The Clement: Adaptive Use in Tarentum

How a $200,000 Loan from Landmarks Community Capital Helped Finance the Transformation of a former historic church building into a multi-use events space.

Phillip Rhodes stands outside The Clement, his office and event space in the former St. Clement’s Catholic Church in Tarentum, PA.

It was some time in December 2015, when Phillip Rhodes was scouring the internet for a storage-space he could use that he came across a rather unusual listing on Craigslist— an auction for a more than 100-year-old former church and its adjoining school buildings in Tarentum.

A native of Freeport, Rhodes hadn’t been in the market for one, but by evening’s end, he had successfully purchased the campus of buildings that had once housed the former St. Clement’s Catholic Church and its school buildings for $50,000.

The former St. Clement church was founded in 1903 as a parish mainly for the immigrant Slovakian community that had settled in the area. The church was active until 1992 when St. Clement was merged with Sacred Heart-St. Peter parish to form the new Holy Martyrs parish.

A former bike messenger, Rhodes says he was fascinated and intrigued by the campus of the former church buildings because as a part of his job, he had had an opportunity to peek inside many of Pittsburgh’s historic buildings.

That was the beginning of his vision and the reuse of these historic former church buildings as a multi-use events space. His first tenant during the long and arduous renovation process was the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, which chose his venue for its Head Start program.

A couple of years into the renovation, Rhodes approached Landmarks Community Capital for an initial loan of $150,000, which enabled him to create an outdoor recess space for the students. An additional, $50,000 loan later enabled him to complete renovations on the sanctuary building, which is now used for events ranging from parties and weddings to “champing” or church camping events.

Now named The Clement, the venue has also since taken on additional tenants including a yoga studio, construction company, and a therapist’s office.

Rhodes credits his love for historic preservation as the inspiration for The Clement and the restoration has been arduous as it has been meticulous. It has seen Rhodes seal the asbestos tile floor in the sanctuary, preserve the colorful checkerboard pattern, and the floors now gleam and reflect the stained glass from the front door.

He recalls that when he removed the wallpaper in the sanctuary, Rhodes uncovered walls painted to resemble marble with colorful borders. Instead of painting over the walls entirely, he hired a local artist to create a mural of trees and flowers that harmonizes with the layers of paint that came before.

Throughout this project, Rhodes has been grateful for the Tarentum community’s support. Some of his earliest memories are from Tarentum, and he feels like he’s been welcomed back into the neighborhood.

He beams when he talks about his neighbors who have helped with renovation work and supplied him with meals. Like Rhodes, they’re happy to see new life in the neighborhood.

“This used to be all dark, no heat, no power or anything, and now you see a group of 20 children lining up,” he says.

Rhodes has done more than restore a building, he’s helping to revitalize a neighborhood as well.