Piatt ready to seek Pittsburgh OK for waterfront 'Esplanade' project with giant Ferris wheel on the North Side

After years of delays, developers are on the verge of officially proposing a massive waterfront development project on Pittsburgh’s North Side that would feature a nearly 200-foot-tall Ferris wheel.

Canonsburg-based Piatt Cos. first proposed the project dubbed Esplanade along the banks of the Ohio River in the city’s Chateau neighborhood in 2019.

After land purchases and some significant changes, the project — most recently estimated to cost nearly a half-billion dollars — is ready to be submitted in the next few weeks to the city’s planning commission, Piatt spokeswoman Molly Onufer said Friday.

If the multiacre project is approved by the city in a timely manner, Onufer said, Piatt could start construction this fall.

“There is more energy all around the project than ever,” Onufer said. “There was a lot of work behind the scenes, and now we are ready to move it forward.”

As imagined, a 180-foot Ferris wheel would sit atop a three-story building and serve as an exclamation point for the 15-acre project.

Onufer said the Ferris wheel is both a nod to Pittsburgh’s history and an opportunity to expand the entertainment options proliferating on the North Shore. She said the proposed attraction — while less than half as tall as the London Eye on the banks of the Thames — would provide spectacular views of Downtown and the three rivers.

George Ferris, inventor of the Ferris wheel, lived in a home on Arch Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side for much of his career. The home is about a mile from where Piatt is proposing to build its Ferris wheel.

“We really want to make this a development for everybody: the community and visitors,” Onufer said.

The first phase of construction would include a 400-unit apartment complex with 300 parking spaces, a riverfront amphitheater, restaurants, retail spaces and a food emporium. Plans call for a 650-space public parking garage.

Onufer said Piatt also wants to include community amenities such as a grocery store.

The project would sit just west of the West End Bridge on the banks of the Ohio River.

Additional construction phases would involve a 126-unit condo complex, a 13-story hotel and a nearly 200-foot apartment tower.

Onufer said the most recent estimated project cost, completed in 2021, was $475 million.

She couldn’t provide a current estimate.

The project has been well received by City Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District, whose district includes the proposed development.

He called working with Piatt “encouraging.”

“I believe they have heard the residents’ concerns around scale as well as amenities, such as a grocery, that services not just the development but Manchester as well,” Lavelle said.

The councilman described conversations with Piatt as productive about ways to support local and minority business opportunities.

Piatt’s first step will be to present a master plan to the city’s planning commission, which will ultimately have to be approved by council, according to Onufer. The developer would then bring each individual building proposal before the commission.

Piatt is not pursuing any zoning changes.

Onufer noted building renderings are not finalized.

She said all plans must comply with the city’s riverfront zoning requirements, which allow for buildings up to 250 feet tall between the West End Bridge and North Avenue in Chateau.

Recent changes to the project include lowering some proposed building heights to under 200 feet, Onufer said. Several years ago, Piatt made other significant changes, such as eliminating a proposed public swimming lagoon from the design.

Onufer acknowledged Pittsburghers might be skeptical of the Esplanade project, given its changes and its lengthy planning process.

But she said some of the delay resulted from trying to make the project conform to community desires and the neighborhood’s master plan, as well as taking into account the economic slowdown created by the pandemic.

Piatt presented its updated proposal to the Manchester Citizens Corp. earlier this week, and its director, LaShawn Burton-Faulk, had positive things to say.

During a Wednesday meeting, Burton-Faulk commended Piatt for working with the community’s neighborhood plan.

She said the Manchester Citizens Corp. will fight to ensure the Esplanade includes affordable housing and equitable development, but added “a lot of great things” are included in Piatt’s proposal.

Onufer said she is confident in Piatt’s track record, which includes several hotel and residential projects in Downtown Pittsburgh, Highmark Stadium, in Station Square, and the Southpointe business park in Washington County. This would be one of the developer’s most ambitious projects.

She said the Chateau site would need a lot of preparation work.

Piatt sees Esplanade as an extension of a growing entertainment district on the North Shore.

Rivers Casino opened a hotel in late 2022 about a half-mile from the proposed Piatt site.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are proposing a 30,000-square-foot plaza complete with a jumbotron for fans to watch baseball games outside PNC Park.

And the North Shore already is home to restaurants, the Stage AE music venue, the ballpark and Acrisure Stadium.

“We see it as one large district as part of the Central Business District and the entertainment core,” Onufer said. “We are hopeful that this will complement the investment we have made Downtown and be a greater resource for the community.”

Staff writer Julia Felton contributed to this report.