Property Watch: City plans to challenge tax-exempt status of OC Lot

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s move earlier this year to review the status of all tax-exempt property in the city owned by charities — “to ensure that the special tax-exempt status is appropriate under Pennsylvania law, and, if not, to act accordingly” — has turned up one Pitt location — the OC parking lot — that the city plans to challenge.

The city’s finance and law departments have only reviewed 10 percent of the exempt properties that are not government or church owned. The departments have identified 26 properties they plan to challenge, the city announced on March 28. Two are owned by Carnegie Mellon University and six by UPMC — all at 3600 Forbes Ave., where the Presbyterian Hospital parking garage is located. 

A Pitt spokesman said, “Our conversations with the mayor and his team are active and ongoing — on this topic and many others. We are confident that the University of Pittsburgh meets the requirements spelled out for tax-exempt properties.”

Charles Anderson Bridge

The Post-Gazette reported on March 23 that City Council gave preliminary approval to a $3.1 million contract that could accelerate the full rehabilitation of the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge on the Boulevard of the Allies in Oakland. 

The bridge, which had been deemed structurally deficient as early as 2019, was closed abruptly on Feb. 1 because it needed immediate repairs to be able to safely carry vehicles, Mayor Ed Gainey said in a statement. The bridge crosses Junction Hollow into Schenley Park and is a key route into Oakland.

The bridge was initially scheduled to be closed for at least four months to make immediate repairs, at which point it would reopen before closing later for a full rehabilitation when federal funding is approved, the PG reported.

City officials determined that it would be better to seek funding from the state and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission for the full repair instead of spending time and taxpayer money on a temporary fix.

The contract with the engineering firm Michael Baker International, Inc. is for the final design of the bridge and also includes repairs needed to fix the Panther Hollow Overpass. 

Kim Lucas, director of the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, told City Council that if the funding is secured, the bridge should be finished by 2027.

Hearing on new arena

The Pittsburgh Planning Commission will vote on April 4 whether to approve construction of Pitt’s new Arena and Sports Performance Center in the bowl next to the Petersen Events Center.

Construction is set to begin on the new $240 million facility soon, with a planned opening in fall 2025. It will be the hub for sports medicine, and the workout area for 16 of Pitt’s 19 sports, most of which are now housed in Fitzgerald Field House. Enabling work is already being done at the building site, as well as work to provide utilities to a new chilled water plant on the hill.

The Board of Trustees approved the project in November 2022, which will be the “gateway” to Pitt Athletics’ long-planned Victory Heights development.

The planned 240,000-square-foot arena and sports performance center will include a competition venue for volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics; spectator facilities; food service; team practice facilities and locker rooms; sports nutrition; a weight room with space dedicated to sports science; and a sports medicine facility. It will provide the first permanent home for Pitt’s 75-member spirit squad.

In addition to all the facilities inside, it also will have a green roof. Pedestrians will be able to walk out on the ninth floor of the Recreation and Wellness Center now under construction on O’Hara Street and straight into the sports performance center. 

Susan Jones

 

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