Lower Hill Block E

Lower Hill Block E
Project Status: 
Declined
Development Category: 
Business

January 2020 - Submitted to the DRP

$120M mixed-use development (no residential units) proposed by The Buccini/Pollin Group

90k sq. ft. live entertainment venue with an adjacent outdoor amphitheater (combined 6,500 person capacity)

  • 17,500 sq. ft. of ground-level retail space for qualified entrepreneurial businesses. A portion of the ground floor commercial space (up to 1,200 sq. ft.) will be administered by the URA consistent with the objectives of the Community Collaboration and Implementation Plan (CCIP)

34k sq. ft. of entertainment/retail on the 2nd and 3rd floor along Wylie Avenue

285k sq. ft. (~850 lots) parking garage with a green roof on a portion of the proposed parking garage

The developer anticipates a mid-2020 groundbreaking and a late-2021 delivery of the building core and shell, permitting initial tenant occupancy to occur by the first quarter of 2022

February 2020 - Presented to the DRP

BPG presented to the DRP on February 5 and received a score of 89%.

BPG has been invited to present at the upcoming Q2 community meeting to receive a score from the community

July 2022

Presented to the DRP on the updates of the development project

August 2022

The DRP provided feedback to the development project

  • The feedback provided by the DRP:
  • There is no commitment to the community
  • Due to the extensive changes on the development site in addition to 2 years elapsing between the last time the proposal was reviewed the developers were asked to resubmit to the DRP
  • The Lower Hill development team declined to resubmit and have since requested a Development Activities Meeting

January 2023

  • On January 10th, the Lower Hill Development team presented to the City of Pittsburgh Planning Commission for the Preliminary Land Development Plan (PLDP) and Block E. The Planning Commission opted not to vote on the proposed Preliminary Land Development Plan amendments due to receiving a 100+ page document from the Development Team just minutes before the meeting.
  • As a result of being unable to vote on the proposed amendments, the Commission opted not to hear or vote on the development for Block E at the hearing. The Commission stated that they are concerned that the community has not had an opportunity to review the materials and that they had not had an opportunity, as Commissioners, to review the materials.
  • The City of Pittsburgh Planning Commission rescheduled the meeting for January 24th.
  • On January 24th, the Lower Hill Development team presented to the Planning Commission for the PLDP & Block E. As a result, the Planning Commission voted to approve both agenda items.
  • The Developer, specifically BPG, has been repeatedly notified of their failure to complete the DRP process. However they continue to state that they "passed the DRP", although they never resubmitted, nor did they every complete the second part of the DRP's two step process. This project has been declined as a result of the Developer's (BPG and the Pens) failure to complete and comply with the DRP.

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