The hard-won Hill District community benefits agreement signed just two months ago, a byproduct of a new $290 million arena in the neighborhood, already has paid a huge dividend.

BNY Mellon last week announced it will contribute $3 million over six years through the Neighborhood Partnership Program, established under the agreement. That comes on top of $1 million from the Pittsburgh Penguins and another $1 million from the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority that was committed when the CBA was signed in August. Those funds are to be used to develop a neighborhood grocery, a community master plan and a job resource center.

With BNY Mellon's generous decision, more projects will get off the ground in a community that was justifiably concerned about how it would fare following construction of a new home for the hockey team. After all, this is a neighborhood that was decimated when the Mellon Arena, then called the Civic Arena, was constructed without regard to the people living around it.

Rick Savido, president of the BNY Mellon Community Development Corp., recognized the hard work of Hill District residents when he explained the company's decision. He said the firm was impressed by their determination in pushing for the agreement, as well as the way the group identified critical community needs through a public process and then prioritized them.

This is more than good news for the Hill. When the former Mellon Financial Corp. merged with The Bank of New York in 2006, there was concern that, along with the loss of a corporate headquarters, Pittsburgh might suffer from a loss of community involvement by Mellon.

This investment puts that fear to rest, in addition to injecting needed seed money into a key neighborhood.