The Eastside Shoppes is a very avante garde design that seeks to help in the reintergration of…read moreSquirrel Hill North and East Liberty. Situated on the East Libery side of the railroad tracks, it is quite obvious that it is bringing people from Squirrel Hill with the Starbucks, Borders, and Wine & Spirits - Premium store -- among other higher end business. I truly do like the design of this concrete, glass, and metal with bright green accents. It boldly makes an architectural statement of going forward into new territory -- too bold? With so many structures that have brick as their main aesthetic, I wish that there would have been a tad more of a contextural nod to what is currently in East Liberty. On the converse, this degression from the "business as usual" design does make a very bold and profound statement. As I walked around, I admired the myriad details and nuance of the construction and design. The bowed green glass wall that faces the Whole Foods Market is one of the more recognizable idiosyncracies that will let you know that you are at Eastside. The multi-tiered parking has also been thought out quite well as all levels have been charged with business and activity. I truly despise how parking is never integrated with the building in a meaningful way; here you start to see what can happen when little thought is put into the situation. My only concern about Eastside is its ability to truly weave the two neighborhoods together. You have one of the poorer and one of the richer neighborhoods trying to integrate; what do you think will happen? While this development is still in its birthing stages, we need to make certain that we don't just create another section of Squirrel Hill. We need to make certain that we are taking the current residents into account and how they can interact as more than just bag boys and flower girls. We also need to think about the cultural and institutional obligations that must be met for the current residents. That is how you will truly bring East Liberty up. If I knew that these obligations were on the board, I could easily give this pioneering development a 5-star. If I knew that these obligations were never going to be heard, my rating would go down greatly.