Category Archive: Preservation News
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Leaks from soot removal damaging Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning
By Bill Zlatos
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, June 8, 2007The Cathedral of Learning is springing leaks.
The $4.8 million scrubbing and restoration of the 42-story landmark at the University of Pittsburgh has caused leaks throughout the building — including in two nationality rooms.“It’s a wonderful project, and the building is looking great, but it’s causing a lot of chaos inside with the water damage and sand blowing through the windows and the noise level,” said Chris Metil, associate director of the Summer Language Institute and an administrative assistant in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.
Six or seven wastebaskets caught water dripping from the ceiling during an orientation held by the institute on Monday.
“On a lot of different floors, water from the sandblasting is seeping through windows, and it’s coming in through cracks in the mortar,” Metil said. “Some departments have had water dumping in.”
A teaching assistant in the German Department had his books and papers destroyed when water drenched his desk on the 14th floor, she said.“Downstairs, there was water coming into the Czechoslovak Room,” said E. Maxine Bruhns, director of the Nationality Rooms Program. “We caught it in time. No enormous damage done.”
Bruhns was in the Middle East when the accident happened, but said the leak was discovered before it permanently damaged a mural in the Czechoslovak Room.
There was also some water around the Tudor rose corbel — an architectural projection — in the English Room.
“I go day by day and hope for the best,” Bruhns said.
University spokesman John Fedele said there have been minor leaks, but there has been no significant damage. The solution, he said: Using absorbent tube-like devices called socks to suck up the water.
“It’s like throwing a towel down,” he said, “but they’re more absorbent than towels.”
The removal of 70 years of soot is being done by blasting the building with recycled glass powder mixed with water. The Cost Co. in Forest Hills has been working on the project since March.
The company expects to finish by Sept. 28.
Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7828.
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Mon Valley needs newcomers to revitalize, officials say
Thursday, June 07, 2007
By Karamagi Rujumba,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe consensus among Allegheny County and state officials and economic-development types is that if many of the old steel mill towns of the Mon Valley are to make a comeback, the valley not only needs key revitalization dollars, but people like John Potter.
The Valley, they say, needs longtime residents or even newcomers who are willing to buy new and refurbished homes in downtrodden neighborhoods of communities like North Braddock and Braddock.
On a balmy afternoon last Thursday, Mr. Potter, 74, a longtime North Braddock resident, stood under a shade tree as state and county officials lauded him for buying a new house in the municipality.
Mr. Potter, a retired Ford Corp., supervisor, is the first buyer of one of six single-family detached homes being built along North Braddock’s Baldridge Avenue, and financed by a collaboration of state, county, and regional nonprofit agencies.
The six new houses comprise the new development known as the Braddock Field Housing Development in North Braddock.
“Isn’t it great talking over construction noise? I love it. It’s much better than talking over silence,” Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato told a group of residents and officials who gathered at the construction site during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“This is what it means to build new. We want to have an impact. We’re not talking about building just one house. We want to build entire blocks of new housing,” Mr. Onorato told the group of about 30 residents and officials.
The new housing project in North Braddock together with the East Braddock Housing Development in Braddock is the latest revitalization initiative by a consortium of public and nonprofit agencies.
The project, officials said, represents an investment of more than $10 million in high-quality affordable housing for more than 50 families in the area.
The consortium consists of a number of Allegheny County and Pennsylvania state departments, the Mon Valley Initiative, and the Braddock Economic Development Corp.
“Braddock’s Field will spur the revitalization of the neighborhood surrounding Library Street and Jones Avenue. Our goal is to help revive these once prosperous communities through affordable home ownership, elimination of blight, and an increased tax base,” said Laura Zinski, executive director of the Mon Valley Initiative.
The houses in North Braddock are being sold for $70,000, of which $15,000 will be a “soft,” or subsidized, second mortgage, held by Allegheny County, explained Doug Van Haitsma, real estate development director of the Mon Valley Initiative.
In Braddock, the group of officials, which included Brian Hudson, executive director of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, and Pennsylvania Treasurer, Robin Wiessmann, launched the renovation of two historic buildings on Corey Avenue, which will make available 17 new apartments.
The Corey Avenue project will also see the demolition of four dilapidated buildings that will make room for the construction of two duplexes and a single family home.
The houses in Braddock will be sold for $52,000, with the same financing scheme as those in North Braddock, Mr. Van Haitsma said.
“Dan Onorato has not forgotten the Mon Valley and we are so appreciative of that,” said Jesse Brown, president of the Braddock’s council.
“We were waiting for many years to see some things happen here and now we see [the houses] coming,” Mr. Brown said.
(Karamagi Rujumba can be reached at krujumba@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1719 . )
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Firm unveils plans for $40 million E. Liberty restoration, development
Thursday, June 07, 2007
By Diana Nelson Jones,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteA Washington, D.C., firm presented plans yesterday for The Montrose Exchange, a $40 million hotel, office and retail development in the heart of East Liberty, at a meeting with the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Six buildings would be restored and one built on the site of nine existing buildings, said architect Andrew Moss. Montrose Exchange refers to the name of East Liberty’s former telephone exchange.
The Morgan Development Group began securing land four years ago. It has a franchise agreement with the Hotel Indigo, a member of the Intercontinental Group, for a 135-room boutique hotel. It would consist of four buildings in the block bounded by Highland Avenue and Broad, Kirkwood and Whitfield streets, said Nigel Parkinson, the firm’s principal.
The now-dilapidated six-story Kirkwood Hotel would be restored as the historic reference and the tallest building of the multistory hotel, said Mr. Moss. The hotel components would be connected and a new public plaza created in the block.
A large, modern office building beside the Kirkwood Hotel would be completely redesigned and reconfigured. Two buildings across Highland and one across Broad from the hotel would become two stories of retail and office space.
The plan includes restoration of the former American Legion building, the proposed location of a sister restaurant of Latin Concepts in Washington, D.C., said Mr. Parkinson.
He said Pittsburgh’s character and “great institutions” beckoned him to invest here.
“Last year, I was at a class reunion, and one of my professors was from Carnegie Mellon,” he said. “When I told him about my project, his wife’s eyebrows shot up and she said, ‘I’m from Shadyside!’ ”
Jerome Dettore, executive director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, said the plan “is very, very solid, very impressive.”
“These guys have put their money where their mouth is. They have assembled the property, they have agreements in place and are ready to move,” he said.
From the URA, the developer is requesting gap-financing assistance, grants for facade restoration and help with public rights of way, infrastructure and parking areas.
“When there’s simply financing in the way, that’s the best role we can play,” said Mr. Dettore, whose staff often has to assemble sites for developers. “The chances of this [project] happening are extremely good.”
Mr. Moss said local businesses would have opportunities to locate in the retail spaces, which include seven in one building, three in another and an undetermined number in an additional 6,900 square feet.
Besides offices, a ballroom, meeting space or a nightclub are possibilities for a portion of the second floors, said Mr. Moss.
Part of the plan is to redesign an open space on Broad Street as a public green space “with a kiosk, a cafe with outdoor tables and an area for small events,” he said.
A Marriott Spring Hill Suites being planned two blocks up Highland made the agreement easier for the Hotel Indigo, said Mr. Moss. “They didn’t want to be the only one. There’s a lack of hotels” in the East End neighborhoods compared with demand, mainly because of nearby medical facilities.
Mr. Moss said the plan was to restore the hotel for certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
(Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. )
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Homewood pride comes before bricks and mortar
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
By Elwin Green,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe redevelopment of Homewood will be more a matter of community pride than of bricks and mortar, the keynote speaker at a workshop on commercial development said yesterday.
“We’ve got to lift the community up and highlight the positive things,” said Clarence F. Curry Jr., Minority/Woman Owned Business Enterprises coordinator for the Sports and Exhibition Authority. “We’ve got to toot our own horn.”
Mr. Curry said the community’s redevelopment should build on “magnets,” such as the library, the Alma Illery Health Center and the neighborhood campus of the Community College of Allegheny County, which already attract visitors to the neighborhood.
“They come here to the library, they leave with their money in their pocket.” he said. “We need something to encourage them to stop and spend their money.”
Mr. Curry was one of four speakers at the workshop sponsored by the Homewood Brushton Community Coalition Organization, held at the Homewood branch of Carnegie Library. HBCCO has a community plan for development and is looking for an executive director, but has no land bought and no finances finalized.
Robert Rubinstein, director of economic development at the Urban Redevelopment Authority, offered a glimpse into the information-gathering process that major retailers use when deciding where to locate. Based on data about the area within a half-mile radius of one of the neighborhood’s busiest intersections, at Frankstown and Homewood avenues, he said residents could be expected to spend $9 million on groceries in 2008. Since the average grocery store needs $20 million in annual sales to be feasible, that makes the neighborhood an unlikely target for such a store.
However, he said, Homewood could be a good place to develop “convenience retail” stores such as the Family Dollar slated to open this summer on Frankstown Avenue. It also could offer opportunities for developing light industrial space for manufacturing such goods as T-shirts or compact discs, or for use as artist studios or galleries.
Countering the perception that the URA funds only large-scale developments, Mr. Rubinstein said 90 percent of what the organization finances is “small neighborhood projects.”
J. Arthur Gilmer, project manager for FaithWorks, a Homewood-based nonprofit organization that offers training and consulting to other nonprofits, said the glimpse of a developer’s perspective on the neighborhood was valuable. “We see it one way, walking around the community, and other people see it differently.”
(Elwin Green can be reached at egreen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1969.)
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City approves tax break for new housing in 29 areas
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
By Mark Belko,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteCity Council approved tax breaks yesterday designed to spur new housing Downtown even as it expressed misgivings about excluding some neighborhoods from the program.
The measure, approved 8-0, will waive the first $2,700 in city property taxes for 10 years on new housing units built Downtown and in 28 other city neighborhoods.
“It’s symbolic of our effort to prioritize and give incentives for people to move back Downtown and to create incentives for people to move back into neighborhoods that haven’t seen investment for some time,” Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said.
Approval came even though several council members complained about neighborhoods being excluded from the program, which based eligibility in part on a “vitality index” that factored in population losses, education levels, single-parent families, poverty, low home ownership, high vacancy, tax delinquency, violent crime and other factors.
In fact, several Fairywood residents made a last-ditch appeal to council to be added among the eligible neighborhoods, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.
“We never get anything in our neighborhood. We’re always left out, except for things that don’t work,” Donna Washington, a member of the Fairywood Citizens Council, said afterwards.
Councilman William Peduto, who had proposed a competing tax break that would have applied to Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods, said the residents had a point.
“When you choose 29 neighborhoods to be the winner, you’re also choosing 60 neighborhoods to be the loser,” he said.
Several other council members, including Daniel Deasy, who represents Fairywood, also expressed disappointment about neighborhoods being left out but at the same time expressed hope that the program could be expanded in the future.
The Ravenstahl administration has said that going citywide would have cost the city $75 million over the life of the program. As structured, the abatement is designed to replace the new property tax revenue the city is giving up with gains in wage and other taxes.
Mr. Peduto said one possible avenue to explore in years ahead would be income-based property tax breaks as well as incentives built around green buildings, historic preservation and public art.
While the program isn’t perfect, it does lend assistance to efforts to bring more housing Downtown, he said.
Lucas Piatt, vice president of real estate for Millcraft Industries, the Washington County developer bringing condominiums to the former Lazarus-Macy’s building and apartments to the old G.C. Murphy’s store Downtown, described the abatements as a “good start.”
“I think it’s definitely going to help us,” he said.
He said he was also hoping that Allegheny County and the city school district would adopt similar measures. He said abatements in Philadelphia have helped to revitalize that city.
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato expects to have an announcement soon relating to a possible county tax abatement program, spokesman Kevin Evanto said. For the initiative to be successful, Mr. Onorato believes the city, county and school district all must participate, he said.
While Fairywood residents complained about being left out, representatives from several other neighborhood groups spoke in favor of the program before the vote.
Cindy Cassell, who heads up economic development and project management for Neighbors in the Strip, said the program could help to stimulate the redevelopment of about 100 vacant properties in the Strip District.
“It makes urban living in Pittsburgh more affordable for more people,” she said.
The city is still writing regulations for the program, a process that could take at least a month. Abatement applications will be accepted for five years.
(Rich Lord contributed to this story. Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. )
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Iron City’s new owners predict full-bodied future
By Joe Napsha
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 6, 2007The new owners of Pittsburgh Brewing Co. believe the brewery is well-positioned for growth under a bankruptcy reorganization plan approved Tuesday, and a beer industry expert agrees.
The ownership group, led by Connecticut investment manager John N. Milne, plans to take over the Lawrenceville brewery on July 7 and operate it under the name Iron City Brewing Co., which was the name of the brewery when it was formed in 1861.“Today marks a positive first step for Iron City Brewing Co.,” said Timothy Hickman, who will become the brewery’s president, in a statement yesterday.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge M. Bruce McCullough approved the reorganization plan, which will enable the beermaker to emerge from bankruptcy for the first time since Dec. 7, 2005.
“Pittsburgh Brewing was in bankruptcy for two main reasons — a weak balance sheet and an excessive cost structure. The reorganization plan addresses those issues and positions it well for future growth,” Hickman said.
A beer industry expert believes that with the right business plan, the new ownership can succeed.“They are just sitting on a gold mine,” because Pittsburgh Brewing’s brand equities “are just phenomenal,” said Daniel Bradford, publisher of All About Beer magazine in Durham, N.C.
Even so, though the new owners pledge to spend $4.1 million on a new kegging line and a new gas-fired boiler, and $500,000 on marketing the brands, having money to spend is not a guarantee of success, Bradford said.
“It is not just a question of (spending) money. You have to be strategic, and you have to execute well,” Bradford said.
Bradford believes the news ownership can “tap into some really strong trends right now.” One of those is what he calls the “retro trend,” the popularity of older beer brands like Iron City and IC Light, among adults in their 20s.
The new ownership group has an opportunity to create a specialty beer segment, a whole new brand they can roll out within the existing market, and add value to the business, Bradford said. Brewers such as High Falls Brewing Co. of Rochester, N.Y., which brews the Genesee family of beers, along with the Matt Brewing Co. of Utica, N.Y., and City Brewing Co. of La Crosse, Wisc., which bought the former Latrobe Brewing Co. plant, are among such success stories.
“It’s not just an extension of Iron City. It is thinking more along lines that reflect the indigenous culture of Western Pennsylvania,” Bradford said.
The new ownership group will take over the brewery from Joseph R. Piccirilli, who bought the business out bankruptcy in 1995. Milne’s group convinced creditors to accept a repayment plan that offers creditors no more than $5.03 million on claims totalling more than $26 million. There was a near-unanimous approval of the reorganization plan, brewery attorney Robert O. Lampl told the judge.
“I did not think we would be here today,” McCullough said as he approved the reorganization plan during a 15-minute hearing. However, he added a cautionary note, saying, “I don’t know how long it will last.”
The developments yesterday “give us optimism,” said George Sharkey, president of the negotiating board for the bottlers and brewers, members of the International Union of Electrical Workers-Communication Workers of America Locals 144b and 22b. “We’re hoping for great things. We hope the people of Pittsburgh buy the beer and support the business.”
Milne’s group projects that it can boost sales from $30.5 million in its first full year of operation to $37.4 million after three years.
The group will be able to take advantage of a 15 percent reduction in union workers’ wages and benefits under a contract that takes effect when new ownership is in place. Retirement costs were cut by terminating the union-sponsored pension plan, and medical insurance costs for employees were reduced by 20 percent.
Joe Napsha can be reached at jnapsha@tribweb.com or (412)-320-7993.
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Jazzing Up Housing for Seniors – Officials are increasingly inviting architectural innovation in housing projects for the elderly
June 5, 2006
by Violet Law
Businessweek.comFor far too long, most publicly funded housing for seniors and the disabled has bordered on being dull, if not downright dismal and “institutional.” But thanks to architects who are lavishing the kind of thoughtful design attention hitherto rarely seen in such developments, and clients who are increasingly willing to take a chance on them, even some publicly funded projects are breaking the mold.
Victor Regnier, FAIA, a University of Southern California professor who specializes in seniors housing design, is currently writing a book on the subject—timely, given the growing demand for these buildings as baby boomers age. Regnier sees a dawning willingness on the part of housing officials to invite innovative design. More important, there’s a new political will to demand it.
One project resulting from this push is Near North Apartments, a single-room occupancy building designed by Helmut Jahn of Murphy/Jahn Architects. Mercy Housing Lakefront commissioned the new $14-million, 96-unit facility to provide permanent residences for low-income or formerly homeless people, some of whom are elderly and disabled. Completed this spring, it stands on the site of Cabrini-Green, an infamous Chicago housing project now mostly demolished. The five-story building is clad in rippled, satin-finish stainless-steel siding. This unpolished facade is tempered by round edges near the rooftop and large, punched windows whose e-coated glazing reflects a faint blue tint. Its elegant, Minimalist design stands out, especially in its infill setting—which is exactly what Cindy Holler, the nonprofit’s president, wanted. “It’s stigma-smashing,” she says. “It’s okay not to be blend in and to be provocative.”
Other new developments are aiming for a more subtle approach, evocative rather than provocative. A 108-unit public housing development for the elderly in Pittsburgh by McCormack Baron Salazar incorporates the history of an African-American neighborhood into its facade design. Architect Dan Rothschild, AIA, of Pittsburgh-based Rothschild Doyno Architects, says he was inspired by the storied Hill District, a popular stop for jazz musicians during the 1920s to 1940s. He incorporated the spirit of jazz into the building’s plan by dividing the front elevation into segments whose widths vary to the relative length of musical notes—a quarter note, half note, or whole note—adding visual rhythm to the streetscape. Construction of the $13 million complex finishes next month.
Regnier observes that more and more projects like this one are employing better design to serve the population they house. “There has been a stronger focus on developing contextually-based designs that gear toward the community and reflect what the city is about,” he explains.
Consideration of context can be achieved not only with exterior details, but also through the architectural program. Regnier cites the Burbank Senior Artists Colony, a complex of 141 senior apartments located near major movie studios in Burbank, California, developed by Meta Housing with some government support. Scheurer Architects designed two recording studios as well as a small theater so that the facility’s residents can flex their creative muscles by producing plays and films.
Provided by Architectural Record—The Resource for Architecture and Architects
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City Council approves tax abatements
By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, June 5, 2007Tax breaks designed to attract home builders to Downtown and 28 neighborhoods won City Council’s OK today but excluded some low-income neighborhoods, residents complained.
“It seems to me that the city is trying to upscale the city, and there’s no room for lower income people,” said Donna Washington, 51, a Fairywood resident who told council that her neighborhood should be eligible for the tax breaks.
“We are always left out,” said Washington, a member of the Fairywood Citizens Council. “There are a lot of people who would like to do work on their homes … and they can’t afford (the higher taxes).”
Beginning July 1, those who build new housing — or significantly improve existing residential property in the designated neighborhoods — would be exempt from the city’s 10.8-mill property tax for 10 years.
The tax break applies to the increase in value of new developments capped at $250,000. For example, the owner of a new apartment building worth $250,000 would not have to pay $2,700 a year in property taxes, creating $27,000 in savings over the decade.
The City Planning Department created a “vitality index” to determine which neighborhoods would be eligible for the program. The department assigned scores to neighborhoods based on data such as housing vacancy, violent crime, income, education levels and population decreases.
The bill, proposed by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, passed 8-0 today. Councilman Len Bodack was absent.
Nancy Noszka, director of real estate with the Northside Leadership Conference, likes the tax break program and said if it entices home builders to come to the city “the program will help stabilize our communities.”
Cindy Cassell, project manager for the Neighbors in the Strip community group, said the tax breaks could persuade developers to improve some of the estimated 100 vacant properties in the Strip District.
“The 10-year tax abatement will make the cost of rehabbing these old buildings more affordable,” she said.
Councilman Bill Peduto said the mayor’s office should have focused the tax breaks on Downtown because it has the greatest potential for new development that would eventually feed the tax base after the 10-year abatement.
He said the bill has “flaws” because the Planning Department’s vitality index should have been based solely on income, akin to federal Community Development Block Grant programs.
“This is not perfect legislation; it definitely has its flaws. But we definitely have an opportunity to move forward and see some development Downtown,” said Peduto. He said he voted for the legislation because he believes Pittsburgh lags behind other major U.S. cities in offering such tax breaks.
In addition to Downtown, eligible neighborhoods for the tax break are: Allentown, Arlington, Beltzhoover, California-Kirkbride, East Allegheny, Elliott, Esplen, Fineview, Hays, Hazelwood, Homewood North, Homewood South, Homewood West, Knoxville, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington/Belmar, Lower Lawrenceville, Manchester, Marshall-Shadeland, Mt. Oliver, Perry South/Perry Hilltop, Sheraden, Spring Garden, the Strip District, the Upper Hill District, Upper Lawrenceville, Uptown and the West End.
Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.com or (412) 765-2312.