Retailers start opening at Pittsburgh Yards public section on Beltline

Josh Green

Mon, 10/28/2024 – 13:04

Two years after it was announced, Pittsburgh Yards’ public-facing retail section has debuted its first local tenant. According to project leadership, it’s only the beginning of things to come before 2024 winds down.

Situated along the Atlanta Beltline’s completed Southside Trail section, Pittsburgh Yards’ The Container Courtyard on Saturday officially welcomed Pink Pothos at 352 University Ave.

The Atlanta-based houseplant retail store and plant advisor—situated in a fittingly bright-pink former shipping container off the Beltline—was founded by Lakeisha Jones in 2022.

The next Container Courtyard business slated to open near the plant purveyor is Aztec Cycles, a Stone Mountain bicycle repair, rental, and retail shop that’s been owned since 2010 by Kris and Michelle Dunbar. Their container concept along the Southside Trail will be called Pittsburgh Bicycle Rentals, or PBR for short.

According to Pittsburgh Yards officials, Pittsburgh Bicycle Rentals plans to be open by mid-November, marking the second of a planned nine container-based concepts that will be open to the public.

Lakeisha Jones stands outside the new Pink Pothos shop off the Southside Trail. Courtesy of Pittsburgh Yards

Container Courtyard plans eventually call for nine permanent businesses on site near the Beltline. Courtesy of Pittsburgh Yards; designs, Atelier 7 Architects

The retail section is designed by another Pittsburgh Yards tenant, architect Anthony “Tony” Pope, co-founder of Atelier7. Like the first two tenants, the firm is Black-owned, as Pittsburgh Yards officials note.

Another business, affordable infill and mid-size development builder Fortas Homes, opened its headquarters at a Pittsburgh Yards container in summer 2023.

Container Courtyard spaces “will be filling out over the next few months with the addition of multiple new businesses in a phased approach, allowing each to get its shine,” said Chantell Glenn, a senior associate responsible for Pittsburgh Yards’ development and operations, in a project update.

“These two are just the beginning,” Glenn continued, “as we are scheduled to have all nine businesses in place before the end of the year, including a Black-owned coffee house, skincare company, and dining options.”

Overview of Pittsburgh Yards, prior to The Container Courtyard, in relation to downtown. Courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield

The main building’s Beltline-adjacent facade, with branding made of shadows. Pittsburgh Yards/The Annie E. Casey Foundation

The 31-acre Pittsburgh Yards property is unique among Beltline-bordering projects in that it’s geared toward benefiting surrounding communities that include Summerhill, Pittsburgh, Mechanicsville, Capitol View, Adair Park, Capitol View Gateway, and Peoplestown.

Since the outset, the adaptive-reuse project’s goal has been to create a commercial anchor where baristas, graphic designers, and food entrepreneurs work under the same roofs as carpenters, welders, jewelry-makers, and other tradespeople, many of them able to walk from home to work.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation—a philanthropic organization named for the mother of UPS founder Jim Casey that aims to improve American children’s lives—bought the site for $4.2 million about 18 years ago.

The Great Recession interrupted redevelopment plans, but by 2018, construction on the initial, $26-million first phase had launched, just as the Beltline was purchasing the former CSX railroad corridor next door to build the Southside Trail. Finished components include The Nia Building, a 61,000-square-foot small business and maker hub.

Tiered seating in an interior events space at Pittsburgh Yards. Pittsburgh Yards/The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Next door to The Container Courtyard, Pittsburgh Yards hopes to eventually redevelop 5 acres of “plug and play” sites, with a goal of attracting organizations capable of creating up to 1,000 more jobs, according to 2023 marketing materials.

Last year, Beltline officials purchased 13.7 acres immediately west of Pittsburgh Yards.

Beltline leaders say that vacant, cleared land will eventually be used for development that continues the agency’s quest to build affordable housing, job centers, and more affordable commercial opportunities at sites along the 22-mile, multipurpose loop.

Rough depiction of the 13.7 acres in question, with Pittsburgh Yards and its grassy James Bridges Field in the foreground. The Southside Trail is at left. Photo by LoKnows Drones

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