The River Town Series

Shedding its industrial past, riverfront living goes upscale

 

Chapel Harbor at the Water, an upscale, mixed housing development in O’Hara, is example of how a growing number of Pittsburgh residents are seizing the opportunity to make their homes along the three rivers now that more housing developers are recognizing the demand for riverfront living. While Pittsburgh’s rivers have become so improved that they are now being used as a source of drinking water, it was not always that way. “Previously industrial sites have been converted to luxury housing, and people can’t get enough of these housing units along cleaned-up sites on the riverfront,” said Vivien Li, president of RiverLife, a Downtown-based riverfront advocacy group.

The business answer to water quality and conservation

 

Pittsburgh’s three rivers may be iconic for its link to industrial growth, feeding power plants and manufacturing. But the rivers have also given rise to another subset of the economy that creates innovative ways to better use, clean and conserve water. Despite its abundance here, water is an increasingly precious resource across the country and around the world, boosting demand for technologies and services that help protect and conserve it. More attention lately has been given to problems both in urban areas — like aging infrastructure leading to combined sewer overflows and water main breaks — and rural, such as water scarcity complicating agriculture in dry regions.

 

Often a dirty job, commercial diving is not without its treasures

 

The three questions people always ask Josh Gostomski when they learn he’s a commercial diver are: “Can you weld under water? You must make a lot of money, huh? And are there any really big fish down there?” He answers: yes, no, and absolutely. It's not just rivers. Nearly anything that happens in or near liquid requires divers. Bridges, tunnels, construction, sewage tanks, potable water reservoirs and power plants to name just a few.

Just Ducky Tours attracts Pittsburgh locals and tourists, too

 

The first time Massachusetts native Chris D’Addario visited Pittsburgh in 1996 searching for a place to launch a quirky sightseeing business offering land/water tours from amphibious vehicles, he was shocked. Pittsburgh was nothing like the smoky, dreary city he had expected. “I couldn’t believe how nice it was,” he said. “I was thrilled. I was amazed. I said, ‘This place rocks!’”

Coal losing foothold over Pittsburgh region's river traffic

 

Pittsburgh’s rivers help tell the story of coal’s waning fortunes. Ten years ago, about 28 million tons of the fossil fuel moved on the region’s three rivers. A decade later, just under 22 million tons of coal moved on the rivers in 2014, making floating barges loaded with the black mineral a less common sight in the region.

Developers of hydro plants see role in Pittsburgh region

 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers calls it an “aquatic staircase.” Every dozen miles or so, the water in the Allegheny, Ohio and Monongahela rivers trips over a dam and falls several feet into a lower channel. The man-made cascades break the rivers into pools and keep them deep enough for navigation, but the flow and fall of water over the dams has drawn the attention of hydropower developers who see it as an unharnessed source of reliable, renewable energy.

Carrie Furnaces attract artists, entertainers and tourists to former mill site

 

“It’s the epicenter of Rust Belt chic right here,” said Ron Baraff, director of historic resources and facilities for the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corp., the nonprofit that manages the Carrie Furnaces site in Rankin. As the former blast furnaces have become an in-demand venue for artists, photographers, entertainers and groups looking for a unique event space, Rivers of Steel has found an unexpected stream of income to help fund renovations at the facility where U.S. Steel produced iron from 1907 until 1978.

Running a marina on the Allegheny has been an invigorating ride

 

Boaters up and down the Allegheny River know the Allegheny River Boat Club as a friendly place they can park their vessel for an afternoon — or a few days — and enjoy the hospitality of the boat club, which features a 3,200-square-foot bar area that seats 35; a menu offering hand-pulled pork and corned beef; and an outdoor deck that makes a perfect setting for a warm summer evening’s entertainment.

Allegheny River is key to Foxburg's emerging economy

 

Foxburg has no traffic lights, no industry, no Starbucks. What this Clarion County community does have is a grandfatherly doctor who has become a one-man community redevelopment machine. Arthur Steffee’s vision: Capitalize on Foxburg’s scenic views of the Allegheny River to create a destination for tourists and lift the region’s economy. The effort may be getting traction. “The only way you can survive is to utilize the beauty of the place,” the 81-year-old Dr. Steffee said. “This little town has an enormous future.”

Riverfront spaces have become epicenter of Pittsburgh’s development

 

When Lisa Schroeder arrived in Pittsburgh 16 years ago, she remembers the city’s rivers being viewed as little more than a “toxic highway.” Ms. Schroeder, former president and CEO of Riverlife, marvels at how things have changed since she first arrived from Portland, Maine. These days, Pittsburgh’s riverfronts have gone from dreary to dynamic. From the North Shore to the South Side to the East End, developers that once spurned the land along the rivers now are clamoring to build on them.