Saturday, October 16, 2004
The Pittsburgh neighborhoods have everything to do with the future of Youngstown.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
PITTSBURGH -- Mellon Arena's dome rises behind the Crawford Square neighborhood. The 426 mixed-income apartments are perched above downtown's edge where a slum used to stand.
On the Monongahela River, the SouthSide Works sits next to the Fox Way Commons and New Birmingham neighborhoods. The two tight blocks -- 40 units within just one acre -- mix newly built and renovated townhouses with the neighborhoods' old remaining stock.
The neighborhoods are an easy walk to the new restaurants, offices and theaters in SouthSide, an old steel mill property.
On the Allegheny River is Washington's Landing at Herr's Island. The island, formerly home to slaughterhouses, holds a mix of offices, a marina and 90 exclusive townhouses with waterfront views. Five Pittsburgh Steelers players live in the development, where the townhouses range from $315,000 to $585,000.
These neighborhoods have nothing to do with Youngstown today, yet everything to do with the city's future.
Taking a tour
About 30 people in Youngstown government and business toured some of Pittsburgh's newest neighborhoods Friday to get a glimpse of what could be next.
Wick Neighbors Inc. brought the community leaders together.
The group envisions a $250 million revival of the old Smoky Hollow neighborhood. Plans call for up to 500 residential units, 20 acres of green space and 300,000 square feet of commercial space including restaurants, cafes and offices.
The goal was to show that such developments are possible, said Margaret L. Murphy, Wick Neighbors executive director. The people who can make such a transformation happen need to see it, she said.
"It sets an agenda, a vision," Murphy said.
The Pittsburgh examples show there is demand for high-density, mixed-use, mixed-income urban residential living on reused land, she said.
Youngstown is different in that no such housing is available yet, said Rebecca Rogers, a Wick Neighbors board member.
The demand is there, said Dr. George McCloud, dean of Youngstown State University's College of Fine and Performing Arts.
Traditional assumptions about living in urban settings are changing, McCloud said. There are single people and childless couples working at, or retiring from, the university and nearby hospitals who are seeking such choices, he said.
A revitalized Smoky Hollow will draw those people and lifelong city dwellers who will see the resulting development "with new eyes," McCloud said.
Two developers are convinced the concept will work.
Offering high-density housing in mixed-use neighborhoods will sell because they are new to Youngstown, said Andy Profanchik of Apco Construction in Canfield.
A key is the variety, he said. He pointed to the Fox Way Commons and New Birmingham neighborhoods. There are 11 housing types, from old renovated row houses to converted warehouses.
There's no reason such a project in Smoky Hollow can't follow the lead of other cities, said James Carsone Sr. of Mark IV Builders in Hubbard.
"You have to have a positive thought, a positive mind," he said. "If we did it in Smoky Hollow, it would turn out great."
Pittsburgh's successful redevelopments show change can happen in inner cities, said Rose Carter, a loan originator in the community reinvestment department at First Place Bank.
Banks will need to be heavily involved in making such property available, she said. Carter was impressed with the possibilities and said she'll be spreading the word to her colleagues. "It gives us some hope," she said.