Hill District residents on Thursday urged Pittsburgh Penguins officials and consultants to freeze development plans for the former Civic Arena site until an agreement can be reached on how much housing will be built for lower-income residents.
"The process should not go forward until there is more agreement, more collaboration and more studies," Audrey Anderson, 61, of the Hill, said during a contentious meeting that drew about 100 residents and community leaders.
The team organized the meeting at the Kaufmann Center to discuss other economic aspects of the project, including its goals for providing work to neighborhood residents and minority- and female-owned businesses. Residents' comments, however, focused largely on housing.
Residents said they want at least 30 percent of nearly 1,200 rental units planned to be for lower-income residents. The Penguins' preference is 20 percent, but the team's residential developer said an analysis will be performed to compare costs and financing options for both approaches.
Others expressed concern about the Penguins' definition of affordable housing, noting preliminary estimates showed the most inexpensive rental units might cost close to $1,000 a month.
"At this point, what I think we can get done (financially) is 20 percent affordable housing. It's going to be a struggle to cover 20 percent. But can 30 percent be achievable? Maybe," said Vince Bennett, chief operating officer for St. Louis-based developer McCormack Baron Salazar, hired in September. The firm's local projects include the Crawford Square and Bedford Hill complexes in the Hill.
Penguins Chief Operating Officer Travis Williams said the team aims to submit preliminary land development plans to the city's Planning Commission in about three weeks.
Craig Dunham, a Penguins consultant who is preparing the preliminary plans, said they lay out "the framework for streets and buildings," not specifics such as the percentage of affordable housing.
Discussions on such specifics will continue after plans are submitted, team officials and consultants said. Williams said it was important to get the approval process moving forward because the team must remain on schedule to comply with terms of a $15 million federal grant it received to prepare the site, including building three streets, rebuilding four others and installing utilities. It still needs an estimated $19 million to complete that work, which could begin in the spring.
That didn't appease residents, who expressed concern about the project moving forward without a firm deal on housing in place.
"I do not trust the Penguins, and I do not trust this process. I think this is already a done deal, and all of the decisions have been made. It's very disturbing," said Frankie Harris, 59, who lives and owns a boutique in the Hill.
The Penguins plan to hold another community meeting in about two weeks.
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