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OT: Pitt bidding on Athletic Association property

1 in 10? Given the university's awful relationship (not it's fault, though great sports would reverse it) with the city and county, particularly the convenient (and asinine) conjecture on the city's part that Pitt does not "pay it's fair share" of taxes (allowing it to be the whipping boy for the mass corruption and internal swindles of the city government) ... I think there's more like a PowerBall chance of Pitt being given the property (some of which would then become "tax exempt," correct?), almost at any price Pitt could come up with.

Wouldn't it have been likely that Pitt has been trying to buy this place BEFORE it got to this point? It's not exactly been a secret that the PAA has been on very hard times and Pitt would be the most natural suitor in the world. But in some mysterious way, despite all the very public problems, it was allowed to get all the way to this point of desperation, a sheriff sale?

Now the process can be kept somewhat secret and all the powers of interest under the scenes can make the deal they want for who they REALLY want to get it. And almost certainly it isn't going to be Pitt IMO. Mayor Pudgy will fight like a (nittany) lion to assure that.


What planet do you live on? The property will be purchased [or not] out of bankruptcy, with a federal judge presiding. Yes, creditors and the creditor's committee will have some input, but the property will transfer [or not] according to the federal bankruptcy laws. It amazes me that some of you have so little awareness of the real world and the laws that govern us. Hail to Pitt!
 
See, that is the exact response of someone with no point. No one is going to bid something crazy and beyond their means because it is business. No crazy bid beyond financial abilities is going to be accepted and chosen.

It's a valid point.
 
Just don't like this crap in heart of campus, that's all. Do you need a hotel across st from cathedral. They are building office buildings on 5th, do you need office building development on pitt campus? Annoys hell out of me. Why so freakin close?

Let's keep some sort of semblance of a college environment. Marriott and office buildings don't do that. We already have 30 hospitals here, do we need to add yet another separate industry conglomerate?

Welcome to every urban campus everywhere.
 
Nobody who is bright or represented by competent counsel figures out what restrictions or encumbrances come with a property after purchasing it. Wow...simply a stupid thought! Hail to Pitt!
You don't not know them, but you figure out how to fully deal with them afterwards, if you are Pitt. This isn't a completely unknown situation like driving by a property and offering to buy it "as-is". It has been next door and in Pitt's hopeful plans for years. This isn't a whim decision.

Of course, you already knew that and knew what I meant.
 
Why not a first class student rec center? They need one of those anyway and that would be a very cool place for one. It would also allow them to use the building for its original purpose.

I expect that is coming with the new facilities master plan, probably on the hill. I think the PAA building would be too hard to retro fit to what is expected with a modern student rec center (what floors and walls do you knock out for a climbing wall and jogging track?)
 
You don't not know them, but you figure out how to fully deal with them afterwards, if you are Pitt. This isn't a completely unknown situation like driving by a property and offering to buy it "as-is". It has been next door and in Pitt's hopeful plans for years. This isn't a whim decision.

Of course, you already knew that and knew what I meant.


Well the contingencies the PAA is putting/attempting on the deal were certainly never likely known to Pitt prior to the bankruptcy and the subsequent auction process. I am not suggesting Pitt not attempt to purchase the property, but with good counsel--they can be certain that the property will be acceptable [or not] to Pitt's short term and long term goals/plans PRIOR to making their bid. Pitt owns a couple of former clubs in their real estate portfolio in Oakland...and while the location is simply PRIME, it is unclear to me whether the building will be particularly useful to Pitt unless significant changes and development occur. Hail to Pitt!
 
I have no fear of elevators at all, but I must admit that the PAA elevators are one of the sketchiest thrill rides you will find in the country.
 
What about the skinny boutique hotel currently under construction on the parking lot of the PAA?
It is a Marriott in their Autograph Collection, which are luxury hotels independently owned but operated/maintained under the Autograph Collection name.
 
What planet do you live on? The property will be purchased [or not] out of bankruptcy, with a federal judge presiding. Yes, creditors and the creditor's committee will have some input, but the property will transfer [or not] according to the federal bankruptcy laws. It amazes me that some of you have so little awareness of the real world and the laws that govern us. Hail to Pitt!
The planet is called "The City - Democrats! - is out to destroy Pitt."
 
It is a disgrace to have a chain hotel take the space the Syrian Mosque occupied.

It is the PAA parking lot site, not the Syria Mosque site. Pitt will be developing the Syria Mosque site, which it now owns.

Oakland, and Pitt, actually need more hotels. It isn't the worst use of that plot, a plot that Pitt doesn't control.
 
Welcome to every urban campus everywhere.

Yeah I was thinking of the same thing. The other "urban" campus I am most familiar with is Ann Arbor. And you know, walking around one vs the other, sometimes it would hardpressed to tell the difference functionally. Oh yeah, the buildings and architecture are unique in both places, but you have your campus buildings mixed in with housing, mixed in with businesses, hospitals, office buildings, a main drag for restaurants and bars. Though U of M in Ann Arbor obviously has more clout and is the basic reason why Ann Arbor exists, but Pitt/CMU (these two need to work closer together) to develop Oakland.

If any of yinz been to Ann Arbor, you would be surprised how little acreage the Big House takes up and where it is located. And Parking? Forget about it.
 
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Yeah I was thinking of the same thing. The other "urban" campus I am most familiar with is Ann Arbor. And you know, walking around one vs the other, sometimes it would hardpressed to tell the difference functionally. Oh yeah, the buildings and architecture are unique in both places, but you have your campus buildings mixed in with housing, mixed in with businesses, hospitals, office buildings, a main drag for restaurants and bars. Though U of M in Ann Arbor obviously has more clout and is the basic reason why Ann Arbor exists, but Pitt/CMU (these two need to work closer together) to develop Oakland.

If any of yinz been to Ann Arbor, you would be surprised how little acreage the Big House takes up and where it is located. And Parking? Forget about it.

Yup. Look at Penn's campus. School buildings surrounded by offices, hotels, and shopping. Or any of the urban campuses in Chicago. School buildings, hotels, offices, and shopping.
 
They should review each purchase separately. Not blindly over pay for each piece of land as smf suggest.

In this case with this particular piece they should imo. I mean there has to be a threshold but it should be much higher than the other bidders.
But that is the point everyone else is making and you have eschewed until this point. There is a market value and then there is a value to Pitt. That value to Pitt is much, much higher than the rest of the market, so there is absolutely no way Pitt should be outbid. SMF never said to bid blindly and neither did anyone else, but they did say they should be willing to far outbid the market because there is so much more value to Pitt.

Exactly. There is no reason to lose this bid because the value of having a beautiful, historic building directly across the street from the Cathedral has a much higher value to Pitt that would exceed the value a profit-seeking developer who has to bid at a price which allows for a considerable profit. Profit is not Pitt's objective. You almost cant put a price on campus expansion.
 
Exactly. There is no reason to lose this bid because the value of having a beautiful, historic building directly across the street from the Cathedral has a much higher value to Pitt that would exceed the value a profit-seeking developer who has to bid at a price which allows for a considerable profit. Profit is not Pitt's objective. You almost cant put a price on campus expansion.
Peduto and the political machine will have max say, and profit (taxes and personal kickbacks) ARE their motive. So expect anything but Pitt to gain control.

Pitt's only really solid hope is ironically that the place is SO decrepit that other (more favored and better connected) developers put in ridiculously low bids, and/or totally dependent on the idea of tearing the place down ... which would be massively difficult to do.
 
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Would you consider McDonalds a chain?

Autograph hotels that I'm familiar with are quite nice. If you are going to build on that space, that is a great and needed thing to put there. For something not it its control, I'm sure the university was happy it was going to be developed as a hotel, because more hotels are desperately needed around campus.
 
You think Ann Arbor is urban?
Yes. Not big city urban but UM has an urban feel, up next to booming downtown AA. A walking city, not suburban or small town. Daughter 1 went there 8 years. Daughter 2 went to Pitt.

UM - Great town, okay campus. MSU - great campus, okay town. Pitt is more like UM. PSU is more like MSU. It would be a crime if Pitt doesn't fill out the Catherdral "square" with the PAA.
 
Yes. Not big city urban but UM has an urban feel, up next to booming downtown AA. A walking city, not suburban or small town. Daughter 1 went there 8 years. Daughter 2 went to Pitt.

UM - Great town, okay campus. MSU - great campus, okay town. Pitt is more like UM. PSU is more like MSU. It would be a crime if Pitt doesn't fill out the Catherdral "square" with the PAA.

The University of Michigan, which I think has an awesome campus, is hardly in what could be considered an urban setting when you are talking about schools like Pitt, Columbia, Penn, Temple, Boston U, George Washington, DePaul, USC, UCLA, etc. Ann Arbor is a college town and feels like many other college towns built up around major universities. As you know, but others may not, Michigan also essentially has multiple campuses spread out over Ann Arbor including the central campus, a separate engineering campus that you really need to take a shuttle to, a research park further out (North campus), and a fairly big arboretum. The sports complexes, while you can walk to them from the central campus, are really in a separate area from the central academic quad area and include a big golf course. The real estate UM owns in Ann Arbor dwarfs anything else. It absolutely dominates the economy and culture. Michigan is not a school in a city, it is a school with a town.
 
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Peduto and the political machine will have max say, and profit (taxes and personal kickbacks) ARE their motive. So expect anything but Pitt to gain control.

Pitt's only really solid hope is ironically that the place is SO decrepit that other (more favored and better connected) developers put in ridiculously low bids, and/or totally dependent on the idea of tearing the place down ... which would be massively difficult to do.



Apparently you have no understanding of bankruptcy law or the legal world. You honestly think a federal judge is on the D-machine payroll? Please do tell. Chief Judge Deller who happens to be presiding over the case is a Pitt graduate and will follow the law. The Pittsburgh "political machine" will have no say in who the successful bidder will be. Hail to Pitt!
 
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Would you consider McDonalds a chain?
Yes. I think I know where you're going with this, but you're wrong if you think pointing out independently owned McDonald's are the same as the type of hotel being built in Oakland. All McDonald's are built to a spec that makes all look the same. An Autograph Collection hotel is stand alone and unique to itself.

All major hotel chains have branded hotels that all look the same. With Marriott for example you have ALofts. They all look basically the same. Autography Collection do not have any restriction on what they look like, but they must offer a minimum of services.

I guess I'm missing where your outrage stems from? It's being built on the former site of a PARKING LOT. It will be the nicest hotel by far in Oakland and join a small list of high end hotels in the city. As @CrazyPaco pointed out, hotel rooms are in great demand in Oakland. This will benefit the University and UPMC by offering a higher end destination.
 
Yes. I know where you're going with this, but you're wrong if you think pointing out independently owned McDonald's are the same as the type of hotel being built in Oakland. All McDonald's are built to a spec that makes all look the same. An Autograph Collection hotel is stand alone and unique to itself.

All major hotel chains have branded hotels that all look the same. With Marriott for example you have ALofts. They all look basically the same. Autography Collection do not have any restriction on what they look like, but they must offer a minimum of services.

I guess I'm missing where your outrage stems from? It's being built on the former site of a PARKING LOT. It will be the nicest hotel by far in Oakland and join a small list of high end hotels in the city. As @CrazyPaco pointed out, hotel rooms are in great demand in Oakland. This will benefit the University and UPMC by offering a higher end destination.
How do hotels help the university?
 
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If only there was another way to get lots of people into Oakland, frequenting businesses, especially on weekends when business is slower.
 
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If only there was another way to get lots of people into Oakland, frequenting businesses, especially on weekends when business is slower.
Wait a sec. you old buzzard jerk offs are crying up a storm about Oakland traffic and no stsdiums in Oakland because it takes 6 hours to get home to my couch after a basketball game and now you are telling me Oakland is slow on the weekends and we need to drive more people to fifth and Forbes???

Well which one is it? I love how you guys are worried about upmc. Uh fellas, upmc is doing well, this non profit organization has more money than god, tobacco and oil put together.
 
And we want more people congesting Oakland because?
So, people coming to Oakland is a GOOD thing, not a bad one. Not only does it give Pitt exposure, but it also helps support the community with time and money spent.

Not sure what you're looking for? Traffic is a by-product of demand (along with some some poor infrastructure). Should the new Skyvue Apartments not have been built? Should we put a halt to the growth of Pitt and UPMC because of traffic? Really?
 
Wait a sec. you old buzzard jerk offs are crying up a storm about Oakland traffic and no stsdiums in Oakland because it takes 6 hours to get home to my couch after a basketball game and now you are telling me Oakland is slow on the weekends and we need to drive more people to fifth and Forbes???

Well which one is it? I love how you guys are worried about upmc. Uh fellas, upmc is doing well, this non profit organization has more money than god, tobacco and oil put together.
I have to run, but hopefully someone can chime in here to demonstrate that UPMC has helped bring the University international recognition. A strong UPMC always will benefit Pitt.
 
I have to run, but hopefully someone can chime in here to demonstrate that UPMC has helped bring the University international recognition. A strong UPMC always will benefit Pitt.
They are strong. They are good. All is well with upmc. Worry not pitt girl, alive and well is good OL upmc.
 
I have to run, but hopefully someone can chime in here to demonstrate that UPMC has helped bring the University international recognition. A strong UPMC always will benefit Pitt.

UPMC contributed over $191 million to Pitt in FY15, that included nearly a million in athletic sponsorships. To put that into perspective, that is about $50m more than Pitt gets from the state. This if far, far more support than any other university gets from their affiliated medical centers. This also doesn't take into account a number of endowed chairs UPMC has created for the med school.

strong UPMC = strong Pitt.
 
UPMC contributed over $191 million to Pitt in FY15, that included nearly a million in athletic sponsorships. To put that into perspective, that is about $50m more than Pitt gets from the state. This if far, far more support than any other university gets from their affiliated medical centers. This also doesn't take into account a number of endowed chairs UPMC has created for the med school.

strong UPMC = strong Pitt.

It's amazing that some people treat upmc as the enemy.
 
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It's amazing that some people treat upmc as the enemy.

Well, they've had a few years of consistent and coordinated publicity campaigns run against them by Highmark and the SEIU, not to mention the prior city administration was outright hostile. But it is hard to separate the health of UPMC from the University, at least from Pitt's six schools of the health sciences. I actually think the charter of UPMC specifically makes one of its missions the support of the university, and of course, 1/3rd of its board is appointed by Pitt.

They're growing exponentially, and so are their commitments. In a span of about a year and a half, they're on target to have integrated 19 new hospitals into the UPMC system not counting the new one they plan to build in South Fayette. This year is huge. It will be interesting to watch going forward because it's forcing other entities in the state to make strange bedfellows.
 
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