http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07045/761810-109.stm

Fix the Port Authority
Then we need to make sure it has reliable state and local funding
Wednesday, February 14, 2007

By Sen. Jim Ferlo

I applaud the leadership of Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato as he tries to wrestle back control of what for years has been a poorly managed Port Authority of Allegheny County. No county official in my political tenure has been willing undertake this task, which at worst will upset everyone and at best will please no one.

This bitter pill is the result of decades during which PAT has not learned to live within its means and has assumed unmanageable indebtedness. Between its often-imprudent capital commitments, rising pension and health-care obligations and gratuitous management compensation -- including "golden parachutes" -- embedded costs have relentlessly escalated as population and ridership have declined, exceeding this publicly funded agency's ability to keep up.

Years of board and management inaction have created a crisis where the critical needs of thousands are put on the chopping block. Yet the executives who mapped the course of this disaster and the elected officials who lacked the will to set it right have assumed roles at consultancies and as pundits, evading their responsibility to answer for their disregard. In recent years, the federal government also has turned its back on urban transit and will not provide operating subsidies. Instead, the federal funds that do arrive include hundreds of millions of dollars for a dubious tunnel under the Allegheny River that will extend trolley service to only a sliver of the North Shore.

I spoke out and voted against this ill-conceived project as a member of Pittsburgh City Council. If we are going to extend the "T," we should alter the route, amenable to federal funding guidelines. It should include the convention center and cross the already existing and structurally sound Fort Wayne Bridge. Once across the river, the "T" can go underground, beneath General Robinson Street, with connections for the Alcoa building, Warhol Museum and other regional assets. This would be less expensive and permit us to use the savings to begin a route to the airport without losing any federal funds! Instead, we are plodding toward our own "Big Dig" that will require millions of dollars each year from future Port Authority operating budgets.

Currently, the state government provides 63 percent of the public subsidy ($121.78 million) for the Port Authority's $347 million operating budget. That does not include senior fares and other rider-assistance reimbursements -- subsidies that amount to another $23.42 million. This demonstrates that the commonwealth has heard and delivered on the call for funding. Change needs to come next at the local level.

The recent report delivered by the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission showed that the Port Authority has a lot of room for improvement before any additional state funding is approved. The audit revealed that the authority has the highest transit-worker wages in the United States, adjusted for cost of living. Its vehicle fleet, at more than 1,000, is far larger than its ridership dictates. The authority's total public subsidy is 60 percent higher than its peer cities on a per passenger basis.

The authority also has not really taken advantage of available technology to improve the performance of routes or fare collection. Smaller buses should be introduced to serve as circulators between neighborhoods to help rebuild city neighborhoods and local communities. Despite the bureaucracy of the Port Authority, as demonstrated in the transportation commission's study, I believe strongly in public transportation and its importance to the economic well-being of our region. I co-sponsored Senate Bill 301 in the last session and will be reintroducing it this session. This bill would establish a new funding and distribution formula to meet the needs all of the public transportation systems operating in Pennsylvania. It proposes dedicating an additional $361 million of the sales tax to transit across the state. It would be the reliable, dedicated funding source that so many public-transit advocates have been calling for, but we cannot risk it being frittered away by the careless mismanagement that has sunk the Port Authority into the hole of debt where it sits today.

Allegheny County needs to consider allowing voters to approve a dedicated revenue source at the county level for public transit, as well. (One mill at the county level would raise about $54 million.) At present, the local subsidy of $25 million is substantially lower than in other parts of the country. I am willing to sponsor enabling legislation in the Pennsylvania Senate.

The community as a whole needs to speak out and support revenue for a more efficient Port Authority if we are going to be able to continue to enjoy comprehensive regional service.

State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, represents the 38th District, which encompasses many Pittsburgh neighborhoods and parts of northeastern Allegheny, Westmoreland and Armstrong counties (www.senatorferlo.com).

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City gauges interest in Downtown site
URA mulls Oakland, Wood Street plans
Wednesday, February 14, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



If its board gives the go-ahead, the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority will implement a plan to gauge the interest of developers in rehabilitating three Wood Street buildings Downtown as part of the overall revitalization of the Fifth and Forbes corridor.

Also at its meeting tomorrow, the URA board is expected to consider a proposal to sell a 1.6-acre parcel at the Pittsburgh Technology Center to The Ferchill Group, a Cleveland-based developer, at $300,000 an acre, for construction of a 160,000-square-foot research building.

The URA, with board approval, plans to request proposals for the redevelopment of three buildings running from 430-438 Wood St., between Forbes and Fifth avenues, including one that once housed a Pizza Hut restaurant.

The URA moved to market the buildings to other developers after Millcraft Industries, which is involved in the redevelopment of the former Lazarus-Macy's department store and the old G.C. Murphy's store, gave up its exclusive right to the properties, saying its plate was full.

URA Executive Director Jerome Dettore said he expects interest in the buildings from other developers, particularly given the burst of activity in the corridor. That includes the conversion of the Lazarus and Murphy's buildings into housing, retail and office space, and the construction of PNC Financial Services Group's new 23-story skyscraper on Fifth Avenue for similar purposes.

"Downtown is beginning to change. There's a lot of investment occurring. I think there could be a fair amount of interest," he said.

Mr. Dettore said he has received inquires from architects and others looking for space in the city. He said the three Wood Street buildings could be perfect opportunities for smaller firms interested in being Downtown.

The URA expects to get proposals back from interested developers in mid- to late-April.

The URA has been negotiating with The Ferchill Group on construction of a research building at the technology center since at least July. Ferchill, which already developed one building at the South Oakland site, came into the picture after the URA turned down a proposal from Madison Acquisition Co. in June because of "insufficient evidence of financing."

Mr. Dettore said accepting the Ferchill proposal to buy the property is the "first step" toward the eventual construction of the building, which would be on speculation, or without a signed tenant. The URA also is working with Ferchill on construction of a 750- to 780-space garage at the site.

The URA board also is expected to consider participating, at a cost of $800 a month, in an 18-month experimental car-sharing program being developed by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

The program would assist people who live Downtown and don't own cars but may need them occasionally for shopping, appointments or other reasons. The cars, which would be strategically placed Downtown and in Oakland, could be rented by the hour. The PDP is looking for 30 charter members to sign up to help kick off the program.


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(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. )

this area needs a lot of work... but most of these ideas sound cheesy and cosmetic


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Four design teams offer proposals to revitalize North Side
Plans would link cultural, sports venues
Wednesday, February 14, 2007

By Timothy McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Four design teams, from as far as Southern California and London, presented their proposals last night for reinvigorating the North Side and connecting its cultural institutions into a "charm bracelet" that will attract families to the area.

The plans included subtly introducing Steelers tailgaters to the neighborhood's art museums, reconstituting the public square in the middle of the former Allegheny City, projecting photos, films and illuminated messages on buildings, and fancifully lighting the North Side's dreary railroad underpasses.

The design project, overseen by the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, was funded by a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Children's Museum officials hoped to use its 2004 expansion, which combined old and new elements of the North Side, as an example for revitalizing the area, while linking the many museums in the area into a "family district" destination point.

Doug Suisman of Suisman Urban Design in Santa Monica, Calif., gave a spellbinding address on the history of Allegheny City -- centered in what is now Allegheny Commons park in the middle of the North Side -- saying "I've looked at city plans my whole life and I've never seen anything quite like this."

Showing photographs of the once-thriving city -- annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907 -- teeming with people, Mr. Suisman said the neighborhood is already "a family district -- it's here and it doesn't have to be invented."

To recapture that, he suggested renaming the area Allegheny (just as the annexed Brooklyn has kept its name); reconnecting Ohio and Federal streets through what is now a pedestrian mall; using the vacant library as a community center; and reintroducing families to the neighborhood through an old-fashioned treasure hunt and other materials.

Paula Sher of Pentagram Design in New York, who specializes in branding, told the audience at the Children's Museum not to affix the project with any titles -- even "Charm Bracelet" -- but instead celebrate what the neighborhood already has, including the lousy, dark underpasses. She called for the 14 underpasses in the area to be lit up with bright, energetic art projects commissioned by The Andy Warhol Museum and the Mattress Factory, to remind visitors of all the art in the area.

The lighting could include beaded lights, chandeliers and cubes. A giant "N" for the North Shore could be placed at the front of the Allegheny Mall, she said.

The Colab Architecture team of Ithaca, N.Y., worked with two local design firms, including one led by graphic designer Brett Yasko. He said vacant, imposing structures, including a North Avenue homeless shelter, could be illuminated with photos and films, and that windows in an Allegheny Commons office building could contain illuminated messages written by North Side residents on the history of the neighborhood.

Muf Architecture Art of London said the neighborhood should take advantage of the influx of Steelers tailgaters by doing things such as fall and winter farmer's markets near the stadiums and protected by highway overpasses, having fans print personalized Steelers posters at the Artists Image Resource gallery in East Allegheny, and building a "wilderness trail" to introduce visitors to new parts of the neighborhood and its parks.

The proposals will be on view for four weeks at the Children's Museum, before being packaged in written form. Organizers hope to use them to help guide many existing development proposals for the area and work on cooperative marketing efforts for its cultural institutions.

Last night's presentations were regarded as a first step for the art-driven redevelopment, which as of now is just conceptual and has no funding.

"It's a win already because we've seen all these great ideas -- it will be a greater win if we can see one of these projects completed," said Pittsburgh architect Paul Rosenblatt, who helped organize the project.

The presentations are scheduled to be repeated at the Children's Museum at noon today.


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(Tim McNulty can be reached at tmcnulty@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1581. )

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Competing mayoral candidates' plans forgive realty taxes to boost city housing
Wednesday, February 14, 2007

By Elwin Green and Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and city Councilman William Peduto yesterday introduced competing plans for giving 10-year tax breaks on new housing, primarily Downtown.

Both men, candidates for mayor in this year's election, proposed plans that would give housing developers abatements of 100 percent on their city property taxes for 10 years.

Though the intention of both plans is to boost Downtown housing, Mr. Ravenstahl's would include 20 city neighborhoods, while Mr. Peduto's would be concentrated in the Downtown, lower Hill District, Uptown, Strip District, and on the North Shore and South Side.

The tax breaks would aid not only developers but also people who buy the units.

Mr. Ravenstahl's plan, which he outlined at the annual meeting of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership yesterday morning, calls for the tax breaks for new construction, conversions from office space to housing, and residential rehabilitation projects launched between now and 2012. The abatements would apply to the first $250,000 of each housing unit's market value.

"It's not just Downtown Pittsburgh," the mayor said. "It's 20 other communities throughout Pittsburgh that have been neglected."

The mayor also wants to offer low-interest loans to help add housing in buildings that have businesses on the first floor, but whose upper floors are vacant. He said the city has identified as many as 130 such structures, and low-interest loans would come from a $5 million fund to be created by the city, local foundations and private lenders.

He also wants to offer deferred second mortgages of up to $10,000 for middle-income Downtown home buyers. Those eligible could have incomes no higher than $46,200 for one person, or $52,800 for two. The program would initially be limited to 50 households.

Mr. Peduto will discuss his plan at a special council meeting at 1:30 p.m. today and present a 64-page report put together by consultant Steven Zecher. The councilman said he paid for the consultant, using $9,000 in city funds, and an 18-member task force guided his work.

He would give a tax abatement for new housing in Downtown and five surrounding neighborhoods for 10 years, and would offer the same break on new industrial and commercial buildings for five years. Mr. Peduto said if it works in those areas, it can be expanded.

It also calls for state action allowing the city to give developers credit against their tax bills for spending on historic preservation, environmentally friendly features and public art.

Both men said they based their plans on a model enacted in Philadelphia in 1997. That plan, implemented citywide, froze a property's taxes at its pre-development level for 10 years, and has been credited with spurring development and a 24 percent increase in the number of Center City households.

"We're still looking at an affordable housing component," Mr. Peduto said. That could include tax credits or subsidies for less expensive housing, or a requirement that abatement recipients make some units affordable to middle-income families.

A showdown is ahead for the plans. Because they would give tax breaks, both would have to be approved by City Council.

The mayor and councilman disagreed on the extent of the tax breaks. Both would exempt city property taxes, but Mr. Peduto said the lure won't be big enough unless Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh Public Schools also grant abatements.

"Certainly if the school district and county buy in, that's more incentive to the home buyer," the mayor said. "However, we can proceed without the school board and the county."

"The incentive is not great enough with just the city's involvement," said Mr. Peduto, noting that the city's levy makes up just one-third of the typical property tax bill.

Neither county nor city school district officials had seen the plans yesterday.

"Dan [Onorato] is more than willing to sit down and take a look at the proposals and see what they're all about," said Kevin Evanto, spokesman for county Chief Executive Onorato.

A tax abatement would probably require school board action, said district Chief of Staff Lisa Fischetti.

According to the study Mr. Peduto presented, all three taxing bodies would see tax revenue go up, in part because people will move in and pay wage taxes. By 2021, the consultant estimated, the city, county and school district would be getting a combined $56.8 million more in property and wage taxes than they would without the abatement plan.

The Ravenstahl administration did not have exact figures on the tax impact of its plan. Chief of Staff Yarone Zober said the plan is expected to triple the average construction of Downtown homes to 270 a year, and that the new wage taxes would offset the revenue the city would pass on because of the property tax abatement.

The city has used favorable tax treatments to encourage Downtown housing development before.

In 2000, the city passed an abatement giving developers who build or improve Downtown housing a 10-year break on the increased taxes resulting from the higher property value. The tax advantage would disappear as soon as the property was sold, meaning it aided apartment developers but didn't help much with for-sale housing.

By allowing homeowners to receive the abatement, the mayor's plan taps into a crucial aspect of the Downtown housing market, the growth of condominiums alongside rental units, said Aaron Stauber, principal of Rugby Realty.

"The dynamics of our city are such that most of the developments that you would pencil in would be condominium developments," he said.

On the whole, attendees at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership's meeting applauded the mayor's plan. Partnership Executive Director Mike Edwards said the plan would "help accelerate what's going on."

He said that whereas developers are now focused on high-end housing Downtown, the abatement would reduce the risk inherent in building more affordable housing.

But Meagan Moore, who manages 1.5 million square feet of office space in the Gateway Towers complex for the Hertz Investment Group, cautioned that while "any improvement in residential is going to enhance office space," more housing alone would not revive Downtown's office market, which has languished for years.

Council is expected to get both tax plans by month's end, and could hold public hearings in the early spring before putting them to a vote.

The emergence of two tax abatement plans in one day is good news, said Downtown architect Robert Pfaffman.

"Any kind of incentive you can provide is worthwhile," he said, since Downtown construction costs are high and the profitability of housing there isn't as high as in some other cities.

"The competition for ideas is the good thing about having a mayor's race."


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(Elwin Green can be reached at egreen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1969. Rich Lord can be reached at rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542. )

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07060/765840-53.stm

Luxury Fairmont hotel to perch atop new PNC complex
Thursday, March 01, 2007

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



It's not a Ritz-Carlton.

And it's not a Four Seasons.

But PNC's choice of Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts to manage its new 185-room Downtown hotel brings to Pittsburgh a well-known operator of luxury hospitality flags around the world, from The Savoy in London to The Plaza in New York to the landmark Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.


The new Fairmont Pittsburgh will open in the summer of 2009 in the 23-story Three PNC Plaza. The entrance will be at bottom left, near the intersection of Fifth and Liberty avenues. The hotel rooms will be in the upper right, filling parts of the top 10 floors. The hotel ballroom will sit on the second floor, overlooking Fifth, at bottom right.
Click illustration for larger image.



The Fairmont Pittsburgh is expected to open in summer 2009 atop the 23-story Three PNC Plaza, a 780,000-square-foot, office-residential-parking complex currently under construction along Fifth Avenue. The hotel rooms will fill portions of the top 10 floors, providing unobstructed views of PNC Park, while the lobby and entrance will sit on the first floor, near Liberty Avenue and Fifth.

Twenty eight condos -- called The Residences at The Fairmont -- also will take portions of the upper floors, separated from the hotel by different elevator lobbies. A 6,000-square-foot hotel ballroom will overlook Fifth, on the second floor, its glass windows visible to the street below.

The $178 million project, up $8 million in price from last summer's groundbreaking due to slight design changes, is the cornerstone of a Downtown revival plan that includes an array of new residential towers throughout the Golden Triangle. Just yesterday, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Trek Development announced plans for a 61-unit loft and studio conversion of the 12-story Century Building, along Seventh Avenue, only blocks from PNC's construction site.

"It is PNC's aspiration to deliver the best project we could for the city of Pittsburgh," said PNC Financial Services Group Senior Vice President Gary Saulson, the company's director of realty services. "We think getting a Fairmont Hotel is certainly a tremendous step in the right direction."

The Fairmont, Mr. Saulson argued, will enhance Pittsburgh's ability to attract top-flight conventions and thus "significantly change the face of Pittsburgh's convention business," addressing a shortage of hotel rooms at the higher end of the market. Downtown, the 300-room Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel on Sixth Avenue is the most expensive on average, with a daily room rate around $150 a night. Its corporate rate is $239 per night, and it charges between $299 and $400 for most suites, depending on the night.

Despite its price, Renaissance fills about 75 percent of its rooms, on average, among the highest occupancy rates in the city. Its performance is an indication to Mr. Saulson that demand exists for a higher-priced, more upscale hotel experience. The Fairmont will be a "step above" the Renaissance in price, Mr. Saulson said.

Renaissance sales and marketing director Tom Hemer agrees there is more room at the high end of the hotel market Downtown for a competitor such as Fairmont, but, "I haven't had the opportunity to prove that," he said. "There hasn't been another hotel out there."

He described Fairmont as a "very, very good" operator but not as well known as certain worldwide rivals.

"Everyone knows Ritz-Carlton," said Mr. Hemer. "Everyone knows Four Seasons. Does everybody know Fairmont? That is the question."

Mr. Saulson of PNC conceded that the bank spoke to a "a number" of hotel management companies but that having a flag of Fairmont's caliber was always "our aspiration."

The company, billing itself as the largest luxury hotel manager in North America, oversees 50 hotels in 10 countries. Many are legendary properties in their respective cities.

The original Fairmont was in San Francisco, a property that survived a major 1906 earthquake to open in 1907. Other landmark properties include The Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle, The Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., and The Fairmont Chicago.

Canadian Pacific Hotels purchased Fairmont Hotels in 1999.

PNC liked Fairmont's corporate culture, as well.

"They strive to relate to the communities they do business in -- they like to buy a lot of locally grown produce and use a lot of locally provided food products in the hotel," Mr. Saulson said.

However, writing Fairmont into the larger plan for Three PNC Plaza has raised the construction costs from $170 million to $178 million due to the company's design requirements and the complicated task of mixing office, hotel and residential space. In addition to a hotel and condos, Three PNC will have 326,000 square feet of office space -- half taken by PNC and half leased by law firm Reed Smith.

PNC will own the entire complex and will pick up the extra costs, Mr. Saulson said.

The site already has a $48 million in public support -- $30 million from the state and $18 million in tax-increment financing, a tool that diverts future property tax revenue created by a project to pay off bonds issued to finance a project.


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(Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752. )

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Penguins dropped the gloves in negotiations over a new arena yesterday, declaring an impasse in the talks and saying they would "aggressively explore relocation."

The decision surprised Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, both of whom insisted they thought the two sides were close to a deal to keep the team in Pittsburgh.

But Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle painted a far different picture in a letter to Mr. Ravenstahl, Mr. Onorato and Gov. Ed Rendell, saying they still haven't been able to reach a deal even though they have agreed to pay $4 million a year toward a new arena -- the same amount demanded by public officials nearly a year ago.

"Therefore, we have no choice but to declare an impasse and to notify [National Hockey League] Commissioner Gary Bettman that we will aggressively explore relocation," the letter said. "This is a disappointing but necessary conclusion, given the uncertainty that exists as we attempt to move forward."

The decision could push the team closer to a move to Kansas City, where the Penguins have been offered the new $276 million Sprint Center rent-free with no construction costs and half the building revenues.

Toward that end, team officials may meet this week with representatives for the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which will manage the Sprint Center and share revenues with the team.

William "Boots" Del Biaggio, the California venture capitalist who has an agreement in place with AEG to run an NHL franchise at the Sprint Center in Kansas City if he can procure one, had no comment on the letter.

A source speaking on condition of anonymity said, "I just can't see them leaving Pittsburgh. I think they're still negotiating, and this is a way to get the governor's office serious about completing the final details."

AEG President Tim Lewieke told the Kansas City Star last weekend that there are dates on hold for the team, but added he would "be very surprised if Pittsburgh came Kansas City's way."

The Penguins' Mellon Arena lease expires June 30.

Declaring an impasse does not mean the team will move, and sources close to the Penguins would not rule out further talks with state and local officials.

Both Mr. Onorato and Mr. Ravenstahl vowed to reach out to the team to try to resolve the latest flare-up.

Officials were scrambling last night to try to set up a meeting with the Penguins later this week.

"At the end of the day, I think we all have the same interests in mind, and that is to get a deal done and to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh. We are prepared to sit back down as soon as possible, and that could be as long or as short as the Penguins want it to be," Mr. Ravenstahl said.

Frank Brown, a spokesman for Mr. Bettman, said the commissioner, who has been serving as a go-between in the talks, is aware of the latest developments and is in touch with the parties.

"Any further comment at this point would not be constructive," he said.

A spokesman for Mr. Rendell, who declared the two sides "very close" to a deal last week, declined comment.

The mayor wouldn't rule out an appeal to the NHL to block a move if it came to that. He said public officials didn't believe they would have to use that option because "we feel that we have a competitive deal on the table."

"But certainly, if it's something that we have to resort to as a last-ditch effort, it's something we'd certainly consider before we let the team leave," he said.

In their letter, team owners said appeals filed by Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. and Forest City Enterprises over the Pittsburgh casino license Friday "cause us great concern." Both casino license winner Don Barden and Forest City had pledged $7.5 million a year toward the arena, but that major funding source is now tied up in litigation before the state Supreme Court.

"A project of this scope, with so many complex issues, can ill afford further delays that add more risk and more uncertainty," the letter stated. "The risk has been magnified by what we perceive as a lack of collaboration from the public sector in the negotiations."

The declaration of an impasse came even though the two sides appeared to be close to agreement on major financial terms.

In addition to the $7.5 million a year committed by Mr. Barden, the state has agreed to contribute $7.5 million a year from a gambling-backed economic development fund, an increase of $500,000 over the amount originally proposed in the Plan B funding formula.

That formula initially called for the Penguins to contribute $4 million a year, including $1.16 million annually in naming rights, plus an upfront contribution of $8.5 million.

By the time state and local officials met with Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle Jan. 4, the team's share had dropped to $2.86 million a year, according to sources close to the Penguins. The upfront share would be covered by the sale of the Penguins-owned former St. Francis Central Hospital, needed for the new arena, to the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority.

The Penguins' share later increased after local officials dropped a proposal to use amusement tax revenue to raise $1.2 million a year. That pushed the team share to $3.6 million a year, plus another $400,000 annually for capital expenses. The team also has agreed to pay $500,000 a year for a parking garage to be part of the arena complex.

Sources close to the Penguins say, however, it's not so much the financial terms as it is a perceived lack of collaboration from public officials that has led to the impasse. They said the tone from the public side has been unduly adversarial for the last two months, including a table-pounding outburst by Mr. Rendell during a Jan. 18 meeting.

The last straw, according to those sources, came Friday, when state officials refused to share interest rate information with the team regarding the financing of the arena. The Penguins believe the two pots of gambling related revenues, plus their share, should be enough to pay for a $290 million arena; state officials indicated there's still a gap.

While the Penguins complained about a lack of collaboration from public officials, Mr. Onorato said public officials have sensed the same adversarial tone from the Penguins.

"I would say that our feelings would probably be the exact same as theirs but in reverse," he said. "But I just assumed that's part of negotiation and you ultimately get to a point where both sides agree."

Neither he nor Mr. Ravenstahl saw the appeals of the casino license as a major impediment, pointing out that all three applicants had agreed to help finance an arena.

In their letter, Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle said they had extended their deadline for replying to Kansas City officials by 30 days because they wanted to stay in Pittsburgh.

"Our good-faith efforts have not produced a deal, however, and have only added more anxiety to what we thought at best was a risky proposition for us moving forward," the letter stated

ah... the return of donbuy... always the bearer of bad news in any Pittsburgh thread...

hey, btw donbuy... US Air picked us over Phoenix for the new flight operations center despite offering a financial package half that of Phoenix... but maybe they just felt sorry for us...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07047/762542-96.stm

$65 million in labs and offices coming to South Oakland complex
Friday, February 16, 2007

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Lake Fong , Post-Gazette
With a drawing of the development beside him, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl talks yesterday about Bridgeside Point II, a $65 million investment in labs and offices that will sit alongside its namesake in the Pittsburgh Technology Center.



By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bio is a safe bet.

That's the message Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and developer The Ferchill Group brought to South Oakland yesterday, as they touted a $65 million investment in labs and offices for which there is, as yet, no tenant.

"This is how we're going to revitalize this city," said Mr. Ravenstahl, speaking in the cafeteria of Bridgeside Point, a fully leased Petri dish of biotechnology companies.

"I really believe that this can and will be the future of this economy."

The 150,000-square-foot Bridgeside Point II will sit alongside its namesake in the Pittsburgh Technology Center. It will be one-third office space and two-thirds lab. Once filled, it could host 400 jobs, according to the developer.

The Ferchill Group is convinced that the new development will, in fact, be fully occupied since the company has been forced to turn away prospective tenants from Bridgeside Point, which it also built.

"There are people that would like to be in here now," said Marty Herman, president of The Ferchill Group.

"There's very limited space available in the Oakland area," which is where most local biotechnology firms come from and want to be near.

That's why his company is willing to build a $46 million sequel, with $2.25 million in public money from the state going toward construction costs.

It's also why the mayor is betting $19 million in local tax money for road improvements and a 750-space parking garage.

"There is clearly the need" for the building, Mr. Ravenstahl said, "and the economy itself and the future of this city will drive this project."

Groundbreaking should occur in three months, and tenants could be moving in a year later, said Mr. Herman.

The University of Pittsburgh spins out five to 10 companies a year, roughly three-fourths of which are health science-related, said Marc Malandro, associate vice chancellor for technology management and commercialization.

"Life and health science companies need very specific kinds of lab and office space," he said. The new building "has, in my opinion, a very easy chance to be full."

The Pittsburgh Life Science Greenhouse has 17,000 square feet of lab and office space for new companies, but it is full.

The city's Urban Redevelopment Authority board voted yesterday to sell the 1.6-acre site to The Ferchill Group for $300,000 an acre.

The URA hopes the area will eventually feature five new office buildings and three garages, which could involve $43.3 million in public investment. Most of that would be raised through tax-increment financing, in which the URA borrows money to aid development and pays it back using future property tax revenue generated by the new development.

Bridgeside Point II is the biggest commercial deal to come to fruition in Mr. Ravenstahl's tenure.

He said that the city's investment is different from past subsidies such as Mayor Tom Murphy's heavy backing of the Downtown Lazarus store, now closed and being renovated into condominiums, office and retail space. The local tax money will go for infrastructure work rather than a privately owned building, and it will back a growth industry, not retail.



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(Rich Lord can be reached at rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542. )

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Market-rate, subsidized housing is close to Downtown
Saturday, February 17, 2007

By Kevin Kirkland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



"Homeownership: The Only 'Safe' Bet on the Hill" says a hand-lettered sign stuck in the ground near new townhouses at the corner of Webster Avenue and Roberts Street.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070218lfHillDistrict03_450.jpg
Lake Fong, Post-Gazette
The house at 702 Roberts St. has an optional third floor. In the distance is a row of 100-year-old townhouses once typical of the Hill District.

On the other side of Webster is a century-old row of brick townhouses, some with boarded-up windows, a few with daylight showing through the roof.

The old and the new face each other in the Hill District.

Webster and surrounding streets -- the proposed Webster Avenue Historic District -- represent a past both bright and battered, from the Hill's melting-pot origins in the late 19th century, to its heyday in the 1930s and '40s as the heart of Pittsburgh's African-American community, to the blight and decay that festered amid urban renewal efforts beginning in the 1950s.

Today, new housing springs up on empty lots or entire blocks where old brick and frame houses once stood. And the woman who placed that hand-lettered sign, Northwood Realty agent Carol Foster-Allen, thinks it's about time.

"People can say what they want, but the Hill is transitioning into a wonderful location, with a suburban feeling but close to the city," she said.

Ms. Foster-Allen has eight listings for new houses ranging in price from $135,000 to $171,000 on Webster Avenue and Roberts and Davenport streets. First-time buyers with incomes of $66,100 or less are eligible for deferments of up to $60,000, which brings the price down to $75,000 for a three-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit or $111,000 for a four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home with third-floor upgrade.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070218lfHillDistrict04_450.jpg

Lake Fong, Post-Gazette
The kitchen of 702 Roberts St. in the Hill District.

"They cost a lot more than that to build," Ms. Foster-Allen noted.

As public housing complexes like Bedford Dwellings come down, subsidized housing appears to be the future of the Hill District. But one house that recently went on the market, 1705 Webster Ave., suggests there's also room for market-rate luxury homes.

The 2,800-square-foot house on a double lot is priced at $349,900 through Realtor Bob Dini of Prudential Preferred Realty. With brick and vinyl siding and a pretty arched window over the leaded-glass front door, it boasts four bedrooms, two full baths and two half baths, including one in the finished basement.

The house also has a front porch, two-story foyer, rear deck, security system, hardwood floors on the first floor, granite and laminate counters in the kitchen and bathrooms and a cathedral ceiling in the master bedroom. It's as lavish as any home in an upscale suburban development with one bonus: proximity and a great view of Downtown, especially the U.S. Steel and Mellon Bank buildings and the huge dome of Mellon Arena.

"We loved the area. We walked to everything. Mellon Arena was a 5-minute walk," said Scott Chrismer, who bought the house new five years ago with his wife, Elissa.

"The trend now is urban living," said Mr. Dini, his Realtor. "Everything people like to do is Downtown."

Mr. Chrismer, who is white, said the neighborhood is a mix of black and white professionals, empty-nesters, doctors, lawyers, even a Pittsburgh Steeler. An IT consultant who now works in Charleston, S.C., Mr. Chrismer, 35, said he and his wife bought the house in Phase 3 of Crawford Square partly because of its investment potential.

"A house that close to Downtown is worth $900,000 in other cities," he said.

Ms. Foster-Allen, who helped market Crawford Square -- including subsidized housing in phases 1 and 2 -- said demand for the market-rate housing surprised Realtors.

"We couldn't build houses big enough. Three bedrooms wasn't enough," she said.


http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070218rrhill2_450.jpg
Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette
Downtown buildings can be seen from the window of the master bathroom at 1705 Webster Ave.

Three of her eight listings -- phase 1 of the Bedford Hope VI development -- are already under contract, including 702 Roberts, whose third floor gives it 1,845 square feet.

The $150,000 houses on Davenport have nearly 1,400 square feet and an integral two-car garage, while the $135,000 houses on Webster have 1,320 square feet and a detached garage. All come with lots of windows, carpeting or vinyl flooring and choice of cherry or maple cabinetry in the baths and kitchen.

Qualified buyers, who must attend a home buyers seminar given by Neighborhood Housing Services, can upgrade to hardwood flooring and stainless-steel or black appliances. All eight are to be finished in March.

Altogether, Phase 1 of Bedford Hope VI will include 29 houses. McCormack Baron Salazar and Pittsburgh Housing Development Corp. are the developers, with funding from the Pittsburgh Housing Authority. Steve Catranel Construction is the builder.

So far, the emphasis in Hill development has been on new housing rather than rehabs. Many of the century-old brick buildings are structurally sound, but shell rehabs like those done on the North Side would cost in the $200,000s or $300,000s, experts say. That's too expensive for the Hill District, where the median house price last year was $48,000 and the maximum paid was $310,000, according to RealSTATs.

"If you're doing multiple houses and there is a subsidy, I think there is a good opportunity for rehabs," said Dan Holland, chairman and founder of the Young Preservationists Association.

Vera Shelton hopes the Hill is rising again. She is trying to sell her nearly 120-year-old brick rowhouse on a double lot at 103 Roberts St. for $124,900 through Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.

She bought the 2,850-square-foot building with four bedrooms and three baths 18 years ago as a home for herself and her young son and daughter. Since then, she has added a second-story deck and replaced most of the windows, the roof and the boiler. She has lowered the high ceilings but was careful to preserve the original doors, woodwork and fireplace mantels. Her children are now adults living in Maryland, and she's 53 years old and looking to downsize.

"It's too big and has too many stairs for me," she said.

On the market for more than a year, the house is a tough sale partly because it's attached to its boarded-up, decaying twin, which is owned by the Veterans Affairs Administration, according to county records. Though the Hill desperately needs a grocery store, she said, she wouldn't mind buying another house here, maybe even one of the new ones at the other end of Roberts Street. Friends tell her $150,000 is too much. She disagrees.

"If you work, they have all kinds of programs, so it wouldn't cost that much," she said. "If you want something nice, that's what it costs. This is 2007. People got to face reality."


An open house will be held from noon to 2 p.m. today at 1705 Webster Ave., Hill District. Information: Bob Dini of Prudential Preferred Realty at 412-833-7700, ext. 209, or www.prudentialpreferred.com, MLS No. 654460.

For information on the Bedford Hope VI houses, call Carol Foster-Allen of Northwood Realty at 412-367-3200, ext. 260, or www.northwood.com.

For information on 103 Roberts St., call Alvin Brown Jr. of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services at 412-271-7600 or www.howardhanna.com, MLS. No. 642527.


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(Kevin Kirkland can be reached at kkirkland@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1978. )

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07047/762612-53.stm

$1 million settles Garden Theatre affair
Friday, February 16, 2007

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



The last barricade to developing the Federal Street-North Avenue corridor has fallen after a six-year legal battle.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority expects to take possession of the Garden Theatre within 20 days after settling yesterday with New Garden Realty Corp. for $1.1 million.

"It was the missing piece," said Robin Miller, executive director of the North Side/North Shore Chamber of Commerce.

Don Kortlandt, the URA's general counsel, said he approached the theater's legal counsel after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed the owner of the North Side porn theater another defeat on appeal Dec. 27. The court affirmed a lower court ruling that the URA did not violate the theater's state or federal free-speech rights in its effort to seize it by eminent domain.

The URA and the theater's owner had engaged in a legal fight that lasted more than six years. Mr. Kortlandt said the owner had asked for $2.8 million in 1999.

"Had we not settled this matter," said Mr. Kortlandt, "I am certain they would have gone ahead with an appeal" to the U.S. Supreme Court.

New Garden Realty had until March 27 to request a hearing in Washington, D.C., and the possibility presented "a galaxy of legal risks," he said.

The parties discussed details of a consensual resolution "on and off through January," he said. "We had cordial discussions with the owner and the lawyers."

Mr. Kortlandt said that in the next 20 days, the URA will assemble its funds and have a bill of sale prepared. The price includes equipment and furnishings. "And I want to be certain there are no liens or encumbrances of any kind."

For more than a decade, revitalization of the corridor of Federal Street and North Avenue has been stalled because nobody advanced plans to start developing around the porn theater.

Last month, state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, said it was about time they did; he spoke at a sidewalk ceremony at which Mayor Luke Ravenstahl announced a request for proposals from potential developers. That was two weeks after the state Supreme Court's decision.

The call for proposals left the gate early, but Mr. Kortlandt said the Garden will be included as an addendum.

"We've had encouraging responses" so far to the call for proposals, he said. "I think many parties were perplexed at what it would mean to develop without the Garden" being taken. "Now, hopefully, they'll be more energized. It will be an interesting and exciting next couple of months."

Neighborhood leaders agreed.

Mark Fatla, executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference, said the North Side has been waiting for the building "to fill the community's needs for a broader range of artistic expression."

"Now the building can have a higher use for the neighborhood," said Ms. Miller. "It's exciting. Finally. Now there's a great opportunity that it might benefit" other investment, such as restaurants, one of which Steelers great Franco Harris is planning to open in the summer at Federal and North.

John Canning, a longtime neighborhood resident and advocate, said he went to afternoon matinees at the Garden as a boy, when the film fare attracted a broader audience.

"I think it was a narrow-minded attitude that nothing could be developed around it," he said. "But it was an impediment. That corner will begin to move very soon," he said, alluding to Federal Hill housing and the Carnegie Library's commitment to locate its Allegheny branch on Federal. "It's exciting."


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(Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. )

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070216jh_garden0216_450.jpg
John Heller, Post-Gazette
Looking down North Avenue at the Garden Theatre near Federal Street on the North Side.

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Billion-dollar boom on the North Shore
Sunday, February 18, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ever so gradually, the North Shore is going from bust to boom.

For some 30 years, the land surrounding Three Rivers Stadium served as Pittsburgh's biggest parking lot, a bleak patch of asphalt with virtually no development.

But now that is changing. With PNC Park and Heinz Field leading the way, the North Shore area is in the midst of a development boom that could reach more than $1.1 billion with the construction of the Majestic Star casino in 2008.

In the last six years, the North Shore has seen the completion of two new sports venues, the Del Monte and Equitable office buildings, a hotel, a riverfront park and a parking garage.

Much of the activity has been the result of work by Columbus-based Continental Real Estate Cos., hired by the Steelers and the Pirates to bring development to the area between Heinz Field and PNC Park. The two teams share development rights to that stretch.

Even bigger things could be on tap over the next few years, with the anticipated construction of two more hotels, another office building, and a proposed entertainment venue featuring a 5,000-seat amphitheater and nightclubs.

And on the Ohio River, Detroit businessman Don Barden is getting ready to turn a barren 17-acre waterfront site between the West End Bridge and Carnegie Science Center into the crown jewel of his gambling empire -- the $435 million Majestic Star slot machine casino, to open in 2008 with restaurants, nightclubs, an outdoor amphitheater and other amenities. It could open up even more opportunities for development.



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(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-262-1262. )


CLICK THE PDF TO SEE THE MAP

http://www.post-gazette.com/download...re_cropped.pdf

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17852763&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=565757&rfi=8

Local officials, residents participate in regional town meeting Web conference
By Josh Krysak, Herald-Standard
02/15/2007
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Several local officials, along with about a dozen area residents, gathered Monday evening to participate in the first-ever regional town meeting Web conference hosted by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC.)


The meeting, held at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, was convened to discuss and review future economic and community growth in a 10-county region, including Fayette, Greene, Westmoreland and Washington counties, and was conducted via the Internet.

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According to SPC officials, the meeting was held to explore what area communities will look like in the future, how many people will live in the region and how many jobs will be available to area residents.

Officials said the meeting was just one part of a program called Project Region: The Southwestern Pennsylvania Plan, which was described as a

mechanism for connecting a desire by the SPC to be recognized as one of the best places to live to the region's federally mandated implementation program of projects and actions.

"People say we need a regional plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania, and that's absolutely true. When we plan as a region, we create regionally significant opportunities," Jim Hassinger, executive director of SPC said. "SPC is very excited to be hosting this first-of-its-kind live Regional Town Meeting where participants can not only talk with their neighbors, but can also hear from people in other parts of the region. We encourage everyone to participate in developing our new regional plan by giving us their ideas and feedback on different growth and development scenarios for our region's future."

Project Region policy statements include a dedication to the revitalization and re-development of existing communities, a focus on business development and retention and maintenance of the existing transportation systems and infrastructure. Meeting participants had the opportunity to review three computer-generated scenarios of future growth development patterns. Maps and data for each scenario displayed different ways in which the region could accommodate changes and additions in the next 30 years.

And meeting goers could compare the scenarios with how the region is currently trending.

According to SPC estimates, the 10-county region will gain about 500,000 people in the next 30 years and will add 400,000 households over that same span with about 300,000 new jobs being created.

"If current trends continue, there will be little correlation between where people live and where the jobs are," SPC spokesman Lou Villotti said.

SPC projections revealed the region is trending toward high development density in developed areas but a low amount of land being developed overall and an increased cost of basic infrastructure.

The first future projection, titled dispersed/fringe, had a very low development density but a high amount of developed land across the region with households not near highways or mass transit and infrastructure costs at a high level.

The second projection, compact/infill/transit oriented, showed an extremely high density of development, with a very low amount of actual land being used, households relatively close to transit and highways and infrastructure costs lower than projected trends.

The third projection, corridor/cluster, showed a fairly high density of development in developed areas, a fairly low amount of land developed overall, homes very close to highways and basic infrastructure costs in a median range.

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Downtown, North Shore projects valued at $3.4 billion, without casino
Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

More than $3.4 billion is being invested in Downtown and the North Shore, according to Pittsburgh's Department of City Planning.

Yesterday, Jeremy M. Smith, the zoning administrator and assistant director of the department, showed the planning board a map locating $3.4 billion in projects that are under construction or in the works.

Some of those developments are public, such as the $42 million Grant Street Transportation Center, which will serve as a Greyhound bus station and a parking garage, and the $435 million North Shore Connector, a pair of Light Rail Transit system tunnels being built under the Allegheny River.

Most of the others are private developments, like the condominiums and retail space at Piatt Place, at the former Lazarus/Macy's department store; the 23-story office tower at Fifth and Liberty avenues; and the new buildings at Point Park University.

Mr. Smith did not include on that map the $450 million casino slated to be built near the Carnegie Science Center. He said that and a few other developments could bring the total investment closer to $4 billion.

Downtown rentals on tap
Cultural Trust could be part of 60-unit Century Building project
Pittsburgh Business Times - February 23, 2007by Ben Semmes


Another largely vacant Downtown office building could soon be turned into apartments if the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and a private developer get their way.

The Cultural Trust and Oakland-based TREK Development Group are negotiating for the purchase of the 68,000-square-foot Century Building at 130 Seventh St., for a project that could turn the 12-story building into nearly 60 rental apartments, sources familiar with the project told the Business Times.

TREK Development president Bill Gatti confirmed this week that his company and the Cultural Trust are in negotiations with Gary Reinert Sr., who owns the building.

"There are discussions ongoing," Gatti said, but declined to comment further.

Reinert, who also owns the Grille on Seventh restaurant in the building's basement and first floor, said he expected to close on the sale of the building shortly but could not name the potential buyers. The building is assessed by Allegheny County at $3 million.

A source familiar with the project, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because of the project's sensitive nature, said plans include conversion of the building's upper floors, now office space, into nearly 60 affordable rental housing units.

Cultural Trust spokeswoman Veronica Corpuz said that the organization couldn't comment, but expected to release information next week.

Patty Burk, vice president of housing and economic development at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, also declined to discuss potential activity at the building.

"We are not going to comment on that project," she said.

Michael Downey, a sales associate with Downtown-based Grubb & Ellis Co., who is working to lease the building with broker Tom McChesney, said the upper floors of the building are about 50 percent occupied by small office tenants, but declined to comment further.

Gregg Broujos, a principal at North Side-based NAI Pittsburgh Commercial who is working to sell an office building nearby, said the project seemed to be similar to some of TREK's past endeavors, including its conversion of office space at 910 Penn Avenue into 25 apartments.

"(The project) would make sense because TREK has a history with that type of housing," Broujos said.

As for the location of the project, Broujos said it couldn't be better.

"That's the hot spot in Pittsburgh," he said.

A CHANGING NEIGHBORHOOD
Just down the block from the Century Building, Dallas-based developer Lincoln Property Co. unveiled its 151-unit, 18-story Encore on 7th apartment building last summer.

And across Seventh Street, the Cultural Trust is planning to begin work later this year on Riverparc, the $460 million mixed-use development led by Concord Eastridge of Washington, D.C. The project will include 700 residential units as well as an assortment of restaurants and retailers. The development, which could take as many as 10 years to complete, will be built on the area bounded by Seventh Street, Penn Avenue, Ninth Street and Fort Duquesne Boulevard.

If the Cultural Trust and TREK are successful in getting the Century Building converted to apartments, it would mark the sixth mostly vacant Downtown building to undergo residential conversion in the past year or so. A report last fall from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership showed The Carlyle, The Granite Building, the former Lazarus store (now Piatt Place), as well as buildings at 930 and 941 Penn Avenue all having been converted to residential use or having construction under way.

Eve Picker, president of no wall productions inc., which has developed several loft projects Downtown, said city living in Pittsburgh is finally catching on. In addition to saving money on commuting, city dwellers often get more exercise walking and can take advantage of a variety of cultural opportunities Downtown, she said.

"We are so far behind other cities, it's a joke," Picker said. "It's good that it's finally happening. It's about time. It's a national trend that we are on the tail end of. The suburbs are not appealing to people who don't have families and want to be in the heart of activity."

Bill Dietrich, vice president of new homes for the Pittsburgh office of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Inc., has his hands full marketing several condominium projects under way Downtown, including 151 First Side, The Carlyle and The Granite Building.

Dietrich said sales are moving briskly at the 81-unit 151 First Side, where nearly three quarters of the units have been sold. At the 62-unit Carlyle, located at Fourth Avenue and Wood Street, more than 20 units have been snapped up, he added.

"We feel fortunate to be down there now, early in the build-out of Downtown Pittsburgh, with (new) product," he said. "I think you find a lot of people are renting ... and are trying out urban living. When their leases are up ... (condominiums) will fit perfectly. I think you are going to see the build-out Downtown continue."


Century Building at right:
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/66651051.jpg

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07058/765210-28.stm


Health-care giant UPMC continues East End growth, may move base Downtown
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center first approached Ward Olander about buying a three-story property he owned on Centre Avenue, the longtime East End real estate developer said the building was not for sale.

"They couldn't believe it," Mr. Olander said. "They never run into an a owner who isn't willing to sell."

But as Mr. Olander found out, UPMC can be very persuasive. On Jan. 16, Mr. Olander sold his 10,500-square-foot building to UPMC for a cool $1.75 million -- a significant increase from the $200,000 he paid in 1992. To sweeten the deal, UPMC also agreed to lease another Olander building on Melwood Avenue.

All in all, a "fair price," Mr. Olander said.

The region's largest employer, UPMC continues to stretch out in the East End and Downtown, paying exorbitant prices and bolstering neighborhood redevelopment efforts as it expands. In the last 13 months, the Oakland health-care giant has spent $13 million acquiring properties surrounding its Hillman Cancer Center in Shadyside, preparing for a possible expansion of 300,000 square feet. It currently has another eight-acre parcel under contract along Baum Boulevard, across the street from the cancer center. And it continues to close in on a relocation of its headquarters from Oakland to Downtown.

UPMC wants to place its headquarters inside the city's largest office building, the 64-story U.S. Steel Tower, having eliminated several other real estate options Downtown. In fact, UPMC recently moved some purchasing department employees onto a floor of U.S. Steel Tower without a final lease in place -- a sign of how serious it is about the building.

UPMC spokesman Frank Raczkiewicz confirmed yesterday that the hospital conglomerate is in "discussions" with the owners of U.S. Steel Tower. But he also noted that no agreement has been signed.

Real estate observers are speculating how large a commitment UPMC could make to Downtown -- Grubb & Ellis guessed in a research report that the lease would amount to a minimum of 200,000 square feet with "substantial expansion options phased in over time." But other real estate sources said UPMC could take a lot more, perhaps as much as 400,000 square feet, noting that UPMC's needs are getting larger, not smaller. And that it wants its name plastered somewhere on the building.

A lease signing is still several weeks away, at the earliest.

A consolidation of headquarters space Downtown "forms part of our plans to manage our continuing growth and success," said Mr. Raczkiewicz, "as we continually look for ways to improve our efficiencies and effectiveness to best serve the needs of the community."

UPMC, a nonprofit employing 40,000, already is one of the city's biggest property owners, with $660 million in untaxed property. It ended fiscal 2006 with a surplus, or "profit" of $523 million, and it is the builder of the region's largest construction project -- the 900,000-square-foot, $575 million Children's Hospital in Lawrenceville.

Its merger with Shadyside Hospital in 1997 and the opening of its 300,000-square-foot Hillman Cancer in 2002 transformed the area of Shadyside between Centre and Baum Boulevard. With UPMC needing more space, properties are selling for hefty profits. It paid $1.3 million for a Boston Market restaurant at 5200 Baum -- a site that sold for $391,850 in 1994. It also purchased a separate parcel next to the Boston Market for $485,000.

Its biggest play was the $10 million spent last year on an old Ford Motor Co. assembly plant at 5000 Baum. Its original plan, according to city Councilman Bill Peduto, was to tear down the building and use the site for a expansion of the cancer center. The Olander parcel purchased last month for $1.75 million sits next to the Ford assembly site.

But given the site's legacy as part of the city's old automobile row, preservationists opposed the demolition of the plant, and UPMC backed off, according to Mr. Peduto. The change may have led UPMC to the eight-acre site along Baum it currently has under contract. The sloped property at one time was slated for a $115 million office-parking-hotel development called Luna Square. The speculation now is that UPMC could use the Luna Square site for its cancer center expansion.

"That gives them a whole new sheet of paper to work with," said Mr. Olander.


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(Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752. )

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070227upmc_shadyside.gif



...



here's a little blurb about regional construction

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07058/765206-28.stm

Construction contracts climb


The value of contracts for future residential and nonresidential construction in the Pittsburgh area jumped by 50 percent in January. McGraw-Hill Construction reported that the total value of contracts was $252.7 million, up from $168 million in January 2006. The value of residential contracts fell by 12 percent in the month, while the value of nonresidential contracts rose by 120 percent. The Pittsburgh area includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07059/765524-298.stm

Pitt's Cathedral of Learning in line for a scrubbing
Wednesday, February 28, 2007

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070228ds_pitt_cathedralPJ02_450.jpg
Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette
Decades of soot and other elements have darkened and eroded the Cathedral of Learning's Indiana limestone exterior.



By Bill Schackner, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev once strolled its cavernous halls. So have author Alex Haley, Britain's Prince Andrew and generations of regular Pittsburghers who sometimes stop mid-step to gaze at its imposing architecture.

But as impressive as the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning is, this tallest of schoolhouses in the Western Hemisphere, 42 stories high, has long made do with an image that is stained.

That's because decades of soot and other elements have darkened and eroded its Indiana limestone exterior, creating a two-tone effect running up and down the landmark skyscraper.

That will soon change.

Pitt trustees today are expected to authorize a $4.8 million project starting next month to clean and restore the building, including cracked stones and loose or missing mortar in hundreds of locations. A special pool within Pitt's $2 billion "Discover a World of Possibilities" campaign will be designated to support the work.

Today's vote by the trustees' property and facilities committee is intended to coincide with Pitt's founding 220 years ago.

"Emotionally, the Cathedral of Learning means so much to me as it does to many people," Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg said. "I walk into that building every day, look up at such majestic surroundings, and I think somebody, sometime, while the building was being built, thought important work was going to be done here.

"It is a striking symbol of our high aspirations," he said.

Standing 535 feet tall, the Cathedral is both a national historic landmark and one of Pittsburgh's most visible skyscrapers. Its height among academic structures is surpassed only by an 800-foot building at Moscow State University, though Pitt officials have long said their skyscraper deserves top billing because much of the Moscow structure's upper reaches is uninhabitable.

The Gothic Revival structure has some 2,000 rooms and enough stairs to keep a marathoner in shape. It is home to numerous academic offices and classrooms, including the Honors College, eateries and a theater, plus the offices of Mr. Nordenberg and other top administrators and the board of trustees.

Most famously, though, the Cathedral is home to Pitt's 26 Nationality Rooms, classrooms bearing the designs of various countries. Over the years, the rooms have attracted celebrities and world figures, including Mr. Khrushchev, who toured in 1959.

"He didn't like the Russian room because it didn't have any symbols of his beliefs," said E. Maxine Bruhns, who directs the Nationality Rooms program. "They took him up to the early American room and he said, 'Now this is a Russian Room.' It had a big fireplace, a wooden floor, big heavy wooden beams and a carved table."

Pitt already is upgrading the Cathedral's interior with sprinklers, central air conditioning and other infrastructure work. But this is the first major exterior preservation project in its 70 years, and it will be no simple undertaking.

Pitt said part of the exterior is laden with residue of carbons, sulfur dioxides and gypsum. The deposits, if not removed, will further erode the building's architecture as they capture moisture.

The limestone will be pre-washed using pressurized water, said Joseph Fink, associate vice chancellor for facilities management. A cleaning media made up of 100 percent recycled powdered glass will be used and then removed using pressurized water.

Pitt officials said the inert, nontoxic media has been used on the likes of Buckingham Palace in Great Britain, the Kremlin in Russia and St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Mr. Fink said the thousands who work or attend classes daily in the Cathedral can keep their normal routines, even after scaffolding is erected.

"There's not going to be a lot of dust, moisture or anything like that. It's really going to run down the side of the building," he said. "Most of it's going to fall down to the roof below the section they're working on."

Pitt hopes to finish the work in September, a schedule that will protect Erie and Dorothy, two peregrine falcons residing atop the tower. Crews will not tackle the upper floors until the end of June after the falcons have left their nest.

University reserves will finance the work temporarily while money is being raised, said Al Novak Jr., Pitt vice chancellor for institutional advancement. An initial contribution was made by Ellen Roth, a principal of Getting to the Point Inc., and her husband, Loren Roth, a professor and administrator at Pitt.

The Cathedral was the vision of then-Chancellor John Bowman. According to Pitt records, he wrote in 1921 of erecting a "high building, a tower -- a tower singing upward that would tell the epic story of Pittsburgh." A few years later, he first referred to the building by its name, according to Robert C. Alberts, author of "Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787-1987."

Construction began in 1926 and took 11 years. It was aided by some 97,000 school children who donated dimes in return for certificates saying they helped build it.

One of them, Emma Rose, now 83, went on to graduate from Pitt in 1945 and now lives in Hartford, Conn. "It makes me feel good that I did make a little contribution," she said.


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(Bill Schackner can be reached at bschackner@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1977. )

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070228cathedral_chart.jpg

more on the Century Building conversion... nice to have a socially aware downtown developer like the Cultural Trust

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_495478.html

Trust to offer historic residence Downtown

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, March 1, 2007


Another building is being added to the list of new and existing structures offering residential living Downtown.
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is teaming with Trek Development Group on a $15 million project to convert the historic 12-story Century Building on Seventh Street into a 61-unit loft-apartment complex.

"As part of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's mission to develop a thriving arts and residential neighborhood, The Century Building will be a great complement to the Cultural District's broad array of residential offerings," said J. Kevin McMahon, president and CEO of Cultural Trust.

The trust provided financing for Trek, a Pittsburgh-based firm, to acquire the 78,000-square-foot building.

The organization has spearheaded development of the city's 14-block Cultural District, where the Encore on 7th, Penn Garrison, and Liberty Lofts are in place. It also is moving forward with plans to develop RiverParc, a $460 million project expected to create 700 residences, 159,000 square feet of retail space and 1,500 parking spaces on six acres between Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Penn Avenue.

Trek's local projects include the 900 Penn Apartments, which has been fully leased since opening in 1999 in the Cultural District.

The purchase price of the building was not immediately disclosed. According to Allegheny County records, the building, owned by the Chartiers Valley Industrial & Commercial Development Authority, has a market value of $3 million, including land.

Billed as an "affordable" residential development, the Century Building project will offer a mix of single-room studio and one- and two-bedroom loft units renting from $550 to $1,150 a month. Rental charges will depend on the income level of prospective residents.

Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2008.

Designed in Beaux Arts classical architectural style by Pittsburgh architectural firm Rutan and Russell, the Century Building originally served as an office building in 1906-1907 for the Century Land Co. It is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic places.

The Cultural Trust also acknowledged the Working Group on Downtown Housing, a coalition of public and private organizations formed in 1998 to encourage development of Downtown housing. One of the group's goals is to convince developers to allocate up to 20 percent of their projects to what is known as workforce housing.

The trust said workforce housing is defined as occupancy by working individuals/families whose annual household income is typically 80-120 percent of the area median income. That's compared to affordable housing where the household income level is below 80 of area median income.



Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.

more THREE PNC PLAZA information

Liberty Ave.
http://www.pnc.com/webapp/unsec/Requester?resource=/wcm/resources/file/ebfb49004199050/3PNC_12907_LibertyAve.jpg

Fifth Ave.
http://www.pnc.com/webapp/unsec/Requester?resource=/wcm/resources/file/ebfb48004193cae/3PNC_21407_FifthAve.jpg


http://www.marshallelevator.com/

February 2007 - Marshall Elevator has been awarded a contract to install 17 elevators for Three PNC Plaza located in downtown Pittsburgh. The 26 story mixed-use development includes 2 hydraulic and 15 traction elevators.

I assume this means there will be 3 underground levels, since we've been told the tower will be 23 stories tall. The underground levels are for the parking garage. There are supposed to be 300 parking spaces in the project.

http://www.trumbullcorp.com/tpjwebsite.nsf/webItem/73EDD09E58218BC585257249006ADC81?opendocument&Navigator=P.+J.+Dick+Incorporated

3 PNC Plaza Work is Progressing

12/19/2006

P. J. Dick is currently overseeing the excavation and shoring operations for the new 3 PNC Plaza office, hotel and condominium building in downtown Pittsburgh. The underground garage and structural steel packages will commence in the coming months. The 23-story tower is expected to be completed in the late Fall of 2008.


I know... it's a couple months old... but thought you might be interested.

The announcement from Fairmount Hotels:
http://www.pnc.com/webapp/unsec/Requester?resource=/wcm/resources/file/ebfbdc00507fec8/A_3PNC_Fairmont.pdf

Updated Three PNC Plaza Fact Sheet:
http://www.pnc.com/webapp/unsec/Requester?resource=/wcm/resources/file/ebfbe900517fd74/3PNC_FactSheet.pdf



...



a couple other things....


An interview with Pittsburgh Cultural Trust President Kevin McMahon from an issue of the local Metropolitan Magazine from a few months ago... offers a few more details on the massive Riverparc project downtown.
http://pittsburghmetropolitan.com/pdf/2006_11/trust.pdf

Also, check out the Grubb & Ellis 2007 forecasts for the Pittsburgh real estate markets. Very positive trends all around.
http://www.grubb-ellis.com/

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pi...ml?t=printable

Local Mitsubishi unit to expand, add jobs
Pittsburgh Business Times - 9:16 AM EST Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. said it will expand operations at its Marshall Township headquarters and add 75 jobs.

As reported in the Pittsburgh Business Times on Feb. 2, the company will add nearly 100,000 square feet of office, warehouse and production space adjacent to its current facilities at the RIDC Thorn Hill Industrial Park in Marshall Township.

"Mitsubishi's expansion in Warrendale is great news for Allegheny County and Southwestern Pennsylvania," Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said in a statement. "It ensures that we will retain the company's 350 current positions, and it also brings the promise of 75 new high-paying jobs in the next three years."

Allegheny County provided a $100,000 Community Development Block Grant to help with the purchase of new equipment and a $100,000 grant from the Department of Human Services for specialized training for new employees.

Earlier this month, a spokeswoman for AstenJohnson, a Charleston, S.C.-based maker of a fabric used in the paper-making process, confirmed that its 93,000-square-foot building was under agreement to Mitsubishi Electric.

The facility, built for AstenJohnson in 1988, sits on about 22 acres at 520 Keystone Drive, according to the Allegheny County Office of Property Assessment. The county has assessed the property's market value at $4.58 million.

Since moving to Thorn Hill in 1989, Mitsubishi Electric, a division of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Electric Corp., has invested $12 million in capital improvements in its local campus.

Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, which manufactures ozone water purification systems, mechanical circuit breakers and propulsion systems for commuter railways, was formed in 1985 as a joint venture with Westinghouse Electric Co. In 1989, Mitsubishi took control of the company when it purchased Westinghouse's 50 percent stake.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07053/763976-28.stm

Bechtel scales back shift of jobs to region
Thursday, February 22, 2007

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Bowing to pressure from the one-two punch of New York's Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer, nuclear engineering firm Bechtel Plant Machinery decided yesterday to scale back the planned transfer of 260 positions from eastern New York to Monroeville -- bringing only 70 jobs here instead.

Rather than closing its plant in Schenectady, N.Y., as planned, Bechtel now promises to keep the facility open and employ 130 there. Another 60 will retire, while 30 more will have the option of interviewing for positions in Niskayuna, N.Y.

The U.S. senators boasted yesterday of the turnabout.

"We snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat," said Mr. Schumer.

The 70 engineering jobs being sent to the Pittsburgh area will be housed inside a former railroad building in Monroeville being renovated for another 550 Bechtel employees who work at an office park in Wilkins. Bechtel last year signed a 15-year lease with The Elmhurst Group for the 120,000-square-foot space.

Bechtel Machinery, a unit of the $18 billion San Francisco-based engineering and construction giant Bechtel Corp., maintains nuclear propulsion components for ships operated by the Navy. The unit was once part of Westinghouse Electric's Pittsburgh-area conglomerate.

Last year, Bechtel officials began looking at the possibility of consolidating its Wilkins and Schenectady operations in one city. In October it announced plans to move about 260 jobs from Schenectady to the Pittsburgh area, leaving only 70 jobs in eastern New York.

But New York's senators and U.S. Rep. Michael McNulty intervened, asking Bechtel to reconsider the decision, saying the move was made without consulting Congress, the state of New York or the city of Schenectady. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer also got involved. Bechtel agreed to postpone the move for 60 days -- a period that expired this month.

In confirming the compromise, a Bechtel spokesman said the agreement provided "stability" for its Schenectady work force while meeting the "efficiency goals we needed to achieve for the Navy."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752.)

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07053/764099-28.stm

Location, incentives helped land new US Airways center
Airline's decision creates 150 jobs, retains 450 others, helps to mend fence with officials here
Thursday, February 22, 2007

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070222lf_usairwaysPJ01_450.jpg

Lake Fong, Post-Gazette
From left, Allegheny County Airport Authority Board Chairman Glenn Mahone, US Airways president Scott Kirby and County Chief Executive Dan Onorato react to a a remark by Gov. Ed Rendell during the news conference yesterday at Pittsburgh International Airport.



By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



As politicians hailed US Airways' decision yesterday to build a new flight operations center in Moon, gone were the memories of US Airways' 10,000 local job cuts, the elimination of nearly 400 daily flights and broken promises that nearly destroyed a relationship between the airline and local airport officials.

"I know it's been contentious," Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said to US Airways President Scott Kirby as the pair stood in front of a ticket counter at Pittsburgh International Airport, where Mr. Kirby announced the coveted $25 million, 600-person project would go to Pittsburgh over Phoenix and Charlotte, N.C. But "we have come a long way."

US Airways' painful decision to drastically cut its work force and flights here following a post-9/11 collapse of the U.S. airline industry was a result of Pittsburgh's poorer economic standing relative to other cities and its unprofitability as a hub. But yesterday's decision -- made by a new management team that took control following a 2005 merger with America West Airlines -- was symbolic of the positive role Pittsburgh can still play for the airline, now based in Tempe, Ariz.

Not only does the Pittsburgh area gain 150 technical jobs paying $50,000 apiece as a result of retaining the flight center, but it retains another 450 it might have lost had the contest been won by Phoenix or Charlotte.

US Airways picked Pittsburgh in part because of its respect for the 450 people who already work inside an operations center in Findlay, one of two centers that track and control all flights for US Airways at computers and on a big display board that tracks flights and weather across the country.

Pittsburgh's proximity to the East Coast was a plus, as well. The U.S. flight schedule begins each morning at 5 a.m. Eastern time, making a center located several time zones to the west more difficult, logistically, to operate. Acting as the "brain" of US Airways, the operations center will be responsible for 1,400 daily mainline flights -- pilots cannot take off or land without its approval.

It also helped that the state and Allegheny County offered a $16.25 million incentive package that includes $3 million in state and county grants, $12.5 million in loans and $750,000 in state tax credits tied to the number of jobs created by the project.

Still, "this wasn't an easy decision," Mr. Kirby said -- particularly with Phoenix reportedly offering $36 million in incentives and Charlotte still serving as the airline's largest hub with 534 daily flights.

Pittsburgh did not increase its offer as it might have in the past to keep a major job center here, perhaps a reflection of being burned in the past but also a recognition of the behind-the-scenes work done by Allegheny County Airport Authority Director Kent George.

Mr. George, observers said, was the person who pulled it all together, but as is his style, he remained in the audience at yesterday's airport news conference, while Gov. Ed Rendell and other politicians and executives stood in front of the microphones and cameras.

"Pittsburgh deserved this," Mr. George said.

The upbeat attitude of Mr. George yesterday was perhaps the clearest indication of improved relations between Pittsburgh and its largest air carrier. It was Mr. George who worked with US Airways through its two bankruptcies, as it stripped Pittsburgh of its hub status and slashed flights and close to 10,000 jobs -- it employs 2,700 now, down from 12,700 prior to 9/11.

The low point in his relationship with the airline came in March 2003, as US Airways emerged from its first bankruptcy and rejected its leases with the airport authority, the airport's owner and operator, 21 minutes before escaping bankruptcy protection. Local aviation officials, caught off guard by the move, later referred to the action as a "stealth attack" and claimed the 11th-hour decision violated a promise made only weeks earlier. "We were lied to," said airport authority solicitor Jeff Letwin, in 2004.

When US Airways merged with America West, though, the relationship improved dramatically. Just before the deal was closed in 2005, Mr. George met with the new management team, led by 45-year-old Doug Parker, and "that is when the tide turned," Mr. George said. He liked the fact that Mr. Parker was honest, even blunt at times. "When he couldn't do something, he let you know he couldn't do something."

Another step forward was a five-year lease US Airways signed last year to do heavy and overnight aircraft maintenance work at Pittsburgh International, bringing some stability to the jobs of 1,200 area airline maintenance workers.

The leadership, Mr. George said, is "respectful, above board, truthful and clear. Very direct -- that's good."

US Airways intends to break ground on its Moon operations center later this year. It selected a 10-acre site off Ewing Road on property owned by Allegheny County.

The center will be ready in 2008, but the first full day of operation will not be until early 2009. US Airways has agreed to a 20-year lease with two 10-year options. It also will have another 20,000-square-foot building nearby as a backup center.

Pittsburgh was such a strong candidate for the center that a proposed takeover of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines -- a bid rejected by Delta creditors last month -- would not have made any difference in the decision announced yesterday.

"We would have still put it here," Mr. Kirby said.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

( Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752. )
...

http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston...19/story2.html

Robot rivals

Boston wants to prove it has robotic leadership over can-do Pittsburgh

Boston Business Journal - February 16, 2007by Todd WallackJournal Staff

Boston's tech industry has long competed for attention with Silicon Valley. But now it's jealous of a less glamorous rival: Pittsburgh.

While local tech leaders insist Boston is the Hub of the robotic universe, they gripe that Pittsburgh -- also known as "Roboburgh" -- is winning more of the credit. Now locals are hatching a plan to steal the thunder back.


W. Marc Bernsau
Nathan Desmeule, field service engineer at Foster-Miller, with the company's Talon Robot. Boston-area robot manufacturers are peeved because they feel that Pittsburgh — a.k.a. "Roboburgh" — is getting a reputation it does not deserve as the nation's robot central

"We think we're bigger,'' said Joyce Plotkin, president of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council Inc. "We're going to document our lead."

To be sure, Pittsburgh boasts dozens of robotics companies, including McKesson Automated Healthcare Inc. and Bombardier Transportation. It hosted a key robotics industry conference last year. And the area is home to the federally funded National Center for Defense Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University's expansive Robotics Institute (including the National Robotics Engineering Center ) and the Robot Hall of Fame (also located at CMU).

But Tom Hopcroft, vice president of the Mass Technology Leadership Council, counters that most of Pittsburgh's robotics companies are tiny and its national centers are national in name only. The National Center for Defense Robotics, for instance, is an arm of a Pittsburgh economic development group and mostly funds local projects .

"I think Pittsburgh is doing a good job of talking about what they have there," said Hopcroft. "We have a lot more substance here."

In fact, the Massachusetts group estimates there are at least 150 local robotics companies in the Greater Boston region, including the best known robotics firm in the country -- Burlington's iRobot Corp., which makes the Roomba robot vacuum. And while CMU claims it operates the world's largest robotics research center, council leaders contend it can't match the combined firepower of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the galaxy of other local research centers.

To plant Boston's flag on top of the mechanical mountain, the council plans to commission a formal study of the size of the industry and spend money promoting the sector. The council recently won a $50,000 grant from the Mass Technology Collaborative in Westborough to fund its efforts.

"We want to define the sector to let people know what is here and educate people," Plotkin said.

But a Pittsburgh official says the competition is misplaced.

"Whether Pittsburgh is No. 1 or Boston is No. 1 is irrelevant,'' said Bill Thomasmeyer, head of the city's Technology Collaborative, which runs its defense robotics center. "This industry is going to grow. If you are No. 1, or 2 or 3, you are going to be in a good position."

Regardless, experts say both Pittsburgh and Boston have gained a national reputation as leaders in the emerging field of smart robots -- robots capable of making independent decisions, rather than the mechanical arms that have been used on assembly lines for decades.

"It's a horse race in this country," said Dan Kara, president of Robotics Trends Inc. in Upton, which tracks the industry. Kara says Boston has some advantages, such as a larger pool of venture capitalists, while Pittsburgh has heftier backing from state and local government.

Last year, Kara's company teamed with IDG World Expo Corp. of Framingham to hold the national RoboBusiness industry conference in Pittsburgh. But this year, RoboBusiness is moving back to Massachusetts.

The event is slated to be held May 15-16 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

Still, Kara and Thomasmeyer say there is also stiff competition from other parts of the world, such as Osaka, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; and Munich, Germany.

Indeed, Thomasmeyer argues U.S. cities are better off working together amid international competition.

Yet some industry players insist bragging rights matter.

Bob Quinn, a vice president at Foster-Miller Inc. in Waltham, which makes mobile robots for the military and law enforcement, said he thinks smaller robotics companies in the Bay State could have a tougher time getting attention because so much of the limelight is aimed at Pittsburgh.

"It hurts,'' Quinn said. "All the trumpets keep blaring in Pittsburgh about why it should be considered the robot capital of the world."

Now council leaders are mulling whether Boston needs its own robo-nickname to compete with Pittsburgh.

"Certainly branding clusters help,'' Plotkin says. "We'll probably take a look at that."

Todd Wallack can be reached at twallack@bizjournals.com.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07061/766195-28.stm

Westinghouse nails down China nuclear deal
Monroeville firm will build four plants along China's eastern coast starting in 2009
Friday, March 02, 2007

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Westinghouse will build four AP1000 nuclear power plants, like the one seen here, along China's eastern coast. The first plant is to open in 2013.

After 21/2 years, Westinghouse Electric finally has a "framework agreement" to build four nuclear power plants in China, starting in 2009.

The project details, revealed yesterday, differ somewhat from a tentative agreement touted last December during a high-profile ceremony in Beijing. Instead of two plants in the south and two in the east of the world's most-populous nation, Monroeville-based Westinghouse now will build all four plants along the eastern coast, near the East China Sea. Two will go in Sanmen, about 150 miles south of Shanghai, and the other two will go to Haiyang, north of Shanghai but southeast of Beijing. The first plant is expected to be ready in 2013.

Final contracts for the four plants are expected by midyear.

The two southern Chinese plants originally pegged for Westinghouse will go instead to a French rival, Areva, according to a report yesterday in the Oriental Morning Post. The French contracts are worth $5 billion, according to the report, and the Westinghouse's contracts are valued at $6 billion to $7 billion.

Westinghouse spokesman Vaughn Gilbert would not confirm an exact figure. "It is up to our customer to make a comment," he said.

The highly complicated and sensitive political process that produced this week's framework agreement illustrates how challenging it is to do business with the Chinese -- and also how willing the Chinese are to divide up plum projects both domestically and internationally.

For Westinghouse, the Chinese nuclear deal is expected to generate as many as 5,000 U.S. jobs, many in this region, where the company already employs 3,000 and may add 2,000 -- in part on expectations of the four Chinese plants and 12 other U.S. plants -- through an expansion of its research facilities either in Monroeville or Cranberry.

For China, the deal fills a need to develop as many as 30 new reactors by 2020 as nuclear power grows to 4 percent of the country's total energy sources, up from 2.3 percent today.

Such an outlay could cost the Chinese as much as $50 billion, according to the Oriental Morning Post.

Westinghouse began competing for the Chinese nuclear power deal in 2004, offering its latest model plant, the AP1000. When the Chinese announced a tentative agreement with Westinghouse in December 2006, there was no mention of Areva, Westinghouse's rival for the assignment, signaling a clear win for the Americans.

But the French government, which controls Paris-based Areva, never stopped lobbying the Chinese, sending French President Jacques Chirac to Beijing in the fall and Areva Chief Executive Officer Anne Lauvergeon in January, when the company apparently signed a "preliminary agreement" with the Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Co., owner of the southern Chinese plant projects.

Areva struck a more advanced agreement on Feb. 14, according to a Chinese news report, agreeing also to provide uranium fuel to China.

While dividing plants between the French and the Americans, the Chinese also appear to be dividing the ownership of the plants among different companies domestically, reflecting a shake-up within China's nuclear power industry.

The two plants in Haiyang will be owned by an upstart, the China Power Investment Corp., which wants to break the "monopoly" of the Chinese nuclear reactor industry, according to Caijing magazine, which covers finance and economics in China. The two giants that currently control much of the industry are Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Co., which signed the deal with the French, and China National Nuclear Corp., which will work with Westinghouse on two plants in Sanmen.

China Power Investment first gained some assets during a 2002 restructuring of the Chinese power industry and by late 2004, its chairman revealed that the company had been authorized to be the third group company developing nuclear power in China, according to Caijing magazine. Its advantage in the Westinghouse-Areva competition was that it had no past experience working with technology produced by the French and thus there would be no need for an adjustment process with Westinghouse's new AP1000 technology.

"All in all it seems like the Chinese government was exceedingly Solomonesque in how it handled both the international competition and the domestic competition," said Louis Schwartz, president of Squirrel Hill-based China Strategies, which advises U.S. companies on how to do business with the world's largest nation. "Whether that will be good for the further development of China's nuclear issue is an open question."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752. )

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_495930.html

Findlay facility brings jobs and potential expansion

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, March 3, 2007


A new $5 million technology center adds 10 jobs to the 400 already in place at Lanxess Corp.'s North American headquarters in Findlay, officials said Friday.
The addition solidifies Lanxess' Western Pennsylvania presence and innovations could lead to further expansion, officials said at an opening ceremony.

"This not only brings innovation to our company, it also has the potential to bring new jobs to Pittsburgh," said Rainier van Roessel, a member of the Leverkusen, Germany-based Lanxess' board of management. "We see great potential in the United States, and thanks to the highly favorable business environment, Lanxess feels perfectly at home in Pittsburgh."

Lanxess, a maker of chemicals and polymers, said the center houses laboratories for product testing. Features include an aging room, mixing room, biological testing, colorant and extruding labs and analytical testing space. Lanxess is the largest producer of synthetic rubber in the world, selling to customers that make products such as door moldings or engine hoses for automobiles.





When Lanxess announced it would locate its headquarters in Findlay in 2004, the state provided $3.5 million in funding with the expectation that 435 jobs would be created, said Gov. Ed Rendell, who attended yesterday's event.

At that time, Lanxess was being spun off as an independent company from Germany's Bayer AG, the parent of Bayer Corp. in Robinson.

As part of the agreement with the state, Bayer and Lanxess were to invest $100 million in Pennsylvania operations within three years.

"They're about 350 (new jobs) now, and they (both) have until September to make that, and I am confident that they will," Rendell said.

Lanxess is not ready to expand yet, but with the opening of the tech center, it has run out of room at its headquarters building, said Randall Dearth, Lanxess president and CEO. The company has begun to explore other buildings near its headquarters.

The technology center occupies about 10,000 square feet on the first floor of Lanxess' 105,000-square-foot headquarters at the Regional Industrial Development Corp.'s Industrial Park West.

The parent company recently said it is exploring acquisitions. If any of those are in the U.S., it could bring more jobs to Pittsburgh, said van Roessel.



Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.

A welcome climate change
Pittsburgh Business Times - March 2, 2007by Jon Delano


The decision by US Airways to relocate 150 jobs from Tempe, Ariz., to Pittsburgh and to place the operations control center for the airline in this region is more than just a good news story.

It signals, perhaps more clearly than some other recent announcements of greater scale, that the Pittsburgh region is on the move again.

Now I am not some Pollyanna cheerleader for the Allegheny Conference or any chamber of commerce. Like most of you, I want hard evidence that this area has turned a corner in economic growth and job creation. I think I am beginning to see it.

After years of downsizing and withdrawing from Pittsburgh, US Airways rejected a better financial package in Arizona to choose Pittsburgh.

The reason, said Scott Kirby, the airline's president, was clear, as readers of the Arizona newspapers found out: Pittsburgh has many skilled and experienced workers.

Brain power, coupled with a lower cost of living, relatively safe communities and diverse recreation activities, may finally be cutting through the ancient image of Pittsburgh.

Last week, I sat down with Robert Kelly, the CEO of Mellon Financial Corp., who will soon lead the merged Bank of New York Mellon Corp. or BNY Mellon, as it is likely to be branded. Kelly says he is the only executive currently scheduled to move to New York City and, even then, he intends to spend a lot of time here. More importantly, BNY Mellon will grow its technology facility at Northpointe, hiring perhaps as many as 2,000 new employees in the years ahead. Like the skilled employees at US Airways who will guide flights across the world, these financial hires will not be off-the-street minimum wage employees, but rather skilled workers who will assist the merged giant manage $3 trillion. These are not the only new jobs coming to this region. The Allegheny County Office of Economic Development lists the following as job creators in the months ahead: Westinghouse, 1,500 new jobs; PNC Financial Group Inc., 1,000 new jobs; Dick's Sporting Goods Inc., 750 new jobs; Lanxess, 450 new jobs; Medrad Inc., 400 new jobs; American Eagle Outfitters Inc., 325 new jobs.

Indeed, some 60 new companies have recently entered this market, and 80 companies are expanding, said Dr. Marick Masters, who studies these things at the University of Pittsburgh's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. It's a powerful trend, but Pittsburghers are traditionally very skeptical of good economic news.

At the US Airways announcement, I asked Gov. Ed Rendell about the perception that Pittsburgh has turned the corner economically. Admitting his perspective comes from a Philadelphian, he said the region has turned but, similar to his experience when his city was reborn in the 1990s, Rendell says public perception lags about 18 months behind reality.

It might take longer here. The governor correctly observed that there is no region in the commonwealth that is more cynical about itself than Pittsburgh.

Maybe we have a right to be cynical. The collapse of the steel industry in the 1980s was a profound experience affecting almost every family in some way. And bad news, whether it's the city's financial crisis or the death of a beloved mayor, always overshadows the good news. But it's hard to ignore the growing evidence that Pittsburgh is being "rediscovered" by a business world that makes decisions on the hard reality of a cost-benefit analysis, not some feel good slogan trumped up by marketers.

The governor made one other comment to me that I hope is true about our own perceptions. When the reality sinks in that Pittsburgh is on the move again, Rendell said, it will hit like a tidal wave. After a generation of economic doldrums, that's one climate change we would all welcome.

ah... the return of donbuy... always the bearer of bad news in any Pittsburgh thread...

hey, btw donbuy... US Air picked us over Phoenix for the new flight operations center despite offering a financial package half that of Phoenix... but maybe they just felt sorry for us...

I think it's great that Pittsburgh won out in the US Airways bidding for a flight operations center. I am sure it will go a long way towards making the jobs of the remaining workers there secure. Unfortunately it will not bring back the additional 7,000+ positions that they have cut during their dramatic downsizing of their Pittsbugh operations.

I am not the bearer of bad news at all, I happen to work in market research and for the Pittsburgh market the probable Penguin relocation is the biggest story of the year so far. It is not surprising as Pittsburgh is either the smallest or second smallest metro in the country to have 3 major league teams. Here is something from bizjournals.com that illustrates how over extended the Pittsburgh market is when it comes to sports franchises.

4th Most Over-extended Market in America

Pittsburgh Area's total personal income:
$92.8 billion

Income shortfall:
$65.1 billion*

Bottom line:

Pittsburgh carries the image of a great baseball town, but the reality is darker. The Pirates historically haven't drawn well, and 2005 was no exception, as they slipped to the third-lowest rung on MLB's attendance ladder. The Penguins face their own challenges, battling back from bankruptcy and the NHL lockout. Only the Steelers consistently prosper in this oversaturated market.
* Note: Amount that personal income, the sum of all money earned by all residents of an area in a year, falls short to provide an adequate base for existing teams.


http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/2006/0213/sports_overextend/4.html

http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/51hmwd.aspx

March 7, 2007
Fifteen new single-family homes to be built in Homewood
The Homewood Better Block Development Corporation has received a $30,000 grant from the City of Pittsburgh to support the planning, design, development and financing of fifteen new single-family houses. Funds will cover operating costs for phase three of Homewood Park and Fairfax Estates, which will be constructed in the city’s Homewood South area.

“These projects benefit the community by erasing the much publicized blighted areas, and provide tax producing developments for the neighborhood and City of Pittsburgh,” says Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who announced the funding on Feb. 28th. The new homes will be created for low to moderate income families, according to Community Development Block Grant guidelines.

The Homewood Better Block Development Corporation has completed development of Homewood Park I and II Estates, which consists of ten single-family homes and eight townhouses, and Fairfax Estates I and II, which features twelve single-family detached homes.


Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Mayor Luke Ravenstahl

maybe Chicago can take the Penguins... I'm sure they have enough personal income to support another NHL franchise... I assume this great amount of personal income is reflected by overwhelming fan support and attendance for the Blackhawks

Relocating the Penguins to Chicago would be a much smarter idea than relocating them to Kansas City... which would become a market more overextended than Pittsburgh was (KC already ranks 5th)... perhaps we can take all the excess teams from St. Louis, Cleveland, Denver, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Tampa, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, etc. and relocate them to markets that can absorb them... like Nassau County NY, New Jersey, Riverside CA and Naperville IL.


I'm sure we'll all breath a sigh of relief when Pittsburgh is no longer the 4th Most Overextended Professional Sports Market in America!

It's sad to see that donbuy likes to spread doom and gloom in Pittsburgh as he does in Rochester and elsewhere. He doesn't seem to get it, we are proud to live where we do and we want to spread positive news rather than being consistently reminded of our troubles. Oh well, that tabloid-esque overextended markets list has Rochester as the seventh most attractive market for pro sports expansion, but I doubt donbuy (or anyone else) would recommend moving the Pens here.

http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/2006/0213/sports_expansion/7.html

Keep up the good work Evergrey, I enjoy reading about the continued inspiring revitalization of one of America's classic urban cities.

It's sad to see that donbuy likes to spread doom and gloom in Pittsburgh as he does in Rochester and elsewhere. He doesn't seem to get it, we are proud to live where we do and we want to spread positive news rather than being consistently reminded of our troubles. Oh well, that tabloid-esque overextended markets list has Rochester as the seventh most attractive market for pro sports expansion, but I doubt donbuy (or anyone else) would recommend moving the Pens here.

http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/2006/0213/sports_expansion/7.html

Keep up the good work Evergrey, I enjoy reading about the continued inspiring revitalization of one of America's classic urban cities.

Thanks! BTW, I really would like to see Rochester get an MLS team. One of my friends from Penn State was from Rochester and she was obsessed with the Raging Rhinos.

...

We're all for critical discussion of Pittsburgh... the positives and negatives... the challenges that need to be overcome. I never got around to posting the Penguins article because I knew it would bring a lot of attention that would overshadow all the real development that has been discussed in this thread.... such of thousands of new housing units U/C downtown... rehabilitation of long-suffering neighborhoods... retail development in several key urban neighborhoods... improving economic performance... etc.... and we're discussing the Penguins in depth in another urban forum I'm involved with anyways. We know it's not all peaches and cream... as we have the Penguins issue, reduced US Air service at our airport, municipal fragmentation in the metro, etc....


but the problem with a donbuy... is that he/she is an outsider (i know donbuy went to school at CMU)... from chicago... who's history in this development thread has been one of exclusive negativity... introducing articles about how we ranked 39th out of 50 cities in a small business study... or how PIT's total passenger traffic has declined... or how our market is inadequate for this and that. donbuy has alluded that he/she is some sort of markets analyst for the "economic basketcase of America" (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Upstate NY)... and I'm sure donbuy is privy to all sorts of numbers about how our areas are failing... but I become suspicious of the motives of donbuy when he/she fails to discuss anything about Pittsburgh other than the few niche market numbers he/she likes to introduce into this thread every couple months. in addition, donbuy does not introduce positive market trends in this thread.... such as the Grubb & Ellis report of Pittsburgh Metro real estate market trends in Investment, Commercial, Office and Industrial properties... which are all very positive and a marked change from the "steel collapse era".

donbuy has alluded that he/she is some sort of markets analyst for the "economic basketcase of America" (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Upstate NY)... and I'm sure donbuy is privy to all sorts of numbers about how our areas are failing...

I will say this, I do not view the territory I cover as the basketcase of America. That distinction belongs to Michigan. I will also say of the major metros I cover, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Buffalo. Pittsburgh is the easiest sell to new companies. Unlike Buffalo where the largest problem they face are high taxes and even higher regulations along with a net out migration or Cleveland where the brain drain is a real and palpable fact, the major issue Pittsburgh is facing are it's demographics. Unique among major metros is the fact that Pittsburgh has the double edged sword of a large net out migration coupled with the fact that the number of deaths exceeds the number of births on an annual basis.

Whether or not the Pens leave Pittsburgh will be decided by others, but it cannot be denied that the over-extention of it's sports market is an issue that faces all three Pittsburgh teams. For the region it may be, do you want three weak teams or two strong viable teams?

Actually, net out-migration is not one of our major issues today... though it certainly was in the 80s due to the steel collapse... and the legacy of that out-migration continues to afflict us.

In 1985, the same year Rand McNally named us America's Most Livable City, we experienced a gigantic spike in out-migration... particularly amongst young adults who had to go elsewhere since the old reliable steel jobs vanished. We lose that critical young adult population and their resulting children... which are born in Charlotte, Phoenix, etc. If the steel collapse did not happen... it's estimated we would have a metro over 3 million today. After that extreme exodus... the metro stabilized... and much to most people's suprise... we have had one of the lowest out-migration rates of any major US metro... which flies against the common perception that people are fleeing in droves. The problem is that we also have one of the lowest in-migration rates... which is even lower than our out-migration rates (having a domestic migration deficit is pretty common for major US metros though). We have also been off the radar screen for international migrants. We do, however, have the most educated population of immigrants, with at least half owning a degree. Due to our challenging economic transition, our region just does not offer the types of opportunities for low-skill laborers that other areas do. We also suffer from deaths outnumbering births... which is a legacy of the 80s steel collapse. That exodus skewed our population demographic and we ended up with a a huge percentage of seniors. There has been a massive die-off in recent years... and our population demographic has become more normal... our senior segment is shrinking and our young adult population is starting to recover from a low ebb. Allegheny County is expected to start gaining population again by 2025... perhaps the metro will start sooner.

So in essence:

Very low out-migration

BUT
Even lower in-migration
Non-existent immigration (starting to change)
Deaths outnumbering births (legacy of steel collapse)

Economy growing (10,000 net jobs last year vs. 700 net in Buffalo and net losses in Cleveland and Detroit) .... in fact... we've had net increases in jobs every year in the past 15 except in 2002 and 2003 (post 9/11 economic contraction)
Wages rising faster than national average (percentage)
One of the most educated workforces (Top 10 bachelors, Top 5 post-graduate)
130,000 students at metropolitan universities and colleges

our performance vs. Cleveland:
this is from a Cleveland business blog called Cleveland 2.0
http://homepage.mac.com/edmorrison/edpro/Resources/PCI%20Index-6%20cities4.jpg
http://www.i-open.org/cleveland2/2006/08/pittsburgh-makes-top-ten.html






Here's some migration numbers (2000-2005) for Allegheny County vs. some peer core counties:

ALLEGHENY, PA (2000 population: 1,281,666)
In: 140,499
Out: 174,719
Net: -34,220

CUYAHOGA, OH (1,393,978)
In: 145,639
Out: 211,337
Net: -65,693

FRANKLIN, OH (1,068,978)
In: 221,626
Out: 256,457
Net: -34,831

HAMILTON, OH (845,303)
In: 123,437
Out: 174,571
Net: -51,134

WAYNE, MI (2,061,162)
In: 208,881
Out: 311,279
Net: -102,398


Much to my suprise... Allegheny has a lower rate of net out-migration than fast-growing Franklin, OH (Columbus)

Most major metros have net out-migration... due to trends such as exurbanization... people moving out from beyond even the furthest reaches of the metro... migration to hot smaller cities in the Mountain West... etc... the net out-migration is usually countered by positive birth rates and international migrants... two factors working against Pittsburgh.

So Pittsburgh's problem is not the mythical great exodus... it's problem is attracting new people domestically and from abroad. The deaths outnumbering births thing will work itself out eventually... either we will eventually have a normal age demographic that will see more births... or the rest of the country will follow us into the birth deficit gap... which could be a natural evolution of an advanced-stage wealthy country (see: Europe)...

btw, donbuy... here's an interesting article from The Economist (Sept 2006)

http://www.economist.com/world/na/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=7914950

Pittsburgh

How now brown town?

Sep 14th 2006 | PITTSBURGH
From The Economist print edition


A former steel city is now proclaiming its cleaner land and clever minds








A FEW years ago, the Pittsburgh region was so desperate to hang on to its brightest young people that its boosters thought about running television ads featuring “Border Guard Bob”, a patrolman who would have stopped youngsters on their way out of town and urged them to stay. Wisely, the boosters scrapped that idea. And increasingly it seems as though the worries were misplaced anyway. Many of the graduates from Pittsburgh's 34 universities—led by Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh—do stick around, and some of them are finding work in cutting-edge scientific fields. A couple of decades after the collapse of the local steel industry prompted many Pittsburghers to flee, the city has a rosier future.
Pittsburgh will not experience an explosion of population and investment, like the booming cities of America's south-west. But it is part of a pleasant and affordable region with an improving mix of industries and enviable demographics—which is as much as many parts of the country can hope for. And besides shaping young minds, Pittsburgh is also doing its best to reshape old land, by cleaning up former mining and industrial sites for uses that suit the modern economy.

One place where these two trends converge is in the SouthSide Works development, a 34-acre (14-hectare) collection of shops, offices and living space being built on the site of an old LTV steel plant on the Monongahela river. The idea, which is popular in many other American cities, is to try to create an area close to the centre of town where young professionals can live and play, as well as work. That might improve Pittsburgh's appeal to creative or knowledge-intensive workers—and those who employ them.

The SouthSide Works aside, however, plenty of clever young people already seem to be staying. Although the region's overall education levels are not that impressive, says Chris Briem, an economist at the University of Pittsburgh, those figures are partly skewed by its high ratio of elderly residents. Among Pittsburghers 25-34 years old, by contrast, 41.9% have graduated from university, placing the city among America's top ten. More than 17% of those young people have also earned an additional graduate or professional degree: the fourth-highest share in the country, behind only Washington, DC (think lawyers), Boston and San Francisco.

Much of Pittsburgh's drive to clean up brownfield sites is more mundane than SouthSide Works, or the engineering and biotech labs in the city's universities. But it is nonetheless useful in updating and rounding out the local economy. The city has plenty of land near the airport, for example, that will soon be accessible on a new highway spur connected to the interstate system. That could be appealing to companies looking for new places to put distribution centres—a crucial bit of America's logistics-driven economy. Some of this land is undercut by old mines, so the government is blasting the mines open, filling areas back in and then flattening them out.

These efforts have a clear logic to them. Pittsburgh is within one day's drive, or a short flight, of the whole eastern seaboard, which accounts for more than half of America's retail sales. But it has lower costs than the big coastal cities. Its potential appeal as a logistics hub thus gives it a fighting chance of attracting the sort of distribution investments that have helped such cities as Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis, Tennessee, though on a smaller scale. A few thousand such jobs would help many locals with moderate levels of education. The city is already showing off a sprawling distribution facility for Dick's Sporting Goods, a big retailing chain.

As Pittsburgh upgrades its local economy, it will increasingly have demography on its side. Because so many prime-age workers moved away in the early 1980s—often taking children with them—it now has lots of old folk. At the last census, in 2000, 15.6% of Pennsylvania's population was over 64 years old—second only to Florida—and the Pittsburgh region is older than the rest of the state. But now the Grim Reaper will even things out. Over the next quarter-century, however, the Census Bureau expects Pennsylvania's over-64 population to grow by only 50%, the smallest increase of the 50 states. The national elderly population will grow more than twice as quickly, while that of currently vibrant states in America's south-west will explode. When today's most glamorous regions begin to face that brutal arithmetic, many of today's young Pittsburghers may be glad they stayed put.

related to that Economist article about retaining young talent...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/today/s_448668.html

Here to stay

By Bill Zlatos
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, April 29, 2006


As a nursing major at Duquesne University, Crista DiNardo has carte blanche to work just about anywhere. But after she graduates on May 6, the Webster, N.Y., native will work at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
DiNardo, 21, has enjoyed four years of walking to the Point, shopping Downtown and soaking up Pittsburgh sports. She even has forsaken the Buffalo Bills for the Super Bowl champion Steelers.

"There's definitely more going on here than there is at home," she said. "There's more opportunity, and I'm just not ready to go back to New York. I love it here."

For all the hoopla about Pittsburgh's brain drain, many local college graduates like DiNardo are choosing to stay, and that bodes well for the region's economy, analysts say. Commencement exercises for area colleges start today at Chatham College and Sunday at the University of Pittsburgh.





"We'd like to keep them because they're well-educated kids, they're good at what they do, and I'd love to have them stay in our region and have them contribute to the growth in our economy," said Christina Gabriel, director of innovation economy programs at The Heinz Endowments.

Numbers are up

Heinz helped commission a 2003 study by the University of Pittsburgh that examined where graduates of Pitt, Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne universities go. The study found that more than half of the respondents with jobs were working in the Pittsburgh area after graduating in 1999, compared to only 40 percent among 1994 graduates.

Most of Pittsburgh's population loss during the early 1980s was due to young people leaving, but that's not the case now, said Christopher Briem, a regional economist at Pitt's Center for Social and Urban Research.

With a net 12,566 students, Pennsylvania ranks second nationally only to Florida in terms of gaining more college students than it loses. That's why Briem dismisses all the fuss about Pittsburgh's brain drain.

"We're producing a lot of college graduates locally because one of our core industries is education," he said. "It's not really conceivable that we'll employ all of them."

Reeling from the collapse of the steel industry, 4.6 percent of residents ages 20 to 29 left the Pittsburgh area in 1985, Briem found. By the end of the '90s, that figure dropped to 1 percent a year.

Today, the proportion of local graduates who stay ranges from a low of 20 percent at Carnegie Mellon to a high of 90 percent at Robert Morris University, school officials said. About 9 percent of Carnegie Mellon's students are from the Pittsburgh region, whereas about 75 percent of those who attend Robert Morris are from Southwestern Pennsylvania.
The main reason they stay, Pitt researchers found, is to be close to their families.

But even those who grew up outside the region are more inclined to stay. Thirty-three percent of those with no ties to the area stayed to work in 1999, compared to only 20 percent in 1994.

Fleeing the scene

The main reasons they leave are lack of jobs here or higher pay elsewhere.

The Pitt study found that 15.8 percent of the graduates who leave are making more than $100,000 a year, compared to 4.6 percent of those who stay. In addition, 44.3 percent of those who leave make between $50,000 and $100,000 a year, compared to 35.5 percent of those who stay.

"What we need to do in Pittsburgh is make sure we have great jobs for these kids and for the ones who left years ago and would love to come back," Gabriel said.

Job opportunities will dictate where Sean Maki lives. Maki, 30, of Ross, will get a bachelor's degree next month from Duquesne to teach science in middle or high school. He's received an offer of more than $35,000 to work in the Glendale, Ariz., area. He's still waiting to hear from a local district.

"I'm not married and have no children, so I'm not tied down to the area," he said. "I have family in Phoenix and have no problem moving to Phoenix."

The Heinz Endowments' strategy for keeping and attracting young people is to strengthen sectors that use technology developed at local universities and medical centers. The foundation also supports the Coro Center for Civic Leadership, a local nonprofit that gives bright college graduates fellowships to work with the region's movers and shakers in the hope they will stay.

"They have the ability to get meetings with people that most people don't think they can get meetings with, just because they're Coro fellows," said Ryan Walsh, the fellow programs director.

Turn-around at CMU

As Carnegie Mellon transformed itself from a regional to a national university, fewer of its graduates came from the region, and they were better able to command higher salaries outside Pittsburgh. After the dot-com bust, however, more of its graduates have been willing to work in the Pittsburgh area, said Paul Fowler, associate dean of student affairs and director of CMU's career center.

In 2001, for example, only 19 percent of the university's engineering grads stayed in the area, compared to 33 percent last year.
"It's been easier for us to promote Pittsburgh opportunities when there's less name-brand, national opportunities," Fowler said.

Another reason more CMU graduates are staying is the greater emphasis President Jared L. Cohon places on keeping them here.

Under his direction, the university has encouraged more local companies to recruit here. It gives students free Port Authority bus stickers, free or reduced-price tickets to museums and other cultural sites, and special events at Kennywood, Pirates games, The Waterfront and Ohiopyle.

"The better our students know Pittsburgh, the more they'll want to stay here," Cohon said. "Pittsburgh sells itself."

He also urged Domenic Dozzi, president of Jendoco Construction in Penn Hills, to launch a summer internship program. In gratitude for the school's contracts with his company, Dozzi gives up to 10 CMU seniors $1,000 to work locally in the hope that they will stay. One of the requirements is that the interns live off-campus.

"Being born and raised in Pittsburgh, I want to see this region do well," Dozzi said. "I want to see opportunities for young folks, college graduates. The way you keep young people here is to have jobs."

He is satisfied that only two of last year's group of nine interns stayed here.

"A lot of these people have fairly specialized fields of study, and it may be difficult for them to find what they want here," Dozzi said.

A city that grows on you

Among the former interns are Tulsa King, 30, of Brentwood, and Andrew Seay, 22, of Chesapeake, Va. King is an information technology auditor for H.J. Heinz Co., and Seay works on an interim basis as the assistant to the personnel manager of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

A senior majoring in voice, Seay worked for the symphony as a Dozzi intern and hopes to keep his present job full time. If not, he'll go to Carnegie Mellon's Heinz School to pursue a master's degree in arts management.

Seay said he wouldn't have imagined that he'd want to stay in Pittsburgh when he arrived about four years ago.

But his internship gave him a feel for what living in Pittsburgh is like year-round -- enjoying lunch in front of the fountain at PPG Place and attending Pirates games.

"I grew to like the city more than the narrow scope students see in Oakland, Squirrel Hill and Shadyside," he said.



Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7828.

Bloomberg did an article on our tech sector last October:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=angA.h0Dr6Ys&refer=us

Google, Intel, Microsoft Researchers Spur Pittsburgh Startups

By Jerry Byrd

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Steel Corp., once Pittsburgh's dominant employer, now has just 4,590 workers in the region. Universities and hospitals employ more than 10 times as many.

The colleges are benefiting from partnerships with three of the biggest names in computing: Google Inc., Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp.

The companies, which operate campus labs in Pittsburgh, are contributing to the city's transformation from symbol of 20th- century industrial decline to high-tech hub. Microsoft said in June that it would help fund a robotics center at Carnegie Mellon University. Overall, technology companies and research employ 213,000 people in the region and generate a $10.8 billion payroll, the Pittsburgh Technology Council says.

Last year, the research corridor near Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh attracted about $1 billion in public and private funding, twice the amount of five years ago.

``Pittsburgh was hit harder than any other American city in the change from an industrial economy to the new economy,'' says Don Smith, vice president for economic development at the Mellon Pitt Corp., a partnership coordinating research at the schools.

``And I think Pittsburgh accepted sooner than some other cities that it had to change, that we weren't going back.''

The investments are paying off, with startups generating revenue for the schools from royalties, licensing fees and patents. In the 2006 fiscal year, the University of Pittsburgh earned $11.9 million, partly from the sale of the Stentor Inc. medical-imaging technology company. Carnegie Mellon helped spin off 14 companies in fiscal 2006, the university says.
Steel City

Steel's collapse because of cheap imports almost took Pittsburgh with it, eliminating 230,000 jobs and prompting an exodus that cut the population in half -- to 334,563 in 2000 from a peak of 676,806 in 1950, the U.S. Census Bureau says.

U.S. Steel's employment in the region peaked at 340,498 in 1943, the company says.

Facing insolvency, the western Pennsylvania hub began relying more on its colleges and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center network. Today, the region's 7,000 technology companies fund almost 25 percent of its payroll, the technology council says.

``For the perception of Pittsburgh as a steel industry town, that is an almost incongruent thought,'' council spokesman Kevin Lane says.
In 2004, the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donated $20 million for a new computer science building at Carnegie Mellon, whose graduate program tied with three others for top ranking in a 2006 U.S. News and World Report survey. Apple Computer Inc. also occupies lab space there.

Keeping Talent

Craig Street, near the universities, has been dubbed Silicon Alley, says Andrew Moore, lab director for Mountain View, California-based Google. The former CMU professor says graduates used to leave Pittsburgh because it lacked good career opportunities.

``Having a Google office here is a great way of getting ahold of great talent,'' he says.

More than a dozen universities, plus area hospitals, spur growth in surrounding Allegheny County, accounting for more than 50,000 jobs. ``Without the `eds and meds,' we would have lost more jobs,'' Smith says.

Research at CMU has spawned more than 170 startups since 1995, including chipmaker Akustica Inc. and the Web portal Vivisimo Inc. The school says it has earned $48 million from selling stock in Lycos Inc., the search engine developed in 1994 by graduate student Michael Mauldin.

The University of Pittsburgh had 10 startups in the year ending in June 2005, ranking it sixth nationally, says the Association of University Technology Managers in Northbrook, Illinois.
Carnegie Mellon Lab

The four-story Collaborative Innovation Center at CMU opened last year. The 136,000-square-foot (12,635-square-meter) facility was built for $27.9 million in public funds to house computer- related, biomedical and life sciences labs.

Google, maker of the world's most-used search engine, occupies the first floor. Its projects include helping computers learn new tasks -- such as blocking spam e-mail -- based on data patterns.

Intel Research Pittsburgh on the top floor employs about two dozen engineers, says Kevin Teixeira, spokesman for the Santa Clara, California-based semiconductor maker.

``The campuses of universities have lots of smart people,'' Teixeira says. ``You get a rich melting pot of perspectives.''

Intel, which shares its floor with Apple, is developing information storage and retrieval software with the University of Pittsburgh. Officials at Cupertino, California-based Apple didn't return calls seeking comment.

Robotics `Revolution'

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, is providing hundreds of thousands of dollars for CMU's Center for Innovative Robotics, facility director Illah Nourbakhsh says. The lab will launch a Web site next year to make robotics more accessible and collaborative.

``The idea is to create a site that has a snowball effect,'' he says. ``It's designed for the expert and even somebody who's never built a robot, who'll say: `Here's my idea. What can we do with it?'''

Robotics could become a multibillion-dollar industry within a decade, says Tandy Trower, general manager of the Microsoft Robotics Group in Redmond.

``If you lived through the PC revolution, get ready to watch it happen one more time,'' Trower says.

Pittsburgh officials, whose city spurred one industrial revolution already, say they are poised for another.

``We've had so much to overcome in terms of the economy and also psychologically,'' says Maxwell King, president of the $1.4 billion Heinz Endowments philanthropy, which awarded $57.6 million last year for regional economic, educational and cultural programs.

``It's remarkable to see how resilient the people are.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Jerry Byrd in Wilmington, Delaware at jbyrd@bloomberg.net .

Last Updated: October 31, 2006 00:07 EST

Evergrey: While I will agree with you in the sense that Pittsburgh may have turned the corner I think it is still way to early to state that with certainty.

You cite Cleveland as having a larger net out migration than Pittsburgh based on census estimates and this is correct. Yet the 2000 census showed the Cleveland metro gained 3% or 90,000 people while the Pittsburgh metro lost 1.6% or 36,116 people. The Pittsburg metro was in fact the only one in the top 40 to show a metro population loss,

Further your statement that most metro’s show a net population out migration is just not true.
Looking at population trends for this decade it still appears that Pittsburgh is losing net population at a rather large clip. Through 2004 Allegheny County had the 4th largest population loss in the nation on a percentage basis (at 2.262%) of all counties larger than 750,000. It was surpassed only by Hamilton County (Cincy), Ohio at 3.484%, Cuyahoga (Cleveland) at 2.955% and Philadelphia at 2.875%. My other large county Erie (Buffalo) experienced a loss of 1.373%

Regarding the "Brain Drain" there was a study done in Buffalo that indicated that most of the young that left the Buffalo area were less educated than those they stayed. It was more of a youth drain than a brain drain. I would suspect that the same holds true for the Pittsburgh region.

Pittsburgh carries the image of a great baseball town, but the reality is darker. The Pirates historically haven't drawn well, and 2005 was no exception, as they slipped to the third-lowest rung on MLB's attendance ladder. The Penguins face their own challenges, battling back from bankruptcy and the NHL lockout. Only the Steelers consistently prosper in this oversaturated market.
* Note: Amount that personal income, the sum of all money earned by all residents of an area in a year, falls short to provide an adequate base for existing teams.


Baseball is not a sport. Buyign championships is not a sport. Why should 40,000 turn out for that?

The NHL is a truly competitive league now and the Pens are not only doing well at the gate, but have the highest tv ratings in the U.S.

The league that is struggling to get back into the spogtlight would not want to give that up.

If baseball was a true sport and the Bucs fielded and a solid team and still had poor performance, then maybe - maybe there would be cause for concern, but then again the Devils struggle too....

To clarify... I'm referring to DOMESTIC out-migration.


You didn't tell me anything I didn't know already. You're stopping your evaluation at the first level of numbers... that raw Census population number that shows a population decline. I dug deeper into the numbers to discuss trends, causes and results of population subsets, yet you ignored them and went back to that 1.6% population decline. You're allowing the overall population decline to mask population trends within critical subsets. Why did that decline happen? What does that decline mean for the region? I've already discussed it.

This chart is a little dated... but useful... and you're obsessed with using numbers from the 90s... so I will too...

http://www.pbase.com/image/75326887.jpg


This chart represents the trend for the Pittsburgh Metro over recent years. VERY LOW domestic out-migration, but a rate of domestic in-migration even lower than that. You will also see, that a domestic migration deficit is common amongst most major metropolitan areas with the exception of a few hot locales in the south and west. In order to find a cure, one must make the proper diagnosis. Pittsburgh's problem is not out-migration... it's in-migration (and the birth deficit which will work itself out eventually). Out-migration was a problem 20 years ago in the wake of the steel collapse... which resulted in our current demographic problems of a large (though shrinking) senior population and the birth deficit.

Now let's put some numbers together...

Here's PGH METRO "total population" from 71-01... as you can see the total population declined by 300,000...
http://www.briem.com/PghEcon/PghEcon26_files/slide0029.htm

Here's PGH METRO "popuation age 65 and older" over the same period... as you can see... despite total population declining by 300k... the senior population increased by over 100k... making our region grayer... the older people stuck around during the steel collapse but their children had to go elsewhere for work... however, you will also notice the declinning senior population beginning in 1995... this senior decline represents a large portion of the total population decline that has happened in the past 10 years... the shifting age demographic was discussed in the Economist article. While most other areas are seeing steady senior increases... Pittsburgh has already hit that peak due to the unique demographics that resulted from the steel collapse.
http://www.briem.com/PghEcon/PghEcon27.htm

Why have we had such a unique demographic history in the past 25 years? I suppose having over 200,000 unemployed Pittsburghers in the early 80s will do that... (we usually range from 50k-70k)...
http://www.briem.com/PghEcon/PghEcon3.htm

....



The Heinz School of Public Policy at your alma mater did a nice study on the "Roots of Pittsburgh's Population Decline" a few years ago... you might want to read it...

http://www.smartpolicy.org/pdf/pop_drain.pdf

"Out migration from the Pittsburgh region was lower than nearly all other regions of comparable size.

...

While the region had lost relatively few residents to migration, it was unable to replace them from other domestic sources.

...

According to immigration data, the region is off the beaten path for foreign migrants when compared to other comparably-sized regions."

the Pens are not only doing well at the gate, but have the highest tv ratings in the U.S...

This statement is not true!

You didn't tell me anything I didn't know already. You're stopping your evaluation at the first level of numbers... that raw Census population number that shows a population decline.

The numbers I posted included trends for the years 2000-2004 so are among the most current. There was a further decline in 2005 and the 2006 data will not be out until around April 12th.

In my business the total population changes is a very significant figure. But I think we are basically in agreement in that the main issue causing the continual population decline of Pittsburgh is the fact that it is the only major metro where the number of deaths is larger than the number of births. True once these seniors die off the trend will reverse. The problem is that studies I have seen indicate that unless there is a decrease in the net outmigration from western pa. the turnaround will not occur until the metro pittsburgh population decreases by another 150,000 - 200,000 people.

This statement is not true!

Excuse me? I don't come here to make shit up.


from the PG last month...


The team is playing to 95 percent capacity at home, and that should get better as the games become more crucial. Away from Mellon Arena, the Sidney Crosby Show also plays to 95 percent capacity, third best in the NHL.

On television, fans in the region can't get enough. The ratings are the best since the 2000-01 season, when the Penguins reached the conference final and had a roster loaded with the kind of talent that turns on TVs -- Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Kovalev, Martin Straka, Robert Lang and Darius Kasparaitis.

In their game Feb. 4 (Super Bowl Sunday) at Montreal, the Penguins achieved a 7.2 rating, which, for hockey, is off the charts.



Pittsburgh had the second-highest rating for the NHL All-Star Game, which was played Jan. 24 in Dallas and shown on Versus. Nationally, the game drew only a 0.7 rating. But in Pittsburgh it drew a 2.8, twice as large as any city in the league, except Buffalo. The Buffalo ratings were incredible, a 7.1. The Sabres had four players in the game and three starters. Crosby was the Penguins' only representative.

Excuse me? I don't come here to make shit up.


from the PG last month...
Apparently you did! Where exactly does that article state that Pittsburgh's ratings are the highest in the US? It even flat out states that the ratings were higher in Buffalo for the all star game, much less regualr season games.

per Nelson the two teams with the highest ratings for their games so far this season are Detroit and Buffalo! They are also two teams that have sold out every game for their entire seasons before Christmas.

The fact is as the bizjournals study showed Pittsburgh is an over-extended sports market. That 65 billion dollar gap is unsustainable in the long term. One team will likely leave in the next few years the question is really which will it be.

I didn't show that article for that purpose. I was doing you a favor by showing soemthing recent about the Pens. I am aware of what I sent. And I am aware of context which is something that you are not aware of.

I didn't show that article for that purpose. I was doing you a favor by showing soemthing recent about the Pens. I am aware of what I sent. And I am aware of context which is something that you are not aware of.

I am aware that you are unable to post anything that matched your rediculous statement that the Penguins have the highest TV ratings of any US based hockey team. You are also unable to explain how the Pittsburgh Market can make up the $64 Billion dollar income gap that bizjournals.com pointed out in their study that named Pittsburgh the 4th most overextended sports market in the US.

You made up a fact to support your boosterism and were called on it. Case closed.

Donbuy, what do you think of the Penguins' most likely relocation destination... Kansas City... which is currently the 5th most overextended market and will likely become the new champion in that dubious category if they succeed in luring this NHL franchise?

Donbuy, what do you think of the Penguins' most likely relocation destination... Kansas City... which is currently the 5th most overextended market and will likely become the new champion in that dubious category if they succeed in luring this NHL franchise?
I think that for the Penguins Kansas City makes sense only if they can get the arena rent free with no investment from the team. Rent free vs putting up a substantial sum of their own money in Pittsburgh, makes KC attractive to the team.

You are certainly correct in that this would likely make KC the most overextended market. However KC is also growing whereas Pittsburgh is shrinking. In the past 30 years the KC metro has added over 500,000 people while the Pgh metro has lost hundreds of thousands.
But even so I think if the Pens moved to KC they would probably survive but perhaps another KC team would end up the big loser and be forced to leave. Still if the team can secure a short term lease in KC it would give them the opportunity to fish for a better fit - perhaps Hartford or Hamilton, Ontario.

However, Pittsburgh's TPI has been growing, though at a rate lower than the national average. Its PCPI has been growing at a rate faster than the national average.

However, Pittsburgh's TPI has been growing, though at a rate lower than the national average. Its PCPI has been growing at a rate faster than the national average.
Faster than Kansas City's?

Either way I don't think either option is that great for the team. I think they would be better off going to Hartford, Hamilton or any of the cities on bizjournals least extended markets. The available money in a market is something that they should consider, along with other factors.

Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA (EA)

Population: 2,938,140 (21st)
PCPI: $33,007 (24th, 100% of National Average)
PCPI 1994-2004 Average Annual Growth Rate: 4.3% (National Average 4.1%)
TPI: $96,978,254 (22nd)
TPI 1994-2004 Average Annual Growth Rate: 3.8% (National Average 5.2%)




Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS (EA)

Population: 2,513,986 (30th)
PCPI: $32,338 (30th, 98% of National Average)
PCPI 1994-2004 Average Annual Growth Rate: 4.0% (National Average 4.1%)
TPI: $$81,296,901 (28th)
TPI 1994-2004 Average Annual Growth Rate: 5.6% (National Average 5.2%)

am aware that you are unable to post anything that matched your rediculous statement that the Penguins have the highest TV ratings of any US based hockey team.

What the hell is your problem? I would not have stated if I had not seen it reported not just once, but more than repeatedly. Since the only national coverage is on Versus, most markets have coverage on the various regional Fox Sports Nets. Check them out and you'll see. This was reported on Fox Sports.

You didn't call me on shit. I don't know what your problem is.

What the hell is your problem? I would not have stated if I had not seen it reported not just once, but more than repeatedly. Since the only national coverage is on Versus, most markets have coverage on the various regional Fox Sports Nets. Check them out and you'll see. This was reported on Fox Sports.

You didn't call me on shit. I don't know what your problem is.
Then just post a link from this season that shows the Penguins have the highest TV ratings of all the US teams. This is what you stated so back it up already!

donbuy: What external factors have led to the outstanding success of the St. Louis Cardinals? St. Louis has a TPI just above Pittsburgh's EA, and has the same complement of franchises... and ranks as one of the most overextended sports markets. MLB is by far the most demanding of the 4 franchises, which makes the Cardinals' success in a small, oversaturated market quite suprising. They are consistantly successful at the gate and on the field. They are able to compete for elite players, and is considered by most to be a top-tier franchise. Perhaps not Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees territory... but not far behind.

It was reported on Fox Sports. Maybe you will have luck searching their site, http://msn.foxsports.com. I'm sure you won't unless they have transcripts and you want to search. I watched them state it more than once, but I am not going to spends hours looking for it because you want to be an ass. I don't care enough to do so. So just respond like I know you will "not backing it up" yadda yadda yadda.

:ohno:

donbuy: What external factors have led to the outstanding success of the St. Louis Cardinals?

I am not that familiar with their market, perhaps they have outstanding fan support? But the fact that they had lost a football team at one point kind of supports the analysis done by bizjournals.

Obviously there are other factors than TPI that can come into play. You can have a smaller city that is extremely sports oriented support teams better than a larger market that isn't. It's one thing to have the TPI but it's up to the citizenry to choose how to spend it.

Still other than the NFL Pittsburgh has historically had a reputation for having fair weather fans. It was that way before I lived there, that way when I did live there and it's that way now.

The anaysis by bizjournals indicates that it would be hard for Pittsburgh to support three teams, The history of the Pirates and the bankruptcy of the Penguins do nothing to dispel that notion.

Add to the mix that the Pens would have to come up with millions to stay and nothing to leave gets you to where we are today.

It's not pleasant by any means but it is also not surprising.

I don't care enough to do so.

You don't care to because the data exists only in your mind.:rofl:

donbuy: The Penguins could potentially be successful in KC due to a sweetheart arena deal. However, do you feel a new franchise would put increased pressure on the other KC franchises in an already overextended market? Do you believe that this could increase the likelihood of a future relocation by an existing KC franchise (most likely the Royals)?

Also, do you believe that the departure of the Penguins could have benefits for the Pirates?

donbuy: The Penguins could potentially be successful in KC due to a sweetheart arena deal. However, do you feel a new franchise would put increased pressure on the other KC franchises in an already overextended market? Do you believe that this could increase the likelihood of a future relocation by an existing KC franchise (most likely the Royals)?
Absolutely

Also, do you believe that the departure of the Penguins could have benefits for the Pirates?

Absolutely, look at what happened to the circulation of the Post Gazette after the Press ceased publication.

So we've established that Pittsburgh has inadequate TPI to support the its 3 franchises. What repurcussions, positive or negative, will losing the Penguins have on the local economy? There is certainly a negative stigma attached to a region when it loses a franchise.

. What repurcussions, positive or negative, will losing the Penguins have on the local economy?

Hockey? Almost none - 99% of the country would not even know or care. Sports team boost a cities self esteem but have no known real positive economic impact and very minimal impact on a city's national image, unless they win a string of championshios... and even then the image boost is transient They just shuffle local entertainment dollars the same as movies or the theatre.

Do you think a new arena, costing around $300 million through a public-private partnership, would be a good investment for Pittsburgh? The funding sources are: the state (40%), the casino operator (40%, back door taxes IMO), the Penguins (20%).

If the Penguins flee now, the likelihood of Pittsburgh getting a new arena is significantly reduced. The current arena is 46 years old, terribly outmoded and inadequate for many activities. If the Penguins deal falls through, a future arena will have to be constructed without the contribution of the Penguins or a pro sports franchise tenent.

That is correct. :ohno: Next time you get off your lazy ass and look or STFU.

Do you think a new arena, costing around $300 million through a public-private partnership, would be a good investment for Pittsburgh? The funding sources are: the state (40%), the casino operator (40%, back door taxes IMO), the Penguins (20%). .It would be a terrible investment. The ROI in a city the size of Pittsburgh is nil. Still they should do what they have to to get an arena built. Perhaps that will mean giving the arena to the Pens rent free. The community must decide if this is something that they want, irregardless of the fact it will be a money loser.

If the Penguins flee now, the likelihood of Pittsburgh getting a new arena is significantly reduced. The current arena is 46 years old, terribly outmoded and inadequate for many activities. If the Penguins deal falls through, a future arena will have to be constructed without the contribution of the Penguins or a pro sports franchise tenent.

I agree with you entirely. Pittsburgh should have taken the 20% and run if they really want a new arena. The reality is that for that market 20% is a generous contribution from the team. It's really all about the City's self-esteem and not economics. Only in the very largest cities are these arenas financially prudent - i.e. NY, LA, DC

While the ROI of the arena itself will assuredly be a money loser, the arena.. if executed properly... I believe would produce significant positive economic externalities... such as increased hotel business, increased development in the arena's vicinity, increased tax revenue for the city, etc.

The positive externalities I mentioned are speculative, of course... and difficult to quantify.

While the ROI of the arena itself will assuredly be a money loser, the arena.. if executed properly... I believe would produce significant positive economic externalities... such as increased hotel business, increased development in the arena's vicinity, increased tax revenue for the city, etc.

If they build it in the Hill district it's a crap shoot at best to have the spin off hoped for. The two staidia built in the past 10 years have not really lived up to the potential that they were billed on. This over promise under perform scenario happens in city after city throughout the country. Silver bullets do not work. Built it for hockey and concerts, expect nothing more than a better venue replacing your old one and you will not be disappointed. Expect an economic boost and you will be disappointed. There would only be a major boost if a major arena was new to an area. Here you are just replacing a worn out arena. Any increased economic activity will be minor.

PNC Park and Heinz Field are part of a so-called "Billion Dollar Boom" in their vicinity on the North Shore. The stadia were completed in 2001, and represent about half of that billion dollars of structural investment, most of it public investment. Another 40% is for a casino... which is current being appealed and could be overturned. The remaining development has been mostly slow-moving and mediocre. 2 office buildings (not a plus because they shifted companies from our high-vacancy downtown to the North Shore), 2 hotels, a parking garage and riverfront park improvements have been completed. A cheesy entertainment district by the Cordish company, additional hotels and office, and a small residential component are planned. The enormous blunder that is the North Shore Connector is being built to service this area ($435M 1.2 mile extension of LRT with twin tunnels, at least it's mostly federal money)... compared to the complete lack of development accompanying Three Rivers Stadium... it looks wonderful... but in reality, it's mediocre and disappointing.

I think the N Shore looks much better than it did even 10 years ago, but teh billions of dollars are not exturnal per se, so from that stand point it's nothing to get excited about. But again at least the area looks better and a more utilized. I would really prefer to not see more fringe offices at the expense of the Triangle, unless there's a specific tenent, company or other specific purpose for doing so.

You are also unable to explain how the Pittsburgh Market can make up the $64 Billion dollar income gap that bizjournals.com pointed out in their study that named Pittsburgh the 4th most overextended sports market in the US.

I recognize I'm a bit late on this but... while the above-referenced bizjournals.com study was a fun read, you have to admit that it is remarkably limited and misleading. First off, why weren't all professional sports leagues (e.g., minor leagues, lacrosse, arena football, etc.) and Division 1 NCAA sports programs included in the study to make it truly reliable? For instance, while the study cites Rochester NY as the seventh best market for professional sports expansion, any local resident will tell you that the sports entertainment dollar is already stretched very thin here. Rochester is already home to teams in: AAA baseball, AHL hockey, ABA basketball, NLL indoor lacrosse, MLL outdoor lacrosse, USL First Division soccer, CIFL indoor football, and D1 NCAA hockey. In most of these leagues, Rochester is at or near the top in attendance. Throw in regular LPGA and Nationwide golf tour stops and the dollars available for a major league team would be pretty tough to come by without harming the interests of the pre-existing teams.

Secondly, the study does not uniformly take into account the varying market dynamics of each sports league. For instance, the NFL is a super-regional draw as opposed to the NBA or NHL which must capture a larger percentage of its local market to be successful. The New England Patriots are the "home" team for virtually every metro area in New England, not just Boston. While the Hartford area would consider the Pats to be their NFL team, they certainly do not consider the Bruins to be their NHL team. While the study lumps most New England metros in with Boston, it does not lump Rochester in with Buffalo, even though the Bills are considered the hometown team here, and fans from metro Rochester make up 1/3 of fans at Bills home games. This would be very difficult to control for, but without it, the study is rather pointless.

I know this has very little to do with Pittsburgh per se, but I couldn't resist as the study's incompleteness has been bugging me for a couple days now.

Secondly, the study does not uniformly take into account the varying market dynamics of each sports league. For instance, the NFL is a super-regional draw as opposed to the NBA or NHL which must capture a larger percentage of its local market to be successful. The New England Patriots are the "home" team for virtually every metro area in New England, not just Boston. While the Hartford area would consider the Pats to be their NFL team, they certainly do not consider the Bruins to be their NHL team. While the study lumps most New England metros in with Boston, it does not lump Rochester in with Buffalo, even though the Bills are considered the hometown team here, and fans from metro Rochester make up 1/3 of fans at Bills home games. This would be very difficult to control for, but without it, the study is rather pointless.


I agree that Total Personal Income (TPI) does not account for a variety for external factors... but it is probably the No. 1 factor in pro sports regional economics. While it didn't state it explicitly in the methodology, I'm assuming that the NFL's relatively low TPI demand is due to its "super-regional" drawing power, widespread appeal and low frequency of events.

The study is based strictly on Economic Areas (EA), as defined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. I'm sure Buffalo and Rochester do have a strong relationship and have some overlap... but they remain seperate economic markets revolving around their respective economic nodes. It is undeniable that Rochester's TPI contributes significantly to the viability of Buffalo franchises... as well as nearby regions of Ontario. However, I am unsure of how these factors would be calculated. Most Economic Areas with sports franchises have adjacent "minor" Economic Areas that share the same sports allegiances. For example, the Pittsburgh EA can draw from Erie PA, State College-Altoona-Johnstown PA, Morgantown WV, Charleston WV, and even the Cleveland EA... which includes Mercer County PA... strong Pittsburgh sports territory... and the Youngstown OH metro... which is halfway between Pittsburgh and Cleveland and a true battleground for sports allegiences. The impact of these outlying areas is diminished by distance and smaller TPI's and per capita personal incomes (PCPI), but they still contribute significantly... probably more so through media revenues and merchandise sales than gate receipts. However, most of the major EA's have secondary EAs they can draw from similar to the Pittsburgh example, and I don't know how you would quantify this. The unique thing about the Buffalo-Rochester example is that they're pretty much equals from a TPI standpoint.. so I think that harms Buffalo's numbers.

Let's compare a couple maps...

Here's the Economic Area map:

https://www.bea.gov/regional/_images/ea/EconAreaMap_small.gif


Here's an NHL fan map from http://www.commoncensus.org The results are based on users who fill out a short survey about where they live, what major city they identify with and what sports teams they root for. Maps are created based on these answers. It's not scientific... but the general trends seem to be pretty accurate.

http://www.commoncensus.org/maps/nhl_1280.gif

Note that he Penguins' geographic fanbase includes all or most of the following EAs: State College-Johnstown-Altoona PA, Erie PA, Morgantown WV, Charleston-Huntingdon WV. The Penguins also enjoy considerable support in portions of the following EAs: Scranton PA, Harrisburg PA, western extremity of Washington DC, and Cleveland OH.

Cleveland, a rival for sports allegiences in NFL and MLB, has no NHL franchise. This results in strong support for the Penguins in nearby portions of the Cleveland EA, most notably the Youngstown-Warren and Ashtabula areas. There are also some fans in the immediate Cleveland area... a number that has probably dropped since the introduction of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Of course, these outlying territories are quite tertiary to the economic stability of the franchise compared to the immediate Pittsburgh EA. But they do contribute.

As for the Buffalo Sabres, the map shows they enjoy support in Rochester and Syracuse EAs (there might be some Canadian support that isn't represented on this map)... Syracuse makes a contribution to Buffalo franchises... moreso the Bills than the Sabres... but its contribution is quite small in comparison to its TPI due to distance. For most Syracuse residents, a Sabres game might only be feasible on a Saturday... for example.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07068/768164-61.stm

Progress in arena talks
Penguins, politicians call four-hour session 'very constructive,' will meet again Wednesday
Friday, March 09, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



PHILADELPHIA -- The Penguins aren't packing for Kansas City just yet.

After more than four hours of talks last night, the team and state and local leaders reported "significant progress" in negotiations on a new arena, providing hope for fans just when it seemed as if the franchise might skate off to another city.

In a joint statement, the two sides called last night's session, the first face-to-face gathering since Jan. 18, "very constructive" and said they would meet again Wednesday, at a location to be determined.

Chuck Ardo, a spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell who read the statement, said there would be no other comment. None of the principals were available for interviews.

The statement was issued more than four hours after Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle and Gov. Ed Rendell, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato convened about 7 p.m. in an undisclosed hotel in Philadelphia hoping to hammer out a deal that has escaped completion for more than two months.

Aiding the effort was National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman, who traveled from New York to be part of the session, the first face-to-face meeting that involved both Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle since Jan. 4. Reporters awaited the outcome at City Hall.

"We had a very constructive meeting where significant progress was made. The parties have agreed to meet again next Wednesday," Mr. Ardo said.

The positive news came four days after the two owners declared an impasse in the talks and vowed to aggressively explore a move. Since then, Kansas City, which opens the $276 million Sprint Center this year, has sweetened an offer for the team that already includes free rent and a split of the building revenues.

The offer was so good that Houston, one of the cities interested in the Penguins, dropped out of the bidding.

Despite the Penguins' vow to pursue other cities, Mr. Ardo said before yesterday's meeting the governor was "guardedly optimistic" that a deal still could be reached. He, Mr. Onorato and Mr. Ravenstahl have said they thought the parties were close to an agreement.

At the same time, Mr. Rendell and Mr. Ravenstahl would not rule out an appeal to the NHL to block a move by the Penguins, given the team's passionate fan base in Pittsburgh, which has led to sellout after sellout, and the arena deal on the table.

Mr. Ardo described the start of last night's meeting as "serious and business like."

The Penguins have offered to put up $4 million a year toward the arena - the same amount Mr. Rendell requested from them a year ago. The team contribution included $3.6 million a year in rent and $400,000 annually for capital improvements.

It also agreed to pay $500,000 a year for a parking garage as part of the arena complex.

Despite that, the parties have been unable to reach a deal. The rest of the arena funding would come from $7.5 million a year from Pittsburgh casino winner Don Barden and $7.5 million from a gambling-financed state economic development fund, up $500,000 from an earlier offer.

In their letter declaring the impasse, Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle said they were concerned about the appeals of the casino award to Mr. Barden, saying the litigation creates more uncertainty about arena financing.

The Penguins had partnered with Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. in its unsuccessful bid for the license. Isle of Capri, which pledged $290 million for an arena as part of its proposal, is one of those appealing the award.

Sources close to the team also have complained about the treatment the Penguins have received from public officials, which included a table-pounding outburst by Mr. Rendell Jan. 18. Last week, the state refused to share interest rate information with the team, creating even more friction.

The letter declaring an impasse came even though Mr. Rendell, Mr. Onorato, and Mr. Ravenstahl thought the parties were close to a deal.

Among the remaining hang-ups were how to pay for an extra $20 million added as a contingency to a proposed arena bond issue. The extra $20 million increased the bond issue from $270 million to $290 million.

The parties also were in dispute over who would pay if the guaranteed maximum price for the arena came in about the available funding. The Penguins have agreed to pay for cost overruns, but only above the guaranteed maximum price.

Mr. Rendell said the parties had all but settled differences over development rights to the site of Mellon Arena, which would be demolished, and parking revenues.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07068/768035-37.stm

JetBlue's pullback stokes fears over fares
Friday, March 09, 2007

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When JetBlue Airways pulled its daily evening flight to Boston this week, business traveler Denise DiPasquale began fretting about the reaction from US Airways. The region's dominant air carrier historically has slashed fares when competitors arrive, only to raise them once they back out again.

Sure enough, when Ms. DiPasquale tried to book a new Boston trip around the same time of day, the price on US Airways was suddenly more than $400 one way, more than doubling what she had been paying on JetBlue. Flights at other, less convenient times might have been cheaper but required 14-day advance purchases -- part of a new widespread sale Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways has launched to keep up the pressure on the much-smaller JetBlue and other rivals .

"I fear this sale is an attempt to run JetBlue out of the market," Ms. DiPasquale said. "If they succeed, I worry we will return to some of the highest airfares in the country."

JetBlue's Boston pullback is reflective of the hold that US Airways continues to have on local flying, being accountable still for about half of all traffic at Pittsburgh International. What JetBlue faces is the same challenge that tripped up other low-cost entrants in the 1990s -- lukewarm support from the local business community and entrenched buying patterns on the part of corporate travel planners and frequent fliers.

Pittsburgh International is littered with the past failures of low-fare upstarts that came and went due to US Airways' market power and its ability to match prices on certain routes. A decade or so ago, ValuJet, Nation's Air and JetTrain all started and then ended service to Pittsburgh International. Independence Air followed in the early part of this decade only to fold early in 2006 amid a larger industry slump.

ValuJet later changed its name to AirTran Airways and, amid high expectations, launched service to New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Atlanta from Pittsburgh. But due to a lack of local support, it dropped the flights to New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.

Airport officials are concerned the same could happen with JetBlue, which launched service to Boston's Logan International Airport and New York's JFK Airport last summer.

If "the business community is not responding to the lower fares and service being provided, [JetBlue] very well could pull their service out," said Allegheny County Airport Authority Director Kent George, who runs Pittsburgh International. "That is a reality we face all the time."

Changing old flying habits is difficult, especially for frequent fliers who may still have still an allegiance to US Airways, he added. "JetBlue is having a difficult time getting the people who are flying to Boston to change the way they buy their tickets, the carrier they use. It is akin to what we faced years ago when AirTran came in and was knocked out of New York, Philly and Chicago by competition."

JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin said the Forest Hills, N.Y., airline knew it would "take awhile for the market to achieve its full maturity" and that "we still have room to grow and room for improvements.''

But "we definitely need the support of the community to create that demand,'' he added. Traffic is not "where we would like to be."

The airline pledges to restore the Boston flight May 1, giving it two a day again. It has no plans to cut back on the four daily flights to New York's JFK , Mr. Baldwin said.

US Airways claims it is not targeting JetBlue.

Spokesman Phil Gee acknowledged that the company did put restrictions on its lowest fares to Boston this past week but that the restrictions have been "removed." He claims it was a "temporary action" related solely to the company's merging of old reservation systems this past weekend and unrelated to JetBlue's pullback.

"If anything, we have recently lowered fares in most Pittsburgh markets to stimulate local demand," Mr. Gee said in an e-mail. "In most of those markets, JetBlue is not our competitor."

There is recent proof that a low-fare carrier can do well in Pittsburgh. Two years after launching service here, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines already is the airport's second-largest carrier, after US Airways. This Sunday, it will initiate new service to Baltimore/Washington International Airport, giving it 23 daily flights, compared with about 150 from US Airways. Utilizing three gates, it also serves Orlando, Fla., Philadelphia, Chicago, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Phoenix and Tampa, Fla.

It is true that Pittsburgh once had the among the highest air fares in the country, back when US Airways considered Pittsburgh a monopoly hub and offered more than 500 daily flights from here. But one result of US Airways' recent pullback has been the new competition -- and a drop in prices. Pittsburgh's average fare of $139 is now tied for 13th lowest among major U.S. airport markets, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

And while connecting traffic is down due to US Airways' hub dismantling, local traffic is up, meaning more Pittsburgh-area people are driving to the airport and taking flights all around the country. The number of so-called "origin and destination" travelers has increased more than 30 percent in the last five years, from 3.2 million to 4.2 million people. "That's a significant increase," Mr. George said.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752.)

Interesting article on convention center performance... here and nationally... somebody in a "convention center interest group" must be selling every city in the country snake oil...


http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_496896.html

No meeting of minds at Convention Center

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, March 9, 2007


More than three years after it opened, critics still debate whether the David L. Lawrence Convention Center is a white elephant.
Critics say inflated costs and the failure to produce more shows drawing more patrons make the $373 million complex overlooking the Allegheny River a bad investment. A $150 million state subsidy and bonds financed by Allegheny County's hotel/motel room tax paid for the center..

Defenders say the architecturally striking building -- built to environmentally friendly standards -- is essential for the region to compete in the $1.3 trillion tourism industry.

The debate continues as workers prepare to reopen the center for the Duquesne Light Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show, the first since the stunning collapse Feb. 5 of a structural beam and concrete slab. Crews refitted all but one of 26 steel beams in the building's expansion joint to prevent a similar collapse. The show opens today for a 10-day run.





"When people flew in the 1920s, they flew on biplanes, but that doesn't work today," said Joseph McGrath, president of VisitPittsburgh, the public agency that markets the center. "If you tell me to sell a seat on biplane while everyone else is flying on a jet, I can't do that."

Regional leaders decided in the mid-1990s to replace the former, warehouse-like center that opened in 1981. They nearly tripled the exhibit space to 313,400 square feet and added amenities such as a ballroom.

Preliminary figures show the center had 36 major conventions last year with combined attendance topping 182,000, a record. In its best year, 1997, the previous facility booked 38 major conventions.

But to justify the center's cost, annual attendance should be 300,000, argued Jake Haulk, president of the Allegheny Institute on Public Policy, a Castle Shannon-based think tank. Average yearly attendance in the 1990s was 116,000, he said.

Haulk based his assessment on the size difference between the old and new convention centers: 131,000 square feet of show space compared to 313,400 square feet now.

"They spent well over $300 million on this thing," Haulk said. "They need to generate more business, quantum levels of more business than the old convention center. That's the bottom line."

Meeting rosy projections often proves difficult for convention centers that expand, said Heywood Sanders, a professor of public administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio, who has written about what he calls a convention center "arms race."

A report Sanders authored two years ago for the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, found 53 cities built or expanded convention centers since 2000, and 44 had plans to expand. Sanders questions the wisdom of spending public money on such projects.

"What are the things you might have done with those public dollars instead of investing in a business that is so competitive ... and yields such modest rewards?"

Pittsburgh's center ranks 56th in size among the nation's top 100 convention facilities, according to Tradeshow Week, an industry trade publication.

In other cities, critics are questioning the performance of expanded convention centers.

Baltimore's convention business slumped despite a $151 million expansion in 1997 that tripled exhibit space to 300,000 square feet.

Last month, the Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association reported booking only a third of the groups it did in 2005. The association noted a 70 percent drop in hotel room reservations since 2005.

"If we only had a 115,000- or 150,000-square-foot exhibit space, we'd really be in trouble," said Tom Noonan, president of the association. "If you have that sized facility, you are probably only reaching half of the convention market in this country."

Noonan believes a 750-room Hilton hotel under construction will help Baltimore attract conventions. Others aren't so sure.

New convention centers with hotels in St. Louis, Kansas City and Sacramento, Calif., have not met expectations, according to a 2005 study by the Abell Foundation of Baltimore. The foundation did the study for Baltimore officials.

Noonan said Baltimore competes with Pittsburgh for some convention business. But Baltimore competes more often with Washington and Philadelphia -- cities with much larger centers -- for events to fill city hotels.

The new $850 million Washington Convention Center, the largest public investment in the District of Columbia's history, is not living up to its billing, according to the Washington Post. The 725,000-square-foot center ranks 15th in size nationally, says Tradeshow Week. Convention attendance is dropping; hotel convention bookings missed projections by 13 percent in 2006 and are expected to fall short of projections by 24 percent this year and 29 percent next year, the Post reported.

Pittsburgh needs a convention center hotel to fulfill its promise, McGrath maintains. A proposal to create a 1,000-room facility by adding 500 rooms to the Omni Convention Center Hotel on Liberty Avenue, Downtown, remains stalled.

"We have not finished the job for the convention center," McGrath said. "You can't put a V-8 engine in a car and say it's going to go faster if you don't put in the transmission, the steering wheel and the tires."

Still, he said, VisitPittsburgh has beaten projections of SMG, the Philadelphia-based company that manages the center, for the number of conventions and attendance each year since the building opened -- 26 conventions and trade shows in 2004, versus 25 projected; 33 events in 2005, versus 28 anticipated; and 36 events in 2006 instead of 31 projected.


Those numbers include only major events, the industry-standard benchmark. An operations report compiled last year by the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority, which owns the center, shows the overall number of events dropped from 272 in 2004 to 235 in 2005. The report stated annual attendance declined from 507,722 in 2004 to 416,522 in 2005.

McGrath points out the center has the necessary space to attract major events -- such as the National Rifle Association Convention in 2004. It helped win back the region's biggest meeting, the National Association of Iron & Steel Engineers biennial convention, which moved to Cleveland in 1997 for lack of space. That organization, now the Association for Iron & Steel Technology, returned in 2003.

The occupancy rate for the center's primary exhibit space was 49 percent in 2005 and 47.5 percent in 2006, said Mark Leahy, general manager of the center for SMG.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers 2005 Convention Center Report shows the U.S. average occupancy for like-sized exhibit halls was 45.4 percent in 2005.


Industry watchers consider hotel "room night" figures to be the best indication of a convention center's performance. One person staying three nights, or three people staying in separate rooms for one night, count as three room nights.

The number of room nights for conventions booked at area hotels increased from 108,000 in 2004 to 110,488 in 2005, according to the SEA. The agency said 2006 figures are not yet available.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers report indicates similarly sized U.S. convention centers should generate 196,000 hotel room nights.

McGrath said the city lost a potential 90,000 room nights with groups that wouldn't consider Pittsburgh because it lacks a 1,000-room convention center hotel.

Even with a bigger convention center, Pittsburgh hasn't landed any of the nation's 200 largest trade shows, said Michael Hart, editor of the Tradeshow Week. Most of those events go to major cities -- Chicago, New York, Las Vegas and Miami.

Still, convention center investments can be valuable for a community, he said.

"When you build a convention center, it will be a place to have community events like consumer shows," Hart said, "and it may attract some meetings or trade shows that draw visitors from out of town and will generate room nights for hotels.''



Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.



Bookings rise
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/images/video/2007_pdfs/GX-Center-ch-03-09.pdf

Convention Center quick facts
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/images/video/2007_pdfs/GX-ConvCtr1-eds-03-09.pdf

America's Largest Convention Centers
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/images/video/2007_pdfs/GX-ConvCtr2-eds-03-09.pdf

very interesting stuff evergrey.

DallasTexan should see your last post. He's always hyping up convention business as vital to a city and that each city should have at least such amount of sq. ft for one, but it seems from your article that they don't live up to expectations.

p.s. I have confidence the Penguins will stay in Pburgh and that a new arena will get built. or vice versa. lol

Every city should have decent convention space... and Buffalo's 64,000 square feet of space isn't even decent.

DT, do you have to bog down every thread with irrelevant Buffalo facts...btw I'll be at the Pittsburgh Convention Center in August for a conference, i'm looking forward to it.

Just responding to the wiggery!

good analysis on the regional economy... there are still challenges ahead... but it seems that we've really turned a corner


http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07070/768325-28.stm

Analysis: Pittsburgh's economy is better than you might think
Sunday, March 11, 2007

By Norman Robertson

Hope for a more robust job market in the Pittsburgh area received something of a setback with the announced merger of Mellon Financial with the Bank of New York. True, there have been welcome statements regarding the likelihood of job increases in the local area over the coming years. But only time will tell whether the merger will have a positive, negative or neutral impact on the Pittsburgh economy.

So far as the current job market is concerned, the latest employment statistics show a slow but relatively steady improvement. As one example, service-related jobs at the end of 2006 were up 6 percent over the January 1999 level of activity. Admittedly, this gain was little better than half the national increase of 11 percent, but Pittsburgh fared much better than most other major metropolitan areas in the Fourth Federal Reserve District, including Cleveland and Dayton and Toledo, Ohio. Service-producing employment in Cleveland, for example, was up a minuscule 1 percent at the end of last year from January 1999.

A similar pattern is visible with respect to manufacturing jobs. While the 15 percent decline in Pittsburgh's goods-producing employment between January 1999 and the end of last year was considerably higher than the 9 percent drop recorded in the nation as a whole, it was still significantly less than the cutbacks reported in Cleveland, Dayton and Toledo, all of which were hard hit by work force reductions in the motor vehicle industry and its suppliers.

Looking ahead, the 2007 employment outlook for the Pittsburgh area still looks positive, with modest gains in service-related jobs but little if any change in the level of manufacturing employment. I'm expecting an increase of roughly 10,000 over last year's figure of 1,145,900.

Positive signs

Given the sluggish gains in payroll employment, it is surprising -- and encouraging -- to find that the growth of personal income in the Pittsburgh area has matched or exceeded not only that reported in other manufacturing areas but in the nation as a whole. In 2005 -- the latest year for which data is available -- the per capita income in the Pittsburgh area was $36,000, slightly above the U.S. average of $35,000.

Even more impressive was the fact that in 2005, Pittsburgh ranked 54th in the nation as compared with a ranking of 60th in 1999. This performance compares very favorably with a sizable drop in the rankings of all the other major metropolitan areas in the Fourth Federal Reserve District. Cleveland, which ranked 42nd in the nation in 1999, fell to 61st place in 2005. And Columbus, Ohio, which placed 59th in the country in 1999, ranked 68th in 2005.

The statistics on unemployment tell a very similar story. Last year, the jobless rate in the Pittsburgh area averaged 4.8 percent, slightly above the 4.5 percent rate recorded in 1999 and very close to the national average of 4.6 percent. Elsewhere in the Fourth Federal Reserve District, however, the increase in the jobless rate between 1999 and 2006 generally ranged between one and two percentage points.

For instance, last year's unemployment rate in the Cleveland area was 4.7 percent, up from 2.7 percent in 1999. And in Lexington, Ky., the jobless rate climbed from a very low 2.1 percent in 1999 to 4.6 percent last year. To a degree, of course, Pittsburgh's low jobless rate can be attributed to the lack of growth in the area's labor force. But in addition, it can be argued that Pittsburgh now has a more stable -- and secure -- economic base than it did in prior years.

Turning for a moment to the housing market, it is clear that the national boom in home-building activity that has now collapsed bypassed the Pittsburgh area, which saw the trend of building permits issued for new residential construction remain essentially flat from 1999 through 2004. During the same time period, the number of building permits issued in the nation as a whole advanced nearly 25 percent.

Solid foundation for future

The Pittsburgh market has not entirely escaped the slump in new residential construction activity as evidenced by the significant decline in the number of permits issued in both 2005 and 2006. But this downturn appears relatively insignificant when compared with the much larger declines expected in many areas of the country, including California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada.

To sum: While the forthcoming Mellon/Bank of New York merger raises a number of unsettling questions, we continue to take the position that Pittsburgh has finally shaken off the negative effects of a steadily deteriorating industrial economy. While many other regions and metropolitan areas are still struggling to cope with the decline of their once dominant manufacturing industries, Pittsburgh has completed the painful transition from an industrial economy to one increasingly based on service-related activities, including health care, information technology and financial services.

With strong and farsighted political leadership that recognizes the need for a hospitable business climate and, among other things, encourages the forces of innovation and change, Pittsburgh is now well-placed to build on what in our opinion is a much more solid economic foundation.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Norman Robertson, former chief economist for Mellon Bank, is economic adviser for Downtown-based Smithfield Trust Co. )

I thought this was an interesting report on how Philly has used tax abatements to spur center city housing development... and how this can be applicable to a smaller city like Pittsburgh... which shares similarities... but also differs in several key ways.

Pittsburgh is currently building several thousand rental and owner-occupied units in the downtown area... which has been mostly devoid of the residential component for decades. The city politicians have proposed two competing tax abatement packages to spur residential development in the core and elsewhere in the city.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07070/768560-53.stm


How tax cuts saved Philadelphia


10-year abatements lead to boom in housing

Sunday, March 11, 2007

By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia in the mid-1990s was like New York City two decades before it, a city in need of reclamation. People were leaving at a rate of 1,000 a month, and there were worries it might become the "next Detroit," hollowed out by suburban flight and job losses.

Then, 10 years ago, Philadelphia approved tax breaks on offices and hotels that were converted into condos. The builders and subsequent unit owners still had to pay property taxes on the old value of the property, but the improvements would be tax-free for 10 years. In 2000, the abatement was extended to new commercial and home construction, not just conversions.

What followed was a residential construction boom unrivaled by any period in the city's history, except for the antebellum era, when Philadelphia's housing stock grew in order to accommodate rapid post-Civil War population growth. The city now has close to 4,000 separate housing units under abatement -- $15 million penthouse condos, $500,000 luxury condos, entry-level condos and all styles of condominiums in between, not to mention new single-family homes in the outlying areas such as Manayunk.

All the activity has re-energized places like Chinatown, the 10 or so square blocks of groceries, restaurants, apartments and other commercial establishments that have been home to Asian immigrants for a century-plus. And it's led to the refurbishment of buildings like the Ten Ten, a former Chinatown hotel that's been converted into a condominium tower along the neighborhood's Race Street. Among its residents is Delaware County Community College communications professor David Paterno, lured to the city partly by the tax break and the solid brick bones of the Ten Ten.

The 37-year-old estimates that he saves more than $1,200 a year on property taxes, and says it's tough to imagine leaving his new digs and the Center City. Even "if I had to pay the full amount now, I wouldn't move," he says.


Message for Pittsburgh

As Pittsburgh eyes similar tax breaks to woo city residents, its hard to ignore the Philadelphia story. Young professionals and empty-nesters are moving to the state's largest city for the tax breaks, and, it's hoped, they will stay for the museums, nightlife, sidewalk cafes and convenient commutes even when the abatements expire, which will begin to happen next year. Philadelphia leaders say the 10-year experiment with tax abatements has helped fuel $4 billion in construction activity since 1997, causing a residential building boom that saw housing permits in Philadelphia in 2004 outpace those granted in surrounding counties. That hasn't happened here in decades.

Moreover, a study for the city's Building Industry Association estimates that so-called "spillover" tax benefits from the abatement program will total $285 million over the next 25 years as more people move into the city and pay local wage and sales taxes -- more than double the estimated $121 million foregone through 2005 from abatements.

Predictably, the activity hasn't come without social costs and tensions. Take Chinatown. The Ten Ten, the nearby Pearl Condominiums, the hospital-turned-Metro Club Condominiums and other smaller projects reflect a gentrification wave that is luring wealthier residents and pushing up rents and property tax assessments. The concern is that the overall cost of living eventually could exceed the budgets of those who have called Chinatown and neighborhoods like it home for generations.

"A lot of Chinese immigrants who are coming in aren't making the kind of incomes needed to afford these new condos," said Greg Heller, an urban planner with an office a few blocks from Chinatown. He, not to mention the neighborhood's 4,000 residents, worries a day may come when the Asian community that has made Chinatown home for 130 years might be forced elsewhere, leaving in their wake just foreign pictographs on buildings and a bevy of restaurants and souvenir shops for tourists.

City leaders haven't done enough to "make sure you retain the existing backbone of the community," Mr. Heller said. Goosing the construction market, without planning for what may happen next, affects a neighborhood's historical stability, the very thing that made Chinatown a destination for America-bound immigrants in the first place.

Here's where the hard feelings come in: Hypothetically, "I've lived in a house, a neighborhood, real hardscrabble, for all my life ... then some guy bought [a] vacant lot and puts two McMansions on it. These out-of-towners came in and paid $750,000 for those mansions. And those jerks aren't paying any taxes on it," said Brett Mandel, executive director of a citizens' group and former financial policy guru for the city controller's office.

"Nothing will be a salve to that," he said. And yet without the abatements, the neighborhood surely would miss out on investment opportunities that otherwise wouldn't have looked Chinatown's way. "The tax incentives are fantastic for development," said Lance Silver, principal with Silver & Harting real estate, which developed the Ten Ten. The tax break "made it very competitive" to invest in Chinatown's dilapidated residential market.

Both the successes and the unintended consequences are issues Pittsburgh leaders will need to weigh as the city starts considering proposals for 10-year abatements for new and rehabilitated residential buildings. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl wants to waive the first $2,700 in city property taxes for 10 years on new housing units built Downtown and in 20 other neighborhoods. Councilman Bill Peduto would waive up to $150,000 in city taxes on major housing developments -- rather than on individual units -- in Downtown and five surrounding neighborhoods.

Both approaches, Mr. Heller, the urban planner, believes, risk putting politics before policy, coming as they do in the rush of an election year.

"You need to figure out a long-term strategy," he said. If the tax breaks succeed in spurring development in Homewood, does Homewood retain its identity? What happens when the abatements expire -- do you phase the new tax collections in gradually, or all at once? Does the new money go straight to the general fund, or into a pot dedicated to housing initiatives? Should the city attach an affordable housing component to the tax abatement?

But development-starved cities sometimes intentionally step around those conversations, he said. "You say, 'We're in desperation phase here. We need to take any development we can get.' "

If Pittsburgh hopes to replicate Philadelphia's success, it must be wary that Philadelphia has some built-in advantages that Pittsburgh won't be able to exploit. For one, Philadelphia is well positioned to capture buyers from New York City and, to a lesser extent, Washington, D.C., who have money to spend on the East Coast, but have been priced out of the largest metro markets. New Yorkers, in fact, have taken to calling Philadelphia the "sixth borough" in recent years. Pittsburgh, obviously, isn't so positioned.

Second, Philadelphia's suburbs are saturated with housing. Bucks, Chester and Montgomery counties are rebuffing some developers because of their own crowding and traffic concerns. In the Pittsburgh region, places such as Butler, Beaver, Washington and Westmoreland counties -- despite lots of development in places such as Murrysville, Cranberry and Peters -- haven't reached a saturation point yet.

Third, when it came to reinvigorating its downtown, Philadelphia was able to build upon the existing housing stock since its flat and sprawling downtown already was a residential hub. "There was a lot of pent-up demand for decent housing in the city, said Ed Dodson, a retired Fannie Mae executive.


Boon for empty-nesters
On the other hand, Pittsburgh shares some demographic similarities with Philadelphia, including a high percentage of senior citizens and early baby boomers who wouldn't mind living close to Downtown, but would prefer something new to something old.

This tax break caters to them especially, since one of the disadvantages to living in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia is the big wage tax. But if your wage-earning years are over, and you also get out of paying property taxes for 10 years, that's a deal that can't be matched by even the suburban communities with low millage rates. "The abatement that either candidate is proposing in Pittsburgh is perfect for empty-nesters," said Joshua Vincent, director of the Philadelphia-based Henry George Foundation's Center for the Study of Economics.

Pittsburgh, because of cheaper land and home prices, might be better positioned than Philadelphia to convince individual buyers to invest via the abatement program. Philadelphia's program failed in that regard, and even the outlying single-family homes were financed by major developers, said Vern Anastasio, a Democrat running for city council in Philadelphia's District 1. He's also a real estate lawyer.

"That's where my rub with the 10-year tax abatement comes in," he said. The tax break meant he was "able to stay in the neighborhood I was born and raised in." He bought a property on the cheap, and built his own house, but he was an exception, not a fair example of the program's impact.

Those familiar with the Philadelphia experience also caution against trying to force housing into the underdeveloped parts of Pittsburgh, as both Mr. Peduto and Mr. Ravenstahl hope to do by limiting the tax breaks to neighborhoods such as the Lower Hill, Uptown, Knoxville, Lincoln-Larimer and Allentown.

Philadelphia's abatement program, for example, has so far failed to force development in the area north of Center City, even though that was one of the goals. "Take the subway north about five stops" from Center City, Mr. Vincent said. "Make sure it's daytime. Get off the subway, just walk five blocks in any direction, and you'll see a wasteland. It's Dresden after the bombing."

That's because the housing market doesn't mind being pushed from behind, but doesn't like it when you grab the wheel.

"It's just plain tough to get people to build in areas that aren't driven by the market," said Mr. Mandel. "The truth is, the market is a powerful thing. If the market is not demanding that something get built, good luck."

A citywide abatement is maybe a better way to go, he said.

Or maybe it isn't. Pittsburgh, which is much smaller geographically than Philadelphia, must be more careful about forfeiting potential revenue than its eastern brother.

"Philadelphia doesn't have to do all of the right things, and they can still survive and even partially thrive," said Mr. Dodson. "Pittsburgh is in a much more precarious position. Pittsburgh has to do all the right things."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Bill Toland can be reached at btoland@post-gazette.com or 1-412-263-2625. )

an a comparison with Baltimore and Cleveland

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07070/768561-28.stm

Baltimore, Cleveland do it differently
Sunday, March 11, 2007

By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

BALTIMORE-- Soaring above Baltimore's Inner Harbor and entertainment district is the building now known as 414 Water Street. Offering 31 stories of luxury condos within walking distance of downtown and the remade harbor, it's among the city's latest entrants in the growing field of downtown housing.

Nearby is the Ritz-Carlton condo project, set to open this fall, and around the bend in the bay, rising from the former warehouse district called Harbor East, is the sold-out Vue condominium. By the end of the decade, more than 3,000 new urban housing units could be on the market -- or already occupied -- in Baltimore, a city that has historically faced some of the same industrial blight issues as did Pittsburgh.

But in Baltimore, you'll find no sweeping 10-year tax abatements encouraging new construction and residential conversions. They did it the old-fashioned way here, by listening to the market, then creating a menu of smaller tax breaks for builders -- there's a grant fund for historic building conversions; there's also a gap loan pool for developers who can't quite gather the financing they need. And on a case-by-case basis, the city will negotiate so-called PILOTS, or payments in lieu of taxes, for developers who can't meet the tax burden.

The menu of options works better for Baltimore than the Philadelphia model, a one-size-fits-all, decade-long tax break. Philadelphia's version "makes a lot of sense from a fairness standpoint," in that the same discount opportunities are extended to everyone, said Bob Aydukovic, the vice president of economic development for the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, Inc.

"But Baltimore has a different view of how it does public-private partnerships. It's not a blanket, it's an investment," he said.

The buyers followed the investment. The same slate of buyers attracted to downtown housing in other cities -- childless young professionals and empty-nesters downsizing their lifestyle -- were attracted to the compact downtown of what many refer to as Charm City, and the immediate downtown population has doubled here in just six years.


Cleveland more aggressive
Cleveland, meanwhile, has been charting a different course, wooing city residents and developers with an aggressive 15-year property tax waiver on the home value -- as in Philadelphia, the land is still taxable. That applies to new construction; rehabbed homes get a 10-year tax break.

Previously, the city had offered shorter abatements and smaller tax breaks in various city neighborhoods. The current plan, offering full abatements across the city on new building value, was enacted in 1999.

Cleveland, as a result, has seen its total housing value increase by $370 million over the life of the abatement program, Cleveland State University researchers estimate. The same study says Cleveland, its county and its schools reap $1.50 for every dollar of city property tax that is abated. New housing starts number about 1,000 each year -- in the late 1980s, fewer than 50 new homes were built each year in Cleveland, a city of about 478,000.

"We also found that over 60 percent of the people who built new homes would not have built them without the abatement," said Sabra Pierce Scott, a city councilwoman and head of the council's community and economic development committee.

In both cities, there are varying degrees of backlash.

Like many parts of the country, Baltimore is already seeing a slump in its housing sector, and is worried that there will be too many units on the market when it's all said and done. In Cleveland, city council is trying to decide what to do with the abatement program -- retire it, extend it, tweak it or reduce the 15-year duration -- now that the authorizing legislation is set to expire this summer .

The city is also finding out that, once developers are hooked on the tax breaks, they want to keep getting their fix. "I will not build without tax abatement," developer Doug Price told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland. "Without tax abatement, I will never get the loans to finance the project."

Mrs. Scott, the councilwoman, said she didn't expect the abatement program to be changed substantially, and in fact it might be expanded to target certain groups -- extra incentives, for example, directed at school teachers who live outside of the city.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Bill Toland can be reached at btoland@post-gazette.com or 1-412-263-2625. )

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07072/769032-85.stm

Arena deal keeps Penguins in Pittsburgh
Tuesday, March 13, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



The puck stays here.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have reached an agreement with state and local officials for construction of a new arena that keeps the team here under a 30-year lease.

The basics of the agreement were reached during a make-or-break meeting last week in Philadelphia where both sides reported that signficant progress was made and most of the remaining details were worked out over the weekend, according to sources close to the negotiations.

A formal announcement will be made later today, before the Penguins 7:30 p.m. home game against the Buffalo Sabres.

The new arena, expected to cost about $290 million, is expected to be ready for the 2009-2010 season.

The Penguins will continue to play at Mellon Arena under a short-term lease extension until the new arena is built.

Under the terms of the deal, the Pens will pay $3.8 million per year toward construction and will add another $400,000 per year for capital improvements.

A meeting had been scheduled for Wednesday here where Penguins officials were supposed to meet with Gov. Ed Rendell, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

That meeting may only be needed to finalize the deal that officials have been seeking for months.

Chuck Ardo, the governor's spokesman, said he could not confirm there was a deal last night.

But there was growing optimism that an agreement was near after a meeting Thursday in Philadelphia that lasted more than four hours.

Neither Mario Lemieux nor Ron Burkle could be reached for comment last night. Both were expected to attend tomorrow's scheduled meeting.

That atmosphere following the meeting in Philadelphia was quite a turnaround from the climate only four days before, when Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle sent a letter to the politicians declaring an impasse in the talks and saying they would aggressively explore relocation.

What followed was a trip to Las Vegas, which is pursuing professional sports teams, and a sweetened offer from Kansas City, where the $276 million Sprint Center will be ready this year. The new offer improved on a deal that included free rent and half the building revenues.

With the Penguins' future in Pittsburgh hanging in the balance, however, Thursday's session in Philadelphia apparently significantly narrowed the differences between the two sides.

Neither Mr. Onorato nor Mr. Ravenstahl were available for comment yesterday.

Even before Thursday's meeting, the two sides did not appear to be far apart.

Under the agreement, the Penguins also would pay $500,000 a year for a parking garage.

The rest of the arena funding would come from Pittsburgh casino licensee Don Barden, who would contribute $7.5 million a year and another $7.5 million annually from a gambling-financed state economic development fund.

One unresolved issue going into Thursday's meeting was how to pay the extra $20 million that was added as a contingency to a proposed arena bond issue, increasing it from $270 million to $290 million.

The Penguins and the state have agreed to split the cost of any additonal costs exceeding $290 million up to $310 million, sources said.

Even as negotiators try to hammer out a final deal, the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority has fallen behind schedule in demolishing 11 buildings in the Fifth and Centre Avenue corridors in Uptown for the new arena.

The work probably won't start for another two weeks, said Doug Straley, authority development manager. The authority originally had hoped to begin in early February.

Despite the delay, Mr. Straley said the authority still expects to have the site cleared by Sept. 1, when construction of the arena is expected to start, with hopes of opening it in 2009.

He said demolition of the 11 buildings -- nine on Fifth Avenue and two on the Epiphany Church campus -- is expected to take four months. Empire Dismantlement Corp. of Grand Island, N.Y., received a $926,419 contract to do the work.

"This demolition can get done well within the time frame to deliver the site," he said.

In explaining the delay, Mr. Straley cited the Feb. 5 collapse of a section of flooring at the authority-owned David L. Lawrence Convention Center, saying that diverted staff time away from the arena. He also said it took longer than expected to remove asbestos from the buildings to be razed.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. )

^^ Congrats on keeping the team, they belong nowhere else.

^I concur.
and kudos to a G.I. firm for being in charge of taking down the relic.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07072/769032-85.stm

Arena deal keeps Penguins in Pittsburgh
Tuesday, March 13, 2007



Great news, congrats!

^I concur.
and kudos to a G.I. firm for being in charge of taking down the relic.

No, they're clearing the site of the future arena. :bash:

What are they doing with the igloo? Will preservationists demand it be saved??

No, they're clearing the site of the future arena. :bash:

What are they doing with the igloo? Will preservationists demand it be saved??

Whether they want it saved or not, it is coming down and will be turned into parking (probably a parking garage) and it has to be developed. Over the next 10 years, the Penguins have to develop at least 10% of the land (I think 2.8 acres) per year. If they do not develop that amount in any given year, they will no longer have those rights and other options will be explored.

It's exciting to see a mix of smaller developers getting in on the action of the Cultural District... while the Cultural District is much further ahead than the rest of downtown... I think the success of the CD along with the major projects coming to fruition in the Fifth-Forbes corridor and the close to $1 billion dollars of investment in the Lower Hill / Arena District... will have a spillover effect across most of Downtown...

Here are a couple photos of the 16,000 sq. ft. Keystone Picture Frame Co. building at 951 Liberty Ave. that Jim Martier is converting to 12 "affordable" condos at $200,000 each... sorry the pictures don't show it too well... it's a rather unremarkable building architecturally

here it is in the middle-right of this photo... 4-story black building... you can read the word "Frame" on it
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/54261389.jpg

here it is on the right side of this photo... in the middle is where Pop City is published... on the left is the Bruno Bldg... one of the first in the current wave of small-scale residential loft conversion of historic largely-vacant commercial structures downtown
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/66649499.jpg

this photo features the Penn Ave. residential conversion by Solera Ventures... it's the non-descript 5-story building on the left side of the street in the middle... a 4 story addition will be built... condos range from $400k-$700k... 8 of 18 units have been sold despite construction and marketing not starting yet... the Courtyard Marriott is right next door
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/66650618.jpg

the building at 908-910 Penn Ave. is pictured in the middle of this photo... it's a 6 story tan building... the top 4 floors are attractive but the bottom 2 appear to have suffered some sort of 1960s-era defacement... this 36,000 sq. ft. building was purchased by French expatriate Charles Durham for $1.3 million... he plans to convert it to residential use
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/54261372.jpg

The next photo is of the 9-story 60,000 sq. ft. 1891 vintage Richardsonian Romanesque Ewart Building on Liberty Ave... Rugby Realty purchased the boarded up gem 10 years ago and it has been fully leased by office tenents since... which has led to Rugby purchasing many other properties in the area... they've been instrumental in this area's turnaround... and are also planning a mixed-use tower in the Strip District
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/66650612.jpg

This photo shows the site of Riverparc, the mega-project that the Cultural Trust will begin work on later this year, as it appeared last summer... and still appears today... parking lots... parking garages... a Goodyear dealership (which is totally random for DT PGH)... and a couple of motley structures... Riverparc will be a "green" 4-block neighborhood of 700 residential units in mid/high-rise towers and townhomes... as well as retail, office, civic components and the "cap" over the boulevard connecting the development to the Allegheny River waterfront...
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/66651053.jpg


The Encore on 7th, the 151-unit apartment building completed last year by the Cultural Trust... and now 98% leased is front and center in this pic (red building with party hat)... a deli/market will be opening in the building... to the left and behind the Encore on 7th is the Century Building... which the Cultural Trust is transforming into 60 "affordable" residential units... the barren area on the left of the photo near the riverfront is the Riverparc site
http://www.pbase.com/deadwing/image/61065979.jpg

in case you forgot what Riverparc is supposed to look like
http://www.pgharts.net/images/cdrd/annc/from9thStreetBridge_600x.jpg
900,000 SF of Residential space, Approximately 159,000 SF of Retail space, 45,000 SF performing arts venue and 530,000 SF of structured parking

Baltimore love in Pittsburgh! :yes:

Cordish Co. to build Pittsburgh “Live!” project

Mar 19, 2007 3:00 AM (4 hrs ago)
by Rita Chappelle , The Examiner
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Current rank: # 97 of 12,672

BALTIMORE - Baltimore’s The Cordish Co. and PSSI Stadium Corp. — owned by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Columbia-based Continental Real Estate — have plans to build one of Cordish’s signature “Live!” entertainment complexes in Pittsburgh.


Dubbed Pittsburgh Live!, the project will be on the 25-acre parcel between the city’s stadiums and will consist of retail and entertainment space including shops, bars, restaurants and a 1,200-seat glass-covered amphitheater.

“Cordish is a renowned developer that specializes in these types of projects, and it will be a great enhancement to the North Shore,” Steelers spokesman Jimmie Sacco said. “We chose them because of their success in other cities. They will be a great fit for Pittsburgh.”

“The project will be comparable to other Cordish Live! Districts, such as Fourth Street Live! in Louisville,” company chairman David Cordish said in an earlier statement. “It will be a meeting place for the entire region, and an amenity not just for the North Shore but the entire downtown. Millions of visitors will come every year as they do in our other projects,”

Cordish’s Live! product was the selling point for the other partners as well.

“We wanted to be sure to do this project right,” Continental Chairman Frank Kass said in a statement. “[Cordish] is one of the country’s preeminent entertainment developers.”

To help move along the project, the Sports and Exhibition Authority, a city-county agency, will sponsor an application for a $10 million grant for tax credits to build the infrastructure to support the build out. The grant would provide tax breaks as long as the project meets state sales tax revenue goals.

The Cordish Co. has built such notable projects as Baltimore’s Power Plant Live in the Inner Harbor and the highly successful Hard Rock hotel and casino complex for the Seminole Indian tribe in Florida.

Cordish also has deals pending around other sports complexes including the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals.

rchappelle@baltimoreexaminer.com

Yeah teh Cordish plan has been mentioned in the local papers before.
It will be nice to have something take up the vast parking area around the ballparks and create a place for fans to go. My only concern is that it seems to be a cookie cutter entertainment center, but I guess most likely chains would fill in the gap regardless.

Population drain continues in region
Thursday, March 22, 2007
By Gary Rotstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County and most of the metropolitan region show continued trends of modest population loss, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The bureau reported yesterday that the county's population was estimated at 1,223,411 as of July 1, 2006, a drop of 9,625 from the year before and 58,255 from the last formal census head count in 2000.
Allegheny remained the 30th largest county in the nation. Wayne County in Michigan and Cook County in Illinois showed bigger population losses in the past year than Allegheny, according to the estimates, but only Wayne had a more severe percentage loss of residents.
Within the seven-county metropolitan region, only Butler County showed any significant population increase between 2005 and 2006, a net gain of 1,375, to 182,901. Washington gained an estimated 14 residents, to 206,432.
Other counties losing population were Armstrong, down 431 to 70.096; Beaver, down 1,089 to 175,736; Fayette, down 446 to 145,760; and Westmoreland, down 693 to 366,440.
The Pittsburgh metro area's population was estimated at 2,370,776, down 10,895 from 2005 and 60,309 from the year 2000, with Allegheny's net loss representing most of the decline in both cases.
All of the counties except Butler have more deaths than births occurring on an annual basis, and only Washington has been able to make that up with more people moving in than moving out.

Cuyahoga's exodus rivals that of Katrina counties
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Robert L. Smith
Plain Dealer Reporter

A new census report exposes more of the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, showing sharp population declines in waterfront counties of Louisiana and Mississippi. But it may also leave some observers wondering what natural disaster struck Northeast Ohio.
Cuyahoga County saw the sixth-largest drop in population among American counties, losing about 16,000 people between July 2005 and July 2006.
Four of the five counties with steeper losses lay in the path of a hurricane in August 2005. Absent their calamity, Ohio's largest county would likely rank second nationally in population decline, behind only Detroit's Wayne County.

The census bureau's recent survey of the 3,141 counties with populations greater than 10,000 - released today - presents a regional problem in Northeast Ohio.
The seven-county metro area also lost population last year, despite continued growth in Medina and Lorain counties.
Planners see the perseverance of a trend that began in 1973, when the regional population peaked, and a challenge that the civic leadership has been slow to address.
"Clearly the trend is not at all favorable or positive," said Paul Oyaski, director of the Cuyahoga County Department of Development.
"But given the number of vacant homes in the city and the county, the numbers are not surprising."
He said ideas like a proposed new interchange off Interstate 90 in Avon will only encourage sprawl and speed people out of Cleveland and its older suburbs. What's needed, Oyaski said, are regionwide strategies for reviving old neighborhoods and attracting new people, business and industry.
Northeast Ohio's population loss, while statistically small, bucks a national trend. Almost all other major metro areas either held steady or grew in recent years, said William Frey, a demographer for the BrPart of the answer may be immigration," Frey said. "As these [immigrant] waves continue to move outward from the coasts, they'll find places like Cleveland, which holds some promise with its cheaper housing."

Cuyahoga County has lost about 80,000 residents, or 6 percent of its people, since the 2000 Census, and the seven-county region lost about 28,000 people in the same span, according to the census bureau.
Many likely moved somewhere warm. Seven of America's 10 fastest growing counties between 2000 and 2006 were in the South or Southwest, and Maricopa County, surrounding Phoenix, Ariz., grew faster than anywhere else, the census bureau reported.
Closer to home, Medina remains the fastest-growing county in Northeast Ohio.
It added 2,300 people last year. Columbus' Franklin County led Ohio, as it grew by 6,200 people.


Getting a fix on Buffalo area population drain

There’s little doubt that Erie County is still losing population. How fast it’s losing residents might be up for debate. Erie County’s population has declined by 28,875 since 2000, a 3 percent drop, or an average loss of 4,800 people a year, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
No other county in New York State lost more people than Erie County since the start of the decade. Niagara County lost about 3,700 people since 2000, a 1.7 percent decrease, estimates show.
In fact, there were losses in seven of the eight counties of Western New York over the same period.
But while Erie County has grown accustomed to the losses year after year, a drop of nearly 29,000 people in six years might raise some eyebrows.
That’s more than the combined 19,000 lost by Erie and Niagara counties during the entire decade of the 1990s.
“Keep in mind they’re estimates,” said Kathryn A. Foster, director of the Regional Institute at the University at Buffalo. “They’ve been wrong before.”
Prior to the 2000 census, Foster said, the Census Bureau underestimated Erie County’s population by more than 24,000.
“A little mistake at the beginning of the decade becomes more and more magnified as the decade goes on,” she said. “The correction comes with the census at the end of the decade.”
Other counties across New York, in fact, have questioned the methodology the Census Bureau uses and have successfully challenged estimates in recent years, according to Warren A. Brown, a senior research associate at Cornell University, which contracts with the state to review census data.
Erie County hasn’t been one of them.
A 3 percent drop in population since 2000 doesn’t seem out of line, considering other evidence across the county, such as vacant housing units, said Andrew M. Eszak, Erie County’s commissioner of environment and planning.
“Three percent doesn’t surprise me,” said Eszak, whose department keeps tabs on the local numbers. “The economy, women of childbearing age, out-migration: Those are all factors that come into play.”
Unlike the decennial head count, the Census Bureau updates county figures each year using birth and death records and migration data from tax returns, which can be tricky in areas with concentrations of military personnel, college students or recent immigrants, Brown explained.
Brown has worked with county and city planners — armed with local housing data to support their case — to successfully challenge census estimates in Bronx, Jefferson, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Rockland and Westchester counties.
While he doesn’t doubt that Erie County is still losing population, Brown defers to local planners to question whether the county is losing people as fast as the Census Bureau says it is.
“If Erie County [officials] complained to the Census Bureau, they would refer them to me,” Brown said. “If they’re not complaining, then I and the Census Bureau probably think the numbers are right.”
Counties challenging the estimates often fear losing federal funding based on census figures, but the 28,000 residents the census estimates Erie County has lost isn’t large enough to affect county aid, Eszak said.
Counties also worry about what the figures do for their image, Brown said.
“Image is just very important to economic development, recruitment and so forth,” Brown said.
The Census Bureau today is releasing 2006 population estimates for 3,141 counties nationwide.
While New York State’s population loss was about 9,500 from 2005 to 2006, there actually has been overall growth in the state’s population — 1.7 percent — since 2000, according to the data.
Losses since 2000 dropped Erie County’s population to 921,300 and Niagara County’s to 216,130, according to estimates.
Since 2000, the population dropped by 3.1 percent in Chautauqua County, 2.9 percent in Cattaraugus County, 2.6 percent in Genesee County, 2.2 percent in Orleans County and 1.9 percent in Wyoming County, estimates show. During the same period, according to the data, Allegany County’s population increased by less than 1 percent.


Rochester Region's population slips

Census data show people still leaving Monroe, most surrounding counties


Bennett J. Loudon
Staff writer

(March 22, 2007) — As high-paying jobs dwindle in the Rochester region, so does the population.

U.S. Census Bureau estimates released today show that the population of the six-county region dropped by 4,595 from 2000 to 2006.
"People follow jobs, and we know that we've been losing jobs in this region," said Ellen Rosen, vice president of marketing, communications and membership for the Rochester Business Alliance.
While thousands of workers have been laid off at major employers such as Eastman Kodak Co. and Xerox Corp. during the past decade, many high-skill manufacturing jobs offering good salaries are being created in upstate New York, said Warren A. Brown, a senior research associate at Cornell University's Institute for Social and Economic Research.
"But they're not enough jobs to offset all the jobs that have been lost from the old economy," Brown said.

The new census data show:
• Monroe County's population dropped 1,250 from July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2006.
• Ontario County is the only county in the region that gained population between mid-2005 and mid-2006. The county added 135 residents during that single-year period and 3,940 from 2000 to 2006.
• Statewide, the population dropped 9,538 from 2005 to 2006 and increased 306,048 from 2000 to 2006.
• From 2000 to 2006, Monroe County had a net loss of more than 27,077 residents who moved to other locations in the United States and a net gain of 12,424 residents from outside the United States.
The shrinking population of the region affects state and federal funding that is often allocated on a per capita basis.

The Census Bureau's estimates are based on records of births, deaths and federal tax returns to track domestic migration.
Cool on Rochester

Michael Cipolla isn't surprised that a steady stream of people are leaving Monroe County. The 41-year-old registered nurse moved from Rochester to Orlando, Fla., in April 2004.
"I actually like Rochester overall. If the weather was more consistently warm, I wouldn't hesitate to move back there," said Cipolla, who moved to Fort Myers, Fla., in September.
Jim Crider, 33, moved from Rochester to Florida in 1996, then to Atlanta in 2000. He moved back in 2001 and now owns a home in Gates.

But he expects that his career as a customer service supervisor for Verizon Wireless will require that he move back to Florida or Georgia within a few years.
Monroe County experienced a larger drop in population than the five adjoining counties, but Genesee County lost a higher percentage of its population.
Genesee County's population dropped by 1,509 or 2.5 percent from 2000 to 2006.

With about 35 percent of Genesee County's work force commuting to jobs in Rochester and Buffalo, a fragile job market in either city has a significant impact on Genesee County, said County Manager Jay A. Gsell.
While many former Monroe County residents have settled out of state, a fair portion moved just over the county line to Ontario County. From 2002 to 2003, about 1,467 Monroe County residents moved to Ontario County.
Ontario County Administrator Geoffrey Astles said his county's population is rising in contrast to its neighbors because of its successful marketing of the county's natural assets, such as the Finger Lakes.
"It attracts tourists. Some of them stay, but it attracts people who want to live here because of the variety of lifestyles," he said, noting that the county offers a choice of rural, suburban and small city communities.
New residents

While Monroe County's population loss is notable, it would be even higher if not for the 12,000 international residents the Census Bureau estimates moved to the county since 2000.
The Catholic Family Center sponsors about 400 refugees who move here annually. Monroe County offers plentiful entry-level jobs and inexpensive housing, said Colleen Knauf, director of Saint's Place, a joint ministry of St. Louis Church in Pittsford and the Catholic Family Center.
"It's all about helping people get started all over again," Knauf said.

One of those people starting over is Hawa Msanda, who left war-torn Somalia in 2004.
With help from Catholic Family Center's refugee resettlement programs, Msanda settled here with her five children and is attending classes at the Family Learning Center on Hart Street.
Msanda, who is still learning English, said she came to Rochester so her children could have a better life than they would in Somalia.

On weekdays, Msanda practices her new language and computer skills in third-floor classrooms at the learning center while her two young sons, Ibrahim Osman, 3 and Ali Osman, 5, attend the Saint's Place child care on the center's first floor.
"I like it here," she said. "It is a good place."

Osman Abdulkadir, 27, came to Rochester from Somalia in 1997.

"In my country, there is war and people killing each other and no jobs," he said. "That's why I came to America."

btw, the Post-Gazette article was poorly written... Wayne was not the only county to post a more severe population loss percentage-wise... Cuyahoga also beat us percentage-wise amongst the Top 30 counties...


whoopdedoo... at least our PCPI growth is beating the national average

Cool link to national interactive map showing population trends by county

http://www.usatoday.com/news/graphics/census_0307/flash.htm

that map is interesting... you can see from the map that the problem afflicting us is not strong out-migration... but weak birth rates resulting from a period of EXTREME out-migration 20 years ago

Allegheny County has a slight out-flow... in contrast to the core counties of Detroit, Cleveland and Cincinnati... which have STRONG out-flows... Washington and Butler counties have slight in-flow while the rest of the Metro PGH counties have balanced flows

Notice that Western Pennsylvania is unique amongst major regions in its across the board birth deficit... this is a key difference between other declining regions such as Cleveland, Buffalo and Detroit... which are all seeing natural increases but are experiencing massive out-flows to offset this... this is a legacy of the epic steel collapse... an economic contraction more severe and extreme during those few years in the 80s than the prolonged difficulties of Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit... which have never experienced such a region-shattering event... Pittsburgh's present population decline is a unique story in that it is largely caused by natural decrease as opposed to large out-flows

on a side note... I do have to admit suprise at the strong rate of natural increase in Southeastern Michigan... the current economic crisis in Michigan and Northern Ohio could potentially cause a similar demographic trend that Western Pennsylvania experiences today... if it gets worse

on another side note... the one "hotspot" for population growth in Western Pennsylvania... Forest County... was a tiny county of about 4500 people... which increased to over 6000 when a prison was built there a couple years ago... sometimes a map can deceive even when it's done correctly... if you don't know particular circumstances of an area...


the following is a bit of a regional analysis I threw together drawing heavily on a website/blog called Pittsburgh Future:

http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/downloads/...onaleconomy.pdf (http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/downloads/analysisofpittsburghregionaleconomy.pdf)

Much like anything concerning Pittsburgh... it's easy to look at one raw number... like raw population growth or raw job growth and think this region is falling apart. But if you look into the numbers and actually do some analysis... you'll get a different picture.

The data used is from 1999-2005... the trends would look a bit better if 2006 data was included... since 2006 was our best year "economically" since before the 9/11 economic contraction that hit our region hard (9000 US Airways jobs lost, for example).

Why do we have such sluggish raw job growth? The primary reason is due to the aftershocks of the 150,000 steel jobs lost in the 80s and the resulting population exodus. We are losing jobs in sectors that depend on population growth... creating a bit of a downward spiral. These include public sector jobs, transportation jobs (USAir again), construction and distrubution centers. As Pittsburgh Future states, 1/3 of all jobs created nationally in this period were GOVERNMENT JOBS (amazing!)... half of these are public school jobs... which Pittsburgh is obviously not adding due to stagnant population. In fact, Pittsburgh had a net loss of government jobs.

http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/economy/govtjobs9905.gif

The following declining sectors are considered "population-dependent sectors":
http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/economy/4keysectorsforjobs.gif

As Pittsburgh Future states, "When a region is growing, more buildings are built, more people shop, more kids go to public schools and more public services are needed."

If you take away those 4 population-dependent sectors... Pittsburgh's job growth has actually exceeded the national average:
http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/economy/componentsofjobchg9905.gif


As for the much-ballyhooed manufacturing decline... every region is experiencing it... and Pittsburgh is certainly not the worst
http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/economy/manufjobchg9905.gif


Health care and Higher Education are leading the way in our high-wage job growth
http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/economy/newhiwagejobs9905.gif

Low wage growth sectors. The tourism sector continues to boom:
http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/economy/newlowagejobs9905.gif

We exceed most other regions in rate of growth for science and engineering jobs. These 6000 new jobs pay an average of 50% more than the overall average for the region:

http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/economy/sciengjobchg9904.gif

7300 new health care jobs also pay 50% more than regional average:
http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/economy/healthjobchg9904.gif

We lost 18,000 management jobs, however :( :
http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/economy/mgtfinjobchg9904.gif


As Pittsburgh Future says, "Slow Population Growth Will Continue to Make Overall Job Growth Look Slow"

hopefully we can keep creating more good jobs in high-wage sectors so that we eventually do see population growth and a growth in employment in population-dependent sectors... though it's important to note that most population-dependent jobs are low wage jobs

Pittsburgh Future also backs up what I said previously about the roots of our population decline: "Slow population growth does not mean that the region is an undesirable place for young people - contrary to popular myth, the Pittsburgh Region's population remains stagnant because of low birth rate and low international immigration, not because of continuing outmigration of young people. The low birth rate today is due to the outmigration of young people 20 years ago following the collapse of the steel industry - when they left the region, they took their future children and grandchildren with them. Although the Pittsburgh Region still has net domestic outmigration, so do most other regions..."

http://www.pittsburghfuture.com/economy/regionalmigration20002004.gif


It's important to note... that despite population decline and sluggish overall job growth... the Pittsburgh Region's "Per Capita Personal Income" has rapidly increased over the past decade... which correlates to our growth in key high-wage sectors. In 2004, the Pittsburgh Economic Area (which includes the 10-county SWPA region plus Wheeling metro and Weirton-Steubenville metro) had a Per Capita Personal Income at 100% the national average. The annual growth rate of PCPI for the Pittsburgh EA from 1994-2004 was 4.3% compared to 4.1% nationally. Over this period, we became a "higher-wage" region in comparison to national trends. However, despite impressive wage growth... our sluggish population and job growth resulted in a rate of growth in Total Personal Income less than the national average.
http://www.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/acti...amp;yearin=2004 (http://www.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/action.cfm?fips=57129&areatype=57129&yearin=2004)

I would suggest clicking the link to the article... as each "project box" comes with its own set of links

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07091/773880-85.stm

*** construction projects are changing the face of Pittsburgh

Sunday, ***** 01, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Take a good look around, Pittsburgh. By late 2009, you might not recognize the place.

In less than three years, the Penguins should be in a glittering *** arena. Dowdy Fifth Avenue ******** should be bustling with people, *** retailers, *** offices, even a luxury hotel. A *** casino should be paying off on the North Shore.

It all adds up to nearly $2 billion in investment -- not a bad way to start the second decade of a *** century.



Arena
• Location: Uptown, Fifth Avenue
• Function: Penguins hockey, other uses
• Opening: End 2009
• Cost: $290 million
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/01Hockey_arena_300.jpg


American Eagle Outfitters
• Location: SouthSide Works
• Function: Office ********
• Opening: Fall 2008
• Cost: Not disclosed
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/02american_eagle_300.jpg

Majestic Star casino
• Location: North Shore, Chateau
• Function: Slot machines
• Opening: Summer 2008
• Cost: $435 million
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/03majestic_casino_300A.jpg


August Wilson Center for African American Culture• Location: ********, Liberty Avenue
• Function: Performances, exhibitions, education
• Opening: Early 2008
• Cost: $36 million
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/04August_Wilson_Center_300.jpg


Children’s Hospital
• Location: Lawrenceville, Penn Avenue,
• Opening: Early 2009
• Cost: $575 million
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/05children_hospital_300.jpg

Point Park University
• Location: ********, Boulevard of the Allies
• Function: Dance studios and performance space
• Opening: Fall 2007
• Cost: $15.4 million
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/06point_park_dance_230A.jpg


Three PNC Plaza
• Location: ********, Fifth Avenue
• Function: Retail, office, condos, hotel
• Opening: 2008
• Cost: $178 million
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/07Three_pnc_230.jpg

Market Square Place
• Location: ********, Fifth Avenue
• Function: Retail and apartments
• Opening: Early 2009
• Cost: $32 million
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/08Market_Square_Place_300.jpg

151 First Side
• Location: ********, Fort Pitt Boulevard
• Function: Condos
• Opening: summer 2007
• Cost: $26 million
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/09FIRSTSIDE_230.jpg


North Shore Live
• Location: North Shore, North Shore Drive and Art Rooney Boulevard
• Function: Amphitheater, entertainment venues
• Opening: Late 2008
• Cost: $48 million
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/10north_shore_live_300.jpg

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
• Location: ********, Seventh and Ninth streets
• Function: Housing
• Opening: early 2009
• Cost: $90 million, first phase
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/11cultural_trust_housing_300.jpg


Other future projects

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation
********, Market ****** and Fifth
Retail and apartments
Opening: Winter 2008
Cost: $2.5 million

Hampton Inn and Suites
Strip District, Smallman ******
Hotel
Opening: Summer 2007
Cost: undetermined

Hyatt Place Hotel
North Shore, North Shore Drive
Opening: End 2008
Cost: Undetermined

Office ********
North Shore, next to Equitable Resources headquarters
Opening: 2009
Cost: Undetermined

Residence Inn
North Shore, Hotel
Opening: Summer 2008
Cost: $20 million

Bridgeside Point II
Lab and office space
South Oakland, Pittsburgh Technology Center
Opening: Spring 2008
Cost: $46 million

Hotel/condos
South Side, SouthSide Works
Opening: 2009
Cost: $30 million

Bakery Square
Larimer, Penn Avenue
Hotel, retail, offices, housing
Opening: 2009
Cost: $105-$125 million

Highland/Stadterman ********
East Liberty
Housing, hotel
Opening: Mid 2009
Cost: $37 million

Research, Mark Belko; Graphic, Ed Yozwick/Post-Gazette

details on the *** arena

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07091/773908-53.stm

Pen's plans aim to make life better for loyal fans

Sunday, ***** 01, 2007

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Elvis won't want to leave this ********.

Not with the larger seats, more leg room, better views, more concessions, and high-definition video.

The Penguins are designing a *** $290 million arena that will be fit for a king -- or better yet, for the fans who have endured roof leaks, obstructed views, and cramped concourses at the Igloo for years.

From a glass atrium that will span some five stories and offer views of the ******** ******* to open concourses at each end that will allow people to catch the action below while buying a hot dog, the goal is to provide a "cutting-edge" experience for fans, Penguins President Ken Sawyer said.

"I just think we're going to have such a terrific ********. People are going to be dazzled by the feel inside of it," he said.

The Penguins also will be looking out for the fans at home. They intend to invite broadcast crews and the National Hockey League into the *** ******** to scout out the best locations for TV cameras, lock those in first, and then build around them.

"With HD technology, you particularly want to make sure you maximize the TV experience," Mr. Sawyer said.

The Penguins are working with HOK, the national architectural firm that designed PNC Park and Heinz Field, to develop plans for their *** home, which will be built across the ****** from Mellon Arena. They've been crafting the design for nearly two months, even as they wrangled with state and local leaders to get a *** arena deal.

While much of the work is still in the conceptual stage, the team has plenty of ideas to capitalize on the revenue-generating potential of the ********.

What once was considered a curse -- the many years it took to get an arena deal in place -- now is working to the Penguins' advantage, as they are able to pick the best features of the ***er arenas and incorporate them into their design.

Among the buildings that will serve as guides will be those in Minnesota, Columbus, Florida, Phoenix and Montreal.

The *** arena will have about 18,500 seats, some 1,500 more than Mellon. The seats will be larger, with more leg room in the aisles, and "great sight lines from the lowest seat to the absolute highest," Mr. Sawyer said.

There will 65 to 70 suites; there are 50 at Mellon Arena. Mr. Sawyer said they will be larger than the current suites and closer to the ice. The suites also will have Internet access, concierge service and other amenities.

As in Mellon Arena, the Penguins plan to offer more expensive club seating between the blue lines. Fans with those seats also will have their own lounge, the major difference being this one will be at concourse level so they can watch the action rather than going inside without a view of the ice.

The Penguins are promising improved views for virtually all ticket holders. Seats generally will be closer to the ice. The team also is looking at design innovations to bring the upper end zone sections closer to the action.

There will be no obstructed views, as there are in Mellon Arena, where some ticket holders can't see the scoreboard and a few others don't have a look at center ice.

And there will be wider concourses, more concessions, some with a distinct Pittsburgh flavor, and more souvenir stations. In all, the *** arena will total some 700,000 square feet, compared to 420,000 at Mellon.

The *** scoreboard will feature larger video screens, with high definition capability. An LED board will ring the arena at the suite level and will be used for statistics, animation and advertising.

But with the improved views, better seats, and *** amenities usually comes higher ticket prices. A Penguins spokesman said it was too early to discuss ticket prices, but the Steelers and Pirates both raised ticket prices when they moved into their *** homes in 2001.

For Sidney Crosby and his teammates, the *** arena will feature improved locker rooms and training and exercise facilities.

The players will be able to go directly to the locker room from the bench without having to cross the ice. There also will be a small theater in the locker room where coaches and players can watch tapes of opponents and other film.

Any palace fit for a king should have an entrance, and the *** arena will be no exception. It will feature a glass atrium, rising from Fifth Avenue and spanning five stories.

There will be escalators to take fans to the ticketing level and the main concourse.

At the suite level, the team is planning a large restaurant facing ********, where diners will be able to look out at the ******* and watch the crowd coming into the arena. Above that, a brew pub is in the works, also with views of the *******.

Mr. Sawyer said the atrium with its open feel and the views of ******** and the Epiphany Church, which will sit in front of the arena, probably will be what visitors remember most about the ********.

Just as Heinz Field has the Coca-Cola Great Hall, the Penguins also intend to pay homage to their on-the-ice legends.

Their proposed hall of fame, albeit smaller, will pay tribute to team history, the Penguins' Stanley Cup runs in the early 1990s, and, of course, Mario Lemieux. And, Mr. Sawyer said playfully, the team might set aside some space "for another player coming along" right now.

Construction of the arena is expected to begin in the fall. Mr. Sawyer said keeping the project within the $290 million budget will be a "challenge" but he added he believes it can be done.

"We certainly have that expectation as we sit here now," he said.

The construction will be funded with $15 million a year in slots gambling-related revenues and $4.2 million a year from the team.

Like Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, the Penguins hope to take advantage of the arena's ***ness to recruit more events and concerts. Mr. Sawyer said promoters like *** buildings because they generally create a "buzz" and generate larger audiences.

The Penguins already have talked to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman about bringing another All-Star Game to Pittsburgh. The last was here in 1990. They also have an interest in hosting the "Frozen Four," the NCAA hockey equivalent of the Final Four in basketball.

Mr. Sawyer said the Penguins also want to work with Pitt and Duquesne to bring the NCAA men's basketball tournament back. The **** hosted the early rounds in 1997 and 2002.

"Clearly with college basketball being so significant here in Pittsburgh, I think we would be a great host ****," he said. "We'll now have the capacity to do it."

But don't expect the National Basketball League to be part of the action. Mr. Sawyer said he doesn't believe a market the size of Pittsburgh can support professional basketball and hockey.

"It's just not possible," he said. "The NBA just wouldn't come here. The market's not big enough."

However, the Penguins might take a stab at bringing the U.S. Figure Skating Championships to Pittsburgh and maybe even national political conventions.

They also have a keen interest in hosting the NHL's annual entry draft, held each year in June. "Although we don't expect to be picking high," Mr. Sawyer added with a chuckle, because the teams with the worst records pick first.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. )

Three PNC Plaza
• Location: ********, Fifth Avenue
• Function: Retail, office, condos, hotel
• Opening: 2008
• Cost: $178 million
http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/07Three_pnc_230.jpg

nice! about time they got rid of a few of those nasty little shops on 5th.

good to see the downtown is getting some more infill

Here's my plan for a new Pittsburgh Arena:

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/8004/newpittsburghis4.gif

Mellon Arena is to be demolished in this scheme. I coloured the new arena in silver.

Dick's looks for new HQ space
Pittsburgh Business Times - September 7, 2007by Tim Schooley
Joe Wojcik


http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/96291-400-0.jpg?rev=2




Sources say fast-growing Dick’s Sporting Goods seeks between 500,000 and 1 million square feet of new headquarters space.
View Larger Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. might be growing too fast to sit still.

The Findlay-based sporting goods retailer is seeking a site for a potential new headquarters campus -- possibly as large as 1 million square feet -- just several years after building its current digs, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.

Dick's moved into its current 200,000-square-foot facility on 29 acres leased from the Allegheny County Airport Authority in 2004.

While the site has the potential to be expanded by as much as 150,000 square feet, Dick's has begun seeking other sites near Pittsburgh International Airport on which it could build a larger, long-term development of between 500,000 square feet and 1 million square feet, according to two sources who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the search.

The search for a new headquarters campus so soon after moving into its current space comes in part from a traditionally conservative company facing dramatic new growth demands, one source said. If Dick's commits to a new headquarters site, such a project would be among the largest of the past 10 years.

"At the rate they're growing, they're going to be full (at their current headquarters) faster than they can build something new," one source said. "I quite honestly think they were stunned at how well they've done."

Jeff Hennion, a Dick's spokesman, did not return calls seeking comment. Allegheny County Economic Development Director Dennis Davin, whose department aided Dick's with the construction of its current headquarters, also did not return calls.

Dick's has experienced rapid growth through acquisitions and store expansions in recent years.

The company moved to Pittsburgh from Binghamton, N.Y., in 1994 with only 21 stores. Today, Dick's has 315 locations throughout much of the country.

In 2004, Dick's acquired one of its largest competitors, Indianapolis-based Galyan's Trading Co., adding 47 stores and made Dick's the nation's second-largest sporting goods retailer. Last year, Dick's acquired the 61-location Golf Galaxy Inc., an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based chain that threatened to compete with Dick's fledgling specialty retailer, The Golf Shop.

The company commonly achieves double-digit annual revenue growth and projects to have more than 800 stores nationwide within 10 years.

Traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 2002, Dick's reported sales of $2.6 billion in its last fiscal year, a 24 percent increase over the year before.

The company employs more than 600 at its current campus, which includes a racquetball court and running track. But it soon will need more space than its current location provides, one source said.

Dick's possible move comes after the company received significant public investment for its current headquarters.

In 2005, Gov. Ed Rendell presented Dick's Chairman Ed Stack with a check for $10.85 million to apply toward the proposed expansion of between 100,000 and 150,000 square feet at its established headquarters. The funding came from a variety of state agencies, including $5 million from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

The headquarters expansion was then expected to help generate 700 new jobs, as well as require a new 940-space on-site parking facility. Allegheny County also provided public assistance in the form of a $3 million equity investment, as well as $5.5 million in grants and loans for road work and site preparation.

That expansion has been put on hold, according to a public official familiar with the plans but not authorized to speak with the media.

In May, the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County purchased Dick's previous headquarters, a 65,000-square-foot building at nearby RIDC Park West in Findlay. County records indicate that the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County bought the building and surrounding 52 acres of property for roughly $5.4 million; its assessed value is $6.7 million.



. .

I like your idea, Jim.

Pittsburgh casino developer slashes grand plans
The Associated Press


PITTSBURGH—The developer of Pittsburgh's casino wants to cut parts of the $780 million project he is planning.
Developer Don Barden asked Pittsburgh's planning commission on Tuesday to allow him to build a riverfront amphitheater, dock and walking path after the casino has operated for three years.

Barden's spokesman Bob Oltmanns says the changes are being made to keep the project within its budget.

On Monday, contractors halted construction at the site until Barden pays $10 million owed since March.

Barden is still trying to secure most of the funds for the project. But Oltmanns says this is not the reason for the delay in the riverfront portions of the project.

Riverfront activists slammed Barden's cuts, saying the casino was only approved because of the river revitalization plans.

Pittsburgh population drops
U.S. Census releases statistics on major cities
Thursday, July 10, 2008
By Steve Levin, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


One is in California, best known as the country's most ozone-polluted city. The other is a Denver suburb. So what do Bakersfield, Calif., and Aurora, Colo., have in common?

They're both now bigger than Pittsburgh, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released early today.

Pittsburgh fell to 59th in population among U.S. cities, a drop of two spots since the 2006 figures. Its July 1, 2007 population was 311,218.

The census figures represent only populations within city limits, not greater metropolitan areas.

It wasn't that Pittsburgh's population change was so drastic -- it lost 2,450 residents -- or that being ranked 59th among the country's 262 incorporated places with populations of more than 100,000 is so awful. If this were high school, Pittsburgh would rank in the top quarter of its class, possibly good enough to get into a fine college depending on SATs and extracurricular activities.

But some joie de vivre erodes when a city boasting the amenities that Pittsburgh does has fewer people than say, Mesa, Ariz., (452,933) or Arlington, Texas, (371,038) or even Wichita, Kan. (361,420). How many people realize that Columbus, Ohio, has a population of 747,755, nearly 2 1/2 times the size of Pittsburgh?

Still, there are things to be grateful for, the biggest of which is that census figures show Pittsburgh is ranked one spot ahead of Toledo, Ohio.

Also, the city was not one of the biggest losers of population during the year. Other cities, including some of Pittsburghers' least favorites, lost more. Cleveland was hit worst, losing 5,067 residents. Other losers, were, in order, Columbus, Ga., Baton Rouge, La., Philadelphia and Baltimore.

The big winners, population-wise, between 2006 and 2007? New Orleans, whose population rose nearly 14 percent, and Houston, which gained 38,932 residents.

Taking a longer view of the new census numbers, between 2000 and 2007, six cities passed Pittsburgh in population: Aurora, Bakersfield, Cincinnati, Anaheim, Tampa and Santa Ana, Calif. During that same period Pittsburgh lost 22,609 residents.

The fastest growing cities during that seven-year period were McKinney, Texas, whose population more than doubled to 115,620, and North Las Vegas, whose population rose about 84 percent to 212,114.

Just the bearer of good news huh Jerome? Might be some kind of perverse illness.

Pittsburgh International braces for impact of still more cuts

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Kris B. Mamula

More departures from Pittsburgh International Airport are expected to be cut, thanks to airlines’ financial difficulties. One analyst predicts a 6 percent drop by November.

For fliers who thought the cuts at Pittsburgh International Airport were about over, it may be time to think again.

Passenger traffic at Pittsburgh International Airport will fall 4.3 percent and the number of flights will decline 6 percent by November, aviation consultant The Boyd Group Inc. predicts.

And steeper declines may be coming.

"That doesn't reflect the spreading panic in airline front offices," said Michael Boyd, president of the Evergreen, Colo., company. "Virtually every airline out there is pulling some capacity."

He predicted daily departures at PIT could dip to 160 by November, from 183 today, and passenger traffic could sink another 8 percent in 2009. Escalating fuel costs are to blame -- the average global cost of jet fuel at the refinery reached 409.2 cents a gallon the week of June 27, up 3.9 percent for the week and 96.2 percent from a year ago, according to the International Air Transport Association, a Montreal-based trade group. Fuel comprises about 40 percent of an airline's operating budget.

Southwest Airlines recently said it would drop one of its daily flights to Philadelphia. Other reductions in Pittsburgh-based departures include: American Airlines, two flights to LaGuardia Airport and one of four flights to Chicago; Air Canada, one of three flights to Toronto; and Delta Air Lines, one flight to Cincinnati, Boyd said.

"We're going to be facing an extremely difficult challenge over the next year or so," said Spencer Dickerson, senior executive vice president of the Alexandria, Va.-based American Association of Airport Executives. "We're really in uncharted territory. No one is immune from the pain of these cutbacks in the airline industry."

The downturn in aviation comes amid surging demand, Dickerson said. For example, Delta recently ended its Lansing, Mich., to Atlanta route, despite an average 85 percent capacity.

"All the carriers are making adjustments," said Brad Penrod, executive director of the Allegheny County Airport Authority. "The key is being flexible."

The local airport authority is reeling from the pullback of US Airways, which reduced daily flights to 68 this year from 108 in 2007, now comprising less than 45 percent of all passengers using the airport.

Out of the nation's top 100 airports, 85 have "some significant reduction in seat capacity, with several in the two-digit range," Penrod said. For that reason, holding ground with flat spending in operating and capital budgets may be the best outcome during a difficult time.

The downturn is being felt beyond the airport's borders as well. Findlay Township Manager Gary Klingman said a wage freeze was negotiated with municipal employees this year to compensate for lower parking tax and real estate tax revenue the municipality receives from airport stores.

"We've pulled back dramatically," Klingman said. "We've already been in tightening-the-belt mode."

Commercial and residential development in the township has made up for some of the loss, he said.

"I see brighter days ahead," Klingman said. "The airline industry is taking a hit. We just have to stay tuned."

Moon-based Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce will offer more programs to help businesses work locally without losing sight of the need to do business internationally, said Sally Haas, president.

At the same time, the weak dollar means Pittsburgh could be a draw for foreign-based companies that are looking for a way to branch out. The chamber could provide temporary offices and other services for companies trying to get a foothold, she said.

"We have to help business do more business in their back yard," Haas said. "At the same time, we're encouraging people to do business globally. People are looking for a new way to do business."



kmamula@bizjournals.com | (412) 208-3825



All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.

Revoke Barden casino license, senators urge
Ferlo, Orie ask gaming board to reject bailout, reopen bidding

Tuesday, July 15, 2008
By Tom Barnes and Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Michael Henninger/Post-Gazette

The Majestic Star casino and its parking garage have taken shape along the Ohio River, but no construction work was going on yesterday because of Don Barden's inability to pay his contractors.HARRISBURG -- Two Pittsburgh-area legislators are urging state gaming regulators to revoke Don Barden's slots license and award a new Pittsburgh casino license based on "a competitive process that will include new applicants," who would complete what's already been started on the North Shore.

State Sens. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, and Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, wrote yesterday to Gaming Control Board Chairwoman Mary D. Colins, urging the agency not to rush into approving a refinancing and reorganization plan being sought by Mr. Barden.

The senators said they want "to prevent a blatant attempt to force this board into hastily approving a financial bailout without any public scrutiny or input."

Mr. Barden was awarded the slots license by the board in December 2006, but due to financial problems, he's now ceding control of his Majestic Star project to an investors' group from Chicago, which includes billionaire Neil Bluhm.

The two parties were in negotiations yesterday to finalize the bailout deal. Once Mr. Barden's Majestic Star and Mr. Bluhm's Walton Street Capital arrive at an agreement, the gaming board would have to ratify it, and then the two parties could proceed with closing on the financing.

Ms. Orie and Mr. Ferlo want any such meetings delayed and called the potential transfer of the slots license a "last-minute bait and switch" and "unacceptable."

The two senators said the Barden casino project "is no longer financially viable. Accordingly, the proper response of this board is to revoke the license issued to [Mr. Barden]" and then "reopen the license to a competitive process that will include new applicants."

Later in the day, Mr. Ferlo and Ms. Orie elaborated on the letter, saying that while they'd like to see the process opened to any and all applicants -- including Mr. Bluhm -- they would expect that any new bidders would incorporate the existing North Shore casino shell into their plans, rather than building in a new spot and leaving a heap of steel and concrete next to Carnegie Science Center.

Mr. Barden defeated two other applicants, Isle of Capri and Forest City Enterprises, when he won the slots license in December 2006. An Isle of Capri spokesman couldn't be reached yesterday; Forest City had no comment when asked if the company would even be interested in submitting a new bid.

Gaming board spokesman Doug Harbach was likewise reluctant to comment. He said the board "has the power to revoke, suspend or add further conditions to" a license, but said the Barden refinancing situation is under study and he couldn't comment further.

The board has already suspended one of the slots licenses it awarded, to Poconos businessman Louis DeNaples. His Mount Airy casino is still operating but remains under the control of an outside trustee until perjury charges against Mr. DeNaples are resolved.

Five House Republicans, including Mike Turzai of Bradford Woods, wrote to Ms. Colins yesterday, saying the board should "consider whether the time has come to put the Pittsburgh [casino] license in a trusteeship" also.

Doing so, the Republicans said, could make it possible to continue construction of the casino while protecting all parties, including state taxpayers and Mr. Barden himself.

Also yesterday, Ms. Orie said she wants copies of "all contracts and documentation" regarding the Majestic Star casino that are in possession of the state or the Sports & Exhibition Authority.

Construction of the casino stopped in late June because Mr. Barden hadn't paid contractors in two months. He is hoping to get the work restarted this month after Mr. Bluhm and others provide new capital.

Mr. Barden has been hoping to have the $780 million casino on Pittsburgh's North Shore open by summer 2009. But if the board revokes the license and restarts the licensing process, there almost certainly would be a delay in opening the Pittsburgh slots parlor.

Search for building code violations shows some success in Oakland
Ravenstahl plans to expand program to other neighborhoods in city

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Standing in front of three notorious properties on McKee Place, where buildings were closed for safety violations, Mr. Ravenstahl said there are "more cooperative and good landlords than bad ones," but the bad ones "need to know we are not going to accept substandard housing, and we're going to enforce the code."

By the end of the work day, inspectors had written tickets for more than 140 violations, the majority for exterior property maintenance, a few for rusted and deteriorated fire escapes, insufficient railings and absent smoke detectors.

The city will conduct another sweep next month before the start of the fall semester and, ahead of that, sweeps in other neighborhoods. Calls to the mayor's 311 non-emergency complaint line have implicated property owners in Allentown, Larimer and California-Kirkbride, all due for sweeps within the next two weeks, he said.

Two buildings on McKee Place were ordered evacuated for safety violations in May. Yesterday, a crowd that included University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and a few residents approached the multi-unit buildings from the back, along Semple Street, where a Dumpster was filled with rolls of carpeting. They gathered looking up at the fire escapes between 311, owned by Jason Cohen, and 337, owned by Hosny Sayed Abdel Latif and Ybashir Mohamed.

"This is the before and after," said senior building inspector Robert McPherson.

Today, Mr. Cohen's building is ready for tenants, with just a few small repairs left, said Dan Cipriani, the chief of the Bureau of Building Inspection. The other remains in violation, as does the one beside it -- 343, owned by Atallah Khalil -- on which fines for violations are being appealed.

Mr. McPherson said citations at Mr. Cohen's building included the absence of smoke detectors and emergency lighting and holes in the fire escape.

"There were fire doors, but they were not maintained," he said. "Now there are new fire doors and escape windows. The fire escape stairs have been reconditioned."

In May, District Judge Gene Ricciardi issued Mr. Cohen a $200,000 fine for violations at another of his properties and granted him six weeks to upgrade 331 McKee Place. He fined Mr. Khalil, who owns the third building in the notorious row of three on McKee Place, $260,000 for safety violations that had become part of his record in August 2006.

"That's up for appeal in October," said Mr. McPherson, adding, "Some parents have moved their children out."

Longtime Oakland property owner Florence Schwartz yesterday told the mayor: "The talk around here is that you're making progress here. I think that $460,000 scared some of them."

Her father-in-law founded Oakland Real Estate Co. in the 1920s and it has been in the family since, she said.

"Oakland is the first impression a lot of people have of Pittsburgh -- parents who bring their children to school here, people who come with patients to the hospitals," she said. "It may be the only impression they have."

She joined the tour yesterday, she said, "because I care what that impression is."

This is the third year of the Oakland code sweep, and Nathan Hart, president of the Oakland Community Council, said each year it has improved conditions. "The first year it found a whole bunch of code problems and these have been resolved."

The second year, he said, more resolutions. "There's still a lot to be done, but these are making a difference."

Joanna Doven, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said Mr. Ravenstahl will order sweeps through neighborhoods where he knows of serious property issues. Since the recent attention in Oakland, she said, "we have seen the number of Oakland residents calling in building problems to 311 quadruple."

Condo development in Mount Washington set to move forward

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Ben Semmes
A condominium development, long slated for prime real estate on top of Mount Washington, is finally moving forward.

Developer Dan DiPardo and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will participate Tuesday in the groundbreaking of Vista Grande, a 11-unit luxury condo project to be built at 501 Grand View Ave., with prices starting at $500,000.

Vista Grande has been in the works for years.

DiPardo and Craig Cozza, who is planning two condo projects nearby, have been working since 2002 to get proper zoning for the sites and fight off lawsuits from local residents.

At the end of 2006, Beaver County developer C.J. Betters revealed plans for a six-story, 12-unit project -- another Grandview condo project that has yet to come to fruition.

Cozza and Betters were not immediately available for comment.

Construction at Vista Grande is expected to start immediately with completion set for next summer. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Pittsburgh will be marketing the units.



bsemmes@bizjournals.com | (412) 208-3829

Ross Park gets more upscale retailers
Thursday, July 17, 2008
By Teresa F. Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The economy may be slow but Ross Park Mall still could draw a crowd of fashionistas this fall as the North Hills shopping center welcomes a string of new tenants selling upscale handbags, clothes, jewels and shoes.

Mall officials yesterday named still more retailers preparing to open up shop. Handbag purveyor Kate Spade will launch its first location in the region in early October, while women's clothing chain Juicy Couture, jean retailer Lucky Brand and children's clothier Janie and Jack will expand their presence in the market in openings over the next couple of months.

The announcements are the latest in a trickle of deals that mall owner Simon Property Group has been unveiling as it closes in on the October grand opening of the region's first Nordstrom department store. A few more tenants still may be announced this year, said Mike Gianoutsos, mall marketing director.

Retailers previously confirmed for the 1.2 million-square-foot mall include jeweler Tiffany & Co., clothing and outdoor store L.L. Bean, specialty tea chain Teavana, plus a mix of upscale brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry, True Religion Jeans and Michael Kors. Most will open before Nordstrom, although L.L. Bean is scheduled for a November opening.

Making room for new arrivals has meant some turmoil at the mall for the past year or more as a number of existing tenants have moved, while others have closed.

Mall officials have responded to concerns the shopping center may be going a bit too high-end with the argument that they continue to offer affordable fashion, too. Existing mall anchors are Macy's, J.C. Penney and Sears.

In the Pittsburgh region, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group also owns South Hills Village mall and Century III Mall.

Mall officials have responded to concerns the shopping center may be going a bit too high-end with the argument that they continue to offer affordable fashion, too. Existing mall anchors are Macy's, J.C. Penney and Sears.
It's too fee-ANN-see!

It's too fee-ANN-see!

What does the bride to be have to do with it. Besides maybe the dingo's ate your fiance' :nuts:

George H. doing any work in Pitt?

Lots of copying and pasting from the newspapers Jerry. Are you hearing any good development gossip in these parts? :nuts:

Pittsburgh population drops
U.S. Census releases statistics on major cities
Thursday, July 10, 2008
By Steve Levin, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


One is in California, best known as the country's most ozone-polluted city. The other is a Denver suburb. So what do Bakersfield, Calif., and Aurora, Colo., have in common?

They're both now bigger than Pittsburgh, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released early today.

Pittsburgh fell to 59th in population among U.S. cities, a drop of two spots since the 2006 figures. Its July 1, 2007 population was 311,218.

The census figures represent only populations within city limits, not greater metropolitan areas.

It wasn't that Pittsburgh's population change was so drastic -- it lost 2,450 residents -- or that being ranked 59th among the country's 262 incorporated places with populations of more than 100,000 is so awful. If this were high school, Pittsburgh would rank in the top quarter of its class, possibly good enough to get into a fine college depending on SATs and extracurricular activities.

But some joie de vivre erodes when a city boasting the amenities that Pittsburgh does has fewer people than say, Mesa, Ariz., (452,933) or Arlington, Texas, (371,038) or even Wichita, Kan. (361,420). How many people realize that Columbus, Ohio, has a population of 747,755, nearly 2 1/2 times the size of Pittsburgh?

Still, there are things to be grateful for, the biggest of which is that census figures show Pittsburgh is ranked one spot ahead of Toledo, Ohio.

Also, the city was not one of the biggest losers of population during the year. Other cities, including some of Pittsburghers' least favorites, lost more. Cleveland was hit worst, losing 5,067 residents. Other losers, were, in order, Columbus, Ga., Baton Rouge, La., Philadelphia and Baltimore.

The big winners, population-wise, between 2006 and 2007? New Orleans, whose population rose nearly 14 percent, and Houston, which gained 38,932 residents.

Taking a longer view of the new census numbers, between 2000 and 2007, six cities passed Pittsburgh in population: Aurora, Bakersfield, Cincinnati, Anaheim, Tampa and Santa Ana, Calif. During that same period Pittsburgh lost 22,609 residents.

The fastest growing cities during that seven-year period were McKinney, Texas, whose population more than doubled to 115,620, and North Las Vegas, whose population rose about 84 percent to 212,114.
sorry to hear about pittsburgh's drastic drop. i visited the city recently (oakland/shadyside area) and i certainly can't see the change.

Why is Pittsburgh still losing people? I thought its economy is healthy now.

Why is Pittsburgh still losing people? I thought its economy is healthy now.

This is a very long and complicated story... but I'll try to put it briefly.


It's a case of deaths outnumbering births... as opposed to out-migration. This "natural decline" is a legacy of an extended period of intense economic distress and out-migration from the 1960s through the 1980s. Pittsburgh is the only major region in the U.S. that experiences this demographic phenomenon (though a couple others are flirting with it; and it's rather common in Europe). Pittsburgh has an excess population of seniors combined with a low birth rate. The "die-off" of excess seniors will allow Pittsburgh to work its way back to a more normal age distribution.

The economy is healthy now... and with the exception of some sluggishness for a few years after the post-9/11 recession... has been growing jobs consistently since the late 1980s. In fact, when one looks at "export sectors" (both manufacturing and service), Pittsburgh has long created jobs in these sectors at twice the national average. However, 2/3 of jobs nationally are in locally-serving population-dependent jobs (retail, government, schoolteachers, etc.)... which is where Pittsburgh has lagged due to the previous exodus and resulting legacy birth deficit.

Hopefully, continued strength in Pittsburgh's export sectors will increase in-migration enough to overcome the birth deficit and increase future birth rates.

I love this waterfront project:

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/11cultural_trust_housing_300.jpg

I keep waiting for OKC to add something cool like this to its urban development.

I love this waterfront project:

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/11cultural_trust_housing_300.jpg

I keep waiting for OKC to add something cool like this to its urban development.

Unfortunately, that project is dead due to the collapsing financial markets.

This is a very long and complicated story... but I'll try to put it briefly.


It's a case of deaths outnumbering births... as opposed to out-migration. This "natural decline" is a legacy of an extended period of intense economic distress and out-migration from the 1960s through the 1980s. Pittsburgh is the only major region in the U.S. that experiences this demographic phenomenon (though a couple others are flirting with it; and it's rather common in Europe). Pittsburgh has an excess population of seniors combined with a low birth rate. The "die-off" of excess seniors will allow Pittsburgh to work its way back to a more normal age distribution.

The economy is healthy now... and with the exception of some sluggishness for a few years after the post-9/11 recession... has been growing jobs consistently since the late 1980s. In fact, when one looks at "export sectors" (both manufacturing and service), Pittsburgh has long created jobs in these sectors at twice the national average. However, 2/3 of jobs nationally are in locally-serving population-dependent jobs (retail, government, schoolteachers, etc.)... which is where Pittsburgh has lagged due to the previous exodus and resulting legacy birth deficit.

Hopefully, continued strength in Pittsburgh's export sectors will increase in-migration enough to overcome the birth deficit and increase future birth rates.

The real story is that people still flee many older cities for the suburbs. Urban centers have recently become popular and hip. But, the hipsters who like urban living are still vastly outnumbered by those who prefer the sterility of sprawlsville. Notice that many of the cities mentioned in the story are cities that have city limits encompassing suburban areas.

No mystery here. In America we leave our troubles behind for others to clean up.

The post you quoted had nothing to do with intra-regional migration... normally manifested as suburban growth at the expense of the core municipality. The post was looking at demographic trends at a metropolitan scale.

the Pittsburgh development discussion is over at SkyscraperPage... but here's a nice overview of Downtown development going on for those who check this website and wonder if anything's going on in Pittsburgh

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090326/ap_on_bi_ge/pittsburgh_housing_boom_1

Despite recession, Pittsburgh in a building boom

By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI, Associated Press Writer Ramit Plushnick-masti, Associated Press Writer 20 mins ago

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090326/capt.9bc60d30bc1a4553b13ef201c88aea3b.pittsburgh_housing_boom_pajl201.jpg?x=400&y=274&q=85&sig=qa.t8iIqYWUq4pCpQPt0.A--
Kathy Wallace is interviewed in her downtown Pittsburgh condominium Friday, March 6, 2009. While bigger cities like Miami and Phoenix struggle with mass foreclosures and stalled housing projects, Pittsburgh is enjoying something of a renaissance as developers pour some $4 billion into its downtown. Everything from new retail space, housing — and real estate values — are on the rise.
(AP Photo/Andrew Rush)

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090326/capt.8dfa60b380e14e59a53a62b3d50709ed.pittsburgh_housing_boom_pajl204.jpg?x=400&y=266&q=85&sig=Xie6KK6VEtCCJLkw6ClSiQ--
Casey O'Connor is interviewed in his new downtown Pittsburgh condominium Friday, March 6, 2009. O'Connor and his wife, Rubab, are moving to the newly-built condominium they purchased in Pittsburgh.
(AP Photo/Andrew Rush)

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090326/capt.1be59eaaa8a24624b200c0cf5d1d64c1.pittsburgh_housing_boom_pajl202.jpg?x=400&y=264&q=85&sig=j1vqwIfbSEvkMqnl8jpK0g--
Christopher Pretsch, portfolio manager at Staley Capital Advisers Inc., is seen in his apartment at Heinz Lofts Friday, March 6, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Pretsch is moving to Piatt Place, a newly built condominium complex in Pittsburgh.
(AP Photo/Andrew Rush)

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090326/capt.bc26f7595cfe44f396f85537eac44cab.pittsburgh_housing_boom_pajl205.jpg?x=400&y=264&q=85&sig=F7E9zyDIKMHMjl0k3zVKWQ--
The Heinz Lofts, an apartment complex in the former ketchup factory, in Pittsburgh, Pa. is seen Friday, March 6, 2009.
(AP Photo/Andrew Rush)

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090326/capt.491dce6f01014b88b2f73de5fd50d8c9.pittsburgh_housing_boom_pajl203.jpg?x=400&y=276&q=85&sig=PKn3aDCV06lk8BYqugGBjQ--
The construction site of a new apartment complex near Market Square is seen in downtown Pittsburgh on Friday, March 6, 2009.
(AP Photo/Andrew Rush)

PITTSBURGH – Six years ago, Kathy Wallace and her husband did something unusual in this former steel town: They sold their suburban home and moved downtown where few condos existed, there was no grocery store, and nearly everything closed at 5 p.m.

Now, thousands of others have joined the Wallaces, staking their posts between skyscrapers and office buildings in new condos and lofts as demand for downtown living here is on the rise.

While bigger cities like Miami and Phoenix struggle with mass foreclosures and stalled housing projects, Pittsburgh is enjoying something of a renaissance as developers pour some $4 billion into its downtown.

Roberta Brandes Gratz, author of two books on urban development, including "Cities Back from the Edge: New Life for Downtown," said Pittsburgh's development is "really genuine" and leads to long-term success.

"Those cities that leveled a major portion of their downtown for a single mall have more of a problem in this economy and for the next at least five years," Gratz said. "The reality is that Pittsburgh is something of a model."

The city once described by author Charles Dickens as "hell with the lid lifted," has construction on nearly every downtown corner. Thousands of people snake around scaffolding hanging off buildings — many of them 100-year-old structures being restored rather than demolished — rushing past detour signs and road blocks.

All the bustle will eventually lead to thousands of square feet of retail space including a new YMCA, a light-rail extension, a new hockey arena, a slots casino and a $5 million renovation of Market Square, a historic courtyard-type area ringed by restaurants, bars and coffee shops.

"The courtyards, the urbanity, the feel on the streets, that whole energy," Wallace says, standing behind the granite island in her kitchen in the condo she moved into in December, floor-to-ceiling windows across the room overlooking Pittsburgh's teeming Penn Avenue.

"It's new. It's an emerging neighborhood. It's never existed before, it makes it even more fun," she adds.

Since 2001, when Pittsburgh began actively working to bring residents downtown, the population has more than doubled, from barely 2,500 in 2000 to 5,174 in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Currently, there are almost 1,500 occupied downtown units, not including student apartments. Within five years, that number is expected to rise to nearly 2,700, only including projects already planned, said Patricia Burk, vice president of housing and development at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

In cities such as Miami, Las Vegas and Phoenix, homes have lost more than 20 percent of their value since 2006, and new construction has largely come to a standstill.

Here, however, developers say despite the shaky economy they have no qualms about building more units because they are selling what they have either on schedule or — in some cases — far faster than expected.

Lucas Piatt of Millcraft Industries is developing thousands of square feet of retail space in and around Market Square and planning another large "green" project nearby.

Of the 60 high-end, rooftop condo units in his first project, Piatt Place, 34 of the condos that range in price from $345,000 to $2 million are already under contract, he said.

In Market Square, there is a waiting list of at least 345 people for 46 lofts, Piatt said. The company will likely have a lottery to dole out the prized units that start at $700 a month for a one bedroom to up to $3,000 for a two bedroom with a study, he added.

Still, Piatt says he has to be creative to find financing for his plans now because of the recession. He has invested a lot of his own equity into projects and is trying to ensure he has space leased or sold before construction begins.

"I think the stars are aligned right now for Pittsburgh. You have so much development right now and so many people doing so much," Piatt said.

"It's organic, that's what's cool about it," he added. "You don't have one developer coming in from New York and building a mall and I think that's the way to make it sustainable."

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl believes residents must move downtown before more retailers will move in, so he has taken steps aimed at attracting them.

For example, a 10-year abatement program launched in July 2007 means condo buyers don't have to pay real estate taxes on the first $250,000 of their purchase, saving them up to $6,500 a year. In downtown, 241 units are taking advantage of the program.

Paris to Pittsburgh is a matching grant program that encourages restaurants and businesses to spruce up their facades and offer outdoor seating, one of the many amenities urban dwellers are seeking. And the city is also offering loans to turn upper-floor building space into lofts.

"I'm a firm believer that the downtown area is the core of the region and really the core of the city and for far too long that core has been a business hub," Ravenstahl said.

Just a few decades ago, Pittsburgh was written off as a has-been, a former steel town that would never be the center of business and industry it once was. Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright advised to "abandon it."

But now the city is home to large universities, research hospitals and a more diversified economy. Ravenstahl and others say since Pittsburgh didn't fully enjoy the boom years it isn't going bust now.

"We don't have the hangover because we didn't go to the party," Piatt said. "It's pretty solid."

And that is why Christopher Pretsch, a portfolio manager at Staley Capital Advisers Inc. who knows a bit about investing wisely, has bought a condo in Piatt Place.

Pretsch relocated to the Pittsburgh suburb of Cranberry from New York after the Sept. 11 attacks, but moved downtown two years later. At the time, there weren't many downtown condos so he rented a unit at the Heinz Lofts, an apartment complex in the former ketchup factory — he lives on the floor where Worcestershire sauce was once made.

The complex is across the river from the Strip District, a downtown-area neighborhood with an eclectic mix of mom-and-pop specialty grocery stores and restaurants. Over the years, Pretsch has seen downtown develop and people make better use of its amenities, from shows to bars.

"Five years from now," he said, "downtown Pittsburgh is going to look dramatically different than it looks now."

Wow, this is good news! I really liked the time I spent in Pittsburgh, its a beautiful city!

This is a very long and complicated story... but I'll try to put it briefly.


It's a case of deaths outnumbering births... as opposed to out-migration. This "natural decline" is a legacy of an extended period of intense economic distress and out-migration from the 1960s through the 1980s. Pittsburgh is the only major region in the U.S. that experiences this demographic phenomenon (though a couple others are flirting with it; and it's rather common in Europe). Pittsburgh has an excess population of seniors combined with a low birth rate. The "die-off" of excess seniors will allow Pittsburgh to work its way back to a more normal age distribution.

The economy is healthy now... and with the exception of some sluggishness for a few years after the post-9/11 recession... has been growing jobs consistently since the late 1980s. In fact, when one looks at "export sectors" (both manufacturing and service), Pittsburgh has long created jobs in these sectors at twice the national average. However, 2/3 of jobs nationally are in locally-serving population-dependent jobs (retail, government, schoolteachers, etc.)... which is where Pittsburgh has lagged due to the previous exodus and resulting legacy birth deficit.

Hopefully, continued strength in Pittsburgh's export sectors will increase in-migration enough to overcome the birth deficit and increase future birth rates.

if you look at the stats, seems they are shrinking both ways. out-migration and more deaths than births.

http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/popm00/pcbsa38300.html

the Pittsburgh development discussion is over at SkyscraperPage... but here's a nice overview of Downtown development going on for those who check this website and wonder if anything's going on in Pittsburgh

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090326/ap_on_bi_ge/pittsburgh_housing_boom_1

Despite recession, Pittsburgh in a building boom

By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI, Associated Press Writer Ramit Plushnick-masti, Associated Press Writer 20 mins ago

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090326/capt.9bc60d30bc1a4553b13ef201c88aea3b.pittsburgh_housing_boom_pajl201.jpg?x=400&y=274&q=85&sig=qa.t8iIqYWUq4pCpQPt0.A--
Kathy Wallace is interviewed in her downtown Pittsburgh condominium Friday, March 6, 2009. While bigger cities like Miami and Phoenix struggle with mass foreclosures and stalled housing projects, Pittsburgh is enjoying something of a renaissance as developers pour some $4 billion into its downtown. Everything from new retail space, housing — and real estate values — are on the rise.
(AP Photo/Andrew Rush)

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090326/capt.8dfa60b380e14e59a53a62b3d50709ed.pittsburgh_housing_boom_pajl204.jpg?x=400&y=266&q=85&sig=Xie6KK6VEtCCJLkw6ClSiQ--
Casey O'Connor is interviewed in his new downtown Pittsburgh condominium Friday, March 6, 2009. O'Connor and his wife, Rubab, are moving to the newly-built condominium they purchased in Pittsburgh.
(AP Photo/Andrew Rush)

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090326/capt.1be59eaaa8a24624b200c0cf5d1d64c1.pittsburgh_housing_boom_pajl202.jpg?x=400&y=264&q=85&sig=j1vqwIfbSEvkMqnl8jpK0g--
Christopher Pretsch, portfolio manager at Staley Capital Advisers Inc., is seen in his apartment at Heinz Lofts Friday, March 6, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Pretsch is moving to Piatt Place, a newly built condominium complex in Pittsburgh.
(AP Photo/Andrew Rush)

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090326/capt.bc26f7595cfe44f396f85537eac44cab.pittsburgh_housing_boom_pajl205.jpg?x=400&y=264&q=85&sig=F7E9zyDIKMHMjl0k3zVKWQ--
The Heinz Lofts, an apartment complex in the former ketchup factory, in Pittsburgh, Pa. is seen Friday, March 6, 2009.
(AP Photo/Andrew Rush)

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090326/capt.491dce6f01014b88b2f73de5fd50d8c9.pittsburgh_housing_boom_pajl203.jpg?x=400&y=276&q=85&sig=PKn3aDCV06lk8BYqugGBjQ--
The construction site of a new apartment complex near Market Square is seen in downtown Pittsburgh on Friday, March 6, 2009.
(AP Photo/Andrew Rush)

PITTSBURGH – Six years ago, Kathy Wallace and her husband did something unusual in this former steel town: They sold their suburban home and moved downtown where few condos existed, there was no grocery store, and nearly everything closed at 5 p.m.

Now, thousands of others have joined the Wallaces, staking their posts between skyscrapers and office buildings in new condos and lofts as demand for downtown living here is on the rise.

While bigger cities like Miami and Phoenix struggle with mass foreclosures and stalled housing projects, Pittsburgh is enjoying something of a renaissance as developers pour some $4 billion into its downtown.

Roberta Brandes Gratz, author of two books on urban development, including "Cities Back from the Edge: New Life for Downtown," said Pittsburgh's development is "really genuine" and leads to long-term success.

"Those cities that leveled a major portion of their downtown for a single mall have more of a problem in this economy and for the next at least five years," Gratz said. "The reality is that Pittsburgh is something of a model."

The city once described by author Charles Dickens as "hell with the lid lifted," has construction on nearly every downtown corner. Thousands of people snake around scaffolding hanging off buildings — many of them 100-year-old structures being restored rather than demolished — rushing past detour signs and road blocks.

All the bustle will eventually lead to thousands of square feet of retail space including a new YMCA, a light-rail extension, a new hockey arena, a slots casino and a $5 million renovation of Market Square, a historic courtyard-type area ringed by restaurants, bars and coffee shops.

"The courtyards, the urbanity, the feel on the streets, that whole energy," Wallace says, standing behind the granite island in her kitchen in the condo she moved into in December, floor-to-ceiling windows across the room overlooking Pittsburgh's teeming Penn Avenue.

"It's new. It's an emerging neighborhood. It's never existed before, it makes it even more fun," she adds.

Since 2001, when Pittsburgh began actively working to bring residents downtown, the population has more than doubled, from barely 2,500 in 2000 to 5,174 in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Currently, there are almost 1,500 occupied downtown units, not including student apartments. Within five years, that number is expected to rise to nearly 2,700, only including projects already planned, said Patricia Burk, vice president of housing and development at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

In cities such as Miami, Las Vegas and Phoenix, homes have lost more than 20 percent of their value since 2006, and new construction has largely come to a standstill.

Here, however, developers say despite the shaky economy they have no qualms about building more units because they are selling what they have either on schedule or — in some cases — far faster than expected.

Lucas Piatt of Millcraft Industries is developing thousands of square feet of retail space in and around Market Square and planning another large "green" project nearby.

Of the 60 high-end, rooftop condo units in his first project, Piatt Place, 34 of the condos that range in price from $345,000 to $2 million are already under contract, he said.

In Market Square, there is a waiting list of at least 345 people for 46 lofts, Piatt said. The company will likely have a lottery to dole out the prized units that start at $700 a month for a one bedroom to up to $3,000 for a two bedroom with a study, he added.

Still, Piatt says he has to be creative to find financing for his plans now because of the recession. He has invested a lot of his own equity into projects and is trying to ensure he has space leased or sold before construction begins.

"I think the stars are aligned right now for Pittsburgh. You have so much development right now and so many people doing so much," Piatt said.

"It's organic, that's what's cool about it," he added. "You don't have one developer coming in from New York and building a mall and I think that's the way to make it sustainable."

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl believes residents must move downtown before more retailers will move in, so he has taken steps aimed at attracting them.

For example, a 10-year abatement program launched in July 2007 means condo buyers don't have to pay real estate taxes on the first $250,000 of their purchase, saving them up to $6,500 a year. In downtown, 241 units are taking advantage of the program.

Paris to Pittsburgh is a matching grant program that encourages restaurants and businesses to spruce up their facades and offer outdoor seating, one of the many amenities urban dwellers are seeking. And the city is also offering loans to turn upper-floor building space into lofts.

"I'm a firm believer that the downtown area is the core of the region and really the core of the city and for far too long that core has been a business hub," Ravenstahl said.

Just a few decades ago, Pittsburgh was written off as a has-been, a former steel town that would never be the center of business and industry it once was. Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright advised to "abandon it."

But now the city is home to large universities, research hospitals and a more diversified economy. Ravenstahl and others say since Pittsburgh didn't fully enjoy the boom years it isn't going bust now.

"We don't have the hangover because we didn't go to the party," Piatt said. "It's pretty solid."

And that is why Christopher Pretsch, a portfolio manager at Staley Capital Advisers Inc. who knows a bit about investing wisely, has bought a condo in Piatt Place.

Pretsch relocated to the Pittsburgh suburb of Cranberry from New York after the Sept. 11 attacks, but moved downtown two years later. At the time, there weren't many downtown condos so he rented a unit at the Heinz Lofts, an apartment complex in the former ketchup factory — he lives on the floor where Worcestershire sauce was once made.

The complex is across the river from the Strip District, a downtown-area neighborhood with an eclectic mix of mom-and-pop specialty grocery stores and restaurants. Over the years, Pretsch has seen downtown develop and people make better use of its amenities, from shows to bars.

"Five years from now," he said, "downtown Pittsburgh is going to look dramatically different than it looks now."

Thats great for pittsburgh I always liked the city and I would love to see it grow. Are there any pics or renders of these projects?

That project between 7th and 9th Streets was a good project. Too bad it got cancelled because of the recesion. Now Pittsburgh's population is going to keep shrinking and shrinking...

How about this for a revelopment of Mellon Arena?

http://www.meganandjack.com/mt/archives/3233.f.jpg

Bad news: Even though the Civic Arena is to be slated for demolition, some preservationists want the arena to be kept. That cannot happen.

Generally, I would oppose the Civic arena's nomination as a National Historical Landmark. There will be no reuse of the Civic Arena. It must be torn down for redevelopment.

Pittsburgh Skyscraper-citizens:

Has anyone heard any news about a condo project at smallman and 16th (strip district) on the river?

Thanks!

Big news coming next week:

PNC to unveil big Downtown project
Headquarters may move to new tower
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PNC Financial Services Group is poised to reveal itself as the buyer of more than $18 million of property Downtown accumulated to launch a major redevelopment project.

The bank is set to announce Monday that it will be building, in the block of Wood Street between Fifth and Forbes avenues, another office tower, which likely will be its new headquarters, according to persons knowledgeable about the project.

Invitations to the announcement, to be held at the Fairmont Hotel, are being sent today to various Pittsburgh VIPs. No other details were available Monday.

The office tower will be the second built by PNC Downtown in the last five years. The 23-story Three PNC Plaza, which cost more than $170 million to build, opened in 2009. It features 11 stories of office space, including the headquarters of the Reed Smith law firm, the 185-room Fairmont Hotel, and 28 condominium units.

PNC has paid handsome sums to assemble more than 25,000 square feet of land on the east side of Wood Street, half a block from Three PNC, for the new office tower. The footprint is big enough to accommodate a large class A office building.

The bank began buying property in the block last May, but has yet to officially acknowledge that it was behind the transactions. A PNC spokesman has refused to comment on what he has described as speculation.

All of the purchases have been made with the help of the Langholz Wilson Ellis real estate firm Downtown, the same company used by PNC to handle transactions for the Three PNC project. In each case, a fictitious name was used to shield the buyer's true identity.

In all, PNC has acquired seven properties in the block. The assemblage starts on Wood and extends up Fifth and Forbes avenues to Warner Centre.

The only parcels needed to complete the assemblage are three city Urban Redevelopment Authority properties on Wood. The URA has indicated that selling those parcels for a major new development would not be a problem.

PNC's most recent purchase occurred in February, when, under the name Wright-APU LLC, it paid $3 million to acquire half of a building at 314 Fifth that housed a Rite Aid store.

In December, the bank, under the name Kimross Real Estate LLC, paid $4,175,000 for the other half of the property. The same buyer paid the same amount for a small building at the corner of Fifth and Wood on the same day.

A year ago, PNC, using the name Carol Jean Management LLC, bought the vacant Lerner's of New York store, with entrances at 306 Fifth and 440 Wood, for $3.1 million.

About a month later, it acquired two buildings on the north side of Forbes at Wood for $3 million, under the name Autonomous Investors LLC. Last August, it bought a building at 444 Wood for $700,000 using the Kimross name.

All of the buildings likely will be demolished to make way for the office project. Just how soon the work will start is not known. At least some of the tenants have leases that run several years.

The block of Wood Street in question is adjacent to the PNC complex that holds One PNC Plaza, Two PNC Plaza and Three PNC Plaza. The bank also owns PNC Firstside Center on First Avenue and the former Liberty Travel building on Liberty Avenue.

It also holds the naming rights to PNC Park on the North Shore.

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pnc/42893/images/42893-hi-tower_campusview.jpg

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pnc/42893/images/42893-hi-tower_skyline.jpg

New Pittsburgh headquarters building expected to set standard for green construction

PITTSBURGH, May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) announced today that it plans to construct the world’s most environmentally friendly skyscraper. The Tower at PNC Plaza will be located on the Southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street, the same Pittsburgh intersection where PNC has been headquartered for more than 150 years. Once complete in 2015, the approximately 40 story building will serve as PNC’s executive offices.

“The Tower at PNC Plaza is an exclamation point on our investment in downtown Pittsburgh, and it reflects our commitment to community, competitiveness and innovation, as well as the comfort and productivity of our employees,” said James E. Rohr, chairman and chief executive officer of PNC. “When the Tower is complete, we will have invested more than $700 million in green buildings at the heart of the city.”

At approximately 800,000 square feet, the Tower at PNC Plaza would be PNC’s largest building in Pittsburgh. Tentative plans call for approximately 300 underground parking spaces, street level retail and green rooftops. Erecting the planned $400 million Tower should create 2,500 construction jobs, with 500 workers at a time on the site during peak periods.

“A headquarters facility is the cornerstone building of any company’s portfolio, embodying company values and business ethics. PNC is making a strong statement by building their forthcoming headquarters to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards,” said S. Richard Fedrizzi, president, chief executive officer and founding chairman of the United States Green Building Council. “This project is just another example of PNC’s on-going leadership, setting a green building example for other large corporations through their application of LEED.”

PNC opened its first green building in 2000. At that time, the 650,000 square foot PNC Firstside Center, on Pittsburgh’s First Avenue, was the largest LEED-certified building in the world. In 2010, PNC opened Three PNC Plaza, on Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh, one of the largest LEED-certified mixed use buildings in the United States. PNC, which has more newly constructed buildings LEED-certified by the USGBC than any company on Earth, recently completed its latest green office building in Washington, D.C. LEED Platinum certified PNC Place at 800 17th Street sits just blocks from the White House and serves as PNC’s regional headquarters in the capital.

The Tower at PNC Plaza will feature a double glass facade to enhance energy efficiency by reducing cooling costs and allowing natural airflow to the building. Using advanced sensors and metering, a state-of-the-art, high efficiency heating and cooling system will deliver conditioned air to specific zones of the building, as needed. The building will be oriented to take advantage of sunlight in workspaces, reducing the need for artificial light during the day. The design team is also currently exploring fuel cells, solar panels, geothermal systems and other alternative power generation sources that will significantly reduce carbon emissions. The building’s green rooftops will collect rainwater and channel it for use in other parts of the structure, as well as reduce the heat gain associated with traditional rooftops.

PNC will own the building and occupy all of the office space, with tenants in the retail spaces at street level. The project is being designed by the Pittsburgh office of Gensler, the world’s largest architectural and design firm and the design architects for both Three PNC Plaza and PNC Place. Pittsburgh-based PJ Dick will serve as construction manager and U.K.-based Buro Happold will be the engineering firm. Paladino & Company of Seattle serves as the green building consultant.

Subsidiaries of PNC have acquired six properties, totaling approximately 31,000 square feet, on the site bounded by Fifth Avenue, Forbes Avenue and Wood Street. PNC will seek to acquire three others totaling approximately 6,000 square feet from the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. Deconstruction of buildings on the site is expected to begin late in 2011, with construction scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012. PNC anticipates completion of the Tower at PNC Plaza in the summer of 2015. PNC will solicit community input on street level design and other aspects of the building in the upcoming months.

Consistent with PNC’s commitment to green building practices, re-usable materials from deconstructed buildings on the site will be donated to Pittsburgh-based non-profit building supply warehouse Construction Junction. A cultural survey of the site, including archeological excavation, will be conducted by Christine Davis Consultants of Verona, Pa.

PNC expects the Tower at PNC Plaza to accommodate the company’s long-term growth. The current headquarters building, One PNC Plaza, will continue to house PNC offices.

source: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pnc/42893/

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11143/1148621-100.stm?cmpid=latest.xml)


PNC to build new 'eco-friendly' headquarters Downtown
Monday, May 23, 2011
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/201105/20110523brk_hi_tower_skyline_500.jpg
The location of the Tower at PNC Plaza will be between PPG Place and the U.S. Steel building.

PNC Financial Services Group will build the world's "most environmentally friendly skyrise" Downtown to serve as its new, $400 million worldwide headquarters.

The bank announced plans for the building during a press conference this afternoon at the Fairmont Hotel.

The building will be about 40 stories high and will be called the Tower at PNC Plaza. PNC hopes to exceed the highest level of certification offered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Gary Saulson, director of corporate real estate for PNC, said construction would begin next year and should be completed in mid 2015. The "skyrise," as Mr. Saulson dubbed it, will house about 3,000 employees.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11143/1148621-100.stm?cmpid=latest.xml#ixzz1NDwRVBpS


http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pnc/42893/images/42893-hi-tower_campusview.jpg

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pnc/42893/images/42893-hi-tower_skyline.jpg

New Pittsburgh headquarters building expected to set standard for green construction

PITTSBURGH, May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) announced today that it plans to construct the world’s most environmentally friendly skyscraper. The Tower at PNC Plaza will be located on the Southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street, the same Pittsburgh intersection where PNC has been headquartered for more than 150 years. Once complete in 2015, the approximately 40 story building will serve as PNC’s executive offices.

“The Tower at PNC Plaza is an exclamation point on our investment in downtown Pittsburgh, and it reflects our commitment to community, competitiveness and innovation, as well as the comfort and productivity of our employees,” said James E. Rohr, chairman and chief executive officer of PNC. “When the Tower is complete, we will have invested more than $700 million in green buildings at the heart of the city.”

At approximately 800,000 square feet, the Tower at PNC Plaza would be PNC’s largest building in Pittsburgh. Tentative plans call for approximately 300 underground parking spaces, street level retail and green rooftops. Erecting the planned $400 million Tower should create 2,500 construction jobs, with 500 workers at a time on the site during peak periods.

“A headquarters facility is the cornerstone building of any company’s portfolio, embodying company values and business ethics. PNC is making a strong statement by building their forthcoming headquarters to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards,” said S. Richard Fedrizzi, president, chief executive officer and founding chairman of the United States Green Building Council. “This project is just another example of PNC’s on-going leadership, setting a green building example for other large corporations through their application of LEED.”

PNC opened its first green building in 2000. At that time, the 650,000 square foot PNC Firstside Center, on Pittsburgh’s First Avenue, was the largest LEED-certified building in the world. In 2010, PNC opened Three PNC Plaza, on Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh, one of the largest LEED-certified mixed use buildings in the United States. PNC, which has more newly constructed buildings LEED-certified by the USGBC than any company on Earth, recently completed its latest green office building in Washington, D.C. LEED Platinum certified PNC Place at 800 17th Street sits just blocks from the White House and serves as PNC’s regional headquarters in the capital.

The Tower at PNC Plaza will feature a double glass facade to enhance energy efficiency by reducing cooling costs and allowing natural airflow to the building. Using advanced sensors and metering, a state-of-the-art, high efficiency heating and cooling system will deliver conditioned air to specific zones of the building, as needed. The building will be oriented to take advantage of sunlight in workspaces, reducing the need for artificial light during the day. The design team is also currently exploring fuel cells, solar panels, geothermal systems and other alternative power generation sources that will significantly reduce carbon emissions. The building’s green rooftops will collect rainwater and channel it for use in other parts of the structure, as well as reduce the heat gain associated with traditional rooftops.

PNC will own the building and occupy all of the office space, with tenants in the retail spaces at street level. The project is being designed by the Pittsburgh office of Gensler, the world’s largest architectural and design firm and the design architects for both Three PNC Plaza and PNC Place. Pittsburgh-based PJ Dick will serve as construction manager and U.K.-based Buro Happold will be the engineering firm. Paladino & Company of Seattle serves as the green building consultant.

Subsidiaries of PNC have acquired six properties, totaling approximately 31,000 square feet, on the site bounded by Fifth Avenue, Forbes Avenue and Wood Street. PNC will seek to acquire three others totaling approximately 6,000 square feet from the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. Deconstruction of buildings on the site is expected to begin late in 2011, with construction scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012. PNC anticipates completion of the Tower at PNC Plaza in the summer of 2015. PNC will solicit community input on street level design and other aspects of the building in the upcoming months.

Consistent with PNC’s commitment to green building practices, re-usable materials from deconstructed buildings on the site will be donated to Pittsburgh-based non-profit building supply warehouse Construction Junction. A cultural survey of the site, including archeological excavation, will be conducted by Christine Davis Consultants of Verona, Pa.

PNC expects the Tower at PNC Plaza to accommodate the company’s long-term growth. The current headquarters building, One PNC Plaza, will continue to house PNC offices.

source: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pnc/42893/

Some more renders of this tower that will be 182m or 600 ft. tall:

http://questpointsolarsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/PNCTower1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/austindaniel/newpnctower.jpg

http://pnc.thedigitalcenter.com/photos/30687/webres/tower_interiorview.jpg?1305838605

Pittsburgh Post Gazette (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11343/1195607-28.stm)


City to review plans for 'distinctive' PNC tower

Friday, December 09, 2011

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/6999/toweratpnc.jpg

The new $400 million skyscraper planned by PNC Financial Services Group will feature 33 floors of office and related space, the best of sustainable building techniques and a skyline presence that will be "distinctive but not dominating."

Based on documents filed with the city planning department, PNC hopes to start demolishing existing buildings along Wood Street and Forbes and Fifth avenues Downtown in March to make way for the office tower and expects to have the mostly glass skyscraper completed by June 1, 2015.

The city planning commission will begin its review of the Tower at PNC Plaza at its meeting Tuesday.

PNC originally planned as many as 40 stories for the tower, but it later refined that to 33, plus a 12,590-square-foot mechanical penthouse as well as green features at the very top to help ventilate the building. There also will be three floors of underground parking with 136 spaces, plus a dedicated and secure area to park as many as 195 bicycles.

Despite the changes, PNC's new headquarters still will total slightly more than 800,000 square feet of space -- 698,463 for offices and 107,310 for the garage.

The base of the building will contain two retail areas, one at the corner of Forbes and Wood and another on Fifth Avenue. The lobby will feature an auditorium and meeting space for employees.

[...]
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11343/1195607-28.stm#ixzz1ge2uZMBY

^^ Very cool. It will be a great addition to the skyline!

Older Pittsburgh buildings being renovated as apartments (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303717304577277801029471634.html?KEYWORDS=pittsburgh)

http://medialibrary.propertysolutions.com/websites_media/lincolnapts.com/cached_thumbs/640x480/4f0cb0ab7bdbb126.jpg
River Vue - Lincoln Apts.

I know this is a very broad question, but I'd like to have your insight: how come Pittsburgh area could lose people for almost 50 years and nothing be done about? The local, state or even federal authorities didn't come out with some plan to halt such exodus? What do you guys expect for this decade? Do you think is it possible for Pittsburgh to have a population increase?

Housing planned for former Alcoa tower
(http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/housing-planned-for-former-alcoa-tower-628234/)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3235/2994234132_8515c0c399_z_d.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63815812@N00/


A Philadelphia developer has snagged another building Downtown.

PMC Property Group is the new owner of the 30-story Regional Enterprise Tower after closing on the property late Friday afternoon.

The company paid $7 million for the skyscraper and an adjacent building that houses the Allegheny HYP Club. The seller, First Commonwealth Bank, had been seeking $10.4 million for the properties.

PMC hopes to convert the top half of the Regional Enterprise Tower, once the headquarters for Alcoa, into apartments and move existing office tenants to the lower floors.

Jerold J. Novick, PMC's executive vice president and general counsel, said he did not know when the company would begin moving tenants or start construction on the apartments. He said the work is "still in the planning phase."

"Our plans are to upgrade the building systems and to renovate a portion of the building into residential apartments," he said.

Mr. Novick did not anticipate any immediate changes to the property. "There are a lot of moving parts," he said. The exact number of apartments, the rental rates and the specific floors involved have yet to be determined, he said.

I know this is a very broad question, but I'd like to have your insight: how come Pittsburgh area could lose people for almost 50 years and nothing be done about? The local, state or even federal authorities didn't come out with some plan to halt such exodus? What do you guys expect for this decade? Do you think is it possible for Pittsburgh to have a population increase?

Intriguing questions which deserve answers! Indeed, Pittsburgh ranks as the reigning dean of incredible shrinking metros. Metro Pittsburgh reached its population peak in the 1950s & its been declining ever since.

Why: For over half a century, Pittsburgh boomed as the biggest steel city in the US. Pittsburgh’s growth was fueled by the large numbers of immigrants who came from many countries in eastern & southern Europe in the late 19th & early 20th centuries & somewhat later by West Virginians and African American who migrated up from the southern states.

However, Pitts’ steel industry created by WW II & began declining in the early postwar years. Why: for one the steel mills were older than in newer steel cities like those around Chicago. Also Pittsburgh movers & shakers were early advocates of transition from industry to post-industrial. Particularly owing to the thick haze that turned downtown into a blanket of pollution.

By the end of the 60s, most of the steel mills were gone, & over the next few decades many of the corporate HGs relocated, with little to show in the way of high tech, etc.

Given those circumstances, including lay-offs, high employment, & racial tensions between whites & blacks, the black migration to Pittsburgh that began early stopped early. Nor did Pittsburgh the Mexicans or Puerto Ricans that came to work in the steel mills of many other rustbelt cities during the postwar era.

Nor did Pittsburgh attract or even want more than a sliver of the new immigrant waves that began in the late 1960s. Without established Puerto Rican or Mexican communities, Pittsburgh didn’t & hasn’t attract the blue-collar Latinos who’ve flocked to Philadelphia & the small row house towns like Allentown & Reading of east/central Pennsylvania.

The trickle of immigrants who do come to Pittsburgh, largely from Asia and the Middle East, tend to be well-educated engineers, doctors, & others in the medical, tech, & academic sectors. They’ve done much to help Pittsburgh transform into a post-industrial metro. Yet, so far they don’t represent anywhere near close to a critical mass that might reverse the steady population decline, revitalize city or suburban neighborhoods, or to re-create Pittsburgh in the mold of a Richard Florida styled tech-med center.

Just consider the remarkable contrast between still plunging Pittsburgh & still growing Milwaukee, another but younger blue-collar manufacturing city which continues to attract large numbers of African Americans right up thru recent decades plus southeast Asians and particularly Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, & other Latinos right thru the present.

Pittsburgh has declined & probably will continue to doso, however, its declined with considerable grace, owing to its incredible topography and largely solid brick housing stock . Somewhat like Vienna, Prague, Budapest, or some of those once powerful cities in Central Europe.

Anyway, I hope this helps a bit as far as explaining the plight of Pittsburgh.

^^
Thank you for the explanations, Bayviews! I'm watching the reruns of The Guardian and they attended those issues on the early episodes.

I wonder if during all this very long and painful process, there were some comprehensive initatives taken in place to halt this. How the city/county/state government reacted? What about the universities in the area? Do you have information about enterprises aiming to halt the decline? I know Pittsburgh made a terrific job redeveloping Downtown and cleaning the rivers (my aunts have this Brazilian geographical magazine from the 80's telling the story, amazing photos), but what about broader acts like institutional campaigns, agressive taxes cuts, etc.?

Anyway, you explained very well the reasons for the exodus but I still can't understand why Pittsburgh cannot be a big player today when it comes to attract investments. What are the inherent advantages of, let's say, Charlotte over Pittsburgh? For one, they are relatively close to each other. I know Pittsburgh have very good universities, great infrastructure. All kinds of regional differences are way smaller in the US than in Brazil, so it's basically a matter of option. Why someone (companies, people) would choose (and actually always chooses) Charlotte over Pittsburgh?

^^
Thank you for the explanations, Bayviews! I'm watching the reruns of The Guardian and they attended those issues on the early episodes.

I wonder if during all this very long and painful process, there were some comprehensive initatives taken in place to halt this. How the city/county/state government reacted? What about the universities in the area? Do you have information about enterprises aiming to halt the decline? I know Pittsburgh made a terrific job redeveloping Downtown and cleaning the rivers (my aunts have this Brazilian geographical magazine from the 80's telling the story, amazing photos), but what about broader acts like institutional campaigns, agressive taxes cuts, etc.?

Anyway, you explained very well the reasons for the exodus but I still can't understand why Pittsburgh cannot be a big player today when it comes to attract investments. What are the inherent advantages of, let's say, Charlotte over Pittsburgh? For one, they are relatively close to each other. I know Pittsburgh have very good universities, great infrastructure. All kinds of regional differences are way smaller in the US than in Brazil, so it's basically a matter of option. Why someone (companies, people) would choose (and actually always chooses) Charlotte over Pittsburgh?

Consider that Pittsburgh was ranked as one of the top Fortune 500 corporate cities, just below the likes of NYC & Chicago & above Philadelphia.

In the 1980s, Pittsburgh built a greatly expanded airport for passengers & flights that never came. Pittsburgh also maintained & expanded its mass transit, but ridership declined.

Pittsburgh has some great universities like Carneige Mellon. However they weren’t successful in transforming the regional economy from the industrial & corporate ages to where we are now. And most of their students left after graduation.

If you read Richard Florida much of his “creative class” analysis is based on how once powerful metros like Pittsburgh & Buffalo missed the boat, falling behind & failing to understand the cultural & social dynamics & demographics, etc.

As for Charlotte, well with its demographics & diversity its rapidly growing metro

I know this is a very broad question, but I'd like to have your insight: how come Pittsburgh area could lose people for almost 50 years and nothing be done about? The local, state or even federal authorities didn't come out with some plan to halt such exodus? What do you guys expect for this decade? Do you think is it possible for Pittsburgh to have a population increase?

The Pittsburgh region's population decline has very recently ended, and is starting to grow ever so slightly. Pittsburgh's steel industry ended in the early 80's, but the population loss continued because the region had a very old population, and the number of deaths outnumbered births.

Dispelling the long-held lament that Pittsburgh’s population is declining, Forbes included Pittsburgh (http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonbruner/2012/03/05/ten-american-comeback-cities-map/) (Allegheny County, more specifically) in a list of regions on the rise in its March 12 issue. While many recent rankings spotlighted Pittsburgh’s livability – due in part to its economic and quality-of-life transformation – Forbes’ inclusion of Pittsburgh as a “Comeback City” was based primarily on a single, telling data point. Citing IRS figures, Forbes points out that Allegheny County completely reversed population decline between 2005 and 2009.http://www.imaginepittsburghnow.com/forbes-comeback-city-pittsburgh/11106/






^^


Anyway, you explained very well the reasons for the exodus but I still can't understand why Pittsburgh cannot be a big player today when it comes to attract investments.

It very much is a player for attracting investments. For example, Royal Dutch Shell just announced a project which will alone be $4 billion and result in 10,000 related and spinoff jobs, and is expected to create a whole new industry in the region.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_786679.html

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2012/03/15/shells-cracker-announcement-today.html?page=all

Yet, so far they don’t represent anywhere near close to a critical mass that might reverse the steady population decline, revitalize city or suburban neighborhoods, or to re-create Pittsburgh in the mold of a Richard Florida styled tech-med center.

Just consider the remarkable contrast between still plunging Pittsburgh & still growing Milwaukee,

Pittsburgh has declined & probably will continue to do so


But the things you said won't happen already have. Population decline has ended, revitalized downtown and neighborhoods, and it very much is a large ed/med center. It certainly isn't "still plunging".

Consider that Pittsburgh was ranked as one of the top Fortune 500 corporate cities, just below the likes of NYC & Chicago & above Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh has some great universities like Carneige Mellon. However they weren’t successful in transforming the regional economy from the industrial & corporate ages to where we are now. And most of their students left after graduation.

Most of the fortune 500 headquarters lost were because of mergers, such as Gulf Oil and Mellon Bank. However, Pittsburgh also picked up new F500 HQs such as Mylan, Consol Energy, and Dicks Sporting Goods.

The universities actually were and continue to be an integral part in transforming the economy, and students no longer leave in droves as you seem to think:

So much for the brain drain, or the oft-repeated plaint that young people can’t get out of this city fast enough. A Sept. 22nd Wall Street Journal article identified Pittsburgh as one of the 10 U.S. cities with the biggest growth in its college-educated population the past decade. According to newly released U.S. Census data cited by the Journal, the Pittsburgh metro area’s college-educated population grew by 5.7 percent to 29.1 percent between 2000 – 2010, placing us alongside such cities as Boston, Baltimore and Madison, Wis. for the briskest “brain gain” in that time. The report underscores a new reality: Pittsburgh is growing younger. Over the past 10 years, the region has seen an uptick among 20- and 30-something professionals attracted by our quality of life – which for them means such things as affordable housing in the urban core, a vibrant music and film scene, and an abundance of outdoors recreational options amid our hills, rivers and trails. The median age of city residents has dropped (now at 33) over the decade, while the number of 20- to 24-year-old city residents increased by 22 percent.
http://www.imaginepittsburghnow.com/wsjbraingain/4391/


Your overall analysis of Pittsburgh may have been accurate as little as 5 years ago, but doesn't hold water today. The city IS revitalized and is experiencing some of the nations highest job growth.

The region added 29,600 jobs in 2010 and and 17,800 in 2011

The Pittsburgh Region just achieved a new #1 national ranking: it had the largest percentage growth in private sector jobs of any large region in the country in April. http://pittsburghfuture.blogspot.com/2010/05/pittsburgh-region-is-1-in-nation-in-job.html

You also ignored the fact that the entire Pittsburgh region is becoming a major energy center, adding thousands of jobs in that sector alone and causing very low office vacancy rates.

Bottom line, the significant population loss is over, the population is getting younger, the economy is diversified, and the region is adding a significant number of jobs.

But the things you said won't happen already have. Population decline has ended.

Such would be news to the US Census Bureau!

Yes, the rate of decline has dropped from the big plunges of earlier decades.

Yet, once again, re: Census, 2010, Pittsburgh ranked as one of just a few major metros along with Buffalo, Cleveland & Detroit with declining populations.

Such would be news to the US Census Bureau!

Yes, the rate of decline has dropped from the big plunges of earlier decades.

Yet, once again, re: Census, 2010, Pittsburgh ranked as one of just a few major metros along with Buffalo, Cleveland & Detroit with declining populations.

The 2010 Census, compared to the previous census, which was when.. 2000? Yes, I'm in agreement that would show a decline.

However, we're talking a trend which has just reversed in the past couple years. I provided a source link; here's another:

The seven-county metropolitan region attracted 1,430 more people than the number who left it between 2009 and 2010, based on new Internal Revenue Service migration data, according to a report by Christopher Briem, a regional economist for the University of Pittsburgh's University Center for Social and Urban Research.
http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/11344/1195941-53.stm

A gain of only 1,400 may seem insignificant, but I think it is important symbolically as it shows the population trend has reversed.

The 2010 Census, compared to the previous census, which was when.. 2000? Yes, I'm in agreement that would show a decline.

However, we're talking a trend which has just reversed in the past couple years. I provided a source link; here's another:


http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/11344/1195941-53.stm

A gain of only 1,400 may seem insignificant, but I think it is important symbolically as it shows the population trend has reversed.




No question its good that Pittsburgh is finally attracting more than have been exiting. That being so, you've still got an uphill battle, particularly given that Pitt is about major metro where deaths outnumber births.

I wish you well as regards stabilizing your population.

Good news for Pittsbugh: according to the 2011 Estimates, Pittsburgh CSA is gaining population: 2,450,281 against 2,447,393 on the 2010 Census. That's the first time since the 1960's.

And something significant about that gain in population is that most of it is in Allegheny county (the largest and most core county of the metro).

Additionally, Pittsburgh has the unique situation of natural decline (more deaths than births... a long term legacy problem of the population exodus from decades prior that created an odd demographic situation where the population automatically "aged" rapidly)

...all that to say that Pittsburgh needs its migration to be higher than the natural decline to have a net gain. Many metros "ride" a wave of population growth on births alone.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette (http://www.post-gazette.com/)


Developer: Market Square groundbreaking by midsummer

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By Mark Belko / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Washington County developer plans to break ground on a $76.6 million office and hotel project by midsummer, marking its fourth major redevelopment Downtown.

Lucas Piatt, chief operating officer for Millcraft Industries, said the company hopes to have the Gardens at Market Square completed in the first quarter of 2014. The project, located on the south end of Forbes Avenue between Wood Street and Market Square, will feature 95,000 square feet of office space, a 175-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel, 23,000 square feet of retail space and a 325-space parking garage.

Mr. Piatt said Millcraft hopes to have the office and retail portions open by December 2013 and the hotel by March 2014. He said he already has lined up two tenants to take half the office space, but would not name either one. Millcraft also will be looking for "destination" type retail, as well as entertainment and restaurants, to fill the retail space.

[...]

One Grandview

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http://www.efdumont.com/workcolor.html


One Grandview will occupy a prominent corner atop Mt. Washington, overlooking the City of Pittsburgh, and defining the eastern edge of Grandview Avenue. The product of extensive community input and neighborhood support, this project will be located on the site of the former Edge Restaurant and help to stimulate economic and community development on Mt. Washington. The proposed mixed-use development includes a world-class, 200 room tower hotel, 7 tower residencies (2,800sf average), 43 hillside residencies (2,000sf average), spa and fitness center, meeting rooms, and fine-dining restaurant. The site will also feature a grand public terrace that will extend the Grandview promenade and offer unparalleled views of Pittsburgh and the Three Rivers.



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http://www.desmone.com/Portfolio/Project.aspx?id=6b817416-3a15-4057-9e1e-578eb6a656b0