Fresh PowderPre-development brand strategy
Fractional CMO
All work Work / The Esplanade
Aerial rendering of The Esplanade on the Ohio River: marina, Ferris wheel and towers with downtown Pittsburgh behind
Selected work

The Esplanade

Pittsburgh, PA Residential, retail, hotel, entertainment, riverfront plaza 15-acre Ohio River brownfield

The Idea

Setting a still industrial waterfront back in motion.

The name set the strategy: Esplanade, “a promenade over water.” The plan leads with a public riverfront and a signature 200-foot Ferris wheel as a regional draw, then layers residential, retail, hotel and entertainment in behind it.

Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Size
15 ac · 1.7M SF
Developer
Piatt Companies
Architect
AE7
Broke ground
Dec 2025
Investment
$740M
What we did

Named and positioned the district, then built the identity, messaging and launch around the riverfront idea, selling a place, not square footage, well ahead of vertical construction. The campaign runs on one line with a changing first word: Excite, Enrich, Experience, Explore, Enchant. Everyone. Everyday.

PositioningNamingBrand IdentityMessagingLaunch
Success

At this early stage, the wins so far are entitlement, funding and partnerships. Leasing follows vertical construction.

  • Master plan unanimously approved by the Pittsburgh Planning Commission (2024).
  • Broke ground December 2025 with $35M from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
  • Manchester–Chateau TRID established, roughly $54M toward infrastructure via the URA.
  • Site fully assembled; Mascaro Construction on site work, AE7 as architect.
  • Projected ~9,300 construction and ~4,500 permanent jobs, and ~$1.5B in economic output.
The place
Rendering of the riverfront splash plaza with The Current culinary hub and the River Wheel
The riverfront splash plaza, with The Current and the River Wheel behind.
Rendering of The Current at dusk: a glass pavilion with River Cafe and River Overlook on the ground floor and string lights overhead
“The Current” culinary hub at dusk. River Cafe and River Overlook on the ground floor.
Rendering of the main street at night: Casa Lucio, Magma Lounge, The Current and the River Wheel lit up
Main street at night. Casa Lucio, Magma Lounge and The Current, with the wheel at the end of the view.
Rendering of the open-air food hall with a tree canopy roof, a stage and the hills beyond
The food hall, open to the hills, with the lawn and stage beyond.
Brand Imagery

The identity.

The Esplanade E monogram over a photo of kayakers on the river at sunset

The ‘E’ monogram as an image window, over the campaign photography.

A set of Esplanade posters: Excite, Enrich, Experience, Explore and Enchant, each over a close-up texture

Campaign system · one verb, then Everyone. Everyday.

Collateral
Three street banners: Experience. Everyone. Everyday.
Street banners · Experience. Everyone. Everyday.
Billboard: Enrich. Everyone. Everyday. beside the E monogram
Billboard · Enrich. Everyone. Everyday.
A tote bag printed with First, Sip, Bliss over coffee beans in the three-bar E
Tote · First. Sip. Bliss.
Tablets showing the Esplanade website: Dwell, Dine, Dream; Live, Love, Local; Focus, Fuel, Flourish
Website · the three-bar E carries every message.
Twelve versions of the E monogram filled with textures: bread, citrus, strawberry, blueberry, coffee, scales
The monogram as a window. Twelve textures from the district’s food and water.
The thesis
A name can do the work of a master plan, years before the first beam.
Fresh Powder, on The Esplanade
Keep exploring

More work.

Washington, DCThe Stacks logo
Mixed-useResidential

A Buzzard Point neighborhood with a name that refuses to blend in. 2026 CoStar Development of the Year.

View case study
Tampa, FLWater Street Tampa logo
Mixed-useOffice

A single address, given a name big enough to anchor a neighborhood.

View case study
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