After nearly 10 years in development, Piatt Cos. broke ground on the North Side Esplanade project earlier this afternoon.

Development of the 15-acre site in Manchester-Chateau has popped in and out of public consciousness since 2017. It most recently made headlines last year after its master plan gained Pittsburgh Planning Commission approval. It’s expected to cost $740 million.

A common refrain from speakers ahead of Monday’s ceremony was that this development took community input to heart during its lengthy planning process.

“Since 2017, the Piatt team has worked alongside us with intention, patience and collaboration,” said LaShawn Burton-Faulk, executive director of the Manchester Citizens Corporation. “This has not been a development done to a neighborhood, but a development shaped with one.”

From left: Sara Innamorato, LaShawn Burton-Falk, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Gov. Josh Shapiro, Lucas Piatt and other local leaders conduct a ceremonial groundbreaking of Esplanade on Monday, Dec. 1. Photo by Roman Hladio.

Esplanade has long been synonymous with a Downtown-facing Ferris wheel that is planned to be built on a visitors center, of sorts, along the Allegheny Riverfront Trail. On Monday, Lucas Piatt — CEO of Piatt Cos. — and government leaders announced a slew of other features: a splash park that will double as an ice skating rink in the winter, a 225-room hotel, a marina with space for 100 boats, 126 riverfront condominiums and 750 apartments.

Of the 750 apartments, 20% — about 150 — will be “affordable housing” for households making 80% of the area median income. The “affordable” designation usually locks rent to 30% of the household’s income. According to 2025 HUD data, 80% AMI in the Pittsburgh Metro Area is $85,850 for a household of 4 — HUD’s average.

Piatt Cos. estimated that Esplanade’s development could create 9,300 local labor jobs during construction and sustain about 4,500 after completion.

A new billboard promoting the Esplanade sits among the warehouses that will be razed to accommodate the seven-building development. Photo by Roman Hladio.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, also in attendance at the groundbreaking, lauded the commitment to working with city leaders to create a development that improved the city. He announced that the commonwealth would invest $35 million in the project.

“You’ve heard me say this before: I think for our commonwealth to thrive, we need a thriving Pittsburgh, so it is critical to me that Pittsburgh have what it needs to be able to be successful,” Shapiro said, harkening back to statements he made when announcing a $63 million investment in Pittsburgh’s Downtown in October 2024.

“The Commonwealth’s support … will help the Piatt team prepare this site for construction, from demolishing existing buildings, clearing the site, grading to help raise the site from that 100-year flood plain, installing utilities and improving roadways to allow better access to the entire site.”

Piatt told NEXTpittsburgh that site work will now begin and take about 12 months. After that, “verticality” — the site’s build-out — is expected to take 18 months, placing Esplanade’s full completion date sometime in mid-2028.

NEXT is rounding up all of the ongoing developments in the Pittsburgh area that we’re keeping an eye on in 2026, including Esplanade. What should be on our list? Email me: roman@nextpittsburgh.com.