Marimba Milliones-Hill CDC President and CEO
The Hill Community Development Corporation's recent State of The Hill celebration also served to officially unveil its comprehensive Centre Avenue Corridor Development and Redesign Plan, solidifying a coordinated development vision ahead of an anticipated $400 million in business and housing investments.
Nearly a year in the making, the plan crystallizes the input of residents an stakeholders into a vision for the future of the Hill that also pays homage to its past, encompassing housing, commercial and mixed-use development as well as cultural and historic programming.
"The Hill District community stepped up and provided input and feedback throughout the process," said Hill CDC President and CEO Marimba Milliones. "We have been able to capture the essence of what the Hill District envisions."
The plan, prepared by evolveEA Sustainable Architecture and 4wardPlanning using a grant from The Design Center, also incorporates green infrastructure and includes a heritage trail, and calls for restoring the stream at the bottom of the Chauncey Street steps for a rain water park.
The plan also includes maps of property ownership, vacant lots, zoning and land use criteria, as well as data on existing housing stock, commercial and institutional properties, demographics and population changes.
The latter shows an increase of more than 1,000 residents since 2000, which further indicates the need for additional rental and for-sale housing. To serve them and future residents, the plan calls for retail amenities ranging from boutique clothing shops and restaurants to bakeries and even a fitness center.
One ambitious idea in the plan would literally create the "crossroads of the world" by creating a Heritage Square at the Centre Avenue and Dinwiddie Street intersection on the site where the Zone 2 police station currently sits. It would also include a museum and would be tied to housing, commercial and cultural redevelopment in and around the New Granada Theater across the street.
Another key aspect of the plan is that both Milliones and city Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle noted is how it will integrate with development in the Lower Hill.
Agreements forged among the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, their development authorities and the Pittsburgh Penguins established levels of minority hiring and minority business participation both during and after construction, and the amounts of retail, office and affordable housing space to be built on the 28-acre former Civic Arena site.
Another agreement created a tax-abatement LERTA district, which will reallocate tax revenue to fund much of the development beyond the 28 acres, including to projects in the Centre Avenue corridor.
Milliones said the Lower Hill development is so big that investors "want to know what's happening down the street."
"This is a diverse plan and calls for a diverse mix of parties to bring it together," she said.
Lavelle said the plan is a key element remaking the Hill into a vibrant cohesive city neighborhood linked to Downtown and beyond.
"With the bustle of activity surrounding the new development in the Lower Hill, there has been increased interest in carrying that momentum further down Centre Avenue," he said. "This plan covers Centre Avenue from Dinwiddie Street to Reed Street and offers, through streetscaping and placemaking elements, deliberate and carefully phased redevelopment designed to promote the growth of the community."
The complete plan can be viewed at www.hilldistrict.org/centave.
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