Several funding projects are moving ahead in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, including long-hoped-for housing in the Lower Hill.
These and other developments that would fill vacant land and improve business façades were discussed Thursdayby Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority.
At issue were proposed housing developments on two parcels in the Lower Hill that currently serve as parking.
Hill residents and URA board members said these developments were a crucial step in righting the historic wrong of the destruction of the original neighborhood when the since-leveled Civic Arena was built.
And residents were frustrated with the slow pace of change preceding a settlement with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who originally controlled much of the property in the Lower Hill under an agreement with the City of Pittsburgh.
“The reality is that Hill District residents and businesses were displaced in the 1950s through urban renewal actions led by the URA, the city and other partners,” the authority’s executive director Susheela Nemani-Stanger said. “It’s our responsibility to move forward with care and purpose and advance projects that serve the community and begin to repair that history.”
The housing developments are envisioned for 6.82 acres between Bedford and Centre avenues along Crawford Street. About 1.75 acres on Block A at the corner of Crawford and Centre would be reserved for the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh as part of redeveloping the aging Bedford Dwellings housing complex. Trek Development would potentially spearhead the building of this complex as part of a HUD Choice Neighborhoods grant.
Beyond Lower Hill housing plans, the URA approved several smaller-scale Hill District projects, including several that would close funding gaps for projects such as the African Queens Apartments, Big Tom’s Barbershop and redevelopment of a corner parcel on Herron Avenue.
In a press release following the meeting, the Hill District Community Development Corp. hailed nearly $1 million in pilot funding announced during the meeting. The money will be directed into the Greater Hill District Neighborhood Redevelopment Fund.
“This moment belongs to the residents of the Hill District,” Marimba Milliones, Hill CDC president and CEO, said in the release. “For too long, decisions about investment and development in this community have been made without the voices of those who have lived here.”
Milliones, who has criticized the speed and transparency of previous Lower Hill redevelopment plans and played a major role in the settlement with the Penguins, sounded a similar note of cautious optimism during the meeting’s public comment period.
“Today can be looked at as an important step forward,” said Yarone Zober, who serves as Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor’s director of redevelopment. Zober noted his great-great-grandfather lived on Webster Avenue in the Hill after emigrating to the U.S. from Eastern Europe.
Other projects
The authority also moved forward on a 23-townhouse building project on vacant land in Hazelwood.
The board also approved an initial round of $500,000 for the Commercial Façade Grant Program, which has helped businesses throughout the city spruce up their storefronts. City Councilman Bob Charland said he hoped the program could be expanded to include sidewalk improvements.
The March meeting served as advance notice of the URA’s plans and an announcement of requests for proposals for the Lower Hill that have opened or will open on the URA’s bid portal. Public comment on the Lower Hill plans will remain open through April 7 in advance of the URA’s April meeting.