The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s board of directors approved an implementation plan for a Downtown transit revitalization investment district (TRID) that could plug funding holes for major Golden Triangle development projects.

TRID funds generally finance “transit-oriented” projects that could not otherwise continue without the program’s monetary support.

“There are projects that are ready to go,” said URA Board Chair Yarone Zober. “If only a fund like this existed to help them out.”

The Downtown TRID, if established, would enable the URA to collect tax revenue from owners of new or redeveloped properties Downtown, in the Strip District or on a small portion of the North Shore. The authority would then redirect the collected tax revenue to improvements in the Golden Triangle. 

A separate TRID program that supports development in East Liberty, for instance, financed a portion of the East Liberty Transit Center renovation, as well as the creation of Eastside Bond, a 360-unit residential building along the busway. 

“I’m 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 … continue to help Downtown rebound from the impacts of the pandemic,” said Sam Williamson, a URA board member who also serves as district director of Service Employees International Union 32BJ, many of whose members work Downtown. 

Three taxing bodies — including the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and Pittsburgh Public Schools — must now vote on whether to participate in the tax-diversion program. Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s board must also vote on the matter. The URA staff estimates that this next phase of the process will be complete in August 2026.

Lower Hill redevelopment moves forward under the URA

The URA board also took formal steps on Thursday to move forward on redeveloping the Lower Hill, after announcing plans last month to take over the process after the Pittsburgh Penguins relinquished their development rights to the area in October. 

The board approved program guidelines for the Lower Hill Public Infrastructure Fund, which the URA will use to reserve the payments in lieu of taxes it receives from owners of new developments in the Lower Hill. 

The board also formalized taking control of 1.75 acres at the intersection of Centre Avenue and Crawford Street, pushing forward the redevelopment of the city’s oldest public housing development, Bedford Dwellings. 

The URA intends to work with the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and Trek Development on Bedford Dwellings’ redevelopment into a mixed-income community, made possible by the same competitive federal grant that spurred new housing in the nearby Larimer neighborhood.  

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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Plan to fund Downtown rebound to go for taxing body votes

by Mia Hollie, Pittsburgh's Public Source
April 9, 2026

<h1>Plan to fund Downtown rebound to go for taxing body votes</h1> <p class="byline">by Mia Hollie, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />April 9, 2026</p> <p>The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s board of directors approved an implementation plan for a Downtown transit revitalization investment district (TRID) that could plug funding holes for major Golden Triangle development projects.</p> <p>TRID funds generally finance “transit-oriented” projects that could not otherwise continue without the program’s monetary support.</p> <p>“There are projects that are ready to go,” said URA Board Chair Yarone Zober. “If only a fund like this existed to help them out.”</p> <p>The Downtown TRID, if established, would enable the URA to collect tax revenue from owners of new or redeveloped properties Downtown, in the Strip District or on a small portion of the North Shore. The authority would then redirect the collected tax revenue to improvements in the Golden Triangle.&nbsp;</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-15-at-2.18.30-PM.png" alt="Map showing Pittsburgh’s Central Business District, North Shore, and Strip District with boundaries for the Proposed Downtown TRID, investment areas, and existing TIFs highlighted." class="wp-image-1328286" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Urban Redevelopment Authority wants to dedicate future increases in tax revenue from the North Shore, Downtown and the Strip District to support improvements in the Golden Triangle. (Courtesy of URA)</figcaption></figure> <p>A separate TRID program that supports development in East Liberty, for instance, financed a portion of the East Liberty Transit Center renovation, as well as the creation of Eastside Bond, a 360-unit residential building along the busway.&nbsp;</p> <p>“I’m 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 … continue to help Downtown rebound from the impacts of the pandemic,” said Sam Williamson, a URA board member who also serves as district director of Service Employees International Union 32BJ, many of whose members work Downtown.&nbsp;</p> <p>Three taxing bodies — including the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and Pittsburgh Public Schools — must now vote on whether to participate in the tax-diversion program. Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s board must also vote on the matter. The URA staff estimates that this next phase of the process will be complete in August 2026.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lower-hill-redevelopment-moves-forward-under-the-ura"><strong>Lower Hill redevelopment moves forward under the URA</strong></h2> <p>The URA board also took formal steps on Thursday to move forward on redeveloping the Lower Hill, after announcing plans <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/lower-hill-district-redevelopment-without-penguins/">last month</a> to take over the process after the Pittsburgh Penguins relinquished their development rights to the area in October.&nbsp;</p> <p>The board approved program guidelines for the Lower Hill Public Infrastructure Fund, which the URA will use to reserve the payments in lieu of taxes it receives from owners of new developments in the Lower Hill.&nbsp;</p> <p>The board also formalized taking control of 1.75 acres at the intersection of Centre Avenue and Crawford Street, pushing forward the redevelopment of the city’s oldest public housing development, Bedford Dwellings.&nbsp;</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Lower-Hill-RFP-Site-Board-Visual-031126-1-scaled.jpg" alt="Map showing the Lower Hill District Housing RFP site with two highlighted parcels totaling 6.82 acres, including 3.70 acres and 3.12 acres, and a legend for reference." class="wp-image-1330655" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Map of the roughly seven-acre site in the Lower Hill District for which the Urban Redevelopment Authority is issuing a request for proposals for development. The URA board on Thursday voted to formalize control of the area shaded in gray. (Courtesy of the URA).</figcaption></figure> <p>The URA intends to work with the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and Trek Development on Bedford Dwellings’ <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/federal-hud-choice-neighborhoods-grant-pittsburgh-housing-affordable-hill-district/">redevelopment</a> into a mixed-income community, made possible by the same competitive federal grant that <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/we-deserve-it-larimer-residents-reflect-on-the-neighborhoods-history-and-the-long-fight-for-redevelopment/">spurred new housing</a> in the nearby Larimer neighborhood.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Mia Hollie is the economic development and housing reporter for Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at </em><a href="mailto:mia@publicsource.org"><em>mia@publicsource.org</em></a><em>.&nbsp;</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-downtown-transit-revitalization-district-moving-forward/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1331450&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-downtown-transit-revitalization-district-moving-forward/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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