Tribune-Review: Market Fresh

 

Lou Grippo used to look out of his office window in Market Square and see panhandlers, drug dealers and an occasional fight.

Six months ago, the Allegheny County District Attorney''s Office and Pittsburgh Police began cracking down on illegal activity and businesses they labeled as nuisances. In that time, police have arrested 38 people in Market Square -- not including arrests by special units like homicide and narcotics. The number of arrests has declined each month.

 

"I see Officer Mark almost every day," said Jason Ward, manager of 1902 Landmark Tavern, referring to Officer Mark Davis. Davis has walked the Market Square beat almost every day for the past three years. "He keeps the undesirables away," Ward said.

Stepped-up police presence has been a major reason for Market Square''s turnaround, Ward said.

And businesses are looking to capitalize.

Eight new shops have moved in -- or will in the coming months -- further rejuvenating the 224-year-old public square.

City leaders for years have discussed efforts to clean up Market Square, but revitalization has been a steady, ongoing process, said Sean Luther, economic development specialist with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

That revitalization is what convinced Amy Epstein of the South Hills to open a jewelry store in December.

"I thought it was the right time to get in," she said. "There are some really big plans for the area, and I thought I''d better get in now."

North Side-based based Heartland Coffee Co., the Dunkin'' Donuts franchisee for Pittsburgh and the surrounding counties, will open a donut shop in Market Square by the end of June, said Robyn Frederick, the Heartland''s vice president of human resources and marketing.

"We realized the great opportunity Market Square provides, and were very attracted by the renovations planned for the area," she said.

The City Planning department and the Downtown partnership are in the final stages of designs for a formal renovation to the open space in the middle of the square, Luther said. The groups are scheduled to release designs in the next few weeks.

The square would remain open to pedestrians during construction but might be inaccessible for vehicles, Luther said. The renovated space could reopen as early as spring 2009, he said.

"Rejuvenating Market Square is important to the vitality of Downtown because it is the epicenter of all of the major improvement projects currently under way," said Hollie Plevyak, spokeswoman for the Downtown partnership.

Crews already have pruned trees, hung flower baskets and added outdoor tables and chairs.

"From the North Shore Connector project to the Fifth and Forbes area and Three PNC Plaza, it is the core of Downtown," Plevyak said.

Business was slow at The Original Oyster House the past two months because of inclement weather, Grippo said, but it''s gotten better since workers began construction on a YMCA next door.

"Now," he said, "I''m back to selling a lot of fish."

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The new businesses