Blueprint To Transform Riverfront Release

A new mixed-use urban center for the Strip District between the Veterans and 16th Street Bridges in Pittsburgh, Pa. Is one of the features of a plan to transform the Allegheny riverfront corridor. Photo courtesy of Perkins Eastman Architects

Pittsburgh, Pa. Officials have released a 20-year blueprint for transforming the Allegheny riverfront corridor from a faded industrial relic to a boom town, with new housing, businesses, industry, transportation connections and a complete environmental makeover.

The 77-page ''Allegheny Riverfront Vision Plan'' describes the 2,000 acres stretching from the fringe of Downtown Pittsburgh to Highland Park as prime for development, with an abundance of vacant and underused property.
It also acknowledges that redeveloping the corridor will be a slow and difficult process.

The report, by a consulting team led by Perkins Eastman Architects, follows nearly two years of studies and meetings with property and business owners, residents, community leaders and nonprofit organizations.

''The opportunities are endless up and down the corridor,'' Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said.

The report draws powerful contrasts between an area it says ''was designed and built for another time'' and what it could be.

Ravenstahl said that in contrast to past redevelopment projects that were heavily guided and subsidized by the city, this one will require substantial private investment and some risk-taking.

''Obviously there's a significant public component to it. The reality is we also need the private sector to step up. Things from a financial standpoint have changed. The [Urban Redevelopment Authority] cannot do this alone,'' he said.

The redevelopment corridor stretches from 11th Street on the fringe of Downtown to Washington Boulevard on the edge of Highland Park.
The plan envisions five ''layers'' of development moving away from what is now a ''neglected'' riverfront, with the more intensive changes nearer the river, including residential development, walking and bicycle trails and trees.

Three major transportation improvements are suggested: a long-discussed commuter rail line stretching along the current Allegheny Valley Railroad right of way, connecting Greensburg and Arnold with Downtown Pittsburgh; a ''circulator'' trolley that would move people through the Strip and to Lawrenceville, with a later phase going into Oakland; and a ''green boulevard'' through the heart of the redevelopment that would accommodate multiple forms of transportation.

The plan places a heavy emphasis on environmental improvements, including restoration of the riverfront, tree planting, stormwater capture and green-certified buildings.

Ravenstahl said that emphasis was not only ''the right thing to do'' but would better position the city to compete for federal funding.

''We have beautiful rivers and we have to make sure we capitalize on their beauty,'' he said.