Uptown is located in the City of Pittsburgh, just east of Downtown on a bluff above the Monongahela River, along a one and a half mile stretch of land between Oakland and Downtown Pittsburgh. The neighborhood encompasses Duquesne University and Mercy Hospital near the city, and several retail stores and other attractions along the Fifth/Forbes Corridor to Oakland. 18 bus routes traverse the neighborhood, carrying some 50,000 commuters daily through the neighborhood. Along with easy access to most of the region's highways, soon many of those commuters will find reasons to get off the bus and highway to spend some time in an up-and-coming neighborhood!

Uptown was annexed by the City of Pittsburgh in 1846 when there were hundreds of nineteenth-century row houses and, according to Franklin Toker in his book Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait, there were more wholesale distributors (mainly of dry goods) than any similar complex between New York and Chicago. The neighborhood saw a period of decay starting in the 1950s and 60s, but is starting to see the result of revitalization efforts brought about by some dedicated residents and businesses, as well as the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA). 

New Housing is taking shape in the form of affordable town-homes and lofts, as well as through the renovation of old row houses. Several gardens have been created by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and neighborhood groups, and owners of some larger buildings are preparing for a bright future with renovations of old spaces, for example the Excel Kitchen Design Center in the former Fifth Avenue High School and Soho Invention, Inc., an emerging communication firm.  James Simon's Gist Street Studio has monthly poetry readings that attract listeners from all over the city, and a tiny blue brick building along Fifth Avenue houses Little Earth Productions, which designs and sells hip fashion and gift items made from recycled materials--including rubber tires, license plates, and bottle caps, among other things--to consumers worldwide.

Duquesne University has recently purchased two-and-a-half acres along Forbes Avenue where it intends to develop a housing and retail mix to benefit the neighborhood and its 10,000 students. In fact, there are many opportunities for new business investment and redevelopment of buildings in Uptown. And neighborhood businesses and residents, along with the URA, are working to enhance the neighborhood in many ways, by increasing public safety, creating newer affordable housing, adding a grocery store and more retail businesses, and improving access to trails and parks in the district. In October, the Pittsburgh Planning Commission approved Uptown as a Certified Redevelopment Area, which means that alternative forms of financing, such as federal community development block grant money and tax increment financing, can be used to aid development projects. For more information on Uptown's redevelopment efforts contact Tom Link at the URA at (412) 255-6600.

The Uptown Community Action Group (UCAG) is an active volunteer organization made up of businesses and residents committed to improving quality of life. They help to create new low-cost housing and opportunities for new business creation by partnering with the URA, Duquesne University, Mercy Hospital, and the Hill District and Oakland Community Development Corporations.

Links

Duquesne University

Uptown Community Action Group (UCAG)

Cool Space Award Winners

Bethlehem Haven (2005)

James Simon Sculpture Studios (2005)

Soho Invention, Inc. (2005)

Sun King Interactive Group (2005)