Along the Monongahela River between the Hot Metal Bridge and Downtown lies the future of… Along the Monongahela River between the Hot Metal Bridge and Downtown lies the future of Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh Technology Center has come to represent the transformation of Pittsburgh from an industrial center to a pioneer in technology and research. And it is set to expand once again.

The center, which lies between the Monongahela River and Oakland, is scheduled to add a hotel to its mix of research and technology offices.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Kratsa Properties, based in Harmar, has purchased land in the Pittsburgh Technology Center in order to build a hotel. The hotel, which is scheduled to open in 2009, will be privately financed and will complement the proposed 30-acre expansion of the center.

Already covering 48 acres, proposals for the expansion of the center have recently been introduced and could provide up to one million additional square feet of space to develop and would require the construction of three new parking garages.

As the availability of real estate in Oakland has decreased, many businesses and research institutions have found the Pittsburgh Technology Center, sometimes referred to as “Technology Row,” to be a convenient location for expansion

Pitt’s Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering and the Carnegie Mellon Research Institute are just two of the occupants of the technology center. Additionally, the light rail system proposed by Allegheny executive Dan Onorato would make the Pittsburgh Technology Center even more accessible and could possibly become a main hub of transportation in the Pittsburgh region.

One of the proposed routes for the light rail is along Second Avenue.

The Pittsburgh Technology Center has been a prime example of urban redevelopment in Pittsburgh. According to the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority, the site was once home to the Jones and Laughlin steel mill.

Similar to the South Side Works directly across the river, the Pittsburgh Technology Center has successfully reclaimed and redeveloped a defunct steel mill into a prosperous riverfront office park and business community.

Since the first buildings of the technology center were constructed in the early 1990s, the site has been recognized as a prime example of brownfield remediation in the region.

While the impact that the construction of a hotel and the continued expansion of the Pittsburgh Technology Center would have on the neighborhood of South Oakland is difficult to determine, William Kratsa, of Kratsa Properties, believes that the investment in a hotel will be rewarded. He told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that “we feel the Oakland market will come down over the hill for it.”