City Council
Community benefits agreement reinforced for Lower Hill.
The Penguins no longer hold development rights to the former Civic Arena site in the Lower Hill. Their agreement expired Oct. 22, returning those rights to two public authorities. Now, council has given preliminary approval to amending the community benefits agreement that gives residents a voice there. Back in 1955, the city displaced 8,000 residents and 400 businesses to build the arena.
Written by Amy Whipple
After the Pittsburgh Penguins skated away from redeveloping the Lower Hill Special Planning District, last week, the council member representing the area moved to make sure the community benefits agreement was not put on ice.
“We’ve had a hockey team with development rights to 28 acres of prime real estate,” Council President R. Daniel Lavelle of the Upper Hill District said at the Oct. 29 committee meeting. “But now it’s back in the hands of government. I think we actually have a great opportunity to do wonderful things.”
On Oct. 22, the comprehensive option agreement between the Pittsburgh Arena Real Estate Redevelopment (PAR) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Sports & Exhibition Authority (SAE) expired. It had been in place since 2007.
Development rights for the former Civic Area now revert to the URA and the SAE.
Council gave preliminary approval to amend the community benefits agreement between the city, the county and representatives of the Hill District Community and the Lower Hill Working Group.
Community benefits agreements allow neighborhood residents to have a voice in development projects. Development in the Lower Hill Special Planning District is particularly charged. In 1955, the city displaced 8,000 residents and 400 businesses by demolishing the area to create the Civic Arena. According to the Trib, PAR developed fewer than eight acres of the site, which is now the First National Bank headquarters.
The latest plan for the rest of the site included affordable housing, an amphitheater and open public plazas.
Connections to this story
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- R. Daniel Lavelle
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- Community benefits from big developments
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- City Council · October 28, 2025
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