Plans Advancing For New Downtown Pittsburgh Office Tower

PITTSBURGH, PA — The Pittsburgh Planning Commission on Tuesday is expected to hear details of a plan to build a new skyscraper on the site of the former Civic Arena property. The 26-story tower, at the intersection of Washington Place and Bedford Avenue, would be the new headquarters of FNB Bank.

According to planing commission documents, the building's glassy form will be carefully sculpted to reflect the unique setting of the easily accessible location. An expression of crisp verticality dominates the design, visually bridging to nearby skyscrapers and downtown landmarks, while shifts in massing recognize a relationship to the lower-scale character of the adjacent development and residential neighborhood beyond.

Enhancing this vertical development will be the creation of new public plaza that revitalizes Wylie Avenue as a connector between the Hill District and Downtown.The building’s lobby is multi-story and will provide internal connection from the Washington Place entry to an entryand a new public park being developed by the city.

A lawn area offers space for individual activities as well as larger events and civic gathering. The series of small terraces will offer places for small gathering opportunities and will house retail kiosks which will activate the green space. A palette of natural and man-made materials such as stone, wood, and concrete will shape the plazas, walls and benches.