Allegheny Institute Blog

Let April 23, 2007 be remembered as the day when the impetus to “do something” prevailed in Mt. Lebanon. By a 4-1 vote, the Municipal Commission opted to agree to a tax increment finance deal for upscale condos. Even though there were claims that the assistance would help with infrastructure at the site, there is little evidence that the money would actually be devoted to such infrastructure. Instead, as we have pointed out before, much of the TIF-supported debt would be eaten up by fees and a “public park” that is little more than a landscaped front door for the development and, amazingly, to actually pay for the property acquisition by the developer.

Some on the Commission sounded like they were simply fed up with dealing with the project, which “has been gathering weeds for the last seven to eight years”. If there had been a little more ingenuity and openness to letting the private sector develop the site instead of keeping it in the hands of a Parking Authority there might have been development a long time ago. The Commission, the Parking Authority, and the Economic Development Council sat on this land waiting for the “right project” instead of selling it at auction.

But now the project will move forward. When things don’t pan out as promised, maybe Mt. Lebanon taxpayers will finally get the picture of who is running their government.