A study by real estate listing and data-provider “CommercialCafe” suggests there’s nearly 5.2 million square feet of downtown Pittsburgh office space that easily could be shifted to residential units.
In fact, it ranks Pittsburgh “sixth among 30 cities with the most potential for easily adaptable office-to-residential conversion projects,” reports the Post-Gazette on the Dec. 10-released analysis.
Apparently missing in all this, at least in media accounts and what can be gleaned from the study, is how much such conversions would cost and who would be expected to pay for it.
But we already know that the Government-Developer Complex wants taxpayers to directly and/or indirectly help defray the costs — costs and risks that solely should be the responsibility of private developers pursuing profits.
Most laughable, however, was the quip by one local real estate firm official that completed conversions “will help bring a natural evolution balancing supply and demand to downtown Pittsburgh’s office commercial real estate market and help position the city for sustainable growth.”
Sorry, but there’s nothing “natural” or “sustainable” about attempting to command the office/residential marketplace by tapping taxpayers under the guise of somehow making such inefficacious conversions “affordable.”
As we’ve often noted, that line of “thinking” redefines intellectual vapidity. Put another way, it’s daft.
Goodness gracious, taxpayers didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. They know a hustle when they see one.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey says his administration will not work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal aliens.
It was a remark met with the enthusiastic clapping of one person.
“We will do whatever is necessary to make our city more welcoming,” Gainey said Monday, with great discombobulation and hubris, speaking to the Pennsylvania Press Club in Harrisburg.
What, more “welcoming” to the criminals now the target of ICE’s first-phase efforts?
Mr. Mayor, we take it you’ll be cutting a personal check to the city treasury to cover the cost to taxpayers of your hands-off public policy regarding criminal illegal aliens, right?
Mr. Mayor, you’ll take personal financial responsibility when any victims of these criminal illegal aliens do what they do worst – commit crimes – and their victims file a lawsuit against you and your administration, right?
Sadly, tragically, Mayor Gainey can’t see his mocking of the rule of law for his nonsensical pandering and posturing.
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
