URA nears vote on arena project
Debate flares over community benefits associated with FNB office tower site
Debate over the impact the construction of a proposed new headquarters for First National Bank at the former Civic Arena site will have on other parts of the Hill District once again took center stage Wednesday.
During a four-hour city Urban RedevelopmentAuthority meeting, much of the debate centered on a scoreboard put together by URA staff to assess how the Pittsburgh Penguins and its developer, the Buccini Pollin Group, were doing in meeting commitments under a community collaboration and implementation plan or CCIP agreed to in 2014.
The URA polled the nine members of the executive management committee that oversees the implementation of the CCIP, in essence a community benefits agreement, with seven of them responding.
Overall, the project scored “above satisfactory” in the main focus areas, with the highest marks being for minority business inclusion and wealth building and cultural and community legacy initiatives.
Translating that into a letter grade it would be between a “B” and a “B minus,” said Julie Edwards, the URA’s assistant director of neighborhood development.
But two executive management committee members didn’t participate in the survey, and one of them, Marimba Milliones, president and CEO of the Hill Community Development Corp., raised questions about the results.
Ms. Milliones said several of those who sit on the committee had conflicts of interest in scoring the project because they have ties to the Penguins, including Kevin Acklin, the team’s chief operating officer, and Tracey McCants Lewis, its deputy general counsel.
“So, you see, the EMC is a little stacked in favor of the developer and not so much for the community,” she said. “And so we ask you to be very discerning as you decide how you want to view and weigh the input from the EMC on this specific development.”
Wednesday’s special URA board meeting was called to discuss the proposed $230 million, 26-story story office tower to be built at the west end of the 28-acre lower Hill site closest to Downtown and to get public comment. The project was approved earlier this month by the city’s planning commission. The URA board is scheduled to vote June 10.
Buccini Pollin Group is hoping to break ground in July. The FNB headquarters would represent the first construction on the site since the Penguins secured the development rights to the land in the 2007 deal to build PPG Paints Arena. The site is owned by the URA and the city-Allegheny Sports & Exhibition Authority, which controls the portion on which the office tower will be built. By agreement, both authorities have a vote in advancing projects.
Wednesday’s discussion followed a similar pattern as in the past, with Buccini Pollin stating that the development would provide more than $50 million in direct impact to other parts of the Hill, while critics said the proposals still fall short of what’s required under the CCIP.
Included in the Buccini Pollin commitments is $7.5 million that would be diverted to the middle and upper Hill through tax revenue generated by the project. FNB has pledged to advance that amount at the closing on the office tower.
In addition to its other pledges, the development team has
committed to 30% minorityand 15% women’s-business participation in the overall development.
“We are representing plans that will help to push people out of poverty and onward to prosperity,” said Bomani Howze, Buccini Pollin vice president of development.
However, the development team has decided to wait until the next phase of the overall arena development — a live music venue and 850-space parking garage — to front another $3 million in parking tax revenues to be used to create a housing fund for the Hill. That at one time was to be part of the office tower investment.
Ms. Milliones said the Penguins and their development team have yet to sign a community reinvestment plan for the FNB tower and have “abandoned” the Hill CDCs development review process, which gave the project failing grades.
Despite the criticism, the Hill CDC, under proposed guidelines, is scheduled to receive 4% of the tax revenues diverted to other parts of the Hill through projects developed on the arena site. That could amount to up to $1.6 million of an estimated $40 million, according to the URA.
But Carl Redwood of the Hill District Consensus Group urged the URA board to table the guidelines, saying he strongly disagrees with the allocation to the Hill CDC. Ms. Milliones countered that it is receiving the money because it was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the tax diversions through a court action.
When asked by URA board member R. Daniel Lavelle, a city councilman who represents the Hill, whether Buccini Pollin is willing to complete the Hill CDC’s development review process, Chris Buccini, BPG co-president, said “we respect where you’re coming with this and obviously willing to work with you.”
Mr. Buccini also agreed to sign a term sheet with the commitments the development team has made as well as any others that might emerge before the URA board votes.
With that in mind, Mr. Lavelle said it’s “time to move forward” on the development.
“Unfortunately, this singular development can’t solve all the issues that have plagued our community since 1955 when it was torn asunder by government,” he said, referring to the demolition of houses and businesses in the lower Hill to build the Civic Arena.
“I believe we are in a much better place than we were months ago, six months ago, a year ago. That’s not to say this is perfect. But it is to say this allows our community to begin redeveloping itself. It does allow people in our community to begin going to work so that they can economically benefit from this actual development.”