OVERCOMING OBSTACLES TO REDEVELOPMENTALLEGHENY COUNTY, PA

Monday, October 1, 2012

TYPES OF REDEVELOPMENT PROPERTIES

BROWNFIELDS

Abandoned Steel Mills◦7 Properties

McKeesport (2) McKeesport Industrial Park Firth Sterling

Duquesne Leetsdale Homestead

Waterfront Rankin

Carrie Furnace

Homestead Works / Waterfront – Before & After

SITE SELECTION / ACQUISITION / DESIGNATION

Obstacle #1

Site Selection / DesignationSite Acquisition

◦Private Developer◦Regional Industrial Development Corp.◦County

Designation as Redevelopment Area◦Time Consuming◦Costly

Slums & Blight Designation

FINANCINGObstacle #2

Organizing Project FundingWhat Funding is AvailableLength of Time it Takes to Put

Funding TogetherHow to Coordinate

◦CDBG Funds◦CDBG Float Loans◦Section 108 Funding◦Match for State Funding◦TIFs◦LERTAs

ROADBLOCKSObstacle #3

Types of Road BlocksWorking with Utility

Companies

Antiquated or No Infrastructure

Community Support

Historic Preservation◦McKeesport Round

House

EVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Obstacle #4

Overcoming Environmental IssuesAct 2 Clearance from PA-DEP

Required◦Remedial Action Plan

To be Followed by Developer / Contractors

◦Remedial Actions Taken Soil Cap

The lubricants used by the steel mill were housed in underground storage tanks, which leaked and contaminated the soil.

There was also asbestos contamination, which required soil cleaning.

Trucked in additional soil to raise site above floodplain

Carrie Furnace Site

SITE ACCESSObstacle #5

SITE ACCESS - FLYOVERS5 Sites – 5

Flyovers◦Railroad Tracks

made access to sites difficult

◦Long wait for Train to Pass

◦$10 Million TIGER Grant – Carrie Furnace Flyover

McKeesport Flyover

LOW/MOD JUSTIFICATION

Obstacle #6

L/M Area Justification Special Assessment Required

◦ A census tract (or block numbering area) qualifies for the presumptions permitted under paragraphs (a)(4)(iv)(A)(1) and (B) of this section if it is either part of a Federally-designated Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community or meets the following criteria: (A) It has a poverty rate of at least 20percent as

determined by the most recently available decennial census information;

(B) It does not include any portion of a central business district, as this term is used in the most recent Census of Retail Trade, unless the tract has a poverty rate of at least 30 percent as determined by the most recently available decennial census information; and

(C) It evidences pervasive poverty and general distress by meeting at least one of the following standards: (1) All block groups in the census tract have poverty rates of at

least 20 percent; (2) The specific activity being undertaken  is located in a block

group that has a poverty rate of at least 20 percent; or (3) Upon the written request of the recipient, HUD determines

that the census tract exhibits other objectively determinable signs of general distress such as high incidence of crime, narcotics use, homelessness, abandoned housing, and deteriorated infrastructure or substantial population decline.

Projects needing Special Assessment:

Duquesne Flyover

Braddock Hospital Site

SECURING THE SITEObstacle #7

Pitfalls of Securing the SiteJersey Barriers –

Water & Concrete◦Shot at / Pulled away

Guardrails◦Cut and sold for

ScrapLocks

◦Cut – Replaced at least 10 times

◦Locked in

QUESTIONS?

John J. Exler, Jr., Deputy DirectorAllegheny County Economic Development

425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 800Pittsburgh, PA 15219

412-350-1036Email: Jexler@AlleghenyCounty.us