With Pittsburgh newspapers announcing that “change is bursting out all over,” the focus is now on efforts to redevelop the city’s long-contested Fifth and Forbes urban corridor. Potentially a $1 billion project, the initiative could add more than 2,000 housing units downtown.
On May 17,
Mayor O’Connor announced that Canonsburg firm
Millcraft Industries, whose vice president is Lucas Piatt, would act as lead developer for the area.
“We are working with developers who have a lot of energy and enthusiasm. We hit bottom with downtown and it is only going to get better quickly,” says Jerry Dettore, executive director of the
Urban Redevelopment Authority.
At a May 19th Open House at
Urban Design Associates, the firm charged with developing a strategic plan, Andrew Dresdner of UDA walked-through “x-ray” maps of the area, showing mixed use, commercial and residential buildings, historic districts and other elements of downtown.
On view were architectural renderings of proposals for the $50 million Forbes Village, including 20,000 square feet of retail, Piatt’s former Lazarus and Murphy Mart plan, and a $170 million
PNC project that will house a hotel, shops and offices. Proposals also include a gourmet grocery, mixed income housing, outdoor plaza and vendor market.
Participants voiced concerns about such things as bus routes, the status of historic structures such as the early 20th-century
Alden & Harlow building and the need for affordable amenities and housing. A proposal for utilizing Boulevard of the Allies, the city’s widest roadway, for overflow bus traffic was also presented.
On May 19 and 20, more than 60 people attended private focus groups led by Don Carter for developers, preservationists and downtown merchants and residents.
“The public will have an opportunity to make recommendations on the draft plan, most likely in June,” adds Dettore.
Source: Jerry Dettore, executive director, Urban Redevelopment Authority and Andrew Dresdner, Urban Design Associates.
Photo copyright © Jonathan Greene