New, Revised Agreement Could Soon Get Redevelopment Of Civic Arena Site Underway
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The long-delayed redevelopment of the old Civic Arena site may finally be getting off the ground.
Mayor Bill Peduto met Tuesday with Pittsburgh Penguins President David Morehouse and says the city and the hockey team are coming to terms that may finally put shovels in the ground.
The mayor says he expects to announce a revised agreement with the Penguins within the next 24 hours.
The new agreement would bring about the long-awaited construction of housing and entertainment venues on the old arena site.
The redevelopment of those 28-acres has been stalled by a series of deadline extensions, and relations between the Penguins organization and the city have grown testy.
While the hockey team has cited roadblocks such as environmental problems, the city has grown impatient with the lack of progress.
But the mayor says the two sides are close to an agreement that will allow the redevelopment to proceed. He also says it will be a high-quality development that will reconnect the Hill District with Downtown Pittsburgh.
"We have an agreement in principal over the main issues that faced the lease agreement," said Mayor Peduto. "We want to see a combination between entertainment, office space, housing, retail, all put together and connecting downtown and the Hill once again."
One sticking issue has been $15 million in development credits the city gave the Penguins as part of 2007 agreement to build PPG Paints Arena.
Details on the revised terms should be available Wednesday.