PITTSBURGH, PA, USA
RIVERFRONT DISTRICT
PITTSBURGH, PA, usa
CLIENT Riverfront 47 / The Mosites Company / SIZE 32 ha / 80 acres / STATUS Under Design 2018 / DESIGN TEAM Balmori Associates / Sherwood Engineers / Stuart Lynn / 4Ward Planning
The development of the new 80 acre Riverfront District in Sharpsburg Borough, O’Hara Township and Aspinwall Borough, PA is the opportunity to reconnect people and other living communities to the Allegheny River and to one another.
The shared vision for the District is to create an extraordinary public park which invites both active and passive recreation, implement a portion of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, a 1.5-mile missing piece of the 26-mile Three Rivers Heritage Trail that goes to Pittsburgh and beyond.
Most of the site is located on an elevated plateau, out of the flood zone, some 15 to 30 feet above the river level towards the south and Sharpsburg towards the north. The northern boundary is an active railroad further dividing the site from the adjacent communities. From the large metal scrapyard that operated on the site remains to gigantic gantry cranes.
While the master plan sets the layout of the open space and overall sustainable strategies (such as water management, wildlife habitat), the trail design and the Pilot project will further establish an aesthetic vocabulary that illustrates the overall identity of the district.