Monday, February 23, 2009

Urban Success Story Pittsburgh

Count Newark among the admirers of Pittsburgh's redevelopment:

"We are pleased to be advancing our partnership with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. This project will strengthen our downtown, add hundreds of new housing units and create construction jobs in our city," Mayor Cory A. Booker says in a statement. "In partnership with NJPAC and Dranoff Properties, we pledge to move this project forward intensively this year--securing the resources we need to make it a go for construction in the coming years." ...

... "This is a huge vote of confidence and a milestone as Newark re-emerges as a viable and attractive destination for downtown residential living," says Lawrence P. Goldman, NJPAC’s president and CEO. "The Scorecard process was thoughtful, tough and comprehensive and it made us think even more carefully about the kind of neighborhood we want to create around the Arts Center’s Theater Square." He adds that a complex, mixed-use urban redevelopment project like this can only be done though a partnership of public and private entities. ...

... "Newark needs people living downtown to realize fully its burgeoning revitalization," Goldman tells GlobeSt.com. "Throughout the country and the world--in places like London, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh--arts centers have led the way in transforming cities. There is every reason to believe that Newark can be the next major urban success story."

For better or for worse, Pittsburgh is clearly a best-practice model for a number of struggling cities throughout the country.

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