Category Archive: Preservation News
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Downtown’s Union Trust building gets major tenant
Tuesday, August 05, 2008 -
Union Trust gets first major tenant
By Sam Spatter
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, August 5, 2008Downtown’s Union Trust Building on Monday obtained its first major lease since it was purchased by new ownership — with Siemens Engineering signing a 10-year lease to occupy three to six floors in the landmark building.
Siemens Engineering, a unit of Siemens AG, is consolidating its local environmental engineering operations in the building, said Jeremy Kronman, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis, who headed a team that represented the owner, MIKA Realty Group of Los Angeles.
“We will relocate about 500 Siemens people from 441 Smithfield St. and Oxford Centre, both Downtown, along with personnel in the Crane Building in the Strip District, starting in October and complete it during November, and add several hundred more jobs as we grow,” said Siemens Engineering President Tony DoVale.
In February, Siemens received $2.95 million in state aid in return for a pledge to create 550 jobs within three years. It said at that time that a $5 million expansion project could triple its local operations.
Kronman said the office space leased by Siemens could accommodate up to 1,200 workers.
The 600,000-square-foot building, undergoing a major renovation, was purchased by MIKA Realty Group in February for $24.1 million and was 99 percent vacant. It formerly had been occupied by Mellon Bank as an operations center.
“This tenant is a natural fit with the nature of this development: Siemens’ focus on environmental engineering directly matches our vision of a LEED-rated corporate facility of the highest quality,” said Michael Kamen, principal of MIKA Realty Group, and his investment partner, Jerry Fox, in a statement.
As part of the upgrading of the 11-story building, MIKA has placed a $250,000 scuptured tree in the lobby as “an indication of the rebirth of the building.”
Other improvements that are part of the remodeling include a new lobby, new restrooms, installation of a lower-level parking facility, upgrades to conference facilities and 325-seat theater/auditorium, new exterior lighting, new storefronts and exterior cleaning.
Kronman indicated that other leases may be forthcoming for the building but declined to identify the companies.
Formerly known as Wheelabrator Air Pollution Control Inc., Siemens is a custom manufacturer of air pollution control equipment and systems for industrial and utility applications.
Representing Siemens were Gerry Dudley, Kurt Mrazik, Paul Novello and Jeff Babikian of CBRE’s Corporate Services Group.
Sam Spatter can be reached at sspatter@tribweb.comor 412-320-7843.
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Pittsburgh’s Union Trust building finally gets major tenant
by Ben Semmes
Pittsburgh Business Times
August 4, 2008The Union Trust Building in Downtown Pittsburgh has secured a major office tenant at last.
Siemens Power Generation Inc. will consolidate about 500 local employees on three floors at the nearly 600,000-square-foot, 11-story structure — formerly known as Two Mellon Center. It has been mostly vacant since Mellon Financial Corp. pulled its employees out of the property in May 2006.
The 185,000-square-foot lease, which puts a significant dent in one of Pittsburgh’s largest office vacancies, will run for 10 years at the 501 Grant St. building, according to the Pittsburgh office of CB Richard Ellis Inc., which represented both the building’s owner and Siemens in the deal.
Orlando, Fla.-based Siemens Power Generation’s local operations, known collectively as Siemens Environmental Systems and Services, have employees at three Pittsburgh sites: 441 Smithfield St., Downtown; One Oxford Centre, at 301 Grant St., also Downtown; and 40 24th St., in the Strip District.
Earlier this year the state pledged $2.95 million in grants and tax credits to Downtown Pittsburgh-based Wheelabrator Air Pollution Control Inc., the division of Siemens Power Generation based at 441 Smithfield St., to assist with a $5 million expansion. The company agreed to hire at least 550 employees over three years as part of the expansion.
The company will begin moving into the Union Trust Building later this year with full occupancy set for the fourth quarter of 2008.
A Siemens spokesperson was not immediately available for comment Monday.
Simultaneously, the building’s new owners — California investors led by Los Angeles-based Mika Realty — are conducting an extensive renovation of the property with plans for LEED certification, a new lobby and installation of a lower level parking facility.
Serving as an operations center for Mellon Bank since the mid-1980s, the Union Trust Building was originally constructed between 1915 and 1917 by steel magnate Henry Clay Frick as a shopping arcade.
bsemmes@bizjournals.com | (412) 208-3829
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Repairs under way on Schenley fountain
By The Tribune-Review
Wednesday, July 30, 2008Restoration has begun on a landmark fountain in Schenley Plaza, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy said Tuesday.
The fountain sculpture, titled “A Song to Nature,” created by Victor David Brenner, was dedicated 90 years ago to acknowledge Mary Schenley’s gift and later sale of land to become Schenley Park.
Brenner is perhaps best known as the designer of the Lincoln penny. The figures on his bronze fountain — his first large-scale public project — are an allegorical depiction of culture taming nature.
Conservancy president and CEO Meg Cheever said an inspection of the fountain found corrosion, staining and cracks. Its plumbing stopped functioning in spring.
The restoration, expected to be completed by October, will include repairs, cleaning, plumbing, paving and landscaping. A gift from The Benter Foundation will provide lighting for the fountain and plaza.
In addition to The Benter Foundation, money for the restoration is coming from the Allegheny Regional Asset District, the Howard E. and Nell E. Miller Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, The H. Glenn Sample Jr. MD Memorial Fund through the PNC Charitable Trust Grant Review Committee, and the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation.
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Face-lift planned for Hill landmark
By Bonnie Pfister
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, July 29, 2008The Hill District’s long-vacant New Granada Theater turned 80 in March and looks every minute of it.Its facade of green, gold and blue is crumbling. Its fourth floor and parts of its roof have collapsed. Front entrances are bricked up and painted over.
The Hill Community Development Corp., which purchased 80-year-old New Granada Theater in 1995, expects to receive a $500,000 grant from the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to rehabilitate the building. It will be paired with a $250,000 grant received from The Heinz Endowments in May 2007. - Andrew Russell/Tribune Review
Light bulbs and tangled wires hang loose from the now-skeletal marquees at Centre Avenue and Devilliers Street, which once proclaimed the appearance of such jazz legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie.
The Hill Community Development Corp., which purchased the building in 1995, expects to receive a $500,000 grant from the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. It will be paired with a $250,000 grant received from The Heinz Endowments in May 2007.
Development corporation chair Marimba Milliones said initial preservation work will begin later this year, although another estimated $1.25 million to complete stabilization is needed.”We need to secure the roof, and work on bracing the left side of the structure,” Milliones said. Community input — and more fundraising — would precede redevelopment of the building.
“Given its history, we’d like to see . . . a percentage of that space used to celebrate the cultural legacy of the Hill District,” Milliones said. “But it’s a huge building. Our opportunity for redevelopment is very versatile.”
Designed by black architect Louis A.S. Bellinger, the building was originally a lodge for the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal order of black construction workers, according to the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. A second-floor ballroom began hosting prominent black musicians, with Duke Ellington crowned the “King of Jazz” in a 1932 concert, part of a pioneering national radio broadcast.
In 1938, it became a commercial theater, renamed the New Granada with a polychromatic Art Moderne facade — the more horizontal-oriented successor to Art Deco, known for its curved walls and canopies.
It was designated a city historic landmark in 2004, nominated by the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh. With two grocers vying to build a supermarket nearby, association CEO Dan Holland said the neighborhood could become increasingly viable for would-be New Granada investors.
“It’s probably the most important building in the Hill District — partly due to location, but also as a symbol,” Holland said. “It would be symbolic for the Hill’s renaissance to see that building restored.”
Bonnie Pfister can be reached at bpfister@tribweb.comor 412-320-7886.
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East Liberty High-Rise Reduced To Rubble
Courtesy of KDKA
(Click play button to view video)
A local high rise has now been reduced to a pile of rubble.
The Auburn Terrace high rise in East Liberty was imploded around 9:30 a.m.
The building was located in the 6200 block of Auburn Street.
The Housing Authority received a grant from the federal government to pay for the project.
It is trying to get rid of outdated buildings and put residents in better housing.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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Marker sought for Oakmont Civil War encampment
By Rossilynne Skena
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Friday, July 25, 2008There’s not even a hint that a Civil War encampment once occupied some land between the Allegheny River and the railroad tracks on the northern end of town.Members of the Oakmont Historical Society hope that will change.The sound of rushing vehicles that pass the area is a far cry from the noise that must have erupted in 1861 when thousands of soldiers passed through what was a Union Army training camp.
The encampment was located on the flats just upriver from the Hulton Bridge. Allegheny Avenue and West Woodland Avenue now run through the area, north of Hulton Road.
There are no artifacts or markers to suggest the tract’s historic past.But several features made it a good spot for training: the relatively large flat tract — not very common in hilly Western Pennsylvania; the railroad tracks, which allowed trains to transport soldiers and supplies; and the Allegheny River, another source of transportation and where soldiers washed their clothes.
The historical society, which was formed in January, has been working to get a Pennsylvania Historical Marker placed in the area. The markers, often placed along roadsides, are blue metal signs with yellow writing that promote that state’s history.
Historical Society President Gary Rogers said the group will apply for a marker by the January deadline. After that, it could take a year to 18 months to learn if it’s approved, said Rogers, an Oakmont native who lives in Plum.
A marker would cost about $1,800, according to Matt Provenza, the society’s vice president. If approved, the state would pay for no more than half of the cost, and the organization would need to provide the remaining funds.
The training encampment opened May 29, 1861, and closed nine months later, Rogers said. It was never the site of battle.
About 4,500 soldiers passed through the encampment, according to Rogers.
Oakmont, in general, was chosen for the training site because of the area’s accessibility via river, train and the Pennsylvania Canal, which, in this area, followed the Allegheny River.
Rogers said people had been trying to locate the camp, but they had differing opinions on where it was.
He searched through newspaper microfilm at the Carnegie Library in Oakland and found that the Pittsburgh Dispatch reported frequently about the camp.
While searching in the microfilm about 10 years ago, he discovered references to the encampment’s location.
During its brief heyday, it had parade grounds and a hospital barracks.
“It was quite extensive for the time it was there,” Rogers said.
The encampment sometimes served as a tourist attraction. People came on trains to watch the soldiers march on the parade grounds, Rogers said.
The area maintained its beauty during the encampent.
“There were a lot of comments and things written about the beauty of the camp,” Rogers said, “being next to the river, and the greenery.”
Rogers said he has not found photos, paintings or sketches of the encampment, but he has heard interesting tales.
There’s a story that the soldiers captured a Confederate spy at the encampment, Rogers said. The spy had bottles of arsenic that he intended to put into the camp’s wells but he couldn’t find any.
The encampment was fed with spring water, not well water. The soldiers caught him and sent him away.
Rogers said that during the encampment’s nine months of use, no one died from illness.
After its closing, the encampment went up for auction.
Rossilynne Skena can be reached atrskena@tribweb.com or 724-226-4681.
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PNC Announces Low Income Neighborhood Investment
Video courtesy of KDKA Pittsburgh