In 1982, OPDC's first real estate development project was completed. They purchased a blighted rooming house and garage at 414-416 Atwood Street, in an otherwise strong residential neighborhood. Complete renovation resulted in five apartments for residents who receive 24-hour support from CHSC.
Parkview Manor was OPDC's second project. St. Regis School had closed and the building had begun to deteriorate. The development is a HUD 202 project that provides 15 apartments for the elderly and mobility impaired. Funding to complete the project came from the City of Pittsburgh, the R.K. Mellon Foundation, Western Electric, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA). Parkview Manor opened on February 16, 1984 and has operated in continuous occupancy for the last 22 years.
Later in 1984, OPDC had a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of Saybrook Court. This is a 56-unit condominium development built on the site of the Saybrook Apartments that were almost completely destroyed by fire in 1980. The development was a joint venture with National Development Corporation (NDC), a for-profit company. Occupancy began in January, 1985, and represented the first low- and moderate-income homeownership in South, Central or West Oakland in almost 50 years.
In 1986, the same partnership completed 46 condominium units, each containing a rental unit aimed at the elderly. Niagara Square was built on an isolated park, and three blighted structures between Saybrook Court and Niagara Square were replaced by a new city parklet.
When Holmes School closed in 1986, OPDC was concerned that a for-profit company would develop transient, rental housing on the site. This was a neighborhood which was gradually eroding from a stable area of home ownership. Following a number of neighborhood meetings to discuss renovation and new construction alternatives, OPDC secured the site from the school board and build Holmes Place, consisting of 40 townhouses and 24 garden condominiums. Subsidy for the $3.7 million development was from the URA Community Development Investment Fund and from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. Loans were from L.I.S.C., the Oakland Development Fund, and from Ryan Financial Services. End loans to the buyers were through the URA's affordable housing programs. Ryan was the general contractor, and the architectural plans for the units were adapted from Ryan Plans by Stephanie Ledewitz and Steve Quick. The project was completed in 1989.
In order to support the development begun in the neighborhood with Parkview Manor and Holmes Place, OPDC bought the Pacelli House, a beautiful but dilapidated Victorian structure next door to Holmes Place that had passed into an estate which had to sell. OPDC completed a six-unit renovation in 1990. The units are rented to low and very-low income families. Financing was through PNC Bank, the URA, the Oakland Development Fund, the Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development (PPND).
For the development of Allequippa Place, OPDC collaborated with Breachmenders, Inc., another non-profit community based development corporation, in order to complete the renovation of 24 units of rental housing. This was the first low income tax credit deal completed in the city. The National Equity Fund out of Chicago syndicated the financing. The project was also financed with support from Integra Bank of Pittsburgh (now National City), the URA, and L.I.S.C.
Holmes Court was built next to Holmes Place to continue OPDC's investment in South Oakland. This project consists of 24 garden condominiums marketed to low and moderate income buyers. Financing was through PNC Bank, the URA, PPND, the Oakland Development Fund, and OPDC. The first unit closed in September, 1992.
In the vicinity of OPDC's Holmes Place and Holmes Court, and after completion of these two projects, the physical environment on Ward Street in South Oakland was substantially improved. However, there was still a major visible presence of blight ½ block down and across the street from the OPDC development. In response, OPDC seeded a 7 unit project with the Oakland Development Fund to develop a row of town homes. The properties have operated under stable homeownership since the late 1990's.
Chesterfield Road, on the edge of West Oakland, is a street that had deteriorated substantially due to several homeowners leaving and selling to landlords. These landlords then turned Chesterfield's image into a street with a significant amount of low-quality student housing. Through a partnership with UPMC, in 1996, OPDC acquired 15 units and completed complete rehabilitation of these quaint row houses for a home ownership audience of buyers. With the success in the sale of these units, OPDC has completed rehab of another 11 units between 2002 and 2005, again with very strong sales success. The street has changed considerably with a transition from 3% home ownership to approximately 35% home ownership.
After completion of several large developments, much of the remaining blight in the South Oakland neighborhood has existed in scattered sites throughout the neighborhood. In response, OPDC has launched a South Oakland Scattered Site initiative. To date, four units have been built and six additional units are moving into construction. These units are all targeted for home ownership.
In the early 2000's, OPDC has leveraged its development capability by co-developing in two adjacent neighborhoods, Uptown and the Hill District. These co-ventures have resulted in several very distinct projects, the construction of six town homes on Dinwiddie Street and of five single family homes on Locust Street. OPDC has also completed one single-unit rehabilitation on Locust Street and is undertaking a three unit Uptown Scattered Site development throughout the neighborhood.
The South Oakland market has a mix of approximately 45% home ownership and 55% rental housing. Prior to 2003, OPDC has worked in the neighborhood primarily with home ownership property. The result was trying to change the market by using slightly less than ½ of the housing stock. In 2003, OPDC piloted a program to try to reclaim rental property from slumlords and to keep targeted properties from turning over to slumlord ownership. In 2 years, through a South Oakland Rental Stabilization program, OPDC has purchased and substantially renovated 7 units for high quality affordable, family rental.
With early roots in real estate, OPDC has acknowledged that community development also has other facets. As such, OPDC launched its Job*Links workforce development program in 1987 and its neighborhood-focused Community Organizing/ Keep-it-Clean Oakland program in 2003. OPDC also actively partners with other community-based organizations on issues of transportation, business district revitalization, community advocacy, and communications.
Job*Links, also known as the Hill-Oakland Workforce Collaborative (HOWC), has several programs available to residents, in Oakland and the surrounding area, who have been laid-off, are looking for a career change, or need additional training in order to find a good paying job with benefits. With a combination of tools ranging from core skills and job development teams to staff focused on healthcare, computers, medical terminology, and CPR, to a growing special contracts relationship with the City, OPDC's workforce program has been able to grow in client base and impact year after year. In 2005, Job*Links served 1,197 job seekers, compared to a mere 372 job seekers served in 2001. Also, in 2005, Job*Links successfully placed 416 clients in jobs, 151 of which paid $10.00 per hour or more. The average hourly wage for a Job*Links client was $9.74 in 2005, compared to $8.11 in 2001. Over the years, Job*Links has had to adapt to the various changes in the Pittsburgh job market. As a result, many of OPDC's workforce development programs focus on computer training and healthcare training. Job*Links now offers the International Computer Drivers License (ICDL) training, home health aide courses, CPR classes, and medical terminology classes. Other forms of assistance for jobseekers include interview skills and resume building workshops.
OPDC's Community Organizing program is focused on identifying community problems and ways to address and solve such problems. In 2003, the biggest issue identified by OPDC and Oakland area residents was TRASH and LITTER, both year-round and specifically during off-campus student move-in in August and move-out in April. In response to trash and debris problems associated with student move-in, OPDC launched the Oakland Dumpster Project. In August of 2003, OPDC placed 5 dumpsters throughout Central Oakland to help mitigate trash and debris issues associated with student move-in. These dumpsters collected 12.2 tons of unwanted furniture, garbage, and debris, which would have lined the streets but instead was collected in the dumpsters, which were placed on various street corners. The Dumpster Project has grown substantially within the past 5 years. More landlords and property management companies are working with OPDC both for the planning of the project and by making contributions to help cover the costs of the dumpsters. In August of 2007, OPDC placed 20 dumpsters throughout Oakland, which collected over 60 tons of garbage and debris. Beginning in 2006, OPDC has hosted an Oakland-wide Furniture Sale (that occurs directly after the dumpster project) to salvage any furniture items that do not need to end up in a landfill, but that can be reused and recycled instead.
Besides the Dumpster Project, the "Keep It Clean, Oakland!" (KICO) Program also began in August of 2003. KICO aims to engage Oakland residents, both renters and homeowners, in the community to help create a better sense of place in and attachment to Oakland, while also helping to clean it up and keep it clean. As of May 2008, OPDC has had over 9,800 KICO volunteers collect over 4,700 bags of litter and debris off the streets of Oakland. In order to advance KICO's mission of cleaning up and beautifying Oakland even further, OPDC has also helped various resident block clubs in Oakland plant community gardens, including the Lawn Street Community Garden and the KICO Wildflower Lot on Frazier Street. In 2007, KICO volunteers created a beautiful greenway on Lawn Street, overlooking spectacular views of the Southside and Downtown Pittsburgh.
Aside from the efforts of KICO, the Community Organizing program also looks
to educate students on important issues like 1) how to recycle, 2) building,
health, and safety codes, and 3) tenant rights and responsibilities. OPDC
has developed three brochures to help educate the university community on
such issues. OPDC also works with the Oakland Community Council (OCC) on various
code enforcement issues in the Oakland neighborhood and has successfully won
many cases at the City of Pittsburgh Zoning Hearing Board.
All of OPDC's efforts, whether it is Community Organizing, Workforce Development, or Real Estate Development, has continued to evolve and improve over time, further advancing OPDC's mission to revitalize Oakland.
