Leaders, businesses trying to bring people back to Downtown Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle has lost its luster. Can it get it back? When the pandemic hit, Downtown towers emptied and people experiencing homelessness, people addicted to drugs and a criminal element moved in.
"Open air drug use, open air drug dealing, public urination, defecation, sweeping up needles," Weiner World owner Dennis Scott said.
Three years on, businesses like Weiner World say unsavory conditions are still keeping office workers away from his natural casing dogs and fries. Fewer than 60 percent have returned and, of those, most still work from home a couple of days a week. Owner Dennis Scott says Downtown has to clean up its act before they'll fully come back.
"We would like to see more people to come Downtown so we want the safety of Downtown to be paramount so people feel compelled to bring their staff back. They need it to be safe," he said.
But lately, there's been some signs of optimism. The mayor has promised to double the number of city police officers, including a dedicated lieutenant and two sergeants. They've been trying to get those experiencing homelessness into the new Second Avenue shelter and just last week, they cordoned off a block of Smithfield Street to prevent people from camping out there.
"We'll take any positive movement Downtown. At least now our voice is being heard," Scott said.
The city and its partners are proposing other solutions as well, including a free parking pilot program to entice shoppers and diners and a team of street ambassadors to welcome them.
But for Downtown Pittsburgh, and other downtown areas in cities across the country, recovery will be an uphill climb. Work habits have changed and there's just not the demand or need for so much office space anymore.
The owners of buildings like the Gulf Tower and the former GNC Headquarters are preparing to convert their office space into residential units. Likewise, the owners of Gateway Center are finalizing an $80 million dollar plan to convert Gateway Three into 350 to 400 market-rate apartments. They believe this and other projects like it will give Downtown a much-needed shot in the arm.
"The more bodies you have Downtown, the people that are living here, the more populated the restaurants and the nightlife and the retail stores will be and the vibrancy will ultimately pick up Downtown," said Tim McCarthy with the Hertz Gateway Center.
But while more residents could bring back some of the energy and bustle, true recovery will depend on the creation of new jobs. The broader struggle will be to attract new companies and corporations, which real estate lawyer Kirk Burkley says will require a unified effort.
"The message should be all of our public officials literately or figuratively standing on Grant Street saying to businesses, 'we want you here, we want you to grow here, we want you to move here, we want you to expand here, we want your people Downtown,'" he said.
This will take time. While Laurie Waller, the owner of Freshii, says her clientele is slow in returning, she hopes enough workers will return to get her through a few lean years while Downtown gets back on its feet.
"Our top season is in the spring. And I think we're hopeful our numbers are going to uptick in the spring enough for us to keep moving on," she said.
