Rivers Casino considers new hotel on Pittsburgh's North Shore

Craig Clark, the casino’s general manager, said, “We hope to have a hotel announcement in the near future, pending the necessary approvals.”

He had no further comment. No details were available as to the number of rooms or type of hotel being planned.

Since it opened in 2009, the casino has been eyeing a possible hotel for a second phase of its development.

It began studying the issue more seriously last year as competition from surrounding states for gambling dollars intensified and casinos in general started to look for ways to separate themselves from the pack.

As one example, a 155-room Hyatt Place Hotel is expected to open adjacent to The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, the Rivers’ closest competitor, in mid-April and will be connected to the Washington County gambling venue via a covered pedestrian bridge. It is being privately developed.

Ron Baillie, co-director of the Carnegie Science Center, said Rivers officials have talked to him generally about their plans to build a hotel on their property. He said the preferred site is a meadow that sits between the two properties. The street to be vacated now exists only on maps.

Mr. Baillie said the science center sees the hotel development as “very positive,” assuming the design is acceptable, even though it would abut its property.

“In general, we think that would be a nice amenity to have in that part of the North Shore,” he said, noting that the science center attracts a number of out-of-town guests who could use it.

As for vacating the street, “We’ve all agreed to go ahead and get that done. It really cleans up all of our boundaries,” he said.

Also at Thursday’s URA meeting, the board approved:

• Ninety days of exclusive negotiations with Shadyside developer Walnut Capital over a proposal to build 352 market rate apartments over two phases on a 4-acre tract of land at Pittsburgh Technology Center in Oakland. Walnut Capital is expected to pay $1.4 million for the land.

Two Oakland residents with homes on the bluff overlooking the site expressed concern at the meeting that the two six-story buildings planned as part of the development would block their views of the Monongahela River. But Todd Reidbord, Walnut Capital president, said the firm’s preliminary studies indicated the project would have no impact on those views.

• Three months of negotiations with S&A Homes and Oxford Development Co. for the sale of more than 40 properties in Homewood that will be used for the construction of 45 affordable apartments. It represents the second phase of a plan to build new housing in the neighborhood. The team recently completed a transit-oriented development that included 41 units of senior housing, space for a cafe and another 4,000 square feet of retail space.