Five years ago, Pittsburgh Yards launched with an ambitious mission: create a community center and “job hub” to promote economic development for the city, and do it without displacing the neighborhood.
Atlanta is no stranger to big, job-oriented development. As the World Cup looms closer, nearby neighborhoods like South Downtown are getting reinvestment and rebranding into the trendier “SoDo” with pop-up food spots and franchised restaurants.
But development sparks concern, especially in disinvested neighborhoods. Will the makeover push out the legacy residents? Can the revitalization help locals long-term?
Pittsburgh Yards is an answer to those concerns. It’s a mission-first model of doing business. The massive building is home to coworking memberships, office spaces, a kitchen, a gallery and an upcoming courtyard of container businesses. All are priced far below Atlanta’s market rates.
Most importantly, it’s a buffer against gentrification and displacement brought on by a growing city, the Beltline’s popularity and an incoming tourist wave. It’s been going strong for five years, but now its leaders are looking at the next phase.
“The return on investment here is the mission,” Chantell Glenn, senior Associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The foundation bought the land in 2006, before the Beltline really took shape and investors could see opportunity in the neighborhood. It snagged over 30 acres of land without a clear goal.
“It was an idea that we have to preserve space for the community, then we’ll figure it out with the community,” Glenn said.
The foundation built in economic inclusion on every level. “Before starting to talk about what this place could be, they were preparing them with economic development tools, practices and real estate knowledge,” Glenn said.
It would empower residents to sit at the table and be informed about what was actually happening. Community organizer Stephanie Flowers took one of those classes, an eight-week “community economic development class.”
“They took us through a whole awareness process,” Flowers said. “What is community economic development, what does it look like, and what does it entail?”
Once educated, the foundation asked residents what they wanted. Feedback was mixed. Some wanted Walmart, which was not feasible. Flowers said there was a lot of “dealing with reality” in the early days.
But the foundation kept trying. It opened social media sites, hosted short meetings and had members give explainers at existing neighborhood events.
“I think what they did well was listening to residents,” Flowers said.
Eventually there was a shift. The community members aligned on some feasible goals. They wanted to do something for the neighborhood that the neighborhood could be a part of that supported local businesses.
The community created a “Bible” of criteria for the foundation, development and future tenants. Pittsburgh Yards was born in 2020, and tenants started pouring in.
Amani Wyatt, the owner of a local branch of Signal Security, is a longtime resident of Pittsburgh Yards. He rents three office spaces — one for storage, one as his office, and one for his supervisors to monitor security sites 24/7.
‘It’s like our locker room, just an opportunity for us to come in.”
Wyatt started working with Pittsburgh Yards during construction, when he handled security for the site. Moving his office there was a natural step. Growing up, his father owned a skating rink at the current Atlanta Metro College site, so it felt “serendipitous” for Wyatt to house his business nearby.
“Being an Atlanta native, I wanted to be a part of something like this in the community,” Wyatt said.
Wyatt said Pittsburgh Yards is a bona fide home base, and as it expands, he becomes closer to the community. He knows neighboring businesses, frequents the coffee shop in the outdoor container and builds “personal relationships.”
“I feel like the community values this property,” Wyatt said.
But Pittsburgh Yards is far from finished. Glenn said there have been many “pivots” and delays, especially with highly anticipated projects like the Container Courtyard set to launch this year.
Residents like Flowers still have a healthy dose of skepticism, too. She said the organization needs to have more community spaces to sustain itself long term. Flowers hopes outward businesses, like food stores and coffee shops, will be able to draw a multigenerational crowd to the entire property.
“I think the part about being able to engage and bring community to this property, that’s a space they are starting to get to,” Flower said.
One of the biggest adjustments has been how Pittsburgh Yards supports its businesses. Ongoing economic issues have created pressure on the entrepreneurs, and leadership had to reevaluate its “mission.”
Glenn said many businesses were struggling, but were embarrassed or ashamed to ask for help. Others didn’t know what they were missing.
“We’ve retooled how we support businesses here and brought on additional support,” Glenn said.
So the organization hired a “resiliency partner.”
Kiyomi Rollins, founder and owner of The Ke’Nekt Cooperative, works directly with Pittsburgh Yards businesses to see what they need to succeed. Rollins reached out to about 200 businesses, and 70 responded with some level of need. She connects them to resources and works on plans to keep the business open.
“What I do want to highlight for Pittsburgh Yards is that they were proactive, versus reactive,” Rollins said. “A year ago, they were thinking about the impact of the economy.”
The Ke’Nekt Cooperative dealt with many of the same issues as Pittsburgh Yards, so Rollins was familiar with the struggle. It made for a natural partnership. The cooperative receives many requests to align with organizations, but Rollins said they are “intentional” about collaboration.
“Pittsburgh Yards is actually one of the few organizations outside of our community organizing circle that we said yes to,” Rollins said. “The reason we could say yes is because their practices of community literally align with what we’re doing as it relates to anti-displacement strategies for the economic mobility of folks in this community.”
Rollins said she knows Pittsburgh Yards is in it for the long haul, especially as it expands to new ventures like the courtyard and the Urban Oak Initiative-led “Food Studio.”
“When all the dust settles, Pittsburgh Yards is still going to be there,” Rollins said.
