Aspinwall : Development News

Last year, the Allegheny River community of Aspinwall led a successful grassroots campaign to buy a private marina and turn it over to the public.  Now, in anticipation of the new Aspinwall Riverfront Park, project directors have turned to the community once again to find out exactly what area residents want in a park.

Top activities include walking, running, bicycling, playground areas, and nature appreciation.  According to Friends of the Riverfront (FOR), who facilitated the survey,17 percent of respondents expressed a desire to create a natural park that focuses on the river with fishing, rowing, and canoeing or kayaking.

"What was important to us is that we create something that is really valuable to the public, and that meets their needs," says Susan Crookston, of Aspinwall Riverfront Park, Inc.  "And by doing this survey we wanted to incorporate people's ideas and their own dreams for the park too."

But residents want the park to be enjoyed by non-humans as well.  Crookston's organization was delighted to find a river otter on the property last week, an animal which has only recently been reintroduced to the Allegheny.  Bald eagles and hummingbirds have also been spotted in the park.

"There's a really unique ecosystem…that we'd like to protect and cherish," Crookston says.  "We really want to get people back to the river and interacting with the river, so that's an exciting possibility for us."

FOR purchased the marina on behalf of the Aspinwall community last October from David Kushon, who retired after more than 40 years on the river.  The purchase was made possible through the community's grassroots fundraising, an effort which Crookston spearheaded in 2010, raising over $2.3 million.

FOR has also announced the local design team that will create a Master Plan for the park, which includes Pittsburgh-based Environmental Planning & Design (EPD) as team leader and landscape architect of record.

EPD is joined by NIPpaysage of Montreal, Quebec; studio d’ARC architects of Pittsburgh; Lennon, Smith, Souleret Engineering of Coraopolis; blue tomato design of Pittsburgh; and 360 Intelligent Marketing.

Crookston says there is also an interest in having canoe and kayak rentals at the site, among other amenities, but that the specifics are still being developed.

"It's an enormous task that we're trying to undertake here, to not only run a  business that generates several million dollars a year and has several employees," she says, "but what we hope will be a treasure for our community for years to come."


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Susan Crookston

The Aspinwall Marina was officially purchased by Friends of the Riverfront last week, and will become a community riverfront park and trail extension.  Since last November, the non-profit organization has been working on behalf of community residents who spearheaded the effort, raising $2.3 million to purchase the marina.

Thomas Baxter, executive director of Friends of the Riverfront, says this entire process has been a community effort, and he looks forward to moving “aggressively forward with fundraising for the development and build-out” of the new park.

“And as part of that process we're going to be reaching out to not just Aspinwall community, but all the surrounding community to talk about what can be and what will be part of the park,” Baxter says. “There will be a lot of opportunity for public involvement.”

The marina will be converted into a mixed-use parcel, and will feature an extension of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. 
 
Susan Crookston, who created the initial business plan last year, says the Aspinwall marina will now become “the community treasure that it was intended to be.”  She says the rapid rate of fundraising, done in just over six months, has been an incredible experience. 

“It's just been a kind of miracle, and just a testimony to the power of an idea and the power of the generosity of our community,” Crookston says.

Friends of the Riverfront signed an agreement of sale on the marina in January, and fundraising for the purchase began immediately after. Those efforts included t-shirt sales, parades, various parties, and major gifts from private donors. Two young Boy Scouts collected over $15,000 by mowing lawns, and a young girl delivered $144 after a month of lemonade stands.

“This would have never ever happened without all the people taking the ownership and making it happen,” Crookston says.
 
Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Thomas Baxter; Susan Crookston

Friends of the Riverfront has entered into a sales agreement to purchase the Aspinwall Marina. In addition to preserving this important community asset, the 20-year-old river advocacy organization plans to develop a new park on or near the 8-acre marina site.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for us to fulfill our mission of reconnecting people with their riverfronts. The community of Aspinwall and the neighboring communities have been very active and supportive, and we can't think of a better project," says Thomas Baxter, executive director of Friends of the Riverfront.

The family who currently owns the marina at 285 River Avenue has worked diligently to find the right buyer who will preserve its legacy, and Baxter expects the sale to be finalized within the next few months. The sale price will not be disclosed until that time, though the property was last listed at $2.3 million. The Fox Chapel District Association has already committed $50,000 toward the project. Once the marina is purchased, Friends of the Riverfront intends to involve the community in deciding what kinds of renovations need to be made.

While the proposed park has yet to be designed, Baxter says that it will be used to better connect the community, and its creation will draw heavily from public input.

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Writer: John Farley
Source: Thomas Baxter, Friends of the Riverfront

On the corner of 36th and Butler Streets in Lawrenceville, card tables are stacked high with costume jewelry and beaded handbags, little bits of porcelain and yarn and paper recycled into cards and magnets. Lamps without bulbs, toys, dresses in pretty prints, and bikes that could carry you up the hill, into Bloomfield, and then anywhere from there. People mill about, sipping coffee from the nearby shops and nibbling treats from the parked Goodie Truck. Dogs pull on leashes, and there's talk of where to go for brunch and what time the bowling alley opens.

The Little Flea, which started Sat., Aug. 8, is taking what's already so good about Lower Lawrenceville (the art, the people, the food), and bringing it to the streets.

The weekly flea market runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather-permitting, and is a project of Equita, a locally-owned, ethically-conscious gift shop at 3609 Butler St.

"We wanted to have another venue in the neighborhood where people could meet one another, and also make some extra money in what is a challenging economy," says Sara Parks with Equita, which operates a web shop in addition to its brick-and-mortar store.

The three-year-old company will be celebrating its one year anniversary in its street-front retail space at the end of September. Previously, the shop operated its online business from the Ice House Artist Studios, the redeveloped warehouse at 100 43rd St. in Lawrenceville.

Parks says the Little Flea could run year-round, depending on how successful it is within the coming months. She points to the Aspinwall flea market as inspiration for the Little Flea. That market runs 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday in the municipal parking lot along Freeport Road near Center Avenue.

Writer: Caralyn Green
Source: Sara Parks, Equita

Photograph courtesy Little Flea