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The Pittsburgh Urban Renewal Authority’s board of directors unanimously approved plans Thursday to build entertainment venues and parking at the site of the former municipal arena in the Lower Hills.
Their vote cleared the way for work to begin.
The $110 million project is planned to be built on a 2.6-acre site adjacent to the PPG Paints Arena.
URA chief development officer Tom Link said site preparation and excavation would begin in July.
Plans for the development include a 4,500-seat entertainment venue, which will be operated by Live Nation. The venue will include 7,600 square feet of commercial space, including URA retail incubator space and a ballroom.
The development includes a six-story parking lot for 910 vehicles, plus 2,430 square feet of street-level commercial space and a 2,600 square foot public security facility.
Link said the parking lot is expected to be completed by October 2024, and the entertainment venue is expected to host its first ticketed event in January 2026.
The site’s development team – led by Buccini/Pollin Group and Pittsburgh Arena Real Estate Development, the development arm of the Pittsburgh Penguins – has Committed to $2 surcharge on event tickets sold at new entertainment venues venue.
Proceeds from the ticket surcharge will go to the Greater Hill District Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund. Administered by the city’s Urban Renewal Authority, the fund provides grants for development projects throughout the Hill District community.
Officials said the surcharge would be in place for at least 10 years.
URA’s approval came with several conditions, including surcharges, a $1.2 million investment in public safety facilities, and a commitment to fund the Ammon Recreation Center in the Lower Hill District.
R. Daniel Lavelle, a URA board member who represents Pittsburgh City Council’s Hill District, said the conditions agreed to by the developers “are really happening.”
“This allows for the larger theme (ie) Greater Hill should directly benefit from what’s going to happen at the Lower Hill District site,” he said. “We’re really capturing and doing what we said we were going to do.”
Rhea Thomas, the in-house special adviser to the Sport and Exhibitions Authority, said the SEA board had also approved the development with similar conditions on Thursday.
The city’s planning commission approved the development in January.
related:
• $2 admission surcharge at planned entertainment venue will support revitalization of Hill District
• Penguin hands part of Downhill development site to Bethel AME Church, decades after being replaced by Arena project
Julia Felton is a staff writer for Tribune Review. You can contact Julia by email jfelton@triblive.com or via twitter .
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