Brutus_buckeye

I don't see why people expected an iconic building. Based on the original rendering the review board typically does not ask for significant changes. Since GE is footing the bill to build it, the city has limited input into how it will look. After all, they don't GE to say that we are just going to take these jobs to Mason if you are too difficult to work with.

It was never going to be iconic, but at least now it looks more urban. Before it looked like it belonged in a suburban office park in Itasca IL or Gwinnett County GA

Supply and demand determine what is the highest and best use for the property coupled with the capital the developer is willing to commit to a project.

Class B office space, even with a view, is irrelevant to the class A office market. Especially with a view. Also, two levels of car park = empty use in a CBD. 1 - That is why 309 Vine is not really an option but was just floated out there as large enough to accommodate them. 2 - 2 levels of park is not empty use. It may be in your opinion, but you do not own the property and to the owner, it is not empty use. Given that the owner owns the tower behind it, they do not have incentive to develop something that would block the view of their other tower, especially since the parking revenues they generate from that place are pretty strong. Maybe if it were more than 2 levels, but it isn't. It's like 180 spaces on that corner, and that's paying a valet to double-park them. Queen City Square sits on 2,250 parking spaces. So parking revenue couldn't really be it. Also, your assertion that they would be blocking their older tower kind of treats it like a liability, don't you think? I don't think that developers think that way. I think they would readily block 20 stories of Class B to get 50 stories of new Class A. First I do not disagree with you that it is not the highest and best use of the place, but I do not own the property so my opinion about it (like yours) is pretty irrelevant in the matter. As far as developing the property into a tower, who knows what their priorities are and risk threshold. They have owned the block for a long time and are content with the cash flows it throws off. If they developed it, it could do much better but they would have to take on additional risk to do so, second, they may have other higher better projects elsewhere where they choose to devote that capital. I like everyone would love to see a 50 story high rise there but until AFG decides they want one there or they want to sell the property, their opinion is the only one that matters.

Class B office space, even with a view, is irrelevant to the class A office market. Especially with a view. Also, two levels of car park = empty use in a CBD. 1 - That is why 309 Vine is not really an option but was just floated out there as large enough to accommodate them. 2 - 2 levels of park is not empty use. It may be in your opinion, but you do not own the property and to the owner, it is not empty use. Given that the owner owns the tower behind it, they do not have incentive to develop something that would block the view of their other tower, especially since the parking revenues they generate from that place are pretty strong.

Vine and third is not empty it is the Olympic Auto Park. This is owned by AFG who owns that entire block. It will not be developed into a high rise because they own the Provident Tower on 4th and Vine which would then have its view blocked. I think the reference to 3rd and Vine was for 309 Vine, the low rise building in front of the 4th and Vine Tower.

I know a nice apartment coming available in the kenwood deer park area if anyone is interested in that area. 2 bedroom and pet friendly

That article mentioned that a number of firms already located downtown are looking to expand, which could result in a new tower. However they also mentioned that some companies are looking to move downtown, so that might keep demand high for the existing buildings as well. They will not go to 309 Vine and I really cant see them at the banks. Chiquita Center is a possibility but I think they are holding out for a new tower by W&S. They need to be near P&G and I think with a couple of their chief competitors in QCS, they want a brand new premier office tower for themselves too.

I should not have thrown Cbus in there, because their CBD is extremely dead at night. Indy is very busy but they are a convention city so they cater to the convention crowd and they have a lot of chains in the middle of the city. It is more touristy than business related. Having lived in both Cincy and Cleveland I found both to have a better mix of urban dwellers to offices in the city than Pittsburgh. There seem to be a lot more loft conversions in both cities than I saw in Pitt. There is more residential in both cities and less office which seems to create a better after hours type feel to it. Part of this may be because I know my way around both towns and Pitt was new to me. I loved the density of downtown Pitt but I was left a little disappointed with the variety of choices downtown.

All cities are going to have their districts, I was just hoping for a little more in the urban core like there is in Cincinnati, Indy, Columbus, even Cleveland. I just did not get that feeling in Pittsburgh. It is like saying Mt. Adams in Cincy is part of the downtown urban fabric. You can walk downtown from there but there is something that removes it from the rest of the city. Same with Pittsburgh, there is a disconnect that is created when you need to cross the river

I think they would not go to Liberty, it is either Kenwood or stay where you are for Saks.

Looks like they are staying downtown. Cranley saves the day for Cincinnati retail.

I was there 2 weeks ago. There were decent amount of people around because there was a ball game in town but there was just not that vibe places to gather and such. For example, Cincy has OTR and Cleveland has E 4th and Columbus has the arena district and Short North. All have a ton of little eateries and cafes with local flair. Even chain places like Rock Bottom were non-existent downtown. There were a ton of fast food places and places like chipotle and Qdoba and high end places like Ruth Chris and Mortons but not much in between.

I was just up there, beautiful downtown and love the density (it reminded me of a small Manhattan) but I felt it was very much lacking the energy that even Cincinnati or Cleveland have in their central core. We spent a considerable time walking around and beyond the typical fast food joints, there was not much as far as local flavor that we could find there. Even the high end places like Mortons are tucked in high rise towers and hidden from the street. There is a nice theatre district but again not too much as far as street level dining. We ate at the Six Penn which was nice but we were expecting a lot more of that in the area to choose from. We tried going to Market Square and there were a few things there but again it was mostly fast food type places and seemed lacking. I did not get a great feel for a ton of apartment conversions in the city and the downtown area seemed more office than neighborhood. I was there about 10 years ago for a baseball game and the little area by the ballpark was starting to develop and it seemed to have a lot of potential, I was disappointed to see that it really has not changed much in that area over the last 10 years beyond a hotel or two that has come to the area. I was expecting a little more with all of Pittsburgh's potential.

Looks good but does it take into consideration the preferred open floorplan that GE would be looking to implement. Also, would it come in according to budget? It is a lot easy to design a dynamic building when we are not the ones paying for it.

Huh? ??? Just being a little sarcastic that's all. It seems Cranley gets blamed for a lot of things around here. I figured I would just add another one.

People are upset that he was driving around illegally. Normally not that big deal, but it raises questions because Fitzgerald sells himself on law and order, honesty, integrity etc. Plus it gives the bad impression of an elitist disconnect from the laws from which regular people like us must abide. Again, still don't see the big deal. I mean, public transportation is closed at that hour, and as good as public transportation may be, it is a lot easier for him to get a little "something" in the car than it would be for him to get it on the Rapid. - lol

At the end of the day, Union Terminal will be renovated and then people will move on to fixing music hall. it will not fall apart and will be saved, it is just going to be kicked down the road. And since nobody has mentioned this so far, this is all Cranley's fault

I don't see the problem with the fact he did not have a license. He lives in the city, he can use public transportation.

Looks like it would suffer from the same issues as the Eastern Corridor Oasis Line. It does not touch enough job creation areas.

What I was saying is that economic development is about creating jobs and making sure taxpayer money is being prudently spent. Unfortunately, most startups do not offer the stability that a publicly traded multi-national does which is why they get better tax incentives, that is where communities and governments invest their pension funds, etc. Small business may not like it, but it is the prudent thing to do and the fair thing to do.

Jake, They are mature industries. Mature industries have high barriers to entry and thus fewer competitors. There is nothing wrong with that. It is just difficult for a small business to start and compete in these areas. Now there are plenty of small businesses that compete as their suppliers and a lot of opportunity there. Heck, there are even opportunities for those suppliers to grow and become the big fish down the line. Look at Microsoft as an example.

More than an accountant, you probably need a bookkeeper. TurboTax can do a lot, especially if you only have 1 property and it is not an LLC. Even if it is, turbo tax is fine. If you starting getting a big portfolio, you will want an accountant at that time. They typically charge $2000 or so to do this work.

If you are paying interest on a security deposit you are not doing it right. First, you really do not need to charge more than 1 month's security deposit to rent a unit. If you do your diligence as a landlord, it is just not necessary to charge more and you will scare off a lot of qualified tenants. Also another way that many landlords handle security deposits to avoid the interest rule is they charge a very small security deposit (say $200 or even up to one month's rent) plus require first and last month's rent due upon move in. This way, they already have last month's rent should the tenant try and skip out early and they have a small security deposit to cover them against misc damages that may occur. Now if the tenant completely trashes the place, there is no security deposit that will cover that and you have to assume the risk or insure against it yourself. There really is not need to charge a security deposit of more than one month's rent on the apartment since there are legal ways to get around the interest requirement.

The big thing KC had going for them when they built their arena, their stadiums were decades old and no longer being paid for by public bonds (at least the majority of it). Maybe in another 10+ years it could be worth exploring a new arena with public money.