Peterson said, Pitt will be taking half of the first floor for its operation, about 15,000 square feet, into which Bridgeway will put another $2.5 million to get it ready. It will also be refitting the entire fifth floor which remains vacant, and will seek out tenants for that space in June when the work is finished.
Byrdsong thanked Peterson for the opportunity to meet Bridgeway clients from other parts of the region and city, and for Bridgeway’s investment in Homewood and for hiring his firm.
“This investment is not just about brick and mortar this is about human spiritual development,” said Byrdsong.
“These black hands did the build-out here. We brought in multiple subcontractors and multiple residents from the community—and we’ve show we can compete on the broader market. This shows what you can do with your own hands in your community— one block at a time, one neighborhood at a time, and one family at a time.”
In addition to Homewood, Bridgeway is investing in minority neighborhoods across the city, including the Hill District, Larimer and the Hilltop communities. Between Pittsburgh and its offices in Erie and Uniontown, Bridgeway invested more than $18 million across the state last year.
“These are deals banks can’t do, partly because of regulations and partly because of expense—we work with our borrowers a lot to enhance their business skills,” said Peterson.
“This is our social mission. We want a western Pa. that thrives for for everyone and. our investors believe in that. If we put capital in, it will attract more capital, more projects will get done, more will be jobs created and more small businesses will be healthy.”
(J.L. Martello contributed to this story.)
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Pittsburgh-Courier/143866755628836?ref=hl
Follow @NewPghCourier on Twitter https://twitter.com/NewPghCourier
About Post Author
