When she saw the steel and concrete skeleton of a Family Dollar store going up across from her Frankstown Avenue apartment in Homewood last year, “Angel,” who was pregnant at the time, was ecstatic.
But her mood has grown progressively somber as the grand opening was first delayed to Aug. 8 and then never happened at all after Family Dollar refused to take delivery of the property. Angel, who declined to give her last name, has been staring at the 8,000 square-foot white elephant ever since.
“They got everybody’s hopes up and all they sold us was a dream,” she said. “Now I have to bus it to the Wal-Mart in North Versailles—with a 1-year-old—to get the things I need for my house.”
WHAT TO DO—Homewood resident G talks with Homewood Brushton Family Support Center Director Lawanda Long about bringing business to locations such as the empty 8,000-foot “dollar store” space behind them on Frankstown Avenue.
One of her younger neighbors, who asked to be referred to as just “G,” said the empty storefront and vacant parking lot are emblematic of how Homewood is viewed.
“It’s just the most visible, but they don’t do anything for Homewood except create empty lots,” he said. “First it was supposed to be a dollar store, then I heard the police might put the Zone 5 Station there, the last I heard it was going to be a restaurant—but so far, nothing. It better turn into something quick or people are going to start putting rocks through those windows.”
But as the community asks why there are no new businesses in Homewood, those most equipped to answer continue to be silent. When Family Dollar balked at accepting the property, Urban Redevelopment Authority Economic Development Director Robert Rubenstein said his only “concern” was that payments for tax credits and loans the authority had given the developer were contingent on rent.
Rubenstein did not return calls for comment on the extent of lost revenue since last year or on progress made in finding a tenant. Similarly, Achieve Realty agent Sharon Scheidmantle, who had originally been hired to find tenants for smaller retail spaces in the building, did not return calls for comment by New Pittsburgh Courier deadline.
As he did in August, Family Dollar spokesman Josh Braverman said he would try to get an answer about why the company decided against opening the Homewood store from the real estate department. No answer was available by New Pittsburgh Courier deadline.
City Councilman Rev. Rickey Burgess, who represents Homewood and who chairs the council’s economic development committee was “unavailable” for comment.
Meanwhile, said Homewood Brushton Family Support Center Director Lawanda Long, people are shaking their heads because—as Pittsburgh police Chief Nate Harper noted last week, crime is down in the community.
“They knew what this neighborhood was like when they started building and they didn’t mind. Now, the hanging on the corner and the violence is way down and it’s too much,” she said. “And where does that leave me, with everyone else—if I want a roll of toilet paper I have to go to East Liberty to get it, and I don’t drive.”
When asked by G if community youths starting a petition drive and taking the results to city council might help, Long said he needed to do more.
“Don’t just go down there with a list of names, ask the community what they’d like to see in there,” she said. “Go down there with suggestions, with solutions—that’s what they need Downtown.”