east liberty station: realizing the potential - City of Pittsburgh

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Conflicting goals of all parties involved can
add to the cost or time frame necessary to
implement TOD. Ultimately, successful
TOD requires good markets, good station
areas and excellent coordination between
numerous parties all dedicated to its
success. With all of these ingredients, the
study area is uniquely positioned to
capitalize on TOD opportunities. However,
the current infrastructure and urban fabric
remains a hindrance to dense, mixed-use
development in the vicinity of East Liberty
station. Uncertainty as to how these
improvements will be financed deters the
development community from advancing
projects despite improving market
conditions. A financial strategy to address
the site specific and district-wide
impediments to TOD is critical to unlocking
the estimated $280 million of
redevelopment potential in the elTRID
study area.
TRID Background
elTRID represents the planning study
mandated by Pennsylvania’s Transit
Revitalization Investment District (TRID) Act
238 of 2004 for municipalities, Counties and
public transportation agencies seeking to
implement a TRID based value capture
strategy. Introduced with active
participation by the Delaware Valley
Regional Planning Commission, this
innovative legislation passed by the
Commonwealth seeks to facilitate TOD,
especially joint development opportunities.
The Act defines the processes and
procedures for the creation of a designated
TRID whose intent is to:
• Coordinate transportation, land use
and private investment by promoting TOD
and joint development.
• Increase ridership on public
transportation systems while generating
additional revenues for current and
expanded services, capital improvements
and related ongoing maintenance.
• Promote multi-municipal,
cooperative approaches to generate new
investment and community revitalization.
• Establish appropriate mechanisms
to capture the real property taxation and
other values added by TOD activities for
reinvestment in the transit system and
local communities.
• Encourage greater community
involvement in design, implementation
and investment activities.
• Leverage existing Federal and
State laws and programs.
The creation of a TRID itself does not
represent a direct source of upfront funding
for TOD, transit improvements or other
public infrastructure. Though the Act directs
the PA Department of Community and
Economic Development and other agencies
to commit resources to assist with TRID
implementation, the only funds available are
for planning studies. No capital funding is
currently committed directly and exclusively
to TOD projects or other TRID initiatives.
Developers or local public agencies seeking
financial assistance must apply to other
broad economic development programs.
As budgetary pressures mount at all levels
of government, these funding programs are
increasingly under scrutiny, continually
faced with allocation cuts and thus more
competitive than ever. The lack of a
dedicated funding source has hindered the
implementation of TRID’s that have been
studied throughout the Commonwealth. The
Act however enables the use of a districtbased
tax increment financing mechanism to
capture increases in real property taxes
resulting from new assessed values to pay
for necessary improvements detailed in the
planning study. Although each features key
differences regarding establishment and
implementation, TIF and TRID are
essentially the same financing tool based
upon future tax revenues generated by
projects that create new assessed value.
Significant redevelopment projects often
face funding gaps that result from necessary
public infrastructure. TIF assists these
projects in the form of developer repayment
of a portion of eligible costs incurred or by
providing up front financing of certain
improvements. Financing districts are
created either to facilitate single projects or
various projects within a defined area. In
southwestern PA, TIF is most commonly
applied for specific known projects rather
than the district-wide model used elsewhere
In the in the country. Both the Bakery
Square and Target component of Eastside
benefited from TIF.
Due to the upfront capital need to fill funding
gaps, TIF typically utilizes incremental tax
revenues generated to finance debt incurred
to construct a project. TIF is nationally
recognized as an instrument of economic
development finance, but TRID is not an