ULI Pittsburgh’s virtual tour of Placemaking Award finalists continued this winter, beginning the new year with highlights from half a dozen placemakers whose dedication to health and positive change should be the envy of new year’s resolution-makers everywhere.  The range of places recognized in the Healthy Place category celebrated the many facets of well-being while finalists in the Transformative Place category revealed the importance of both adaptation and resilience in creating enriching human-scale environments. Recordings can be viewed on Youtube and winners will be announced at the in-person ceremony and reception at the Highline on May 12.

Healthy Place finalists embody a commitment to individual and collective health and healing. Monarch Institute in Butler County provides a stunning new addition for Family Pathways to continue its 25-year mission to bring families, neighbors, clinicians, and social service providers together to recover from personal and community trauma. The design team at Peiper O’Brien and Herr drew inspiration from program founder Dr. Ellen Welter’s comprehensive vision and energy for making an uplifting space.  Meanwhile, Doughboy 2 redefines healthy and holistic building standards with an office expansion for architectural firm Desmone Associates that became Pittsburgh’s first designated WELL-certified building. Desmone and Doughboy’s approach emphasizes sustainable construction and property management practices, design choices to encourage incidental fitness and healthy living habits, and employee-centric workplace culture. At Girty’s Woods, members of the grassroots organizing efforts shared their story of raising $750,000 in a pandemic year to permanently protect 155-acres of green space in Millvale, Reserve, and Shaler Townships via transfer to the Allegheny Land Trust. Girty’s Woods serves to help those communities withstand flooding, maintain biodiversity, and appreciate nature.  In the words of Daniela,  a local business owner and activist whose ancestry traces back to the Girty settlers in the region, this essential natural habitat acts as a “lung” along the Allegheny River helping the region to breathe.

Change always brings challenges, as demonstrated by Transformative Place finalists who offered insightful examples of how repurposing and renewing existing buildings takes creativity and tenacity.   The Round House at Hazelwood Green reconfigured a former industrial structure into a state-of-art hub for economic innovation and new collaborations. Led by Ann Chen of GBBN Architects and powered by the vision of the RK Mellon Foundation and other philanthropic owners of the site, the Round House complements Mill 19 by converting a turn-around for trains into engaging and airy office, event, and gathering spaces.   Developer Fourth River saw the potential to reanimate a long-vacant, dark, and non-descript mid-rise building Downtown. The transformation of 225 Boulevard of the Allies involved extensive modifications inside and out to lighten and brighten the space and add attractive tenant amenities. As John Watson of developer Fourth River pointed out, the property came to market just in time for the pandemic – underscoring how risky speculative projects can be as well as how rewarding it is to have added value and made a  place where workers returning to Downtown will want to be.  Upper Lawrenceville is a neighborhood with great vitality, enhanced by destination dining at Pusadee’s Garden. The elegant and substantial expansion of this popular restaurant took place over several years and entailed the acquisition of vacant lots, demolition, and substantial renovation and new construction.  According to Lauren Connelly, Executive Director of Lawrenceville United, Pusadee illustrates the power of the neighborhood’s vision to attract, invest in, and support community-based entrepreneurs and makers.