Category Archive: Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Bedford golf course builds on famed architects’ designs
By Rick Starr
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, September 30, 2007The Bedford Springs Resort Old Course has been rejuvenated.
The classic 18-hole golf course re-opened in July as part of a $120 million renovation of the links and the 216-room resort and spa by Bedford Resort Partners.“With four sets of tees on every hole, the course will challenge players of every skill level,” says golf pro Ron Leporati.
Golf at Bedford Springs goes back more than 100 years, so the first obstacle to restoring the layout was deciding which era to revisit:
= Spencer Oldham designed the original 18-hole course in 1895, complete with geometric bunkers.
= A.W. Tillinghast added a classic par-3 hole in 1912 that he named “Tiny Tim,” while taking the course to nine holes.
= Donald Ross expanded the course to 18 holes in 1923, adding several holes along Shober’s Run, one of the state’s Gold Medal trout streams.
The resort preserved the designs of all three famed architects, according to restoration specialist Ron Forse, of Forse Design of Hopwood.
“While we tried to maintain the visual character and the playing character of each hole from its original design, we also made a lot of changes to make it playable for today,” Forse says.
The course now features a state-of-the-art irrigation system, and Bentgrass fairways, tees and greens.
“We were restoring a significant piece of Pennsylvania history at Bedford Springs, at least as far as golf is concerned,” he says. “We’re very cognizant of the responsibility.
“It’s a balancing act to maintain as much of the design intent of the old hole, but still make it play as part of a resort course today.”
Because of modern driver technology, which ushered in the era of 300-yard drives, Forse moved several tees to bring hazards back into play.
Other changes, such as lowering the degree of slope on greens, were forced by advances in turf management and equipment.
“But we felt all along that if the course had a modern feel, it would have been a failure,” Forse says.
Forse is particularly proud of the restoration of Tillinghast’s “Tiny Tim,” now the 14th hole. Tillinghast considered the little hole one of his best because it brings a pond, creek, wetlands, mounding and tight bunkering into play.
“There aren’t many par-3s from 1912 left in Pennsylvania,” Forse says.
“Tiny Tim” was almost lost when the property was virtually abandoned in 1986 – just two years after the Department of the Interior designated its hotel and spa as a National Historic Landmark.
Forse had to rebuild two of Ross’ closing holes — using a 1952 photograph — because they had been converted into a driving range.
Forse says he’s constantly impressed with the strategic aspects of holes designed by Oldham, Tillinghast and Ross.
“Playing their designs never gets old, because they built alternate routes to the target,” he says. “They didn’t want golfers to take shots for granted.”
Bedford Springs Resort Old Course
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,795 blue tees, 6,431 white, 5,807 gold, 5,050 red
Greens fees: Resort guest, $105-125; public and tournament, $115-$135; twilight rate (after 3 p.m.), $70-90
Overnight golf packages: Starting at $355 per person, $470 per couple
Tee times: Required
Details: 814-623-8100 or www.bedfordspringsresort.com
Rick Starr can be reached at rstarr@tribweb.com or 724-226-4691.
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Bedford Springs Resort returns to its roots
By William Loeffler
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, September 30, 2007Even the U.S. presidents who stayed here didn’t have it this good.
During its 200-year history, the Bedford Springs Resort has played host to Presidents James K. Polk, William Taft and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Not to mention author Nathaniel Hawthorne, manufacturer Henry Ford and nine Supreme Court justices.They were drawn by the resort’s rustic serenity and the reputed medicinal benefits of its seven natural mineral springs. These waters were also known to the Indian tribes in the region’s frontier days, when Bedford was a British stronghold in the French and Indian War, and later, a headache for the fledgling U.S. government during the Whiskey Rebellion.
Today, the Bedford Springs resort rises, reborn, an elegant Greek revival redoubt nestled in the Allegheny Mountains, in Bedford County.
The resort, parts of which date to 1806, reopened July 12 after a $120 million restoration. An easy two-hour drive from Pittsburgh, Bedford Springs pays tribute to its past while providing modern spa service, fine dining and a range of outdoor activities on its 2,200 acres, including 25 miles of trails, a golf course and a gold-medal trout stream.
Exit the turnpike and drive four miles through the antique shops and apothecaries of Bedford. Outside of town, the mountains press against the road. Round a curve, past beds of blooming black-eyed Susans, swoop down a small hill, and — wham — the panorama spreads out before you. Strung across the landscape is a columned palace with manicured lawns and a circular drive blooming with formal gardens. It’s easy to see why the place served as the summer white house for U.S. President and Pennsylvania native James Buchanan.
Bedford Springs wears its historical pedigree proudly. Above the front desk hangs a vintage 39-star American flag. Visitors will discover a soothing warren of fireplaces, graceful curving banisters and long hallways carpeted in restful sage green. But modern amenities haven’t been forgotten. Each of the 216 rooms and suites features a 32-inch flat-screen TV, Egyptian bed linens and i-Pod. Wi-fi access is available throughout the resort.
The resort was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1984 before closing two years later. It defied eight attempts to get it up and running again, says Todd Gillespie, director of sales and marketing.
The property was purchased and developed by Bedford Resort Partners, who include the Ferchill Group of Cleveland, Chevron TCI, and the Bedford Springs Company. The resort was restored to its 1905 incarnation.
“It had to be built back to the way that it looked in 1905,” Gillespie says. “There were very specific criteria we had to meet.”
Restoration efforts included removing sediment from the Shobers Run Creek, where guests can fly fish. The golf course was restored to its original design. Workers also removed, cleaned and replaced the original glass window panels of the hotel. Several bear the etchings of brides who were married there.
“When people would get married here, it was traditional to etch their names in the glass to prove that their diamonds were real,” says Cheryl Funk, marketing manager.
One inscription, in a window near the clubby, masculine library, reads “B.T. Warren, August 23, 1892.”
Bedford Springs is planning to revive that tradition for future weddings, Funk says, but will provide an etching pen to forestall embarrassment to a bride who gets stuck with cubic zirconium.
Today, “taking the waters” means surrendering to the luxurious ministrations of the staff at the brand-new Springs Eternal Spa.
First is a plush Terricloth robe and sandals, followed by a shower with ginger black walnut body scrub, one of the spa’s extensive line of personal care products, most made using local botanicals. Sink into a hot tub fed by an eighth spring, which was discovered during the renovations. Then dip into the cold plunge pool. Repeat, then repair to the aroma therapy steam. Don the robe, then wait in the lounge, with its view of the flower gardens, and sip Orchid Oolong tea and munch fruit and nuts. Then it’s time for a massage.
Rates range from $249-$299 per night, based on views, day of week and seasonality. Spa suites start at $309.
The restaurants on the premises include the Crystal Dining room, with the original crystal chandeliers, gilt framed mirrors, wood floors and four hues of blue.
Enjoy an Angus beef filet and a glass of Rodney Strong Cabernet and contemplate the period photos of the resort’s guests from the previous century, taking their ease in boaters and bustles. After dinner, gather at the fire pit on the grounds or sit in one of the vintage rocking chairs on the balcony.
Athletes can run, kayak, hike or rent bikes made by Cannondale, which operates a factory in nearby Bedford and has offices in Europe and Asia. Cannondale has provided cycles to competitors in the Tour de France.
Guest Marsha Miller, concluding her stay the resort, summed up its appeal: “What I really enjoyed about it was that it’s got all this history and tradition, but it’s modern.”
Resort highlights
• The Crystal Dining Room has an exhibition kitchen and rotisserie and a 1,500-bottle wine cellar. It includes the Daniel Webster room, named for one of the resort’s celebrated guests, which is reserved for private dining.
• The Frontier Tavern is in the Stone Inn, which was a stagecoach stopover for travelers. Guests can enjoy trout club sandwiches, billiards, micrwobrewed beer or a cigar from the well-stocked humidor. Artifacts on display include an old wood stove, crockery and a bear trap. After dark, step outside and pass the time by the fire pit, just as guests did 100 years ago.
• The 1796 Room, which features fine dining in an upscale 18th-century ambience, puts a 21st-century twist on American colonial cuisine. Dishes include venison, bison, rabbit, quail, wild boar, game pie and mountain trout.
• The Springs Eternal Spa is a 30,000-square-foot addition to the resort and features wet and dry treatment rooms, a private spa garden, mineral springs, couple’s treatment, aromatheraphy, facials and massage. It also features a boutique shop with a line of personal-care products, many made using local botanicals and minerals.
• Activities include trout fishing in Shobers Run Creek, 25 miles of hiking and biking trails and an indoor fitness facility. The spring-fed indoor pool area has been restored to its original 1905 state, right down to the orchestra pit on the second story, where string quartets used to serenade bathers. The outdoor pool complex includes private cabanas. Resort Rascals, a children’s activity center, will open soon.
• The restored 18-hole golf course, one of the first to be built in America, has old-growth trees. Refreshments will be available at the Half Way House, which will be near the 10th green.
• Banquet catering is available for the 20,000-square-foot conference facility.
Did you know? During World War II, the U.S. Department of State used the Bedford Springs Hotel as a U.S. Naval communications training center until 1945, remodeling hotel facilities, including the convention hall, to accommodate more than 7,000 Navy personnel. In 1943, the posh retreat also housed 200 Japanese diplomats and their families detained after the fall of Germany. Guests of the United States, they later were exchanged for captured American POWs in Asia.
If you go
Where: Bedford Springs Resort, 2138 Business Route 220, Bedford
Details: 814-623-8100William Loeffler can be reached at wloeffler@tribweb.com or 412-320-7986.
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Downtown forum focuses on vacant, abandoned properties
By Justin Vellucci
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, September 25, 2007Where some curse the sight of vacant homes, boarded-up shops and weed-choked yards, Arthur P. Ziegler Jr. sings of opportunity.
On Monday, the president of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation spoke with about 620 elected leaders and development officials who gathered Downtown to help share and expand that vision during a two-day national conference on vacant and abandoned properties.“Vacant properties are a big problem in older cities and we look upon them, often, as a major resource for revitalization,” Ziegler said as he prepared to enter a session at the Omni William Penn Hotel. “We’re here to learn about what other cities are doing and what other solutions they’ve found.”
Participants’ name tags read like a who’s who of America’s post-industrial Rust Belt, with representatives attending from Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit and Youngstown, Ohio, among others. But, each city’s take on dealing with blighted homes, population loss and neighborhood disinvestment seemed to unite them.
“This is really the place where the ‘do-ers’ in different communities can come together,” said Don Chen, executive director of Smart Growth America.
“If there’s one message, the one message is: ‘No one can solve this problem on their own,’ ” said Joseph Schilling, a Virginia Tech professor who served on the conference’s executive committee.But what, specifically, could Pittsburgh officials glean from the National Vacant Properties Campaign’s first national conference?
Chen and Schilling said they could learn to preserve neighborhoods and aging infrastructure by following the successful steps Philadelphia took in its Neighborhood Transformation Initiative.
Pittsburghers also could benefit, they said, from studying Youngstown, which aggressively tackled abandoned properties through its Youngstown 2010 plan. Or the city could look closely at Richmond, Va., which helped rebuild six targeted communities through its Neighborhoods In Bloom program.
Greater Pittsburgh has plenty to teach leaders from other communities, participants said. Several talked about development of former industrial and waterfront sites, while Chen praised Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s buyback of more than 11,000 tax liens as “very exciting.” Ravenstahl helped kick off the event with a welcome speech.
The excitement in Pittsburgh and its recent designation as “America’s Most Livable City” were actually part of the reason the conference came to town, said Jennifer Leonard, director of the National Vacant Properties Campaign.
“It’s a good showplace for cities similar to it,” Leonard said. “It’s a city with problems. But it’s also a city looking for solutions.”
Justin Vellucci can be reached at jvellucci@tribweb.com or 412-320-7847.
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Spinoff targets urban revitalization
By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, September 18, 2007The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation is forming a new nonprofit corporation to expand its activities in neighborhood and urban revitalization.
Mark Bibro, chairman of the South Side-based preservationist organization, announced Monday the foundation had hired Howard B. Slaughter Jr., who recently left his job as director of Fannie Mae’s Pittsburgh Community Business Center, as the unit’s CEO.The new nonprofit — Landmarks Community Capital Inc. — will provide equity and debt financing for housing and economic development in Western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia, said Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., the foundation’s president.
“This broadens the tools with which we can work,” said Ziegler, who also will serve as the new corporation’s president. “It enables us to tap the capital markets on a broader basis, and we can do more things within the very broad interpretation under which we operate for historic preservation.”
Cities and towns throughout Western Pennsylvania are historic, but restoring historic buildings isn’t the only way they can be revitalized, Ziegler said.
“You need new construction, you need new businesses on Main Street, or you may need new housing or new forms of green energy,” he said.
The idea of the new corporation is to raise funds through grants, loans and investments that the foundation can use for grants, loans and investments in such projects. Roles it can play include developer, co-developer or lender to community-development corporations and others that undertake such work.
It also hopes to contract with government and private agencies to define such projects and conduct feasibility studies for them, according to a news release. Goals include expanding regional employment, promoting energy conservation and assisting in rural and farm economic development.
“There is an opportunity in the market to provide appropriate financing for existing and new developments independently and in collaboration with other financial intermediaries and developers,” said Slaughter, 49. His appointment is effective Oct. 15.
Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.
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Point Park hall will get historic designation
By The Tribune-Review
Tuesday, September 18, 2007Point Park University’s Lawrence Hall will be designated a historic landmark Thursday by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.
The building has been owned by Point Park since 1967 and underwent a major renovation in 2005.Lawrence Hall, on Wood Street, Downtown, originally was built as the Keystone Athletic Club in 1928 and later became the 21-story Sherwyn Hotel.
The historic landmark plaque will be unveiled at 10 a.m. at the main entrance to the hall.
The foundation began its program of identifying architecturally significant structures and landscapes in 1968.
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North Side gets behind Commons cause
By Bonnie Pfister
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, September 14, 2007The North Side’s Allegheny Commons — designated as public grazing lands a year before George Washington became the nation’s first president — today celebrates a small but significant first step in a proposed $16 million revitalization guided by a master plan.
A four-acre parcel at the southwest corner of East Ohio Street and Cedar Avenue has undergone $400,000 of upgrades, part of a pilot project demonstrating improvements that could come for the 80-acre West Park.
“This is a way for us to take a section of the park and do a whole lot of improvements and see how it looks,” said Christina Schmidlapp, part-time development director of the project since 2004, working from the offices of the Northside Leadership Conference.
“It will be a living advertisement of what we want to do, and for us to see if it makes sense for us to make a park like they did in the 19th century.”
Located a quarter-mile from the Allegheny River across from Downtown, the green space was designated as public grazing lands, or commons, surrounding the borough of Allegheny in 1788, according to the Allegheny Commons Steering Committee. It was beautified as a park for Allegheny City in 1868, annexed to Pittsburgh 40 years later and incorporated into the city’s park system. Allegheny Commons is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and is a city historic district.
Community groups in 1999 convened a public meeting to discuss upgrading the park, and by 2002 other stakeholders — including Allegheny General Hospital, the Aviary and the Children’s Museum — helped develop a master plan. Local businesses, including insurance company Babb Inc., the Steelers and Citizens Bank, helped to fund the salary of Schmidlapp, who will move into a money-raising mode. Alida Baker will become project director.
Money for the improvement has come from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and The Buhl Foundation, and the city Public Works Department, which provided $200,000 and labor to rebuild walking paths and upgrade lighting. The planting of 70 trees and other landscape care in the park was paid for by the Laurel Foundation, the Allegheny Foundation and the Garden Club of Allegheny County.
Walking through the park on a brilliant September afternoon, Tonia Davis said Thursday she has noticed the improvement in the five years since she moved to East Allegheny Commons. The park is better maintained and has become a gathering spot for children’s parties.
“It’s a beautiful place,” said Davis, a home health worker and part-time Wendy’s restaurant staffer. “When I moved here, it was nothing but drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs. I didn’t want to come out of my house. I’m proud to live here now.”
A ceremony is scheduled in the park at 4 p.m. today. The master plan can be found at www.pittsburghnorthside.com.
Bonnie Pfister can be reached at bpfister@tribweb.com or 412-320-7886.
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New apartments will be geared to middle income
By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 13, 2007The first newly built Downtown apartments with rents geared toward middle-income people will be in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Cultural District, where city planners hope to attract artists and others living on a budget.
Trek Development will put 60 apartments in the Century Building on Seventh Street with prices for studio, and one- and two-bedroom apartments from $450 to $1,250 a month, said Trek CEO William Gatti, who joined Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato to announce plans Wednesday for the 100-year-old building.
“They’ll be the most affordable new units that are coming available Downtown,” said Patricia Burk, vice president of housing and economic development for the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.
New housing below market price is uncommon Downtown, which counts most of its lower rents in aging high-rise mammoths such as the Mid-Town Towers and The Roosevelt.
Ravenstahl said residential development Downtown has focused on building pricey lofts and condos, but people with middle incomes should be able to live in the city’s center, as well.
“Sure, we want individuals who can purchase the million-dollar condos, but we need to have that mix,” Ravenstahl said. “We need to have that diversity of young and old, rich and middle-income people.”
High-end housing Downtown has demonstrated some success. For example, the owners of Piatt Place in the former Lazarus/Macy’s Building, have sold 35 percent of the building’s 65 condos at prices ranging from $350,000 to $1 million.
Onorato said as more people move in, more businesses and amenities will come to Downtown.
“This is the place in the next decade or two where activity is going to be going,” Onorato said. “This truly is the center of southwest Pennsylvania.”
Gatti said the $16 million in planned renovations would not have been possible without $515,155 in affordable housing tax credits that the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency approved Tuesday. The rents aren’t high enough to justify the debt Trek would accrue.
Gatti said the building will target “the style-conscious urban dweller on a budget.”
Trek will receive $3.2 million from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, $2.3 million from the Urban Redevelopment Authority, $2.3 million in historic tax credits, $2.3 million from the private Strategic Investment Fund and $750,000 from Allegheny County Economic Development.
That makes about $11.4 million in public and private assistance.
“Affordable housing options for artists and workers in the Cultural District and Downtown in general play an important role in the ongoing growth of the district as a residential neighborhood,” said Pittsburgh Cultural Trust President Kevin McMahon.
The building will have nine studios, 12 two-bedroom apartments and 39 one-bedroom apartments. Construction is expected to begin in spring.
Tenants will be able to move in by early 2009, Gatti said.
Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.com or 412-765-2312.
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A historic moment for Highland Park
By Bill Zlatos
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 12, 2007Highland Park, the East End neighborhood known for its stained glass and woodwork crafted by immigrant artisans, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“It’s a way to market the neighborhood, to attract people interested in historic buildings and to encourage people to maintain those buildings,” said Mike Eversmeyer, a Highland Park resident and architect.Eversmeyer on Tuesday confirmed the neighborhood’s listing as the Highland Park Residential Historic District. The Highland Park Community Development Corp. hired him to submit the nomination to the State Historic Preservation Board and the National Register of Historic Places.
The neighborhood joins 18 other districts in the city and sites in Aspinwall, Harrison, Homestead, Munhall, Plum, Ross, Thornburg and West Mifflin on the National Register.
“The neighborhood has long been respected by Pittsburgh residents and has a feeling as a special place when you walk those streets lined with houses of turn-of-the-century style,” said Arthur Ziegler, president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.
He said residents of Highland Park are not the only ones who should applaud its status.The designation helps businesses obtain federal money and prevents federal money from being used to tear down buildings without an extensive review.
Eversmeyer said the listing should spur investment, especially in the Bryant Street commercial district and in its southwest corner, an area plagued by apartment buildings owned by absentee landlords.
He said homeowners could benefit, too, if the state Legislature provides tax incentives for people in residential historic districts.
“If you’re trying to sell investors on coming into a neighborhood, then having a tax credit as a carrot makes a lot of sense,” he said.
The neighborhood is a blend of Victorian, Tudor and Arts and Crafts homes with some modern-style houses. It is home to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, one of the city’s larger parks and two reservoirs.
Kelly Meade, a Highland Park resident for 30 years, has worked as a real estate agent for Howard Hanna, specializing in that neighborhood for 25 years. She said the historic designation should give the neighborhood’s housing market a boost.
“For those who have a special interest in a historic home, it certainly will give more credence to the neighborhood,” she said.
Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com or 412-320-7828.