By Joe Reuben, Bulletin contributor
Much will be happening at the top of the hill in Garfield over the next couple of years, not least of which is the expansion of the boundaries of Fort Pitt Park.
For decades, the park consisted mainly of Fort Pitt Ballfield, on which the Garfield Gators play their home football games next to Fort Pitt School on Hillcrest St. But now, at the urging to a group of nearby neighbors and the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, a number of lots owned by the City and the public Housing Authority will be folded into the park, ensuring that it will be able to offer more amenities over time than just the ballfield itself.
City Councilman Khari Mosley convened a public hearing in Council’s chambers on October 14th which sets the stage for Council to take final action later this fall on the proposed addition of over 20 individual parcels to the park’s configuration. The map below shows an extension of the park south to Shamrock Way, east to N. Mathilda and Breesport streets, and north to Schenley Avenue as it nears the Garfield Commons housing development. No private property owner along any of these streets will be affected by the expansion.
The largest lot to be included is one owned by the Housing Authority, which mostly takes in a hillside that sits above a cluster of townhomes on Fern Street in the Garfield Commons development. The Housing Authority will retain ownership of the parcel for the immediate future, but it will be incorporated into Fort Pitt Park.
“Our hope is that at some point in the not-too-distant future, we can see walking trails that extend along that cliffside above Fern, as well as through the wooded area between Rosetta Street and Hillcrest Street,” Kuwame Kinsel, the BGC’s special projects manager, told The Bulletin recently. “Of course, achieving that goal will require the commitment of resources from the City and perhaps the foundation community.”
The park expansion is preceding the planned overhaul of Fort Pitt Ballfield, where a multi-year investment by the City in the field and adjoining facilities is due to begin as early as next summer. Phase I will see new natural turf installed and the addition of new bleachers for fans along the north side of the field. Eliminating the bleachers on the south side of the field will open up a parking area for over 40 vehicles, thus relieving the strain on Hillcrest Street during Gator home games.