Pittsburgh's SouthSide Works

Pittsburgh is one of my favorite cities…and one of my favorite things about my favorite city is the neighborhoods. Anyone who has attempted to get around Pittsburgh knows that the hills make it nearly impossible to get from here to there unless you know exactly where you are going. Add the rivers and bridges to the mix, even those who live there have established enclaves unto themselves, creating neighborhoods that are individual destinations. Pittsburgh’s Southside is one of those neighborhoods.

Pittsburgh’s Southside is geographically located between the Monongahela River to the north and Mount Washington and the Southside Slopes to the south. The main drag is East Carson Street in which there are three main subdivisions. Station Square is the furthest west of the various developments, located at the end of the Smithfield Street Bridge. As you drive to the east, you will encounter a gritty, eclectic neighborhood with second hand bookstores, tattoo parlours, antique stores, head shops, and restaurants to suit every taste and pocketbook, mostly local. This is a fun area, but is rapidly gentrifying as evidenced by increasing property values. Both of these, especially the two lane East Carson corridor, are worth separate trips to explore and enjoy.

At the top of the East Carson Street corridor, where two lanes turn into four, is the brand new SouthSide Works, located along the river. On its face, it resembles Legacy Village in Cleveland, much smaller, and Easton in Columbus, much bigger. Where it differs is that it was actually built into pre-existing buildings associated with a steel mill formerly located on the property. For the most part, it maintains an industrial feel, as do most of the new developments being built the further east you drive along East Carson Street.

For some reason, the developer opened the area in stages. In the beginning, there wasn’t a whole lot there. But progress has been steady, and as new buildings and stores have opened up, it is a pleasant place to walk around and enjoy, especially on a warm summer’s evening. All of these areas are defined as “mixed use”, in which the developer tries to intermingle condo housing, offices, and retail. Some of the efforts succeed, some of them don’t. But the nature of the Southside neighborhood is pushing this to success. If you want to live in the Southside but don’t want to have to put a ton of money into renovating the very old, existing housing stock, and would like to have a place to park your car, this is the place to go.

The SouthSide Works is built around a town square, the center of which boasts a Cheesecake Factory which can be described as nothing less than a Greek temple. When you walk into the square, you feel like you should pray to it. Surrounding the square are various establishments, including a Cineplex, and various other restaurants such as Claddagh Irish Pub, which is one of my favorite places. Upscale restaurants include the Hot Metal Grille (currently closed for renovations) and McCormick and Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant.

There is no major retail anchor such as Macy’s located here. But there is an assortment of smaller retailers, some of which have come to be standard in these types of developments such as the Z Gallerie and Sur la Table Kitchen Store. I really like its version of the Joseph-Beth Booksellers chain, which tends to get some big name people into the establishment to sign books, especially Pittsburgh sports figures.

Big things are in store for the SouthSide Works. Approval and financing have just been granted for a $10.5 million 17 dock project giving river access to the development, as well as a major hotel and spa to be constructed on the opposite side of East Carson Street. When built, this area will become a major hub of Pittsburgh activity and recreation. In the meantime, it’s worth a visit. There is ample parking on the street and several decks. One word of warning, parking is paid for at vending machine type apparatii that can be a bit intimidating and don't always work.

The SouthSide Works
East Carson at 27th Steets
1-877-977-1880