Pittsburgh Cultural Trust A view of the Cultural District Riverfront Development from the Ninth Street Bridge overlooking the Allegheny River. A multi-use floating stage is one of several proposed performing arts elements of this project.

By Timothy McNulty,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust unveiled plans for a $460 million riverfront housing development yesterday that would be the biggest in Downtown history and "without equal in the United States today," said Thomas L. VanKirk, chairman of the Trust's design committee.

	Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Post-Gazette A nighttime overview of the Cultural District Riverfront Development, a six-acre project bounded by Fort Duquesne Boulevard, Penn Avenue, and Seventh and Ninth streets, Downtown. Click illustration for larger image. More about the winning design Analysis: RiverParc wins design team title in Cultural Trust bid Map: Cultural District waterfront development

The development -- marked by environmentally friendly and glass-faced buildings -- would link the O'Reilly Theater, Benedum Center and other Cultural District facilities along the Penn Avenue corridor with the Allegheny River, while adding 700 housing units and shops, restaurants, park space and arts venues.

Catching the wave of housing development already going on Downtown, the project would also be the capstone on the Trust's 22 years of using culture and the arts to spur Pittsburgh's renewal.

Matched with other housing and retail projects across Downtown and the North Shore, "there is no reason why Downtown Pittsburgh shouldn't be the biggest neighborhood in Allegheny County," county Chief Executive Dan Onorato said.

The development team, led by Concord Eastridge of Washington, D.C., plans to break ground next summer, and within two years open the first phase of up to 200 condominiums in two mid-rise and high-rise buildings; townhouses on Eighth Street; retail and public spaces; and two parking facilities.

Plans are always bound to change in giant projects like these, but construction is set to take seven to 10 years total, running perhaps through 2017.

The six-acre development site is bounded by Seventh and Ninth streets, Penn Avenue and Fort Duquesne Boulevard.

The long-term plans call for seven new green-certified residential buildings, many of them faced with glass, reminiscent of the Alcoa headquarters across the river. It also calls for a hotel, a performing arts venue and 1,500 parking spaces in underground and above-ground structures.

Concord Eastridge's team, called RiverParc Development, beat out two other international teams in a yearlong design competition. It includes architects from Germany, Canada, Denmark and Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh's Turner Construction.

Most of the site is now parking lots.

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Post-Gazette Above: The Three Sisters Gallery is a proposed public space that will connect the Cultural District Riverfront Development with the Allegheny Riverfront Park. Wind turbines are expected to generate enough energy to light the exterior public spaces. Below: Urban living rooms will be located throughout the Cultural District Riverfront Development's four residential neighborhoods and will invite interaction between residents. Click illustrations for larger image.

Mr. VanKirk, the chief executive officer of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney law firm, said the Trust controls about seven-eights of the projected site, with the main unsecured property being the six-story headquarters of Local 1058 of the Construction, General Laborers and Material Handlers union on Eighth Street.

Cultural Trust CEO J. Kevin McMahon said Concord Eastridge has "commitments in place" for the $460 million price tag, which is being financed by Merrill Lynch in New York. Howard Hanna Realty plans to start selling the residential spaces in January and was already passing out brochures.

The housing in the first phase is for sale only. No prices were set, but, with the designs released yesterday for townhouses, penthouses and lofts, it is largely upmarket.

Mr. VanKirk said the developers are contemplating lower-priced rental units and studios for artists and other Cultural District workers, which could ultimately take the place of some of the 160,000 square feet of planned retail space.

The sales pitch for the art-infused riverfront site, the largest remaining development parcel in Downtown Pittsburgh, is: "Live Green. View Blue. Paint the Town Red."

Other details include:

A "Cultural Mile" along Eighth Street, with shops, restaurants, art spaces and townhouses leading to the Allegheny River. An art-themed riverfront park, near the feet of the three yellow bridges there, would be called "Three Sisters Gallery." It may include a multiuse floating stage on the river.

Capping the 10th Street Bypass with a public park, to provide direct pedestrian access to the river. Vehicular traffic would continue on the bypass underneath the park, as well as on Fort Duquesne Boulevard.

Using environmentally friendly construction standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Pittsburgh already has the world's largest certified green building in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, and PNC Bank plans to open the nation's largest mixed-use green building on Fifth Avenue in 2008.

Further green elements from Stuttgart, Germany, architects Behnisch Architekten, including energy-collecting wind turbines to light the site's public spaces and "urban living rooms" in garden spaces near the housing units.

900,000 square feet of total residential space, in mid- and high-rise buildings. Condos would be 700 to 3,200 square feet and townhouses, 1,400 to 2,400 square feet.

Visual art throughout the six-acre development, with a 45,000-square-foot arts venue.

In the first phase of development, 420 parking spaces in a two-level underground garage and 200 spaces above ground.