Arena site plans get review board’s OK
The plans for the involvement of minority- and women-owned businesses in the redevelopment of the former Civic Arena site have received an endorsement from the Pittsburgh Equal Opportunity Review Commission.
In a news release Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins and developer Buccini Pollin announced their minority and women business enterprise participation plan had been approved by the commission.
The plan sets as goals 30% minority business enterprise (MBE) and 15% women’s business enterprise (WBE) participation in the $1 billion arena redevelopment, which is expected to include a mix of offices, residential units, retail and entertainment.
“This is a historic day for the lower Hill redevelopment project because it is the first independent confirmation that we are achieving our goals for M/WBE participation, as we have committed under the Community Collaboration and Implementation Plan (CCIP),” said Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse, referring to a community benefits agreement with the neighborhood.
In the release, the Penguins said the plan was approved unanimously. Tracey McCants Lewis, a longtime EORC member who has worked for the Penguins as deputy general counsel and director of human resources since 2019, recused herself from the vote, said Penguins Chief Operating Officer Kevin Acklin.
Mr. Acklin added that Earl Buford, another commission member who is CEO of Partner4Work, also recused himself. Partner4Work is teaming with the Penguins on a program to hire minority residents from the Hill for work at the arena site.
During a meeting arranged by the Hill Community Development Corp. earlier this week, Buccini Pollin representatives said they already had achieved 28.2% minority and 13.4% women’s business participation in pre-development commitments.
Bomani Howze, Buccini Pollin’s vice president of development for the greater Pittsburgh area and a resident of the Hill, said the participation plan is designed to maximize opportunities for Black- and women-owned businesses.
“At a time when the Hill District and our entire city is recovering from the pandemic, we are building a bridge from the lower Hill to generate wealth in the community and invest tens of millions of dollars of construction and operations phase contracts for Black and women-owned businesses,” Mr. Howze said.
Mr. Acklin, former chief of staff to Mayor Bill Peduto, said any project that involves the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority must present a MBE/WBE participation plan to the EORC. The URA owns part of the 28-acre former arena site.
“It’s an independent validation that the plan exceeds the goals the city set up,” he said.
Buccini Pollin has hired eHoldings, an MBE-WBE consultant, to help meet the goals set for the redevelopment.
It also is working with Riverside Center for Innovation and other nonprofits to help MBEs and WBEs build capacity for contracting and expansion.
The Penguins (who hold the development rights to the arena site) and Buccini Pollin hope to get started on the first project this summer: a $230 million, 26-story office tower that will be the headquarters of First National Bank.
If all goes according to plan, the 471,890-square-foot building will be finished in 2024. The Penguins also are planning to get started this year on a live music venue and a 850-space parking garage.
The Hill Community Development Corporation has taken issue with the FNB project, giving it a failing grade in terms of
ARENA, FROM B-5
community reinvestment and compliance with parts of the Community Collaboration and Implementation Plan negotiated in 2014.
“In the urgency of this moment, our efforts are best focused on the entire reinvestment strategy as opposed to one off statements that serve as a distraction to our collective work toward meeting the stated goals of the CCIP,” Hill CDC President and CEO Marimba Milliones
said Thursday.
The Penguins have said they, Buccini Pollin and FNB have made nearly $34 million in commitments to the Hill as part of the office project alone.
In all, the former arena redevelopment is expected to feature 1 million square feet of office, up to 1,000 residential units, 190,000 square feet of retail, a hotel, a food hall, the garage and the music venue.