Sunday, September 21, 2003

By Janice Crompton, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

City of Washington officials have struggled for decades to improve the image of downtown and find a way to pull shoppers back to city streets. In recent years, they've embraced aesthetic upgrades and nurtured a budding artist community.

But "revitalization" doesn't begin to describe the $100 million plan outlined nine days ago by a team of government officials and developers who want to do more than change Washington.

They plan to overhaul 14 blocks of the downtown area with a hotel, stores, entertainment venues and an office building that will create a whopping 900 jobs. All told, 1,200 permanent jobs are expected to be created.

Plans for the development, engineered by businessman and Southpointe developer Jack Piatt Sr., have been leaking out for months, but little was known about the details.

Piatt's son, Lucas Piatt, presented plans for the development, dubbed "The Crossroads," to a roomful of local business and political leaders Sept. 12.

The proposal met with a unanimous nod of approval from business and government alike, including a representative of Gov. Ed Rendell's office, who pledged its backing for the project.

It was, according to Mayor Ken Westcott, "a great day for the city of Washington."

"Washington is a crossroads," Piatt said of the city's strategic location near interstate highways 70 and 79 and Route 19. "We have to do something now."

The first of three phases in the development will be completed within three years, said Lucas Piatt, business development director for Millcraft Industries Inc. of Southpointe. It calls for the construction of: a $6 million, 84-room "boutique" hotel with an art gallery and restaurant; a $16.5 million office building; a $14 million, 1,200-car parking garage; an outdoor park and amphitheater; and a $5 million residential project that will create 24 loft apartments and retail outlets.

The business portion of the project will be anchored by Nationwide Appraisal Services Corp., which plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from Southpointe in Cecil to the office building, where it will employ 500. Other as-yet-unnamed tenants are expected to employ 400 more at the building, which will be constructed at the soon-to-be-demolished YMCA location at the intersection of Beau and Franklin streets. Jack Piatt Sr., who 30 years ago built the first office complex in the city for nearly 100 years, plans an $800,000 exterior facelift for Millcraft Center.

Phase 1 is expected to supply about 300 construction jobs. Phase 2 will include construction of: 50,000 square feet of retail space; a 350-car parking garage, and the $14 million "Washington Commons," with 111 loft apartments and townhouses ranging from $120,000 to $160,000. Planners say housing will be essential to the development and cited 2000 census figures that indicate 82.5 percent of local residents drive 26 or more miles to work each day. Much of the retail will be geared for Washington and Jefferson College students, possibly including shops such as the Gap, Abercrombie and Fitch and L.L. Bean.

Plans for Phase 3 still are a bit sketchy, but developers are proposing mandatory facade improvements on all downtown retail, residential and commercial properties. It also calls for property reassessments in the city and expanded development.

A major sticking point for local government had been property acquisition. Although Millcraft Industries Inc. owns much of the properties involved in Phase 1, it was unclear how existing tenants and buildings would be handled. Some tenants will have to be relocated, but many of the historical buildings will remain intact, said Rich Cleveland, community and economic director of the county Redevelopment Authority.

As partners in the development, the city and redevelopment authority have begun the process of declaring some of the area blighted. It will allow the city and county to take properties using eminent domain, and it will ease the way for public funding. About 25 percent of the project will rely on public funding, Lucas Piatt said. That would include tax abatements, grants and other incentives. Former Pittsburgh city Councilman Bob O'Connor, now spokesman for Rendell's office, said the governor has met with the team and sees the project as pivotal for the area.

"The future really is here now," O'Connor said.

Janice Crompton can be reached at jcrompton@post-gazette.com or 724-223-0156.

E-mail this story   Print this story