PITTSBURGH -- With a new arena deal in place for the Penguins, the big question on Wednesday is what's next for the Hill District?

All eyes were on Gov. Ed Rendell, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and County Executive Dan Onorato on Tuesday night when they announced the details of the deal, which include a new $290 million arena.

Rendell said no local tax money will be used for the project and that the deal would not have been possible without gaming revenue.

So, what's next for the community living in the shadow of the old Mellon Arena?

About a dozen Hill District community leaders met with Onorato for more than an hour on Wednesday.

His goal, he said, is to get their input on development in the neighborhood around the new arena.

Much of the development will take place on the land that the Mellon Arena and its parking lots sit.

The Penguins had drawn up broader development concepts for residential, commercial and other development when they teamed with slots applicant Isle of Capri.

The specifics of development on that land in the lower Hill District must clear approval by the Sports and Exhibition Authority.

Onorato said he wants the Hill District's community leaders to have early input and involvement during that approval process, so that there's consensus on any plan.

He noted that the meeting happened less than 24 hours after the announcement of the Penguins deal.

"My whole goal of today's meeting was, really, to figure out how do we develop the 28 acres, and how do we have that development spin up the hill to get more benefit outside the 28 acres and to have the input from the community all at the same time?" said Onorato. "And to do that at the front-end of the project, that's my goal. To make sure development happens and we reconnect the Hill to Downtown."

Onorato said there was some skepticism from Hill District community leaders during the meeting. He said that's understandable, given the history of how the neighborhood was affected when Mellon Arena was built decades ago. He said the purpose of Wednesday's meeting was to show the Hill District that the community is a priority this time.

"There was a time those roads came into town," said Onorato. "You've got to reconnect that grid. Once you do that, the Hill District becomes part of Downtown, becomes part of the city again."

"We're not asking for just a shopping center or just a grocery store," said the Reverend Thomas Smith of the Hill District. "There are many other things that this community needs and has been deprived of because of the lack of development."

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