Pittsburgh planners OK new Alcosan chemical storage building along Ohio River

Alcosan has received approval to build a new chemical storage facility at its treatment plant along the Ohio River.

Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission approved the plans Tuesday after the authority made some aesthetic improvements to its plans.

Alcosan is planning to tear down two existing storage buildings at the site and replace them with a new, 2,700-square-foot structure, said Rulison Evans, the project engineer. It is one of several projects in the works at the site that will give the authority the ability to treat up to 600 million gallons of wastewater a day.

Alcosan’s $2 billion Clean Water Plan also includes a massive tunnel system under Pittsburgh and its rivers.

Members of the Planning Commission earlier this month expressed concerns with Alcosan’s initial plans for the 40-foot-tall building, which will be located within the fenced-off treatment plant site.

Alcosan’s original renderings showed the building appearing to be gray, and Evans said it would be made of brick. Several commissioners said they wanted to see more aesthetic considerations, as the building is visible from the river.

“This is facing a river, and we are trying to encourage more use of our rivers and the views therefrom to be a little more thoughtful,” Commissioner Rachel O’Neill said at a previous Planning Commission meeting.

New renderings presented Tuesday incorporated more aesthetic elements and landscaping. The building will now include blue glazed brick to bring added texture and color to the building, as well as pines and shrubs.

“We think it’s quite attractive,” Evans said.

“It’s an improvement,” Commissioner Sabina Deitrick said. “It’s definitely much better than what we started with.”

Alcosan expects to finish construction on the building by 2025, Evans said. The building will provide safe storage for the handling of a disinfectant chemical called sodium hypochlorite.