State Approves $10M Subsidy Package for Pittsburgh’s Almono-Hazelwood Brownfield

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announces $10 million in state grants for the redevelopment of the 178-acre Almono property in Hazelwood

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has announced $10 million in state funding to help support the approximately $1 billion redevelopment of the former LTV Steel site along the Monongahela River in Hazelwood.

The subsidies, which include a $5 million Economic Growth Initiative grant and a $5 million Transportation Economic Development Fund grant, would be used to cover parts of the project’s infrastructure cost, which amounts to an estimated $103 million.

According to Corbett, the investment has the potential to turn what was once an environmental wasteland into a prosperous center of commerce and innovation.

Upon completion, the redevelopment of the city’s last major brownfield is set to bring about 1,400 housing units, 1.3 million square feet of office space and approximately 950,000 square feet of industrial space. The property covers 178 acres of vacant land owned by a consortium of four local foundations called Almono LP.

Construction on the project, which is being managed by the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania (RIDC), is expected to span over two decades.

“There’s huge interest in this site, tremendous interest in this site, from developers not only in the region, but across the country,” Don Smith, president of RIDC, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Really, it’s all just interest until we can give them some certainty that the site will be ready for their buildings to open.”

In 2012, at Gov. Corbett’s initiative, the state’s method of funding the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program underwent a significant redesign. The selection process, which is now more transparent and objective, aims to promote projects based upon their job-creation potential, their economic impact, as well as their viability and construction readiness.

So far, the Corbett administration has announced 58 new Economic Growth Initiative grants, totaling more than $133 million. The projects are expected to create more than 45,000 jobs in 24 counties across Pennsylvania.

Photo credits: The Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania

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