PITTSBURGH -- What will the Hill District of the future look like once the new Penguins arena is built?

About a week after members of the One Hill Coalition burned a revitalization plan by Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, talks were back on.

For the first time in weeks, Ravenstahl, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and members of One Hill sat down to work out their differences over a community benefit agreement linked to the development of the new arena.

"There's a lot of common ground," said Onorato. "I mean, what's really being debated is trust, the trust level of what's being agreed to. And I understand the skepticism, based on the last 40 years."

"It takes serious negotiations by both sides to really work out the differences and come to agreement that's a win for the Hill District, a win for the city, a win for the county and a win for the Penguins," said Carl Redwood of One Hill. "And we think it's possible to do, but it takes serious negotiations for us to get there."

As they search for common ground, One Hill is standing firm in saying it wants a community benefits agreement that is legally binding and has penalties for nonperformance.

"I think we're really close, at least in my mind, to what we need to do," Ravenstahl said. "There's a lot commitments that are there on the table through the CBA (community benefit agreement), and we need to take a step back and put our personalities aside for a minute and take a look at what the potential of that community is."

"Make sure that the Hill District community, which has a unique impact in connection with the establishment of the arena, benefits from that type of public development, which is subsidized by public dollars," said Paul Ellis Jr. of One Hill.

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