Beating City Hall.

• Author: Steigerwald, Bill
• Position: Urban renewal project defeated in Pittsburgh, PA - Brief Article

Who says you can't fight City Hall and win? A horrible urban renewal project planned for the heart of downtown Pittsburgh has been stopped in its tracks.

In late November, after two years of political turmoil, merchant apprehension, and public outcry, Mayor Tom Murphy gave up on his $525 million scheme to remake a thriving though downscale shopping district (see "Death by Wrecking Ball," June 2000). Dubbed Market Place at Fifth & Forbes, the plan would have used eminent domain to flatten two dowdy but busy shopping streets and replace them with a mix of high-end retailers, restaurants, and movie theaters aimed at attracting suburbanites.

Mayor Murphy, who just happens to be running for reelection this year, got an excuse to drop the project when the management of Nordstrom, the key anchor to the project, decided not to commit to putting a store in Pittsburgh now or anytime soon (despite a $28 million gift from the city just to show up).

In other words, the little guys --...