more opening up..
https://www.post-gazette.com/busine...-Playhouse-Shirley-Jones/stories/201903220059
There will be no encore for the former Pittsburgh Playhouse in Oakland.
Point Park University is preparing to demolish the three-building complex which during its long history entertained theater goers, helped launch the career of actress Shirley Jones, and served as a training ground for countless young students hoping to make it big one day.
The university will brief the Oakland Planning and Development Corp. on its plans next week.
The complex at 222 Craft Ave. closed last June to make way for Point Park’s new Pittsburgh Playhouse Downtown on Forbes Avenue. That opened at the end of August.
Sharon Eberson
Step back in time with an exploration of the Pittsburgh Playhouse
Point Park acquired the old playhouse in 1968. When it decided seven years ago to launch the campaign to build the new theater on Forbes, “It was understood that the Oakland facility had long outlived its useful life. The buildings were prone to mechanical failures and functionally obsolete,” the university said in a statement.
“University leaders recognized that if the new Pittsburgh Playhouse was going to be built, the Oakland facility would have to be sold, with the proceeds put into the new project. Over the last number of years, it has become obvious the property maintains more value as a clear site. This has been determined through conversations with various parties who have expressed interest purchasing the property.”
Lou Corsaro, Point Park spokesman, said the university has yet to set a target date for the demolition. “Right now, we are just taking it one process at a time,” he said.
What became the Pittsburgh Playhouse debuted as the Pittsburgh Civic Playhouse in 1934. The oldest part of the theater is a former German social club. An adjacent house became the lobby.
The last piece, which became the playhouse’s Rockwell Theatre, was acquired when the Tree of Life synagogue moved to Squirrel Hill in 1952.
Still embedded in the facade, constructed in the style of a Greek Temple, is a cornerstone that reads ‘Erected 5666’ (the Jewish calendar year 1906, when the synagogue was dedicated) and a menorah.
Point Park, Mr. Corsaro said, will “make every effort to secure” both. “If it’s possible, we will return them to Tree of Life,” he said.
Sharon Eberson
It's 'Lights Out' and one final goodbye for the Pittsburgh Playhouse in Oakland
The old playhouse complex is where actress Shirley Jones, who was born in Charleroi and grew up in Smithton, got her start. At one time, theater goers could dine in a swanky restaurant located within the complex before catching a show.
From a real estate standpoint, the old playhouse site is located next to UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and close to the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. It’s also situated in one of the tightest office markets in the region.
All of that should bode well in Point Park’s efforts to sell it, said Gerard McLaughlin, executive managing director of the Newmark Knight Frank real estate firm.
“It’s Oakland so I think it will command a lot of interest,” he said.
Mr. McLaughlin sees the potential for office, retail, a hotel, or residential at the site depending on its size.
“If that lot is of size and someone can put an office building there, the land will command a greater value,” he said.
He also believes the site will fetch more cleared of the old playhouse structures than if they were to remain.
Likewise, Dan Adamski, Jones Lang LaSalle managing director, sees “significant interest” in the site, not only from investors but from the universities and the hospitals.
He thinks the best use may be residential because of its location at the entrance to Oakland near two hospitals.
Additionally, “From an office user perspective, a lot of demand is concentrated there since many tech companies want to be within walking distance of the universities; however, there’s very little available office space in downtown Oakland. This site could relieve that pressure,” Mr. Adamski said.
Point Park will present its plans for the demolition at the Oakland Planning and Development Corp.’s first Oakland design development review meetingon Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Oakland Career Center at 294 Semple St.
https://www.post-gazette.com/busine...-Playhouse-Shirley-Jones/stories/201903220059
There will be no encore for the former Pittsburgh Playhouse in Oakland.
Point Park University is preparing to demolish the three-building complex which during its long history entertained theater goers, helped launch the career of actress Shirley Jones, and served as a training ground for countless young students hoping to make it big one day.
The university will brief the Oakland Planning and Development Corp. on its plans next week.
The complex at 222 Craft Ave. closed last June to make way for Point Park’s new Pittsburgh Playhouse Downtown on Forbes Avenue. That opened at the end of August.
Sharon Eberson
Step back in time with an exploration of the Pittsburgh Playhouse
Point Park acquired the old playhouse in 1968. When it decided seven years ago to launch the campaign to build the new theater on Forbes, “It was understood that the Oakland facility had long outlived its useful life. The buildings were prone to mechanical failures and functionally obsolete,” the university said in a statement.
“University leaders recognized that if the new Pittsburgh Playhouse was going to be built, the Oakland facility would have to be sold, with the proceeds put into the new project. Over the last number of years, it has become obvious the property maintains more value as a clear site. This has been determined through conversations with various parties who have expressed interest purchasing the property.”
Lou Corsaro, Point Park spokesman, said the university has yet to set a target date for the demolition. “Right now, we are just taking it one process at a time,” he said.
What became the Pittsburgh Playhouse debuted as the Pittsburgh Civic Playhouse in 1934. The oldest part of the theater is a former German social club. An adjacent house became the lobby.
The last piece, which became the playhouse’s Rockwell Theatre, was acquired when the Tree of Life synagogue moved to Squirrel Hill in 1952.
Still embedded in the facade, constructed in the style of a Greek Temple, is a cornerstone that reads ‘Erected 5666’ (the Jewish calendar year 1906, when the synagogue was dedicated) and a menorah.
Point Park, Mr. Corsaro said, will “make every effort to secure” both. “If it’s possible, we will return them to Tree of Life,” he said.
Sharon Eberson
It's 'Lights Out' and one final goodbye for the Pittsburgh Playhouse in Oakland
The old playhouse complex is where actress Shirley Jones, who was born in Charleroi and grew up in Smithton, got her start. At one time, theater goers could dine in a swanky restaurant located within the complex before catching a show.
From a real estate standpoint, the old playhouse site is located next to UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and close to the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. It’s also situated in one of the tightest office markets in the region.
All of that should bode well in Point Park’s efforts to sell it, said Gerard McLaughlin, executive managing director of the Newmark Knight Frank real estate firm.
“It’s Oakland so I think it will command a lot of interest,” he said.
Mr. McLaughlin sees the potential for office, retail, a hotel, or residential at the site depending on its size.
“If that lot is of size and someone can put an office building there, the land will command a greater value,” he said.
He also believes the site will fetch more cleared of the old playhouse structures than if they were to remain.
Likewise, Dan Adamski, Jones Lang LaSalle managing director, sees “significant interest” in the site, not only from investors but from the universities and the hospitals.
He thinks the best use may be residential because of its location at the entrance to Oakland near two hospitals.
Additionally, “From an office user perspective, a lot of demand is concentrated there since many tech companies want to be within walking distance of the universities; however, there’s very little available office space in downtown Oakland. This site could relieve that pressure,” Mr. Adamski said.
Point Park will present its plans for the demolition at the Oakland Planning and Development Corp.’s first Oakland design development review meetingon Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Oakland Career Center at 294 Semple St.
