Community

04/08 2015

Public Mtg On Plans For Proposed Student Rental Housing at 3407 Forbes, Tue 4/14 6pm

pdf icon 3407-Forbes-Ave-Campus-Advantage-Development-Meeting.pdf
pdf icon First-draft-building-design-3407-Forbes-Ave.pdf
pdf icon Project-details-3407-Forbes-Ave.pdf

Inline image 13407 Forbes Avenue – Proposed Campus Advantage Development (next to Arby's)
Campus Advantage, a national student rental housing management company, is proposing to build a 13-story, 137-unit student housing building. Attached are some rough designs and details the developer shared with us.
They are on the ZBA agenda for April 23, 2015 at 9:20 pm. Currently they're planning to request a special exemption and a variance related to increasing floor area ratio* (FAR), a variance to increase the percentage of the lot covered by the building from the allowed 90% to 96%, as well as increasing the building height from the permitted 102 feet (with LEED bonus) to 140 feet.
Next week, OPDC will host a public meeting for community input on the project:
Tuesday, April 14, 2015, 6:00 pm – Oakland Career Center, 294 Semple Street
*Floor Area Ratio (FAR): The total square feet of a building divided by the total square feet of the lot the building is located
04/06 2015

UPMC – Oakland Transformation Project Through 2016

pdf icon UPMCPlans2016.pdf

​Inline image 1​
"​UPMC is moving forward with plans to make major improvements that ​will bring more green space and enhanced traffic flow to the vibrant city neighborhood of Oakland.
The project will remove the top six floors of the South Tower (formerly Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh) and portions of the bottom eight floors.  The pedestrian bridge between the Falk Medical Building and UPMC Presbyterian also will be removed.
…
Large-scale demolition of the South Tower is scheduled to begin mid-June.  Project completion is anticipated in the summer of 2016."
04/04 2015

3407 Forbes student high rise public meeting 4/14 6pm Career Ctr – 294 Semple St

pdf icon 3407-Forbes-Ave-Campus-Advantage-Development-Meeting.pdf

Inline image 1Please see the attached flyer for a meeting Tuesday, 4/14, 6:00 pm at the Career Center building.  Please spread the word to your neighbors.
Key notes on the proposed development:
  • Specific to college students
  • Programming and resident assistants
  • 98 2 BR
  • 30 3 BR
  •  nine 1 BR
  • 137 units total for 295 beds
  •  Study room on each floor
  •  Will go for LEED Silver
  • Hope to break ground in Feb 2016, 18-month construction; open Fall 2017
  • Use allowed by right
  •  Zoning board variances requested for additional height and lot coverage, which equates to more units
  • Retail on first floor
03/23 2015

Birmingham Bridge Platform Installation result in closures and stoppages on I-376 E

Traffic Advisory
Birmingham Bridge Work Platform Installation continues Monday Night in Pittsburgh
Overnight Traffic Stoppages on Eastbound Parkway East
 PennDOT District 11 is announcing work platform installation under the Birmingham Bridge (Route 2085) in the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, will continue Monday night, March 23, weather permitting.
Single-lane closures and intermittent rolling stoppages of 5 minutes or less will occur on eastbound (outbound) I-376 (Parkway East) under the Birmingham Bridge weeknights from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Friday night, March 27.
To help keep motorists, pedestrians, cyclists informed as work on the Birmingham Bridge Preservation Project continues visit the project website at  http://birmingham.otmapgh.org/. *Remember to sign-up to receive eAlerts
 Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com or by calling 5-1-1.
03/20 2015

Birmingham Bridge Work Platform – 10p-5a Mon 3/23- Fri 3/27

PennDOT District 11 is announcing work platform installation under the Birmingham Bridge (Route 2085) in the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, will continue Monday night, March 23, weather permitting.
 
Single-lane closures and intermittent rolling stoppages of 5 minutes or less will occur on eastbound (outbound) I-376 (Parkway East) under the Birmingham Bridge weeknights from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Friday night, March 27.
Motorists can find information and sign up for email alerts at http://birmingham.otmapgh.org/.
 
Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com.  511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 700 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.
03/11 2015

Spring 2015 Love Your Block Grant Recipients Announced

Mayor William Peduto announced the 15 organizations that will receive funding for the eighth round of the Love Your Block (LYB) grant program, a servePGH initiative. Through the block revitalization program, in partnership with The Home Depot, Peoples Gas and PNC, the City awards $1,000 to purchase supplies and tools to implement a block improvement project that mobilizes community volunteers to transform blighted lots into community assets. Additionally, a special $2,000 prize will be given to the organization that carries out the most successful block transformation, according to identified criteria. Spring project implementation will take place from April 25 to June 30, 2015.
If you have an idea for a Love Your Block Grant project for our community, let us know.
Click here to read the full article describing more about the program a funded projects
SPRING 2015 GRANT RECIPIENTS
  • Bloomfield Development Corporation
  • St Paul AME Church
  • Mt Washington Community Development Corporation
  • White Lily Baptist Church
  • Hill House Association
  • Polish Hill Civic Association
  • Hazelwood Initiative
  • South Side Community Council of Pittsburgh
  • Beechview Business District Revitalization Project
  • Penn State Extension Center
  • Monticello Street Hospitality House
  • Soldiers & Sailors Museum
  • Larimer Green Team
  • Spring Hill Civic League
  • Perry Hilltop Citizens Council
03/07 2015

Birmingham Bridge Construction And Detours Mar 9 – Nov 11

The next phase of the Birmingham Bridge Complex Preservation Project was announced Friday by PennDOT.
Starting at 10 p.m. March 13, the northbound lanes of the bridge will be closed. All northbound traffic will be shifted into the southbound lanes. The new configuration will have two southbound lanes, one northbound lane and a bicycle lane. Pedestrians will use the southbound sidewalk.
The northbound Oakland/Forbes Avenue ramp will be closed.
CAR AND TRUCK DETOUR:
  • Northbound traffic will turn left onto Fifth Avenue
  • Turn left onto Moultrie Street
  • Turn left onto Forbes Avenue
PennDOT plans to have the configuration in place until Nov. 11. Preparatory work will begin March 9-13.
PennDOT is creating an email distribution list to keep motorists informed of all traffic advisories and construction updates. Enroll by sending email addresses to stcowan@pa.gov and writing “Subscribe – Birmingham Bridge” in the subject line. Additionally, motorists can find information at http://birmingham.otmapgh.org/
Click here to read full WTAE synopsis of the project
02/17 2015

Skyvue Development (3333 Forbes) Update 2/17

Skyvue Development Update: 2/17/2015 

Schedule Update

  • Currently working on excavation, shoring & caissons through Spring 2015
  • Steel & plank will be set from Spring 2015 through Winter of 2016
  • Installation of building skin and interior work will begin in Summer 2015

Lane Closures

  • Massaro will be utilizing the parking lane on Forbes Avenue (between Craft & Halket) for the duration of the project. This will allow safe entry and exit of delivery vehicles to and from the project site.
  • Pedestrian access will be closed on project side of Fifth and Forbes for the duration of the project between Craft & Halket.

 

You can search the website for other posts about this project.
Click here for the previous post on this project
02/12 2015

Proposed Development On 2nd Ave

A Shadyside developer wants to build 352 market-rate apartments at the Pittsburgh Technology Center along Second Avenue in Oakland.

The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority owns the land where Walnut Capital would build. The URA’s board is scheduled to vote Thursday to negotiate with Walnut Capital for up to 90 days to sell the four-acre property to the developer, a meeting agenda shows.

The land is appraised at $1.4 million. If the sale goes through, the developer would submit a building proposal to the city Planning Commission.

URA Chairman Kevin Acklin said the potential development “further confirms the growing strength of our city’s housing market.”

The development would be called Technology Center Living. Amenities would include an outdoor pool, sun deck and sports court, along with parking for cars and bicycles, URA documents show.

Work would be done in two equal phases, the documents show.

Read the full Trib Article


02/06 2015

City Council Extends Deadline For Paying City Real Estate Taxes Early To 2/28

City Council approved this week an extension to file real estate taxes early to receive the 2% discount. Instead of February 10, residents will now have until February 28 to file their city taxes early. The decision came as a result of tax bills being received by residents on January 31, which would have given them 10 days fewer to file early for the discount.