Category Archive: Neighborhood Development
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Civic Arena May be Spared Until Summer
By Jeremy Boren
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, December 1, 2010Pittsburgh could be deep into summer by the time an effort to save the Civic Arena is settled.
The Historic Review Commission is expected Jan. 5 to review a nomination to dub the 49-year-old, silver-domed arena a historic structure, a designation that would protect it from the wrecking ball.
The commission’s public hearing on the nomination is scheduled for Feb. 2, with a final vote set for March 2. All meetings are open to the public. The final decision by Pittsburgh City Council might not occur until late August depending on how the process plays out.
Penguins officials want the arena to be demolished to make way for a mix of retail, residential and office development on a 28-acre site.
The city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority, which owns the arena, approved the demolition in September.
The city Planning Commission approved demolition in a unanimous vote Nov. 22. Advocates attempting to save the arena immediately nominated it as a historic structure, which means it can’t be demolished during the review process.
“(Our) goal has always been to find a economically viable community-based reuse plan, not to delay demolition,” said Rob Pfaffmann, an architect who heads Reuse the Igloo, a grassroots group that helped draft the nomination.
In this case, the Planning and Historic Review commissions make only recommendations to City Council.
The commissions’ recommendations must be made within five months of nomination. Council must hold a public hearing and take a final vote within 120 days of receiving those nominations, according to city code.
If each group takes the maximum amount of time, council wouldn’t vote until August.
The SEA had planned to demolish the arena in April.
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Vacant Homewood School as Center Planned
By Bill Vidonic
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, December 4, 2010
A Homewood group wants to put a community center in the building that housed Holy Rosary School, which closed this year after serving the neighborhood for 100 years. Keith Hodan | Tribune-Review
A social services group wants to transform an empty Homewood school into a building where people could attend educational programs and community events.
On Dec. 16, the Homewood-based Community Empowerment Association will ask the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment to change the designation of the Kelly Street building that once housed Holy Rosary school.
“We want to live up to the legacy of the Catholic Church and provide services to the community,” said Rashad Byrdsong, founder of the community association. The group wants to lease, and eventually buy, the three-story, 39,000-square-foot building from the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese, but the area is zoned for school use only.
“Any use that makes the community a better place is certainly good,” said the Rev. David Taylor, pastor of St. Charles Lwanga Parish, of which Holy Rosary was a part. “This is a very distressed community, and it needs all the help it can get.”
The diocese closed the school this summer, saying it couldn’t support two schools a mile apart. Holy Rosary merged with St. James School in Wilkinsburg to create the Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Academy. Classes began this fall in the St. James building.
Holy Rosary, which celebrated its centennial just before closing, was considered a refuge in a neighborhood that wrestles with crime and poverty.
Byrdsong said his group is talking with Taylor about the possibility of leasing the building. He would not disclose financial details because negotiations continue.
Among the group’s services, Byrdsong said, are programs to lower student dropout rates, as well as job training and community events. The group hosts programs in two buildings in the area and would consolidate operations from those buildings at the former school.
The association’s 35 full-time employees “all thought it was a wonderful idea,” Byrdsong said. “(The church) has such a long progressive and positive influence on the community of Homewood, and it would be a shame for the school to lie vacant.”
The Rev. Ronald Lengwin, spokesman for the diocese, said Community Empowerment Association hasn’t submitted a plan to the diocese, which supports reuse of its vacant buildings.
“We typically prefer they are used to benefit the community,” Lengwin said.
The diocese stopped celebrating Sunday Liturgy at the adjacent Holy Rosary Church on Oct. 24. Taylor said only 100 parishioners celebrated Mass there. They attend services at Mother of Good Counsel Church on Bennett Street.
Lengwin said the church building will host some services, including weddings and funerals.
“It’s an incredible church,” Lengwin said.
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Heinz Students Uncover Market For Renovated Housing in Wilkinsburg
For a project sponsored by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, a team of Heinz students established a latent market for restored homes in Wilkinsburg. Advised by Jerry Paytaz, director of Economic Architecture at GSP Consulting, the team first conducted interviews of development experts across the nation, and two community focus groups. Based on this feedback the team developed six profiles of potential buyers for restored homes in Wilkinsburg: Urban Pioneer, Bo-Ho, Eco-Homesteader, Wilkinsburg Ties, Start-Up, and Retired Renovator. Next, the team developed and implemented a survey to assess likely demand and price points for fully restored homes, and two types of shell only restorations (dry-wall and stud) near Hamnett Place in Wilkinsburg. Response to the survey was high and favorable. Over 400 people responded, with 266 with ties to Wilkinsburg. Over 350 respondents indicated that they would be willing to purchase a fully renvated home in Wilkinsburg and over 250 would be willing to purchase a shell renovation with the kitchen and bathroom completed. These findings helped pave the way for new investment in Wilkinsburg, and represent a major contribution to PHLF’s ongoing efforts to address significant barriers to investment in the community. Contact Michael Sriprasert for a copy of this report.
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3 Options Offered to Revitalize South Park
By Matthew Santoni
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, December 2, 2010A cluster of former fairground buildings along Brownsville Road in South Park could get a green makeover, under three plans officials presented Wednesday night as part of Allegheny County’s effort to revitalize the park.
Titled the “modified,” “campus” and “picturesque” concept plans, each offers an increasing degree of replacing parking lots, roads and rundown halls with green space and walking paths, said Todd Brant, project manager for Homestead-based GAI Consultants.
The modified plan would demolish Schoonmaker Hall, replace some parking lots with grassy areas that can still support overflow parking and add more pedestrian pathways to the site, which Brant said is “a sea of asphalt.”
“The fairground is unique in this large concentration of buildings, but it’s not as park-like as the rest of the park,” he said.
The campus plan would go slightly greener by moving more parking near McCorkle Road, cutting out sections of access roads and demolishing a few more of the old fair buildings.
The picturesque concept would go furthest by removing the oval track and replacing it with a more meandering walking trail. The bleachers, tennis and basketball courts would be removed and replaced with trees, and the concrete channel for Catfish Run would be removed for a more natural-looking stream.
County Parks Director Andy Baechle emphasized that the plans, which won’t be finalized until the end of the year, will only be a guide until funding to make the changes is found.
“We don’t have funding in hand to do things right away,” he said. “But with this plan and good public participation, we’re more likely to get money from foundations, from the state and federal governments.”
The plans will be posted online today and public surveys can be taken until Sunday at alleghenycounty.us/parks/SPFairgrounds.
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110-Year-Old Voting House on the Move in Derry Township
Thursday, December 02, 2010By Margaret SmyklaOne-room cabin will be preserved
The welcome mat outside the Simpson Voting House in Derry Township should read “Home Sweet Home” after the 110-year-old structure’s scheduled relocation this week by Westmoreland County.
Its new site is just a mile away in New Alexandria, less than two miles from the intersection of Route 982 and Route 22.
“This move will save it forever,” said Bob Reintgen, a member and former president of the Derry Area Historical Society. “It will be on land donated to the county. [Since] the house is also owned by the county, the county will do maintenance and take care of it.”
The one-story, one-room cabin on private land was built for voting at a time when the county was largely rural and voting houses were common. Machines were brought in on Election Day each year and taken away at day’s end.
As the number of voting houses dwindled, the Simpson Voting House, despite falling into disrepair, continued to be used until 2003.
“It is the only county-owned voting house still in existence, so it is a gem,” said Mr. Reintgen of Latrobe.
The move will cost the county less than $15,000, with the preparation work done by the Public Works Department.
“We’re working on plans now to restore it so that the people of the Simpson District may vote in it again,” county Commissioner Ted Kopas said.
“We think it is important to honor the heritage of this county and a forgotten period when people voted in voting houses.”
About 15 years ago, Mr. Reintgen, a retired history teacher, directed his students in a project to paint the house and perform other tasks in an effort to reverse the deterioration.
Afterward, without maintenance and with animals using it for shelter, it fell into disrepair again, despite the society’s work to give it a new roof and siding and remove a wall to rid it of bees.
Nine years ago, the group learned that the state Department of Transportation was going to widen Route 22 to four lanes and was planning to tear down the house, which stood on the land for one of the new lanes. The organization began its campaign to relocate the house.
“It was a struggle, as you can guess with the county, the society and PennDOT involved,” said Evelyn Baker Ruffing of Derry Township, vice president of the historical society.
The new site will be in a park-like setting and will have modern restrooms and a parking lot and be accessible to handicapped people.
The old-fashioned flavor of the century-old building — such as the coal stove in the center of the room –will be retained, Mr. Reintgen said.
“We’ll have to work our touch-screen voting machines around it,” he said of blending the old and new.
The original outhouse, which is in need of a new floor, will be erected for display purposes only.
The historical society will lend its assistance and guidance with the project.”Hopefully, the county will shepherd the building throughout the 21st century,” Mr. Reintgen said.
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Plans for South Park Fairgrounds to be Aired Wednesday
By Matthew Santoni
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, November 30, 2010Allegheny County officials will show off plans for upgrading the South Park Fairgrounds and surrounding areas Wednesday, after months of meetings and public input on what to do with the aging site of the defunct county fair.
Three plans center around improving pedestrian connections to the 80-acre site; aggressive maintenance of buildings; “greening” the grounds with vegetation and less pavement; returning nearby Catfish Run to a more natural state; and remaking the field and track next to the fairground buildings, said Jeaneen Zappa, county sustainability manager.
Each plan will tackle those goals with differing degrees of intensity, but none of the changes is intended to be drastic.
“There are things we can do more readily than others without making enormous changes,” Zappa said. “It’s not as though somebody took a drawing of the site on a chalkboard and erased it completely.”
Catfish Run, which flows through a pipe beneath the fairgrounds and a culvert between the track and an access road, could be restored to natural banks with vegetation. The Nature Center, located in the middle of “an island of asphalt,” could be moved to a fairground building closer to the stream and the head of several park trails, Zappa said.
Vehicular traffic through and around the site could be rearranged so that it is less redundant and confusing, she said.
Though county officials don’t have specific plans for the fairground buildings, many people who spoke during a public hearing in September want the county to rent more buildings to community groups.
“The best thing would be to remodel the buildings on top of the hill,” said Joseph Hedderman, chief instructor at Allegheny County Budo-Kai, a martial arts school that has occupied one of the buildings since the 1980s. “All of these little buildings could be signed over to groups and remodeled like ours.”
During the past two months, teams from Homestead-based GAI Consultants gathered ideas from people about what they’d like the county to do with the fairgrounds and parts of the surrounding park. Online surveys are available at alleghenycounty.us/parks/SPFairgrounds.
The meeting will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Buffalo Inn, off Buffalo Drive near the intersection of Brownsville Road and Corrigan Drive.
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‘Isaly’s Building’ in Irwin Saved by Main Street Deli
Wednesday, November 24, 2010By Norm VargoLou Botti is realizing a childhood dream.
“I used to love it as a kid when my family went to shop in Irwin. I knew we would end up at Isaly’s for an ice cream,” recalled the North Huntingdon contractor.
“I would think to myself: Someday I’d like to own an Isaly’s.”
It’s not an iconic Isaly’s, Mr. Botti, 41, now owns. It’s the landmark Hamilton Building along Main Street, which many in town still call “Isaly’s.” For 43 years it housed the immensely popular dairy store, deli and bakery until it closed in 2004.
Earlier this month, Mr. Botti opened the Main Street Deli and Bakery in that space. The store offers cold deli sandwiches, pies, assorted pastries baked on the premises, milk, bread, buns, lunch meats, cheese and ice cream, the Hershey brand.
Mr. Botti plans to add a full kitchen later.
The interior was renovated to give the deli a retro look. A meat slicer left from the old Isaly’s sits on the back shelf.
The familiar white slate marquee sign with the black script lsaly’s logo remains.
“The sign is not intended to mislead people. I don’t own an Isaly’s, I don’t sell Isaly’s products,” Mr. Botti said. “It’s that the sign has a historical significance in Irwin’s downtown. The dairy store-deli was a destination for folks. Old-timers still call it “Isaly’s.”
“Lots of memories are in there, including mine,” Mr. Botti said.
“Customers keep bringing in mementos and souvenirs from the old Isaly’s. They want to share their treasures with me. It’s unbelievable,” he said.
A little history:
The late Art Lewis founded a dairy store in Irwin 65 years ago. The business outgrew its building.
When the Hamilton Building in the heart of downtown became available, he bought it.
About that time, Isaly’s began franchising. Mr. Lewis recognized the potential for a dairy store-deli in Irwin. He negotiated a franchise that would become so popular that he opened another Isaly’s in the Norwin Shopping Center in North Huntingdon.
Bakery goods were baked in the Irwin Isaly’s daily and delivered to the other store. Mr. Lewis retired in 1986 and sold that business to concentrate on the Irwin store.
Potential deals to purchase the three-story brick Isaly’s Building and the delicatessen, which was being operated by family members, fell through.
The structure deteriorated. Borough officials were considering condemnation.
“What council didn’t want to do was to tear down that landmark building and leave a vacant lot right in the middle of the downtown business district,” said Councilwoman Danyce Neal.
“We all were hoping somebody would buy it and restore,” Ms. Neal said.
Urged by Donn Henderson, the Irwin Main Street manager, Mr. Botti purchased the building in 2007.
He immediately corrected a multitude of building code violations to make the structure sound.
Then he renovated four apartments on the upper floors. All were rented before completion.
“I really was interested in those apartments,” said Mr. Botti, who estimated he “has put about $300,000” into the building.
“My initial plan was to find somebody to put in a deli,” he continued. “Three investors looked at it, but no deal materialized.
“I figured three years was long enough to wait. I decided to open one.”
Mr. Henderson said he hoped the deli would attract investors to invest in other businesses in the community.
For details, call 724-515-5525.
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Public Meeting for South Park Future Planning
