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Design

A New Plan to Correct a Historic Mistake in Pittsburgh

A Bjarke Ingels Group-led plan from 2015 has given way to a more “practical” design for the Lower Hill District. Concerns over true affordable housing remain.
The Penguins acquired the rights to redevelop the Civic Arena site in 2007, when they agreed to a deal that kept them in Pittsburgh. The agreement left a bitter taste in the mouths of many residents who maintain that the rights to redevelop the site should never have been negotiated away.
The Penguins acquired the rights to redevelop the Civic Arena site in 2007, when they agreed to a deal that kept them in Pittsburgh. The agreement left a bitter taste in the mouths of many residents who maintain that the rights to redevelop the site should never have been negotiated away.Gensler
By
Ben Schwartz

For a moment, it was possible to forget that what may be the most controversial redevelopment project in Pittsburgh is, in fact, controversial.

When the Pittsburgh Penguins announced a new development team and master plan for the former Civic Arena site in the city’s Lower Hill District last month, the hockey team had already lined up the support of Mayor Bill Peduto, Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle (whose district includes the project), and others who had in the past been critical of the Penguins’ efforts to redevelop the 28-acre site.