Mt. Washington Residents Offer Suggestions for Local Development

If the influx of e-mail that Carmen Pirain has received in the last two months is any indication, a vacant lot on Pittsburgh's Mt. Washington may soon be home to a coffee shop or a gym, perhaps both.

Pirain began receiving suggestions in response to a sign placed prominently on a lot on the corner of Virginia Avenue and Maple Terrace, which is owned by his family. The sign reads "Mt. Washington, You choose what to build in 2005.... More details to follow." The sign also includes an Internet address: www.project15211.com, a site set up to collect ideas from Mt. Washington residents for developing the empty lot. The Web site is named for the neighborhood's zip code.

"We want the community to decide," Pirain said. "It's also an investment to us." The project is an informal market study that helps the Pirains to attract businesses that residents will want to patronize.

Since the Web site went live in late September, there have been approximately 1,200 hits, said Pirain, and he has received more than 200 e-mails with suggestions ranging from a hardware store, to a skating rink, to a police station.

In addition, Pirain said that many neighbors have approached him and other family members to offer their suggestions, and some without Internet access have mailed letters. Others shout their suggestions to Pirain on the street.

"I wanted a nice product for people that they can walk to," said Richard Pirain, Carmen's father, and the man who conceived of asking the community what should be built on the site.

The most frequent suggestions have been for a coffee shop or a gym. Others have suggested a bakery or an upscale deli.

"Definitely a lot of people are thinking coffee," said Carmen Pirain, who envisions a trendy coffee shop "like [television show] Friends with couches and a dude playing guitar."

Richard Pirain is a long-time Mt. Washington business owner. He operates both a laundry and a pizza place close to the empty lot. For years he has seen the untapped potential at the corner of Virginia Avenue and Maple Terrace.

The lot has been vacant since 1967, the year the Food-A-Rama was destroyed by fire. Nothing was ever built to replace it. Earlier this year Richard Pirain purchased the land from Charlotte Perl, the widow of Albert Perl, who, with his brother Zola, owned the property. Carmen Pirain and his brother Joe will manage the property.

Jill Joyce, an architect with Joyce Design Group, has created a concept drawing of a brick building for the site, with space for three storefronts and four to six loft apartments. The commercial/residential concept is an example of the type of development that reduces the reliance on automobiles.

Depending on the businesses selected, the plans may be adjusted to include just two storefronts, instead of three.

"If we had a gym, it would probably fill two storefronts," said Carmen Pirain. He said he hopes a decision will be reached by the end of January.

Submissions to the Web site will still be collected until the end of December.

"Everything's moving. We're really getting a lot of feedback," said Carmen Pirain. "We still get some every day."

Richard Pirain said the community will benefit from the development.

"We're going to do something there," he said. "We didn't go through this to not do it."

Susan Jacobs for Sustainable Pittsburgh