How the Hill District LERTA Fund Happened
The Hill Community Development Corporation (Hill CDC) reached a settlement agreement following its historic legal action against the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins and the City of Pittsburgh regarding an initial proposed development for the Lower Hill District site. The Hill CDC filed the suit after having organized the Hill District community over many months while also negotiating community benefits with the Lower Hill District Working Group. The collective effort was focused on community benefits that should result from the redevelopment of the historic 28 acre urban core site.
When the City of Pittsburgh Planning Commission failed to formally adopt the community benefits agreement as a part of the developer’s Lower Hill regulatory plan, the Hill CDC independently filed an appeal in the Court of Common Pleas to safeguard benefits for the Hill District and its residents. What resulted was historic. The establishment of what was then the largest tax increment finance district in the history of the City of Pittsburgh (LERTA), the establishment of a Citywide Affordable Housing Taskforce, and a compliance monitor to assure the implementation of the negotiated community benefits agreement entitled the “Community Collaboration and Implementation Plan” (CCIP).
Read the Post Gazetter article here.
The Citywide Affordable Housing Taskforce was the basis for the establishment of the City of Pittsburgh’s Housing Opportunity Fund (HOF) which funds $10 million in affordable housing needs annually. The fund is housed at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
The Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program (LERTA) will generate over $40 million in tax dollars to support Middle and Upper Hill District projects, organizations and resident-needs. The Hill CDC with Hill District organizations will serve in a leadership capacity to determine the distribution of these funds. The funds will be housed at the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and distributed only as indicated by the community advisory board. (Note: Another $40 million was supposed to be invested into Lower Hill infrastructure under the same control, however that portion will be retained by the developers due to renegotiations of the Lower Hill Term Sheet.)
The Community Collaboration and Implementation Plan is underway with biweekly meetings between the City, Hill CDC, Pittsburgh Penguins and committee appointees. Compliance is a core focus to assure that the Agreement advances the entire Hill District community including a broad range of social, cultural and economic opportunities and benefits.
Over the years, the Hill CDC has not only worked to assure equity and access for all Hill District residents, but the organization has taken great risks and bold stances to promote equitable policies city-wide. Victories we collectively claim today were once difficult, lonely, and unpopular positions. While all that we have achieved as an organization pales in comparison to what the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. achieved in his short life, we’d like to imagine that he would be proud that we are standing in faith and courage while pushing an agenda centered on social justice, human rights and equity. We are also certain that he would be as encouraged as we are that more than ever the Hill CDC, City of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Penguins are finding new ways to partner and collaborate. Or, perhaps he would simply remind us that “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – MLK Jr.
What Will the $40 Million Fund?
- Workforce Development Initiatives
- Job Placement Programs
- MWBE Business Development Initiatives
- MWBE Business Counseling Programs
- Children and Youth Education Initiatives
- Mortgage Assistance Subsidies
- Rent Assistance Subsidies
- Development Investments
- Other Wealth Building Initiatives
- Project Development Within the Greater Hill District
- AND MORE…
What Entities Make up the Advisory Board?
Individuals will be appointed to the Advisory Board by…
- Hill District Federal Credit Union
- Hill District Consensus Group
- Wesley Center AME Zion Church
- Schenley Heights Community Development Program
- Hill CDC
- Historic Hill Institute
- TBA (Urban Innovation 21 is no longer in operation) (Ujamaa Collective effective February 2022)
- Ex Officio: State Rep 19th District, Allegheny County Executive, City Councilperson, School Board Representative
Commitment
Councilman Lavelle and the Hill CDC, as Co-Chairs of the Fund, are committed to transparency and accountability. We will continue to keep you updated on how to apply and future meetings. Stay tuned for how to apply once the application is developed.
March 12, 2026
Hill CDC Celebrates Pilot Round of Community Investment Funding Approved for Hill District Development Projects
Historic milestone reflects the power of resident-led vision and the promise of a neighborhood in transformation.
PITTSBURGH, PA — Today, a pilot round of funding from the Greater Hill District Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund (LERTA Fund) was approved and distributed to community development projects serving Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District; a milestone made possible by the determination, leadership, and vision of the people who call this neighborhood home.
Marimba Milliones, president and CEO of the Hill Community Development Corporation (Hill CDC) issued the following statement:
“This moment belongs to the residents of the Hill District. For too long, decisions about investment and development in this community have been made without the voices of those who have lived here, raised families here, and sustained the neighborhood’s culture and character through generations. We have been working with residents to change that, and through our advocacy and partnership, we were able to deliver unprecedented funding to our community. This nearly $1Million is just the beginning of investments from this fund, and yet these investments will have a significant impact on moving Hill District development projects forward.”
The approved funding will flow directly to Hill District organizations and development projects, prioritizing organizations and initiatives that offer tangible growth opportunities for long-term residents and business owners — not displacement, not development that bypasses residents, but investment that works for the Hill District community. The first round of funding has been dedicated to projects mostly on Centre Avenue anchoring the revitalization of the Hill District’s commercial corridor(s).
- African Queens Apartment Project — $250,000
- Big Tom’s Barbershop Housing and Development Phase I — $240,000
- Rhythm Square Phase I — $250,000
- Herron and Wylie Project — $190,000
This is not an endpoint. It is an important chapter of a larger, community-driven strategy to honor the Hill District’s extraordinary legacy while actively building its future. Our hope is that public and private partners turn their collective attention towards investing in the Hill District as we create a hub for commerce, culture and entertainment that offers housing to long-time and new residents, and enables economic prosperity.
The Hill District has given Pittsburgh, and the world, an outsized legacy. This investment is a commitment to ensuring that the people at the heart of that legacy are the ones who benefit most in its future.”
Learn more at www.hilldistrict.org/lerta. See this weekend’s Hill District Weekend Roundup for more Lower Hill District updates.
A historic new funding opportunity for the Hill District is now live!
The Greater Hill District Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund (GHDNRF) is open for applications, following years of community advocacy and the Hill CDC’s successful efforts to secure this once-in-a-generation investment.
The GHDNRF Advisory Board has approved a spending plan that allocates:
• $930,000 for Development Program Initiatives, with awards up to $250,000
• $240,000 for Children, Youth, and Education Initiatives, with awards up to $25,000
• $120,000 for Workforce Initiatives, with awards up to $30,000.
The first pilot round is now open, with applications submitted through the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s online portal.
