Pittsburgh’s City Planning Commission on Tuesday approved the demolition of several Downtown buildings to make way for four bocce courts, over the objections of some historic preservation advocates.
Developer Troiani Group has owned buildings along Market Street and First Avenue, in Downtown’s Firstside district, for decades. Perhaps the best-known housed the long-defunct Froggy’s bar.
Since 2020, Troiani Group has argued that the buildings can’t be salvaged and are in danger of collapse.
One of the buildings “has probably lost about 40% of its capacity to maintain itself in an upright position,” said Steven Regan, a real estate attorney with Steptoe & Johnson who is representing Troiani Group, in a presentation to the commission.
“We are managing an emergency condition at this site at this time,” said Michael Troiani, a member of the family that owns the properties.
In 2020, the commission blocked Troiani’s proposal for demolition and replacement with an office-and-residential tower, following opposition by historic preservation groups. Those groups argued that the structures — while not designated historic under local laws — sit within the Firstside National Register Historic District.
Planning Department staff indicated that the commission’s thresholds for approving a demolition depend in part on the planned use of the site, and the scrutiny demanded of an office building is higher than that warranted by recreational uses.
The buildings’ brick exteriors and modest heights contribute to the historic nature of the district, advocates argued again Tuesday.
“These are brick buildings that represent the historic scale of the district, and demolition of the buildings would be a crying shame,” said Karamagi Rujumba of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. “They are only a public nuisance because their owner has allowed them to become a public nuisance.”
PHL&F has offered to buy the buildings, but has been rebuffed by Troiani Group, Rujumba said.
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“It would be a shame to see a historic Downtown block erased because there has not been the stewardship or a creative approach taken,” said Melissa McSwigan, speaking on behalf of Preservation Pittsburgh.
But James Moritz, a resident of the nearby 151 First Side condo building, supported demolition, saying it’s “a health and safety issue, clearly.”
“There are pieces of this building that fall off,” Moritz continued. “Someone could easily get hurt, killed or have property damage done. … These buildings are occupied by vermin, rats and pigeons that create health issues that I have to live with.”
The plans were originally presented last month, and commissioners pushed successfully for more attractive picket-style fencing — instead of the chain link originally proposed — along Market and First. They also asked for information on whether Troiani has plans to quickly pivot from bocce courts to another office building proposal.
“I don’t have a glass ball to predict the future. I think this use is going to be awesome,” Troiani answered. “I hope it has a long and successful run.”
He said the planned four bocce courts would be available by reservation on weekdays and used for league play on weekends.
All of the commissioners in attendance voted to approve the demolition.
Colorful banners raise questions for Uptown apartment proposal
The commission is likely to vote in January on a proposal to build a six-story apartment building — including some affordable units — on most of the 1600 block of Forbes Avenue in Uptown.
Commissioners, though, had questions about colorful art banners that would hang along the proposed building’s facade.
“I think there needs to be some definite oversight as far as that’s concerned,” said LaShawn Burton-Faulk, following a briefing by architect Jon Grant, with the design-and-development firm GSX Ventures.
GSX wants to demolish three buildings in the block bounded by Forbes, Marion Street, Watson Street and Van Braam Street. The land now is owned by the family of Harold K. Waldman. Several buildings at the corner of Forbes and Marion would remain.
The 1.4-acre site freed up by the demolition would host an E-shaped building including:
- 211 apartments, including studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units
- 72 vehicle parking spaces
- 74 bicycle spaces
- 1,365 square feet of ground floor retail.
“There is a significant affordable housing component here,” said Shawn Gallagher, an attorney with the firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, representing the developer. He said 10% of the units would be priced for households earning 60% of the area median income. Grant said that units of all three types — studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms — would be priced at that level.
Commission member Peter Quintanilla called the plan “actually fantastic,” but said he wanted to see what the facade would look like without proposed decorative panels. “It kind of like muffles the architecture of the building,” he said. He said he wants to see how the building would interact with the streetscape that will emerge with the completion of the Bus Rapid Transit line on Forbes.
Burton-Faulk said the art plan is “a little bit of a challenge for me,” worrying that decorative panels could be converted into advertising.
The developer’s plan submitted to the commission indicates that panels hanging along the Forbes side would be crafted by local artists selected by a panel of Uptown art advocates. “Art will be easily dividable and changeable to allow for local artists to participate over time to create a living wall of art” governed by the council, according to the plan.
Burton-Faulk said she wants to know more about that process before the next step: Public comment and then a commission vote on the plan.
The commission next meets on Jan. 9.
Rich Lord is the managing editor at PublicSource and can be reached at rich@publicsource.org.
