URA presents Manchester Esplanade TRID update to Pittsburgh Public Schools; questions raised about outreach and affordability

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) presented an update on the Manchester Esplanade Tax Revenue Increment District (TRID) to the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) Business & Finance Committee on Monday, Feb. 3, focusing on community engagement outcomes, projected tax revenues and planned uses of TRID dollars.

The URA presentation, delivered by James Ura, outlined a development strategy centered on the Esplanade site and said TRID capture tied to that development could produce roughly $8,000,000 in annual tax revenue across three taxing bodies once the site is fully activated. Ura said the URA’s projections estimate about $6,000,000 would be used for TRID debt service and about $2,000,000 would be retained by the taxing bodies during the roughly 20‑year capture period.

Why it matters: The URA told the committee the TRID would create a dedicated neighborhood investment package of roughly $54,000,000 — about $25,000,000 for affordable housing and about $13,000,000 for public‑space and infrastructure improvements — and that PPS’s share of tax receipts from the site would grow from roughly $37,000 currently to an estimated $640,000 per year during the TRID period and about $2,500,000 annually after the debt is retired.

During the presentation, Ura said the TRID proposal and related planning work trace to the…