Residents press for community meetings as unions and developers tout jobs for Esplanade project

At a public hearing of the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Directors on April 28, dozens of residents, community leaders and union representatives testified about the proposed Esplanade development and an associated transit revitalization investment district (TRID), splitting sharply between calls for immediate developer engagement with Manchester residents and appeals to move the project forward to create jobs.

Supporters, including union and construction representatives, urged the board and the public to consider jobs and training pathways tied to the Esplanade. "For us, in my organization, this is about jobs. It's about training," said Steven Mazza, council representative for the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and vice president of a building trades labor council, who said he supports the Esplanade project. Joe Keith of Mascaro Construction said the project would "create several hundred construction jobs, union construction jobs," and in the long term create service and retail positions. Jason Markovich, business manager of…