About this Location

Facility Overview

The Ivy Bellefonte Parking Plaza is a centrally located, open-air municipal surface parking lot situated at 724 Filbert Street in the heart of Pittsburgh’s upscale Shadyside neighborhood. Operated under the auspices of the Pittsburgh Parking Authority, this paved and clearly striped facility offers seamless ground-level access between South Bellefonte Street, Ivy Street, and Filbert Street, directly serving the vibrant commercial corridor along Walnut Street. Because the plaza is an uncovered, open-air surface lot, it features completely unrestricted vertical clearance, making it exceptionally well-suited for high-roof passenger vans, commercial delivery vehicles, lifted pickup trucks, and oversized SUVs that cannot safely navigate multi-level parking decks.

Prime Location & Nearby Attractions

Positioned just half a block behind Walnut Street, the Ivy Bellefonte Parking Plaza serves as the primary parking destination for shoppers, diners, and neighborhood visitors. Within an effortless 1- to 3-minute stroll, visitors can access premier retail storefronts and popular culinary destinations, including the Apple Store Shadyside, Patagonia, Lululemon, Sephora, Prantl’s Bakery, Girasole, Pamela’s Diner, and Mario’s East Side Saloon. In addition to the retail core, the facility is situated within comfortable walking distance or a brief transit connection of major regional institutions:

Walnut Street Shopping District: Steps away (1–2 minutes on foot) featuring high-end boutiques, national retailers, and popular cafes.
Ellsworth Avenue Arts & Dining: Approximately 0.4 miles (8–10 minutes on foot) to neighborhood bistros, eclectic coffee shops, and independent businesses.
UPMC Shadyside Hospital & Hillman Cancer Center: Roughly 0.6 miles north (12–15 minutes on foot or 3 minutes by car), providing convenient auxiliary parking for clinic visits or visiting patients.
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) & Chatham University: Approximately 1.2 to 1.5 miles away, easily accessible via local bike routes and direct bus corridors.
University of Pittsburgh & Oakland Medical Hub: Under 2 miles to the west, accessible in less than 10 minutes via Fifth Avenue or Forbes Avenue.

Access, Navigation & Transit Connectivity

The plaza benefits from dual street access, allowing drivers to enter and exit smoothly via Filbert Street or Bellefonte Street. This layout helps minimize post-dinner and holiday shopping congestion, providing quick egress out toward major arterial roadways such as Fifth Avenue, Centre Avenue, and Baum Boulevard. For public transportation connections, Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) bus routes—including the 71B, 75, and 71D lines—run along nearby Fifth Avenue and Highland Avenue. Additionally, the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway’s Shadyside Station is situated just under half a mile away, allowing rapid transit access directly into Downtown Pittsburgh and the Strip District within minutes.

Facility Amenities & Key Features

Open-Air Surface Parking: Generous surface bays with open-sky clearance for tall trucks, vans, and roof-racked vehicles.
Convenient Digital & Kiosk Payments: Pay-by-plate digital pay stations accepting credit and debit cards, along with seamless mobile payments via the ParkPGH / ParkMobile app.
Designated Accessible Spaces: Marked ADA-compliant parking stalls situated close to pedestrian sidewalk curb ramps for step-free access to Filbert and Walnut streets.
Lighting & Visibility: Well-lit premises with overhead pole illumination for safe evening departures after dinner or late shopping trips.
24/7 Drive-Up Access: Open around the clock, providing flexible parking for daytime professionals, evening patrons, and overnight visitors.

Ideal For

Retail Shoppers & Diners: Anyone exploring the upscale boutiques, specialty stores, and patio dining across Shadyside’s Walnut Street corridor.
Hospital & Clinic Visitors: Patients and guests seeking convenient, surface-level alternatives to parking garages around UPMC Shadyside.
Contractors & Delivery Drivers: Service providers operating high-top commercial vans and full-sized pickup trucks requiring zero height constraints.
Neighborhood Guests: Weekend visitors and local event attendees seeking predictable municipal parking in a dense residential-retail district.

Visitor & Driver Tips

During peak shopping periods, especially on Saturday afternoons and during seasonal community events like the Shadyside Arts Festival, spaces can fill quickly; arriving before 11:30 AM or after 2:00 PM is recommended. Have the ParkMobile app pre-installed on your mobile device to quickly enter your license plate number and pay zone without needing to wait at the physical kiosk. Note that metered enforcement typically applies from Monday through Saturday between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM (or 7:00 PM depending on specific posted zone rules), with Sundays generally offering complimentary parking. Always check posted signage at the plaza entrance to confirm current time limits and holiday schedules.