Pittsburgh: Develop PGH Bulletins: Penguins Development Team Scores Approval For Tower On Civic Arena Site

Pittsburgh PA

10 May, 2021

7:43 AM

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By Rich Lord, Public Source 2021-05-04 Develop PGH Bulletins updates you on the Pittsburgh region's economy, including coverage of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, City Planning Commission and other agencies. Check back frequently, sign up for the Develop PGH newsletter and email [email protected] with questions, tips or story ideas. The Penguins' development team crashed the first major goal on the way to a proposed billion-dollar build-out on the site of the former Civic Arena, overwhelming concerns of some Hill District advocates who sought more pledges to the community before construction can start. In the City Planning Commission's public hearing on plans to build a 26-story tower anchored by First National Bank, thirteen speakers expressed support for the project, in many cases indicating that they saw potential business opportunities during or after construction. Just six asked the commission to hold off on approving the plan, with one other expressing a nuanced position. A key voice was Pittsburgh Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, who represents the Hill, sits on community panels and co-signed a 2014 agreement outlining the benefits the neighborhood must receive from the redevelopment. "I believe we're there," Lavelle told the commission. "This has taken a very long time to get to. This is 10 years, 11 years later, when we're finally here. Because half of that time was a lot of discussions, bickering at times, fighting at times." A yes vote by the commission "allows me to unlock other resources that otherwise would never come to this community," he said of the proposal that could trigger pledged community benefits. "I believe it would be immoral and unjust if we don't move this forward." This year has seen intense negotiations between the Penguins' developer Buccini/Pollin Group [BPG] on one side, and the Hill Community Development Corp. on the other. They've focused on the degree of specificity of the development team's promise to invest some $52.5 million throughout the Hill and the CDC's concern that those pledges are mostly loans or fractions of the public subsidies attached to the project. Hill CDC Executive Director Marimba Milliones told the commission she was "excited about the potential of this project. … But we must be informed by history." That history, she noted, included broken promises made in the 1950s, before the Lower Hill was cleared to make way from the arena. "We lost 8,000 mostly Black residents, 1,300 buildings and 400 businesses," Milliones said. Felicity Williams, the Hill CDC's programs and policy manager, outlined four conditions the organization wanted to attach to any approval: Chris Buccini, co-president of BPG, described his company's and FNB's pledges to the Hill, including $12.35 million in up-front funding, $25 million in neighborhood infusions by the bank, $8 million for improvements to existing housing, $5 million in Opportunity Zone-backed investments throughout the neighborhood, and $2.5 million spent on an outdoor community events landscape. "This plan is an opportunity for generational change," said Buccini. And if the commission disapproved or delayed? "Any delay will negatively impact and in fact put an end to this project" because of FNB's need for space and financial considerations including changing interest rates. Williams said the community needed firmer pledges in light of the Penguins' involvement in pushing the Census Bureau to move a tract line to make the site eligible for Opportunity Zone funding, without meaningful community input. Crystalizing neighborhood divides, resident Phyllis Ghafoor described proponents as "the Black bourgeoisie from the Upper Hill … Everybody wants their piece of the pie. Everybody wants their $100,000," she said. "In the meantime, a 17-year-old was buried yesterday after being shot with a shotgun in the back of the head," she said, implying the plan wouldn't address the Hill's human needs. BPG Vice President Bomani Howze, though, cited the Hill's social challenges as a reason to approve the project. He described acquaintances who had struggled economically only to succumb to addiction, or whose job-interview handshakes revealed fingers lost to gunfire. "We are in a community that has a median household income in the range of $18,000," he said. "We have an urgency behind this plan that cannot be denied, that cannot be pushed back!" Swinging behind the project was Bethel AME Church pastor Rev. Dale Snyder, whose congregation lost its longtime home when it was razed to make way for the arena. "Some say we're not entitled to reparations, but I think that we are," he said, characterizing the Penguins as generally in agreement. "I think this is a wonderful opportunity for us to engage and to correct some past wrongs. … We want to reclaim our land, reclaim our history." The development team in its presentation to the commission did not make any specific pledges regarding the church. While several commissioners were concerned that some Hill leaders were not satisfied with the developers' pledges, none voted against approval. Two commissioners — Sabina Deitrick and Rachel O'Neill — were not present for the 7-0 vote. The vote covers just one of numerous parcels the Penguins and BPG hope to develop into office space, mixed-income housing, entertainment venues and retail. "I know we can do better the next time, and we have the ability to come back together and have this conversation," said commission Chair Christine Mondor. As for the tower plan: "We're going to recognize that it's not everything to everybody." A stretch of Forbes Avenue just blocks from Downtown could look a lot different in 10 years, and the City Planning Commission wants a good view of Duquesne University's plans there. University officials came before the commission to present a proposed master plan for improvements on the 50-acre Uptown campus through 2031. Their plan includes: While the 154-page plan is heavy on Forbes Avenue development, commission members said it doesn't provide a lot of detail on the intended overall effect on the busy street's character. "Since Forbes becomes your new front door, I would really like to get a better sense of how you're going to manage your new front door" into one streetscape, said commission Chair Christine Mondor. Duquesne Head of Facilities Rodney Dobish said the designs of the three proposed buildings are at various stages of completion, but pledged that the buildings "are going to really activate that corridor." He indicated that he would bring more details to the commission on June 1, when it expects to hold a public hearing and vote on the plan. Duquesne boasts 2,632 employees and 8,848 students, down from around 10,400 around a decade ago, Dobish said. If the commission approves the plan, Pittsburgh City Council would then vote on it. News from the City Planning Commission, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and more 'Today is a difficult day.' U.S. Steel announces closure of several of Clairton's 'dirtiest' coke oven batteries Peduto announces long-awaited nonprofit contributions to Pittsburgh's needs An East Liberty enclave faces change, but this time residents can set down roots Pittsburgh's oldest Black church was demolished as 'blight' in the 1950s Lower Hill. Today, members seek justice. Could long-term eviction reductions emerge from pandemic programs? A Pittsburgh-based foundation thinks so. How the Penguins and many allies – but not the Hill District's lead advocates – moved a key border, in 6 not-so-easy steps No easy escape: Between the rent, roof and renovations, Avalon woman with a disability weathers a housing crisis Tenant Cities: Portraits of households facing displacement in the pandemic Crossing a line? A boundary change adds to tension between the Penguins and a key Hill District group March development coverage Rich Lord is PublicSource's economic development reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @richelord. Develop PGH has been made possible with funding from The Heinz Endowments. This article was produced by PublicSource.org, a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. PublicSource tells stories for a better Pittsburgh. Sign up for their free email newsletters at publicsource.org/newsletters.