Growing Our Urban Forest

City neighborhoods with the least tree canopy will be inventoried this winter and next spring to implement Tree Pittsburgh's master plan for our urban forest.  One of the plan's top priorities is to reach out to those communities who are lacking in greenery.  The city's Shade Tree Commission recently granted Tree Pittsburgh $10,000 to begin a multi-phase project starting with 2,000 trees in the tree-poor neighborhoods.

Part of the Shade Tree Commissions' mandate is an accurate tree inventory.  In 2005, Davey Resource Group of Ohio did an inventory of the city's street trees and found we had 30,538 shade trees on the streets at that time.  The lowest number of trees are in Chateau, the North Shore and Downtown, all of which have less than 10% shaded area.  The Strip District, Uptown and Southside Flats are tied with 12%.  Deutschtown/East Allegheny has 14%, Lower Lawrenceville has 15%, Manchester 17% and South Homewood 18%.

The Shade Tree Commission has said they believe they will be able to get to the 10 lowest canopy neighborhoods with the first grant.


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Pittsburgh Neighborhood Map
Shade Tree Commission
Tree Pittsburgh

Moon Twp Giant Eagle Gets Liquor License

Moon Township Giant Eagle

Moon Township Supervisors approved a liquor license transfer that will allow Giant Eagle Supermarket along University Blvd in the Moon Plaza to sell alcoholic beverages.  The license came from EJ's Lounge in Bethel Park which has closed and will allow Giant Eagle to sell a maximum of sixteen 12-oz beers per person.

The license will go a hand-in-hand with current store renovations that will include expanded prepared foods, deli and bakery sections, and a cafe with both indoor and outdoor seating for up to 105 people. 

The store will begin selling alcohol once the renovations are complete.  That completion date has not been announced yet.

Giant Eagle
Metro Pittsburgh Real Estate
Moon Township

OTB Bicycle Cafe at 2518 E Carson on the South Side.

The owners of OTB Bicycle Café on the South Side plan to expand to North Park.  Allegheny County Council unanimously approved their plans to spend $280,000 renovating the historic stone North Park Boathouse which was built in 1939 during the Depression.  OTB hopes to have the new bicycle-themed restaurant and bar open by St Patrick’s Day.

The restaurant will be casual dining and will cater to families, bicyclists and park users.  Kayak Pittsburgh, a project of the nonprofit group Venture Outdoors, will continue to rent boats at the boathouse for people to use on the lake.

MetroPittsburgh Real Estate

NorthPark

OTBBicycle Cafe

Free Saturday Parking During Holidays

Pittsburgh will offer free Saturday parking at city Parking Authority garages Downtown, Oakland and Shadyside during the holiday season. Visitors will be able to park for in any of the Authority's garages in those neighborhoods starting today and continuing each Saturday through December 22nd.

City Councilman Bill Peduto will introduce legislation on Monday that would provide free on-street parking on Nov 24th in honor of "Small Business Saturday" which is the day shoppers are urged to support their neighborhood retailers.


Councilman Bill Peduto

Metro Pittsburgh Real Estate
Pittsburgh Parking Authority

New Whole Foods Planned in South Hills

Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market signed a lease for a location in Pittsburgh's South Hills.  This third area location could open in or before fall 2015 at the corner of Washington Road and Fort Couch Road, not far from the South Hills Village Mall.  The store will be part of a development by KGA Partners, on a site formerly occupied by Consol Energy. A two-story office building there is now being demolished.
 
Whole Foods is slated to cover 40,000 square feet and have more than 200 parking spots.  The Siena @ St. Clair development will have an additional 100,000 square feet of retail, including restaurants and stores. Other tenants for the development are currently being lined up.

The store will join a corridor that has a Trader Joe's, a Giant Eagle Market District, and the region's first Fresh Market which is still in the works.  Whole Foods entered the region in 2002 with its first store in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood and not long ago opened a second location in Wexford.


Bethel Park
East Liberty
MetroPittsburghRealEstate
Mt Lebanon
South Hills Village Mall
Upper St Clair
Whole Foods

Gardens At Market Square

Artist's rendering of new Downtown project

 Millcraft Industries hopes to break ground on the $82 million Gardens at Market Square by Feb. 1. The development, straddling Fourth and Forbes avenues outside Market Square, will include 120,000 square feet of office space, 23,000 square feet of retail, a 176-room hotel and a 300-space parking garage.

Pittsburgh City Council gave preliminary approval to a financing plan for the new Downtown development but urged the developer to continue working to address neighbors' concerns with the project. Council approved an $8.1 million tax-increment financing plan despite objections from occupants of the nearby Benedum Trees and Investment buildings.

Occupants of Benedum Trees, noting their building will be only 5 feet from Millcraft's hotel, said they anticipated a greater separation and argued that adjustments to the developer's hotel configuration could provide additional breathing space.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority urged council to approve the financing plan. A handful of authority-owned buildings on Forbes -- stretching from the former George Aiken site to the former Fotohut -- will be demolished to make way for Millcraft's development.


Metro Pittsburgh Real Estate
Millcraft Industries Projects