Riverlife (formerly known as Riverlife Task Force) is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

public-private partnership established in 2000 to guide and advocate for the redevelopment of the riverfronts of the City of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Its most significant capital project is the planning and development of

Three Rivers Park Three Rivers Park is a public urban waterfront park along the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The park, under development since 2000, is currently defined by the boundaries of the West End Bridge over the ...

Organization

History

Riverlife was established as Riverlife Task Force in 2000 as an independent public-private partnership, with its main focus being the creation of

. Since its founding, Riverlife has been an active proponent of riverfront development focused towards bettering the beauty and recreational aspects of Pittsburgh's rivers. It has also voiced concerns over projects that it has felt would have an adverse effect on the rivers. Over $129 million of public and private funding has been invested in building Pittsburgh's riverfront park system since 2000, resulting in over $4.1 billion in adjacent development in the forms of hotels, office buildings, entertainment venues and other real estate projects located next to the park. Past and present board members of Riverlife include Carol Brown, former president of

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT) is a nonprofit arts organization formed in 1984 to promote economic and cultural development in Downtown Pittsburgh. The "Trust" has focused its work on a 14-square block section called the Cultural District, wh ...

;

Teresa Heinz Teresa Heinz (born Maria Teresa Thierstein Simões-Ferreira; October 5, 1938), also known as Teresa Heinz Kerry, is a Portuguese-American businesswoman and philanthropist. Heinz is the widow of former U.S. Senator John Heinz and the wife of fo ...

of the

Heinz Endowments The Heinz Endowments is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the United States, and was formed with the combined support from two smaller, private foundations: the Howard Heinz Endowment and the Vira I. Heinz Endowment. It awards more t ...

; Paul O’Neill, former

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

;

Dan Onorato Daniel Onorato (born February 5, 1961) is an American Democratic politician from the state of Pennsylvania. He served as the chief executive of Allegheny County from 2004 to 2012, and in 2010, he was the Democratic nominee for governor. He lost ...

, Chief Executive of Allegheny County; and Art Rooney, Jr., president of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. The organization simplified its name from Riverlife Task Force to Riverlife in 2008. Vivien Li is Riverlife's president and CEO.

Mission and goals

The core goal of Riverlife is to reclaim, restore and promote Pittsburgh's riverfronts as an environmental, recreational, cultural, and economic hub for the people of the region and its visitors. This is being accomplished through a combination of the following three approaches: #Developing core capital projects and acting as the driving force behind them. #Supporting other capital projects that are sponsored by public and private partners. #Advocating for high quality design, environmental preservation, and other issues that affect the park's development. Riverlife has often been a distinct voice in the areas of Pittsburgh development projects. It has a history of both supporting or criticizing projects that it feels would have a positive or adverse effect on the rivers of Pittsburgh.

References

*Patricia Lowry (2007)
Riverlife Task Force profile: story by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Retrieved May 14, 2007. *Patricia Lowry (2006)
Firm’s Winning Design for West End Bridge Uses Suspended Walkways: story by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Retrieved April 1, 2008. *Rick Lord (2008)
City becomes battleground over what makes good design: story by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Retrieved April 1, 2008. *Riverlife Task Force (2007)
Riverlife
Retrieved April 3, 2008. *Three Rivers Park Economic Impact Study (2015)

Retrieved February 16, 2016.

External links

Riverlife website
{{Pittsburgh Monongahela River Allegheny River Ohio River Waterfront redevelopment organizations Non-profit organizations based in Pittsburgh