Penguins back on board for Lower Hill project; URA approves plans

A long-discussed project to redevelop the Lower Hill District is back on track as Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday approved the latest plans for the 28-acre site of the former Civic Arena.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are also back on board with project, which will be anchored by a new $200 million headquarters for First National Bank. The team, which owns the rights to redevelop the property, had said it was pulling out of the project last week when the URA board delayed a vote.

On Wednesday, Mayor Bill Peduto urged the board to approve the plans. The board did after a nearly two-hour livestreamed meeting that detailed the proposal.

URA board members described why they were hesitant to approve the plans. They added conditions to the measures that they approved by a 4-1 vote.

Jodi Hirsch cast the lone dissenting vote.

Hirsch likened the Penguins to “corporate bullies,” and said the team has done an “enormous disservice to a historically black neighborhood.”

Board members R. Daniel Lavelle, who also represents the neighborhood on Pittsburgh City Council, and state Rep. Ed Gainey, whose district includes the Hill, acknowledged the sentiments of the black community. Many residents were displaced when the neighborhood was razed 60 years ago to build the Civic Arena.

“They’ve got a right to feel they shouldn’t trust this development,” Gainey said.

The entire Hill District has never recovered from the blow inflicted by the Civic Arena development, Lavelle said.

He said measures that will advance $8 million from future tax abatement and $3 million in parking tax revenues to benefit programs in the neighborhood led to his support.

The board added conditions that solidify the commitments for that money.

“Trust is earned by actions, not words,” said URA board Chairman Sam Williamson.

There were 24 people or organizations that offered comments in advance of the vote. Thirteen urged the board to halt the project. Three of those who commented voiced support for the project.

The URA and other entities will vote on the project two more times as it moves forward, he said.

“This isn’t by any means done at all,” Williamson said.

People are tired of promises and want to see shovels in the ground, board member Lindsey Powell said.

“I understand that a global pandemic slows down ability to deliver,” Powell said.

The board needs to use this project as an example for how future projects are done, Gainey said.

“We have an opportunity now to change this whole narrative,” he said. “The power of what we do will have an impact on this region. Without this first initial vote, we’ll never know.”

Penguins Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kevin Acklin lauded the board for its actions, calling it “a big lift” for the community.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” Acklin said. “This project has a lot of turns and twists.”

When he was Peduto’s chief of staff, Acklin led the URA.

Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse issued a statement after the approval.

“Together, we need to build a development process better rooted in transparency and accountability,” Morehouse said.