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Letters: Downtown living is the key to vitality
Sunday, December 31, 2000
Live Downtown
It is important that people live Downtown. It's the people who live in a city who provide the core demand that keeps stores and services going. No great city in history developed without a population. It's as basic as that.
SUELLA PIPAL NAME
Downtown housing first
Every city that is vibrant and exciting has Downtown residential housing. If people live in an area, they require services and are in the streets every day. So that is No. 1. Housing should be rental apartments with a range of middle-class and up. Other ideas are interesting food purveyors like Trader Joes', Dean &DeLuca and/or Whole Foods; more art galleries and bistro-type restaurants.
We need to capitalize on the rivers and have regular events on the river. For example Providence, R.I., has monthly fire festivals on barges. The multiplex, stadium seating movie theater is also a good idea.
I am sure other cities have good ideas which could be copied. I think that the city should subsidize any number of ideas in much the same way that the stadiums and department stores were.
MILLIE SUCOV
More housing II
I love Pittsburgh, it's been my hometown since 1978, and, during my six years in New Orleans in the '90's, I worked hard to create the opportunity to come back home. I've lived in Europe and around the United States and find this is one of the best places to live, bar none. But Pittsburgh's only human -- there's room for improvement.
Yes, we need Downtown housing. We also need a wider mix of price ranges and rent/own options in downtown housing. Those currently designing & developing lofts need to refresh their memories on lofts' origins: cheap, funky living space. Regulations, codes and ordinances covering the rehab of our old, commercial buildings also need to be more flexible in order to be less financially onerous.
Adaptive reuse of our buildings is essential to creating a vital, living, breathing urban core that people will naturally flock to because 'it's not like every place else'. Creating block after block of buildings reflecting only a brief architectural span has been done -- it's a pretend place called Disneyworld's 'Main Street' -- fine to visit, but would you want to live there?
Outfit lofts with heat, light & water -- forget the frou frou, because people who can't afford to buy a $170,000-plus loft are people who are integral to creating a dynamic urban core. A vibrant downtown is, in part, created by a diverse population, in terms of professions, ethnicity, age, etc. We need artists and young people living Downtown and many of them want to, but can't afford to.
I agree with architect Rob Pfaffmann, who has plans to convert barges into river lofts, let's look beyond the traditional. One of the hottest dance clubs in Paris, France, is on a converted barge (see: W magazine, November 1999). Cities around the world have barge neighborhoods, featuring residential, recreational and retail opportunities, and these cities just have ONE river each.
Lastly, rather than worrying about parking, how about using common sense in transit planning? One of our priorities should be extending the subway from downtown, through Oakland to the East End -- where (and we don't need studies to prove it) -- large numbers of people already live, work and play.
Our region has produced enough studies on virtually every "issue" to decimate the Black Forest. Too often our response to new ideas is: "That's not how we've always done it," rather than "Let's go for it." While it's been a top down process in the past, we're realizing the importance of community input, consensus building and communication (the Riverlife Task Force is a commendable example of this process) in any major planning effort. That said, I urge that once we've got our "plans that consensus built" we MOVE on them.
GLORIA FOROUZAN
Cater to the young
Simply put, attract a young audience that will stay!
I am a recent Carnegie Mellon graduate, but unlike the thousands of other young grads in the area, I have decided to stay in the Pittsburgh area. I have loved this city ever since I first saw it my senior year of high school. I knew that when I came through the tunnel and saw the city's skyline that this was where I was meant to be.
I have met many people throughout my residence in Pittsburgh. From arts to industry, this city has everything that anyone could want ... except for a central night life area and a place to live in as a young community that is away from a large college campus.
My roots stem from St. Louis. They also are reconstructing their downtown area and have done a very good job. Washington Street in St. Louis, which is a main road in the city, is filled with loft apartments, nightclubs and coffee shops. Not only does it give the younger crowds something to do at night, but it gives us a close place to crash after a wonderful night of socializing.
You can build all the theaters and shops you want (which will help) but until you give affordable housing and a night life (a city that does not roll up the carpets at 6 p.m. and closes the bars at 2 a.m.) you will never have a thriving Downtown.
I would love to live Downtown. Since many people have to commute to work, Downtown would be a great place to live, you would never have to change buses. As for shopping, if I lived Downtown, there would be no need to go to the malls. I could do everything in walking distance and raise the revenue of city from within.
Right now I live in Shadyside which is wonderful but a bit overpriced. I spend the money because I don't want to have to travel somewhere else. It is not worth the extra time to do so. If I lived in a loft Downtown (which is extremely trendy right now) I would not have to worry about the prices.
My final plea is that the city build loft housing and offer it to CMU, Pitt and any other local school graduates at lowered prices to keep them in the city. Many people who are here enjoy the area, they simply want to get into a larger city type of feel and the only way to do that is to live in an area that suits your needs.
ANDREW PUESCHEL
It's anything but dead
I lived in Downtown Pittsburgh for one year and loved it. For people who think that Downtown is "dead" after 6 p.m., better think again and see for themselves. With our theaters, galleries and restaurants, Downtown is anything but "dead."
I would like to see more residential units being created in the Golden Triangle. There are new loft projects taking place on the Golden Triangle right now. This is fantastic, but I would like to see more towers. This would reinvent Pittsburgh and make it the 24-hour city that it should be. In order to promote Downtown living, a wider variety of food stores would need to be Downtown. Perhaps a Giant Eagle could be lured there.
More Downtown residences means that there would need to be parking at the residential building. A plan in the works right now is to build a 20-story residential tower along Fort Duquense Boulevard. This would dramatically increase the Downtown population. For those people who think they would be vacant, the loft projects taking place Downtown have waiting lists.
KEVIN BURKE
Inhabitants necessary
Any vital, thriving metropolis needs inhabitants. Inhabitants not only provide the necessary income the local establishments need to survive, but they also, and most importantly, take ownership and pride in their immediate community. I believe this helps to keep the community healthy.
The Fifth and Forbes idea, which included additional living space and parking, was the biggest plus for the Downtown area. Improving shopping is a minor factor. Having the same department stores located in the city center as in the outlying areas does not provide the "draw" for folks to go to the city. Specialty shops and boutiques are what will do it. Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom are great if the Downtown location is the only location for these stores.
An additional high-rise parking garage near the Strip with a unique "free" shuttle to and from the Market Square/Gateway Center area would be good. It might even be a draw for special holidays or sports events.
For years I have been going to the Strip and enjoying its unique atmosphere. I lived for 24 years away from Pittsburgh while my husband was in the active duty in the Army. We lived eight years in Europe, and I can tell you that the Strip District brings back many positive memories in relation to the European flavor. Why not capitalize on that? Make Smallman Street a pedestrian zone the entire length of the shops? Come up with an alternative delivery system for local merchants but increase the pedestrian zone vendors and allow local talent to shine.
Let's also do something about the homeless people on the streets of Market Square and Oakland. It is very intimidating for locals, not to mention out-of-towners, to deal with constant harassment by those individuals. It truly does not promote the city.
FRAN RIDENOUR
Parking, living, etc.
The following are my suggestions for encouraging shopping downtown: Meter Parking -- Allow free parking for a trial period of one-year. Furlough the meter maids. The money lost from meter revenue will be recovered by the additional revenue from increased sales taxes.
Residential living Downtown -- Where feasible, invest public money in providing residential living spaces downtown. Main street -- By all means invest public money. Coffee shops -- Encourage establishment of at least one 24 hour coffee shop in Fifth/Forbes corridor.
Red Lobster -- Assuming you follow the parking suggestions, above, this restaurant will be successful.
D. ELLIS
Tear 'em down
I think it's important to have more people living in Downtown Pittsburgh. We must remember that as long as there are suburban shopping malls that are more convenient and free parking, people will take the suburban route. That's the answer to the question, but the question is more complicated than that. We have a beautiful city and we've worked long and hard to make it more than a smoky joke. Let's envision more stores, lofts and apartment buildings with shops.
Our city is surrounded by many distressed areas. East Hills, Brushton, Homewood, East Liberty, the Hill District, North Side, Braddock and many more. Abandoned buildings, boarded up businesses are a blight that has spread like a cancer since the late 1940s. Some of these buildings look like war-torn Third-World countries. Would you move your family to an area close to there? What I would like to know is, who gave these people who own these properties the right to sit on these decaying sites waiting for a monetary windfall and to stand in the way of progress? What gives these people the right to create dangerous environments like rat-infested buildings and crack houses that are a health hazard to the people in these areas who would like to create a decent environment for their families? Are the decent people in these areas, who pay their taxes, keep their property free from blight, infringing on the civil rights of these people? Why have the eastern suburbs been ignored so long without decent transportation into the city?
My suggestion is this: because of the danger these buildings are to the community, employ contractors to tear down and haul away all buildings small and large that are boarded up, and unfit for human living. Many minority contractors are familiar with these areas.
This would give them a chance at success in their field. Minority architects would have an opportunity to envision neighborhoods for urban living. We could cap all utilities, repair when feasible, leave trees when at all possible, and plant grass. In other words, take away the blight and leave parks and play areas. You're employing architects, contractors and landscaping people thus creating jobs. This would give the city planners a chance to evaluate what type of buildings should be built. Then sell the lots to private and public interests. After back taxes, demolition costs and any other liens against the property have been realized the city would then give the money to the owners or their heirs. This should satisfy both parties, the property owners and the city. I know you will never satisfy all derelict property owners, and remember we can't invest only in the downtown area.
In order to entice the kind of people that have the jobs and the money to live in an exciting Downtown Pittsburgh, the city will have to be a beautiful, safe and cultural urban environment. Remember not only should we be interested in luring residents in the high-tech fields, but don't forget the doctors, lawyers, business people and the citizens of this city who are willing to work for a better way of life. You want to know about the feasibility of downtown housing? This could be a dream come true for our city. Waterfront apartments along the rivers. Locations with a fantastic view of the skyline, stadium, and rivers. Lofts in or near the cultural center.
We need communities of diverse backgrounds, all races, and religions. This is the world of the 21st century. Our children need to grow up knowing one another, not segregated and fearing each other. We need global communities with housing, educational, and shopping facilities, parks, and play areas for families. Instead of offering advice to other countries we must dig deep in our pockets and help ourselves.
ANN-MARIE TUMMINELLO
Housing!
Housing, housing, housing!
And of course amenities to support that housing (small grocery, underground parking, etc.).
Look at any city that is "24 hours." The only way that happens is by having people live in Downtown. In turn, having more amenities Downtown will encourage those living around Downtown (e.g. the North Side, such as myself) to shop Downtown.
DUSTIN TAYLOR
Make it livable
On the other hand, were the downtown area to become a healthy Downtown, residing in that area would become desirable.
A downtown should have ease of access and contain services and/or products that cannot be tapped elsewhere or that provides these services/products more conveniently than is possible elsewhere.
First-run movies: No -- it's easier at a mall. Same with eating places and shopping. These things will not draw people Downtown. However, if people are coming Downtown for other reasons, then eating places, shopping and perhaps movies in that area will flourish.
So what will draw people Downtown?
Government offices; travel terminals, such as a travel center in which airline, bus, train and river passengers would check in, check their baggage, and then be transported to their respective planes, trains or buses; and hotels. If Downtown becomes a transportation hub, then there must be nearby hotels.
If the reliance on private cars continues, then there must be parking. But that is not just a matter of opening new lots or building garages or putting garages under buildings. More and more buildings are closing their underground garages for fear of terrorist activities. As for garages and lots, they take up space (about a block each) and expand distances between places people want to go, destroying the primary advantage of Downtown, which is compactness.
Revitalizing Downtown is a chicken/egg affair. Which comes first -- improving the infrastructure, providing housing for the services or providing support (eating places, etc.) that will serve the places that draw people Downtown?
The final problem is that Downtown property values are so high that nothing practical can be done with the property, which means Downtown properties are white elephants. No developer can afford to buy Downtown property at present prices. Exercising eminent domain makes the cost practical for development, but robs the property owner. Somebody needs to find a solution whereby owners could give up property at a practical price and make up for it in the future -- something like, perhaps, a royalty payment.
The only solution is to stop planning for tomorrow with yesterday's brains. We can't do things the way we have in the past.
PAUL A. ALTER
Homes, schools
Pittsburgh's unique feature and one of its great calling cards is the configuration of self-contained neighborhoods giving it the feel of a "big small town" or "small big city." The Downtown worked well without residents when the population was far more numerous than now. With the death of Pittsburgh's industrial identity, the population was decimated while the growth continued in the greater metropolitan area rather than the city itself.
Now with large suburban areas that contain shopping and entertainment complexes, there is less incentive for people to travel into the Downtown area except for the big-ticket entertainment events centered in the cultural district, the large market area in the Strip and special events in Point State Park. The Downtown is clearly in decay in spite of renovation along Grant Street and in the cultural district.
The strength of our neighborhoods comes from residents taking an interest in the enterprises which they experience on a daily basis. This includes supermarkets run by local merchants, places of worship, schools and most important, varieties of residential opportunity.
Our Downtown has some beautiful features, but they are fading fast. Would it not be wonderful to say that one grew up in the Alcoa Building or graduated from Second Avenue High School or bought one's groceries at the New New Diamond Market. If we can make questionably wise changes to bring in enterprises such as Lazarus and Lord & Taylor, surely we can create homes, schools and human scale amenities out of the dust-filled, crumbling shells of our past and make our future stronger.
DANIEL LEGER
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