From Thomas Boyd of Big Tom’s Barber Shop, to LaKeisha Wolf of Ujamaa Collective, African Americans in the Hill District are leading the way in the rebirth of the Hill District’s historic Centre Avenue corridor.
Once laced with business after business, City Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle is determined to bring back the Centre Avenue that only those of a particular age group remember—one that was vibrant and buzzing.
In early 2018, he went to the Urban Redevelopment Authority seeking a collaborative effort in giving minorities a real chance to acquire city-owned land along Centre Avenue.
More than a year later (and with a number of discussions between the URA and the community), the URA came up with a way for community members to file “Request for Qualifications” for the 170 parcels of land (162 vacant lots, eight physical structures) along Centre. A “Request for Qualifications” is different from a “Request For Proposal,” because oftentimes, a RFP requires the applicant to have a more-detailed development plan in place, which could cost that applicant thousands of dollars. A “Request for Qualifications,” in effect, only asks for the “who, what, where, when and why” from the applicant—a more streamlined version.
From July 22 to Oct. 22, the URA told the Courier it received 11 RFQ submissions—all of them from Minority- and Women-Business Enterprises, non-profits or Hill District cultural institutions.
“I was extremely excited,” Councilman Lavelle told the Courier, Nov. 25. All of the applicants presented their preliminary proposals to community members at the Grayson Center on Nov. 23.
“You saw people from our community who wanted to live in our community, wanting to help rebuild our community,” Councilman Lavelle added. “What you saw are people who normally would be locked out of development opportunities having an actual opportunity to present their ideas, to be heard and participate in the economic revitalization of this corridor.”
Boyd, for example, wants to purchase 2178 Centre Ave.—the former Hamm’s Barber Shop—and the adjacent lots. He would then rehabilitate the first floor and relocate his existing business to that building, along with a waiting room lounge space and a flex space with a separate entrance. The upper two floors would be renovated as two, 2-bedroom apartments that would be marked as affordable to those who earn 50 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income.
Wolf wants to rehabilitate the former Centre Builders Supply & Lumber Company building and adjoining parcels for commercial use, cultural space and business incubation. Steffan Johnson, the contact for R. Kyndall Development Group, wants to develop five market-rate, single-family infill townhomes along the 2100 block of Rose Street. Each unit would include an optional rooftop deck with views of Downtown Pittsburgh.
Monica Tillman-Smith with Salon XO wants to rehabilitate an existing building into a mixed-use property; a new upscale salon, spa and wellness center on the first floor, along with up to six apartments, and indoor and outdoor workshop space for community events.
Keith B. Key of KBK Enterprises is proposing to develop mixed-use buildings and townhomes, while Rev. Lee Walls of Amana Christian Community Development Corporation wants three parcels of land to construct a four-story mixed-use building. The first floor would house commercial space, while the other three floors would have 12 units of affordable housing.
Councilman Lavelle said that by February 2020, the URA will have a better idea of which applicants’ proposals have solid support from the community, in which the applicants will be asked to provide a more formal development proposal. That process usually will take another four to six months, before that proposal is resubmitted to the URA and presented again to the community, complete with architectural drawings of the proposal, actual number of housing units, etc.
One shouldn’t begin to see physical development on the vacant lots or structures by the applicants until the fall of 2020 at the earliest, Councilman Lavelle said.
URA representatives were on hand at the Carnegie Library’s Hill District branch on Nov. 25 to answer questions from residents, such as Robert Bey, who calls the Hill District “the promised land.”
“The Hill District never lost its respectability to some people because if you were ever a Hill District resident, you knew that it was more people that were doing good things than bad things,” Bey told the Courier. “There’s a lot of history up on the Hill.”
“It is our intent to rebuild and revitalize this corridor as a commercial corridor for our community,” Councilman Lavelle said. “It’s a tremendous step in the right direction.”
LaKEISHA WOLF of Ujamaa Collective placed a bid to acquire parcels of land in the Hill District. (Feature photo)
by Rob Taylor Jr., Courier Staff Writer
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