Developers Go Before City Planning Commission To Discuss First Project For Former Civic Arena Site Redevelopment
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- After years of planning and conversations, developers with the Pittsburgh Penguins went before the City Planning Commission on Tuesday.
The conversation surrounded the first project at the old Civic Arena site.
One section of the area is the proposed site for a 26-story building that will be home to the headquarters for First National Bank. Developers are calling this the beginning of the foundation of this project, but not everyone agrees.
On Tuesday, developers, community members and historians went step by step through a project that could change the landscape of the Lower Hill.
While developers taut community approval, some business owners are not on the same page. Those Hill District residents would rather see the promises of affordable housing and residential areas before the big commercial piece.
"It's a shiny pretty building, but what about the footprints in the sand for the folks of color socio-economically and disadvantaged in the future?" said commissioner LaShawn Burton-Faulk.
It is a concern that developers hope to ease by debuting plans to invest not just into the Lower Hill with the headquarters but by creating projects in the Middle and Upper Hill.
Some other concerns brought up in the meeting were design and art not showcasing the history of the Hill District.