Kuhn's has nixed a 100,000-square-foot retail shopping center anchored by a full-service grocery store in the Hill District, Pittsburgh's development chief said Monday.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority is scheduled to decide Nov. 13 whether to sell land on Centre Avenue to locally based Kuhn's or St. Louis-based discount chain Sav-A-Lot, as both vie to build the first Hill District grocery store in nearly 30 years.
"(Kuhn's) is proposing a stand-alone grocery store with a suburban-style setback and a field of parking along Centre Avenue," said Rob Stephany, executive director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Kuhn's original proposal envisioned converting the AUBA Triangle Shops into retail stores, a coffee shop and other offerings with the 40,000-square-foot grocery store nearby, Stephany said.
"This (proposal) keeps the AUBA shops intact and builds a grocery store box only," he said. "It was a neat project. But they decided they wanted to make a go at something more straightforward."
Dan Sakala, spokesman for the independently-owned eight-store Kuhn's chain, declined to discuss the changes.
URA Board members Tonya Payne and State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, said Hill District residents must have an opportunity to scrutinize any changes.
The URA and the Pittsburgh Penguins have committed $2 million -- $1 million each -- toward construction of a new grocery store in the Hill District. The funding is part of a community benefits agreement negotiated by Hill District residents who wanted neighborhood improvements in exchange for living next to a new $290 million arena.
"I don't want to put my money down for a Mercedes and then find out that we ended up with a Hugo," said Payne, who had not reviewed the new plans.
If it's not vetted publicly before the authority's Nov. 13 meeting, she would likely vote in favor of Sav-A-Lot's smaller, 16,000-square-foot store, which does not include a pharmacy and some other amenities that residents have requested.
"The worst thing that could happen is not to have full public disclosure," Ferlo said.
Save-A-Lot says keeping the deadline set by URA board members last month is critical because delays keep mounting for a new store it first proposed for the neighborhood nine months ago.
Most recently, the URA was expected to make a decision Oct. 16, but it pushed back action for another month when Kuhn's and its development partners asked for more time to work on their proposal.
"This thing has dragged on a long time," said Rick Meyer, Save-A-Lot's vice president of market development. "The reason November is so important is because there are other things that have to get done from a governmental standpoint. We need to get certain approvals, and there will be zoning issues. There is a lot of detail involved."
It will take about six months from the start of construction to complete a new store, Meyer said. "Our goal is to get this thing started as soon as the weather is normal. That's the big thing and why we are pushing to get this done."
Save-A-Lot wants to put a 16,850-square-foot store along Centre Avenue. Prices would be 40 percent less than those in a regular grocery store.
The Kuhn's proposal is being made in conjunction with Hill House Economic Development Corp. and developer McCormack Baron Salazar.
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