URA to vote on $1.6 million purchase of former Hill District grocery (Pittsburgh: 2013, house)

[tyovan4]

The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority is moving to acquire a former grocery store complex on Centre Avenue in the Hill District.

URA directors are scheduled to vote Thursday on purchasing the 2.6-acre property from Dollar Bank for $1.6 million. The complex previously housed a Shop ’n Save.

The Hill House Association and Economic Development Corp. built the $11.5 million grocery and adjoining retail space in the Centre Heldman Plaza with nearly $4 million in public subsidies, despite criticism that the neighborhood could not sustain a supermarket.

The store, which opened in 2013, closed in March because of declining sales, a city official said at the time.

Pittsburgh City Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle of the Hill District, who serves on the URA board and supports the purchase, said the URA and city hope to secure smaller supermarket as an anchor tenant for the property.

https://triblive.com/local/pittsburg...cery-property/

I don't understand why the free market isnt allowed to work.
Gentrification is coming to the Middle Hill - particularly once the BRT goes in.
I don't understand why the URA is planning on dumping even more public money into this project - nor do I understand why tax breaks are offered for parcels along 5th Ave...

I understand about food deserts, and I have some sympathy for those who currently live in the food desert of the Middle Hill.
But those folks are going to be gentrified out within the next few years anyway. The local "Progressive" elites will continue to put on a song and a dance of claiming to care about the African-American community, while continuing gentrifying policies that push African-Americans out to places like Penn Hills, Wilkinsburg, and the Mon Valley.
The folks who are impacted by a food desert are going to be displaced in the near future anyway - so why bother putting in public money to alleviate the food desert temporarily, wouldn't such money be better invested into something that has a more permanent ability to help?

[gg]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

I don't understand why the free market isn't allowed to work.

It works great, but the far left is so stupid and egotistical they can't see the obvious. You work harder you get more. Simple. Now you keep giving and bailing out those that don't work hard, guess what you get? Entitlement. That is what you are going to see from all this so-called "help". It will make things worse and worse. No stopping it. They don't get it at all. It only gets worse from here.

[szug-bot]

Lavelle said the Penguins’ redevelopment of the 28-acre former Civic Arena site and new housing in other parts of the Hill would significantly improve chances of a small store being profitable.


this quote is another example of how city leaders seem so often incapable of grasping real world matters. what is his assumption based on? the PPG was an improvement over the civic arena - and with public money, the shop n save, a major grocery chain, did not survive.

they look at things as opportunities for social engineering a bigger picture, instead of allowing people to make money (and wouldnt this be an amazing opportunity for hill dist. entrepreneurs to get in on the pie).

i agree with the person who commented above - let the free market take take it. what the city can do is foster that incentive to a would-be owner/developer, and not screw around trying to create something.

the location of this parcel(s) is so primed for success, in the hands of the right people who actually do what developers do - research the market, the demographics, and other factors and invest with what is a reasonable risk.

[SteelCityRising]

An ALDI or Lidl would absolutely be profitable at this site once the Civic Arena site is redeveloped in 20 years.

[gg]

Originally Posted by steelcityrising

...once the civic arena site is redeveloped in 20 years.

Too funny.

[eschaton]

Why are we talking about this and not the far more important thing the URA did this week?

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Why are we talking about this and not the far more important thing the URA did this week?

This new project is really awesome and going to be great when done, but it's going to be trouble for people who are working in the area and drive to work until it is done. Penn Plaza construction is going on simultaneously, as is the affordable housing project between Broad, Beatty, and Euclid. There will be a massive short term reduction in parking.

[gg]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Why are we talking about this and not the far more important thing the URA did this week?

Don't know what it is.

Why isn't there a thread regarding developments like on some forum that some old poster went to, called sky****per? This forum could use some positive news and so-on.

Where is that building going to be built?

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by gg

Don't know what it is.

Why isn't there a thread regarding developments like on some forum that some old poster went to, called sky****per? This forum could use some positive news and so-on.

Where is that building going to be built?

East Liberty, on the two lots behind the library.

The big building is going to be a 220 unit residential building. Mostly market rate, but with 66 affordable units. It will also include some ground-floor commercial space.

The second building is going to be a 40-unit senior housing development, and a 480-stall parking garage.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by eschaton

East Liberty, on the two lots behind the library.

The big building is going to be a 220 unit residential building. Mostly market rate, but with 66 affordable units. It will also include some ground-floor commercial space.

The second building is going to be a 40-unit senior housing development, and a 480-stall parking garage.

Between the 66 affordable units here, the 40 unit senior housing, and the Mellon's Orchard development of 100 units, doesn't that basically completely replace Penn Plaza while adding parking, another ~150 market rate units, a Whole Foods, a renovated park, a bunch of office space, and close to 1000 parking spaces in a 4 block radius?