Pittsburgh Lofts & New Condos

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - May 17, 2008
By Kevin Kirkland

Andrew Pueschel chose his eighth-floor condominium in 151 First Side for its view and easy Downtown access to everywhere else. But the one who seems to most enjoy the place is his 2-year-old Chihuahua, Cozmo.

"His favorite thing to do is lie in the sun and look outside," Mr. Pueschel said.

The friendly little dog does most of his lying on top of a modular ultrasuede and leather sofa by a huge window overlooking the Monongahela River. He lounges as barges and boats go by, knowing that's as close as he'll ever get to river traffic. In fact, he rarely sets foot on the sidewalk of Fort Pitt Boulevard. The pet that had trouble navigating steps in a four-story apartment building in Shadyside now rides an elevator -- but just for fun.

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Pop City Media - July 16, 2008
By Jennifer Baron

Monroeville-based Sampson Morris Group is making preliminary plans to redevelop Wholey’s cold storage building located at 1501 Penn Ave. in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.

Company president Michael Morris says that mixed-use options have been considered, but that a residential use is planned. “We have the ability to do warehouse, office and/or residential. We’re favoring for-sale condos,” adds Morris, who expects the project to feature up to 140 units and 200 indoor parking spaces. “There might be a small amount of retail.”

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Pittsburgh Business Times
Friday, July 18, 2008

By Tim Schooley and Ben Semmes

The Urban Redevelopment Authority's plan to redevelop a football field-sized span of former industrial property in Lawrenceville into a residential community is down to two competing proposals.

The first comes from State College-based S&A Homes, which submitted a proposal for a $5 million, 23-unit townhouse development at the site, said Andy Haines, vice president of development.

The second proposal is a joint venture led by Lawrenceville resident Brian Mendelssohn and a company led by local development veteran Tom McCargo. Their proposal calls for a mix of 40 to 50 lofts, townhouses and apartments situated around a small park, with costs estimated between $9 million and $10 million.

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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - July 17, 2008
By Bill Toland

Today, the spread of green to the immediate north of Parkway Center Mall is an unused driving range. But a Florida-based contractor and a local developer want to turn those 26 acres into a 10-building, 418-unit "high-end residential village" of town homes, lofts and condos.

DeLorenzo & Co. LLC, based in Moon, began scouting the location two years ago and was the local fixer for Coral Gables' SouthStar Development Partners, which bought the property in spring 2007 for $1.1 million.

They've been touting the proposed development as "transit oriented" -- a high-density, close-to-the-bus line complex that would allow residents to get Downtown in a jiffy or walk to work at the Parkway Center offices nearby. Cities across the country are promoting high-density housing near transportation hubs to cut down on urban sprawl and to make better use of mass transit, taking cars off the highways.

The project, to be called City Vista at Parkway, began to take shape this week, with renderings that were unveiled before the city's planning commission. Lynn R. DeLorenzo, principal with DeLorenzo & Co., said the units would start at $150,000, with most of them between 800 and 2,100 square feet.

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Pittsburgh Business Times - July 11, 2008
By Tim Schooley

The Sampson Morris Group is preparing to take on the great neon white whale of Strip District redevelopment projects.

The Monroeville-based development company has an agreement of sale with the Wholey family to buy the longtime New Federal Cold Storage building and convert it to 120 to 140 loft condominiums. The seven-story windowless hulk, which has walls 3 feet thick, is a local landmark thanks in part to the blinking neon fish on its western face.

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