Council committees approve trail, intersection grants and several cooperation agreements for senior housing
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Summary
Standing committees approved grant applications for the Emerald View Trail and several multimodal transportation projects, and authorized cooperation agreements (PILOTs) extending prior arrangements with NCSC USA Housing Development Corporation for senior housing; council also authorized Pittsburgh Land Bank property acquisitions.
On Feb. 11, Pittsburgh standing committees advanced multiple infrastructure and intergovernmental measures.
The public works and infrastructure committee recommended affirmative action on several grant applications: bill 78 to apply for $250,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for the Emerald View Trail rehabilitation (with a city match of $250,844.42), bill 79 to request up to $533,111 from the Pennsylvania Department of Economic Development’s multimodal transportation fund for planning the Liberty Avenue/Main Street/Bloomfield Boulevard intersection, and bill 80 for $750,236.69 for the Lincoln Avenue multimodal safety and accessibility project. The committee also approved two small preliminary-engineering cost agreements with rail companies for Heron Avenue (Norfolk Southern, up to $25,310) and Elizabeth Street (Allegheny Valley Railroad, up to $10,000).
In intergovernmental and educational affairs, the council authorized resolutions (bills 74–76) to enter into cooperation agreements documenting payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) with the school district, county and NCSC USA Housing Development Corporation for three senior-housing properties, including Steelworkers Tower on Perrysville Avenue. Finance director Jen Gula explained the measures extend previously negotiated pilot agreements that used a small proxy assessment (historically cited as $15,000) and noted the agreements produced revenue that otherwise would not be collected from tax-exempt property.
The council also approved a land-bank authorization (bill 77) for the Pittsburgh Land Bank to acquire specified publicly owned parcels in the 10th Ward at no cost to the city.
Why it matters: The grant approvals enable trail rehabilitation and intersection planning and could unlock state funds for multimodal safety projects. The PILOT extensions keep low-income senior housing operations funded while prompting council questions about archival transparency and the basis for proxy assessment amounts.
Next steps: Grants will be pursued through the state programs; PILOT contract extensions will be negotiated and recorded; the land bank acquisition authorization will proceed as allowed by the resolution.