URA Announces Plans for Swisshelm Park Solar Array Partnership Lease

URA Announces Plans for Swisshelm Park Solar Array Partnership Lease

Pittsburgh, PA - The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced today plans to enter into a 25-year lease agreement with Capital Good Fund to develop a solar array, or solar farm, on a 15-acre site in Swisshelm Park.

Capital Good Fund is the Community Development Financial Institution development partner of Pittsburgh Public Schools, whose plans on the site could generate enough renewable energy to offset 100% of the electricity demand at four local schools. Over the 25-year lease, the district would save over $2.6 million in electricity expenses.

The site at 1096 Goodman Street has been controlled by the URA since 1972 when it was purchased from Duquesne Slag Products Company and has been under a Consent Order and Agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection since 2000.

After a community engagement process, the site is being remediated and used for the solar array as well as the extension of Frick Park, which will minimize neighborhood traffic impacts, preserve more park land and support the City's climate action goals.

In 2024, the URA was awarded a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Cleanup Grant to remediate the site in preparation for development. Cleanup is now approximately 95% complete, with full remediation anticipated by August 2026. The transition from a post-industrial slag brownfield to a clean energy "brightfield" will safely reactivate the site, meet community goals and provide lower cost renewable energy.

The lease will be considered Thursday, April 9, 2026 by the URA Board and additional information about the project can be found on the URA's website.

Read Mayor's Office Press Release