Neighborhood Renaissance Fund

In 2012, Mayor Ravenstahl established the Pittsburgh Neighborhood Renaissance Fund (PNRF) in partnership with the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Department of City Planning, and the Design Center. The Neighborhood Renaissance Fund provides increased resources for design, planning and implementation of development projects primarily focused in the North, South and West communities of Pittsburgh. The URA provided a grant of $300,000 toward the initiative, and the Design Center raised matching funds for community grants. The Neighborhood Renaissance Fund is administered by the Design Center and provides technical assistance, outreach, support staff and administrative oversight through our existing Design Fund program guidelines.

 

In September of 2012, we convened regional meetings throughout the city with nearly 100 representatives from local community and regionally based organizations. In these sessions, we provided the guidelines to apply for the PNRF through the existing Design Fund application process. We also developed a pipeline of current and future projects from each community with the goal of establishing a long-term partnership with the residents of Pittsburgh to be an informed partner in providing early action support and resources for development projects. There will be two award cycles this fiscal year. Applications for the Fall 2012 cycle were due October 19th. Mayor Ravenstahl announced the first-round of awards at a kick-off event on November 13, 2012. The twelve first-round grant recipients are listed below. Applications for the Spring 2013 cycle will be announced in February of 2013 in anticipation of a second round of awards which will be made in early May of 2013.

 

• $25,000 to West End Alliance for an adaptive reuse study for a closed and vacant school
• $15,000 to Pittsburgh Musical Theater for implementation of façade improvements and expansion at its West End location
• $15,000 to Central Northside Neighborhood Council for sign and gateway design for its Allegheny City Central branding plan
• $15,000 to Troy Hill Citizens for implementation of their park plan and programming
• $25,000 to Community Alliance of Spring Garden-East Deutschtown for gateway design at the Route 28 exit at the 16th Street Bridge
• $25,000 to Brookline SPDC for a market study and branding for Brookline Boulevard
• $15,000 to Beltzhoover Civic Association for parklet design/build project on a historic streetcar turnaround site
• $35,000 to Hilltop Alliance for multi-year neighborhood housing strategy plan for blight and foreclosure mitigation in the south Hilltop communities
• $50,000 to Economic Development South for a plan for a destination “dairy district” on Brownsville Road in Carrick
• $18,725 to Polish Hill Civic Association for mixed use plan for Brereton-Dobson site of two vacant lots and four deteriorating, fire-damaged houses
• $25,000 to Point Breeze North Development Corporation for Simonton Street study for infill housing and corridor design

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