City planning commission objects again to razing Market St. buildings
They’re not raising a glass to this plan.
For the second time in a year, some Pittsburgh Planning Commission members objected to a proposal to tear down the old Froggy’s night spot and several other buildings on Market Street and First Avenue in Downtown to clear the way for a new 30-story office and residential tower.
During a lengthy briefing Tuesday, commission members said they wanted the developer, Troiani Properties, to try harder to preserve some of the structures or at least incorporate elements into the new development. They noted that the buildings at 100-102 and 104-106 Market and 209 First targeted for demolition are part of the Firstside Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“It’s not just some group of people who got together on their porches and decided they were important,” Commissioner Becky Mingo said. “For us to just throw this away is hard for me ... when there are options for you to save those buildings.”
Commission Chairwoman Christine Mondor said the sentiment is clear among members that they “would like to see something that really shows some way of trying to preserve some element of these buildings.”
While Troiani has questioned the historic value of the structures, Ms. Mondor said they contribute “very strongly” to the district and the stretch of Market Street south of the Boulevard of the Allies.
“So I think we’re going to be very cautious and careful as to what the future of these are,” she said.
She urged Troiani and its representatives to work with the planning staff to figure out “what is going to get us to a point of meeting of the minds” on the project, which would include 200,000 square feet of office space, 151 residences, two stories of retail and 300 parking spaces.
The objections came even though Clifford Levine, attorney for Troiani, said a structural engineer found that 40% of the brick at two levels in the long-vacant six-story building at 209 First was either moving or gone.
“He described this as the worst he has ever seen and that it would be a danger to human life to actually try to improve that particular building,” Mr. Levine said, stressing that the structure was in danger of collapsing.
In fact, Troiani had an appeal hearing before the city Tuesday after an emergency application to raze the building was denied.
While Troiani has argued that the other structures, including Froggy’s, should be razed because of crumbling masonry and “life safety concerns,” Commissioner Rachel O’Neill asked what it would take to save them.
Mr. Levine said doing so does not represent a “feasible cost. In ballpark ranges, we know it’s substantially more than the value of that building would be.”
Because the new development plan includes underground parking, trying to preserve Froggy’s and the other buildings would require extensive shoring and bracing for an extended period, architect Ken Doyno said. A new structure would have to be built behind the facades.
“This would create an extraordinary physical imposition on the community and substantial burden on the project,” he said in an email after the presentation.
Troiani, he continued, is willing to “include interpretative elements and reuse of salvaged building materials” in the development.
Mr. Doyno told commission members that the Troiani family has been assembling the properties since 1990 and did not acquire the last piece until 2015. The family has shown “extraordinary dedication to Downtown, to the city, to try to figure out how to go to next steps.”
He described the new mixed-use tower as a symbol of the city’s resiliency in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I feel like it’s really an imperative for our city to welcome and to celebrate that type of effort of people and their dedication to the city,” he said.
While Ms. Mondor said the commission welcomes such “visionary” projects, she added that the existing buildings to be razed “have been on the radar as historic for a while.”
“And so we also don’t want people to create situations that they have to dig themselves out of by demolishing buildings,” she said. “So we welcome vision and we also just want to make sure that it’s not the only solution out of a kind of pattern of non-maintenance.”
The proposed demolitions also have come under attack from the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and other local preservation groups that believe the buildings can be saved.
Commissioner Sabina Deitrick said she is “very, very disappointed” that Troiani hasn’t been able to work with them to come up with a solution.
“It’s just very saddening to think about tearing down these buildings,” she said.