Pittsburgh Yards, a 31-acre entrepreneurial ecosystem located on University Avenue just southwest of downtown in the historically Black community of Pittsburgh, received a 2023 "Community Design Award" from the City of Atlanta's Urban Design Commission (UDC) during the 45th Annual Awards of Excellence and the 6th Annual Community Design Awards on Friday evening, June 23, 2023. Pittsburgh Yards (PY) was created, with deliberate and significant contributions from the community, to spur economic equity, job growth and entrepreneurship for residents of Adair Park, Capitol Gateway, Mechanicsville, Peoplestown, Pittsburgh and Summerhill. PY opened in late 2020 as an economic catalyst that serves as a commercial, recreational and community anchor offering co-working memberships, affordable office space, along with entrepreneurship and wealth-building opportunities for members, tenants and residents in the communities located in Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) V.   

            The Atlanta UDC Awards of Excellence honor excellence in urban planning, including but not limited to new construction, historic preservation, public areas and landscape design, and their Community Design Awards are for projects, programs, or people who have worked to make the city or a neighborhood a better place to live. The Community Design Awards are voted on by Neighborhood Planning Units. PY was nominated by the chair of NPU-V, Stephanie Flowers, who was a part of the community planning team that helped shape Pittsburgh Yards starting in 2017 through its opening in late 2020 and today.  

            "What's most meaningful about receiving this award is that the nomination was put forth by a community leader who has been a part of the community for most of her life and who has been a part of the project from the very beginning," said Kweku Forstall, director of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Atlanta Civic Site. "She sees our commitment to staying mission-driven and being a place where residents can work, create, shop, play, inspire and be inspired. Pittsburgh Yards will remain a transformative, community-led catalyst that will positively impact residents and Atlanta-based entrepreneurs for generations." 

            In her nomination, Flowers noted that during the design phase, the developers were able to preserve much of the infrastructure both inside and outside of the initial building, which is called The Nia Building^TM and stands for "purpose" in the Swahili language. It includes art by local artists that reflects the history of the building, the community and African American heritage.  

            "My grandparents lived in the Pittsburgh community, so I visited often, and my family eventually moved here when I was in the 5th grade, so I had seen that property sit vacant for so many years and always wanted something meaningful to go there," said Flowers. "It gives me joy knowing the property was activated for something to benefit the communities in Neighborhood Planning Unit V and people on the southside and not for another housing development or some type of building for industrial use, or a parking lot. When the Annie E. Casey Foundation purchased the land, they understood how important it was to engage the community in the design of the building and the utilization of the space. They also understood the importance of embracing the culture that exists. When you walk into the Nia Building at Pittsburgh Yards, you see and feel the positive affirmations through the small businesses that have the opportunity to thrive and grow. You experience the way history has been infused by way of art and design, making you feel welcomed and wanted."