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Buncher drops request for tax financing on Strip District project
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The Buncher Co. announced today that it would no longer seek a special financing arrangement from the city for a proposed Strip District development, a deal that would have earmarked up to $50 million in real-estate taxes for infrastructure improvements on the site.
The tax-increment financing the company was seeking would have meant that property taxes paid on the proposed Riverfront Landing development, which would stretch from the Veterans Bridge to 21st Street between Smallman Street and the Allegheny River, would be used to improve streets and sidewalks in the development, among other things.
Since May, Councilman Patrick Dowd, chairman of the committee on intergovernmental affairs, has held up legislation authorizing the financing plan. Among other complaints, he said the Urban Redevelopment Authority, which facilitated the proposed financing, was vague about how the company would use the money.
Buncher President Tom Balestrieri said in a news release that his company withdrew its effort because of the opposition to the tax- increment financing.
"The Buncher Company has earned a highly respected reputation over the last 60 years and does not wish to participate in a financing program the community views negatively."
First Published January 8, 2013 11:10 am
