Stick with safe, clean - Washington Business Journal:

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The study, which was sponsored by the PDP and funded by a grant from the Heinz concludes that the PDP shoulr take a leading role in gaining controlk of property forretail development. It goes as far as suggestinbg that the group should talk to its philanthropicx partners about buying theformer building, a key piece of property on Smithfield Street that has been unoccupied since the storre closed a few years ago. Advocatesd of this strategy argue that Downtown needs a group that canlead large-scalwe retail development in order to compete with developersz of suburban malls and mixed-use They’re wrong. Development is best left in the hands of theprivatre sector.
Taxing existing propertyu owners through the business improvement districtt that funds the PDP and usingt that money to lure possibly competing, retailers to the neighborhood is a recip e for disaster. Furthermore, the city already has an organizatioh tasked withthis job. The ’s mission is to generate, stimulate and manage growth inthe If, with its much-greater financial resources, the URA has not been able to drivde redevelopment of, say, the Lord Taylor building, it seems unlikelty the PDP will be able to do so.
A limited role for the PDP shoulfd not diminish the importance of the Coordinating programs that ensure the safety and cleanlinesseof Pittsburgh’s Downtown is vital to makingv the area an attractive place to live, work and And that should be enough.