Downtown Pittsburgh - News & Updates « Columbus Underground Messageboard

Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Development

Downtown Pittsburgh - News & Updates

[13 posts] [9 contributors]

Topic Rating:

(Total Ratings: )
Rate this topic:

Started 1 year ago by heresthecasey
Latest reply from cbustransit

Tags:

heresthecasey
Funkytown
Login to Send PM

Searched for a thread dealing with downtown Pittsburgh, but couldn't find it if one exists,..

Anyway, noticed this bit of news come up recently,

Saks Fifth Avenue Downtown to close March 17

Saks Fifth Avenue's Downtown Pittsburgh store will close earlier than expected, with the doors shutting for good on March 17.

Saks Fifth Avenue announced last October that the Smithfield Street store will be closing by September 2012 after 60 years in business. A public-private effort to save the store was unsuccessful as Saks parent company said the losses were too great.

The closing means that Macy's will be the sole surviving large retailer in the Downtown area.

Read More

Interesting to see such a stark turnaround from what things looked like only 10 years ago when downtown Pittsburgh had four large department stores, Kaufmanns, Saks, Lord & Taylor, and Lazarus.

(The latter two having been controversially lured with big subsidies, closed their doors only a few years after opening)

I know it has been tough watching big retail completely exit our downtown here in Cbus as well, having lost Madisons, Lazarus, Jacobsons, Marshall Fields, etc..

Posted 1 year ago #
Anne
King Lincoln
Login to Send PM

I wonder if something will fill the space or if (and how long) it will sit empty.

Posted 1 year ago #
Stephen43215
Downtown
Login to Send PM

This is so sad! My mom and I used to go shopping in downtown Pittsburgh. I remember going to Nordstroms, Old Navy, Saks, and Macys..Its a shame Downtown areas are finally starting to see a growth in residence but not quite keeping the retail they once had.

Posted 1 year ago #
NEOBuckeye
Ohio At-Large
Login to Send PM

Anne said:
I wonder if something will fill the space or if (and how long) it will sit empty.

Given the lack of remaining options, it seems unlikely that another national chain retailer will move in to fill these vacancies in the near future. Target might have been a consideration at one point, but they recently built a store near downtown in the East Liberty neighborhood. The best hope then would be something local in nature. Maybe the buildings will be retrofitted into mixed use--apartments and smaller shops/restaurants?

Posted 1 year ago #
cbustransit

Login to Send PM

they do still have macy's and burlington coat factory. the macy's is SAD. but they are consolidating to 4 floors or something, which will be a huge improvement

Posted 1 year ago #
cbustransit

Login to Send PM

i really don't think its a huge loss. the future of downtown retail is not going to be department stores. there is no reason to deal with downtown to go to a saks when you can go to one in the burbs. they are trying to start a boutique women's clothing node in the city center...i think that has much more potential than bringing nordstroms in

Posted 1 year ago #
mrpoppinzs
Arena District
Login to Send PM

This had been a long time coming. I am surprised they lasted this long. I can possibly see some small Shadyside type boutiques popping up but I don't see a strong demand downtown for larger retail.

Posted 1 year ago #
JonMyers
HCMC, Vietnam ✈
Login to Send PM

I don't like saying it, but the truth is most Saks stores outside of New York are just plain awful. They pawn off the fashion rejects of the last three years on the rest of the country and expect people to pay the same over-priced premium.

At least for men's clothes they do, and their audience in secondary markets has caught on, and moved on.

These days you can pick up last year's news on places like Gilt for a fraction of the price or you can visit a locally owned boutique and get something better all together.

Posted 1 year ago #
News
Columbus Underground
Login to Send PM

The Economic Crisis Rolls on in Cities like Pittsburgh
Yonah Freemark
May 6th, 2012

The board of the Port Authority of Allegheny County, serving the Pittsburgh metropolitan region, announced last week that it would have to cut services by 35% by September 2 — the largest cut ever for the agency — if it is not provided an increase in state aid. The agency expects that it will have to increase fares and lay off 500 workers. This comes a year month after the agency reduced services by 15%.

The service cuts planned would be, suffice it to say, devastating. As the maps below illustrate, the Port Authority’s austerity plans would eliminate almost half of the region’s routes. This is in a city where, according to the U.S. Census, more than 25% of households have no vehicle available and almost 20% of workers use transit to get to work — figures that are far higher than the national average or even that of the vast majority of American center cities.

READ MORE: http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2012/05/06/the-economic-crisis-rolls-on-in-cities-like-pittsburgh/

Posted 1 year ago #
cbustransit

Login to Send PM

downtown pittsburgh may be losing transit and a saks...but its also getting 30-story office towers

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/oxford-development-plans-new-tower-downtown-636984/

Posted 1 year ago #
bman
New Albany
Login to Send PM

I am in Pittsburgh right now ... been here all week for work. It's a nice town, don't think I want to live here though.

Posted 1 year ago #
NEOBuckeye
Ohio At-Large
Login to Send PM

cbustransit said:
downtown pittsburgh may be losing transit and a saks...but its also getting 30-story office towers

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/oxford-development-plans-new-tower-downtown-636984/

Seems to be part of a trend in many major urban centers now. Office and residential space is on the rise. Transit and stores will return eventually, even if the stores are smaller and more locally-based than before.

Posted 1 year ago #
cbustransit

Login to Send PM

there are a couple really cool initiatives to get some boutiques back in downtown pittsburgh. its really moved away from the bring-nordstroms-and-they-will-come mentality. at least what i've seen from afar.

Posted 1 year ago #