Pittsburgh Reaches Deal for 'Transformative' Redevelopment of Lower Hill District

The old Civic Arena site, formerly the home of the Pittsburgh Penguin NHL team, will be redeveloped with the help of the city's largest-ever tax increment financing district.

1 minute read

September 10, 2014, 2:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"Local political leaders and the Pittsburgh Penguins have cleared the way for the redevelopment of the former Civic Arena site with a wide-ranging deal that creates the largest tax diversion district in the city’s history while giving the team more time to get started," reports Mark Belko.

The redevelopment of the site will attempt to undo the urban renewal project that birthed the Civic Arena. "Mayor Bill Peduto said the deal not only would ensure the redevelopment of the arena site in the lower Hill but would help to 'mend and heal' the neighborhood, which was separated from Downtown and saw 1,300 buildings leveled in an early 1960s urban renewal plan built around the Civic Arena construction."

As for the TIF deal that will drive the redevelopment of the area: "At the center of the agreement is a tax increment financing plan that will generate at least $22 million — some estimates are as high as $50 million — over 20 years for redevelopment activities in the Hill and adjacent Uptown." Moreover, "[under] the TIF, 65 percent of the new tax revenue produced by the project will be used for improvements. The other 35 percent will go to the city, county and city school district."

Tuesday, September 9, 2014 in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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