The Allegheny Land Trust announced the purchase this week of an 11.3-acre parcel from a private owner to be added to the Duquesne Heights side of the 228-acre Grand View Scenic Byway Park, bringing the total park acreage up to 239 acres.

The parcel overlooks Route 51 and the West End.

“The purchase was four years in the making,” said Roy Kraynyk, Executive Director of ALT, who has been working closely with the Mt. Washington Community Development Corporation on this acquisition. “It is a wonderful parcel to help expand this unique urban park and greenway that provides trails, maintains scenic landscapes and helps to manage stormwater and air quality. Pittsburgh’s reputation as a green city just got a little bit greener.”

It is anticipated that the parcel will be transferred to the City with restrictions to keep the land as permanent green space. MWCDC is a non-profit organization with co-stewardship agreements with both the city and ALT to help fundraise and improve the Grand View Scenic Byway Park.

Allegheny Land Trust, using funds from The Heinz Endowments, the Colcom Foundation, Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, purchased the land for $200,000. The wooded parcel will need some restoration and replanting work to enhance and improve it.

District 2 Councilman Dan Deasy, who introduced legislation at City Council in 2005 to create the Grand View Scenic Byway Park, notes, “This latest purchase, and the whole effort behind creating the GVSBP, is exactly the kind of grassroots, public and private funding collaboration we love to see in this city. Pittsburgh’s pretty special for having these kinds of partnerships, and I think we’re all creating a legacy for future generations.”

“We’re fortunate to have a partner like Allegheny Land Trust who has eagerly gone above and beyond the call of duty in helping us protect this vital urban green space,” says Ilyssa Manspeizer, the MWCDC’s Park Resources Manager. “The GVSBP is built upon the grassroots vision and dedication of countless volunteers, and its future depends upon the strong partnerships we are developing with city, state, non-profit, and foundation partners. Thanks to the hard work of all of these players, the Park is well on its way towards becoming both a keystone of conservation and development for the neighborhood, as well as an icon for the greening of our region.”

A celebration event will be held in the spring, when Pittsburgh Mayor Ravenstahl, City Council, state representatives and other key stakeholders will join the community to formally dedicate this long-awaited parcel into the park.

1/25/2008