Marimba Milliones.
The Peduto administration appears to be dialing back expectations on how funding from a new Tax Increment Financing plan expected to generate from $22 million to $50 million for the Hill District can be used.
At a meeting held on the redevelopment plans of the former Civic Arena site on Monday evening at the Kaufmann Center, the subject of how TIF proceeds could be spent was raised by Marimba Milliones, president and CEO of the Hill Community Development Corp.
She noted how previous TIF talk by the Peduto administration regarding the Hill proposed using the funds for not just for infrastructure costs but also for workforce development and job training as well as other community needs.
Milliones said, "I'm getting the sense that there is concern around the TIF dollars" being used in such ways, describing the funding as "absolutely critical" for helping the revitalize the Hill District.
Chief Development Officer Kevin Acklin acknowledged legal limits for TIF funding.
Marimba Milliones.
"TIF is a creature of state law," said Acklin. "In terms of what we can use the TIF proceeds for, there are legal restrictions regarding that."
The new TIF plan for the neighborhood is a core component of a major agreement between the city, the Hill District and the Pittsburgh Penguins announced in September. Mayor Bill Peduto touted a new TIF District that would encompass all of the Hill's neighborhoods and be the largest by territory in the city's history, totaling more than 1,100 acres. A fact sheet distributed by the Peduto administration announcing the plan at the time listed potential uses for the TIF funding that extended beyond public infrastructure costs. Other proposed uses for TIF funds included grants for down payments and closing costs on for-sale housing, a revolving loan fund to repair apartments in the neighborhood, residential facade grants and others.
Tim Schooley Reporter- Pittsburgh Business Times
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