During the Governor’s visit to Pittsburgh yesterday to present $10 million in economic development funding to a site in Hazelwood, a local development official made the “priming the pump” argument of why the public needs to fund site development and noted “It’s too easy for developers to go into the suburbs and greenfield sites and build there instead”—implying that if there is no public money for older sites eager developers have the pick of the litter in non-urban sites and will do so on their own dime.

That would be true if the region was not littered with examples of state money, tax increment financing arrangements, and even neighborhood improvement district deals to make greenfield developments happen.

Think Pittsburgh Mills, Victory Center, the Mall at Robinson, Mt. Nebo Pointe as projects that involved a TIF.  That goes without mentioning proposals that stalled in Mt. Lebanon and in the Allegheny Valley. Who knows how many more came about with the involvement of one of the components of the alphabet soup of programs offered at the state and local level.

If it is easy, why does the state and local governments offer to pony up dollars or make incentives available?  And when does the public investment in non-developable areas reach its apex?