So many new announcements going on in Pittsburgh!  We just have to find out how we’re going to pay for it all.

The New Granada theatre nears it’s financing goal of $1.1M.  It’s a block from my house and it is such a sad thing to see it falling apart.  If they can get the rest of that money, it would be amazing.  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08317/927187-53.stm

 The David Lawrence Convention center just released plans for an $8.5 M project to connect the bike trails from point state park (affectionately known as pennisula park).  They just don’t know where the money is coming from yet… http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08325/929364-53.stm

The Majestic Star Casino will officially be called the Rivers Casino after Don Barden lost the license and Neil Bluhm took over.  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08325/929355-53.stm

Surprise, Surprise, Don Barden doesn’t have the money to finish the casino as planned, so he’s sold off 75% ownership to some dude in Chicago.  That means that the Majestic Star will most likely be called something else.  There’s all kind of hooting and hollering going on, some saying that it’s a bait and switch, others saying that the casino license should go up to another vote, and I’m not in either of those mindsets.  Neil Bluhm and the investors from Chicago have promised to deliver what was originally promised, and by June 2009, so let’s go for it.  I’m not a fan of beaurocratic red tape and legal delays and blah blah blah.  Let’s just find someone that can get the job done right instead of letting costs increase and have steel structure blotter on the river front.

read more at the post gazette: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08197/897080-53.stm

What the heck is up with Don Barden?  This guy is probably the worst business man I’ve ever read stories about.  He didn’t want to play ball with the penguins when he first got the license, then he didn’t want to play ball with the steelers and pirates, then he didnt want to play ball with the science center, then he didn’t want to play ball with the city on the parking garage design, then he wants to take his $3 million ball and go away from the hill district, and now he’s saying that everyone is picking on him.  For someone who will ultimately be wanted to attract customers, he’s not being very customer focused.

Even though it’s true that the financial failures of his other casinos and larger companies should have no affect on the Pittsburgh venture, I think a few flags should be raised on what’s to come.  Barden seems like a guy who sees the growing potential of pittsburgh as something to take advantage of, not something to be a part of an encourage.  He doesn’t care about what’s in his way, just get it out of his way.  He’s not making any friends, and that’s not going to get him any slack or favor in the long run.

If you ask me, when you start saying that there’s a conspiracy and everyone is out to get you, you’re about to crack.  You’ve lost your marbles and you need to snap back to reality before reality snaps you.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08115/876258-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml

I walked over to the North Side yesterday to play basketball at the Allegheny Center Alliance Church and I walked through the Allegheny Center mall…That place is like walking through the set of 28 days later.  There’s no one there.  Stores are empty.  THIS IS A MALL.  I felt like I was walking through some sort of quarantined area, and it’s 4 o’clock in the afternoon!  The whole area is just dead and creepy.  It’s totally wild to see such a big area completely abandoned.  Even the old Carnegie Free Library has a sign on it that says "Closed indefinitely."  That’s nuts!  What happened here???  It’s almost like this area has a dark secret in it’s past and no one is talking about it.

Maybe all the development on the North Shore will revive that place.  The Steelers are in talks with a west coast developer to bring in some sort of venue/entertainment complex next to Heinz Field.  You’ve got Don Barden’s casino going in.  Another hotel going in by PNC Park.  The North Shore connection with the T to be finished in 2011.  If I were to make a prediction, I’d say that once the river front of the North Side is developed in the next 5 years, the West End/Station square side is going to BOOM.  When I say BOOM, I mean it.  The attraction of that side of the river(s) is that there’s nothing there right now.  Developers will be able to plan huge buildings, not worry about closing roads and such, and have a clean canvas to work with.  I haven’t heard anything about that Pittsburgh maglev project for a while either…