PITTSBURGH (AP) – A western Pennsylvania redevelopment agency has approved an increase of $225,000 in a grant to a foundation as part of a deal that averted a threatened sale of Pittsburgh’s August Wilson Center for African American Culture.
The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority and several area foundations bid more than $8 million for the debt-ridden center, which was facing a sheriff’s sale after defaulting on a nearly $8 million mortgage. The authority’s total grant is now $1.65 million.
A New York developer had bid $9.5 million for a 10-story hotel project sharing space with the center, but officials said that would violate deed covenants.
The center opened in 2009 in honor of the late, Black Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Pittsburgh native, but never covered construction costs and was hampered by low attendance.
About Post Author
