Calling it “transformational,” Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has announced a deal that will lead to the redevelopment of the 28 acres in the lower Hill District formerly occupied by the Civic Arena.
“This plan will build transformational wealth for the residents of the greater Hill District,” said Peduto during the Sept. 9 announcement. “It provides the financial resources to build the ladders of opportunity between the 28-acres and the rest of the Hill District.”
The final Community Collaboration and Implementation Plan creates the largest Tax Increment Financing district ever in the city—the Greater Hill TIF District—which could attract up to $50 million in investment for development beyond the 28-acres in the Middle Hill, Crawford Roberts, Terrace Village, Bedford Dwellings and the Upper Hill.
It also calls for the highest levels of M/WBE inclusion in the city’s history: 30 percent for MBEs and 15 percent for WBEs. This plan, which involves the cooperative efforts of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, the Sports and Exhibition Authority, and Allegheny County, is broken down into several parts:
•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.”
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