“Building on” the Allegheny Riverfront: Where Commercial and Residential Meet by Taking Advantage of Open Space

There are two ways to do market analysis: traditional supply/demand calculations and imaginative market adaptation based on strengths of specific areas, unique assets and national best practices. What’s unique about the Allegheny riverfront area includes the employment cluster driven by both the freight rail activity and robotics cluster fostered by NREC, and the undervalued river.  As the founder of Partners for Economic Solutions, what interested me was the untapped potential of the river and open space.  As seen in concepts from the Green Boulevard study, the real lynchpin for success will be creating public access to the river that attracts revenue-generating users. These investments will improve the quality of life and business by providing an opportunity for recreation to visitors, workers and residents.

One of the biggest pitfalls of developing a waterfront area – or any open space or public area – is failing to allow flexibility, restricting adaptability, and building without an understanding of revenue generation.   To be self-sufficient, the 43^rd Street District, with its planned open space, needs more than just initial capital investment to build the infrastructure/amenity.  The uses must also support ongoing maintenance, operations, and account for annual upgrades and future adaption.  The creation of new entities, like the Pittsburgh Park Conservancy or a Business Improvement District, offers alternative management structures and better options to capture the untapped resources.

Historically, the area along the Allegheny Riverfront served as one of Pittsburgh’s industrial and warehouse zones.  Currently the riverfront is not a viable destination, unless perhaps you are a least weasel… Major concrete blocks at the end of 43^rd Street provide the only seating option for area workers and residents.  While plans are advancing for trails along the riverfront, there are not many options for residents or workers in the area to access the water; however the Green Boulevard plan can help change that. The employment cluster and riverfront assets will continue to attract interest from commercial and residential development.  There’s a clear market potential to build on the current environment and create a successful mixed-use enclave with reliance on the river and open space activities within the area.

Ultimately, new infill commercial and residential development will hang its hat on the newly created open space and access to the riverfront. In New York City, the newly created Brooklyn Bridge Park captured the value of a former industrial site by creating five unique development sites along the entrances to the park.  With only the first of five sites developed, the Brooklyn Bridge Park captured more than $15 million (with $2 million annually in ground rent and Payment-in-Lieu-of Taxes (PILOTs)) toward the $16 million annual operating and maintenance budget.   In Indianapolis, the Cultural Trail that runs 7.7 mile received more than $77 million in capital funding.  The trail connected more than five downtown districts (six cultural areas) and expanded the number of jobs and tax revenue generated through the trail area.  Indianapolis received the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program grant administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation to further support this trail way, proving the ability to get funding from all levels of government.  With the current government resources available for the Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard and such a committed team dedicated to making this area vibrant and self-sustaining for the long-term, this area has unlimited potential.

Abigail Feretti, Founder, Partners for Economic Solutions

Parks and Trails don’t need to Clash

Should I stay or should I go now?

Those are famous lyrics from seminal punk band The Clash from their 1981 song of the same name. Though I doubt band members Joe Strummer and Mick Jones were talking about urban design when they wrote the tune (though you never know), the question is a good one. Ask it when you think about how it applies to Pittsburgh’s riverfronts.

Should I stay or should I go now? Basically, should urban riverfronts be corridors for “going”, for transportation, for biking, walking, and skating, for moving from point A to point B? Or should they be destinations where people stay and relax, literally stopping to smell the roses in a landscaped park by the water’s edge, in no hurry to move along?

At Riverlife we feel that the answer is a little bit of the former and a little bit of the latter, with healthy doses of top-notch planning and design thrown in to meet both objectives. Since 1999 we’ve been working to build Three Rivers Park, downtown Pittsburgh’s interconnected riverfront park system. Three Rivers Park is 80% complete and over 13 miles long. With so many miles of riverfront there are ample opportunities for trails and greenways that move users from one place to another. Just as importantly, there are numerous lovely, interesting spots to stop at along the way. We think that a successful urban riverfront draws people to the river and makes them want to stay near the water as long as possible. Whether that’s on a bicycle, sitting on a picnic blanket or holding a fishing pole, people should want to go to the rivers and have easy and enjoyable time getting there.

What makes the Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard so exciting is its capacity to move people throughout its 6.45 miles of riverside communities: public transportation, walkable neighborhoods, and cyclist commuter lanes are all in the works. But equally important and thrilling are the plans for passive open space by the river’s edge. Imagine lush landscapes that highlight Pennsylvania’s native plants, where bird watching and fishing are plentiful and stormwater runoff is cleansed naturally before it flows into the river. Imagine kayak launches, ice cream vendors, skateboard parks and spaces for relaxation and entertainment. Picture clusters of different attractions, features and activities along the Allegheny Riverfront that make it a special can’t-wait-to-get-there destination.

Pittsburgh has an enormous opportunity to expand its riverfront park system to the Strip District, Lawrenceville and the other neighborhoods in the project area. It’s an opportunity to create waterfront parks that not only attract those who live nearby, but out-of-town visitors and tourists too. You can imagine the significant impact on the nearby businesses and our local economy. In short, open space planning equals a good investment, and the Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard deserves nothing less than ample breathing room along the riverfront to make way for riverfront parks that will be among the best in the world.

So should you stay or should you go? Once you get to the river’s edge, you should definitely stay a while.

Lisa Schroeder is President and CEO of Riverlife, a not-for-profit organization in Pittsburgh, PA established in 1999 to create a vision and master plan for the city’s riverfronts.

When your species becomes ‘at-risk’ or ‘status uncertain’, as mine has, you have to take to extraordinary measures and make sure the livelihoods of your offspring are assured.  You see, I’m a least weasel.  We are the smallest, baddest carnivores on the planet. There is nothing I love more than eating things that people don’t like all that much.  Rats, mice, voles, sparrows, and insects are totally delicious to us.

You think your economy is tough, well try dealing with having your habitat and food sources paved over and built upon over the past century or so.  I have to say, growing up I never heard my grandparents say many nice things about humans.  What with all the clearing, dumping and polluting, you have to admit they had a strong case.

But if the Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard is any indication, it seems like better times are here for both of our species.  The ARGB is founded on building a living infrastructure, a network of vegetated corridors that beautify, shade, slow rainfall and purify the air.  We least weasels have a keen sense of smell and we smell opportunity for green jobs and great housing when we hear the plans for the ARGB.   And what more could you ask for?  I mean really, if you enhance the forested buffer along the river there will be more crevices, hollowed logs, and spaces for us to find a home.  Believe me, we least weasels don’t need much space either, as we only grow to be about eight inches long and weigh in at just 2 ounces.  We might be small but we like to work, and just a few of us can keep those pesky creatures like pigeons and rats at bay. I’ve even taken out a rabbit five times my size, but I digress…

Building habitat equates to building a healthier lifestyle for everyone.  And good habitat requires connections, providing access and opportunity to move, to find new food sources and better spots for raising a family.  What caught my eye with the ARGB plan is the living infrastructure spaces don’t just happen along the river.  They reach in toward the uplands as well, connecting to other green spaces that have been wildlife islands for many of us, like Highland Park and the Allegheny Cemetery.  My guess is that people will like these corridors of green space as well.  It’s pretty clear that walking under a canopy of leaves in the summer is preferable to the heat of asphalt and bricks.

Finally, converting some of the vacant lots into parks and urban gardens is pretty brilliant, really.  It will be great to restore the polluted soil and make the land productive again.  If you decide to create gardens, and the rabbits are giving you a hard time, just remember the least weasels can come to the rescue.  We’ll be happy to manage your problem, if you know what I mean…

Join me and other local critters at the second Public Meeting on Thursday, March 16!

Humbly yours,

The Least Weasel

and your friends at Biohabitats, Inc.

Negley Run, the site of the tragic flooding in August of 2011, provides an excellent opportunity to solve just these problems. In this case, we can restore a stream to its native environment. The stream is now embedded in the sewer pipes. As we learned in August of 2011, the elevation of Allegheny River Boulevard forms a dam at the end of the Negley Run, which is the largest single water shed in Pittsburgh. In extremely heavy rains, when the pipes surcharge, water collects in the bowl at the intersection of Allegheny River and Washington Boulevards. The only real solution to the threat of future flooding is to restore the natural flow of the stream by breaking the “dam” we call Allegheny River Boulevard and giving the water a natural course to the river. The potential exists to restore a native valley with trails that connect neighborhoods so long separated from each other and the riverfront. It will take many partnerships and the political will to keep us all focused on the bigger picture.

We have an unprecedented opportunity to provide a great solution and reshape the future for generations to come. Let’s seize this opportunity.

Patrick Dowd serves as a Member of Pittsburgh City Council representing the neighborhoods of District 7, which include Lawrenceville, Highland Park, Morningside, Stanton Heights, Polish Hill, Bloomfield, Friendship, East Liberty and Garfield. He serves on the board of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and, as such, has a unique and detailed perspective on stormwater issues in our region.

When I reflect on my career, one of the greatest achievements I have been involved in is the implementation of the Euclid HealthLine Bus Rapid Transit project in Cleveland. I realize a reference to Cleveland for a blog in Pittsburgh may be viewed as heresy, but I figure Browns wins over the Steelers over the past decade have been so few and far between, readers would give me a pass. Euclid Avenue is the historic main street of Cleveland. Our work included the redevelopment of roughly 6 miles of Cleveland’s main street, including integration of a new transit line – from the center of Cleveland in Public Square to the East Cleveland city limit. When we started in 2002, the corridor was a mess. Vacant department stores lined downtown. Cleveland State University turned its back on Cleveland’s main street. Midtown was characterized by vacant lots burned and raised during the civil rights protests of the 60’s. The only activity was around University Circle and the Cleveland Clinic.

Euclid Avenue re-opened in October, 2008, with a new transit line and complete re-construction of the street. What has happened since that time is a complete reversal of fortunes. Cleveland, a shrinking Rust Belt city, is witnessing roughly $5.5 billion in reinvestment along the corridor. The vacant department stores downtown are being rehabbed for housing, office, restaurants, and hotels. Institutions like Cleveland State, the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital, and Case Western Reserve, are reinvesting in their campuses around Euclid Avenue, leading to spin-off private investment. Midtown has been re-positioned as the Health-Tech Corridor, and is the site of many construction projects with business incubators / flex lab space for high tech and health spin-offs. Few people expected the success that has occurred along Euclid. The successes are due to the leadership and partnerships of so many individuals and organizations: the Regional Transit Authority, the City, foundations, institutions, community development corporations, businesses, and residents.

The Allegheny Riverfront possesses even greater potential than what I experienced in Cleveland. And, in my opinion, Pittsburgh possesses the mature organization and structure needed for partnerships.  This has demonstrated in the regional economy’s transformation from the loss of the steel industry toward leveraging the City’s finance and business leadership downtown; the research and education at the universities and hospitals; and the leadership, direction and philanthropy from foundations.

Realizing the Allegheny Riverfront Vision for the Green Boulevard won’t be easy. Systems of operating and doing business exist that have been in place for generations. Realizing the Vision will requires changes to these normal operating procedures and sacrifices from all of the partners, but with these small individual sacrifices is the potential to realize far greater gains for all of Pittsburgh.

Jason Hellendrung is a Principal Landscape Architect at Sasaki Associates, who has experience in integrating transit into design of the public realm from Cleveland to Charlotte, and now Pittsburgh.  He’s a long-distance runner who looks forward to a long run along the Green Boulevard someday soon.

To better understand how to transform a crucial industrial riverfront, the Urban Redevelopment Authority commissioned the Allegheny Riverfront Vision planning process in 2009. The visioning included a lot of public outreach which highlighted the need for new transportation connections throughout the Allegheny Riverfront corridor and which identified the public will to reconnect the riverfront to the urban fabric of the community. The AVR rail-line extending through the entire study area was shown to have potential to become a rail-with-trail green boulevard that will create new opportunities for transit, mixed-use development and ecological restoration along the riverfront. We are now working on a more detailed plan for this “green boulevard”.

But the Green Boulevard is more than a transformed freight line. It is about a new way of thinking where we plan for housing, transportation, economic development, and environmental reclamation together to create multi-purpose projects that reclaim our natural assets while creating places that current and new residents enjoy. As resources become increasingly scarce, we need to find ways to build buildings and infrastructure that serve multiple functions, i.e. new parks that filter stormwater through rain gardens, or new office buildings with solar panels that contribute energy into our regional grid. Our hope is that this new green spine along the Allegheny riverfront will create a front door in some of our most vital neighborhoods, and will serve as an international model for rebuilding underutilized rust belt riverfronts around the world.

Rob Stephany is the Executive Director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. Rob’s expertise in leading stakeholder-driven, market-based revitalization efforts and his ability to achieve consensus among disparate parties have lead to successful market transformations in several of Pittsburgh’s most distressed communities. A lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, Rob now lives in Lawrenceville with his wife and three young sons.