Revitalizing vacant buildings spurs community-driven growth

Image: Conceptual design for the Beltzhoover Institute for Arts and Sciences, 600 Beltzhoover Ave created by DECO Resources courtesy of Hilltop Rising

Developing community facilities isn’t just about bricks and mortar — it’s about honoring the past while creating spaces that reflect the people they will serve into the future.

New Sun Rising (NSR) learned this important lesson while developing our very first project, the Millvale Community Library (MCL). During this process, we came to understand how buildings are more than physical spaces, but shared infrastructure for nonprofits and small businesses that increases access to resources, strengthens relationships, and provides wealth building through local ownership. 

As catalytic projects, community facilities can also inspire people to think about what’s possible for the future. This is certainly the case with the MCL, which sparked the Ecodistricts planning movement that has helped prioritize sustainable, equitable revitalization in the Triboro Ecodistrict and RiverWise networks. Their tagline says it best: More than a library, an agent for positive change.

While the benefits are clear, one may wonder why commercial real estate development is the last of 18 best practice strategies in NSR’s Vibrant Communities Framework. First, we engage stakeholders to develop their vision and plans through Ignite phase strategies. Second, we Launch nonprofits and social enterprises that align with local priorities. After this groundwork has been laid, real estate development naturally emerges during the third phase, Grow. This intentional approach results in facilities that authentically reflect the identity and unique needs of the neighborhood, grounded in local ownership and activation. 

“The support we get from NSR gives us the ability to acquire a vast array of resources from multiple sources, from building acquisition to rehabilitation to programming,” said Jmar Bey, president of Hilltop Rising. “It puts a person or organization who normally wouldn’t be able to receive funds from a financial institution into a position to be able to do these things. [NSR] has put us at the table with larger development partners that may have overlooked us. Access to these new relationships is power that helps us to achieve our dreams.”

Two examples of NSR’s approach are the Launch Millvale and Launch Hilltop programs that kicked off in 2015. As nonprofits and social enterprises were incubated, some identified the need for commercial space to support their growth. In Millvale, projects focused on addressing the lack of access to fresh food and a desire for clean, efficient energy that reduces utility costs. In Beltzhoover and Allentown, a desire for more career exposure and pathways to sustainable, thriving wage jobs were identified. 

Since 2019, in partnership with Millvale and Hilltop organizations including the Millvale CDC, 412 Food Rescue, South Hilltop Men’s Group, Work Hard PGH, Cave Elephant, and support from government officials at all levels, NSR has successfully applied for and received almost $2 million from the United States Housing and Urban Development, Allegheny County, City of Pittsburgh, Urban Redevelopment Authority, and Green Mountain Energy for these community co-development projects. 

By bringing the past into the present and giving old buildings new life, NSR re-centers structures as collaborative infrastructure, anchoring resilient community systems and creating a platform for economic opportunity. Our real estate model is based on co-development, with NSR complimenting the existing local capacity by serving in a wide range of roles including pre-development, acquisition, general contractor, fund manager, investor, or strategic partner. We take an adaptive approach to ensure that design, ownership, and use remain community-centered.

“I am very grateful and fortunate in the relationship Studio AM as an organization, and personally myself as an artist and community builder, have with New Sun Rising,” said Baron Batch, founder of Studio AM. “This being my first experience with property development, there was a lot of experience I did not have, such as managing the various moving parts around contracts, contractors, and scheduling. NSR not only filled these gaps but provided valuable educational guidance which aided in my maturity as a project manager.”

“Their expertise in financial grant disbursement allowed the various phases of development to flow smoothly. NSRs deep care to listening, understanding, and providing feedback has been a beautiful balance of providing support while also honoring my duties and responsibilities as a project lead.”

Currently, NSR is co-developing four key real estate projects that showcase this commitment: 

• Millvale Food + Energy Hub
  Located in a former social hall, this sustainably designed 10,000 sq ft space now houses the Lemon Tree coffee lounge, 412 Food Rescue’s Good Food Project and grocery bagging programs, Royally Fit’s nutrition programs, and offices for mission-aligned nonprofits including FracTracker Alliance, The Food Trust, and New Sun Rising. A solar garden patio expansion with stormwater management system is currently under construction, continuing the site’s evolution as a sustainable community anchor.

• Beltzhoover Institute of Arts and Sciences
  Once abandoned, this building is being transformed into a vibrant 10,000 sq ft hub for STEM education, green workforce training, and food production. A partnership between NSR, South Hilltop Men’s Group, and Hilltop Rising, it’s a symbol of reclaiming space for learning, opportunity, and innovation.

• Urban Homestead Project
  This 11,500 sq ft former woodworking studio is becoming a center for cultural production, artist residencies, skill building, and community events In partnership with Cave Elephant and Studio AM. Sustainability is central to the design, with reclaimed materials, modular construction, and solar power creating a low-impact, high-value asset that can evolve with the Allentown neighborhood.

• 216 Mixed Use Hub
  In the heart of Millvale’s business district, a 6,400 sq ft vacant building is being reimagined as a zero-energy certified hub for local nonprofits, small businesses, and community events. It’s owned and developed by the Millvale Community Development Corporation, embodying NSR’s commitment to environmentally and financially sustainable, community-led development.

Through these projects, NSR and our co-development partners are proving that underutilized, vacant buildings can become vital assets that reflect the priorities and values of their communities. Since 2009, we’ve supported nine community-led projects by investing $3.5 million that’s created or maintained 257 temporary and 122 permanent jobs, while revitalizing over 109,000 sq ft of previously vacant and underutilized space. Our commercial development projects also incorporate green building features like solar power, energy efficiency, stormwater management, and material reuse. The 216 North Ave project will be the first ILFI Net Zero Certified building in our network.

“NSR provided critical technical support that helped the Millvale Community Library get off the ground much more quickly than it otherwise would have been possible,” said Brian Wolovich, President of Millvale Community Development Corporation (MCDC). “By joining in meetings and work days, NSR gained a deep understanding of organizational needs and provided fiscal sponsorship and support with business and strategic planning that allowed us to get to work right away.”

“As the MCDC continues to develop our future home at 216 North Ave, we have been so lucky for NSR to come alongside and support the project with securing and administering funding that we did not qualify for including federal funding, and private funding. It has made our project more meaningful for solar workforce development students to tour the project site during construction and see first hand what it takes for a community-based organization to pull off a certified green building project.”

At its core, our real estate work is about creating places that reflect and elevate the communities they belong to. Through strategic partnerships, sustainable design, and grassroots engagement, New Sun Rising is helping communities not just survive, but thrive. Interested to partner or fund a real estate co-development project? Learn more.