Head of Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority to assume new duties
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Robert Rubinstein, the executive director of Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, will assume another position within the URA, Mayor Bill Peduto said Tuesday.
Rubinstein, 55, of Squirrel Hill, a URA employee for more than 30 years, has been executive director since 2012. URA spokeswoman Gigi Saladna said Rubinstein cited “personal reasons” for stepping down from his job. Rubinstein was not available for comment Tuesday, according to Saladna.
A date for the transition has yet to be determined.
“He’s basically taking his old position back,” Peduto said. “He wants to stay a part and do the work that he has been doing for these decades, and we need him in that role for economic development, but the URA is being changed.”
The Mayor’s Office later clarified Peduto’s statement and said it was unclear what position the URA board might assign to Rubinstein.
“We don’t know what position Robert is going to have,” Peduto spokesman Tim McNulty said.
Peduto last year announced that he wanted the URA to shift focus from its original “wrecking ball” development strategy of the 1940s and 1950s and concentrate more on smaller projects, such as rebuilding neighborhoods through affordable housing and workforce development programs.
The URA last year retained HR&A Advisors Inc., a New York firm that specializes in real estate and economic development consulting, to create a plan for restructuring. Peduto said the plan should be ready in a few months.
“We’re really going to focus in on our vacant properties and turning the opportunities from blight to homeownership, and there’s a few other areas, including the new economy, where we need to add some extra emphasis,” he said. “We’ll be looking for a leadership team that has experience in all of those different areas.”