Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. today said he doesn't believe that the plan put forward by county officials to redevelop the site of the Braddock hospital is sufficient.

Speaking from outside the Braddock Borough building before holding closed-door talks with Council President Jesse Brown and Councilwoman Tina Doose, Mr. Zappala said the borough leaders ought to be given a chance to craft a redevelopment plan for the site -- one that reflects their vision and interests.

"We can do a lot better than a clinic for this community," Mr. Zappala said of the plan outlined Tuesday by Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato.

Under that plan, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center would pay to demolish the hospital building, perhaps as early as June, and then the county would put out requests for proposals for private developers to construct a multi-use office complex.

In the complex would be 90 housing units for senior citizens, space for doctors' offices -- essentially the expansion of the Braddock Family Health Center -- and classrooms for job training offered through the Community College of Allegheny County.

However, borough council members said on Wednesday they oppose that plan, arguing that the county officials did not fully commit to or implement a national search for a health care provider to reopen the building as a hospital before settling on a plan to build the proposed complex.

And to that end, Mr. Zappala said his talks with Braddock officials this afternoon would focus on the community's desire for a bigger health care provider, at least bigger than a primary care physician's office, and a comprehensive approach to tackling blight in the community.

"I'd like to improve the area and eliminate much of the blight in this community," Mr. Zappala said, adding that his talks with Braddock officials would be the basis of a meeting he has scheduled with Mr. Onorato next week.

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