tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post2619176429366375987..comments2023-12-24T05:26:48.861-05:00Comments on The Pittsburgh Comet: Dirigisme? Dirigis you! Making developments more exciting and competitive.Bram Reichbaumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-60687907364271307792013-01-19T21:49:29.850-05:002013-01-19T21:49:29.850-05:00Semi-related, semi-relevant thoughts:
(1) Of cour...Semi-related, semi-relevant thoughts:<br /><br />(1) Of course in addition to the "major" projects, there are many other small to medium development projects going on in Pittsburgh, so the "major" projects don't define the whole of development;<br /><br />(2) Different kinds of competition are maximized at different scales, and you can have problems getting enough competition at certain scales if your "parceling" of development opportunities is suboptimal;<br /><br />(3) "Brownfield" development often involves a lot of different challenges from "greenfield" development, such that one shouldn't assume the same policies and practices will work best in both areas;<br /><br />(4) The first entrants into new large-scale retail/entertainment developments are often disproportionately "chains" and other "bland"/"suburban" establishments in part because they have the sorts of branding, advertising, cross-subsidies, and so on they need to reliably attract customers to a place they have never been before;<br /><br />(5) But with churn over time the mix of establishments doesn't have to stay that way, provided that it isn't the sort of place that will permanently rely on such factors to attract customers (e.g., so not a shopping mall surrounded by a sea of parking).BrianTHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-51858034769387671382013-01-18T10:48:31.407-05:002013-01-18T10:48:31.407-05:00I was a bit surprised by the number of spaces at O...I was a bit surprised by the number of spaces at OSU and I'm an alum. It certainly never felt like there were 35,000 spaces to pick from. I think the difference may be that the medical center spaces are still OSU spaces and not separate the way Pitt/UPMC parking is. MHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-3530288310164591322013-01-18T08:25:00.779-05:002013-01-18T08:25:00.779-05:00Not sure -- but City had a fair number of multi-le...Not sure -- but City had a fair number of multi-level garages in the deal, too.Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-11812352442049309642013-01-18T08:07:56.442-05:002013-01-18T08:07:56.442-05:00How many metered spaces are in the city? The 35,00...How many metered spaces are in the city? The 35,000 Ohio State has seems like an incredibly large number.gradstudent1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-16962068739378326032013-01-17T19:51:54.676-05:002013-01-17T19:51:54.676-05:00Bram - first and foremost anything we can do to li...Bram - first and foremost anything we can do to limit attorneys would be good! Aside from that, take a look at all the major woopsy daisy failures out there. How many of them were government initiatives? I would say most of them. And they were usually touted as social improvement projects - to benefit the people. Maybe we are agreeing and maybe not but I would like to get the guvment out of the picture as much as possibleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-35819394526307731652013-01-17T18:53:33.907-05:002013-01-17T18:53:33.907-05:00MH - That is remarkable congruence!<b>MH -</b> That is remarkable congruence!Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-24008181368598835142013-01-17T15:37:34.298-05:002013-01-17T15:37:34.298-05:00Slightly related: If the bidding was open in both ...Slightly related: If the bidding was open in both cases, the city of Pittsburgh is the parking-equivalent of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/us/ohio-state-gets-483-million-bid-for-parking-lease.html?_r=0" rel="nofollow">a single Big Ten school.</a> MHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-62827173998410804362013-01-17T13:25:57.931-05:002013-01-17T13:25:57.931-05:00Are you talking about the selling of Schenley High...Are you talking about the selling of Schenley High School? Bid opening is Friday at PPS. Mark Rauterkushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17157914569686528007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-75047036499935073082013-01-17T08:41:34.721-05:002013-01-17T08:41:34.721-05:00Anon 7:44 -
LOL! I actually never check that webs...Anon 7:44 -<br /><br />LOL! I actually never check that website <a href="http://reformpittsburghnow.com/" rel="nofollow">Reform Pittsburgh Now.</a> If I ever link to it, it's only because I googled "Peduto, [issue]" in order to find something.<br /><br />Thank you for the thoughtful critique, I really appreciate it. There are a few points I'd like to try to poke holes in (is there nearly as much work for attorneys if there isn't a developer holding sway as middleman? How about the notion that planning the landscape would be done in-house?) but I take the point more readily on architects and engineers and I don't doubt your larger point there are considerable start-up costs for smaller vendors when it comes to building, and greater risks. What I'd like to ask if you return, is how would developers address the concerns about "blandness" and gentrification, and do they consider the right's concerns about the creation of big politically influential middlemen legitimate. The idea that a development could "fail" is unfortunate for the developer who thereby needs to aim for higher profit margins to make up for it, but it's more terrifying for a City that doesn't want to risk ending up with a husk of somebody's "whoopsy daisy," well-intentioned failure, instead of having smaller parcels which can be more easily creatively destroyed and refilled.Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-3687899566734691492013-01-16T19:44:15.953-05:002013-01-16T19:44:15.953-05:00I'm impressed Bram. Tai Pan and the other Sho...I'm impressed Bram. Tai Pan and the other Shogun books are terrific. I didn't know you read anything other than Reform Pittsburgh website. Even though I disagree with the conclusion I like the analysis. The problem is this - and something that people often miss in these big projects. The developers spend hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of their own dollars before anything happens. Who do you think pays for the lawyers and planning and engineers and architects? they do this on the faith and with the hope that if everything works out they will find the resources and tenants to make the deal happen. Not all of them do. That is why developers need big returns on deals that work to make up for the ones that don't. Without somewhat knowing that the project will happen people won't be willing to spend their money for years before seeing any return. If you chop up a piece of land and give to lots of different owners there is too much risk to my parcel and development that the guy next door goes under and then causes me to go under. I'm not saying it is impossible, but that is the idea of planning (whether private or public). Kind of like owning a shopping center. Giant Eagle won't lease space without a covenant that I won't lease space to any other grocery store or similar business. If a different owner had control of every store front in the shopping center it is much harder to get Giant Eagle to sign up. When you are talking about new developments that need substantial financing - no lease, no financing, no deal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-66682096376002184302013-01-16T07:08:20.685-05:002013-01-16T07:08:20.685-05:00Anon 5:02, you're thinking Bangkok. One night ...Anon 5:02, you're thinking Bangkok. One night there makes a hard man humble. Thank goodness I'm only watching the game -- controlling it.Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-51749121455142923212013-01-15T17:02:25.475-05:002013-01-15T17:02:25.475-05:00The Reichbaum Plan: Pittsburgh as one big "m...The Reichbaum Plan: Pittsburgh as one big "massage parlors only" zoning overlay district. With plenty of open space.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-57086864640736127582013-01-15T16:44:50.956-05:002013-01-15T16:44:50.956-05:00I briefly considered a paragraph making explicit: ...I briefly considered a paragraph making explicit: I haven't noticed any other politicos / civic leaders taking this approach, but I'd be pleased to see it added to the mix somewhere. Not all of my posts are electoral-political, some are just attempts at being helpful.Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-2271009026093539312013-01-15T16:01:53.573-05:002013-01-15T16:01:53.573-05:00Dirigisme is an economy in which the government ex...<i>Dirigisme is an economy in which the government exerts strong directive influence. It designates a mainly capitalist economy with strong directive, as opposed to merely regulatory, economic participation by the state.</i><br /><br />Aren't the other challengers going to be arguing for even greater dirigisme?Shawn Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02199246577083781115noreply@blogger.com