TONIGHT! Monday, April 7 from 6:30 to 8 pm will be second community meeting in a series at the Union Project about East Liberty residential and upcoming development, homeownership resources and neighborhood discussion.

Tonight, get the resources and ask the questions to learn best practices for buying and maintaining a home, as well as avoiding or dealing with foreclosure issues.

Next Monday, April 14, discuss Section 8, project based and low income housing options in the neighborhood.

If you have any questions, contact Hilary Brown at 412.363.4550 ext. 26.

Join State Senator Jim Ferlo, ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) and PNC Bank for a Homeownership and Foreclosure Prevention Fair this SATURDAY, March 29 from 11 am to 4:30 pm downtown in the Regional Enterprise Tower (426 6th Avenue , 31rst Floor Community Room).

Use this opportunity to get FREE personal help from nonprofit housing counselors, refinancing opportunities, programs and first-time home-buyer assistance. Also, meet with lenders to find the best financial options for you, possibly switching from an adjustable rate to a fixed rate. These lenders include HSBC Bank, EMC and Countrywide among others.

To register or for more information call 412.441.6551 or visit Senator Ferlo’s website.

Margaritas + uncoordinated dance partner = Good Time!
This Saturday, March 29th from 7 to 9 pm at the Union Project, enjoy a night of festive drinks and dance lessons! They will be hosting Margaritas in March, and for $6, you will get a complementary margarita and dance lesson. Enjoy!

The Penn Avenue Revitalization Plan community meeting held Tuesday, March 11 drew residents and stakeholders from Friendship, Bloomfield, Garfield, Lawrenceville, East Liberty and beyond to discuss street improvements ideas. After a short presentation of the studies, planning process and finances put in place up to this point, community members broke into groups speficied by the section of Penn Avenue to their interest (or for the overall plan.)

The two mile stretch of Penn Ave being proposed for redevelopment spans from 34th Street in Lawrenceville to Negley Ave on the border of Friendship and East Liberty. Because it is so long and runs through multiple neighborhoods, it has been broken into sections for Doughboy Square (34th St), Arsenal District, the new Children’s Hospital corridor, and the Arts District (up to Negley.)

Community members discussed the use of funds for new traffic and pedestrian signals, new crosswalks and sidewalks, new street lighting, street paving, new sidewalks, new utility lines, new signage and pavement markers, transit/cyclist accommodations, street trees and furniture, and other street facade improvements.

For more information about the project or to voice your opinion, visit the online discussion group. Or you can contact Patrick Hassett with the City of Pittsburgh at 412.255.2883, Aggie Brose with the Penn Ave Corridor Phasing Plan Committee at 412441.6950 or the Project Manager, Brain Krul at 412.201.4900.

There will be a public meeting held for the ongoing Penn Avenue Corridor Phasing Plan Study Tuesday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m. at the Saint Lawrence O’Toole Activity Building on North Atlantic Avenue in Garfield.

The City of Pittsburgh, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Penn Avenue Corridor Phasing Plan Committee will present the scope of the Penn Avenue revitalization project and gather feedback from community members on how they use the corridor and what issues they have had with Penn Avenue.

The project extends along Penn Avenue from 34th Street to Negley Avenue, approximately 2 miles in length, and includes the neighborhoods of Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Garfield, Friendship, and East Liberty.

Attend this meeting and be a part of the revitalization and planning Penn Avenue!

The Borders Books building in the Eastside retail development in East Liberty, has been awarded the LEED Core and Shell Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This project is one of the first LEED Gold certified projects in Pittsburgh and also among the first LEED Core and Shell LEED certified projects in the country!

TOMORROW, March 4, 2008 at 2:00 pm, Rick Fedrizzi, the President, CEO and Founding Chairman of the USGBC, the organization responsible for the LEED program, will present the LEED Core and Shell Gold Certification plaque to The Mosites Company at Borders Books, the anchor tenant in the building.

The Design Alliance Architects, with the support of evolveEA, the LEED management consultant, developed a number of green features in the project including:

● Rainwater from the building roof is piped to an underground cistern that eliminates the need for municipal water for irrigation purposes of the entire Eastside development.

● Energy modeling simulation of the building demonstrates 17% energy savings over a typical retail building. The savings are a result of the high-performance curtain wall system, enhanced insulation, and high-efficiency heating & cooling systems.

● The design and construction team exhibited careful and environmentally sensitive decision making in managing construction waste and selecting appropriate materials for the building. Nearly all of the construction waste was recycled; products manufactured locally and regionally, and those made from recycled material, constitute over 30% of the building’s materials.

● The bi-level development was constructed using highly reflective surfaces for the hardscape (sidewalks, drives, ramps) and roofs, reducing the heat island effect and mitigating significant change to the local climate.

● The Eastside Development is a model of urban infill development that provides a walkable, bikeable environment and cross-linkages through the site for local residents and visitors alike. The development has strategically located bike racks around the site to encourage alternative transportation, and a shower room available to employees in the development.

● The Mosites Company encourages current and future tenants to pursue LEED for Commercial Interiors certification, and has provided them with guidelines on what strategies should be pursued to complement the features of the building and the development.

These commendable building decisions make for healthy, sustainable infrastructure in East Liberty and congratulations to the Mosites Company, The Design Alliance Architects and all other partners on this LEED certification award!

If you would like to read more about this award, here is thePress Release and the articles in the Post Gazette and Business Times.

Would you like to get down to the nitty gritty of race, community and discrimination?

The Nitty Gritty Race Conversations will be TONIGHT Monday, February 25th at 6pm at the Union Project. Union Project and Open Door invites community members to participate in the Monday Evening Conversations, “Exploring the Dynamics of Race & Community.”

The series is an annual event that invites community members to explore and face issues of race, equality, faith, humanity, and community. This will not be your average discussion. Be prepared to participate by asking questions, offer your own insights, or just listen to learn about the perception and every day reality of these pressing issues.

For more information contact Hilary at 412-363-4550×26 or Hilary@unionproject.org or visit www.unionproject.org for a full listing.

Last Night, Wednesday, February 20 at Calvary Church, East End residents and stakeholders convened for the second Pedestrian Bridge meeting to discuss questions and concerns with the bridge’s design, funding, public safety and parking among other things.

Read more about the bridge in the City Paper.
Or look at some of the bridge sketches (elements and scale), sketch 2 (Sequins in chainlink), sketch 3 (side view).

Also the notes from the meeting are available for you to read. Please use this outlet to leave your comments and questions.

East Liberty Development received an honorable mention at Friday’s (January 25th) Seventeenth Maxwell Awards of Excellence luncheon sponsored by the Fannie Mae Foundation and the Partnership to End Long Term Homelessness. East Liberty Development was also awarded a $10,000 grant from the Fannie Mae Foundation to continue its work in the field of supportive housing for homeless families.

“We are pleased and honored to have the Sojourner House MOMS project acknowledged as one of the best community-supported housing programs for homeless families in the country,” said Maelene Myers, executive director of East Liberty Development, Inc. “Sojourner MOMS offers a home and neighborhood connections to mothers recovering from addiction, as well as their children. These facilities are so important in combating homelessness in Pittsburgh’s East End and we plan to expand this project.”

“The Fannie Mae Foundation commends East Liberty Development for their outstanding efforts to prevent and end homelessness. We are pleased to award East Liberty Development a grant to continue its efforts to provide supportive housing to homeless families,” said Peter Beard, executive director of the Fannie Mae Foundation.

“East Liberty Development has greatly improved the lives of homeless families through its ability to provide appropriate supportive services and permanent housing for its tenants. They are a wonderful example of an organization committed to ending homelessness in their communities,” said Bob Hohler, executive director of the Melville Charitable Trust and executive committee chairman of the Partnership to End Long Term Homelessness.

Winners were selected by an independent advisory committee for having produced the best examples of supportive housing in four categories: Housing for Homeless Veterans; Housing for Chronically Homeless Individuals; Housing for Homeless Youth; and Housing for Homeless Families. Maxwell Award winners’ case studies are posted on the Partnership to End Long Term Homelessness website at www.endlongtermhomlessness.org.

Last Thursday, January 24, the community came together for the East Liberty Community Plan meeting at East Liberty Presbyterian Church.

Thanks so much to everyone who has participated in the Community Plan Task Forces and planning process. The Community Plan meeting was a total success with over 150 residents and stakeholders in attendance to present, hear and discuss the Action Plans create over the past several months.

Support for the Community Plan has come from the R.A. Hunt Foundation. More information on the Community Plan document to come, stay posted!