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Keeping an Eye on Uptown: 2022 Recap

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Oct. 2023

Posted on October 24, 2023 by Carolyn Ristau

Overview

Uptown is one of the many neighborhoods in Pittsburgh that experienced decades of neglect. For this neighborhood, the neglect was despite Uptown being sandwiched between Oakland and downtown, two places among the state’s strongest economic regions. Zipping through Uptown from Oakland to downtown on Fifth Avenue or from downtown to Oakland on Forbes Avenue, it is easy to overlook or dismiss the hodgepodge of ruined home foundations turning back to forest; scattered vacant lots, parking lots, and industrial uses; and the intricate architectural details on abandoned and renovated townhomes.

In recent years, new buildings started springing up here and there. Some of these new projects are the work of the two institutions in the neighborhood: UPMC Mercy Hospital and Duquesne University. Others are the work of a variety of commercial and residential developers. Two reasons for this recent investment are the proposed Bus Rapid Transit system, which will eventually run through the neighborhood, and the in-progress redevelopment of the Lower Hill, an adjacent neighborhood.

The Uptown community saw these changes coming and prepared. Between 2015 and 2017, the community organization Uptown Partners collaborated UPMC Mercy, Duquesne University, the City of Pittsburgh, and others to create the EcoInnovation District Plan and the Uptown Public Realm zoning district. The plan and new zoning district are intended to guide future development and leverage their economic investment for the greater good of the neighborhood. Ideally, this will reduce the number of those who will be left behind.

This blog post is part of an on-going series watching the changes in Uptown. Periodically, approximately once a year, I return to the neighborhood to take new photographs of the same areas. In addition, I include links to articles about the project that I’ve encountered since the previous post in the series. At the end of the post, there is a map showing the location of the neighborhood and links to the previous posts in the series.

What’s new

There’s been a lot of development in Uptown since the last on-the-ground photographs from December 2021. Several projects that were in progress at that time have since been completed (or at least appear completed) including the UPMC Mercy Pavilion for the new vision rehabilitation center. Many more projects have broken ground, including one near the Birmingham Bridge on a vacant lot that has an extreme grade change. The near cliff that ran through the middle of this site made me guess that it would take longer to develop that property than the vacant building across the street with the Burrell sign painted on the side. This suggests that it may be easier to develop a environmentally challenged site than to reuse an existing building – which is a disturbing thought.

In addition to the projects we can see developing in the photo series, several more have been announced for the neighborhood, which can be seen in the news section.

A small aside, as a picture tells a 1,000 words, the photo this year of the Shephard’s Heart Fellowship suggests an unfortunate story (slightly embellished from having ridden the bus past the building over the course of several months). While there is no good time to have a fire, it appears that Shephard’s Heart had a fire shortly after they finished putting a fresh coat of paint on their building. As it’s been at least four months since I first notice the damage and no exterior repairs are apparent, it seems they might be having difficulty in resolving the after affects.

The Photos

Uptown in the News & on the Web

Two projects in Uptown are listed in Next Pittsburgh‘s list of 8 major development projects to watch in 2023: UPMC Mercy’s Vision Rehabilitation Center and Duquesne University’s new 12-story student housing (January 11, 2023). The Pittsburgh Business Times got a first look at the new UPMC Mercy Pavilion – the home of the vision rehabilitation center – prior to its May 1 opening (April 19, 2023) and the University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences provided an description of the services that will be provided (May 10, 2023).

The Tito-Mecca-Zazza House continued to make the news. The developer and Uptown Partners reached an agreement that would donate the house to the nonprofit for restoration while the new construction multi-unit building would be built on the remaining parcels, including the one with the garage that is part of Rolling Rock’s origin story (Pittsburgh Business Times, July 21, 2023). A descendant of the Tito family has filed a lawsuit protesting the proposed demolition of the garage (Pittsburgh Business Times, August 28, 2023).

The Bethlehem Haven women’s shelter in Uptown sought and received approval from Planning Commission on its plans to renovate and expand (Public Source, April 4, 2023; TribLIVE, April 4, 2023; TribLIVE, April 19, 2023).

Several other housing projects received approvals or are moving forward in the neighborhood including:

a formerly stalled 110-unit mixed-use apartment building got an infusion of new funds from the URA (Pittsburgh Business Times, January 19, 2023)
a 240-unit apartment building proposed for a block that is primarily a parking lot today (Pittsburgh Business Times, February 21, 2023)
a new 211-unit apartment project was proposed (Pittsburgh Business Times, May 17, 2023)
an affordable/workforce housing development that received approval from Planning Commission (Public Source, July 25, 2023)

Panelists were interviewed by the Pittsburgh Business Times prior to their talk about the projects and opportunities coming to Uptown and the Lower Hill and another Pittsburgh Business Times article focused on the prominent role of Black developers in these projects (both articles: June 8, 2023). Another article discusses the panel (Pittsburgh Business Times, June 13, 2023).

Tech companies are also interested in Uptown with a tech venture studio taking over part of the former Paramount Building in Uptown (Pittsburgh Business Times, March 31, 2023).

Locating Uptown

Previous posts in series:

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Dec. 2021

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Jul. 2021

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Dec. 2021

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Introduction (November 15, 2019)

Moral Economics (September 1, 2019)

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: 2022 Recap

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Carolyn Ristau

Overview

What’s new

The big news of 2022 was the successful nomination of the Tito-Mecca-Zizza House for historic preservation. Despite a rocky road, in June, City Council voted to designate the house as a historic property. The property owners were vehemently opposed to the nomination throughout the process. The process to nomination involved two meetings at each of the Historic Commission, Planning Commission, and City Council. The Historic Commission did not recommend the nomination to City Council, but the Planning Commission did. The property is considered architectural significant and unique and it has ties to Rolling Rock beer, the Negro League, and the American-Italian community of Pittsburgh. I attended a pop-museum event at the site during the nomination process and include photos below.

While this house is clearly unique – long before I knew its history, it had caught my eye as something completely different from its surroundings – I did not include it in the photographs I’ve been taking of the neighborhood in the this series. This is a clear illustration of one of the challenges of Keeping an Eye on a neighborhood – predicting which portions are going to be most illustrative of changes over time. Unfortunately, I was not able to get out in the neighborhood for the usual photos this year, though I do have a few bird’s eye view photos to share.

The Photos

Uptown in the News & on the Web

The Tito-Mecca-Zazza House nomination (Uptown Parners project website) went through Historic Commission Review (Historic Commission Agenda Dec 2021 with all applications, Historic Commission Minutes Dec 2021, Historic Commission Agenda Feb. 2022 with all applications, Historic Commission Minutes Feb. 2022), Planning Commission Review (Planning Commission Agenda, Planning Commission Application, Planning Commission Minutes; Public Source, February 8, 2022), and City Council approval (Tribune Review, April 22, 2022; Post-Gazette, June 8, 2022; WTAE, June 8, 2022; City Paper, June 15, 2022). Between the commission reviews and City Council, a pop-up museum was installed at the site to help tell the story (WESA, March 28, 2022; The Metropole, March 30, 2022).

A developer proposed a project on 1.8 acres including the Tito House site that would be a new construction mixed-use project including 260 apartments (Pittsburgh Business Times, February 11, 2022) and another developer proposed a 51-unit building at the western end of the neighborhood (Pittsburgh Business Times, December 9, 2022)

Locating Uptown

Previous posts in series:

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Jul. 2021

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Jul. 2021

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Introduction (November 15, 2019)

Moral Economics (September 1, 2019)

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Dec. 2021

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Carolyn Ristau

Overview

This blog post is part of an on-going series watching the changes in Uptown. Periodically, once or twice a year, I return to the neighborhood to take new photographs of the same areas. In addition, I include links to articles about the project that I’ve encountered since the previous post in the series. At the end of the post, there is a map showing the location of the neighborhood and links to the previous posts in the series.

What’s new

Since the last walk through the neighborhood, several buildings have been demolished while those that have been under construction continue to make progress. Progress also continues on a handful of housing renovations in the neighborhood.

The roads and sidewalks were even more rough and patched from the utility line replacements started this spring. According to a recent press release from the Mayor’s office, this utility work will continue next year, so a temporary repaving will be happening shortly to smooth out the roads for the winter season.

While I believe that this utility work is part of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s lead line replacement project, there were new signs up in the neighborhood apologizing for the mess as the neighborhood prepares for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The utility replacement mess has happened in various neighborhoods throughout the city including those that are not part of the BRT routes. However, there was no other obvious mess, yet, that would be more directly associated with the construction of a BRT and need signs of apology.

The Photos

Uptown in the News & on the Web:

The pending Fifth and Dinwiddie development (image 8 above) proposes to be Passive House certified, include double the number of affordable housing units required by the URA as a condition of sale, and provide training on clean energy jobs. (September 20, 2021: NextPittsburgh)

UPMC’s Vision and Rehabilitation Center (images 19, 9, 12 above) is on track to open in 2023 despite construction disruptions, supply shortages, and the pressure placed on existing healthcare systems by COVID. (November 16, 2021: Pittsburgh Business Times, Tribune Review)

Locating Uptown

Previous posts in series:

Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood (across the tracks): Sept. 2020

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Introduction (November 15, 2019)

Moral Economics (September 1, 2019)

Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood Slope: Sep. 2021

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Carolyn Ristau

Overview

Hazelwood is a neighborhood about 4 miles down the Monongahela River from downtown Pittsburgh. It is currently experiencing significant change, at least in the Hazelwood Green portion. The area that I’m designating as Hazelwood Slope is everything outside Hazelwood Green and the small residential enclave between the tracks and the river that I call Hazelwood Flats. The Hazelwood Slope contains the neighborhood’s commercial corridor, cultural and historical sites, and the majority of the neighborhoods’ residences.

What’s New

After my September 2020 check-in on Hazelwood, it seemed that changes in Hazelwood were happening at a slower pace than the other sites I’m keeping an eye on. So I decided to switch from a 6-month interval to a 12-month interval between visits. A few months ago, I saw construction vehicles and other signs of activity while driving down Second Ave through Hazelwood. I thought perhaps I was missing out on some activity. However, when I walked through the neighborhood this month, I couldn’t find any signs of recent demolition or recent construction.

An exciting project that is projected to start soon is the conversion of the former Gladstone School to affordable housing. There were subtle signs of site prep when I walked by this month. Construction is expected to start before the end of the year with an anticipated completion date in 2023.

The Photos

Second Ave

Hazelwood Ave & Other Sites

Hazelwood in the News

Funding from Bridgeway Capital, the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and the Pennsylvania Housing Financing Agency has been awarded for affordable housing projects in Hazelwood. Center of Life, a local non-profit, also received a major donation to support its mission of helping underserved K-12 students and their families in the neighborhood.

Inspired by the popular Friday fish fries in Pittsburgh, Hazelwood’s Community Kitchen launched a Friday BBQ series this year.

Locating Hazelwood Slope

Previous posts in series

Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood (across the tracks): Apr. 2020

Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood: Sept. 2020

Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood Flats: Aug. 2021

Posted on August 15, 2021 by Carolyn Ristau

Overview

Hazelwood is a neighborhood about 4 miles down the Monongahela River from downtown Pittsburgh. It is currently experiencing significant change, at least in the Hazelwood Green portion. The area that I’m designating as Hazelwood Flats, is a small predominantly residential enclave. On the north-south axis, it is sandwiched between the former site of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill (now Hazelwood Green) and a mixed commercial/industrial area that includes the city’s recycling processing center. On the east-west axis, it is sandwiched between the river and the railroad tracks.

Given the extent of disinvestment in the Hazelwood in recent decades, this enclave is relatively intact with far fewer vacant lots than in the remainder of the neighborhood. The housing stock ranges from boarded up to maintained with vibrant yards.

Only two streets cross the railroad tracks to connect this enclave with Second Ave, the neighborhood’s main street and a main artery for the city. A small road with car-swallowing potholes connects the enclave directly to Hazelwood Green bypassing the black wrapped fence surrounding Uber’s test track.

While Uber has a veiled presence in the neighborhood and robots are being tested nearby, the question is what will happen to the residents and the neighborhood. Through this photographic series, I will periodically return to the neighborhood to document the physical changes to the Hazelwood Flats to capture a part of the answer to that question as it unfolds. This is in conjunction with two related series documenting the changes to Hazelwood Green and the slope portion of Hazelwood on the other side of the railroad tracks.

What’s New

Since I last visited Hazelwood Flats, work has begun on the renovation of the former Hazelwood Brewery (image 5a). The proposed new use of this site is a hub for craft brewers. I noticed a vacant lot on Blair Street (image 9a) that may have been newly vacant or was just more noticeable as a staging area for the water main replacement in the neighborhood (similar to the water main replacement in Uptown this summer). As I’m becoming more familiar with the neighborhood, I’m seeing more details – such as noticing the rowhouses tucked along the Ways (image 15) similar to other worker housing neighborhoods in Pittsburgh like Lawrenceville and Garfield.

The Photos

Locating Hazelwood Flats

Previous posts in series

Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood: May 2020

Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood Green: Aug 2020

Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood Green: Jul. 2021

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Carolyn Ristau

Overview

Through three photographic series, Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood Green, Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood Flats, and Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood Slope, I will periodically document the physical changes to the former steel mill site and to the surrounding neighborhood.

What’s New

Since the last time I photographed Hazelwood Green, the most significant changes are the near completion of the public plaza (photo 24a) and the Roundhouse (photo 8), a former mill building converted to office space. Construction is also underway for the final building in Mill 19 (photos 29, 31, and 33), the remaining steel frame of one of the former mill buildings.

The Photos

Hazelwood Green in the News

The May 2021 opening of the public plaza was covered by NextPittsburgh (May 6, 2021), Pittsburgh Business Times (May 7, 20201), and KDKA (May 8, 2021).

Almono LP led a process to develop a riverfront master plan for the site. The Post-Gazette and Tribune Review announced the proposal to seek input on the plan in September 2020. The Pennsylvania Environment Council updated their September 2020 announcement of the planning process with a link to the report on the fall planning process. WPXI and Pittsburgh Business Times reported on the release of the riverfront master plan in April 2021.

The Roundhouse renovation’s press is skewed toward the stories on the construction from October 2020 (WPXI, Tribune Review, NextPittsburgh, Post-Gazette) and the stories on the start-up challenge that coincided with OneValley’s February 2021 announcement that they would be opening an innovation center at the Roundhouse (NextPittsburgh, technical.ly, OneValley, Innovate PGH, PR Newswire). Technical.ly’s article is the only one I found on the opening of OneValley’s innovation center this month.

In other news, a grant was awarded to abate asbestos and lead in Mill 19 (PA Environment Digest Blog, October 13, 2020), a contested shuttle proposal between Hazelwood and Oakland is moving forward again (WESA, October 20, 2020), a green manufacturing plant may come to the site (Post-Gazette, May 6, 2021), Michael Keaton, aka Batman, visited Hazelwood Green in May 2021 (Pittsburgh Business Times, May 20, 2021), artists will be designing bus stops for Hazelwood Green (evolveEA, May 21, 2021), Carnegie Mellon University announced a proposal for a new robotics innovation center while the community works to make sure development supports residents (technical.ly, June 23, 2021), and Tishman Speyer may become a private development investing partner with Almono LP (Pittsburgh Business Times, July 9, 2021)

Locating Hazelwood Green

Previous posts in series

Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood Green: Mar. 2020

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Jul. 2021

Posted on July 1, 2021 by Carolyn Ristau

Overview

This blog post is part of an on-going series watching the changes in Uptown. Periodically, approximately every six months, I return to the neighborhood to take new photographs of the same areas. In addition, I include links to articles about the project that I’ve encountered since the previous post in the series. At the end of the post, there is a map showing the location of the neighborhood and links to the previous posts in the series.

What’s new

Development activity is picking up in Uptown. Walking around the neighborhood for this update required skirting closed sidewalks, uneven pavement, and construction staging of materials and equipment. The new activity includes:

PWSA’s (Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority) replacement of the watermain and lead service lines along Forbes Avenue
Evidence of demolition work on the long boarded-up Seneca Street rowhouses (image 3)
Demolition progress for the development of tech flex project that was briefly held up last year due to community concerns of gentrification (image 6a)
A new project for apartments and retail going up on 5th Avenue while the buildings around it appear to be preparing for renovation or demolition (image 8a)
Duquesne University’s next project to demolish and build on the site across the street from its newly rebuilt fieldhouse (images 21a & 22a)

The Photos

Uptown in the News & on the Web:

Next Pittsburgh reported on the start of construction for the new 51-unit apartment building on 5th Avenue (June 3, 2020), captured in image 8a above, and the opening of Duquesne University’s UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (February 1, 2021), shown in image 22a above. The Pittsburgh Business Times shared what students will experience in Duquesne’s new College of Osteopathic Medicine (May 13, 2021) that is being built across from the fieldhouse (images 21a and 22a above).

Uptown Partners began to install free community wi-fi in the neighborhood (Pittsburgh Business Times, November 10, 2020).

And more federal funds have been directed toward the ongoing development of the Bus Rapid Transit system through Uptown to connect downtown and Oakland (Pittsburgh Business Times, June 11, 2021).

Locating Uptown

Previous posts in series:

Locust/Miltenberger Development Website

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Introduction (November 15, 2019)

Moral Economics (September 1, 2019)

Keeping an Eye on Uptown: Nov. 2020

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Carolyn Ristau

Uptown in the News & on the Web:

President Trump tweets about BRT grant award (Post-Gazette, May 29, 2020)

51-unit apartment proposed in 1700 block of Fifth Avenue (Pittsburgh Business Times, June 1, 2020)

$99.95 million awarded for BRT (Next Pittsburgh, June 2, 2020)

Funding awarded for proposed mixed-use with affordable housing project (Pittsburgh Business Times, August 18, 2020)

BRT service may start in 2023 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 21, 2020)

Solidarity murals coming to the city (Next Pittsburgh, September 27, 2020)

Gentrification concerns raised for proposed tech development (Pittsburgh Business Times, September 30, 2020)

Interview with developer of proposed Uptown mixed-use project (Pittsburgh Business Times, October 5, 2020)

Partner pulls out of Fifth and Dinwiddie project (Pittsburgh Business Times, October 26, 2020)

Planning Commission approves Uptown tech development (Public Source – Develop PGH Bulletins, October 27, 2020)

Commercial portion presented for Fifth and Dinwiddie project (Pittsburgh Business Times, November 10, 2020)

Previous posts in series: