URA Seeking Proposals to Develop Community Plans for Chartiers and Perrysville Business Districts in Avenues of Hope Corridors

PITTSBURGH, PA (August 12, 2021) Mayor William Peduto has announced that the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) is requesting proposals to develop community-based plans to assist in the redevelopment of the Chartiers and Perrysville business districts as part of the Avenues of Hope initiative.

The URA is seeking the services from planning, economic development and commercial market professionals to conduct strategic business district planning for the Chartiers, Perrysville/Five Points and Perrysville/Charles business districts.

“Successful development and revitalization fulfills the local community’s vision for their neighborhood,” said Mayor Peduto. “Since these three areas lack written business district plans, we need to work with residents and businesses to create them so that we can drive investment into what the community wants to see on these avenues.”

Those selected will support the inclusive redevelopment of these business districts by developing strategies for each of the corridors by:

• Working with URA staff and stakeholders to collect data for the corridor, including properties, business mix, public safety statistics and rental rates.
  
  
• Reviewing market data to determine potential business mix.
  
  
• Meeting with existing businesses and community stakeholders to gather information, determine community preferences in terms of business mix and development priorities and get feedback on proposed recommendations.
  
  
• Developing recommendations for the implementation of the plan.
  
  

"One of the critical aspects of the Avenues of Hope initiative is to have a complete picture of the potential of each of the corridors and to work with the community to determine development priorities. This process will help us to achieve that goal," URA Deputy Executive Director Diamonte Walker said.

These plans will lay out the needs and wants of the community and be used to identify and guide investments in these business districts. Once priorities are defined, the URA, through the Avenues of Hope initiative, can assist with recruiting developers, businesses, entrepreneurs and organizations as well as provide funding resources to invest in revitalizing the corridors based on the community’s vision.

“I want to thank Mayor Peduto, Executive Director Flisram and Deputy Executive Director Walker for identifying the need for economic development for all of Chartiers Avenue from West End to Windgap-Chartiers City,” said City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith. “Our residents want to see new businesses, jobs, entertainment and opportunities in their neighborhoods and we look forward to attracting investment in District 2.”

“Small business districts are the beating heart of our neighborhoods, not only offering goods and services, but a place for the community to gather,” said District 1 City Councilman Bobby Wilson. “I’m so glad to see this much needed investment in our Perrysville Ave corridor, supporting existing business owners and bringing more storefronts to the neighborhood. This investment is also an important complement to the affordable housing and housing stabilization efforts of the Observatory Hill and Perry Hilltop communities.”

“Both creating and reestablishing parts of Perrysville Ave as a strong business corridor is critical to the long term health of the North Side,” said District 6 City Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle. “In doing so, it is also critical to center minority businesses thus ensuring a diverse and vibrant community for decades to come. This first step of bringing on consultants to help with the strategic planning is important to ensuring our collective vision being realized.”

Multiple awards may be made for this project and respondents can choose to focus on all three or may choose to focus on only one or two. The request for proposals (RFP) will open tomorrow, August 13, and can be found on the URA’s proposals and bids webpage. Proposals are due September 10, 2021.

Avenues of Hope is a place-based, people-first initiative that focuses on revitalizing seven major business corridors in Black and diverse neighborhoods through targeted investment in residents, businesses, entrepreneurs and housing to support inclusive growth of the neighborhoods.

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