University Times

Pitt officials, Hill District residents and city officials hammered out a deal this month, ending a protracted and sometimes bitter dispute over Oak Hill — an 80-acre residential area adjacent to Pitt’s upper campus.

Residents wanted to expand the housing project built at Oak Hill (formerly Allequippa Terrace) between 1996 and 2002, while the University had designs on a 12-acre portion, known as Robinson Court, for athletic fields.

Pitt will contribute about $7 million toward a $90 million project that will add some 450 mixed-income housing units to the 600-plus primarily low-income existing units. Construction of new housing is expected to commence next year.

According to Paul A. Supowitz, Pitt vice chancellor for governmental relations, the University will pay $4 million to purchase the Robinson Court site, which it will convert into athletic facilities. Specific plans, such as building a soccer field and a baseball field, still are being discussed, Supowitz said. He expects some construction to begin by summer 2008, assuming zoning board and other city approvals go smoothly.

In addition to the purchase price, the University will contribute $100,000 in each of the next 10 years to a residents’ services fund, and about $2 million in lease payments for 20,000 square feet for commercial and office buildings to be built in Oak Hill’s town center. Some 3,000 square feet will be set aside for community use, to build such things as a store, Supowitz said.

The housing authority is expected to invest $9 million formerly committed to Oak Hill development. The city will contribute $13 million for roads and sewage facilities. The balance will come from state tax credits, the construction company and home sales.

Under the agreement that was brokered March 22, Beacon/Corcoran Jennison (B/CJ) Partners, LLC, a Boston-based real estate development company that built the current homes, is authorized to develop the new residences. The agreement resolves B/CJ’s dispute with the Housing Authority of Pittsburgh, which had charged there were cost overruns during the initial development and was in the process of re-bidding the project.

Relations also were strained between B/CJ and Pitt. In 2005, the University had offered the housing authority $3.5 million for the 12 acres. That led to two lawsuits filed against the University by B/CJ, which alleged that Pitt was trying to undermine agreements, dating back to 1996, between the developer and the mayor’s office, the housing authority and the Oak Hill Resident Council. The former suit was never prosecuted and the latter suit was dismissed in July 2006. B/CJ then appealed the dismissal last August, and that appeal was pending until this agreement was finalized, Supowitz said.

All litigation against the University will be dropped, he said.

Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg released a statement: “At Pitt, we always believed that there were ways to accommodate everyone’s interests and felt even more strongly that it was in no one’s interest to approach this as a battle.”

Supowitz said, “I think it’s gratifying that we’ve been able to work out a deal that meets multiple needs of the community as well as our own pressing needs for athletic facilities. It gives us a great kick-off as we move into the future as a community partner.”

Oak Hill Resident Council president Eloise McDonald said, “The residents and Resident Council are very satisfied. We are going to get everything that was promised to our community, and then some, thanks to our neighbor, the University of Pittsburgh.”

—Peter Hart