4 Significant Pittsburgh Stories To Monitor In 2026

PITTSBURGH, PA — No one can completely predict the future, but one assumption regarding the new year in Pittsburgh is a virtual certainty.

There will be a new leader at the city's helm, what likely will be the largest event ever held here, major improvements to one section of the city and a construction project that will pose a month-long major inconvenience for tens of thousands of motorists.

The following four stories bear watching as 2026 unfolds:

Huge change in Pittsburgh city government

When Allegheny County Controller and former Pittsburgh city Councilman Corey O'Connor defeated incumbent Ed Gainey in the May Democratic mayoral primary, he was all but guaranteed victory in the November General Election. Pittsburgh has a huge Democratic voter registration edge and hasn't elected a Republican mayor in nearly a century.

O'Connor will take office later this month but already has begun rounding up a staff that includes experienced people from previous mayoral administrations.

Dan Gilman, who served as former Mayor Bill Peduto's chief of staff will reprise that role in O'Connor's office. Yarone Zober, former Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's chief of staff and head of the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority, has been hired for the newly created position of director of redevlopment. Former Peduto press secretary Molly Onufer returns to that role under O'Connor.

NFL Draft to be held in Pittsburgh

The NFL Draft has become one of the year's biggest and most-anticipated sporting events. The 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit was attended by over 775,000 fans, was seen by more than 50 million viewers worldwide. It will be held in Pittsburgh this year and is expected to attract as many as a million attendees.

Details are still being finalized, but activities are expected to take place on Pittsburgh's North Shore, including Acrisure Stadium, and Point State Park. Among the activities that will take place is the NFL Draft Experience, a free fan festival that includes exhibits, games, musical performances and more.

Major Downtown Makeover Occurs

Construction has been ongoing for nearly year on three significant projects that are intended to reshape the Downtown. They should be completed and open to the public in time for the NFL Draft and include:

• The $31 million Arts Landing, which will include a one-acre green space overlooking the Allegheny River between the Andy Warhol and Rachel Carson bridges; a performance area with a bandshell near Fort Duquesne Boulevard; a gardenwalk; a play area for children; a flex space for sports activities such as pickleball; a visitor center on the ground floor a building the trust owns on Penn Avenue; and public restrooms.

• A $25 million state investment for improvements to Point State Park that will improve its pedestrian access, provide updated lighting to the park's famous fountain and add recreational activities to its cityside lawn.

• A $15 million makeover of Market Square that includes a shared street blending the roadway and sidewalks into one continuous, curb-less surface; a glass-and-steel pavilion inspired by the 18th-century covered market stalls that once stood in the Square; and new precast concrete pavers for the streetscape.

Extended Parkway East Closure

Expect a 25-day full closure and detour of the Parkway East later this year as PennDOT replaces the Commercial Street Bridge on the eastern side of the Squirrel Hill tunnel before the Edgewood/Swissvale exit.

The $95 million project will include the razing of the span and then sliding its replacement, which is being built in Frick Park, into its place. The undertaking would be one of the largest lateral slide projects performed in Pennsylvania.