Hill District residents, firms tapped to guide $1B redevelopment of former Civic Arena in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Penguins and a private developer behind the $1 billion redevelopment project in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District have tapped four Hill District residents and firms to guide the years-long project’s final planning stages.

The additions come as the long-discussed project on 28 acres of the former Civic Arena site enters its “pre-development home stretch,” according to the Buccini/Pollin Group commercial developer, or BPG, the Penguins and city officials.

The goal is to break ground for the anchor tenant, First National Bank’s 26-story tower, between April and June of next year.

Plans for the broader site include a mix of office, retail, housing, parking, artwork and public space improvements.

“What sets the 28-acre project apart from others is that it will be led by, and engages with, local Black artists, companies and leaders,” Mayor Bill Peduto said in a statement. “By working hand-in-hand with both community stakeholders and private developers, we are investing in a future that is directly built by its residents.”

The inclusion of more local residents in the project’s planning roles follows years of concerns expressed by community advocates such as the Hill District Community Development Corp. The group has been working to ensure project leaders take into account local input and prioritize aspects such as affordable housing and job opportunities for those already living in or based in the Hill District.

“It cannot be understated how critical these hires are,” Councilman Dan Lavelle said Thursday in a statement. “I have continually stated that this development should be to the explicit economic and social benefit of the African-American and Hill District community. Hiring four African-American firms that both live and are headquartered in the Hill District are monumental steps towards achieving both objectives.”

Among the new additions is Dorin Dickerson, a former University of Pittsburgh football player who went on to play for the Steelers, Houston Texans, New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans.

The Penguins hired Dickerson as director of project development. Dickerson has been serving as community outreach manager for Mascaro Construction Co., will focus on project management, workforce development and community engagement.

Excited to announce that I have accepted a job with one of the best Franchises in all of sports, The Pittsburgh Penguins! pic.twitter.com/xJ8rN3kXuw

— Dorin Dickerson (@scorindorin) November 19, 2020

Rounding out the latest hires with local ties:

• Bomani Howze, a Hill District-based developer, has joined BPG as vice president, with development management responsibilities in the Pittsburgh region.

BPG also owns the People’s Center office complex on the North Shore. It will be establishing a development office at the JLL Center on Forbes Avenue, near Market Square in Downtown Pittsburgh. Howze will work closely with Dickerson on finalizing planning approvals, defining commercial aspects of the plan and expanding the firm’s community engagement.

• The firm of Hill District resident Irv Williams, E. Holdings, is serving as consultant on the project, with a focus on ensuring the participation of minority and women-owned businesses. The firm will aim “to enhance the inclusion of local, disadvantaged contractors and service providers in the transformational project,” city officials said in a news release.

• Kimberly Ellis, Hill District historian and designer, has been named legacy consultant for the Lower Hill development. Ellis has done similar work for the adjacent park project now under construction at the Interstate 579 interchange linking Downtown to the Hill District and Uptown.

Ellis will aim to ensure the developer’s public space components help to restore “visual, recreational, commercial and pedestrian connections between the Hill District along Wylie Avenue,” officials said.

• LaKeisha Byrd, a Hill District architectural design consultant, will guide elements of the architectural work on the development. City officials said she will work closely with Gensler, the architect for the development, “to enhance the physical and cultural connection between the development and the Hill District neighborhood,” officials said.

Also announced were Monaloh Basin Engineers, a woman-owned, Pittsburgh-based engineering firm has been selected as the site survey consultant, and Turtle Creek-based AWK Consultant Engineers, Turtle Creek, will do geotechnical evaluations related to foundation requirements.

“The Lower Hill is going to be a destination comparable to the very best mixed-use projects across the country, and we are adding crucial horsepower and diversity of skill sets to the team at a pivotal juncture in the project’s development,” said Boris Kaplan, vice president of development at BPG.

In recent weeks, the Lower Hill project completed its financing commitments to advance toward construction, buoyed by “an infusion of equity” from minority-owned Clay Cove Capital LLC, city officials said.

The project hit a roadblock in May when the Penguins team, which owns the rights to redevelop the property, had said it was pulling out of the project because the Urban Redevelopment Authority had delayed a critical vote. Mayor Bill Peduto urged the board to approve the plans, and the URA did so about a week later.

The project also has received preliminary approvals from the Sports and Exhibition Authority.

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