URA board to consider plans for tower at former Civic Arena site
That didn’t take long.
A day after delaying a vote on plans for the First National Bank headquarters at the former Civic Arena site, the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority board scheduled a meeting for Thursday to again consider the project.
The decision comes a day after the Pittsburgh Penguins, in reaction to the delay in the vote, announced they were halting all development activity at the 28-acre lower Hill District site.
In a statement released after the board’s decision, Penguins CEO David Morehouse said it was becoming “increasingly impossible” to develop on the land, to which the team holds the rights, because of “changing demands and delays.”
“At this point, given the current economic conditions and the apparent lack of support from the URA, we are ceasing our development operations on the lower Hill,” he said.
The Penguins declined comment Friday on the URA board meeting scheduled for Thursday.
In asking for the delay in the vote, URA board member R. Daniel Lavelle, a city councilman who represents the Hill, said more time was needed to digest details related to the $221 million office tower and proposed community benefits.
As part of the development, FNB had pledged to advance $8 million in funding to be used for development in other parts of the Hill and another $3 million for Hill-related housing.
That money would be repaid through Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program tax abatements and parking tax diversions related to the construction of an 850-space parking garage on another part of the site.
Dan Gilman, chief of staff for Mayor Bill Peduto, said the URA and Hill leaders did not receive the final term sheet outlining those commitments until Thursday, one of the reasons for the delay.
In a statement issued Friday morning, the URA board expressed disappointment in the Penguins’ decision to halt development activities.
It stated the delay was needed to give the URA time to ensure the
various commitments made as part of the deal “are real and concrete.” Many of those details were submitted “well past the usual deadline,” the board stated.
“Despite broad support for the general concept, both from the URA and the Greater Hill District community, it’s a matter of public record that the development team knew in April that much more work was needed to solidify details on commitments made to the public in previous agreements,” Mr. Lavelle said in the statement. “The minimum turnaround time usually requested is five business days.”
Kevin Acklin, the Penguins’ senior vice president, said the team had been making progress on all of its commitments, including plans to redevelop the Ammon Recreation Center in the Hill and closing the funding gap on the Curtain Call public art project that was supposed to be part of the PPG Paints Arena construction.
“We’re fully cooperating with the community ... and we have a tenant in FNB, which has gone above and beyond with respect to their commitments in the Hill District,” he said Thursday.
Mr. Peduto also weighed in on the controversy Friday, saying the city “remains fully committed to delivering a transformative development to the Lower Hill District in partnership with the Pittsburgh Penguins” and developer Buccini/Pollin Group.
“This development partnership will also bring over $10M in funding to the greater Hill District Community, new rec2tech facilities and an MWBE small business incubator, union jobs, and local hiring programs,” he said.
“The City and URA are working closely to advance a vote in the coming days that will build off that partnership and take the next step forward in seeing this vision come to reality.”
The 26-story FNB tower would be built at the west end of the arena site closest to Downtown.
It would serve as the anchor of a proposed $1 billion redevelopment that would hold up to 1,420 units of housing, 810,000 square feet of office space, 190,000 square feet of retail, a live music venue, a food hall and a hotel.
The Penguins have received approval from the URA and the Sports & Exhibition Authority, both of which own parts of the site, for the preliminary plans for the music venue to be operated by Live Nation, an 850-space parking garage and the first 288 units of housing.