A proposed six-story apartment building in Pittsburgh’s Bluff neighborhood would prominently feature 10 large panels of artwork on the building’s façade. Pittsburgh-based GSX Ventures has proposed the 211-unit apartment building on a 1.4-acre site that occupies nearly an entire city block bounded by Forbes Avenue and Watson, Marion and Van Braam street. Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission is now evaluating the proposal, which is being called Phoenix on Forbes. “We think it’s going to be quite an interesting building and quite a memorable piece of architecture for the city of Pittsburgh,” said GSX President Jon Grant. The developer would designate 10% of the units as affordable housing for households making up to 60% of the area median income. According to the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, the area median income ranges from $70,300 for an individual to $132,600 for a family of eight. “We know it’s important to house people at all (income) levels,” Grant said. The building would include studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, Grant said. Grant said the development also would include a fitness center, office space, a courtyard area and a pool. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the building would be 10 panels of artwork placed on the outside of the building. The plan is to work with a council of local art advocates to select work from local artists to display on the panels. Those panels could be changed out for new artwork from time to time. The building will “evolve over time” as new artwork is put in place, Grant said. Pittsburgh-based GSX Ventures has proposed the 211-unit apartment building on a 1.4-acre site that occupies nearly an entire city block bounded by Forbes Avenue and Watson, Marion and Van

The planned Phoenix on Forbes development is slated to include more than 200 mixed-rate apartments, an elevated courtyard and a pool. A new apartment building set to be built on Forbes Ave. in Pittsburgh’s Bluff neighborhood would feature public art installations that could change every five years. Local artwork will be displayed on the facade of a new apartment building in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood. The Phoenix on Forbes development, which earned Planning Commission approval this week, will include retail space, a fitness center and other amenities. TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved plans for a new apartment building that will prominently display 10 large panels of artwork on its facade. Pittsburgh-based GSX Ventures intends to construct a six-story, 211-unit apartment building, dubbed Phoenix on Forbes, on a 1.4-acre site in the city’s Bluff neighborhood. The new building will take up nearly an entire city block bounded by Forbes Avenue and Watson, Marion and Van Braam streets. When designing the building, the goal was to create something unique that could “evolve over time,” said Bill Kolano of Pittsburgh-based Kolano Design. The plan, he said, is to choose new artwork every five years or so to be displayed on the facade. The artwork will be printed on “museum-quality” banners, he said, which will clip “seamlessly” into frames on the building. “The concept of the building was really grown out of the fact that many of the buildings popping up around Pittsburgh and around the country are all starting to look the same,” Kolano said, explaining that the large-scale art display on the building would make it stand out. The commission on Tuesday included a contingency that requires the developer to get approval from the city’s Public Art and Civic Design Commission for each art installation. This comes after some commissioners last week voiced concerns about approving a development with such prominent artwork without oversight. The development team has said they will select local artists for the banners, and they’ll gather public feedback before the art is installed. Phoenix on Forbes is slated to include 72 valet parking spaces and 74 bicycle parking spaces, according to information presented to the Planning Commission.

The new design and plan for Market Square was approved by the Pittsburgh Planning Commission on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Construction will begin this April. Image courtesy of Field Operations. In 2025, plan for traffic no matter the trip. From Moon to Sharpsburg and everywhere in between, major construction is set to start or already in progress in many of Pittsburgh’s hotspots. And this year — for the first time since 2009 — Pittsburgh’s very heart is on the docket. Sign up for the NEXTletter. Get the latest news, hottest places to eat, exciting events and more—directly in your inbox. UPDATE (2/12/2025): The Market Square designs that were first presented to the Historic Review Commission on Dec. 4, 2024, gained Pittsburgh Planning Commission approval on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Construction is expected to begin this April, and the project is slated to be completed in April 2026 — just ahead of when the NFL Draft will be hosted in Pittsburgh. In June 2024, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development unveiled plans that would make Downtown its own walkable neighborhood. Nearly five months later, the Shapiro administration announced a $62.6 million investment in the revitalization — a 10th of the $600 million that the administration says has already been committed to the project. Image courtesy of Field Operations. Image courtesy of Field Operations. Image courtesy of Field Operations. Image courtesy of Field Operations. Image courtesy of Field Operations. Image courtesy of Field Operations. On Dec. 4, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and New York-based landscape architecture company Field Operations presented updated plans for Market Square to the Historic Review Commission, addressing feedback from members of the public, nearby business owners and stakeholders. The new plans show the removal of public automobile access from the southern part of the square — which is how it operated during the 2024 summer Thursday market season. Also, a permanent, crescent-shaped trellis sits to the east of Market Street, harkening back to the roofed, open-air market structure that sat near the original Allegheny County Courthouse on the Market Square plot in the early 1800s. In the Historic Review Commission meeting, the Downtown Partnership and Field Operations said they hope to begin construction sometime this year. A preliminary timeline shared with Market Square business owners in June showed that construction would occur from June 2025 through April 2026. A rendering of Esplanade as part of Pittsburgh’s skyline. Image courtesy of Piatt Cos. A few miles upstream on the Ohio River, The Esplanade — which was announced in 2018 and quickly became synonymous with the riverside Ferris wheel the development proposed — gained ground in 2024. In mid-November, the master plan for the 15-acre brownfield site in Chateau gained the approval of the city’s planning commission. This year, each of The Esplanade’s seven separate buildings will undergo a similar review process. Should they pass, construction on phase one of the project — which accounts for almost the entirety of the site, save one residential structure, one “entertainment” commercial structure and additional office spaces — is expected to begin later this year.

Major projects include a development in the Lower Hill that will be anchored by First National Bank’s headquarters, Duquesne University’s planned medical school and the UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Tower on the Bluff. A new $66 million mixed-used development called Fifth & Dinwiddie spearheaded by the Hill District-based Bridging the Gap Development will further change a crucial nexus between the region’s two biggest economic engines, Oakland and Downtown. Fifth & Dinwiddle will feature 171 apartments — 20% affordable and the rest market-rate — along with commercial office space, coworking space for small local businesses and 12,000 square feet for much-needed local retail. Rendering of Fifth & Dinwiddie courtesy of Bridging The Gap Development. “A coffee shop is definitely planned,” says Derrick Tillman, CEO and president Bridging the Gap. “I’d like a bank and a restaurant. Other potential uses are still being explored.” The project has been in the works for 18 months, and is new enough that it doesn’t have a website yet. But in 2019, Fifth & Dinwiddie was the winning project in a competitive Request For Proposal from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), which sold the 30 assembled parcels along Fifth Avenue and Dinwiddie Street to Bridging the Gap for $2.4 million. The east side of Dinwiddie Street will feature a conversion of the former City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works property (the Mugele Building), which is 20,000 square feet. A 20,000-square-foot addition will add one floor above, and new space to the left of the property. The new construction will house commercial office space and retail. Derrick Tillman, CEO of Bridging the Gap Development. “And then, we’re doing a training program focused on clean energy jobs,” says Tillman. “So, teaching folks how to do things like install solar panels and tapping into other opportunities in the clean energy sector.”

Otherwise known as Uptown, The Bluff is a centrally located neighborhood right between downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland. It's home to Duquesne University and offers a nice mix of 19th century rowhomes and large, off-campus university housing buildings. Although it's not as popular as some of the more traditional neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, The Bluff is convenient for those either attending or working at Duquesne. Popular spots include Asylum Coffee and Bluffs Bar and Grill. A few columnists have written about The Bluff and how it's seen as Pittsburgh's next up-and-coming area, but the neighborhood has to engage in more development to reach that status level. VeryApt's guide to living in Bluff. Median rent and safety data, local shopping and public transit, and expert recommendations on local grocery stores, restaurants, and so much more.

Bluff, Uptown, Hill District, Soho – the narrow neighborhood next to the Monongahela River has had many names, but all residents know it for its location next door to some of Pittsburgh’s best amenities. “The community is a unique, up-and-coming, opportune location between two important business districts, Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland,” says Brittany McDonald, Executive Director of Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh. “In addition, the Uptown community has a unique art scene and is the home to several renowned local artists.” Uptown’s century-old townhomes are a short walk from PPG Paints Arena, Market Square, and multiple large universities and hospitals, which serve as the area’s top employers. Most locals here prefer to walk instead of drive – according to Walk Score, Bluff is one of Pittsburgh’s most walkable neighborhoods with a score of 77. The Bluff neighborhood is full of murals and sits just south of PPG Paints Arena. Residents of Bluff enjoy great food and drinks at Moonlit Burgers. Uptown and its neighboring communities are known for their attractions and entertainment hubs. “The location of this community is unique in that it is close to the central business district, Downtown Pittsburgh, close to Oakland,” McDonald says. “It is also right across the bridge from Pittsburgh's Southside neighborhood which has a dense business and entertainment district.” PPG Paints Arena, located along Fifth Avenue, is home to the Pittsburgh Penguins and serves as a live music venue. In Downtown, Market Square on Market Street and Forbes Avenue is one of the biggest retail markets in the city and hosts dozens of retail shops and a weekly farmers market. Downtown also has cultural attractions like the Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts and Benedum Center for the Performing Arts along Penn Avenue. When it is time for a meal out, locals can head to Moonlit Burgers Uptown on Forbes Avenue for smash burgers and cocktails, then walk to Fifth Avenue for Reuben sandwiches at Souper Bowl or wings at Pizza Milano. Bluff is dotted with small markets for everyday food shopping, like Quick Schwartz Supermarket on Fifth Avenue or Salem’s Market on Centre Avenue. Market Square is just outside the Bluff neighborhood and is full out outdoor activities. UPMC Mercy Hospital and Medical Center is connected to Duquesne University in Bluff. Many Uptown residents live in townhouses with burgundy facades and intricate porticos. These distinctive properties have been in Pittsburgh since the turn of the 20th century. Townhomes are situated on busy urban streets that have sidewalks for easy neighborhood strolls and on-street parking. Occasionally, townhomes will have shallow front yards that owners decorate with Hosta bushes and small garden beds. Townhomes can sell for between $200,000 to $500,000, a steep increase from 2022 when properties were estimated at around $150,000. The Union on 5th Avenue is a 100% renovated, historic building located near the Duquesne University campus in the heart of uptown Pittsburgh. This one-of-a-kind building boasts sweeping views of the city and campus, and offers top-end interior furnishings along with full security and fire suppression systems. Two- and three-bedroom apartments with up to three bathrooms are available, ranging in Union on 5th Annex is more than just another student apartment complex. Our Pittsburgh apartment community works to provide our residents with a warm and welcoming environment to call their home. With such a convenient location, being late to class is a worry of the past! Take in the beautiful Pittsburgh scenery and nature on a short walk to campus from our Pittsburgh student apartments. Our Interested in learning more about homes in this area? Reach out to Kevin Obendorfer, an experienced agent in this neighborhood. Sound Score® measures the noise level of any address. Transit Score® measures access to public transit. Bike Score® measures the bikeability of any address. Are you familiar with the Bluff neighborhood? to let others know what life in this neighborhood is like. Was this page helpful? Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified. Kevin, I'd like to learn more about homes in Bluff.

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The people are friendly and nice. It’s easy to get around anywhere even with traffic." "It’s quiet city living & close enough to commercial buildings that it feels safe and more transient." "There’s great access to interstates, downtown, Oakland, and other neighborhoods. Easy to get around and decently safe. GreatSchools ratings are based on test scores and additional metrics when available. Check with the applicable school district prior to making a decision based on these schools. Learn more. Discover what it would be like to live in the Bluff neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA straight from people who live here. Review maps, check out nearby restaurants and amenities, and read what locals say about Bluff.