Links[]
- Authorities
- Oak Hill and Matter of Trust editorial from December 2006
- Oakland
- Hill District
- Housing
Details[]
Old Board changes[]
- Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has introduced nominees to the Pittsburgh Housing Authority board.
- Ed Gainey of Highland Park, the mayor's economic development coordinator, who would replace Brian Parker; and Beatrice Hogan of Northview Heights, a member of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, who would replace Patrick Bigley. Mr. Ravenstahl also recently nominated attorney Fred Frank to the board.
Insights[]
Commissions: 412-456-5000
- Alan Tisdale
- Mike Eannarino: 456-4514
- Chris Shade, Director of Special Projects: 456-5239, Know to some as the Tear-Down Guy
Federal & Local[]
The Housing Authority is a federal program with local control. All of the funding comes from federal sources. Many decisions are made at the local level. Board appointments to the Housing Authority come from the Mayor and State Reps.
History Tidbits of Pittsburgh's Housing Projects[]
In 1996 the Federal Government ordered an evaluation and approval process. It put into motion a mandatory long-term assestment of every housing project with 300 or more units. If the housing assesment for a housing project got a failing grade, a significant demolition was required.
- Pittsburgh of 1950 had 700,000 people.
- Pittsburgh in 1998 has 350,000 people.
- Pittsburgh had 10,000 units of Public Housing in 1950.
- Pittsburgh had 10,000 units of Public Housing in 1999.
Much of the Public Housing in 1999 is vacant. Thousands of units have been empty for a long time.
Arlington Heights[]
The Arlington Heights housing project has two parts, upper and lower. A past administration in past decades choose to modernize the the bottom part and spent $8-$12 million.
At the Arlington Heights evaluation, the 366 units at the top are going to be demolished, and the 150 units at the bottom are going to remain.
Space and Land Policy[]
The aim of the Housing Authority is to move the residence, giving the people as much time as needed to relocate. After the buildings are vacant, then the buildings will be torn down. The dust will settle after the wrecking ball leaves, as the land is expected to sit idle for a number of years in the future. The plan is to use the land to plant corn, grow grass and just sit idle for a considerable length of time, say 10 years or so.
Later, fresh view points can move into the offices at the Housing Authority. The leadership of the next decade can determine what to do with these space assets. For now, the current position is to leave the land to the next generation.
The policy to reserve judgement and not do anything with the land at this time is a cognitive choice.
The History of the Projects[]
Most of the housing projects around Pittsburgh were built in the late 1930s and the early 1940s. The projects did not conform to the city street grid and often have swirling roads. By and large, the buildings were poorly constructed and used cheap materials.
Moving the Asset to the Future[]
The infrastructure of electrical, gas and water is functionally outdated. In any future re-use of these sites, all of the infrastructure would have to be re-built. Demolition is going to occur in the years ahead, and it is needed as what is still there needs to vanish.
Many of the locations have accessibility issues. The roads and economy is of a very different time. Some of the projects were very depressed and are surrounded by poor neighborhoods.