SAVE OUR CITY: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Commercial Revitalization

CASE STUDIES Denver Larimer Square Pittsburgh East Carson Street Fifth & Forbes Retail Corridor South Side Works

LARIMER SQUARE

THE DETAILS Larimer Square is centered on Denver ’ s first city street Once housed Denver ’ s first bank, bookstore, photographer, and dry goods store; also site of city ’ s first post office and theater Renovation of sixteen late-nineteenth century commercial buildings First revitalization of Larimer Square in late ’ 60s and a second revitalization in ’ 90s

THE PROCESS Led by urban visionary, Dana Crawford, sixteen Victorian buildings on 1400 block of Larimer Street rescued from wrecking ball in 1965 Larimer Square designated as city ’ s first historic district in 1973 Historic Larimer Square became home to shops, nightclubs, and cafes, connected by courtyards and open spaces Outdated, low retail sales, diminishing # of visitors … led to 1990s transformation

THE RESULT Design that emphasizes the historic setting Changed Larimer Street ’ s status as a state highway to a city street On-street parking, which acts as buffer between pedestrians, diners, and traffic Wider sidewalk on street ’ s sunny side allows for outdoor dining In total, close to 200,000 sq ft of retail, restaurant, and office space

SOUTH SIDE

THE DETAILS South Side Local Development Company (SSLDC) formed in new businesses More than 220 building facades restored 100+ homes constructed

THE PROCESS 1983: East Carson Street listed on National Register of Historic Places 1985: Establish South Side Planning Forum; also East Carson Street selected to be one of seven participants in National Trust ’ s Main Street Program 1990: South Side Planning Forum adopts a Neighborhood Plan 1993: East Carson Street Local Historic District established

THE RESULT East Carson Street named a “ Great American Main Street ” in 1996 Today, home to a mix of creative businesses, cafes, restaurants, and retail shops Less than 10% vacancy rate, down from 40% in 1982

FIFTH & FORBES RETAIL CORRIDOR

THE DETAILS Upgrade Downtown Pittsburgh ’ s central retail area, which is located in the Fifth and Forbes retail corridor

THE PROCESS 1998: Pittsburgh Downtown Plan completed 1999: MarketPlace at Fifth & Forbes proposed by City of Pittsburgh 2000: Downtown Planning Collaborative established; in November, Mayor Murphy announces MarketPlace plan null and void; also National Trust puts Fifth & Forbes on list of America ’ s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places Mid-2003: Kravco & Downtown Works present new plan for Fifth and Forbes

THE PROCESS (continued) Late 2003: Kravco Company merges with Simon Property Group 2004: Pittsburgh Task Force is formed; Dranoff Properties expresses an interest in project Early 2005: Proposed Dranoff plan has a greater focus on housing Mid-2005: Dranoff Properties indicates it is no longer interested in the project

THE RESULT Momentum builds in early 2006 City, County, foundation community, and public support redevelopment Modeled to some degree after the Dranoff plan with residential development being the primary component Current developers: Millcraft (Piatt Place); PNC; Point Park University, Cultural Trust; individual developers

SOUTH SIDE WORKS

THE DETAILS South Side between Carson Street & the Monongahela River, extending from the Hot Metal Bridge 123-acre former LTV Steel plant Brownfield remediation Mixed use development: Office, medical, recreational, housing, retail Tax increment financing package

THE PROCESS 1993: URA purchases site : URA works w/ SSLDC & others to develop community consensus 1996: URA begins predevelopment activities 1998: Ground broken on 1 st building – a distribution facility for UPMC 1999: Tax increment financing plan approved by local taxing bodies and construction begins on several buildings

THE PROCESS (continued) : Soffer Office & Retail Development gets underway and substantial infrastructure improvements are made 2002: Phase 2 of Soffer Office & Retail Development begins, along w/ 3-story, 270- unit multi-family housing : Work continues on Soffer ’ s buildings, INS offices completed, and URA continues w/ infrastructure improvements

THE RESULT First class riverfront development utilizing a mix of office, retail, medical, recreational, and housing uses Expiration of TIF, $8 million in tax revenues At buildout, total private investment to reach $250 million and provide up to 5400 jobs and over 400 housing units