 
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
              
|
Authority OKs first contract for ambitious North Shore park Riverfront makeover Tuesday, February 27, 2001 By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Compared to glitzy, high-profile projects like two stadiums and a convention center, a patch of green space along a river may not appear too exciting. But members of the Sports & Exhibition Authority believe that a $48 million, 1.5 mile-long riverfront park might actually emerge as the most popular of the four projects often referred to as Plan B.
The city-county agency yesterday accepted $18.2 million in grants from the state and local foundations to begin work on the North Shore Riverfront Park and then awarded an $8.5 million contract to the Joseph B. Fay Co. to do the first phase of the project.
The contract will cover work on the northern shore of the Allegheny between the Clemente (Sixth Street) and Seventh Street bridges, as well as the section of riverfront just west of PNC Park.
So far, the SEA has commitments for only $26 million of the $48 million it will need. But officials said the enlarged park will take about two years to complete and fund-raising was continuing.
"We think this park is probably going to be the most exciting part of the whole North Shore development," said SEA Executive Director Stephen Leeper.
The other elements include the $262 million PNC Park (set to open March 31) and the $284 million Steelers stadium (set to open in August). Finally, across the Allegheny, will be the new $328 million David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Leeper said the expanded riverfront park will give families a reason to go to the North Shore -- to walk, bicycle, sit on the grass, play in new water steps, tie up a boat or fish. He said it will make the North Shore appealing year-round, not just for baseball and football games.
"We think this park will not only promote recreation over there but will promote development between the two stadiums," Leeper said.
When fully built, the riverfront park will stretch 1.5 miles along the Ohio and Allegheny shores, from the West End Bridge to the west to the Fort Wayne railroad bridge in the east.
The SEA released drawings yesterday showing key elements of the new park, including water steps and a new fishing pier The water steps, which will have "chlorinated water that will allow for interactive play for children," according to Leeper, are to go between the Fort Duquesne Bridge and PNC Park and should be in operation by June or July.
The pier "will allow people who have been interested in fishing in our clean rivers an opportunity to catch the longnose gar," Leeper said. The SEA has reduced the amount and location of dredging originally planned to preserve habitats of six rare species of fish, including the longnose gar.
The plans also call for a curved walkway out into the river by the Carnegie Science Center, as well as two new docking facilities where people will disembark from Gateway Clipper fleet boats for baseball and football games.
There also will be a large patch of grass and trees -- called the Great Lawn -- near the football stadium where people can sit and relax, and two long brick walkways parallel to the river that will feature kiosks selling food, drinks and other items. Facilities for recreational boaters to dock their craft are planned also.
The Fay company is now building the first element of the new park -- a dock for the Gateway Clipper fleet just west of PNC Park. Leeper wants it ready for service when the Pirates' regular season opens in April.
In addition to the $8.5 million contract, the board approved a $57,500 acceleration fee so Fay can keep workers going 10 hours a day, seven days a week until the dock is done.
The funds for the park received yesterday include $10 million from the state, $5 million from the Heinz Endowments, $3 million from the R.K. Mellon Foundation, $100,000 from the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, $100,000 from the Roy A. Hunt Foundation, and $10,000 from the PNC Bank Charitable Trust Committee.
The SEA already had $8 million on hand for the park -- $6 million from the Plan B bonds sold to finance the stadium and convention center work and the rest from the federal and state governments.
The SEA board yesterday authorized a number of contracts for other Plan B projects, including:
*nearly $2 million for White Way Sign & Maintenance Co. of Chicago for a new Sony Jumbotron scoreboard at the south end of the Steelers stadium.
*$13,248 for Capital Asset Protection for additional security around the site of Three Rivers Stadium, to keep people from pulling up bricks and Belgian blocks from crosswalks and parking lots.
*$1.35 million for Peter J. Caruso & Sons to build three parking lots where Three Rivers used to be.
*$6.6 million for Ionadi Corp. for concrete work at the convention center.
*two contracts for exterior aluminum panels and louvers at the convention center, $6.87 million with John W. McDougall Co. and nearly $3 million with A.C. Dellovade Inc. Leeper said that 80 percent of the $260 million in "hard construction contracts" for the center have now been awarded.
*a three-year extension of an existing labor agreement with the Pittsburgh Building and Construction Trades Council and Teamsters Local 249 covering workers at the convention center.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
