Penguins update... getting closer...

It seems that the One Hill Coalition is getting very close to signing a CBA. As reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this weekend:

Hill District leaders, determined to redevelop their neighborhood in conjunction with the construction of a new arena, last night said they had reached "a framework for a tentative agreement."

...

The Hill District group has spent more than a year negotiating with city and county leaders toward a seven-point blueprint for "A Livable Hill" that spells out the issues to be resolved.

...

The breakthrough, Mr. Redwood said, occurred in the past week as the Penguins joined the talks. "The Penguins have been negotiating in good faith," he said.

Yarone Zober, the mayor's chief of staff, characterized the keys to yesterday's announcement as a corporate-backed Hill development push and the creation of a job and social services center near the Hill House.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, county Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Penguins officials have begun approaching corporate leaders about their participation in a Neighborhood Partnership Program that would provide state tax credits to companies in return for development aid to the Hill.

Mr. Zober said the reception among corporate leaders has been very positive.

The Hill Resource Center will be "a way to connect people to existing services, located right in the Hill," Mr. Zober said. It will tie into the existing CareerLink job-finding system and other services.

Negotiations between the parties at the Downtown headquarters of the Sports & Exhibition Authority that ended around 5:30 p.m. nailed down the key planks of the agreement, which now goes back to the One Hill Community Benefits Coalition for approval and likely modifications.

Then it would go to the SEA board, and possibly the Urban Redevelopment Authority and county agencies.

In related news, it looks like the Hill District is definitely getting a grocery store.