Developers for a proposed $740 million project, called the Esplanade, in the Chateau neighborhood of Pittsburgh laid out their master plan to the Pittsburgh Planning Commission on Tuesday.
It’s a sign that the developer, Piatt Companies, is ready to start work on the complex that, as envisioned, will include a giant Ferris wheel on the bank of the Ohio River, an apartment building with a mix of high-end and affordable units and a pavilion with room for restaurants and shops.
“We're going to have family focused programming,” said Molly Onufer, director of public affairs at Piatt. “We're going to have something for more of the adult crowd with nice restaurants, maybe a spa or something like that. But there's really just something for everybody.”
The first phase of the development will include an outdoor plaza that will be home to the Ferris wheel, a nod to Northsider and bridge-builder George Ferris who invented the ride for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. It also includes an apartment building with river views and 20% of the units marked as affordable, as well as a restaurant and retail complex that opens up into an outdoor amphitheater along the river and a public parking garage. Well-lit walkways and bike paths with bathrooms for trail users are a part of the pedestrian-centric road design within the development.
Future plans at the site could include an office tower to house medical or tech companies, more apartments or condos and a hotel with a big aquarium.
Sandwiched between the Ohio River and State Route 65, the 15-acre site in the Chateau neighborhood is currently a mix of brownfield and former industrial buildings with the Three Rivers Heritage trail snaking alongside it.
The Esplanade is part of a vision to connect the long-industrial Chateau — along with the nearby stadiums, casino and North Shore nightlife — with the historic Manchester neighborhood on the other side of 65. This includes turning Beaver Avenue into a two-way street and adding other paths for bikes, pedestrians and cars through the underpass at Juniata Avenue, according to the briefing.
Talk of the Esplanade began in 2017; since then, Piatt has pulled together $25 million in state grants to fund the project. “We think we can go ahead and move forward with that right now based upon the grants we've already been awarded,” said Jim Holcomb, director of development at Piatt.
At the same time, community groups like the Manchester Citizens Corp. worked to create a comprehensive plan for the two neighborhoods. In addition, the city and state governments and other interested community organizations have crafted the Manchester Re-United TRID (Transit Revitalization Investment District), a plan to leverage the new development’s tax revenue to fund transit and infrastructure improvements in the communities.
The Planning Commission will vote on this master plan in November. Then, each building will be up for review and vote before they can start work.
Piatt wants to start digging on the Esplanade early next year. If all goes to plan, the first phase should be done by 2028.
