Bike Tour of the Almono Site

Experience

This is a very special opportunity to get an inside look at Pittsburgh’s last big brownfield redevelopment, and to learn about the site’s future. Rebecca Flora of ReMake Group and Almono’s Project Director will kick off the tour with some site history and information about Almono’s sustainability goals. We’ll then break into groups on our bikes (or on foot) to check out a few highlights of the site.

The bike ride will be about 3 miles in length. If biking isn’t your style, an alternate walking tour will also be available, with a reduced 1.5 mile route. Food and drinks will be included.

Once you click on the “register now” link, please pay attention to the registration options.  Our friends at Healthy Ride are offering on-site bike rentals for anyone who will need a bike when they arrive. If you will need a bike provided to you on the tour, please register under that option (for an additional $15).

Members of BikePGH and Healthy Ride are eligible for the GBA member price.

About the Site

In 2002, the Almono LP had the foresight to purchase this former J&L and LTV steel site to ensure that its redevelopment could be fully leveraged as a unique opportunity for the Hazelwood neighborhood, city, and region. Now, fifteen years later, the 178-acre site is positioned to not only become a hub for the innovation and tech economies, but serve as a leader and catalyst for sustainable development.

The site aspires to be a place for experimentation and creativity. This vision is carried out not just in the types of businesses and development that it attracts, but in the site’s infrastructure, programming, and process. It is a place to test new approaches to integrating stormwater management into the public realm, to facilitate thoughtful co-locating of industries, to create a model for district energy, and to design a process that yields an authentic sense of place.

During this tour we will get a chance to look at and talk about some of these innovative approaches already underway, as well as the larger vision for the site.

Stops along the Tour

Site Work & Stormwater. Now with Act II clearance, environmental clean-up of the site over the past 15 years was no different from the many riverfront brownfield sites in the region. However, the environmental clean-up was completed in conjunction with the first road on-site, as well as the design and building of the site’s stormwater management infrastructure. Additionally, this road was designed as the city’s first newly designed complete street. This tour stop will focus on the groundwork undertaken to get the site to where it is today, and ready for future development.

Public Realm. The idea of public realm on the site is intended to include a variety of things: the 1.2 miles of riverfront, the Mill Plaza, the pedestrian and cyclists connections, and everything else “between the buildings.” Accessibility and inclusivity are key components of the site’s public realm strategy. This tour stop will talk about the public realm vision for the site, how it can be amenity for the neighborhood, as well as a part of the larger city and regional park system.

Trails & Connectivity. Though Second Avenue and railroads currently create barriers to the site’s connectivity and accessibility, the site is perfectly positioned to act as a confluence for Hazelwood, South Side, Oakland, Four Mile Run, and Greenfield. This tour stop will highlight some of these key linkages and how the site could tie to the Eliza Furnace trail, the Great Allegheny Passage, the South Side Riverfront Trail, and Junction Hollow.

Mill 19. One of two legacy buildings on the site, this will be the first to be developed. Plans and design for the building aim to emphasize the building’s heritage while providing space for a completely new and different industry: automation. This tour stop will focus on the building’s design and role in the site’s redevelopment, as well as its energy goals.

Pumphouse. This remnant of river infrastructure has sparked lot of great and intriguing ideas. Currently one of the few places to access the water, this is easily one of the most inspiring places on the site. This tour stop is meant to generative creative thinking for alternative reuse of the riverfront and ignite the imagination as to how we engage with the water.