Details On New $31M Downtown Pittsburgh Civic Space Disclosed

PITTSBURGH, PA — The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust on Thursday unveiled the name and provided further details on the new $31 million Downtown civic space on Eighth Street bordering Penn Avenue and Fort Duquesne Boulevard.

The roughly four-acre space has been dubbed Arts Landing. It's an integral part of a $600 Downtown revitalization plan outlined in October by Gov. Josh Shapiro, Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Innamorato.

Art Landing 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 garden walk; 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.

Construction is expected to begin almost immediately, as officials would like to have Arts Landing open by April 2026, when Pittsburgh will be hosting the NFL Draft.

Other components of the Downtown makeover include:

• Market Square & Liberty Avenue Medians: This $30 million dollar project will fund a major renovation of Market Square and the Liberty Avenue Medians, improving paving and adding benches and tables for visitors, expanding dining spaces, and building capacity to host more events and markets. The median project better connects Point State Park to Market Square.

• Point State Park: The state will invest $25 million into a series of short- and long-term projects that will improve pedestrian access to the park, update the lighting at the park’s landmark fountain, and add recreational activities to its cityside lawn. Shorter term projects on walkways and the fountain will be complete in time for the upcoming NFL Draft.

The plan also includes creating about 1,000 new apartments and a hotel in seven current office buildings.