Pittsburgh Is Having a Moment. Let's Go See It.

A year and a half ago, I ran a piece about a $600 million bet on Pittsburgh’s downtown. At that time, a broad coalition of public and private partners committed to revitalizing the urban core of the city through office conversions, public spaces, and more. This summer, I wanted to check in, visit the city, and see how this work is going. I thought my readers might want to also, and so I’m hosting my latest subscriber event in Pittsburgh next month.

So far, it looks like a number of new and renovated public spaces have brought added vibrancy to living and working downtown.

On the North Shore, the Pop District and nearby Pirates and Steelers stadiums have anchored an area with an interesting mix of spaces geared toward the creative and sports industries.

At the same time, Pittsburgh has had a major focus on its innovation economy — robotics, biotech, and more. I’ve heard about Pittsburgh’s innovation district, but never visited.

And after learning about Hazelwood Green — a 178-acre riverfront live-work development with new and repurposed existing buildings — I knew I really had to go out there and see things for myself.

And so I’ve pulled together a subscriber-only tour for this July. While I open these events to all readers (if they don’t sell out first to paid subscribers), paid subscribers get the first dibs on the event invite and itinerary below!

We’ll start by meeting in the late afternoon at the Pop District – an area of the city that centers the creative economy and is building upon the Andy Warhol Museum to include public art, a new public space, a new performing arts center, and workforce development programs. Andy Warhol Museum Associate Director Dan Law will walk us through past, current and upcoming developments in the area. We’ll also hear from Nina Chase of Merritt Chase about the Silver Streets project in the Pop District and the Plaza at North Shore, a new public space near the Pirates stadium. (Relevant links: Warhol Museum Reimagines the Pop District; Phase Two of Pop District)

Then we’ll head over to Shore Thing – a riverside barge installed by RiverLife for the summer and hear a little more about RiverLife’s design and development work from Gavin White, the organization’s Director of Planning and Projects.

Finally we’ll wrap up the evening at an outdoor beer garden and have a casual drink and dinner together.

We’ll meet early for coffee and get caffeinated together. Then we’ll meet with Aaron Sukenik of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to hear how the downtown revitalization work is going. We’ll explore public spaces such as Arts Landing and Market Square. Then we’ll hear more about office to apartment conversions, streetscape improvements, and ways that Pittsburgh is attracting and retaining residents downtown. (Relevant links: Field Operations Completes Arts Landing)

We’ll get out of downtown and take cars to the Oakland neighborhood, where we’ll meet with Sean Luther of InnovatePGH and walk the one mile innovation district that spans multiple universities, health centers, and public spaces. Then we’ll have lunch and discuss what we’ve seen so far, cool off, and sit down.

Last stop on the trip: Hazelwood Green, a former steel mill in the process of transformation to a research and residential campus. The site was bought and held by the foundation community and is being redeveloped with new research facilities for Carnegie Mellon and Pitt, as well as new residential development. We’ll meet with Austin Gelbard of Tishman Speyer, the company that has master-planned the development, and walk/drive as needed to the buildings on site.

The program will wrap up in the afternoon.

The cost for the July 21-22 tour is $150 and does not include food, drink, transportation, hotel or anything other than a ticket to the event. Space is limited to 10 people.

Attendees will need to wear comfortable clothes and shoes, and be in physical condition to spend most of July 22 walking. Please note that this tour takes place in late July when it will be hot.

1. If you’re interested in joining, please RSVP by filling out this form here.

2. I will respond by sending you an invoice from Stripe. Your space is only reserved once you have paid the invoice. If you RSVP and do not pay the invoice, I assume you are “still thinking about it,” but will not hold your place.

3. Confirmed participants will get an itinerary with more precise timing and locations approximately 2 weeks before the tour. I’ll also share participants’ names and contact info.

4. Tickets are non-refundable.

5. The cost of meals, hotels, and transportation are not included in the ticket price.

6. Final caveat: given that many things are beyond my control and that I am running these tours as a passion project, please only attend if you are ok with an event that is informal, subject to change, and not be able to accommodate special requests/needs.

7. I am happy to respond to any and all questions at dianalindheller@gmail.com — thanks!