City Council

Golden Horizons would bring a 55+ community with pickleball to Banksville.

Banksville's Marian Manor, a care facility for almost 70 years, closed in 2024 after continual financial losses. Now, council is set to rezone the 26-acre site for a housing community for people 55 and older. The plan includes 124 townhomes, a community center, pickleball courts, and a pool. Last month, the Planning Commission recommended the rezoning after two hearings.

Written by Amy Whipple

A senior housing community that is planned for Banksville is set to clear another hurdle when council accepts the Pittsburgh Planning Commission’s recommendations and rezones the former Vincential Marian Manor campus.

The 26-acre site, renamed Golden Horizons, is slated to become a housing development for people who are 55 years old and older. The plan includes 124 townhomes, a community center, pickleball courts and a pool. 

Marian Manor had provided skilled nursing and long-term care for almost 70 years when it closed in 2024 after operating at a continual financial loss.

Then-Council Member Theresa Kail-Smith of Westwood introduced the rezoning legislation in Sept. 2025. The Planning Commission held hearings on the plan twice before recommending it for approval last month. 

“This is a highly anticipated project in my district,” said Council Member Kim Salinetro of Banksville, “and we are glad to see it come to fruition.”

Connections to this story

Elected officials:
Kim Salinetro
Governments:
City Council

More surveys

Have your say on more of the stories we’re covering.

City Council

Speakers warn that surveillance technology threatens civil rights.

Council is studying how governments use surveillance tools, including the city's license plate readers and police cameras. On Sept. 21, speakers warned that surveillance technology can threaten civil rights. An Austin council member said his city struggled to regulate it and canceled its license plate reader contracts. A Carnegie Mellon expert said the city's report felt incomplete because it skips independent agencies like the schools.

Follow the issues:

Police surveillance tech under review

City Council

Paving becomes the quickest way to use up unspent pandemic aid.

More of Pittsburgh's leftover pandemic aid is headed to street paving. On Sept. 23, council advanced moving $346,683 from streetlight and mobile toilet projects to paving. If it isn't spent by the end of 2026, a budget official said, it'll likely go back to the federal government. She said shifting unspent money to paving is the only quick way to get it out the door.

Follow the issues:

Use it or lose it: unspent public moneyFixing streets, steps, and walls

City Council

Controller audit reveals city-owned properties break code rules but face no fines.

The city isn't subject to fines for code violations on property it owns. On Sept. 15, council took up a controller's audit that found 4,330 code investigations of city-owned properties from 2021 through 2023. An audit official said there's no cohesive process for dealing with them. He said that sends taxpayer money toward notices that just end up in a bin.

Follow the issues:

Managing the city property portfolio

City Council

Council pauses a $50,000 Vibrant Pittsburgh membership renewal to ask what it delivers.

Since 2023, the city has paid $50,000 a year for a Vibrant Pittsburgh membership. On Sept. 16, three council members questioned the cost and asked how well it works. A city finance official said she didn't have that information, and council held the renewal for one week. One member suggested the administration list all city memberships and training services.

Follow the issues:

Oversight on Pittsburgh's annual membershipsWho's watching city contracts

County Council

Campaign materials built with generative AI could need a clear disclosure starting next year.

AI-made material is getting harder to tell from reality, a proposed county law says. On Sept. 8, county council introduced the bill, which would require disclosures on AI-made campaign materials for county office. Skipping one could bring a fine of up to $300, a 30-day jail sentence, or both. If passed, it would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Follow the issues:

AI in campaign ads

County Council

Proposal would soften a 2021 ban on shackling incarcerated individuals during medical care.

Medical emergencies at the Allegheny County Jail are climbing, and the jail is short on staff. On Sept. 8, three county council members proposed letting sheriff's deputies use leg shackles during medical transport and care. That would soften a 2021 ban on shackling people held at the jail. For now, the proposal sits with council's public safety committee.

Follow the issues:

Inside the Allegheny County Jail

City Council

Love Your Block returns after a two-year pause with $20,000 for 17 neighborhood groups.

Neighborhood groups can again get paid back for projects that fight blight or create art. On Sept. 9, council advanced $20,000 for 17 groups through Love Your Block, which is back after a two-year pause. Still, two council districts got no money, one because no groups applied. A city official said his office is helping groups prepare for next year.

Follow the issues:

Caring for vacant lots and greenways

City Council

Verra Mobility’s red light cameras land on a list of 37 surveillance tools up for review.

As Pittsburgh readies more red light cameras, council wants to know more about their surveillance abilities. The city's transportation director said the cameras capture only license plates. He said the city owns the data and destroys it within 30 days after a case ends. On Sept. 9, council also advanced a bill letting drivers pay tickets online and request hearings by phone or internet.

Follow the issues:

Red light cameras come to PittsburghPolice surveillance tech under review

City Council

Permit change aims to end no parking signs that linger for weeks with no work.

Many no parking signs go up with no construction in sight. On Aug. 31, a city transportation official told council a 2025 permit process replaced a one-size-fits-all approach to no parking. She also said aging pipes can break from paving vibrations, so newly repaved streets sometimes get dug up again. Still, she said better coordinating street closures would take more staff.

Follow the issues:

Fixing streets, steps, and walls

City Council

Projected year-end deficit grows to $30.2 million as revenues fall short.

Pittsburgh's finances slipped further in the second quarter. On Sept. 1, a budget official told council the projected year-end deficit has grown to $30.2 million from $24.4 million. Finance staff said the NFL Draft likely cost the city at least $1 million. Still, the budget official was more hesitant than in June to say the outlook would improve.

Follow the issues:

A deficit with State control on the horizonThe NFL Draft comes to Pittsburgh

City Council

Nearly $60,000 would buy a dozen trailers for snow and lawn crews.

A South Side council member said his district looks like a jungle this year, largely because crews lack trailers. On Sept. 2, council agreed to move forward with buying 12 new landscaping trailers for nearly $60,000. Crews have only two now to haul lawn and snow equipment. The acting fleet manager said a dozen is the minimum to work efficiently.

Follow the issues:

Pittsburgh's broken-down vehicle fleetClearing Pittsburgh's snow

County Council

Proposed ban would keep data centers off county-owned property.

Most Allegheny County Council members don't want data centers on county-owned land. Legislation introduced Aug. 25 would ban them there, as members cite worries about soaring water and electricity use. However, it would cover only county property, since state law leaves zoning to municipalities. For now, the proposal sits with council's sustainability committee.

Follow the issues:

Data centers on county land

County Council

Reports of deplorable apartments prompt a Sept. 24 hearing on senior housing.

Residents keep reporting unsafe, even deplorable, conditions in some of Allegheny County's federally assisted housing for seniors and disabled people. Now, a county council member has called for a public hearing on Sept. 24. He said county council can't fix it alone, and it will take city, county, state, and federal resources. Written testimony will be accepted through Oct. 1.

Follow the issues:

Tenants versus problem landlords

County Council

County banks $100,000 by switching to digital paystubs, part of a zero-carbon goal.

Allegheny County employees no longer get paper paystubs, and the switch saved $100,000 in the past year. On July 15, the sustainability director told a council committee it's part of the county's zero-carbon goal. Her other priorities include more efficient county buildings, park trees, greener employee commutes, and sustainable purchasing. Still, she said the work will need upfront funding.

Follow the issues:

Climate action

City Council

Closing a bike lane loophole could also destroy the case for parking on sidewalks.

City rules let drivers park in bike lanes and other banned spots if it protects people and the vehicle. On July 29, council agreed to move forward with a bill dropping vehicle safety as an exception. That could also take away a justification drivers use to park on sidewalks. However, council remained conflicted about sidewalk parking.

Follow the issues:

Bikes and bike lanes

City Council

Ballfield lights could go remote with a $73,050 software upgrade.

With a tap on their phones, city park superintendents may soon run ballfield lights. On July 29, council agreed to move forward with a $73,050 payment for the remote-control software. The system can time lights to a field permit and adjust their brightness. Residents can still switch on lights by hand at spots like basketball courts that aren't under a permit.

Follow the issues:

Fixing up city parks

City Council

Beltzhoover rec center next in line for Stop the Violence funds.

Violence prevention money could pay for programs at another rec center. Council advanced a request for $200,000 from the Stop the Violence fund for McKinley Recreation Center in Beltzhoover. On July 28, a similar request for Glen Hazel's rec center won final approval. The council president has backed these requests, but he said rec centers don't attract the youth most at risk of gun violence.

Follow the issues:

After school at city rec centersWhere the Stop the Violence money goes

School Board

Community members ask the school board to advocate for more family housing.

Several speakers told the school board the district can't stabilize unless the city addresses why families are leaving. At a June 22 hearing, they urged the board to advocate for family-sized housing. The board doesn't set housing policy, but it's one of three local bodies that set real estate taxes. One speaker objected to any school tax money going to the proposed Downtown TRID.

Follow the issues:

PPS school closuresDowntown's special tax district, the TRID

School Board

Families speak out against the school board’s decision to move forward with the Future Ready plan.

The school board's May vote to close up to 12 schools didn't end families' opposition. At a June 22 hearing, speakers faulted the Future Ready plan and the conduct of board members who approved it. Several said a board member laughed at a parent in May. That parent said trust has been broken, noting half the board faces reelection next year.

Follow the issues:

PPS school closures