FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Desiree Niccoli, desiree@alschulerpr.com, 412-535-5701
PITTSBURGH – September 20, 2019 – Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania (RIDC) has donated the three-story Business Innovation Center building in Duquesne to the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh. Formerly a Carnegie Steel office building, the Business Innovation Center was constructed in the late 1800s to early 1900s and has approximately 14,512 square feet of space. It is across the road from RIDC’s City Center of Duquesne park and is not adjacent to its other holdings.
Urban League is currently the only tenant and will continue to use the building for its operations in Duquesne. The tax assessment value of the building is $196,000, plus a small parking lot on a separate tax parcel that brings the total donation value to over $200,000.
Urban League President & CEO Esther L. Bush said: “We are most grateful to the RIDC for donating this facility which currently houses the Urban League’s more than twenty-year-old Family Support Center. We look forward to maximizing the potential of this generous gift by planning and attracting even more quality programs and services for Duquesne and the surrounding community.”
After RIDC acquired the building in 1988, it became an incubator for early-stage companies like KU Resources. RIDC staffed the building, offered typing, fax and copy services to tenants and rented out its conference facilities. Other prior tenants included: Allegheny Recovery Corporation, Hygienetics Environmental, Meteor Metals Technology, Pittsburgh Habitat for Humanity, Primesource Services and the Steel Valley Authority.
RIDC President Donald Smith said: “RIDC is proud to have redeveloped and sold over half of Carnegie’s former Duquesne Steel Works. The Urban League’s presence in this building has helped Duquesne families deal with the challenges they faced after its industrial facilities closed down. In weighing the potential economic impact of selling or continuing to rent this building, as opposed to donating it to the Urban League, it became clear that enabling this great organization to have a secure future of serving this community was the preferable option.”
RIDC Senior Vice President Timothy White said: “Our economic development mission enables us to be more than simply real estate developers and property owners. This is a perfect example of how we are able to employ creative strategies to supporting community needs.”
About Urban League
Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh gathers resources to ensure social, political and economic justice for all Americans. The Urban League will provide bold leadership, innovative programs and policies to strengthen the region by helping African Americans reach their full potential. With the active engagement in the Pittsburgh community, the Urban League advocates economic opportunity and justice that leads to significant improvement in the quality of our lives.
About RIDC
The mission of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania is to catalyze and support economic growth and high-quality job creation through real estate development and finance of projects that advance the public interest. A not-for-profit entity, RIDC owns over 2,800 acres of land in 11 industrial parks and manages over 50 buildings. More information is available at www.ridc.org.
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Media Coverage:
Pittsburgh Business Times – RIDC donates Duquesne building to the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – RIDC donates Duquesne building to Urban League
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial Board – Community support: The importance of RIDC’s gift to the Urban League
