Civic Arena Site

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

The Penguins knew of and signed off on the communitee benefits package.Affordable housing is not a handout. There is big difference between affordable and subsidized housing.

The community benefits package should have been really detailed before any agreement was signed and before the obligation to build the consol was undertaken.

This, for the benefit of both parties, so the hockey team knew exactly how much it would cost them, and the community would know exactly what they had coming to them.

There is really no contract if the product (the consol) is delivered and the price is supposed to be worked out afterwards. It isn't like the consol can be repo'ed if an agreement isn't reached.


Subsidized housing is where the rent is based on the tenant's low income. Affordable housing is the same thing, the only difference is that the government picks up the difference with the subsidized.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by Gee Whiz

Even though it was pretty much implied that Hill district leaders where referring to African-Americans when they insisted on affordable units, I am disappointed that Carl Redwood had to bring this to the forefront. I agree with the affordable part, but I am sure that there are other ethnicities who would like to live on this coveted real estate adjacent to Downtown that may not make a ton of money. Whatever affordable units are eventually developed should be open to anybody that goes through the application process and is on a first come first serve basis. There should be no preferential treatment. Those who have the money, pass the credit check, and are prudent about applying in a prompt manner should get to live there, be it high priced or affordable.

All races and incomes are represented in Crawford Square. Color is not an issue. I would take Redwoods comments with a grain of salt. Housing discrimination is against the law.

[pman]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

The Penguins knew of and signed off on the communitee benefits package.Affordable housing is not a handout. There is big difference between affordable and subsidized housing.

of course it is, lets not get silly.

[armourereric]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

The Civic Arena site isn't the only major low-income residential neighborhood razed for major projects, and not the only one which was subsequently abandoned to be redeveloped again.


Should low income housing units have been added to the Homestead Waterfront project? Much of those parcels were the Homestead "ward" which were taken for expansion of the Homestead Works at the start of WWII. Similarly, should low-income housing units been added to the South Side Works residential mix? South Side was traditionally a low income community, and J&L's expansion in 1950 took out a whole sector of the neighborhood around S. 30th St.


My own view is that neighborhoods change, and no group has a permanent hold on any piece of real estate. If the Civic Arena had not been built, town might still have encroached on the area. If not downtown office buildings, Duquesne U. or other nearby institutions might have.

The riots after the death of MLK might have affected the area very adversely, or maybe not so much.

Thinking that everything would have remained basically the same if the Arena hadn't been built is an error. "Wylie Avenue Days" were coming to an end sooner rather than later even without the igloo.

Like I have said in other posts: People do not recall how North Hills Village had decimated Allegheny City Center gross sales in 55-56, it was a 50% drop in ONE YEAR!. The Allegheny City CoC was demanding the mall by 1958, it was not imposed, it was begged for. The big error was that it took 10 years. Allegheny Center did well for a good 25-30 years, it was the place to be well into the mid 1990's, if Ross Park had not been built, Allegheny Center may be still alive today. I remember going to the old Sears on Sandusky as a kid on 1968, it was only 20 years old but it was so worn out. Boggs & Buhl had already balked at the $1.1MILIION (1954) to install air conditioning, and was closing. If AC had not been built, would anyone today really want to revive buildings that may have been vacant a good 40, 50 years? Would they even still be standing?

[wpipkins2]

The street grid and infrastructure improvements will be exciting to watch. Connecting downtown to the Hill will make the area better for walkers and bikers. I hope our city leaders add bike lanes to the new streets.