Pittsburgh's URA, SEA boards approve project at former Civic Arena site

Jun. 10—The proposed redevelopment of part of the former Civic Arena site in Pittsburgh's Lower Hill District cleared another hurdle Thursday, when the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority approved a series of actions that will allow the first part of the project to move forward.

But the URA board, which includes city Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, who lives in the neighborhood, and state Rep. Ed Gainey, who is the Democratic nominee for Pittsburgh mayor, said the approval isn't the end of the process. Community concerns will be heard and promises that have been made by the developers will be accounted for, they said.

If the board didn't act Thursday, the project would have stalled, Lavelle said.

He also promised more transparency and public input as the project continues.

Foremost among the actions the URA approved is the option agreement for a portion of the 28-acre site of the former Civic Arena. It will be sold by the URA and the Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to the Pittsburgh Arena Real Estate Development LLC for $10.

The SEA board also approved the development plans Thursday.

Those approvals are the final hurdles to advance the first phase of the project, which will include a $200 million headquarters of FNB Corp. Plans for the tower were approved in May by the Pittsburgh Planning Commission.

The nominal price is in line with previous agreements inked by the Pittsburgh Penguins to redevelop the site, which date back to before the Civic Arena was razed in 2011, Lavelle said.

The planned development is also better than allowing the Penguins to continue to use the land as a parking lot and collect revenue from it, Lavelle said.

The Buccini Pollin Group, based in Wilmington, Del., is working with the Penguins to develop the site and meet the requirements of an agreement reached with leaders of the Hill District neighborhood to redevelop it.

The Lower Hill District neighborhood was razed in the late 1950s to make way for the Civic Arena, and the largely Black neighborhood has suffered because of the decision.

Lingering concerns have hampered the redevelopment as community leaders including Marimba Milliones, president and CEO of Hill Community Development Corp., have worked to ensure that redevelopment involved Hill District residents and worked to their benefit.

"No one should feel like a visitor in their own neighborhood," Milliones told the URA board.

She supports the project, but with conditions that the developers be held to account for the promises they've made to provide benefits for and include employment opportunities for those who live in the Hill District.

Another Hill District resident and advocate, Kimberly Ellis, is a niece of the renowned playwright August Wilson, whose body of work was set in the Hill District. She lives in the neighborhood and now works for Buccini Pollin Group to provide historical context for the development.

She called the URA's vote Thursday "historic."

Despite the broken past promises to residents and the lingering skepticism those have wrought, Ellis said, "the stars are aligned" in the present plans. "I'm really excited for what is to come."

The first phase of the project includes the FNB tower, a 418-foot-tall, 26-story building that will have more than 430,000 square feet of office space and 35,000 square feet of retail space.

Future plans also include development of a concert venue, more retail and open space.

Developers this week opened the Hill House First Source Center to keep residents apprised of job opportunities associated with the work.

The approvals the URA gave Thursday don't represent a "finished product," Lavelle said.

"Our job is to look for what is best for the majority," he said.

Of those who submitted comments about the project, 60 spoke or wrote in favor of it while five were opposed to approving it, URA board Chair Sam Williamson said.

Tom Davidson is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tom at 724-226-4715, tdavidson@triblive.com or via Twitter .