Parklets, Penguins and Placemaking!

Uptown’s rough exterior belies a vibrant community nestled between the Monongahela River and the neighborhoods of Oakland, the Greater Hill District and Downtown. Thanks to the hard work of Uptown residents, supported by Uptown Partners, if you venture off the beaten path in Uptown, you will find community gardens, pockets of public garden beds and intricate murals. Uptown Partners plans to continue to revitalize the neighborhood by bringing vibrant art and healthy greenery into the landscape. 

Uptown Partners is creating a sustainable fund for neighborhood greening and arts projects!

We are excited to announce that we have already been awarded a $1,500 grant from the City of Pittsburgh through the Love Your (Resilient) Block program to help neighbors create a woodland parklet. The funds from this campaign will build on this initial investment from the City. 

Projects to be funded include:

• PARKLET: Make substantial improvements to the "Central Park SoHo" parklet on Moultrie Street, home to wild deer, turkey and songbirds. This small plot of land will become a quiet refuge for the public, complete with a large ‘tiny free library’ that will feature environmental information specific to native plants, animals and ecology. New foot paths, trees, and perennials will help transform this neighborhood gem. 

• PENGUINS: Commission Uptown artist James Simon to create and install a series of penguin sculptures in Uptown to enliven our streetscape. The penguins will reflect the quirky, vibrant energy of our community. James is a local treasure who has an international reputation.

• BANNERS: Create colorful banners identifying Uptown and install them on utility poles that line Fifth and Forbes Avenues. This will help put Uptown on the map, as the public is often baffled about our neighborhood’s name. (We’ve been called SoHo, the Bluff, or the Lower Hill at various points.) Banner graphics will echo our colorful mosaic Welcome to Uptown sign!  This is a long-term project that may cost upwards of $15,000. Our hope is that the Greening and Arts Fund will provide seed money that we can build on to complete this project down the road. 

We encourage you to donate online!

However, if you prefer to donate by check, make the check payable to “IOBY” and include the campaign name (Parklets, Penguins and Placemaking) on the memo line. Send the check to IOBY at 540 President St. 3^rd Fl., Brooklyn, NY 11215. If you would like a receipt for your tax deductible donation, be sure to include a note with your name, email address and phone number. 

PARKLET: The first greening project will be the revitalization of “Central Park SoHo”, a parklet located at the end of Moultrie Street near the portal to Uptown. The site was formerly overgrown with brush and invasive trees until Moultrie Street resident Joe Szabo began to clear and groom it three years ago. He and long-time Uptown resident Linda Lewis have put in countless hours to create a lovely woodland park that today features a narrow walking path, small solar-powered lights, a wooden bridge and a host of birdfeeders. Recently, LGA Partners, an Uptown architecture firm, has generously donated time to help the residents and Uptown Partners re-design the park so that it is even more inviting and sustainable. Work on the LGA plan gets underway in early July with collaboration from the City’s Department of Public Works and forestry division, and neighborhood volunteers. The Greening and Arts Fund will help us purchase plants, ornamental trees, gardening soil, mulch, rocks, and other materials. 

PENGUINS: The Greening and Arts Fund will also support the installation of whimsical penguin statues at several sites in the neighborhood. The sculptures will be created in James Simon’s studio on Gist Street. One day when you visit Uptown, the fanciful penguins (a nod to our local sports team) might be waiting with you for a bus or peeking around a corner when you cross the street!

BANNERS: A long-term Uptown Partners project is the production and installation of colorful banners along Uptown's main corridors. The colorful banners that are currently being designed draw on imagery from the fabulous “Welcome to Uptown” sign, by Uptown artist James Simon. These banners will make residents and visitors alike feel at home in Uptown. This is a long-term project that may cost upwards of $15,000. Our hope is that the Greening and Arts Fund will provide seed money that we can build on to complete this project down the road. 

Founded in 2007, Uptown Partners is a small, but energetic community organization whose mission is to revitalize Uptown—creating a safer, cleaner, greener urban landscape, while promoting sustainable, innovative and equitable development. By removing blight and vacancy we are setting the stage for new residents, businesses and investment. Finally, after decades of disinvestment, deterioration and demolition, Uptown is on the edge of a new era. In 2015 the City named Uptown and West Oakland an EcoInnovation District, for a unique, bottom-up community planning process that will serve as a redevelopment model for other city neighborhoods in transition. And last year, Pittsburgh Magazine named Uptown one of four of the City’s “Next Hot Hoods.”

Our goal is to preserve and strengthen our unique character while preparing and planning for good things to follow. Most importantly, we want to ensure that Uptown develops into a vibrant and healthy community for all.

For more information about Uptown Partners visit http://www.uptownpartners.org/.