Bouquet Gardens

Bouquet Gardens is a major student residential complex of the University of Pittsburgh consisting of eight, 4-story garden-style gabled-roofed apartment buildings (Buildings A through H) clustered around progression of courtyards connected by an interior pathway. Each building contains sixteen 4-bedroom apartments. [http://www.r3a.com/#project/27] Designed by Renaissance 3 Architects, P.C. [http://www.tedco.com/house_5.html] , the complex houses 496 upper-level undergraduate students in 124 units located on the lower campus close to Posvar Hall, the Barco Law Building, and adjacent to Sennott Square. [http://www.umc.pitt.edu/tour/tour-042.html]

History

The Bouquet Gardens complex sits on a property bounded by Oakland Avenue, South Bouquet and Sennott Streets whic was acquired by the Pennsylvania General State Authority in 1967 by invoking eminent domain for the reasons of expediting Pitt's expansion following the university joining the Commonwealth System of Higher Education as a "state-related" institution in 1966. Additionally, the state declared that only academic buildings could be developed on the lot. For years, use and development of the land was disputed by the city and Oakland community, and as funding for the development lagged, some existing structures on the property were rented by the university to community groups. [cite web | url = http://www.pitt.edu/~copc/pittsburgh%20case%20--%20University%20as%20Developer.pdf | title = The University of Pittsburgh and the Oakland Neighborhood: From Conflict to Cooperation, or How the 800 Pound Gorilla Learned to Sit with -- and not on -- its Neighbors | work = Sabina Deitrick and Tracy Soska | year = 2003 | accessdate = 2008-02-21 ] [cite book | author=Perry, David C. and Wiewel Wim (eds) | title=The University as Urban Developer: Case Studies and Analysis| location=Cambridge, MA | publisher=Lincoln Institute of Land Policy | year=2005 | id=ISBN 0-7656-1641-6] Following a renewed pledge of state funding by Governor Tom Ridge in the mid 1990s, university plans to for student housing and the south edge of campus were renewed. [http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-DB=ustory&-Format=d.html&-lay=a&storyid=4558&-Find]

Intended to architecturally blend the new south edge of campus into South Oakland, the original facades of the buildings were redesigned following community input in order better reflect the electric mix of brick and Victorian townhouses and low-rise apartment blocks of the mostly residential South Oakland neighborhood. [http://www.r3a.com/#project/27] [http://www.pitt.edu/~copc/pittsburgh%20case%20--%20University%20as%20Developer.pdf] The university also provided assistance in relocating community groups who had rented space on the property from the university as construction plans moved forward. [http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=bouquet%20gardens&-max=50&-recid=38310&-find=] Ground was broken on the first phase of the complex, which included 3 buildings, on December 1st, 1998 and was completed and opened in the fall of 1999 for $5.3 million. [http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=bouquet%20gardens&-max=50&-recid=37910&-find=] [http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=bouquet%20gardens&-max=50&-recid=38200&-find=] The first phase of the construction represented the first new on-campus structures built in 7 years. The second phase added five buildings at a cost of $9.2 million and opened in the fall of 2000.

Amenities

Each unit is air-conditioned, furnished, and includes four single bedrooms, a kitchen with refrigerator, stove and microwave, a living room and dining area, two bathrooms, and cable and internet connections. [http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/halls/bouquet.html]

External links

* [http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/halls/bouquet.html Bouquet Gardens Overview]
* [http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/halls/bouquetqtvr.html Bouquet Gardens Virtual Tour]
* [http://www.umc.pitt.edu/tour/tour-042.html Bouquet Gardens in Pitt Virtual Tour]

References

* [http://www.pc.pitt.edu/housing/halls/bouquet.html Bouquet Gardens Overview, University of Pittsburgh, www.pitt.edu]