Sunday, September 7, 2008

Study Finds Some Second-Hand Smoke Befeficial...

or so the legislators that crafted the new partial smoking ban apparently believe. The growing prevalence of smoking bans across the nation is detailed in this Wikipedia article here. The ban specific to Pennsylvania allows for exceptions in taverns and bars where food is less than 20% of their revenue. The General Assembly is apparently not only concerned with the health of patrons of bars and restaurants being that this is the case. An element of social engineering is involved in a situation where the amount of food sold dictates whether or not smoking is permitted, creating an uneven playing field which will add to the number of smokers in these types of establishments. Not to mention ignorance of the poor economic climate.

Think about it. Smokers, in making their decision on where to go out for the evening, will collectively be directed towards establishments where they will be allowed to continue smoking. Bars in the South Side, which by and large derive little income from food, will likely see more smokers. Non-smokers and smokers alike will have to be more dodgy in order to avoid getting burned too! But more to the point, restaurants in areas with large number of bars like Nakama in the South Side and Kaya and others in the Strip District stand to potentially lose some smokers as customers.

So unfortunately, the GA has created an incentive for some restaurants that are on the borderline to downplay their food items and increase bar revenue. It's a perverse incentive though because that bar revenue will be subject to the new Onorato tax on poured drinks.

The bottom line to this issue is that well-positioned bars are going to do well. Bars / restaurants that get less than 20% of their income from food near other bars that will be subject to the ban stand to make some gains. I wish I owned one because I think their value as businesses just went up. At least until their is a repeal of the ban or a fair, total smoking ban.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Pitt Has Something to Cheer About

Even though Pitt lost face in a game against Bowling Green last Saturday, a restaurant celebrating the career of Mike Ditka, a former Pitt Panther and player for the Chicago Bears in the 1960s, is opening in Robinson. Ditka's will open in One Robinson Plaza and will be operated by the same owner as Atria's Restaurant and Tavern. There are two other Ditka's restaurants in Chicago, and Restaurant Holdings, Inc. is looking to expand the franchise in this and other markets.

Pictured below is one of the Ditka's in Chicago:


Sunday, August 31, 2008

A Moment of Zen

A new nightclub opened on Friday, August 22nd at Station Square called Zen. The entrance is on the side of the Freight House (125 W. Station Square Drive, Pittsburgh) where the short-lived Palm Bar was previously located. The red, velvet robes, narrow entrance and bouncers at the entrance make the atmosphere seem classy, if a little imposing as you enter the door.


The configuration of the front section is similar to that of Palm Bar before it. A circular bar with multiple levels of drink racks and black-clad bartenders occupy the section immediately past the entrance. A large, open room with ornate pan-Asian themed seating and wall-coverings allows for a large area to sit and socialize, with sections of seating reserved for bottle service. It was described as a prime-porno film set. A second mezzanine level with a small bar and additional seating provides an excellent view of the seating area, bar and a separate room with a dance floor.

The dance area is what really distinguishes Zen from its predecessor. Zen has expanded from Pal Bar's original area and includes a rectangular, lower level dance floor surrounded by a short wall with faux grass around it. The grass is actually a nice touch. The dance room also has a classy atmosphere with comfortable wall seating for wallflowers and a curtain wall with small stones embedded in it.

The main disadvantage to the club is the location, which is not very visible while driving past on Station Square Drive. In addition, the entrance to the club is not highly visible when walking by, because it is tucked into the corner of the Freight House. Overall, the redesign was worth it and the concept is a great one for Pittsburgh.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

It Really Grinds My Gears When....

Newspapers will publish oh-woe-is-us statistics from governmental bodies, but refuse to include any context for what they mean. The PPG moaned today that Pittsburgh is the 5th poorest big city, with a measly median household income of $32,363. First, they don't stop to define what a big city is. If Pittsburgh is a "larger city", is Erie also considered big? Is Morgantown? Presumably Cleveland is a big city too, and we're wealthier than them, so at least we have that going for us.

Articles like this never provide any context for this number. For example, according to CNN.com, the top 5 most expensive American cities for renters and their average rental rates were:

1.) New York - $2,553
2.) San Francisco - $1,685
3.) Boston - $1,632
4.) New Haven, CT - $1,485
5.) Orange County, CA - $1,458

According to apartments.com, Pittsburgh's average 2007 rent was $662. This is about 25% of what New York pays for example. New York City is not listed as one of the highest earning places by the study the Post-Gazette cites, however. In fact, the Census bureau indicates that New York's median household income in 2004 (the latest number I could find) was $45,343. This is only 40% higher. So while New Yorker's pay over three and half times more for rent, they only make about 40% more.

Framing the article around facts such as these might have made Pittsburgher's appreciate their relatively low cost of living. But instead the Post-Gazette took it as an opportunity to make us feel poor, and that's what really grinds my gears. Oh, and here's the study.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Northern Allegheny County on a Tear

Most of the growth in Allegheny County in recent years has happened near the northern border of the county. The area benefits from the overflowing economy and excellent infrastructure of the Cranberry Township / southern Butler County region. Of course, Perry Highway and I-79 are shared resources that do not belong to either Allegheny County or Butler County, but they do serve to boost investment in new businesses and development has concentrated along these roads for years.

The center of new development in this slice of Allegheny County is Pine Township. Development there ranges from smaller freestanding buildings like the Walnut Grove restaurant, to the Village at Pine, a multi-phase townhouse development with a major retail component. The development is influenced by new urbanism, which seeks to strategically places residential, retail and office components with the same location. With the first phase of 197 townhouses nearly complete, the number could grow to as many as 500. That's approximately the number the zoning office has approved for Gigliotti Holdings, the developer. In addition, there will be a Giant Eagle and additional inline retail stores. Even a casual observer of real estate will notice the success of the area, especially the Village. There are barely any town homes available to buy!

While some of this new development has brought some problems in tow, such as a year-long controversy over the Cabana Bar in the Oxford Athletic Club, Pine Township is a great example of success in terms of population growth and new development that has really made the area vibrant. It would be great if county and state officials began to understand the ingredients for success in Pine and began to apply them elsewhere.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Hill District Benefits Agreement Signed

Today the benefits deal is done and signed by the One Hill Neighborhood Coalition. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports some of the details of the plan, which includes money towards the development of the grocery store, creation of a "master plan" and the introduction of a resource center that will somehow connect residents of the Hill District with jobs. The details in this article are pretty skimpy. In a previous post I discussed that the grocery store, which will be located at Centre Avenue and Heldman Street was narrowed down to Save-A-Lot and Kuhn's. More importantly, the Post-Gazette article leaves out the critical difference between the two. The Save-A-Lot is intended as a freestanding grocery store and the Kuhn's proposal is part of a 100,000 square foot complex! I have noticed that in general, reporting on developments in Hill District tends to be given short shrift and isn't exactly late-breaking. This isn't limited to the Post-Gazette and that paper has given the area some good attention in recent weeks as this deal neared closure. Personally though, any neighborhood that is on the verge of being re-energized deserves attention.

In this case the ne'er do wells at the Tribune Review have far superior reporting in the article they published here. It basically explains that a deal has been agreed to, but a lot of the details have yet to be fleshed out. Some highlights of the detail include:

1.) Hill residents will get first crack at some job openings at the new arena.

2.) YMCA community center for the Hill

3.) $3 million over 5 years from new casino ownership for development projects

4.) Money for a grocery store, which is TBA.

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Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Foundry

When The Foundry in South Strabane was planned, it was billed as a major addition to the commercial corridor in northern Washington County. The plan called for a 575,000 square foot retail center, with the eventual development of several outparcels. However, since opening in the spring of 2007, all the major tenants including J.C. Penney, Ross Dress for Less and Bed, Bath and Beyond have closed their doors due to settling soil. While the settling wasn't as dramatic as the "shifting" of soil in Kilbuck Township at the formerly proposed Wal-Mart development it has caused concern that the retaining wall near Route 19 isn't going to hold. By the way, the extent of the "shifting" in Kilbuck is pictured below:


To make matters worse, the developer of the site has declared bankruptcy. Christopher White, the head of Premier, has had criminal charges filed against him, detailed here in the Pittsburgh Business Times. To develop a successful retail center in the Pittsburgh region you need a keen understanding of the region's topography as well as good business sense. Chris White seems to have had neither.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Non-Ethnic Grocery Store Opening in Oakland

Friday will see the first opening of a traditional grocery store in Oakland in a decade. This IGA will open in The Strand Building at 11 am this Friday. It will be small, at only 4,000 square feet. I have previously ridiculed tiny grocery stores, so it is interesting that a new one is opening just two days after that post. Well at least I have been served a message that I do not have the most influential blog in Pittsburgh.



According to the Allegheny County Assessment Office, the property was purchased in January of 2005 for $2 million. There is also an apartment component to the building with 60 residential tenants. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about the store is here.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Grocery Store in Hill District

Today the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on the two grocery store proposals for the planned grocery store in the Hill District at the corner of Centre Avenue and Heldman Street. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will approve one of two plans in as short as the next couple of weeks. The two options for the Hill District are a standalone Save-A-Lot and a larger complex called Centre City Square which would be anchored by a Kuhn's grocery store. Centre City Square would also have a pharmacy and an outdoor plaza, as well as additional retail space. The total retail space in Centre City Square would be approximately 100,000 square feet, with 50,000 going to Kuhn's.

The bizarre aspect of the article is that the Post-Gazette reported that the Save-A-Lot store would be 1,200 square feet! There's no way that's right. I know the Hill District has gone without a grocery store for a long time, but I think people out there are going to know they come in bigger sizes. A July 3rd article in the Pittsburgh Business Times stated the Save-A-Lot would be 16,800 s.f. That's pretty small, but at 1,200 square feet, they'd only be able to carry about 3 products a day. So maybe on Monday people in the Hill District could buy bread, Tuesday they would be permitted to purchase one or two vegetables, maybe Wednesday they could put out a couple pieces of meat.

It seems like the population of the Hill District could definitely support more than a 1,200-16,800 square foot grocery store, and for the amount of time they have gone without one, it seems like something more should be in the works. However, the Centre City Square idea seems very ambitious for an area that hasn't seen largescale retail development in a long time. Given that taxpayer funding is going to be required no matter what the scale of the project, I hope a good impact study has determined how large a project can succeed so that taxpayers don't have to foot another, bigger bill if the project flops.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Three PNC Plaza

Construction has already broken ground on Three PNC Plaza. This is the first skyscraper in Pittsburgh since Dominion Tower in 1987. Reed Smith is going to occupy much of the 325,000 square feet of office space. In addition to the office space, the tower will have a 185 hotel and a 10 story, 30 unit condominium complex. Again, as discussed in a previous post, this will be high end multifamily living, which is the cornerstone of new downtown housing development.

Office space in general has done well in recent years. Occupancy rates are in the mid-80s generally, with the high end space in Oakland and downtown being the most desirable. Office space, however, hasn't been what developers would consider tight in recent memory. While some low-end, aged office space has been taken off the market in conversion to apartments or condos, this building will easily add more than that amount to the market. Additionally, Reed Smith will not be a new law firm entering the market, but rather an existing tenant of a building on 6th Avenue. That seems to be the disappointing aspect of this project. It is not being built primarily because of market demand.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

New Trends in Downtown Housing

This post will be a little intellectually lazy, but there are several new urban Pittsburgh apartments and condominiums that have recently come online. I'm going to have to take some time to research some of this development, but I can think of several major ones off the top of my head.

Apartments

The largest project in recent multi-family development is the conversion of the Armstrong Cork Factory in the Strip District. The developers there took a hulking building and transformed it into 297 apartments. Amazingly, after completing renovations in 2006, the complex is nearly full. The downside is that rents are not cheap. Even the one bedrooms are near $1,000 / month.



A smaller, but new, high end loft apartment complex was converted in the Strip District recently called the Brake House. This project is an 18-unit loft concept. The apartments are fairly large and range from 725 to 1,560 square feet. Again, a pretty expensive place to hang your hat.

Condos

151 Firstside was completed recently. It was the first condo. building added in the Golden Triangle since 1968. There are 82 condos there, most of which have sold by now.

The G.C. Murphy building is going to be turned into condos, lofts, 60,000 square feet of retail and a YMCA. This should be completed by 2009.

Big news today was the start of construction on Vista Grande. This is more of a small, 11-unit condo complex, but is on Mt. Washington.

It seems more people want to live downtown, which is probably of long-term benefit to the city. If things really begin to click, there might be more retail that opens up and allows the city to start growing again. Hopefully that is not wishful thinking. Unfortunately, a lot of the housing that is growing downtown is high-end and unaffordable to normal Pittsburghers or most young professionals getting started. Hopefully that will begin to change in the future.

PS...I will be adding to this post because since 2000 there have been a few other major projects downtown. Apparently, I have to Google a little bit to finish this one.

Live Deliciously!

The Wholey's Building in the Strip District is reportedly under agreement of sale to be converted to condominiums. Long a Pittsburgh icon, the building, located on Penn Avenue, was marketed for sale by Grubb & Ellis.

According to the Pittsburgh Business-Times, the Sampson Morris Group of Monroeville will be buying the property for an undisclosed amount. The company plans to convert the 310,000 square foot building to condos.

Casino License

I mentioned yesterday that state senators Ferlo and Orie are calling to have Don Barden's casino license revoked. There are more details on their plan here and a slamming of the gambling board here. While the gaming board's selection of Barden was at best flawed and at worst corrupt, they are now stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, PITG has defaulted on a $200 million loan. On the other hand awarding it to someone else is going to be difficult because of the credit crunch affecting national markets. If the license goes to someone else, they will have to be much better capitalized because access to money is going to be much more difficult than it was when Barden was granted the license. In other words, the state gaming board passed up an opportunity to award the license to someone competent and the city of Pittsburgh is now stuck with a concrete skeleton that has been at a standstill for the past two weeks.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Top 25 Pittsburgh Construction Projects

The Pittsburgh Business Times published a list of the top 25 construction projects in Pittsburgh in their July 11-17, 2008 paper. Here is the list, ranked by project cost. The italics are my commentary:

1.) Majestic Star Casino ($780 million project) - state boondogle led by Don Barden. If state senators Ferlo and Orie get their way, the casino license Barden has will be taken away and bid out to a new company.

2.)
Childen's Hospital of Pittsburgh ($625 million project)

3.)
North Shore Connector/Tunnel ($435 million project) - federal boondogle that will extend Allegheny County Port Authority's light rail system 1.2 miles from Gateway Subway Station to the North Shore. That calculates to $68,655 per foot of track laid. Let's hope it's worth it!

4.)
Pittsburgh Penguins hockey arena ($290 million) - Scheduled to be finished in time for the 2010 season.

5.) Westinghouse Electric Company headquarters ($216 million)

6.) Three PNC Plaza ($210 million) - Includes office space, condos and a hotel. The first Pittsburgh skyscraper to be built since 1987.

7.)
Allegheny River Bridge Replacement ($189.8 million)

8.) Meadows Race Track - permanent casino ($175 million)

9.) Providence Point - ($115 million)

10.) Victory Centre at the Meadows ($105 million)

11.) Turnpike reconstruction ( $110.9 million)

12.) Charleroi Locks & Dam expansion ($96.5 million)

13.) UPMC Passavant addition ($90 million)

14.) Bakery Square ($75 million)

15.) Mon/Fayette Expressway ($71.9 million)

16.) Chapel Harbor at the Water ($70 million)

17.) I-79 ramps at Parkway West ($67.5 million)

18.) Mon/Fayette Expressway ($67.3 million) - this is section 51F as opposed to section 51A1...of course.

19.)
The Gates Center at CMU ($64 million)

20.) Moorhead Federal Building renovation ($63.6 million)

21.) I-79 reconstruction ($61 million)

22.) Slippery Rock university dorms ($60 million)

23.) "Liberty Hills" senior housing ($56 million)

24.) Baldwin-Whitehall High School addition ($55.4 million)

25.) West End Circle improvements ($52.6 million)

Saturday, July 12, 2008

New Restaurants / Bars

I want there to be another space for people in Pittsburgh to discover and read about new restaurants or bars in the city or surrounding area. Email or comment on some information and I will be sure to put it on the site.

A Photo Tour of Pittsburgh