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Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh
About the URA

Showcase Projects:
South Side Works

South Side, between Carson Street and the Monongahela River, extending from the Hot Metal Bridge

Project Type

Mixed use development including office space, a sports medicine complex and practice fields, housing and retail

Special Features

This redevelopment furthers the city's economic development policy to reposition former vacant, underutilized industrial properties in the City for new job creation and employment opportunities. It is a new mixed use development that will include residential, commercial, light industrial and R&D land uses.

The URA purchased the 123-acre former LTV Steel South Side Works (SSW) in late 1993 after LTV idled the plant. Over time, LTV had released over 10,000 employees at its plants in Pittsburgh.

From 1994 to 1996, the URA completed community consensus efforts related to development of the site. Over the next few years, the URA solicited interest for development of all components of the site, while completing environmental, infrastructure, and traffic enhancement efforts and executing a Tax Increment Financing package with the three taxing bodies. To date, these efforts have brought over $220 million in private investment, 1,500 jobs, 1,420,000 sq. ft. of space, 354 residential units and two parking garages to the South Side Works.

Background and Summary

1996 AND 1997 EFFORTS

With the understanding that the Hazelwood portion of LTV Coke Plant operations located on the opposite side of the river would close in the near future, the URA purchased the former Hot Metal and MCON Bridge structures. Prior to acquisition, LTV demolished all of the existing plant facilities on the site except the Steam Plant and the appurtenant infrastructure. The Steam Plant, being integral to supporting its Hazelwood facilities, was expected to cease operations once those facilities were closed. Until then, large piping and transmission lines hung on the Hot Metal and MCON Bridge structures connecting service to the facilities on the opposite side. During the initial stages of the project, these operations became a liability to the immediate development of the site.

In 1995, the Authority took its first major step by retaining a team of consultants headed by Sasaki Associates of Boston. Sasaki prepared a Framework Plan for the property which resulted in general consensus from the South Side community and leadership in the City.

This process provided guidance for efforts during 1996 and 1997 where the URA focused on several predevelopment efforts. These included selecting a master developer to partner in developing the site as well completing several traffic, utility and geotechnical and other physical and environmental and remediation efforts.

Using the Plan, a RFQ for master developers was issued by the URA in early 1996. This resulted in a Development Agreement with the South Side Works Venture. This partnership involved a speculative office and retail developer, a build to suit office developer and a multi family housing developer. The Sasaki plan was used by RTKL, the Venture's master planner from Dallas, to further develop a more refined plan. From these efforts, in 1997, the City enabled special zoning for the plan establishing the design and development goals, strategies, and guidelines for the neotraditional planning concepts envisioned by the SSW Venture.

The Ventures plan called for a total development of 2.5M sq. ft. This includes approximately 400,000 sq. ft. of a new mixed use entertainment retail (MXD), 1,470,000sf of research and development and corporate office, a 300 unit residential component and 190,000sf of flex/ distribution. The plan assumes over 6,850 parking spaces to ultimately be constructed to serve this site. Of this, over 3,600 are expected to be built in structured parking facilities eventually replacing initial surface parking facilities.

In general, this program has been used to provide vision to the site. However, several years transpired and several events resulted that left the surviving partner, The Soffer Organization, entitled to develop about 35 acres of land between 26th and 29th Streets. This has allowed the URA and the City to focus on leveraging development of the balance of the property.

To support various private development efforts, the URA also focused on infrastructure enhancements at the site. During 1996, the URA retained Advanced Technology Systems, Inc. who secured and inventoried over 6,000 drawings to establish locations for massive underground foundations left by LTV. In 1997, the URA spent $1M to engineer and remove some of these foundations in proposed right of ways.

1997 EFFORTS

To increase development interest in the property, the URA has focused on accelerating traffic and access enhancements. In 1997, the URA retained Parsons/ Brinkerhoff to finalize design feasibility to renovate the MONCON Bridge. That work required the maintenance of existing piping and electrical lines that were hung on the bridge structure to allow the transfer of steam and electricity between each side of the river where the integral plants were located. That year, P/B engineered demolition and new approach ramp improvements leading to the Bridge from Second Avenue.

During 1996 and 1997, the Authority continued environmental studies on the property, while completing remediation of two hot spots on the site. Continued groundwater modeling and assessments were completed and were coordinated for DEP approval.

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