I had been wondering if Pittsburgh was going to find a way to fix the fountain at the Point for the G20 summit.  It turns out Alcoa is stepping up to fix it.  http://www.alcoa.com/global/en/news/news_detail.asp?pageID=20090825006056en&newsYear=2009  Sweet.  It had been on slate to get repaired in 2010, but with the G20 coming to down, it really created a need to see the fountain this year!

2 other cool plans are coming into the Hill District too.  An arist has been commissioned for 2 works, one in the hill and one for the walkway by the new Consol Energy Arena.  Apparently, there was some sort of stream that used to flow in the hill that was visible in old maps, so he'll look to tie that into his designs.  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09243/994368-53.stm?cmpid=newspanel0

A nice little write-up on all the different neighborhoods and spots in Pittsburgh:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07142009/entertainment/travel/pitt_stop_179068.htm

I made this last year, but it seems to apply once again.  GO PENS!

 

I was coming home from my uncle's last night and was day-dreaming and ended up missing my exit and wound up on the North Shore.  I decided to take this as an opportunity to check out all the development going on over there.  The casino garage looks just about done and the casino itself seems to have all the walls up from the outside.  there's at least 1 hotel in the works by PNC park, and I think another building in construction as well.  They razed the sportsworks complex to make way for the northshore T connector already.  One thing I couldnt explain, is the construction around the the Manchester Bridge Pier near Heinz Field.  It looks like they cut a hole in it or something.  So I went to research mode.

Turns out, it's going to be the new Mr. Rogers monument.  It was supposed to be completed in Fall 2008, but I guess they hit some major delays.  I found a few articles that said the 10 foot scultpure of him is already done and sitting in a warehouse somewhere since may 2008.  That's a long time.  This looks like a pretty cool place though.  I'm almost concerned that the northshore is going to become something like washington DC with all the monuments along the Mall.  Either way, I'm happy to see new stuff, especially for Mr. Rogers.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07144/788654-53.stm

With every week that goes by, I get so excited to see what Pittsburgh is going to look like in 2 years, or in 5 years, or even in 10 years.  There's just so much going on, and I love to think about where my house is situated in all of it.

Point Park University is now the second largest realestate holder in the city, right after the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.  There have been tons of performance arts graduates that have gone on to Hollywood.  They most recently purchased the Honus Wagner sports store to keep in line with their plans to bring down the playhouse from Forbes Avenue in Oakland to their downtown campus.  They have so much going on at that school.  They're converting the YMCA to a student center, they're planning on building a new sports arena, and multiple theatres for shows.  What a site downtown will be when it's tied all together with the market square development.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09041/948106-53.stm

I had mentioned the New Granada renovation plan in a previous post.  Shortly after that, they had 2 huge dumpsters lined up outside, lighting wired up inside, and they're gutting the place pretty good it seems.  One night they had left the lights on, and I could see inside the large room just enough to be excited about one day being able to go in there.  They've also lined up all the financing they'll need for the Kuhn's super market too.  I wouldn't be surprised if we see some movement on that land in the next month or so.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09041/948030-52.stm

Another project recently in the news was the Forbes and Fifth Avenue corridor that connects downtown and Oakland.  The new Consol Energy Arena is showing a lot of progress.  They have about 1/4 of the steel frames in place, and sections for the seating can be seen as well as the tubing for the glass framework side.  here's a webcam link:  http://penguins.nhl.com/ext/html/webcam4.html   A local family owns a lot of property all around the area, and have been making waves since they're just using it for parking lots.  they seem to be cooperating now, but they apparently have a history with the mob... http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09032/946197-52.stm 

 

Here's a great article about Pittsburgh from an unexpected source: Cleveland.  It talks about How Pittsburgh is still growing in the recession, how companies like PNC Bank are still growing, the success of Giant Eagle, and all the riverfront initiatives that have been in motion.  Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is definitely making this place look younger.

And take a look at the Otto Milk Condos.  Their site rocks, you can see layouts and prices for every unit.  They also have a twitter account and pictures on flickr.  That's what I call hip marketing.  The place looks pretty sweet once it's done.  It'd be sweet to live in the cheap places knowing that someone with a 1.3 million dollar apartment lives above you too.

Earlier this May, some folks gathered on Smithsonia Way on the North Shore near the Mattress Factory while the Google van drove by to record pictures for google street view.  There were samauris, a marching band, a large chicken, some firemen, and a bunch of other random things.  check out the project website, a street with a view.  here is a direct link to the google street view.

So many new announcements going on in Pittsburgh!  We just have to find out how we're going to pay for it all.

The New Granada theatre nears it's financing goal of $1.1M.  It's a block from my house and it is such a sad thing to see it falling apart.  If they can get the rest of that money, it would be amazing.  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08317/927187-53.stm

 The David Lawrence Convention center just released plans for an $8.5 M project to connect the bike trails from point state park (affectionately known as pennisula park).  They just don't know where the money is coming from yet... http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08325/929364-53.stm

The Majestic Star Casino will officially be called the Rivers Casino after Don Barden lost the license and Neil Bluhm took over.  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08325/929355-53.stm

 

Kuhn's has been selected to build a full service grocery store, pharmacy, bakery, cafe in the Hill District.  They outed the bid from the Save-A-Lot to just build a cheap grocery store.  This place will be about 3 blocks from my house and on my way home from work in a spare lot that you can see from this google page.

read more at the post gazette: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08318/927688-100.stm

From news release:

"The Bank of New York Mellon has announced that it will contribute $3 million over a six-year period to Pittsburgh's Hill District community through Pennsylvania's Neighborhood Partnership Program (NPP). The program will focus on education, job training and community revitalization for residents of the Hill District, which is near the company's downtown Pittsburgh campus.

Also supporting the One Hill Community Benefits Agreement are the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's champion ice hockey team. "We are deeply honored to invest in a neighborhood with a noble history and promising future," said Vince Sands, Chairman, BNY Mellon of Pennsylvania. "With more than 6,800 employees located within a mile of Centre Avenue and Crawford Street, and many of them volunteering in the Hill District and surrounding communities, we are both a corporate sponsor and an involved neighbor."

Hill House Association will serve as the NPP program administrator and will work with the One Hill Coalition, which represents more than 100 community groups assembled to identify and prioritize strategies for revitalizing Pittsburgh's historic Hill District. The NPP funds will address community needs ranging from job training and education to community improvements and social services.

"BNY Mellon has a strong history of supporting Pittsburgh's neighborhoods; but never more than today with this unprecedented commitment to the Hill District," said Carl Redwood, chairman of the One Hill Coalition. "The BNY Mellon commitment gives the One Hill community benefits agreement a strong early start in the efforts to revitalize the Hill."

"BNY Mellon's initial commitment is for six years, but its impact will last for decades to come," said Evan Frazier, Hill House Association president and CEO. This is a great example of what's possible when communities, companies and public officials come together for the collective good."

"Fundamentally, good business decisions are also good community decisions," said David Morehouse, Pittsburgh Penguins president. "The BNY Mellon commitment is a significant investment in the Hill District and a very positive local development."

"We are working together to make sure that the millions of dollars of new development under way translates into job opportunities and long-term neighborhood revitalization for the residents of the Hill," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said. "Working with residents and committed businesses, a new, better city will be built on the Hill.""