A PARK OVER I-579?
Officials laud project reconnecting Hill District, city hub at ceremony near PPG Paints Arena.
Following years of planning and debate, politicians, business leaders and city residents gathered Friday in a parking lot near PPG Paints Arena to break ground on a 3-acre park that will extend across Interstate 579/Crosstown Boulevard.
The I-579 Cap — which will bridge Downtown and the lower Hill District with pedestrian pathways and bike routes — complements the redesign of the 28-acre former Civic Arena site. The Pittsburgh Penguins, who own development rights to the area, hope to begin construction this fall on apartments, offices, retail, a music venue and a hotel.
While the ceremony Friday was meant to celebrate the addition of another green oasis in Pittsburgh, politicians and business representatives focused on the upcoming development of the former arena site.
In the late 1950s, construction of the highway and the arena displaced thousands of residents and hundreds of businesses in the Hill District and severed the neighborhood’s link to the city’s hub. The Cap project will bridge the two areas, along with creating recreational areas, performance stages and rain gardens.
Speaker after speaker Friday emphasized that the new park, along with the development of the arena, will “right a wrong” that occurred decades ago. The park and the arena will attract businesses and generate tax revenue that will fund the economic development of the Middle and Upper Hill, said U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills.
“This is a catalyst that will allow the rest of the economic development that [will] go further up the Hill,” Mr. Doyle said in an interview later. “This green space and the [development at the old arena site] will attract people and businesses, and the tax revenue can be used to pursue different projects for the Hill District. This is just a beginning, and we have a commitment to go all the way up to the top.”
City Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, who represents the area, said community advocates, city developers and Penguins representatives have been discussing for years ways to make the new park and the redeveloped arena site “inclusive and equitable” space. Stakeholders initially were concerned about the upcoming construction potentially displacing residents and already-existing businesses, he said.
They brainstormed ways to make sure the redevelopment would “complement and benefit the already-existing businesses, “rather than driving them out of competition,” he said. The redevelopment plan also includes 1,100 units of housing, 20 percent of which will be designated as “affordable.”
Mr. Lavelle also said local artists have designed parts of the urban green space. He added that the Cap will feature storyboards featuring prominent African-American figures from the Hill District. County Councilman DeWitt Walton — an African American who has advocated for the park to be a more inclusive space for Hill residents — also emphasized that the park will be a “comfortable” space for “people who look like me.”
“The designing of the Cap is very intentional,” Mr. Lavelle said. “While it is very clear about welcoming everyone, we are adding numerous artistic elements that recognize and respect the historical African American neighborhood.”
Some at the ceremony were not convinced, however. Carl Redwood, chairman of the Hill District Consensus Group, passed out flyers protesting the project and the development of the old arena site. The flyer called the city’s construction plans a “policy of gentrification and the displacement of Black people” and said the upcoming constructions would add to Pittsburgh’s affordable housing crisis.
“Yes, there are two Pittsburghs,” the flyer read. “One Pittsburgh receives huge subsidies to support high income and luxury housing and private profits while the other Pittsburgh is being forced out as the cost of living increases.”
In an interview, Mayor Bill Peduto said while he would like to make the park and the other development “as affordable and inclusive as possible,” the city also needs a plan to attract investors and generate revenue for other projects in the Middle and Upper Hill.
“Developing a plan has been a tough process,” Mr. Lavelle said. “We talked about levels of minority participation, involvement of local businesses and how the plan would be implemented. … There is always more that can be done, but I’m glad that we are at the process of implementing the agreement we reached.”