Igloo to Receive Diplomatic Immunity

The City planning commission today approved the demolition of the 49 year old Mellon Arena, but in a stunning move the Obama administration has appointed the structure as Ambassador plenipotentiary to Canada.

The move, orchestrated by the group Save the Mellon Arena, effectively prevents the demolition of the structure, which now has full diplomatic immunity.

"This is indeed a great victory for architecture," said Rob Pfaffmann spokesman for the group.

This afternoon, the State Department issued full credentials to the building, which is expected to remain in Pittsburgh for some time rather than travel to Ottowa to meet the Governor-General of Canada.

The Mayor's Office has already contacted John McClane, a noted specialist in revoking diplomatic immunity.

More as this story develops.

A Bureaucrat's Aside

Anybody else think it's odd that the National Hockey League's most environmentally friendly future venue and potentially LEED Gold building is going to be named after a dirty coal company?

I would have assumed that the US Green Building Council would dock you a few point for that.

Might as well have a new Animal Rescue League shelter named after Michael Vick.

And From the "Who Didn't See That One Coming" File

Looks like Mario Lemieux and Mary Conturo are going to be passing around the hat:

The city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority Board came together Thursday to agree on a final cost for the new Penguins arena and settled on a figure $31 million higher than previously estimated.

The original budget for the project was $290 million, a 2005 estimate. On Thursday, the Authority board, the Commonwealth and the Penguins approved spending $321 million to open the venue for the 2010-11 hockey season.

The additional funding will be split between the Penguins’ $15.5 million contribution, the state’s $10 million kick-in and $5.5 million from the sports authority.

Some of you may remember from back in March of '07 when the P-G nicely laid out how cost overruns were going to work:

Mr. Rendell said public officials agreed with the team that the previous $270 million construction cost estimate might be too low, and the funding calculations were increased to consider a $290 million pricetag.

The team and the state will split the costs of any increase in construction cost between $290 million and $310 million. The team will cover any cost overrun above $310 million.

So, I'm confused: The Penguins are to pay anything over $310 million, which would come up to $11 million, plus they're kicking in an additional $4.5 million, which leaves $15.5 to be paid for by the Public bodies. That doesn't seem very well "split" to me. Perhaps it's a philosophical thing, but I think I would have liked to see the Penguins share in the marginal cost increases until they got up to the $310 million mark.

Be that as it may, however, it should come as no shock that the budget for this project is all messed up. What with increased fuel surcharges, a financial sector in the crapper, and an economy that is generally going all Tom Joad on us, the Arena project is in dire straits.*

The SEA is saying, apparently, that part of the sports authority’s contribution, due in 2010, may come in the form of two equal-part loans from the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the county’s Redevelopment Authority. Which is fine, except that with the stifled economy, you sort of wonder where these organizations are going to get the borrowing capacity to make these kinds of loans.

And the project still has a negative return on investment... that is, unless the Penguins win about ten Stanley Cups in a row.

---
* Strike that. "Money for Nothing" is the absolute opposite of the Arena situation.**
** Or is it?

Community Benefits Agreement

By now, everyone has heard that the One Hill group has officially signed on to a community benefits agreement with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the City and the County. Among the items that were agreed upon were:

• Provide $2 million, including $1 million from the Penguins, to finance a grocery store or other economic "anchor."

• Create a Neighborhood Partnership Program, giving businesses state tax credits for contributing to neighborhood development projects. Coalition officials said the program could draw $6 million over 12 years.

• Give Hill District residents preference for arena-related jobs and commit the parties to the creation of family-sustaining jobs, with health benefits, in the 28-acre Mellon Arena redevelopment zone.

• Establish a career center, partly funded for two years by the city and county, and require government officials to help the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh develop a multipurpose center for youths, families and seniors.

• Require the city and county to fund a master plan for Hill development.

Like many of these types of deals, however, there were many items that were left, as it were, on the cutting room floor. Among these items were:

• Mario Lemieux must buy a fried chicken franchise on Webster Avenue, and offer free chicken every time Sidney Crosby scores.

• The Penguins must publish a pamphlet on famous black hockey players.

• The One Hill coalition will provide one first round draft pick.

• Tonya Payne will shave off her playoff beard.

• Luke Ravenstahl will receive a four minute major for game misconduct.

• One Hill Chair Carl Redwood will suit up as mascot "Iceberg" for 20 games a year.

• Ron Burkle will ghost write an 11th play for the August Wilson cycle, regarding the tribulations of cross checking in the black community.

• Dan Onorato will continue to suck up to the unions as part of his quest for the Governorship (Ed. Note - This was added back in at the last minute).

• SEA Executive Director Mary Contoro gets one free punch at anyone, any time.

• In addition to a Save-a-Lot grocery store, the Hill will receive a Kings Family Restaurant.

• Hill Leadership will stop taking credit for the work of their predecessors.

• The City has to explain what exactly the Stadium Authority does.

• Everyone will agree that "half-a-loaf" is better than "no-loaf at all."

No word, however, if people that opposed the agreement now will be allowed to claim credit for any success in the future.

City Officials Approve Modified Arena Design

Small Victory for Arena Foes?

I suppose very few people noticed this article buried in the back of the Trib:

The Pittsburgh Stadium Authority on Friday gave a North Side developer 45 days to meet with labor unions and social services groups before it would be willing to approve construction of a $27.5 million, 178-room Hyatt hotel...

Barry Ford, Continental's president of development, agreed to "have a dialogue" with the union-backed group North Side UNITED, which is seeking a community benefits agreement with the private developer that includes support for youth education programs, environmentally friendly design and jobs...

If you've been paying attention, this group is part of the umbrella group Pittsburgh UNITED, which has been at the fore front of the opposition to the new arena and casino, demanding similar concessions from both the Penguins and Don Barden.

So, is this just a small victory for the Pittsburgh UNITED group or is it a portent of things to come?

Officials, Hill Reach Agreement on CBA

Thirty-eight hours into a marathon negotiating session, representatives of the City, County, Penguins, and the One Hill Coalition announced that they have reached an agreement relating to the proposed community development agreement which will outline the development of the area around the new arena.

One Hill Chairman Carl Redwood, in a prepared statement, said "we are happy to report a major break through that, we hope, will result in a deal that will be better for the entire Hill District. Truly, this is a momentous day for our community."

Details of the agreement have not been publicly released, but a source close to the negotiation, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, says that the groups have agreed on "two large pizzas, one with pepperoni, one cheese, one medium pizza with peppers and olives, an order of crazy bread, and four liters of pop, to be determined." This agreement marks the first common ground reached between the disparate parties.

The substance of the negotiation has been confirmed by several other sources: Ravenstahl's initial offer to the group was Chinese, which was backed by Onorato. This was soundly rejected by One Hill who complained that they "just get hungry an hour later."

One Hill countered with Indian, but negotiators representing the Lemieux Group said this was impossible due to their acid reflux. The Mayor's Office said that the group could order "a three or four", but the Lemieux Group remained adamant that without their medication, Indian was impossible.

Ravenstahl suggested fried chicken, which was immediately met with cries of racism by residents of the Hill, who suggested that maybe the mayor would like bologna on Wonder Bread instead. Both suggestions were immediately withdrawn with appropriate apologies exchanged.

After 27 hours of negotiations, Dan Onorato suggested pizza, an idea that was met with general approval from the room. The remaining eleven hours were devoted to toppings, with Ravenstahl's suggestion of "ham and pineapple" rejected during the first round. The group quickly reached consensus that anchovies were unacceptable, although Lemieux pressed for cheese curds and gravy for several hours.

The decision will be ratified by the full One Hill Coalition ahead of Monday's planning commission meeting, although some other members say they will protest the vote saying that the agreement does not represent the true needs of Hill: tapas.

The food will be brought to a planning meeting for the outlining of a timeline to plan for meetings at which the agenda for the Community Benefits Agreement will be discussed.

Penguins Unveil Plans for Mellon Arena Site

The Penguins last night revealed the preliminary plans for the Mellon Arena, which is to be replaced by a new arena to be built between Centre and Fifth avenues, Uptown.

The plans were shown at a public meeting attended by about 150 people, including Hill District residents and others interested in the future of the former Civic Arena site.

A Request for Proposals was released in May of this year to several design agencies, architecture firms and demolition companies to come up with proposed plans for the site.

Hundreds of responses were received by the Penguins, who narrowed the field down a handful of eligible submissions. Many of the submissions were duplicative, focusing on rubble, smoking craters, an large amounts of dynamite.

Two of the top five submissions came from graduate students at Carnegie-Mellon University:

Students from the School of Architecture proposed converting the retractable dome arena into a MagLev station for the heretofore still prosed MegLev line from the Pittsburgh AirPort to Greenburg.

Taking a slightly different tack, students from the Engineering College suggested "nuking it from orbit," adding, "it was the only way to be sure."

A consortium of artists funded by the Sprout Fund advocated a neighborhood fair in which the community would remove small pieces of the arena until it disappeared. The function would also include interpretive dance and levitating tables.

A group led by former City Councilman Sala Udin proposed selling the arena to Cleveland.

However, the panel of judges was most impressed by a submission from the Other One Hill Concerned Citizens Council Corporation who proposed leaving the Mellon Area vacant, demolishing a part of it, abandoning it by the City, letting the rest go tax delinquent, and finally letting it rot to a point where it becomes a haven for crime, drugs, and other vermin.

Speaking for the Penguins, Patrick Lempka, lead architect for the project, said that the OOHCCC proposal best represented both "the history of the Hill and fit in with the narrative and rhythm of the Neighborhood."

In a related development, 15 Hill residents who represent the Other Other One Hill Very Concerned Citizens Council Corporation, Inc. presented a list of demands to County Executive Dan Onorato insisting that any demolition to take place would happen without destroying any structures and with a 20% cut to the OOOHVCCC, Inc.

The County Executive Office did not return phone calls for this article.