Report: Developer Planning Year-Round Ferris Wheel For North Shore

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NORTH SHORE (KDKA) -- A giant Ferris wheel may become a permanent fixture on Pittsburgh's North Shore if a developer's plans come to fruition.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Millcraft Investments is planning to install a giant Ferris wheel with LED lighting on the North Shore riverfront. The Ferris wheel would be similar to the ones at Chicago's Navy Pier, Seattle's Pier 57 and the National Harbor near Washington D.C.

Those three rides are nearly 200 feet tall with gondolas that can hold as many as eight people each.

Lucas Piatt, Millcraft president and chief operating officer, told the Post-Gazette that the ride would operate year-round and have enclosed, climate-controlled gondolas.

The real estate developer is reportedly working on final details for the Ferris wheel with potential operators.

Piatt pointed out that the inventor of the Ferris wheel lived on the North Side and died at Mercy Hospital in 1896, making Pittsburgh a fitting home for a permanent Ferris wheel.

Millcraft Investments has other plans for the riverfront property, including a small museum, offices, housing and destination retail.