NEWS
Mellon Park Action Plan Community Meeting
Join the Point Breeze Organization and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy for a presentation session about the proposed plan for Mellon Park!
The preferred plan was developed based on extensive community feedback received through multiple public presentations, stakeholder meetings, and online survey responses. The session will include a presentation of the preferred plan and an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback.
March 24 @ 6:00 p.m. Visit bit.ly/mellonpark to register.
If you can’t make the March 24th meeting, there are two other community meetings hosted by the PPC:
Mellon Park Action Plan Community Meetings
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy will be working with the City of Pittsburgh, park users, neighbors, and Friends of Mellon Park to create a unified vision for the future, and they want your input!
These meetings are listening sessions geared toward getting initial thoughts and feedback about Mellon Park, with more to come throughout the year. In the meantime, keep an eye out for more project information, including an upcoming survey, by following the project on the City's engagement page at https://engage.pittsburghpa.gov/mellon-park-action-plan.
Please join us at one of the community meetings by registering below. Each meeting will present the same information, but takes place at a different day and time to reach as many people as possible.
Tuesday May 11, 12pm- 1:30pm:
http://support.pittsburghparks.org/site/Calendar?id=100502&view=Detail
Wednesday May 12, 6pm - 7:30pm:
http://support.pittsburghparks.org/site/Calendar?id=100503&view=Detail
You must register with the Parks Conservancy in order to receive the ZOOM link to attend.
City of Pittsburgh Historic Designation for Mellon Park
A recent article in TRIB LIVE reported on the anticipated designation by the City of Pittsburgh of Mellon Park as an historic site.
“People were surprised it had no protections whatsoever,” said Elizabeth Seamans, president of Friends of Mellon Park. Her organization helped work through the process of attaining the designation….“The whole park is a work of art,” Seamans said. “It’s a treasure for the whole city and people from far and wide enjoy it.”
You can read the article and view the accompanying video by CLICKING HERE.
Friends of Mellon Park is especially grateful to Matthew Falcone of Preservation Pittsburgh for his hard work and dedication in making this happen.
To see the full 100+ page nomination application please visit the Preservation Pittsburgh website HERE.
New Year Greetings
The Board of the Friends of Mellon Park wishes each of you and your loved ones health and happiness in this Holiday Season and in 2021.
Our work over the past year has born wonderful fruit.
For thousands of Pittsburghers, Mellon Park has been a neighborhood back yard welcoming one and all -- an athletic facility, a community center, and a refuge in the time of COVID-19.
A lot has been going on: Mellon Park has never been more fully and imaginatively used than during the pandemic months. From socially distanced family reunions, children’s birthday parties, study groups, and religious services to serving as a natural respite for the solo reader or saxophone player, it has sustained our community during very hard times.
The City Historic Landmark Protections nomination for Mellon Park has cleared important hurdles – enthusiastically approved by both the Historic Review Commission and the Planning Commission. Final vote from City Council will come in late January or early February. Likewise, the National Registry of Historic Places nomination is progressing steadily.
Preservation Pittsburgh and its president, Matthew Falcone, have done exemplary work on both nominations. We are all in their debt.
It is our understanding that Phipps Conservatory’s negotiations with the City are still on hold. We have no news about their intentions in Mellon Park going forward. Along with community groups, University partners, and experienced attorneys, we’ve helped draft detailed requests for any future lease between Phipps and the City of Pittsburgh, and have shared them with Erika Strassburger, our City Council representative. The lease document was created by the Friends of Mellon Park, the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, the Point Breeze Organization, several CMU faculty members and local attorneys well-versed in the subject matter.
The fountain in the Walled Garden will receive a complete overhaul of its mechanical and hydraulic systems beginning this spring as a result of a major grant from a local foundation. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is overseeing this project. The future of that fountain has never been brighter.
The Walled Garden was formally inducted into the Smithsonian Archive of American Gardens, thanks to the Garden Club of Allegheny County, architect Sarah Drake and horticulturist, Lindsay B. Totten.
BNY Mellon Bank, to celebrate their 150th Anniversary, will plant 150 trees in Pittsburgh’s Parks, including 40 trees in Mellon Park. The Friends of Mellon Park consulted with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy throughout this process, including discussions on tree placement that takes the sledding hills into consideration!
The Arboretum Committee of the Friends of Mellon Park is working with the Department of Public Works and Tree Pittsburgh to designate Mellon Park an official Arboretum to better serve the public with educational programming, as well as to ensure the protection of the trees.
The Equity Committee of the Friends of Mellon Park meets once a month to focus on our core values of equity and inclusion related to Mellon Park.
We look forward to all that the coming year in Mellon Park will bring.
With luck, it will include collaborations with both the Marshall Building and the Garden Center to make Mellon Park better and more welcoming to all of Pittsburgh’s park lovers.
Please let us know if you have ideas for Mellon park – all the better if you can be involved in implementing them.
With gratitude and delight, on behalf of the Friends of Mellon Park, we wish you peace and happiness in 2021.
Elizabeth Seamans, President
Basil Cox, Co-Vice President
Larry Gerson, Co-Vice President
Cindy Berger, Secretary
Regina Kakadelis, Treasurer
Cathy Cohen Droz
Rhodora Noethling
Mary Rawson
Rachel Walton
Abby Wilson
December 10 Public Meeting
On Tuesday, December 10, Richard Piacentini, President and CEO of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and Ken Doyno, President of Rothschild Doyno Collaborative shared Phipps’ newest sketches for a renovated Garden Center at a meeting hosted by the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition (SHUC).
Summary
Representatives of SHUC, the Point Breeze Organization (PBO), and Friends of Mellon Park (FOMP) were in attendance, as were representatives of the City of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and approximately 70 neighbors and community members.
Phipps’ proposed plans show a building that extends very little into the park. The plans show no additional height, with the exception of a second-floor walkway linking the second stories of the Carriage House and the Scaife Garage.
Drawings presented at the meeting are preliminary.
Details about excavation elsewhere in the park to support green building infrastructure were not available.
Many attendees voiced concerns about Phipps’ renovation of the Garden Center, including questions and comments about the extent of underground excavation and infrastructure necessitated by the “Living Building Challenge (LBC),” appropriate design in an historic setting, protection of mature trees, and protection for of the Walled Garden.
Mr. Piacentini assured attendees that Phipps will continue to meet with the community on each step of the process until a consensus is reached. He responded to questions at length, reiterating his commitment to the LBC and showing slides to demonstrate Phipps’ prior experience moving mature trees.
At future meetings, Phipps will present building designs, plans to protect valuable mature trees and the historic landscape, excavation and construction plans, and details of proposed green infrastructure to meet the LBC.
Councilperson Erika Strassburger said that the City of Pittsburgh has put lease negotiations on hold until the public process is complete.
In a show of hands requested by SHUC president Mardi Isler at the end of the discussion, attendees signaled their approval for Phipps to proceed to the next step of making detailed drawings. The non-binding vote did not approve any specific building plans; rather, it indicated approval for the building footprint and height as shown, and a wish to see more detailed plans. These plans will be presented at future public meetings for community response and approval.
Details
1. Revised Footprint:
Phipps’ new plans show a revised footprint with very little expansion into the park, and no additional height except for a walkway connecting the second stories of the Carriage House and the Scaife Garage.
2. Light Pollution:
Mr. Piacentini pledged that the new building would not introduce light pollution into the park, nor shed light on the Walled Garden or its light sculpture.
3. Landscape Architect:
Mr. Piacentini said that Phipps is negotiating with Rhodeside & Harwell, landscape architects, and hopes to have an agreement with them shortly.
4. Mature Trees:
Mr. Piacentini stated that he was committed to the protection of valuable and mature trees in Mellon Park and would, at a future meeting, present Phipps’ plans for protecting these trees.
5. Living Building Challenge:
Mr. Piacentini stated his determination to make the building renovation comply with LBC protocols. These are the most demanding green building standards in the world, with only 23 buildings currently certified as having met the LBC. He also said that changes in LBC standards and procedures may be more protective of the park, its historic landscape, and its mature trees than previous ones.
6. Community Comments and Concerns:
There was general agreement that the Phipps Garden Center building is in serious need of renovation, but several people emphasized that the park and its green space are more important than any new building. They asked Phipps to give precedence to open green space over new construction. Others hoped for a “modest and beautiful building that fits into the historic structures and landscape at the site.” Several voiced concern for important park assets, including the Walled Garden, its light sculpture, and the valuable mature trees in the park. They questioned whether it was possible to protect the park and still achieve LBC certification.
7. Process of Design Approval
Architect Ken Doyno, Councilperson Erika Strassburger, and SHUC President, Martha Isler, described the City of Pittsburgh process for approval of a new building in Mellon Park.
At this time, the Arts Commission is the only body required to hold a public hearing about any new construction at Phipps Garden Center. Buildings in city parks do not go before the Zoning Commission or Planning Commission.
8. A Vote:
In response to a request from Martha Isler for a show of hands, a majority of attendees signaled their approval for Phipps to proceed with creating full designs based on the renderings shared at the meeting. No binding design decisions or approvals were offered by either Phipps or meeting attendees, but the consensus was that the design was moving in the right direction. Mr. Piacentini promised to bring full designs to a future public meeting for community response and approval.
9. Challenge of The Living Building Challenge:
“We have not agreed to excavation or infrastructure beyond the footprint of the building as presented tonight. We have not agreed that Mellon Park is an appropriate site for an LBC project,” one attendee stated. “But we feel that the basic footprint of the building is going in the right direction. We are very happy about that.”
“These living buildings are very difficult to build. That’s why it’s called the Living Building Challenge, and we will try to succeed in meeting the challenge,” Mr. Piacentini replied. “At our next meeting, in addition to more detailed architectural plans for the proposed Garden Center, we will present infrastructure plans for zero net water and zero net energy, and this community will have ample opportunity to respond. The approval of this community is important. We will not move forward with this plan until we can agree about it.”
What Happens Next
Phipps will continue to participate in community forums to share design proposals. No date has been set for the next community meeting.
Phipps has indicated that the design process will take approximately one year, and the construction process will take approximately 18 months after design approval.
Phipps will continue to meet with a small working group of City, SHUC, FOMP, and PBO representatives to discuss plans for the Garden Center.
Phipps will continue to work with the Living Future Institute, home to the LBC, to explore options for receiving certification in an historic landscape. Mr. Piacentini sits on the board of the Living Future Institute.
Phipps’ final design plan will be presented to the City Art Commission. There is no requirement for a design review before the Zoning Board, the Planning Commission, or the Historic Review Commission.
The city’s Department of Public Works (DPW) must also approve the final design plan for the Garden Center renovation. DPW approval is not subject to any formal publication or notice requirements.
Mellon Park is not currently designated as an historic site by the City of Pittsburgh, the State of Pennsylvania, or the federal government, but that status would convey varying requirements for community consultation, input, and review.
City Council will be asked to approve a new lease with Mellon Park when a new design has been finalized by the City Solicitor and the DPW. Lease negotiations between Phipps and the City of Pittsburgh are private, but Councilperson Strassburger will notify stakeholders when they resume.
What you Can Do
Communicate (in writing) with your city council member about your interest in this issue and your desire to make sure the process unfolds transparently, with primary concern for protection of the historic park and the public’s access to it.
Please check this website and sign up for updates from FOMP for timely announcements about park developments.
Thanksgiving News
Public Meeting
December 10 at 6:30 pm at the Phipps Garden Center in Mellon Park
Phipps will share its latest plans for the Garden Center.
The meeting is hosted by the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition.
Attend if you can.
The Agenda
Welcome and Introductions - Mardi Isler, President, SHUC
Slide Presentation Describing Proposed Renovations - Richard Piacentini, President and CEO, Phipps
Description of Garden Center Renovation Team - Ken Doyno, Senior Principal, President, Rothschild Doyno Collaborative
Q & A - Audience Participation
Thank you and Next Steps - Lori Fitzgerald, Chair, SHUC Built Committee
New Drawings
Phipps recently met with representatives of The Friends of Mellon Park, The Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, and the Point Breeze Organization. They shared new drawings that show progress in the proposed Garden Center designs.
We look forward to learning more about Green Building options and about possible excavation throughout the park and its impact on mature trees.
Inventory of Trees in Mellon Park
Friends of Mellon Park (FOMP) is working with TREE PITTSBURGH and the City of Pittsburgh to create an inventory of trees in Mellon Park as well as a pruning and treatment plan for them.
Educational Meeting
To those who attended our Educational Meeting on October 29, many thanks! More than 80 of you showed up to hear about landscape architecture, green buildings, historic preservation and mature trees – the better to respond to future plans at the Garden Center.
Educational Meeting Summary
For those of you who were unable to attend the Educational Meeting, notes and takeaways from the Meeting are attached below. Here’s a brief summary:
Cindy Berger, representing the Friends of Mellon Park, described the legal process by which Phipps may be allowed to lease park land from the City of Pittsburgh.
Fred Bonci, landscape architect and principal at LaQuatra Bonci, spoke about the importance of landscape architecture and design in the historic landscape architecture of Mellon Park and referred to the restoration of the Walled Garden there as a model for future renovation in the park.
Matt Plecity, Carnegie Mellon University adjunct professor of architecture, spoke about the many ways to make buildings “green”, about the several levels of LEED certification, and about the stringent requirements of the Living Building Challenge.
Matthew Falcone, president of Preservation Pittsburgh, addressed city and federal historic designations that may provide protections for Mellon Park.
Lindsay Totten, horticulturist and a founder of the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, spoke about mature trees and risks to their health, especially at construction sites.
Full Notes of the Meeting.
Tell others to visit us, join our email list, and learn more.
Thanks for all of your encouragement and for your commitment to the preservation of Mellon Park.
Friends of Mellon Park Educational Meeting
The Friends of Mellon Park hosted an educational meeting at The Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media on October 29th, focussing on issues related to the renovation and expansion of the Phipps Garden Center. Specific topics included the potential impact of green building infrastructure on a small historic public space filled with old trees.
Notes from the meeting
FRIENDS OF MELLON PARK EDUCATIONAL MEETING
October 29, 2019
7 pm - 8 30 pm
Pittsburgh Center for Arts + Media
Welcome from the Friends of Mellon Park: Elizabeth Seamans
Remarks as prepared and delivered by Elizabeth Seamans
Good Evening and welcome.
On behalf of the Friends of Mellon Park, I am delighted to welcome you to what promises to be a lively evening for us all to think and learn about many subjects that impact our park and our understanding of it.
Your presence here is a testimony to Mellon Park and its importance to all of us.
I am Elizabeth Seamans.
My husband, Joe and I have been deeply attached to Mellon Park since we moved to Pittsburgh almost 50 years ago, all the more so since we helped to restore the Walled Garden here in memory of our daughter, Annie.
Many, if not most, of you have your own stories of why Mellon Park is meaningful to you.
We have been delighted – though, frankly, not surprised -- at the breadth and depth of commitment to Mellon Park this community has demonstrated in recent months.
One expression of that commitment is Your enthusiasm for a “Friends of Mellon Park” organization. It is long over due. Mellon Park spans both sides of Fifth Avenue. And though it is in need of many kinds of maintenance and repair, it is indisputably the green and cultural heart of this community. We need this park. And it needs us.
On this side of Fifth Avenue, I should add, the Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media which has occupied this building in one form or another since 1945 is in the midst of challenging lease negotiations with the City that are, apparently, extremely delicate and extremely complicated. The future of the Marshall building in which we meet is uncertain. This is a subject far beyond the purview of this meeting but it is information that we believe you would want to know.
There is a lot in play here in Mellon Park.
The Friends of Mellon Park is just getting started. But our purpose is to support and advocate for all of Mellon Park on behalf of the community that cherishes it.
We are not the only ones who care about Mellon Park by any means. Not by along shot.
Serious shout outs are due to Mayor Peduto and his staff, Mike Gable and his team at the DPW, Erika Strassberger and her staff, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, the Point Breeze Organization, the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, the Shadyside Action Coalition. The Herb Society, the Garden Clubs who have reached out to us. Not to mention our four presenters tonight.
And I’m surely leaving lots of people out.
Also to The Point Breeze North Development Corporation and the Larimer Concensus Group with whom we are beginning relationships.
We salute Phipps Conservatory and Richard Piacentini for planning to make a major investment in this community and in Mellon Park. We are well aware that you are reaching across the community at this time.
The presentations tonight are part of that ongoing conversation.
Bear with us, please, as we grow. The Friends of Mellon Park is just getting off the ground.
But we already have the names and email addresses of almost 200 people who have either attended meetings, written letters to the City and /or asked to be included. We’d love to include your name as well.
Our wonderful steering committee includes Larry Gerson, representing the merchants in the Reynolds Street area, Rhodora Noethling and Cathy Droz representing residents who live near the Park, Regina Kakadelis and Swain Uber, both on the board of the Point Breeze Organization, Abby Wilson representing many of friends of our daughter Annie; Basil Cox and Rachel Walton from Squirrel Hill, and Cindy Berger, who raised her children in Mellon Park and who is a tremendous supporter of the Walled Garden.
As for the Phipps Garden Center: we believe that Phipps, listening to feedback of all kinds as it is, will offer this community a beautiful renovated building of appropriate scale and design, with a positive impact on the environment and the historic landscape and full protections of public use and green space. And that our community will embrace it. We understand that Phipps has just posted a new sketch for their building on their website and that the footprint shown is, once again, reduced.
And to follow events throughout the East End –including Mellon Park – by subscribing to PRINT – the best $25 you will spend this year.
I’m going to turn this meeting over to our moderator, Cindy Berger, who will introduce our speakers, but who first, as a lawyer, wants you to understand a little bit about the legal arrangements that govern private buildings and new construction on public park lands in our City.
It’s all about the details.
Introduction to the Educational Meeting: Cindy Berger
Remarks as prepared and delivered by Cindy Berger
Thanks for coming out tonight.
The goal of this meeting is to provide information from professionals so that all of us will be better informed about the complex subject of building in an historic public park. We are not here to criticize any of the Phipps Conservatory plans. I will note that Phipps posted a sketch on its website last week that shows that the footprint for the Garden Center has been reduced from the size that it was at the meeting at Mellon Park in August but it appears to be larger than the buildings that are there today.
It is just a sketch and it’s hard to evaluate but we look forward to seeing more detailed plans.
Green buildings involve lots of construction in park areas besides the footprint of the building and there is a great deal of historic landscape designed by the best landscape architects of the era and historic structures that need to be considered.
Many questions remain. There are three main questions – What is the appropriate type of Green building for Mellon Park? What is an appropriate size and height for the building? And, what are the appropriate uses for the building?
Informed answers to these questions need to provide for protection of the designed landscape, horticulture and structures in the Park.
First, some facts. The buildings in the Park are currently leased by Phipps and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Media from the City of Pittsburgh for $1.00 per year.
Neither Phipps nor the PCA maintain any part of the Park grounds. The City of Pittsburgh bears responsibility for Park maintenance though the Walled Garden receives additional support from the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, foundations and donor contributions. As the law stands, because the City of Pittsburgh owns Mellon Park, construction in the Park does not pass through Zoning or the Planning Commission.
The arrangement will be governed by a new lease to be entered into by the City and Phipps that must be approved by the Director of Public Works who is represented by a City Solicitor and will negotiate the lease. The only commission to make a ruling on new construction in the Park is the Arts Commission.
Therefore, public input and meetings are crucial and the better informed we are, the better we will be at participating in the public process.
Our four wonderful speakers will give brief presentations on subjects that are important right now in relation to Mellon Park: landscape architecture, architecture, historic preservation, and horticulture. Each of them will speak for 10 minutes or less.
We will ask the speakers to answer your questions after all the presentations are done. Our goal is to get as many questions answered as possible. We cannot answer questions that you may have for Phipps or the City of Pittsburgh… [named presenters] Please email any questions to friends of Mellon Park: friendsofmellonpark@gmail.com. The address is on your agenda.
In conclusion, at the end of the meeting:
Thanks for coming and good night.
Presentations
Fred Bonci: -- Landscape architect and principal at LaQuatra/Bonci Associates http://www.laquatrabonci.com/
Topics included: historic context for Mellon Park as landscape architecture and reflection on his work to restore the Park’s Walled Garden, including the extent to which he and others hoped it would spur appropriate development elsewhere in the park. He shared images of the original park design taken from a proposed 2000 master plan for the park, referring to Mellon Park as an interconnected “series of rooms,” a design framework that is relevant to any major development there. *(not a direct transcription)
Matt Plecity, Architect, Landscape Architect and Adjunct Faculty, CMU School of Architecture https://soa.cmu.edu/matthew-plecity
Topics included: an overview of various LEED standards including but not limited to the “Living Building Challenge” (including "zero net energy" and "zero net water”) designation and what they might mean in the context of Mellon Park given its size, topography, and history. He congratulated Phipps for building its Center for Sustainable Landscapes (on its main Oakland campus) as a Living Building. This designation is extremely rare because it’s an extremely rigorous standard that requires significant resources, planning, and physical infrastructure. He indicated concern for some large, old trees near proposed water retention tanks for the Garden Center project, however he also acknowledged that his presentation was prepared using renderings presented at the August 28th Phipps Garden Center community meeting. Current sketches are available here: https://www.phipps.conservatory.org/garden-center-renovation
He also reflected more generally on the potential impact of structures of various vertical and horizonal footprints on other areas of the park, both built structures and trees. *(not a direct transcription)
Matthew Falcone, President, Preservation Pittsburgh http://www.preservationpgh.org/boardofdirectors
Topics included a general overview of the processes to establish and various protections afforded by historic designation at local and national levels, as well as a summary of Preservation Pittsburgh’s work to designate parks (as opposed to buildings, for example)
as historically significant elements of Pittsburgh’s cultural landscape. He believes that Mellon Park would be a good candidate to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places as well as the City's historic register. *(not a direct transcription)
Lindsay Totten, Horticulturalist, landscape designer, and one of the founders of the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden https://tclf.org/stewards/lindsay-bond-totten
Topics included the many risks facing mature trees, including changing weather patterns associated with climate change, disease, pressure from surface impact above root systems, and the impact of contaminants often found near construction sites. She also reviewed the reach of their root systems, which is often underestimated and depends on the slope/grade of a site and other factors, such as proximity to walls, structures or pavement. For example, the traditional notion that they only need to be protected up to the "drip line" i.e. where the farthest leaf appears on the longest branch, is not necessarily adequate.
She indicated that protecting mature trees requires extra protections rather than just basic, minimum precautions. *(not a direct transcription)
Questions and Answers
Moderated by Cindy Berger, the panelists then received questions and comments from audience members on topics including the impetus for the Garden Center Renovation, the status of PCA and Phipps’ leases with the City of Pittsburgh, and potential uses for the proposed new facility. Moderator directed questions about the Phipps project to Phipps leadership, who was in attendance, where relevant. She clarified that organizers of the meeting became aware of new renderings for the proposed project which significantly reduced the footprint of the building, and urged everyone to attend Phipps’ next community meeting at the end of November, date and time TBD by Phipps.
Close
Attendees were asked to send any additional questions or comments to friendsofmellonpark@gmail.com.
Website for Phipps Conservatory Garden Center Renovations:
https://www.phipps.conservatory.org/garden-center-renovation