PITTSBURGH -- Instead of parking lots, picture virtual glass and steel palaces.

Instead of back alleys, picture a residential street with beautiful townhomes.

It's on the way soon, according to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, which has chosen an international team of developers and architects to design a $460 million riverfront neighborhood in downtown Pittsburgh.

Called the Cultural District Riverfront Development, it will be the first mixed-use, environmentally friendly arts and residential development in the United States, officials said Monday.

It will feature 700 new residences and 160,000 square feet of ground-level retail space.

Many of the buildings will offer sweeping views of the Allegheny River and the city's skyline, developers said.

Besides high-rise apartments, lofts and townhouses, the development is expected to include a four-star, 225-room hotel and a 45,000-square-foot arts venue.

The project is expected to contribute $1 billion and 9,000 jobs to the regional economy, officials said.

"People who predict the death of cities or the death of suburbs are always going to be wrong," said Jerry Paytas, director of Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Economic Development. "It's going to be an ebb and flow ... But we're seeing a swing back toward urban living."

Residential units will go on sale in January with construction projected to start in mid-2007. The first residential buildings will be completed in about two years, said Concorde Eastridge CEO Susan Eastridge.

"There's no reason why downtown Pittsburgh -- in the next 10 years -- is not the largest neighborhood in Allegheny County," Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said.

Twelve teams competed in the design contest. The winning RiverParc team, led by developer Concord Eastridge, is a consortium of architects from Germany, Denmark, Canada and Pittsburgh.

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