Fri 28 Jan 2028
CRR Update
Posted by Frank under Frank's Extracurricular Activities, Pittsburgh Development
This internship is turning into a fascinating/mind-blowing/engrossing/eater of all available free time type of experience. Let me elaborate…
The first few days there, my main duties were the office/go-for types of things that most internships are heavy on. I did get to see a lot of the different things that CRR is involved with, and I noticed that everyone in the office was very busy and a little nervous about one particular new project in Polish Hill. Being that I’m what others have termed “a nebshit,” I opened my big mouth and asked what I could do to help. Ever since, my role at CRR has drastically changed.
If you’ve never been to Polish Hill, I’d highly recommend it–it’s a very interesting place. It’s nestled between the Hill, Bloomfield, and the Strip in a very weird kind of way that only the hilly Pittsburgh topography can allow. Given its central location in the city, you’d think it’d be a busy area, but in a lot of ways it’s in its own little world. There are some beautiful buildings and churches and a small strip of businesses, but other than that, it’s pretty much all residential.
In the past 20 years, significant development and revitalization has happened in most of the surrounding neighborhoods, but Polish Hill has mostly remained unchanged. A group of about a dozen residents approached CRR about a month ago about doing a renovation project in the area, but the situation is a little different than CRR’s past projects. In those, a well-established community organization has been in place beforehand, and they did a lot of the grassroots legwork necessary to get the renovation projects off the ground. In this project, however, the 12 original individuals want to use this project to galvanize the community, and by the end not only have the renovations done but also have a community organization to get in on the development that’s going on all around them.
No one’s sure if it’ll work, but everyone’s excited about the possibility. And since I opened my mouth, I’m now in the thick of it. Between classes and my directed study (which I’ve been majorly slacking on!), I’m spending almost every free moment either in the office or out in the neighborhood going door-to-door trying to get support. It’s cold and tiring, but also very exciting; I’ve never felt motivated like this before. I just hope we get the project going, because I’d love to see how these things happen firsthand.
January 31st, 2028 at 9:47 am
This is exciting! Polish Hill deserves the attention. Can’t wait to read updates on the process.
February 1st, 2028 at 10:03 pm
i lived there for a short while in the late 1990s. Polish Hill is an interesting place– at the end of Hobart Street is a great view of Bloomfield, across the valley. on quiet nights, its amazing.