After the Pittsburgh Penguins failed to develop land around new arena, new efforts begin

In the early 2000s, near-identical contracts set two Pittsburgh neighborhoods just miles apart on diverging paths forward.

On the north side of the Allegheny River, where there once was vacant land and parking lots, office buildings, restaurants, a hotel and retail now line Pittsburgh’s North Shore — a neighborhood still growing.

Across the river, save for a new office tower and a music venue, acres of land remain untouched in the lower Hill District — a neighborhood long held waiting.

Near the top of Webster Avenue, the windows of K. Leroy Irvis Towers overlook the lower Hill. With more than 11 years spent working in the lobby of the public housing complex, Hill District resident Ray Robinson has seen tenants come and go — all while the land outside sits unchanged.

“The problem,” he s