Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Over the next 18 months, an organized rebuilding of sidewalks, curbs and fixtures will span from the Conestoga building all the way to Third Avenue.
The parking lot in the middle of Point Park University's campus will be transformed into a unique space featuring large amounts of seating, a restaurant and a waterfall.
"It's exciting because the university has done so much that people here at the university have seen because it's internal," said Elmer Burger, the university architect. "Since these projects are exterior, the city will really take note of what the university's doing with these two projects."
For the past few years, the university's growth has called for renovations on the insides of numerous buildings, but the development of its Academic Village will begin to emerge.
Burger has "seen the university grow for the past 20 some years" and plans to help the school grow even more by starting two projects this semester. The projects are on track to start around the same time in October and are expected to be finished within 18 months.
The first thing Burger said will go under construction is the streetscape from Fort Pitt Boulevard to the intersection of Wood Street and Third Avenue. Wood Street's makeover will include new sidewalks, curbs, lighting, signaling and signage, as well as other improvements.
Commuter student Sarah Bezek, a junior dance major, looks forward to the streetscape being completed.
"I'm a pedestrian for most of the time, so I like the idea of new sidewalks and having it be a bit more pleasant to walk through downtown between the buildings," Bezek said.
The project will take approximately 18 months and will consist of 17 phases. Wood Street will be divided one block at a time, and 45 days will be spent on renovating each block's sidewalks, curbs and handicapped ramps.
Construction will begin in front of Conestoga Hall during the first week of October and work its way down and around Wood Street. Students will still have access to buildings along the street, but will have to use walkways to gain that access.
Once the sidewalks are finished, new lighting and signs will be put in place and trees will be planted along the sidewalks.
"Right now it feels a lot like you're going from building to building Downtown, but there's nothing cohesive about it," Bezek said.
However, she now sees the school taking an "I want this to be a university, I want this to be a place where we know that this is a safe learning institution" mentality.
The streetscape will start to make Point Park look more like a university campus, and the park will add even more of a connection between buildings.
The park is the second project to begin construction this semester and will be located on the corner of the Boulevard of the Allies and Wood Street where the Teris parking lot is located.
The park will include a large amount of seating, a restaurant and a waterfall.
The restaurant will be located in the bottom level of 100 Wood Street, [Frontier Hall] with the option of open air dining during warm weather. Another warm weather option for the park is to have vendors with food carts. Selection of both the restaurant and food cart vendors is still being finalized.
"It'll be really nice to have more of an area to sit outside. Sometimes on the nicer days it's pretty packed in the only spot we have to sit out in," said Katie McMullen, a commuter student.
As a commuter, McMullen is also looking forward to having a restaurant put into the park.
"It's nice not having to go very far in between my classes when I have a longer day, and it gives more options of what to eat," McMullen said.
The waterfall will be on the side of the 100 Wood Street Building at the bottom of the enclosed staircase that will be added to the building. The staircase will be enclosed in frosted glass in different shades of green with the nearly two-story high waterfall at the base.
The construction of the park will begin in October, around the same time as the streetscape project, and is expected to be finished next September.
