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Communication from the Honorable Rev. Ricky V. Burgess, Member, Pittsburgh City Council to the Honorable LaShawn Burton Faulk, Chairwoman, City of Pittsburgh Planning Commission, the Honorable Karen Abrams, Director, Department of City Planning, City of Pittsburgh and Corey Layman, Zoning Administrator, Division of Development and Design Review, Department of City Planning, City of Pittsburgh, informing them of the execution of a Community Benefits Agreement between the Larimer Consensus Group and Village Collaborative, Registered Community Organizations and Walnut Capital Acquisitions, Inc. regarding the expansion of the Specially Planned District in the East Liberty and Larimer neighborhoods, and requests the following to be read, received and filed, and transmitted to be above-named parties.
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Whereas, the Larimer Consensus Group (LCG) and Village Collaborative, both duly-recognized registered community organizations (RCOs) have spent the past two years in discussions with representatives from Walnut Capital regarding the possible expansion of the Bakery Square Specially Planned District in East Liberty and Larimer; and,
Whereas, residents and representatives from these two neighborhoods have been fighting, for decades, for equitable redevelopment and revitalization of their communities; and,
Whereas, these residents and community stakeholders made clear to the City, during the work to secure the HUD Choice Neighborhoods grant over a decade ago that they believed that their neighborhoods needed a healthy mix of affordable rental housing for residents with incomes at or below 50% of the Area Median Income and affordable for-sale housing for families with incomes above that threshold who are by no means wealthy or affluent; and,
Whereas, Larimer, which due to the success of the Choice Neighborhoods grant and partnerships with the City of Pittsburgh, Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, and the strong support of local, state and federal elected officials, has seen the construction of hundreds of new, federally-subsidized affordable rental units which has helped to stabilize the housing of the families who reside in those units, but has a homeownership rate 15% lower than the homeownership rate of the region; and,
Whereas, there are approximately 700 distressed parcels in Larimer, many of which are vacant lots or abandoned homes in need of repair or demolition; and,
Whereas, Walnut Capital has pledged in this agreement to help raise $25 million dollars to fund the effort to increase affordable and mixed-income homeownership for Black families near the Bakery Square site through rehabilitation and new construction of 100 homes in East Liberty and Larimer and fund the technical assistance needed to make this commitment a reality.
Whereas, the attached agreement is an example of transformational development. Transformational development is a process whereby residents are empowered to create safe and healthy communities with sufficient amenities and services and receive access to wealth, entrepreneurship and employment.