Hill District leaders irked as Penguins submit former Civic Arena site plan to city

Date Published: 
Saturday, September 20, 2014

Urban Design Associates
The Lower Hill Redevelopment Site lies east of Downtown Pittsburgh, and is surrounded by Uptown and the Hill District.

Hill District community leaders on Saturday rebuked the Penguins for submitting the preliminary land development plan for the 28-acre former Civic Arena site before sharing it with the general public.

"The Pens are still in the early stages of building trust with the Hill District and also public partners," said Marimba Milliones, president and CEO of Hill Community Development Corp. "I don't see how this rushed submission with poor notification to the Hill District, Downtown and even public agencies benefits them and their goal of plan and code approval."

The Penguins submitted on Friday the 116-page document, an early master plan for the development -- detailing everything from building heights and lighting needs to a potential huge outdoor plaza featuring a large video screen that could display playoff games and summer movies.

Milliones says the Penguins committed in November to presenting the development plan to the entire community before submitting it to the city.

Penguins' Chief Operating Officer Travis Williams said the team addressed the community's concerns within a separate agreement the team finalized Sept. 11.

"It's absolutely critical that we start the process," said Williams. "That doesn't mean that people won't still have an opportunity to provide meaningful input into the plan."

Early estimates put the development's cost at $440 million, but the cost now "could very well exceed $500 million," Williams said.

Indeed, the Sept. 11 agreement addressed some of the community's concerns, but it "by no means addresses other key issues," Milliones said.

She's concerned, for instance, about building heights at the corners of Crawford Street at Bedford and Center avenues and Bedford "blocking residential views and dwarfing Freedom Corner and the historic St. Benedict the Moor church."

Williams said the Penguins have met with community members more than 50 times over the past two years, and are setting up one-on-one meetings with 15 to 20 community groups.

The hockey team has shown to community leaders earlier drafts of the plan four or five times, Williams said.

Hill District leaders said they wanted the team's proposal shared with everyone, not just committee members.

"We have not yet begun to talk about what's going to be built on the land, what it looks like, how it will operate -- that's the discussion that I thought we were going to have before they submitted the plan, but apparently they're on a different timeline," said Sala Udin, a former Pittsburgh councilman and member of the Lower Hills Working Group.

The team's proposal outlines an ambitious vision for the Lower Hill. A Crosstown sidewalk that would link the neighborhood and Downtown would feature cafes, artwork and seating.

About 20 percent of the apartments will be reserved for low-income residents. The site will be contained within a 20-year tax increment financing district, which would encompass Uptown, to help finance construction. The Penguins hold the development rights.

The first public meeting is set for 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 6 in the Kauffmann Center in the Hill District, and the second will be Nov. 13 or 14 in Downtown or Uptown, with at least two more meetings to follow.

Natasha Lindstrom is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Follow @NewsNatasha

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