Pittsburgh City Council made a final, 6-3 vote to adopt an implementation plan for the Downtown Transit Revitalization Investment District (TRID) — a financing tool proposed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority to inject funding into the Golden Triangle.
The plan calls for the three local taking bodies — which, in addition to the city, includes Pittsburgh Public Schools and Allegheny County — to adopt the plan. While PPS and the county have yet to vote on the measure, the URA’s Executive Director Susheela Nemani-Stanger said during a previous council meeting that the program could still be viable if only the city voted to participate.
At a Pittsburgh City Council standing committee meeting that lasted over five hours on Wednesday, July 22, roughly 40 Pittsburghers spoke in opposition to the Downtown TRID.
The body also voted 6-3 at that time.
The Downtown TRID would allow the URA to borrow against future tax revenue from new developments in the Strip District, Downtown and parts of the North Shore. Those dollars would be directed toward funding residential or commercial development projects concentrated near Downtown’s transit hubs — Steel Plaza, Wood Street and Penn Station included.
Council’s tentative vote brings the Downtown TRID one step closer to securing the approval of one the city’s three taxing bodies. Pittsburgh Public Schools and Allegheny County must also consider whether to participate in the program, but URA Executive Director Susheela Nemani-Stanger said the program might still be viable even if only the city voted to participate.
The bill that councilors advanced, however, did include a few revisions. One amendment would require that owners of Downtown buildings who want to secure TRID funding must ensure that contractors who employ building service workers must sign onto a valid collective bargaining agreement. That agreement would also prevent employees from picketing, work stoppages and boycotts.
Service Employees International Union 32BJ, whose members primarily work as security officers, cleaners, property maintenance workers and other building services workers, recently began sounding the alarm on the Downtown TRID. In recent years, members of the union have lost their jobs as Downtown buildings convert from offices to residential units.
In April, Sam Williamson, a URA board member who also serves as vice president and director of bargaining and employee relations of SEIU 32BJ, said he’s “very supportive of this, not just as a Pittsburgher, but also on behalf of the many thousands of workers who are relying on all of us, collectively, to try and … help Downtown.”
The amendment also narrowed the scope of the proposed capture area to exclude parts of Polish Hill.
The capture area has been a point of contention in City Council meetings, with some residents and councilors noting that other TRID programs — such as those in East Liberty and Manchester — draw tax revenue from, and invest in, identical areas. The Downtown TRID, however, would draw new tax revenue from three neighborhoods to fund new projects Downtown.
“The Golden Triangle is important, but we’re important, too,” said Jala Rucker, a Manchester resident and co-chair of the Pittsburgh Housing Justice Table.
Editor’s note (7/28): This story, originally published on July 22, was updated to reflect Pittsburgh City Council’s final vote.
Correction (7/23): Sam Williamson’s title was incorrect in a prior version of this story.
Mia Hollie is the economic development and housing reporter for Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at mia@publicsource.org.
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