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.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
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.
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.
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)
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.
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