Agri-Trade Development Institute

January 2021- Internal Review

• DRP conducted an internal review during their January 6th meeting and invited the developer to formally present
• December 2020 – Submitted to the DRP
• Proposed Live-Work-Create Development Space located at the intersection of Centre Avenue and Soho Street
• First floor retail and multi-purpose communal space
• Second floor includes an Indoor Vertical Farm and Education Lab, along with Admin area
• Third floor includes 3 units of 100% affordable housing for Veterans and the Entrepreneurial and Agricultural residence program
• Rooftop includes outdoor garden beds and solar panels
• Project includes greenspace and public art
• Seeking to acquire publicly owned land

February 2021 – Presented to the DRP

• Development team formally presented to the DRP during the February 3rd meeting
• DRP elected to not score the project due to various unclear areas of the project
• DRP submitted feedback to the development team and requested additional information

April 2021 – Submitted requested information

• The Development Team submitted a parking plan for the development project
• Submitted information and responses to DRP for further discussion

January 2024 – Resubmission to DRP

Kent Bey, Project Love Coalition President, submitted updated documents for the DRP to review on January 2nd. This project will be reviewed by the DRP panel internally at their next meeting in February.

PLC will now create 12 rental units. The rental units will consist of 12 new construction units (6 on Centre Avenue and 6 on Herron Avenue).

PLC owns the property on Herron Avenue which has an existing building that has significant structural damage beyond feasible financial repair for development and poses an immediate public safety hazard (seeking condemnation).

PLC intends to make 12 rental units affordable. All units will be Project-Based Voucher units. PLC will also create retail space and an indoor farm at both sites.

PLC will create a resource center and parking lot at Centre Avenue. The team is currently working with the URA and City of Pittsburgh to acquire the parcels required for the project.

March 2024 – Presentation to DRP Committee

PLC presented the updated project to the DRP Committee at their monthly meeting. It was determined during their presentation that the project was still in a conceptual phase with several items still being determined. Specifically, the proposal did not include documentation of site control, financial sources and uses, and final construction drawings. The developer was informed that they would not receive a Committee Score for their project at the time due to these items being missing or undecided.

Later in March, Hill CDC staff met with PLC to further review the status of their project and what was needed to proceed through the DRP process. As communicated consistently to all developers, the requirements for submission are available on the main page for the DRP as well as on the Development Checklist available here: https://www.hilldistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-DRP-Development-Checklist.pdf.

As of March 2024, there have been no formal meetings between Hill CDC and Project Love Coalition. At a May 2024 Development Activities Meeting, PLC President Kent Bey shared frustrations with the City and Hill CDC about the status of his project. At that meeting he was encouraged by all who attended, including Hill CDC, to schedule meetings to continue dialogue about moving the project forward.

Downloads:

Documents:		Size:
	Executive Summary	245.37 KB
	Project Narrative	29.71 KB
	Team Bios	161.17 KB
	Project siteplan and renderings	753.75 KB
	Updated Project Narrative	29.84 KB
	Updated Summary	1.10 MB
	Updated Team Bios	42.42 KB
	Updated siteplan	755.23 KB

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