Development & Community Revitalization

The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation actively assists local government officials, agencies, community residents and corporations in developing revitalization programs that utilize historic resources including buildings, neighborhoods, main streets, and landscapes. To that end, PHLF also can organize and lead a team to produce a community plan that has broad constituent support.

We offer a wide range of experience in residential development, from restoration of derelict structures to new infill construction, single-family homes to large-scale apartment complexes using direct financing, tax credits, partnerships, technical assistance, and other approaches to reach our goals.

We seek broad community support and leverage a variety of government and private programs into a unified and well-managed, renewal effort to achieve the maximum amount of results with monies that might be available.

We work with planning and consulting firms to prepare detailed town plans that respect and utilize those assets. Our joint work can include augmenting existing houses and businesses with new development possibilities that respect the natural environment and sustain and support the central town and its historic fabric.

Our work often includes broad dissemination of information regarding historic assets, and marketing the community to attract investment and residents. This is what we have shown we can do in more than 50 years of work in Pittsburgh neighborhoods, suburbs, and rural communities in Western Pennsylvania.

Small Town Revitalization

PHLF also has the technical know-how when it comes to working in small towns and Main Street communities. We inventory primary assets such as historic structures, landscapes and farms, neighborhoods, main streets, religious buildings and community service organizations.

We work with residents, business and building owners, as well as government officials to develop strategies to retain residents, improve main street retailing, and avoid sprawl with the intention to save historic farms, save scenic areas, develop new businesses in historic structures and market the towns.

Urban Commercial Revitalization

Through Landmarks Development Corporation, a for-profit real estate development subsidiary of PHLF, we offer a wealth of experience in real estate development, planning, and management. Our experience developing Station Square, one of Pittsburgh’s premier attractions, gives us unparalleled breadth of experience with over 40 shops and restaurants, significant office space, hotel, and entertainment facilities. Further, PHLF specialists have indispensable and broad experience with economic revitalization through preservation-based planning, and have implemented it in a variety of major American cities.