New 'urbanists' embrace city living
Monday, October 23, 2006 at 12:00PMPittsburgh Post-Gazette - October 23, 2006
By Diana Nelson Jones
When Linda Metropulos and Becky Burdick began Artists and Cities Inc. in 1996, the "new urbanist" movement had just blossomed, and the market was moving back to its city roots.
Their goal was to create three multi-unit properties in the city of Pittsburgh where artists could afford to live and/or work. Ms. Metropulos recalls the owner's parting words when they closed on a 40,000-square-foot warehouse -- the former Consolidated Ice Co. building at the river end of 43rd Street in Lawrenceville, six years ago: " 'We certainly hope you girls know what you're doing.' "
It appears that they did.
Today, the Ice House Artist Studios is nearly full, the Spinning Plate Artists Lofts in East Liberty, priced specifically for low-income residents, is full with a waiting list, and the Blackbird Lofts and Artists Studios in Lawrenceville -- the last of the three -- has one unit remaining.
A new construction on Butler at 36th Street, the Blackbird will be one of the first residential buildings in the city to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (L.E.E.D.) certification as a "green" building.
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