The Backyard takes another step forward
The board of the Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh voted to sell the site of the former Ninth & Penn public parking garage, demolished before the Covid-19 pandemic, to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The Trust plans to incorporate the open lot into its project to expand "The Backyard," a new public space including a lawn as well as areas dedicated for outdoor performances.
The vote was approved without any opposition that demonstrated a changing demand and use dynamic for downtown.
"The Mayor’s vision is to make that a green space," said David Onorato, executive director of the authority, told the Pittsburgh Business Times. "We’ve negotiated with the Cultural Trust to try to work with the city to make sure the Mayor's vision comes to fruition."
The authority's professional appraisal of the property valued the site at $3.33 million and the board voted to sell it to the Trust at the agreed-upon price of $3.5 million.
The larger plans for a newly updated civic space was first announced by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development in a June press event to establish three major "connective corridors" downtown as part of a larger strategy to reinvent downtown to be more hospitable as a residential neighborhood.
The $3.5 million sum the authority voted on to sell the property to the Trust as a negotiated price is a little more than one-tenth the projected $30 million redevelopment cost the Trust expects to fundraise and invest in The Backyard redevelopment, which includes demolishing a longtime Goodyear Tire operation nearby.
Kendra Whitlock Ingram, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, said the Trust was very close to raising the funds it needed from a variety of sources to be able to start the Backyard redevelopment in 2025 with the goal of completing it by the time the city hosts the NFL Draft in 2026.
City Councilman Bobby Wilson, who represents downtown and is an authority board member, said "nobody is going to forget" the importance of the garage and commitment the authority is making to sell off the site.
