Lower Hill

Announcements

Public Comment for Lower Hill Housing RFP and Lower Hill Development Fund Guidelines

During the March 12, 2026, Regular URA Board Meeting, staff announced a 30-day public notice of its plans to release a Request for Proposals for housing on a portion of the Lower Hill development site and presented draft guidelines for the Lower Hill Development Fund. 

The public comment period will close on Tuesday, April 7, at 1 p.m.

View the draft Lower Hill Housing RFP.

View the draft Lower Hill Development Fund Program Guidelines.

View the proposed Second Amendment to the Declaration of Restrictive Covenants.

SUBMIT LOWER HILL COMMENT

Background

The URA's Board of Directors and staff are committed to ensuring equitable development in the Lower Hill and beyond.

The demolishing of the Lower Hill in the 1950s displaced residents and businesses from the neighborhood to construct the former Civic Arena and other urban renewal projects. The impacts of that decision are still relevant today. The redevelopment of the Lower Hill has been a contentious and arduous process.

In 2014, the Hill District community reached a benchmark Community Collaboration and Implementation Plan (CCIP) agreement with Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, the Lower Hill Working Group, Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh Arena Real Estate Redevelopment (PAR), a subsidiary of the Pittsburgh Penguins, which held development rights to the Lower 28-acre site for 18 years. The URA's Board wanted to see even more in the agreement directed to ensuring the work would be a development beneficial to all, and with less burden on the public. After numerous community conversations, community briefings and outreach events related to the Lower Hill, the URA heard the priorities as communicated by the Hill District to be inclusive of the following: 

• Affordable housing on the site
• Investment in the Greater Hill development and connectivity to Lower Hill
• Preservation of Hill District legacy through arts and culture
• Access to well-paying jobs
• Investments in Hill District youth and families
• Wealth-creating business opportunities and MBE participation

PAR’s redevelopment proposal included a mixed-income, mixed-use development with office, retail, housing, a music venue, Frankie Pace Park, Curtain Call public art project, and parking district that would reconnect the historic Hill District to Downtown Pittsburgh. 

In October 2025, PAR’s development rights expired and reverted to the URA and Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County (SEA) as the owners of their respective parcels. There are 21.038 acres of developable land remaining, and the authorities continue to engage their respective boards of directors to evaluate future Lower Hill redevelopment options that include a transparent public process. 

Greater Hill District Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund 

The Greater Hill District Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund (GHDNRF) is a community-driven fund that utilizes diverted future tax revenues from the development activities on the Lower Hill site and provides funding for implementing the goals, objectives, strategies and processes in the CCIP, including investments in development projects and other community needs throughout the entire Greater Hill District.

The GHDNRF Advisory Board makes recommendations to the URA regarding which projects throughout the Lower Hill LERTA District should be funded with GHDNRF dollars. Advisory Board info and meeting videos are available via the Lower Hill LERTA & Greater Hill District Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund page. 

LEARN MORE

Resources

*These documents are projections, subject to URA Board approval, and are subject to further change.

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