The foundation is investing $3.5 million to renovate three vacant buildings on Graeme Street into Market at Fifth, a complex of seven upper-floor apartments, a ground-floor restaurant and a rooftop garden. The partnership's plan would close Graeme, the apartments' entrance, and nearby McMasters Way.
"We do not see how people are going to want to rent apartments on a dead-end street. People do not frequent dead-end streets," said attorney Anne E. Nelson, who voiced the concerns at a meeting of the city Historic Review Commission. "Historically, Market Square has always had full traffic access. Removing traffic from the street has worked almost nowhere (in commercial districts) in the United States."
The commission approved Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership's preliminary plans for Market Square, but members urged the partnership, a nonprofit that represents Downtown business owners, to find a compromise with the foundation.
"We're going to do what's best for the square," said Dina Klavon, the designer the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership has hired to guide Market Square's makeover.
Klavon said she's open to changes and plans to meet with Pittsburgh History & Landmarks officials.
"We're trying to give Market Square back to the pedestrian," said Mike Edwards, president of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. "Right now it's a thoroughfare. We want it to be a destination."
Edwards said renovating Market Square will cost $4.8 million to $5 million. Construction could start in the spring.
The most striking feature about Klavon's design is that it would make Market Square a one-level European piazza.
The road would be flush with the sidewalks and outdoor cafes, which would be differentiated by using various types of pavement and cobblestone. Traffic and parking would be permitted on the perimeter of the square. No traffic would be allowed in the middle where Market Street and Forbes Avenue meet.
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