Mayor urges URA to back arena site plans
Board to vote on new FNB headquarters
On the eve of an expected vote, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is urging the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority board to approve plans for the new First National Bank headquarters at the former Civic Arena site.
Mr. Peduto’s statement comes a week after the URA board delayed a vote, saying it needed more time to review the terms.
The Pittsburgh Penguins responded to the action by saying they were halting all development activities on the 28-acre lower Hill District tract.
“I urge the URA board to approve this critical next step, and move this long-promised development forward,” Mr. Peduto said in a statement released Wednesday. The mayor appoints the five board members.
“The plans set for a vote tomorrow not only include a new headquarters for First National Bank but represent an extraordinary $200 million investment in the heart of Pittsburgh that will help brace our local economy in a time of great need.”
In rare statement before a vote by a city board, Mr. Peduto noted that FNB, as part of a community benefits deal, has agreed 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.
The 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 publicly owned property.
Mr. Peduto, who at times has expressed frustration with the lack of development at the site, said some of that upfront cash could be used to support a half dozen development projects being proposed in the middle Hill District as a means of helping revitalize the Centre Avenue corridor.
The vote also could lead to the next step in the creation of a First Source hiring center that could provide jobs to Hill residents, he said, as well as minority hiring commitments.
“This entire site will be providing good paying union construction jobs. The proposed agreement also includes a commitment to long-term career-building jobs on the site to provide Hill District residents with family sustaining wages to rebuild the middle class,” the statement read.
The Penguins, who hold the development rights to the arena site, declined comment on the mayor’s statement. Kevin Acklin, Mr. Peduto’s former chief of staff, is leading the Penguins’ redevelopment efforts as their senior vice president.
Sam Williamson, URA board chairman, had no immediate reaction, saying he had yet to see the statement. He noted that the board would be discussing the issue Thursday and “we’ll make a decision.”
URA board member R. Daniel Lavelle, a city councilman from the Hill who asked for the delay in the vote, could not be reached for comment.
In halting development activity last week, Penguins CEO David Morehouse complained it was becoming “increasingly impossible” to develop the land because of “changing demands and delays.”
The URA board, in a statement released Friday, expressed disappointment in the Penguins decision and said that it needed time to ensure the various commitments made as part of the deal were “real and concrete.”
Dan Gilman, current chief of staff to Mr. Peduto, said the final term sheet outlining the FNB financial commitments had not been submitted until the day of the board meeting.
Mr. Peduto also issued a statement last Friday expressing support for the project.
He noted in Wednesday’s statement the Penguins already have preliminary approvals from the URA and Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority board on plans for the parking garage, a live music venue, and the first 288 units of housing. The URA and SEA own different parts of the site.
Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council President Darrin Kelly also voiced his support for the FNB project Wednesday, saying it would create an estimated 2,000 permanent jobs and 1,500 union construction jobs.
SEA board members had given preliminary approval last week to the FNB plans, but the vote was contingent on their URA counterparts doing the same.
The 26-story office tower would be built on the lower west end of the arena site closest to Downtown. It would be anchored by FNB, which plans to move its headquarters there from the North Shore.
The project is seen as a catalyst to jump-start the entire arena development, which has been a decade in the making. As envisioned, the $1 billion development would include 1,420 units of housing, 810,000 square feet
of office space, 190,000 square feet of retail, a music venue, a food hall and a hotel.