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Updated 22 hours ago
North Hills School Board members are considering whether to provide a tax break to The Block Northway developer to help with construction of a mixed-use complex planned for property the company owns behind the shopping mall.
While the board agreed to place the request from Akron, Ohio-based LRC Realty on its agenda for consideration at the Feb. 16 legislative meeting, action could be delayed if board members need more time to review the issue.
A presentation by the developer on how the tax incentive program will work is scheduled for the same night board members could be asked to approve the measure.
LRC is seeking a tax abatement through the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act, or LERTA, which allows taxing bodies to forgo property taxes for a certain time period to entice developers to take on difficult projects.
“We're talking about a LERTA for something we don't know anything about,” board member Thomas Kelly said. “It seems to me we've got this in reverse. We should be having the discussion and presentation first and then decide if we even want to do a LERTA.”
Board member Annette Giovengo Nolish, who chairs the board's finance committee, said the board “retains the option to delay a vote.”
“If we'll put it on the agenda and hear the presentation, we are not necessarily committing to taking a vote,” she said.
LRC has proposed building two apartment buildings containing what it characterizes as “high-end” residential units, along with retail and office space to complement the transformation underway at The Block Northway, formerly Northway Mall.
Obtaining the LERTA requires approval by both the school board and Ross commissioners.
In January, township commissioners approved a tax abatement to develop the 6.5-acre vacant parcel near the mall along Browns Lane on the site of the former Northway Elementary School, which was sold by the school district for $2.5 million in 2013.
The 10-year tax abatement doesn't affect taxes currently assessed on the property; the forgiveness only applies to taxes levied on new construction or improvements.
The abatements calls for 100-percent forgiveness on property taxes during the first year and 90 percent during the second and third years. The abatement then drops by 10 percent in each of the remaining seven years, according to the proposal.
The resolution the school board is considering “mirrors” the proposal approved by the township, school board President Ed Wielgus said.
Commissioners who supported the abatement said it provides the township with more control over how the site will be used by blocking the developer from building a “Wal-Mart or other big box store” that exceeds 100,000 square feet, according to the proposal.
A condition of the tax abatement also specifies that the project contain elements of a “mixed-use development,” or a blend of commercial, residential and cultural uses containing pedestrian connections. The development formula has been key to the revival of Pittsburgh neighborhoods such as South Side, Strip District and Lawrenceville.
The mixed-use concept also is being used at the McCandless Crossing shopping center in McCandless.
Tony LaRussa is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-772-6368 or tlarussa@tribweb.com.
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