The PPG Paints Arena parking lot in the Lower Hill District in Pittsburgh.
Jake Savitz / WESA
In Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District, some fear new development could force people out. They’ve seen it before
-
Ariel Worthy/WESA
Jake Savitz / WESA
The PPG Paints Arena parking lot in the Lower Hill District in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District has a long history of taking a stand and saying “no more” when it comes to development that threatens to push out people who live there. And as a new development is underway in the area, residents worry about history repeating itself with the ripple effects.
The Hill District consists of the Upper, Middle and Lower Hill. From the Lower Hill, it’s a short walk to downtown, and you get a panoramic view of the city skyline. It is also home of the PPG Paints Arena, where the Pittsburgh Penguins play hockey. Soon, the Lower Hill will have a new major development: a 26-story office tower and green space that could cost up to $230 million.
But as building plans move forward, longtime Hill District residents remember what happened in the 1960s when the area that now houses the PPG arena first came to the Hill: homes and businesses were lost. And after the current arena was built, some residents could no longer afford to stay in the district, or find housing.
Carol Hardeman was there. She has lived in the Hill District her entire life, and works at the Hill District Consensus Group, where she helps tenants know their rights against eviction.
“This is nothing new,” Hardeman said. “Hill District residents, they’ve been going through this since probably the early 50s.”
Listen to the story:
But developers say the project will benefit the community. In a March meeting, they said the office tower and green space will create jobs. Chris Buccini is the CEO of the Buccini/Pollin Group, the lead developer.
“Yes, we will have an office tower, we will have a parking garage,” he said in a virtual meeting. “The tower gives us the demand to build the parking garage, which creates jobs, but also a live music venue which creates other jobs. And so there will be a diversity of jobs that we will be able to create here.”
As for housing, developers estimate a parking tax diversion will generate $3 million to help people with financial rental assistance in the district.
Jake Savitz / WESA
A skyline view of downtown Pittsburgh from the Hill District.
But Hardeman worries that during all of the changes, residents could still be forgotten about, and many could be displaced due to an increase in rent costs. And it wouldn’t be the first time it has happened.
In the Lower Hill, a high rise apartment called City View, is a couple of blocks from the arena and the development site. In 2016, a new property management company took over the building that was formerly known as Washington Plaza. Mary Young lived there, and had to leave after the rent went up. And she said rent used to include water and sewer bills, but they were now separate.
“People had lived there for 30, 40 years. It was their home,” Young said. “They had no consideration for these people, they were elderly. At least consider them.”
In 2019, Young moved out of the Hill District, where she had lived most of her life. She struggled to find adequate housing, but eventually landed in Wilkinsburg, a suburb outside Pittsburgh. She said at one point she wanted to move back to the Hill, but has given up. Now she says she wants to see that people don’t get priced out of their homes.
“I would like to see the young people and the people who want to stay in the Hill stay in the Hill and not get kicked out,” she said.
Hardeman says the government should intervene to protect people like Young. She is worried that more development in the Lower Hill could mean that some longtime residents won’t be able to keep living there.
“The Hill District is probably losing at least per week 3-5 families,” Hardeman said. “There needs to legally something done, that’s why we have all these lovely civil rights laws and discrimination laws. But unless you know how to get those laws to work for you or your community, it continues to happen.”
The community does try to have some control of who brings development there. Felicity Williams, who is with the Hill Community Development Corporation, says they sometimes work with developers to ensure that as they build in the Hill, it is “in the spirit” of what people who live there want for the neighborhood.
She says the CDC has a process that requires developers to get approval from residents before continuing with projects. In the past, for example, developers have agreed to provide “economic empowerment” opportunities for Black businesses in the Hill District.
She says developers for the office tower and green space in the Lower Hill have not received approval from residents.
“That is, I want to be extremely explicit, counter to the process,” Williams said. “The process is to not go to the planning commission until you have received community support. And at this point they’re not; they are failing.”
But as of now, developers are still on schedule to begin groundbreaking this summer.
Meanwhile, Hardeman says she is watching what happens.
“I know it’s a wait-and-see game. But I hope they dare not put housing down there that none of us can afford to live in,” Hardeman said. “I live in the Hill District, and there’s million-dollar homes around me, and I’m like, when did that happen?”
Until then, Hardeman says she will continue to work with the community and groups like the CDC to ensure that residents are not forgotten as their neighborhood continues to grow.
WESA’s Ariel Worthy produced this story as part of the America Amplified initiative, using community engagement to inform and strengthen local, regional, and national journalism. America Amplified is a public media initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Sometimes, your mornings are just too busy to catch the news beyond a headline or two. Don’t worry. The Morning Agenda has got your back. Each weekday morning, host Tim Lambert will keep you informed, amused, enlightened and up-to-date on what’s happening in central Pennsylvania and the rest of this great commonwealth.
