in 1996 with seed money from the Allegheny Foundation. A survey by the foundation at the time documented more than 6,000 architecturally significant religious structures in the county.
But most couldn’t qualify for any government grants for repairs because of the constitutional separation between church and state.
“The buildings were growing older, and their needs are increasing,” said Cathy McCollom, the foundation’s chief programs officer. She said that through the grant program, “we’ve been able to build the relationships with churches and watch their progress.”
The grants range from $2,000 to $8,000 and require matching donations from the receiving congregations. For those who have been awarded the grants, many repeatedly, these dollars have made a big impact.
When the Bellefield Presbyterian Church board members solicited bids several years ago to repair all of the Oakland church’s stained-glass windows, they found the price tag — roughly $400,000 — staggering.
But after seven grants, which totaled $20,650, the church’s members have mended the 15 windows that surround the sanctuary. They also received professional advice on masonry work on the sandstone facade.
“The most significant for us is that it has enabled us to keep the momentum going,” said Susan Norman, the church’s volunteer treasurer. The matching donation requirement, Norman said, has kept the congregation focused on budgeting the money where it is most needed and helped it chip away at what seems to be a gargantuan project. “It’s a good way to keep it moving along,” she said.
At Zion Christian Church in Carrick, a portion of one of the four grants awarded paid for a translation broadcasting unit, which helps Spanish-speaking members — who account for at least one-fifth of the church’s attendance — to follow the sermons and announcements.
With an $8,000 grant in 2004, the members of Pittsburgh New Church have patched up the long-deteroriating slate roof and don’t have to use buckets to catch the drops from the sanctuary. The new $8,000 grant will help repoint the masonry and fix the steeple.
“Now we can focus on religious and spiritual things,” said Steve David, who heads the church’s maintenance committee. “We’re not as much about the building as we’re about the congregation.”
Violet Law can be reached at vlaw@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7884.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review © Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Accord reached on old churches, ‘Sensitive’ reuse of buildings sought
By Patricia Lowry,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Saturday, October 01, 2005When the Church Brew Works opened in the former St. John the Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese officials were not happy to see gleaming steel and copper brew tanks on the site of the former altar and patrons sipping beers under religious-themed windows.
Now a new, informal partnership between the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and the diocese aims to encourage a more sensitive reuse of religious buildings. It may be the first such agreement of its kind.
The two organizations, which traditionally have found themselves on opposite sides of historic preservation battles, have agreed to work together on the sale and reuse of churches, rectories, convents, schools and other buildings owned by the diocese.
Sealed with a handshake, it’s only a gentlemen’s agreement, but one that could have a significant impact on the future of religious buildings in Allegheny County.
“It’s two people who trust one another and respect one another, which is the way I think agreements used to be made,” said diocesan spokesman the Rev. Ron Lengwin, who entered the agreement with Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., president of Landmarks.
Under terms of the partnership, Landmarks will have an opportunity to purchase churches and other buildings the diocese no longer needs.
Although selling to other religious groups is always the first choice, Lengwin said, each case is unique, and Landmarks sometimes may have the first opportunity to purchase a building.
“They are part of the process,” he said.
The preservation group will review the buildings and decide if it has any interest in purchasing them for reuse. If not, it will assist in marketing the buildings and possibly fund adaptive reuse studies, if they are needed.
The agreement has been in the works for several years, said Cathy McCollom, Landmarks’ chief programs officer. In 2002, when the diocese began lobbying City Council for legislation stipulating that only the owner of a religious building could nominate it for city historic designation, Landmarks approached the diocese.
“We began talking to Father Lengwin about what could be done to address their concerns and our concerns,” McCollom said.
The legislation, sponsored by then-Councilman Bob O’Connor, passed in 2003.
In the new agreement, Landmarks has pledged not to nominate diocesan buildings to either the National Register of Historic Places or for city historic designation without the consent of the diocese.
“We mentioned it in case the legislation is ever changed,” McCollom said.
The diocese will begin to participate in Landmarks’ Historic Religious Properties Program, which began in 1993 and provides grants and technical assistance for the preservation of religious buildings in Allegheny County.
The diocese also will begin to accept the plaques Landmarks produces to call attention to historic buildings.
If potential buyers are interested in pursuing National Register historic designation and the federal tax credit that comes with it, the diocese will work with Landmarks to seek designation.
The diocese retains the right to remove interior or exterior religious symbols or artwork, including stained glass windows with religious themes, baptismal fonts and statues.
In the case of the St. John the Baptist Church, which closed in 1993 and became the Brew Works, “We were assured that all of the sacred items had been removed” before the sale, Lengwin said. “In fact, that was not true. We learned a good lesson, that we needed to go in and look at the church before it was marketed for sale.”
The facility opened in 1996 as a microbrewery and it maintains a steady clientele.
St. John’s windows are a comfort to some Church Brew Works patrons, said Phillip Moran, who manages the restaurant’s dining room.
“They feel very happy that they can come and see them. It makes them remember their family, because [their ancestors’] names are at the bottom of the windows. And they end up telling you a story about when they came to church or school here, or their family did.”
Lengwin said Landmarks looked at two worship sites in St. John Vianney parish that closed last month, St. Canice Church in Knoxville and St. Henry Church in Arlington.
“These are possibly the first buildings the agreement would have an impact on,” he said. “A developer is looking at those two buildings and they might be sold. I’m not sure what the uses would be, but it’s a developer that we have confidence in.”
In Ambridge, three closed churches “are in various stages of perhaps being sold,” including one to a congregation of another faith, Lengwin said. “Landmarks won’t have an impact there. But there will be other buildings in the future for which we look to this agreement with great hope.”
“This is perhaps the only such agreement between preservationists and the Roman Catholic church,” Ziegler said, “and we are pleased to have been part of it, setting a model for others who are trying to preserve such structures.”
(Patricia Lowry can be reached at plowry@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1590.)
Copyright ©1997-2005 PG Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved.This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. © Pittsburgh Post Gazette
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Murphy to seek funds for building repair
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe Murphy administration will submit legislation to City Council today to accept a no-interest loan of up to $75,000 from the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation to make repairs to a dilapidated city-owned building at 439 Market St., Downtown.
Foundation officials offered to lend the money to replace the roof and clean up the building after the adjacent property owners threatened to go to court to force the city to demolish or shore up the building, fearing that it could collapse. They’ve also complained about rats in the building and in Market Square in general.
The foundation originally offered a loan of up to $33,000. Adjacent property owners said it probably would take more than that to replace the roof and shore up the structure.
Under the legislation submitted to council, the loan will run for up to three years. In exchange, the city would grant a historic preservation easement that would protect the front facade of the building. Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation was acting on behalf of Preservation Pittsburgh, which has an interest in preserving 439 Market and two adjacent Urban Redevelopment Authority-owned buildings at Market and Fifth Avenue.
Copyright ©1997-2005 PG Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. © Pittsburgh Post Gazette
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St. Paul’s Cathedral prepares for facelift
By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW REAL ESTATE WRITER
Saturday, September 10, 2005On the threshold of its 100th birthday, St. Paul’s Cathedral in Oakland is due for a major restoration.
The landmark church building, located along Fifth Avenue on a block bordered by North Craig and North Dithridge streets, is to undergo a multimillion-dollar rehabilitation expected to be completed in time for its anniversary celebration in October 2006.“This is the mother church for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, and hopefully this work will help preserve its legacy for hundreds of years to come,” said the Rev. Donald P. Breier, rector and pastor.
“This has to be done to preserve the structural integrity of the building as a safety factor, not only for those who worship at the cathedral, but for people passing by.”
A Sunday church bulletin for St. Paul’s approximately 1,700 member families explained the work will include reinforcing the two front towers of the Flemish Gothic style cathedral with new steel interior girders, rebuilding four side towers and repairing or replacing exterior stonework.
In addition, the entire building will be re-pointed and cleaned.
Breier said he hopes the work will begin in October and be complete within seven months.
Normal church operations won’t be affected, he said.
Preliminary cost estimates for the project range from $5 million to $10 million, but aren’t final, he said.
A planned fundraising campaign is temporarily on hold because of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast.
“Funding will be delayed for a time so that people’s focus can be on the tremendous need for hurricane victims,” Breier said.
Cathy McCollom, program officer for the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, said the foundation designated the cathedral a historic landmark in 1975.
“The twin spires of St. Paul’s Cathedral are prominent, familiar objects on the Oakland skyline, establishing the eastern part of the neighborhood,” McCollom said.
Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review © Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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City to accept loan to fix Market Street building
By Mark Belko,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, September 01, 2005The Murphy administration has agreed to accept a loan from the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation to repair a dilapidated city-owned building at 439 Market St., Downtown, after an adjacent property owner threatened to go to court to force action.
In a letter on Tuesday, History & Landmarks President Arthur P. Ziegler Jr. offered to lend the city up to $33,000 to repair the roof of the four-story building and clean up the inside to prevent the vacant structure from being demolished.
The offer came after the attorney for the owners of an adjacent building at 435 Market, which houses Ciao Baby restaurant, threatened to seek a court order to force repairs or the demolition of 439 Market, declaring that a “public emergency” existed.
In her letter to city Solicitor Jacqueline Morrow, attorney Linda Leebov Goldston said the roof of the building has collapsed, the floors are gone, and the exterior walls are bowed and in danger of falling. She said the building and Market Square in general are plagued by rats.
Ziegler made his offer of an interest-free loan to make repairs with the stipulation that the building and two others — one at 441 Market and the old Regal Shoe Co. store at Market and Fifth Avenue — be preserved. The foundation also wanted approval over any exterior design done as part of a redevelopment.
In his letter yesterday to Ziegler, Tom Cox, Murphy’s executive secretary, said the city would accept the loan but did not state specifically whether it agreed to the stipulations.
Cox also said the city would accept a no-interest, “unlimited term” loan; the foundation had offered a maximum term of two years.
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Chief Programs Officer Cathy McCollom said the foundation was “delighted” that the city accepted the loan but added there were still details to work out.
In accepting the loan, the city in effect rejected an offer by the foundation to take ownership of 439 Market as well as 441 Market and the Regal Shoe building, both owned by the city Urban Redevelopment Authority.
The city and authority apparently are holding the buildings while awaiting a plan to redevelop the Fifth and Forbes retail corridor.
The foundation, in trying to save the structures, acted on behalf of Preservation Pittsburgh, which has plans for a “transit cafe” in the Regal Shoe building, which was designed by Alden & Harlow, one of the city’s most prominent architectural firms in the early 20th century.
Preservation Pittsburgh also is interested in the adjoining buildings at 439 and 441 Market, saying both have good facades that ought to be preserved.
Rick Butts, co-owner of Ciao Baby restaurant, questioned whether roof work at 439 Market would be enough. He said the building appears to have significant structural damage and may not be capable of holding a new roof without other repairs.
City Councilman William Peduto said he hopes to introduce a bill this month accepting the foundation loan.
(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.)
Copyright ©1997-2005 PG Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved.This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. © Pittsburgh Post Gazette
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From landmark to Wal-Mart
By Rick Wills
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 8, 2005Dixmont State Hospital finally will meet the wrecking ball, more than two decades after the Kilbuck facility shut its doors, officials said Wednesday.
Demolition of the hospital overlooking Route 65 is expected to start within a few weeks to make way for a $28 million Wal-Mart Supercenter. The work is expected to stretch over several weeks, with construction starting in December and the discount store slated to open in May 2007, said Tony Chammas, a partner at ASC Development Inc., of Emsworth.Ralph Stroyne, of Kilbuck, bought the 407-acre Dixmont site for $757,000 in January 1999. ASC is to close this week with Stroyne on a deal reached three years ago to buy 75 acres of the site for the Wal-Mart.
Officials declined to disclose ASC’s purchase price. Stroyne could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Social reformer Dorothea Lynde Dix opened Dixmont in 1859, and the state Department of Public Welfare closed the facility in 1984 amid state budget cuts.
“Dixmont’s history is very sad, but reflects changes in ways mentally ill patients are treated,” said Christine Davis, an urban archaeologist and president of Chris Davis Consultants in Verona.
Once declared a historic landmark, the hospital’s 24 buildings, garages and dumps are crumbling, a target for vandals and a party center for young revelers.
“It’s important that people know what is there,” Davis said. “Once the Wal-Mart is there, no one will be aware of what was there.”
At its height, Dixmont cared for more than 1,000 patients. In its first century, the facility was operated according to Dix’s philosophy of keeping patients active and self sufficient. Patients spent their time tending to gardens and livestock, making shoes and engaging in a variety of sports and recreational activities.
Rick Wills can be reached at rwills@tribweb.com or (724) 779-7123.
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South Side enlivens historic district with lighting
Pilot project illuminates buildings’ facades on East Carson Street
Sunday, September 04, 2005
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteFor the South Side, Light-Up Night will come Thursday.
That’s when the facade of Maul Building, a prominent East Carson Street structure, will be illuminated for the first time under a pilot project to highlight significant architecture and to add to the vibrancy of the historic district.
It is one of two East Carson Street buildings to receive facade lighting as part of the project, spearheaded by the South Side Local Development Co. The other is The Bridge, a restaurant at 2302 East Carson St. named for its proximity to the Birmingham Bridge.
“To us, it was a way to brighten the district by night. To us, it was a way to take the South Side architectural features recognized by day and to extend that to all hours, really,” said Amy Camp, manager of marketing and communications for the South Side Local Development Co.
Lighting for the two buildings totaled about $18,000. Costs were shared by Peter Gordon, an owner of the Maul Building, Seth Carpien, owner of The Bridge restaurant, the city Urban Redevelopment Authority and Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.
The facade of The Bridge, a Victorian Italianate building erected in the 1800s, has been illuminated since July. Camp said the intersection at the Birmingham Bridge is considered a gateway to the South Side, making the building a good choice.
Carpien, who has owned the restaurant for about a year, said he invested in the project as a way to get involved in the South Side and to help generate business.
“I love it,” he said of the up lighting effect, designed to highlight building features. “It’s kind of neat when I come across the Birmingham Bridge at night. It really looks beautiful. It really shows the architecture, accentuates the Victorian architecture.”
Carpien said his business has increased over the last year, but he wasn’t sure it was the lighting that has attracted the customers, noting that the SouthSide Works commercial complex is close by.
“But I would assume [the building] would get a lot more notice coming across the bridge,” he said.
Erected during the reign of Queen Victoria of England, the building is patterned after Italian Renaissance villas. Window shapes vary floor to floor and are capped with decorative stone hoods.
The Maul Building, at 1700 East Carson Street, is considered a South Side landmark. Built in 1910, the building is done in American Renaissance style and is clad in terra cotta. There also are three-dimensional carvings of faces of women and Native Americans on the building.
The architect, William G. Wilkins Co., also was responsible for the North Side building that is home to the Andy Warhol Museum.
“It’s like no other building on the South Side,” Camp said. “It’s just so ornate that we’re really happy that [the lighting] worked out.”
Gordon said he was happy to assist in the effort.
“It’s a particularly attractive facade. I believe in the South Side and I think the South Side Local Development Co. does good work,” he said.
“I’m really glad they picked one of mine as one of the very first to be up lighted. Hopefully, in the future, there will be many more.”
Camp said her agency is looking into the possibility of extending the program to other buildings on East Carson Street.
“It would be ideal to be able to see some of the architecturally significant buildings lighted, however that happens. It’s not quite there yet. It would be wonderful to see,” she said. “There’s definitely interest on the part of the business district and individual property owners.”
Cathy McCollom, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks chief programs officer, said the lighting of the two buildings and others “could serve as a visual draw from one end of Carson to the other.”
McCollom had suggested the lighting of facades along East Carson to the South Side Local Development Co. after seeing the way in which light was used to illuminate buildings in a number of other cities, including Chicago. Station Square’s Landmarks Building, where McCollom’s organization has its offices, also is lighted.
The Maul Building and The Bridge will be illuminated from dusk to 2 a.m. each day. Chas DeLisio, of Makato Architecture and Design, was the lighting consultant for the project.
Thursday’s ceremony and celebration will start at 8 p.m. with the lighting of the Maul Building. A reception will follow at The Bridge. There also will be performances by the Zany Umbrella Circus, which does fire juggling and other routines using light.
The South Side is the second area of the city in the last year to organize a project to illuminate building fronts. Last December, 17 buildings on Penn Avenue, Downtown got the same treatment through a program put together by the Downtown Living Initiative and Duquesne Light Co.
(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.)
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. © Pittsburgh Post Gazette