Category Archive: Preservation News
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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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Tax help driving big rehab projects
Historical remakes use federal credits to raise moneyTuesday, September 18, 2007
By Marylynne Pitz,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday’s grand opening of Bedford Springs Resort marks a milestone in its $120 million rehabilitation, capping more than two decades of monumental efforts to revive the Bedford County mountain retreat.It also represents one of the largest projects in Pennsylvania to take advantage of a federal tax credit program that has spurred nearly $300 million of investment in Pittsburgh the past decade.
Examples include Downtown’s Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, Heinz Lofts on the North Side and the Armstrong Cork Factory, a $60 million project with three luxury apartment buildings that opened in May in the Strip District.
More recently, an 18-month renovation that cost upwards of $15 million transformed the former Keystone Grocery warehouse and Try Street Terminal into Shannon Hall, a nine-story Downtown building with 140 apartments that opened in July for Art Institute of Pittsburgh students.
And just last week, Trek Development announced plans to convert Downtown’s Century Building on Seventh Street into affordable apartments, aided by $2.3 million in federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.
Created three decades ago by Congress to spur preservation, the credits help developers clear financial hurdles that accompany the renovation of older structures, which cost more to rehabilitate than building anew. The credits allow lenders, banks and corporations to invest in the projects, while using the credits to reduce their tax liabilities dollar for dollar.
The developer first must qualify for the tax credits, which they then sell to the investors. The process requires developers to submit a detailed application outlining a project’s scope, and the building must be on the National Register of Historic Places to qualify for the full 20 percent credit.
The buyer of the credit “virtually owns the building. They are not just buying the tax credit. They are entering a partnership and … sharing in the profits,” said Jill Paskoff, a certified public accountant with the Reznick Group in Baltimore.
The community benefits from the rehabilitation and reuse of little-used and abandoned properties that are added back to the tax rolls. Since 1978, Allegheny County alone has seen 431 such projects use the credits to spur investments totaling $487.7 million, said Bonnie Wilkinson Mark, a historical architect with Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Historic Preservation.
Francisco Escalante, director of operations for the local development company No Wall Productions, said his firm has used historic tax credits on three Downtown-area projects, including the recently renovated 930 Penn Ave., a six-story building that has 20 apartments, a Subway sandwich shop on the first floor and the restaurant Seviche.
“Without having access to the historic credit, our renovations … would not have been possible,” Mr. Escalante said, adding that No Wall Productions’ partner in the deal was Rugby Realty, which owns the Frick Building and Gulf Tower.
No Wall Productions also obtained credits for its renovation of 905 Liberty Ave., where it created a space called Liberty Lofts in partnership with the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority. And it used the credits to finance renovation of the Bruno Building, which has seven residential and commercial lofts at 945 Penn Ave.
All three buildings are contributing structures to the Penn-Liberty National Register Historic District.
The Bedford Springs Resort project had six investors who put up $10 million of their own money and qualified the project for a $23 million rehabilitation tax credit, which was sold to oil giant Chevron.
The proceeds helped fund the renovations, said Timm Judson, chief investment officer for The Ferchill Group of Cleveland, a member of the investor group, Bedford Resort Partners Ltd. Historic tax credits aren’t the only vehicle developers turn to when renovating old properties. Often part and parcel with the use of credits are agreements by the developer with preservation groups to maintain the building’s historic character.
On the surface, such restrictions may sound like a deterrent to financing. But in effect, by preventing modifications that could ruin the building’s historic character, they ensure that the building will retain its integrity and even increase in value.
In practice, these easements allow the preservationists, often a group like the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, to control changes that are made to the facade or the site of the building, said Martha W. Jordan, a Duquesne University law professor who teaches courses on federal income tax.
Professor Jordan — who also serves on the board of Landmarks, the city’s largest preservation group — said the foundation has an easement on the facade of Bedford Springs Resort as well as its golf course.
“They can’t change the golf course without permission of Landmarks. They can’t make changes to the facade of Bedford Springs,” she said.
Jack Miller, director of planned giving at Landmarks, said the nonprofit has more than 30 restrictive easements or covenants on properties primarily in Western Pennsylvania. The best known of these include the Heinz Lofts on the North Side, the Armstrong Cork Factory and the Bedford Springs project.
John Panno, tax counsel at Sherwin-Williams in Cleveland, likes the use of historic tax credits and facade easements not only because they benefit his company, but because they are helping beautify his hometown. He grew up in McKees Rocks.
“I love seeing what’s happening,” he said. “This is about preserving history and reviving communities.”
First published on September 18, 2007 at 12:00 am
Marylynne Pitz can be reached at mpitz@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1648. -
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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Tax credits lower costs of living Downtown
Thursday, September 13, 2007
By Mark Belko,
Pittsburgh Post-GazettePeople who want to live Downtown but can’t afford the expensive condominiums or steep rents that now dominate the market finally may have an option.
It’s a 100-year-old building on Seventh Street in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Cultural District.
A plan to convert the 12-story Century Building into affordable apartments cleared a key hurdle this week when the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency awarded $515,155 in federal tax credits for the project.
The approval, announced at a news conference yesterday, will enable Trek Development Group to press ahead with the construction of 60 upper-floor apartments, including single-room studios and one- and two-bedroom lofts.
Rents will range from $550 to $1,150 a month, depending on income level, in a Downtown market where studio rents currently are $868 to $909 a month and two bedrooms go for $1,035 to $2,002 a month, based on whether there’s one or two bathrooms.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said the $16 million Century Building project has been a priority for him since he got into office a year ago because of its potential to attract a broader mix of people into the Downtown residential scene.
“Downtown Pittsburgh is on its way back. It’s revitalizing, and it’s because of projects like this that we’re going to be able to look at a significantly different Downtown, in my opinion, in the years to come,” he said.
Until now the residential surge Downtown has been fueled in large part by luxury condominiums with price tags starting at roughly $230,000. Many units are selling for $300,000 or more, with a few topping $1 million.
Apartment rents at the Encore on 7th high-rise a few doors down from the Century Building are $1,400 to $3,275 a month.
While housing has helped to boost the fortunes of the Downtown district, it has been out of the reach of many people because of the price.
At the same time, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership research has found a “tremendous demand” for a middle range that includes young professional housing and work-force housing, said Patty Burk, vice president of housing and economic development.
“Delivering this building will be the first step in meeting that demand and helping Downtown be for everyone,” she said.
Part of the problem in providing more affordable housing in downtowns, here and elsewhere, is the high cost of construction, which leads developers to focus on the high end to turn a profit. Lower pricing typically requires some form of subsidy.
For example, Washington County-based Millcraft Industries, another developer seeking to bring more affordable housing Downtown, sought federal historic tax credits to help make the numbers work. It is converting part of the old G.C. Murphy store into 46 loft apartments, with rents to range from about $775 for a 620-square-foot studio to $1,875 for a 1,500-square-foot penthouse.
William J. Gatti Jr., president of Trek Development Group, said the $515,155 in affordable tax credits was “vital” to the conversion of the upper floors of the Century Building into housing. He said the project could not have gone forward without them.
“The price point that we’re attempting to make units available for would not be enough to amortize the debt necessary to develop the building and to carry the cost. So we absolutely need the tax credits to make it work,” he said.
Trek plans to target young professionals, artists and middle-income renters. It plans to offer 12 single-room studios, 12 two-bedroom units and 36 one-bedroom units.
“It is fitting that exactly 100 years after its original construction we are announcing the rebirth of the Century Building as Downtown Pittsburgh’s first truly affordable residential loft community,” Mr. Gatti said.
Trek intends to pursue an environmentally friendly LEED certification for the building, which also will include a green roof and geothermal heating and cooling. There also will be a roof deck with city and Allegheny River views, an equipped exercise room, a community club room and a business center.
Apartment amenities include garbage disposals, dishwashers, and washer and dryer hook-ups.
Besides the PHFA tax credits, project funding includes nearly $3.2 million from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, $2.3 million in loans from the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, $2.3 million in historic tax credits, $2.3 million in loans from the Strategic Investment Fund and $750,000 in loans from the county’s economic development department.
Trek already has been doing preliminary demolition work within the building. Construction should be in full bloom next year, with apartments ready for occupancy in early 2009.
The Century Building conversion is considered another key addition to the thriving Cultural District. It’s expected to complement the Cultural Trust’s half-billion-dollar RiverParc project, the first phase of which involves the construction of some 700 units of housing on the Allegheny River at Eighth Street, at a cost of $90 million.
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said Downtown will be “the place for the next decade or two where activity” will be growing. He said the county is committed to making sure the Golden Triangle, as the hub of the region, continues to move forward.
“We’re on a roll. You can easily fall off that roll if you don’t pay attention to what we have here and the assets that we have. So Downtown Pittsburgh’s going to remain a focus for the next several years for all of us involved here,” he said.
First published on September 13, 2007 at 12:00 am
Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. -
Allegheny County Designates PHLF to Spearhead Main Street’s Program
Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato announced at a press conference in Swissvale yesterday the initiation of a large-scale Allegheny County Main Streets program. Four pilot communities will be involved: Swissvale, Elizabeth, Tarentum, and Stowe. Landmarks has been designated to operate the program in conjunction with the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development.
Landmarks has selected Town Center Associates of Beaver County to serve as sub-consultant with responsibility for communications with local officials and property and business owners, development of a website and a newsletter, and conduct demographic research.
Landmarks will analyze the historic buildings, prepare recommendations for restoration, develop a real estate strategy for improving retail offerings, conduct market research, assist the County with major facade grant and low-interest loan programs, all designed to help revitalize these Main Street communities.
Funding is coming from Allegheny County and private foundations in Pittsburgh.
Landmarks will field a team of staff members with a variety of experience that will be useful for a comprehensive program, including market research, real estate financial analyses, design, graphics, planned giving, construction and real estate development.
Work begins immediately.
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Turtle Creek High School Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
On September 7th, The Director of the National Park Service announced that the Turtle Creek High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 30th, 2007.
Although this federal designation does not place any restrictions on the private property owners, it does however, provide a level of protection to the building if a redevelopment project is proposed involving federal funds. The designation also gives property owners access to special grants and tax credits for the “certified rehabilitation” of income-producing properties.
This prestigious listing is the culmination of over 2 years of work by, The Committee to Save Turtle Creek High School, Turtle Creek Council and Mayors office, the citizens and alumni of Turtle Creek High and the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.
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County to provide aid to business owners outside Pittsburgh
By Justin Vellucci
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 12, 2007When Karen Larson opened Hometowne Tavern in Swissvale five years ago, bankers hardly gave her the time of day.
“We couldn’t get a loan for any part of our business,” said Larson, 52, of Swissvale, who owns the commercial building where the tavern she owns with her husband is based. “When it came to getting our business going, we were really on our own.”
Not anymore.
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato announced a program Tuesday that will provide grants, tax abatements and no-interest loans to business owners looking to revitalize 43 local business districts outside Pittsburgh. The program — dubbed Allegheny Together — will begin in Swissvale, Tarentum, Stowe and Elizabeth Borough, and also help those hit hardest by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
“The big projects get all the attention through the media … and they’re needed and they help,” Onorato told an audience packed into Swissvale’s municipal building yesterday. “But we also wanted to make it clear we understand the benefits of small businesses.”
The county plans to commit $500,000 to $1 million a year to the program, which officials said could provide $1 million to $1.5 million in funding each year. Foundations have pledged an additional $500,000. Officials plan to seek about $500,000 from the state.
“What we all already know is we have 43 community (business districts), all historic,” said Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr., president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. “We look on Main Street as a real estate development, just the way they look at a mall as a real estate development out in the suburbs.”
In those 43 communities, eligible property and business owners can be covered for up to 60 percent of total project costs or $50,000, whichever is less, county officials said. Half the money will come as a grant, and the other half as a zero-interest loan payable over a maximum of seven years.
Some of the work covered by the program includes improving facades and sidewalks, correcting code deficiencies, erecting signs for businesses, and improving accessibility to businesses for the disabled, county officials said. A display showing potential changes to Swissvale’s business district was shown yesterday.
Residents could start to see improvements made through the program in six months to a year, said Dennis Davin, the county’s director of economic development.
Local officials celebrated the program for its specific benefits, as well as the message of support it carries.
“It’s something we’ve been waiting for for years and years,” Swissvale Mayor Deneen Swartzwelder said. “This is an amazing opportunity for us. And we promise not to let you down.”
For more information on the Allegheny Together program, call 412-350-1000.
Justin Vellucci can be reached at jvellucci@tribweb.com or 412-320-7847