Editor’s note: We invited 13 regional leaders to give their thoughts on how to revitalize and reinvigorate Downtown Pittsburgh. Despite numerous emails back and forth with the communications staff of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey from March 15 to April 20, the Mayor did not offer his thoughts on Downtown Pittsburgh. The responses of 12 other leaders follow.
JOSIAH GILLIAM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PUMP
When I moved to the Golden Triangle in February of 2021 —less than a year after the pandemic changed the world — Downtown was quiet and very peaceful. I worked for Mayor Bill Peduto and when we started phasing back into the office at the City-County Building, I relished the chance to walk, scooter, bike, or take the T (for free) to work.
That summer the Three Rivers Arts Festival came back and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP) ran the Allegheny Overlook pop-up festival for many weeks on westbound Fort Duquesne. It felt as if the city opened up and began to blossom around me. I began to wonder if life could be like that all the time Downtown.
I joined Mayor Gainey’s administration and a few things were added to my plate, including Downtown as a neighborhood. I attended public safety meetings, PDP board meetings, BOMA meetings, and Cultural Trust board meetings. I got to learn about the significant and growing challenges we were facing and hear how leaders in corporate, university, foundation, law enforcement, social services, and government sectors were studying and addressing them and where gaps remained. Our troubles were significant and similar to those in cities across the entire world. Some progress has been made. Work remains.
And in the midst of all of this, a compelling and ambitious vision emerged: a vibrant Golden Triangle with re-imagined buildings, thousands more residents from diverse backgrounds, services to care for them, and more amenities to complement the world-class cultural institutions, businesses, and restaurants already present.
Could such a thing be? Ought we to hope in the midst of so much turmoil? Do we have the right mix of leadership, resources, and expertise to move from vision to achievement?
Maybe, but I can tell you that I am optimistic and I am all in.
In January of 2023, I became executive director for PUMP (the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Program). It was founded almost 30 years ago by young leaders around my age who faced some familiar challenges and decided to work together to try and improve matters. They often met, ran events, and developed partnerships in Downtown Pittsburgh. The organization went on to create the Pittsburgh Sports League (PSL), partner on Pittsburgh 40 Under 40, hold civic forums, happy hours, and many other programs. We now serve young adults throughout the city and beyond and pull from areas around the county.
We have grown recently and have increased our efforts Downtown including a Happy Hour series with many Downtown stakeholders and the Mayor’s Office, partnerships on events, community bike rides, community clean ups, and a Countywide Candidate Forum at Point Park University. We do this work with partners. Collaboration has and always will be the key to success in the Golden Triangle, which is not only the keystone of the region, but the city’s first neighborhood.
I still live Downtown and it is better today than it was when I arrived. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but they can be joyful labors — making the neighborhood, the city, and the world better for all.
JOHN VALENTINE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DOWNTOWN NEIGHBORS ALLIANCE
When I ask people what their vision is for Downtown Pittsburgh, I usually get a different answer from everyone I ask. The one constant seems to be more vibrancy. So how do we create more vibrancy? I believe it starts with more residents. Why? There are a few reasons. To increase vibrancy we need to be an 18-hour city. That doesn’t happen without people who live here. When you get to approximately 15,000 residents a market will be created and retail will follow. With 6,400 residents currently in the Golden Triangle and 6,000 units (which will add another 8,000 people) we will get to the immediate goal and create a tipping point where you will see the desire increase to live Downtown.
It’s not that easy, though, as there are many challenges. With interest rates high, loans are more costly for developers. Construction costs for materials have also significantly increased to make it extremely hard to start work on the units in the pipeline.
So how do we overcome these challenges? We have to offer a full package of financial incentives to counter the increase in costs and to expedite the projects that are currently stalled. These incentives include low-interest forgiveness loans, tax incentives and grants, to name a few. Another way to increase vibrancy is by getting the approximately 55 empty storefronts occupied with retail stores. The Downtown Neighbors Alliance, with a grant from Allegheny County, last year filled 23 of the then 73 empty storefronts. Our three-year goal is to have all of the storefronts occupied. Although filling every storefront may be unrealistic, if we come close to zero vacancy the difference will be monumental. Can you imagine what a downtown shopping district will do for Downtown?
These are just two things that must happen. There are many, but in my opinion, this is where we start and as we move past COVID, we have an opportunity to create a great Downtown. The sky’s the limit.
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