Loading ...Our Story: Chapter I
by Mountain Girl ~ March 16th, 2009. Filed under: Community, Revitalization.We thought it might be helpful, as we prepare for the March 25th city council public hearing, to take a look at some of the stories that shaped the neighborhood we know today. In the next few posts, we’re going to be providing links to news articles that chronicle development in Mt. Washington over the past ten years.
Revisiting these stories of developments past is not an attempt to assign blame for missed opportunities or misinformed choices, but to figure out what the evolution of our neighborhood has been. While you’ll see differing perspectives and approaches to development in these articles, there is also a shared commitment to retaining the character of our community and capitalizing on the things that make it unique. Our challenge is to figure out exactly what that means to each of us and work together, when we agree and when we don’t, to drive the kind of development that we can all live with and maybe even rally around. Stay tuned.
Development News 1998-2004
Government officials cut funding to neighborhood organizations and Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development asks neighborhood CDCs to think about collaborating and consolidating as a result. “Are CDCs throwing good money at bad projects and tying up precious funds in salaries and other administrative functions?”
March 2000
Close to Home: Mt. Washington neighborhood benefits from grocery expansion
Steve Mosites, president of the Mosites Co., renovates Foodland on Virginia Avenue. Mosites works with MWCDC Director, Susan Brandt, to create an agreement to purchase the property and expand it with $500,000 in grants he and his wife obtained. “Not bad for a developer who was greeted by more than 100 unhappy Mount Washingtonians at a community meeting when he introduced his plan to build a new Rite-Aid in 1996.”
February 2002
Work on long-awaited Photography Park is to begin this year
The building of Photography Park, to stretch along Grandview Avenue from the Duquesne Incline to the Trimont, begins after being shelved since 1994. The park, projected to cost $800K, is a major component of a master plan for the entire span of the Grandview Walk. The project will coincide with Craig Cozza’s Bella Vista high-rise across the street.
October 2002
Squeezing economic development, design issues into parking spaces
A two-story, 71-space parking deck is built on Shiloh Street in Mt. Washington. The project took 10 years to complete.
December 2002
Plans for city’s ‘Saddle’ rankle Mount Washington residents
Tension occurs between a handful of Mount Washington residents and the city over the possible development of a 12-acre hillside parcel called ‘The Saddle’. New zoning designations for hillsides could reduce minimum lot sizes from 30,000 ft to 3,200 ft.
April 2003
Hotel, condo complex may overlook South Side: Desmone develops plan for Edge restaurant site
Luke Desmone proposes a $25 million, mixed-use project that would include condominiums, and possibly a hotel and restaurant on a three-acre parcel on Grandview Avenue. This is the first plan of its kind since a Fox Chapel developer proposed constructing a Ritz-Carlton on the site in the early 90s. Those plans fell apart because of citizen opposition and lack of political support.
September 2003
Mount Washington neighbors get a say in what’s going up on vacant lot
Richard Pirain kicks off the “You Choose” campaign for developing a plot of land he owns at Virginia Avenue and Maple Terrace. The lot, which is roughly 60 feet by 120 feet, has been sitting vacant for 35+ years. Pirain said. “By putting the campaign out there, we’re telling people, ‘Give us the ideas.’ We’ll do the drawings, we’ll spend the money. The only thing this is going to do is make the neighborhood better.”
March 2004
Battle lines forming over Grandview Avenue development
Grandview Avenue residents filed suit Jan. 9 against developer Craig Cozza and his five-story condo development. The condo project was approved by the city’s zoning board and design and planning commissions, but Mayor Murphy asks City Councilman Sala Udin, who represents the Hill District, to propose an amendment toughening Grandview Avenue zoning. Mr. Hertzberg, the actual city council representative for Mt. Washington, said it’s the first time he has seen a council member take such an action outside his district in 11 years.
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March 16th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
[...] 15211.org Our Story: Chapter I | 15211.org [...]
March 17th, 2009 at 7:37 am
LOLZ! Anytime someone tries to invest and develop land in Mt. Washington, it gets shot down immediately by citizens or politicians. Meanwhile, every other post on this site is about vacant lots and eye sores they are.
March 17th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Hopefully the former anti-development leaders of Mt. Washington will just “go away” if you know what I mean and then we can really get some stuff developed up here.
March 17th, 2009 at 8:36 am
I’m with you Steve-o. It seems like some people don’t realize that by allowing a condo or hotel to be developed that other business owners and developers will look at that as a positive sign and they in turn might decide to open a business or invest in the area. As it looks right now, why the hell would anyone want to invest in Mt. Woo when all you get is backlash by a small amount of residents who only want it their way?
March 17th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Interesting exchange Steve O and Knuppster.
Is the problem really the “anti-development leaders” or is it speculators who have no intention of developing the property? Craig Cozza, owner of the two vacant lots on Grandview, has been successful buying a property, sitting on it, and then selling it to another party.
See this link: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08066/862805-28.stm
He obviously has the capital to start the work.
He gives the city the impression that he plans to develop the site by fencing it in and putting a truck, trailer, or Porta John on it, but he never actually does anything other than make empty promises. Those empty holes have been there for far too long. There is another developer on the other side of St. Mary’s who has put up a condo in a fraction of the time that it has taken Mr. Cozza to “develop” the site. The argument that “anti-development leaders” have prevented any action is weak at best. Mr. Cozza has knocked over a large portion of the neighborhood and is now sitting on the land. I would assume that this strategy allows him to avoid the real estate taxes that existed prior to the demolition and write off the investment until another buyer comes along. The city should not tolerate it. Neighbors and visitors who come up to Mt. Washington deserve better.
March 17th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Thatdude- Stop being so blind. And stop always reverting back to Cozza as your default. Have you read that article? such a passive aggressive attitude from the residents. but if I had a civil suit filed against me and all that BS I wouldn’t develop my land either. But consider these:
“This is the first plan of its kind since a Fox Chapel developer proposed constructing a Ritz-Carlton on the site in the early 90s. Those plans fell apart because of citizen opposition and lack of political support.”
“Tension occurs between a handful of Mount Washington residents and the city over the possible development of a 12-acre hillside parcel called ‘The Saddle’. New zoning designations for hillsides could reduce minimum lot sizes from 30,000 ft to 3,200 ft.”
March 17th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
MMK-
I have read all of the articles and am quite familiar with the situation.
Mr. Cozza owns the properties and – by default – he is responsible for their embarrassing condition. On numerous occasions he has said he plans to develop the site “in six months”, or “this summer”, or some other fictitious timeframe. This has gone on for well over 10 years.
He has made a series of empty promises and excuses that, for some unknown reason, you choose to believe. The lawsuits have come and gone. There is nothing stopping him from developing the property. Clearly, he has the necessary capital, and your Mt. Washington is anti-development argument simply doesn’t hold water when a similar development is taking place just two blocks away.
It is unfortunate that you can’t see what is so very clear.
March 17th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
[...] ThatDude commented: MMK- I have read all of the articles and am quite familiar with the situation. Mr. Cozza owns the… [...]
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:45 pm
[...] ThatDude commented: MMK- I have read all of the articles and am quite familiar with the situation. Mr. Cozza owns the… [...]
May 5th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
[...] Mt. Washington’s development history and have a few minutes to kill, feel free to check out this archive. A synopsis from my perspective is this, people with access to the view from their homes see it as [...]
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:49 pm
[...] in the development story in our neighborhood, you can check out some of the media coverage of it here, here and [...]