PROJECTS—URBAN

Pittsburgh--

The Three Rivers City Sees an Urban Renaissance

By Judi Biederman

 

 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a city that knows how to capitalize on its history. Due to its unique position at the confluence of the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, Pittsburgh has long been known as a riverfront town and an industrial center within the “Golden Triangle” formed by the rivers. As it faces the 21st century, much of its industry is a thing of the past, but along the rivers, old industrial sites are being redeveloped into exciting new mixed-use facilities. The city’s traditional downtown is set to experience an urban renaissance with plans underway for a major retail entertainment destination. And two new sports stadiums and an expanded convention center are in the works. New development is transforming the historic riverfront town into a modern, vibrant riverfront city. The triangular entity that is Pittsburgh is getting a little bigger and a lot more golden, but it is still very much defined by its three rivers.

 

The middle of the triangle, Pittsburgh’s traditional downtown, is about to reap the benefits of a multi-year planning effort by city government, which has focused on fighting inner city blight through urban renewal and stimulating and managing growth. 

A new Lazarus (Federated) department store opened recently and will anchor a planned $450-$475-million retail and entertainment development that has been dubbed, due to its location, The Marketplace at Fifth and Forbes. Current plans call for 600,000 square feet of new specialty retail  in an area comprising three square city blocks. The project, which is just ending the preliminary study stage, has a hoped-for opening of 2002-2003. Urban Retail Properties Co. (312-915-3493) has been conducting the study for the City of Pittsburgh and is expected to develop, manage and lease the project upon completion. Urban’s study has focused on feasibility and leasing opportunities. Company literature states, “Our leasing staff is working with several national and local retail and other entertainment-related tenants for this potential downtown redevelopment.” Financing will come from a variety of sources, including the developer and local and state funds.

 

In addition to the new Lazarus, department store shopping will get several other boosts in Pittsburgh. The May Co. has decided to open a Lord & Taylor location. The company has acquired a building and is underway with a rehab. Saks plans to expand its Pittsburgh location, and the city is in negotiations with Nordstrom to lure it to the downtown area.

Just across the Monongahela River, a $150-million expansion of Station Square, already one of Pittsburgh’s premier tourist and shopping/entertainment destinations, is planned by Forest City Enterprises (216-621-6060) of Cleveland, Ohio. The 52-acre complex, located on Pittsburgh’s so-called “southern shore,” is on the site of the former headquarters of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad.

 

Although plans still have to be approved by the City of Pittsburgh and financing has yet to be arranged, the project is expected to be anchored by 90,000 square feet of new retail, restaurants and family entertainment in Bessemer Court, a public plaza overlooking downtown Pittsburgh. The plaza is planned to include trees, cafe-style seating and park benches, and a 130-foot-wide dancing fountain. Named for the historic Bessemer Converter of Pittsburgh’s steel industry heritage, Bessemer Court will feature the converter and eventual plans call for a steel industry museum on the site.

 

A series of bridges will create the Station Square-Mt. Washington Scenic Trail, connecting Station Square with the historic Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines and a new trail along the river. In the Freight House Shops will be the new Incline Shoppe, serving as a visitor’s center and souvenir store as well as the front door to the trail. From the Incline Shoppe, visitors will be able to cross a new covered pedestrian bridge over West Carson Street to board the Monongahela Incline transport up the steep slopes of Mt. Washington. From the top of Mt. Washington, the trail extends west through scenic overlooks and a shopping district to the Duquesne Incline. At the bottom of that transport, visitors may cross over Carson Street again on a bridge scheduled for refurbishment and continue down a planned new enclosed stair tower to the new river trail, which follows the river east alongside Station Square property and lets out onto the Bessemer Court Plaza. The Station Square River Trail also continues eastward; it is actually the beginning of the national Heritage Trail, which continues to Washington, D.C.

 

Finally, as transportation was the genesis of the the original use of the land on which Station Square sits, it is also a part of planned improvements to the site. With 3,500 existing parking spaces, Station Square is already one of Pittsburgh’s largest parking facilities. Plans call for an additional 700 surface parking spaces and 400 more in a two-level expansion of the exisiting parking garage. Because of Station Square’s easy access to Pittsburgh’s central business district over the existing Smithfield Street and Fort Pitt bridges, the expanded parking facilities are expected to help alleviate downtown parking congestion. A proposed new bridge over the Monongahela River from Stanwix Street, which would connect with Station Square near the parking garage and surface parking between the hotel and ampitheater, may further link Station Square with the central business district.

 

Just a few miles east down the Monongahela River is another new mixed-use project called The Waterfront, being developed by Continental Real Estate Companies (614-221-1800) in conjunction with Nationwide Realty Investors (614-249-5197), both of Columbus, Ohio. Although not technically part of Pittsburgh’s downtown area, as it is located about six miles away in the municipalities of Homestead, West Homestead and Munhall, the $300-million development is the largest waterfront project in the Pittsburgh region and will include a mix of retail, restaurants, entertainment, offices and apartments. The developers anticipate receiving approximately $36 million in tax increment financing and grants from county and state sources.

 

Situated on 260 acres of river shoreline, The Waterfront is being developed on the old U.S. Steel Homestead Works and will feature the 12 smokestacks that stand as monuments to the former steel mill. The project runs 2.5 miles, end to end, and will contain 1,200,000 square feet of retail, up to 400,000 square feet of office space, and up to 500 housing units. As well, many historic aspects of the steel yard will be retained as points of interest along a trail through a riverside park, including the building occupied by Pinkerton guards during the 1892 steel workers’ strike and a “dinky,” a small rail car that was used to move materials throughout the mill.

 

A Loew’s Theater 22-screen megaplex, which just broke ground, will anchor one end of the specialty/retail complex, while Dave & Buster’s will anchor the other side. Restaurants will also include the Cap City Diner, and the Atlantic Fish Company, among others yet to be announced. A power center will occupy the eastern end of the project. Commitments have been received from Barnes & Noble, Lowe’s,Giant Eagle, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Office Max,  and Old Navy. Openings are scheduled to begin in February-March 2000 and continue for approximately a year.

 

Due to public/private partnerships, Pittsburgh is getting two new stadiums for its football and baseball teams and a major expansion of its convention center. The three projects, at a cost of more than $1 billion, will be located on the city’s north shore along the Allegheny River. Public financing is being administered by the Public Auditorium Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County (412-393-0208), backed by Pittsburgh’s Regional Destination Financing Plan, which is funded by local sales and hotel taxes. The stadiums and convention center are being built “within shouting distance” of each other and are expected to be surrounded with restaurants and small-scale retail.

 

PNC Park, the $250-million stadium for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, is scheduled to open on the team’s 2001 opening day. It is being developed by the team along with a joint venture between Dick Corporation of Pittsburgh (412-288-9960) and Barton Mallow (734-416-2950) of Detroit and Baltimore. Steeler Stadium, also costing $250 million, is scheduled to  open in August 2001. It is being developed by by the team in conjunction with Mascaro Construction (412-321-4901) of Pittsburgh and Huber, Hunt, Nichols out of Indianapolis. The auditorium authority is developing the $315-million, 1-million-square-foot expansion of the Pittsburgh Convention Center designed by Rafael Vinoly of New York (212-924-5060). No contractor has been chosen yet for the convention center expansion.