Developer appeals ruling preserving former Froggy's building in Pittsburgh

A developer’s desire to raze a group of decaying brick buildings, nearly 125 years old, in Downtown Pittsburgh’s Firstside historic district will be heard by a state court. The heart of the site is the former Froggy’s, a popular watering hole from the late 1970s until it closed in 2004.

The Pittsburgh-based developer and owner of the buildings, The Troiani Group, wants to make way for a gleaming new office and residential tower.

Last month, Allegheny County Judge Joseph James ruled in favor of the Pittsburgh Planning Commission and Appeals Board, which that decided the buildings — on Market Street between Boulevard of the Allies and First Avenue — shouldn’t be demolished. The developers have appealed to Commonwealth Court.

The Troiani Group contends it has spent more than three decades acquiring the properties with hope to construct an office tower on the site, and that the buildings are decaying and need to be torn down. In 2019, the company demolished its nearby Boulevard of the Allies building, once occupied by the Troianis’ PapaJ’s Centro restaurant and Tramps before that.

“My passion is to create dwelling units that create quality of life,” said Michael Troiani, president of the family-owned company. “We have been at it for 30 years, we are only going to do the best possible development.”

The brick buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places when the Firstside district was expanded in 2013.

That designation happened more than two decades after the Troianis started buying the buildings, parcel-by-parcel, with hopes to develop the site. They acquired all of the property by 2015, but have been hampered by city approval of their plans in the years since.

They also were never notified the Firstside historic district was expanded to include the area.

Troiani said the company has been subjected to heightened levels of scrutiny and enforcement of city standards for development.

Judge James ruled the city’s boards acted appropriately and within the scope of their jurisdiction.

The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation has opposed tearing down the buildings and has offered up plans to Troiani about how the existed buildings could be incorporated into a new development.

“We felt these were very important buildings to be saved,” Michael Sriprasert, the foundation’s president, said.

The group also tried to “work things out” with the Troianis by presenting alternative plans for how the site could be developed while preserving the buildings.

“We know the condition is salvageable,” Sriprasert said.

The group has preserved buildings in worse condition, said Arthur Ziegler, the foundation’s president emeritus.

“Buildings like this are built to last for generations,” Ziegler said.

The foundation has also lobbied for the preservation of the buildings because people enjoy frequenting businesses that are in historic buildings, and that has proven that to be the case nearby, Ziegler and Sriprasert said.

A Downtown attorney with offices nearby agrees.

“I grew up hearing about Firstside at the dinner table,” Frederick Goldsmith said.

His late father, Pittsburgh real estate broker and developer Kenneth Goldsmith, was a driving force behind Firstside as a distinct section of Downtown. His firm and other partners purchased and renovated many buildings on First Avenue and Fort Pitt Boulevard.

“It’s a gem of an area,” Goldsmith said. “It’s not intellectually honest to buy buildings in a historic district and do very little to maintain them — and then claim they’re falling down and we need to finish them off so we can erect these steel and glass towers.”

He understands the Troianis are in the business of development, but said it should be done in a way that respects the legacy of the area.

“I respect the Troianis for wanting to improve their real estate, but it’s not embracing the historical area,” he said. “This structure they want to put up has nothing to do with Firstside.”

Once historic buildings are torn down, there’s no way to replace them, he said.

“It’s saddening,” Goldsmith said.