•Assessment—Assessment of residents of the Greater Hill District;
•Training—Building capacity and providing resources for Greater Hill District residents with potential to be hired in connection with the planned redevelopment of the Development Site;
•Procurement—Assuring that all developers, contractors, and other development partners commit to specific goals for local and minority hiring, and;
•Monitoring and Reporting—Monitoring and reporting of all goals for inclusion for local and minority hiring.
Kevin Acklin, Peduto’s chief of staff and URA board chair, said the deal represents the largest commitment to minorities on construction and development the city has ever made.
The deal almost instantly received some long sought after Federal funding as well, as both U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey announced the U.S. Department of Transportation had awarded $1.5 million in TIGR funds to build a green space “cap” over the Cross-town Boulevard, reconnecting the Hill with Downtown.
But even though Hill city Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle and Hill Community Development Corp. Executive Director Marimba Milliones signed off on the deal, Carl Redwood, chair of the Hill Consensus Group, said the deal is hollow and only provides more subsidies the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“The Penguins never supported the community benefits agreement. It’s a backroom deal hatched by the politicians,” he said.
Milliones said it is still subject to review and that “finer points still need to be worked out.”
One of those points might be that the TIF District boundaries include Duquesne University and UPMC Mercy Hospital, and even extend across the Parkway East, which is arguably not the Hill District.
NAACP Pittsburgh Unit President Connie Parker said this is just the beginning.
“I think it’s a start. They are trying to do the right thing,” she said. “But I believe in Carl Redwood too. So, hopefully this is going in the right direction.”
(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
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