Hazelwood Green, a former steel mill site that is the City of Pittsburgh’s largest riverfront redevelopment project and last urban brownfield, Monday announced the names of eight design teams that will vie for the opportunity to create the first public plaza at the 178- acre site.

A total of 30 design firms submitted qualifications in response to an RFQ issued in November, with the following teams making the cut:  Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, Seattle; Hood Design Studio, Oakland, CA; Land Collective, Philadelphia; Mithun, Seattle; Quennell Rothschild & Partners, New York; Stoss, Boston; Ten x Ten Studio, Minneapolis; W Architecture & Landscape Architecture, LLC,  Brooklyn, NY. 

All teams have local firms included on their team to provide expertise and local knowledge.

The short list of firms that will go on to submit design proposals were selected by a nine-member advisory committee, including:  Karen Abrams, Program Officer, Equitable Development, The Heinz Endowments; Rebecca Flora, AICP, LEED BD+C/ND, Hazelwood Green Project Director; Raymond W. Gastil, AICP, Director, Department of City Planning, City of Pittsburgh; Nicole Graycar, AIA, Project Manager, Campus Design and Facility Development, Carnegie Mellon University; Don Johnson, Senior Development Manager, Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC); Sean C. Luther, Executive Director, InnovatePGH; Lawrence T. Mangan, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, C.W. Benedum Foundation; Sam Reiman, Associate Director, Richard King Mellon Foundation; and Tim Smith, Executive Director, Center of Life Chair, Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative (GHCC).

Spanning two acres, the Plaza will serve as an outdoor public gathering and event space for workers and tenants at the site, for the residents of site’s neighborhood – Hazelwood, and for future visitors to the site for activities and programs.

“The extent and quality of responses from some of the best in the field around the country indicate that we are not the only ones that feel this first public space is a very unique, place-making opportunity for Hazelwood Green and its neighborhood,” says Hazelwood Green Project Director Rebecca Flora.  “We are grateful to all the respondents for their thoughtful responses, and the advisory committee for their contributions of expertise and perspective to this very difficult selection process.”

The space allocated for the Plaza lies south of the Mill 19 building, an expansive former mill structure that will be home to Hazelwood Green’s first anchor tenant – Carnegie Mellon University’s Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute, currently under construction.

Mill 19 will open out onto the one of the Plaza’s four sides, with a second side facing Hazelwood Green’s Main Street. The remaining two sides of the Plaza will be developed according to the site’s master plan, and as market interest evolves.

In response to the RFP, each of the eight design firms will be asked to submit a more detailed approach, work plan, and budget for the Plaza.  The Hazelwood Green Plaza Advisory Committee will make a recommendation of firms to be interviewed by Almono LLC, with final selection expected the end of March 2017.

Construction is expected to begin by late 2018 and be completed the following year.

Located in the city of Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood and situated along the Monongahela River, Hazelwood Green is envisioned to become a world-class model for sustainable development encompassing a mix of offices, research and development, light manufacturing, housing, retail, public green spaces, trails and transportation. 

With a goal of achieving USGBC LEED for Neighborhood Development Gold certification, the site’s master plan will prioritize reuse of land in urban infill locations; seek to create well connected, walkable communities; and pursue efficient use of resources.  Green infrastructure has already been installed to capture all rainwater on the site.

For further detail on the project, go to the Hazelwood Green website.

To learn more about green innovation in the Pittsburgh Region, visit the Pittsburgh Green Story website.

[Posted: Jan. 31, 2018]

2/5/2018