A Ferris wheel has been proposed as a highly visible signal of the North Side of Pittsburgh's role in the city's downtown revitalization.
Mark Belko reports: "Developer Millcraft Investments is planning a giant Navy Pier-like Ferris wheel with LED lighting as a first-day attraction as part of a 13-acre mixed use project on the North Shore riverfront that also would include offices, housing, and destination retail."
The Ferris wheel would take on extra meaning in Pittsburgh: George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., the inventor of the ride, "lived on the city’s North Side and died at Mercy Hospital in 1896."
The proposed Ferris wheel in Pittsburgh would model itself on the precedent set at Chicago's Navy Pier, and like examples in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, Pittsburgh's Ferris wheel would be fully enclosed and climate controlled to operate year round.
As for the larger development surrounding the Ferris wheel, the article includes more details about the possible retail and cultural tenants that could locate at the new development. The plan will require special district plan approval.
FULL STORY: Developer plans Ferris wheel, 13-acre mixed use project on North Side
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research