history / completed / overlay
district ordinance / district
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Since its inception in 1954, the Pittsburgh International
Airport has played an important role in the economic growth of Moon
Township. One area of Moon Township that is
seeing a great deal of renewed commercial development is the University
Boulevard Corridor, which was previously known as Beers School
Road and Narrows Run Road. With the opening of numerous restaurants, hotels
and other airport-related businesses, University Boulevard began
to see a significant increase in traffic. This growth continued until
1992 when the Pittsburgh International Airport terminal relocated to the
adjacent township of Findlay, taking with it a great deal of airport-related
traffic and thus altering the boulevard's identity as an airport service
corridor. Today, those businesses have developed to reflect the needs
of Moon Township's corporate businesses, office parks
and Robert Morris University's student body.
In order to be proactive and abate the consequences
of Pittsburgh International Airport's relocation, township officials developed
a forward-thinking plan that would maintain the corridor's commercial
success. The first step in ensuring stability was to develop a strategic
plan that would guide the future growth and sustainability of development
in this thoroughfare. The key action identifying this strategic plan was
the renaming of Beers School Road/Narrows Run Road to University Boulevard,
a name that reflect the road's main anchor, Robert Morris University. This
plan also included a conceptual design for improvements to University
Boulevard to improve traffic flow, enhance pedestrian access and mobility
and develop streetscape improvements. In addition, the plan recommended
how to implement urban design changes to the corridor such as landscaping,
sidewalks, building facades, public amenities and a gateway. The plan
was presented and approved by the Moon Township Board
of Supervisors in 2003.
Since that time, the plan has been further enhanced
with the approval of an overlay district, designed as a tool to implement
the recommendations included in the strategic plan. Over the past five
years, vast improvements have been made to University Boulevard.
Nearly $25 million in developments have been added, including a Double
Tree Hotel, Sheetz convenience store and a Primanti Brothers Restaurant,
one of Pittsburgh's cultural icons. Robert Morris University has
also enhanced the beauty and appearance of their campus with the addition
of an iron archway entrance and a multi-million dollar football stadium,
which sits above University Boulevard. Moon Township is now also home to a 14,000 square-foot Walgreens pharmacy/drug store. Additionally, Wal-Mart Corporation has also submitted plans to build a 150,000 square-foot supercenter where the West Hills Shopping Plaza currently exists. Those plans are currently being reviewed by the Moon Township Board of Supervisors.
The redevelopment along University Boulevard and
the continual addition of new businesses allows Moon Township officials
to continue to pursue funding for the improvements that are outlined in
the plan.
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