The Pittsburgh Public Schools board plans to lessen the tax burden for a New-York based developer to build a high rise apartment building in Oakland.
The developer, Park 7, plans to turn several properties on Centre Avenue from North Craig to North Dithridge into a 17-story mixed use development with 14 floors of residential space.
The developer applied for LERTA assistance, or the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Act. The state’s program lessens property taxes to the city, county and school district lessened as an incentive for developing blighted areas.
Four of the nine board members – Regina Holley, Moira Kaleida, Kevin Carter and Cynthia Falls - voted against the abatement. Holley, the board president, said she would not vote for a tax break for a development without affordable housing options.
“We are doing a lot of high-end housing, which I have no problem with, but there needs to be a balance where people are able to live,” she said. “And I think we’re starting to move away from that.”
Kaleida said she also won’t support a development without affordable units.
“I think gentrification is a huge problem right now,” she said. “We’re seeing it and especially in this area in particular where this is located. I’m very concerned that we can’t go ahead and put some affordable housing in that area.”
According to the school board’s resolution the development would benefit the district by increasing property values and creating jobs in the area. Park 7’s development application from November 2015 calls for 14 of the 17 floors to be dedicated residential, but the other floors will have space for retail and six floors will include parking.
The estimated two-year construction project is expected to cost $85 million.
