Consultant Recommends $44M Plan For Former Prison

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A consultant has recommended that Pennsylvania spend $44.4 million to demolish a former state prison in Pittsburgh and rehabilitate the site for industrial reuse and a riverfront park, despite the prison’s popularity with television and film producers. It wasn’t clear when or if state officials would act on the recommendation made by Michael Baker International. The consultant’s plan calls for razing all 42 buildings at the former State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh, including the main penitentiary. It also recommends that just over 5 acres of the property along the Ohio riverfront be set aside as a public park, part of which would be integrated into the Three Rivers Heritage Trail that runs by the old prison.