PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO

The closing months of 2024 have been marked by a burst of announcements on big developments in the Pittsburgh area. Some are new projects, some are moving forward after years on the drawing board and others have reached important milestones. It’s as if Pittsburgh is coming alive after all the setbacks and uncertainty that occurred during and immediately after the pandemic.

Let’s name a few:

• Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a $600 million plan to revitalize Downtown that would jump-start conversions of seven buildings into 1,000 residential units, upgrade public spaces, support the creative community and make the streets safer with more police.

• In the works for seven years, Piatt Companies moved forward with the sprawling Esplanade development along the Ohio River on the North Side that would include a giant Ferris wheel, marina, aquarium, ice skating rink, retail, apartments, food emporium and a collection of floating houses

• Point Park University proposed building an Events Center Downtown for sports, concerts and to serve as a training lab for students. It also plans more mixed housing and a refresh of the Boulevard of the Allies.

• Nvidia, the world’s largest chip maker for artificial intelligence, launched its first “AI Tech Center” in Pittsburgh and announced the establishment of AI centers at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

• Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium announced an ambitious master plan to reimagine the entire 77-acre site in Highland Park over the next 20 years.

• UPMC held a topping off ceremony on its $1.5 billion UPMC Presbyterian Tower expansion. This 17-story addition in Oakland has been the largest health care construction project in the state over the last two years. It will accept patients in 2027.

• The 26-story FNB Financial Services building on the former Civic Arena site opened this fall; it is the first skyscraper to be added to the Downtown skyline in nearly 10 years.

• Mainspring Energy, a California-based clean energy company, announced plans to build the nation’s first high-volume linear generator manufacturing operation near Pittsburgh International Airport, creating 600 permanent jobs.

• Casa San Jose, the nonprofit Latino resource center in Beechview, broke ground on a $6.3 million community center to expand services. The project symbolizes the increasing needs by the region’s growing immigrant population.

And there’s much more to come in 2025, including the opening of the new $1.57 billion terminal at the airport. Stay tuned.