A massive steel and glass structure now shot up from the ground, standing tall beside the newly completed first phase of the Inland Port Terminal.
This was the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Industrial Revival Alliance.
It was more modern and more ambitious than the old State Capitol Building in Harrisburg.
Its huge floor-to-ceiling windows reflected the busy barges on the river, and a helicopter sat on the rooftop helipad, ready to depart at a moment's notice.
This was Pittsburgh's new landmark, and the fist the city used to flex its muscles to the outside world.
Tonight, a convoy of black SUVs was driving through the gates, following a freshly paved asphalt road.
The motorcade was shockingly long, stretching from the main gate all the way back to the expressway ramp several hundred meters away.
The car doors opened one after another.
Out stepped a group of middle-aged men of varying builds, all dressed in dark suits.
They were mayors.
