Residents and stakeholders will have a chance to share their thoughts on a plan for Hazelwood at a Monday night unveiling event, where Mayor Bill Peduto will be in attendance.
The Greater Hazelwood Neighborhood Plan focuses on four major priorities — community, development, mobility and infrastructure — and is intended to guide decision-making to align with residents’ priorities of preserving affordability, ensuring economic opportunities and fixing longstanding transit issues.
“Develop without displacement” is noted as the “distinct” and “clear objective” in the 138-page document.
The neighborhood has a population of roughly 5,000, who live in about 4,000 households, according to the Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative.
“We want to make sure that as this plan is implemented we remain open and welcoming to development, but that we remain a community that is livable for all,” said Sonya Tilghman, executive director of Hazelwood Initiative, one of the groups participating in the collaborative.
“Tonight is the opportunity where you can give feedback in person,” Ms. Tilghman said.
The plan will go through a formal Department of City Planning process, and public comment is open until Sept. 30.
Housing and job opportunities within Hazelwood ranked high among the community’s concerns during the nearly two-year planning process, said Councilman Corey O’Conner, who represents the District 7 neighborhood.
“We want to build a community that residents are proud of, that the residents are a part of, and [where] the residents can always afford to live,” he said. “... We’re all not going to agree on every little thing, but at least we’re talking in a positive manner about what the neighborhood should look like.”
Redevelopment of a 178-acre riverfront property now known as Hazelwood Green — formerly the LTV Coke Works site — has provoked some anxiety among residents and lawmakers who are concerned about affordability. Developers and universities are looking to the site as a potential local tech hub.
And while studies are being conducted on traffic congestion in the neighborhood, one city proposal for an electric shuttle between Hazelwood and Oakland has been met with some protest.
The community is “cautiously optimistic,” said Tim Smith, CEO of the nonprofit, Center of Life, and head of the collaborative planning effort.
Mr. Smith said that Carnegie Mellon University as well as the managers of the Hazelwood Green site have been at the table during the process.
Monday night’s neighborhood plan unveiling will take place from 6 to 8 at Mill19A, 4501 Lytle St., at the Hazelwood Green site.
Public comment is also being collected in person at several locations in Hazelwood where hard copies of the plan are available, or feedback can be given via an online survey.
Ashley Murray: 412-263-1750, amurray@post-gazette.com or @Ashley__Murray
First Published: September 16, 2019, 6:51 p.m.
