DEVELOPMENT

The Riverfront: Revealing, Celebrating, and Engaging with the River 

Background

The Greater Hazelwood Neighborhood Plan calls for restoring access to the riverfront. This goal is shared by Almono, LP, owners of Hazelwood Green. A riverfront master planning process that is now under way represents an important step in connecting to the river. The master plan will be completed in 2021 and position Almono to pursue public space improvement opportunities along a 1.3 mile stretch of land between Blair Street and the Monongahela River.

The site’s adjacency to the river is its most precious natural asset, providing direct access to the water’s edge and its ecological and navigational systems. Extensive barge docking features and a massive pump house formerly used by the coke works also provide adaptive reuse commercial and recreational opportunities. The paved Hazelwood Trail on the upper edge of the river connects both recreational users and commuters to Hazelwood, South Side (and the 335-mile Great Allegheny Passage / C&O Towpath to Washington D.C.), Downtown and Oakland. The many opportunities presented by Hazelwood Green’s 1.3 miles of riverfront will require a collaborative approach to realize the full potential of this regional asset.

A Pennsylvania Department of Natural Resources (DCNR) grant to the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, along with matching funds from Almono, are making the master planning process possible.

Public Engagement

Hearing from area residents, businesses, service providers, and others is a critical part of the plan. The Hazelwood Riverfront Master Plan will be guided by a comprehensive public engagement process.

In October, the Advisory Committee held a series of in-person, socially distanced outdoor events around Hazelwood and at the Hazelwood Green site. We also issued an online survey and collected responses from folks all over the region and met with community groups in the neighborhood. Findings from the October community collaboration workshops, online survey, stakeholder interviews, and meetings with community organizations can be viewed here. Community input is being incorporated into the plan concepts, which will be shared in spring 2021 for additional feedback.

Please check back here and on the Happenings page for updates about public engagement opportunities. If you have comments/questions or would like for your group to hear from the project team, please contact epd@epd-pgh.com.

Project Planning and Design Goals

Master Planning Effort

The Hazelwood Riverfront Master Plan project started in the spring of 2020 and will last through the fall of 2021. The first efforts have included studying the site, convening an Advisory Committee, and conducting stakeholder interviews. The design phases will be informed by public and stakeholder input in fall of 2020 through early 2021. The draft plan was be submitted to the grant funder, DCNR, in the summer of 2021. The final draft of the Hazelwood Riverfront Master Plan was submitted to DCNR in January of 2022 and approved in late April 2022.

Master Plan Timeline

Project Leadership Team

The Riverfront Master Plan Project Leadership Team consists of the Almono, LP representatives (site owners) and Pennsylvania Environmental Council staff (project grant recipient). Together, we are working to ensure that the riverfront plan is achievable, honors the principles set forth for Hazelwood Green, and becomes a space that is inviting to all. 

The Project Leadership Team has selected Environmental Planning & Design to lead the design and public engagement processes for the master plan.

Advisory Committee

The Hazelwood Riverfront Master Plan Advisory Committee is helping to guide the riverfront master plan project. Committee members lend local, citywide, and regional voices to the project. They represent neighborhood residents, local nonprofits, area universities, Hazelwood Green site interests, and city and county governments. They provide high-level, multi-sector thinking concerning potential best uses of the riverfront portion of Hazelwood Green site. Committee members have generously agreed to meet six times over the course of the project and actively encourage a robust and inclusive public engagement process.

Committee Members

Ose Akinlotan, City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning

Valerie Beichner, Venture Outdoors

JaQuay Carter, Greater Hazelwood Historical Society of Pittsburgh

Darla Cravotta, Allegheny County

Matt Galluzzo, Riverlife

Divya Rao Heffley, Office of Public Art

Allison Jones, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh

Sean Luther, Innovate PGH

Kelsey Ripper, Friends of the Riverfront

Danielle Robins, U3 Advisors

Terri Shields, Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative

Rick Siger, Carnegie Mellon University

Paul Supowitz, University of Pittsburgh

Rob Stephany, Almono, LP

Todd Stern, U3 Advisors

Sonya Tilghman, Hazelwood Initiative

David White, Healthy Ride

Gavin White, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

Davitt Woodwell, Pennsylvania Environmental Council

RESOURCE LIBRARY

• click here for the final draft of the hazelwood Riverfront Master plan.

• click here for a video recording of the 4/7/21 community meeting. click here for a pdf of the presentation.

• Click here for a virtual, interactive riverfront tour

• READ THE SUMMARY OF FINDINGS FROM THE OCTOBER 2020 COMMUNITY COLLABORATION EVENTS HERE.