Major entertainment project by PNC Park on schedule for completion by Opening Day 2025
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- While 2024 may be ending, there's much to look forward to next year, including a major entertainment project by PNC Park.
The empty lot next to PNC Park will transform into an entertainment plaza in about three months. Project leaders told KDKA-TV that construction on two new restaurants is a little behind schedule, but the center will be ready for Opening Day.
Herky Pollock is anxious to ring in 2025 so he can show off his vision for the future entertainment plaza on the North Shore.
"I can picture it. I can feel it," Pollock said. "This is going to be an iconic development that Pittsburgh is going to have for decades to come."
Pollock is a partner with HiLife Hospitality, working with the Pirates on the 30,000-square-foot project at Mazeroski Way and West General Robinson. He expects people to gather year-round for social and sporting events. At the center will be a 40-foot LED screen, with performance stages and food trucks.
However, the openings of two new restaurants surrounding the plaza are delayed.
"The costs have risen to a point where we have to look at every detail of the project, refine the scope, refine the design," Pollock said.
He said they're not skimping on the project, saying it will all be worth the wait.
Sugarbird will be a place with a full-service outdoor beer garden, serving chicken sandwiches and tenders, donuts, and ice cream. It should open in late summer.
Then, by football season, Highball Social Club on the ground floor of a new apartment complex, will be an experiential entertainment spot with bars, Italian street food, games, and several TVs.
Construction is in full force, and as Pollock waits for it to end, he's already looking towards the future, when all eyes are on the Steel City for the NFL Draft.
"We are literally in the epicenter of what's going to happen in 2026, so we can't wait to showcase this for all of Pittsburgh and the entire world," Pollock said.
This is one of multiple projects in development for this side of the city. In a few years, we'll also see a mixed-use development called the 'Esplanade,' more than a mile away.