PITTSBURGH, PA (October 29, 2021) Mayor William Peduto joined Department of Public Safety and Department of Public Works officials today at the site of the former Veterans Administration campus in Lincoln-Lemington to discuss the future of the site. The campus will be redeveloped and transformed into a state-of-the-art regional public safety training site, centralized campus for Pittsburgh Public Safety operations and will include net zero energy efficiency and stormwater management components to address the dangerous flood-prone Washington Boulevard corridor.
The property was acquired after federal government agencies approved the use of the site by the City as a public safety campus earlier this year. By relocating training facilities to one campus, Pittsburgh’s award-winning public safety bureaus intend to develop training for police, fire, EMS and animal care and control departments throughout the region to improve service to the greater community.
The project will save millions of taxpayer dollars currently spent on leases by relocating public safety operations and public works storage from around the city to the campus. The City plans to bring Emergency Medical Services headquarters from Shadyside, Police Headquarters from Chateau, Police Training Academy from Allegheny West and the vehicle repair shop from the Strip District. The plan also includes building an indoor firing range on the campus to move it from its current location in the Highland Park neighborhood. Locations that will be vacated that the City currently owns can be sold to be put back on the tax rolls and redeveloped to benefit neighborhoods.
The project will also allow the City to implement green and sustainable stormwater solutions to alleviate dangerous flooding along Washington Blvd for the safety of all. By vacating public safety facilities located on the low-lying road, the City and PWSA can create a comprehensive solution to divert stormwater from the road.
The site will feature additional green sustainable solutions as redevelopment will follow the net zero requirements for City facilities championed by the Peduto Administration in 2019. The renovated buildings will be energy efficient and will produce as much energy as they consume, providing additional cost savings to taxpayers.
“This site provides us with a historic opportunity to offer the best in life-saving training to public safety personnel from around the region, advance sustainable green development, provide a solution to decades of intractable flood mitigation challenges, expand the city tax base and save taxpayers money,” said Mayor Peduto. “This project thinks big and provides big solutions for the betterment of our communities.”
Long-term financing plans for the campus are listed in the City’s 2021 budget.
