A proposal to earmark some future tax revenue to Golden Triangle developments was met Thursday with stiff opposition from residents.
“Right now, it seems like this approach is aimed more for developers than the benefit of the citizens of Pittsburgh,” Tim Stevens, founder of the Black Political Empowerment Project, told City Council members during a public hearing.
City officials are contemplating creating a special district that would allow 75% of new tax revenue from developments Downtown and parts of the North Shore and Strip District to go back into improving Downtown.
That money could fund transit upgrades, business district projects, economic development initiatives or new housing, according to Tom Link, the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s chief development officer.
The area, known as a Transit Revitalization District, would not cut into property taxes already being generated in the area. Allegheny County and Pittsburgh Public Schools would also need to vote on whether to allow their portions of property taxes there to be invested in the program.
The tax diversion could be worth up to $200 million, officials estimated. It would last 40 years.
Pittsburghers on Thursday urged council to reject the proposal.
They argued that the new tax revenue created by any Downtown developments should be equitably distributed throughout the city, not focused on Downtown. Several questioned whether it was appropriate for private developers to receive any cash from the effort.
“This is literally a project to grab money and rob people in the city for four decades, masquerading as a TRID,” said Andrew Hussein.
Danielle Wenner, of Polish Hill, said she’d rather see new tax revenue go towards replacing deteriorating bridges or buying new city vehicles instead of supporting Downtown developers.
“The tax revenue generated by development belongs to the entire city and its population,” she said.
Several people questioned how the district would benefit all of Pittsburgh’s 90 neighborhoods.
“That money rightly belongs to all city residents,” Greenfield resident Matthew Cartier said.
Some council members, however, argued that the Golden Triangle needs to do well for the city as a whole to be financially stable. About 25% of the city’s real estate tax revenue comes from Downtown, Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, pointed out.
“If we don’t have a strong Downtown, we can’t do anything anywhere else,” Councilman Bob Charland, D-South Side, said. “For me, anything we can do to stop the bleed in Downtown means that we don’t have to raise taxes on folks that live in Allentown, folks that live in Knoxville. We want a healthy Downtown that we can tax. This is a way to create a healthy Downtown for the future.”
Since the covid-19 pandemic shifted people out of Downtown offices, officials have been concerned about plummeting property tax revenue in the area. Mayor Corey O’Connor suggested the district as a way to spur economic growth in the Golden Triangle.
The city faces serious financial challenges and is on track to end the year with a deficit of roughly $24 million. Some council members during a preliminary discussion on the special district earlier this month questioned if the city could afford to divert tax revenue when money is tight.
“This is diverting 75% of tax revenue in a huge part of the city,” Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, said.
Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, said the district would be “a lot of money we are not reaping as various bodies of government,” but she pointed out that money could fund much-needed projects like affordable housing.
“We’re being asked to give up income for the city of Pittsburgh at a time when we’re struggling to produce a balanced budget,” Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, said.
Council scheduled a meeting to further discuss the proposal next Wednesday.
