Downtown Pittsburgh Shifting to Full-Fledged Neighborhood from WESA, Essential Public Radio [of Pittsburgh]
"It’s often said Pittsburgh is a city of neighborhoods. There are the bustling neighborhoods of Oakland and Squirrel Hill, the struggling neighborhood of Homewood, and the transitioning neighborhoods in between. Then there’s a shadow neighborhood. Some people call it the Golden Triangle, some call it the business district, and others call it home. “It’s not just a thoroughfare for the buses, or somewhere where you go to your office from 9 to five, but I actually live here and love it a lot,” said Gina Mucciolo."

Pittsburgh Public Market Moves Closer to Securing New Home in the Strip District from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"The Pittsburgh Public Market is moving closer to securing a new home in the Strip District. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's office announced Wednesday that the market plans to move from its home in the more than 80-year-old Pittsburgh Produce Terminal Building to a cinder-block, 25,760-square-foot office building at 2401 Penn Avenue this summer."

North Hills Project Lands First Area Carrabba's from the Pittsburgh Business Times
"AdVenture Development LLC is ready to get going on the 500,000-square-foot town center of the mixed-use master plan called McCandless Crossing on a northern stretch of McKnight Road at Duncan Avenue, offering as appetizer the announcement of three new restaurants and a new store signed on for the project. The company soon will begin site work on the fourth phase of the 1.2 million-square-foot project that will include the region’s first Carrabba’s Italian Grill, along with Bonefish Grill, Longhorn Steakhouse and Home Goods, a home furnishings retailer operated by the owner of TJ Maxx."

Probably good for McCandless; not so good for anyone who needs to drive on McKnight Road.

Shovels in the Ground for Another Round: Bakery Square 2.0 from Imagine Pittsburgh Now
"A twice-baked opportunity for Pittsburgh’s resurgent East Liberty neighborhood is being readied for the oven with the recent groundbreaking for Bakery Square 2.0 – a “world-class development … offer[ing] amazing office and housing opportunities that will attract new businesses and residents,” according Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl."

The Foundry Mall Recast: Developer Looking Toward Future from the Observer-Reporter [of Washington & Greene counties]
"The Foundry appears to, indeed, have a retail future. ... A lot of work has to be done. A lot of work has to be done. First, there are the six damaged, unoccupied buildings where the earth shifted. Mosites Development Co. of Robinson Township, Allegheny County, is the contractor and is supervising the demolition of five of them. The sixth is owned by JCPenney, which returned to Washington Mall after the subsidence forced it from The Foundry."
WHAT a nightmare!

GRANTS!!

From Pittsburgh to Paris: Partnership's Grants Hopes to Revitalize Downtown from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership would like to see more Downtown properties and businesses undergo makeovers similar to the one at Cardamone's, and on Monday, the organization announced it had received a grant to help. A $350,000 grant from the Colcom Foundation will fund a program that provides a 50 percent matching grant of up to $30,000 for exterior facade renovations, the Partnership announced."

The Sonoma Grille, one of the properties benefitted by a Partnership Grant.

Post-Gazette Series Pt. 8

Upheaval and Losses Hurt, but Downtown Pittsburgh Emerged from Economic Turmoil Renewed from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A tide of change: Last in a series on how our economy has transformed since bottoming out a generation ago ... Gimbels, Horne's and Kaufmann's may be gone, but Downtown is livelier than ever, with office occupancy rates near all-time peaks."

Hobby Shop to Mark 75 Years in January from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 
"The motto painted on the white bench outside Esther's Hobby Shop in Millvale is the creed of shop owner Bob Mehler -- "Relax ... with a hobby." In January, Mr. Mehler will celebrate his store's 75 years of business, attributing his unusual success to a loyal customer base and enjoying what he does."

Bob Mehler, owner of Esther's Hobby Shop in Milvale. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

URA Votes to Buy Former Saks for $4 Million from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The city's Urban Redevelopment Authority has completed its acquisition of the former Saks Fifth Avenue department store Downtown, clearing the way for a proposed retail, residential and parking development at the site."

$250,000 Grant Awarded to Lawrenceville Retail-Residential Project from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority members voted unanimously awarded for the $7 million, 48,000-square-foot Shops at Doughboy."

Ravenstahl Forms Group for Downtown Retailers from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"An association now in the works is aimed at giving Pittsburgh merchants a greater voice in the decision making that affects them."