Oakland 2025 Draft Recommendations Now Available for Review

After over a year of community engagement and many public meetings, the Oakland 2025 team has a draft of the plan’s main recommendations available for the public! Please click on the links below to review the ideas set forth, and contact tarat@opdc.org if you have feedback or questions before we finalize the master plan this summer.

Because of file size, the presentation has been broken into two sections. Happy reading!

Oakland 2025 Recommendations Part One

Oakland 2025 Recommendations Part Two

Announcing the 2012 Taste of Oakland tour!

OPDC Now Hiring for Several Internship Positions

Click on the link below to learn about each position and how to apply.

Communications Assistant

Real Estate and Business Development Intern

JobLinks Database Intern

School 2 Career Intern

Student_Resident Relations Intern

Great Oakland Homes, Volume II

Robinson Street: Erin Porter

West Oakland resident Erin Porter and her roommate, Jessica Dugan, have invested long hours and hard work transforming the house they rent on Robinson Street into a home. Erin is no stranger to West Oakland, having attended Friendship Community Church (FCC) for seven years. When she learned that FCC’s youth pastor was moving and wanted to rent his West Oakland home to someone invested in the community, she found it the perfect opportunity to further connect with a neighborhood she’d already grown fond of.

Since last May, Erin and Jess completed major home improvements such as pulling up old carpet, installing new carpet on the second floor, painting every room in the house, refurbishing the kitchen, and completely remodeling the bathroom. Erin says she and Jessica had a win-win arrangement with the owner—he funded the renovation project, and she and Jessica deducted the cost of their time and additional materials from the rent they pay him each month.

Erin's living room

A teacher by trade, Erin has spent many years with West Oakland and Hill District youth volunteering as an after-school tutor and a Sunday school teacher. Having previously lived in the North Side where she knew very few of her neighbors, Erin loves how West Oakland has given her the gift of belonging to a community, and a diverse one at that. “I just love how there’s not one type of person that lives here,” she said. “You see everyone from children to college students to families.” One of her favorite things about living in the house is hearing the different sounds from the busy Robinson Street sidewalk, which remind her each day why she wanted to be a part of the neighborhood. She also appreciates Oakland’s central location, from which she has a short commute to work and still feels connected to other parts of Pittsburgh.

Erin and Jess spent over four months completing the renovations on the inside of their house. The result is a beautiful home that they are both proud to live in. Erin recently learned about OPDC’s Residential Façade Grant program and is excited to pass along the information to her landlord in hopes that she and Jessica can soon launch the next phase of improvements on the exterior of their house. “I plan to be in Oakland for a long time,” she said.

Juliet Street: Matt Bartko

Lifelong Pittsburgher Matt Bartko has lived on Juliet Street for three years with his partner, Maddy Landi, in a house Maddy’s parents bought four years ago. Matt says he and Maddy are learning about both the benefits and responsibilities associated with being homeowners, and feel more invested than the average renters.

Matt, Maddy and the Landis have made significant improvement to the house, originally built in 1900, such as converting part of the basement hallway into an extra bathroom and reinforcing the kitchen floor to correct the slipping foundation. Matt’s favorite project, however, is the raised-bed garden he and Maddy built, comprised of six beds in the backyard and four in the front. A big fan of homesteading, Matt happily displays pictures of past years’ harvests, looks forward to the upcoming third growing season, and dreams of one day even raising chickens.

When Matt first experienced life in Oakland as an undergraduate student, he thought of it as a transient place. Now, after establishing himself more permanently in South Oakland and increasing his involvement in projects such as the Frazier Farms community garden, Matt has realized that Oakland is home to multiple generations of families and has a strong sense of community. As both an employee and graduate student of the University of Pittsburgh, Matt regularly tries to educate students about the many sides of Oakland that make it such a vibrant community.

He puts our conversation on hold to answer the door and comes back saying, “That’s what I love about Oakland—it feels like a neighborhood!” The mailman had rung the doorbell to let Matt know one of his cats had gotten out and to give the dog a treat. It’s that kind of interaction that reminds Matt of the neighborhood he grew up in, and he takes pride in contributing to the sense of community.

That investment carries beyond the house itself. Thanks to Matt engaging his neighbors in stewardship of their nook of South Oakland, Juliet and Cato streets have seven newly-planted trees from TreeVitalize and TreePittsburgh. Matt is passionate about the importance of trees and strongly believes that they change neighborhood perceptions and behavior. He wants Oaklanders to think about how much cleaner and more attractive a neighborhood can be with more trees, and hopes to see other parts of Oakland engage in planting projects, as well.

Ultimately, Matt and Maddy want their efforts to contribute to Oakland’s long-term vitality. They hope to influence other residents to couple investment in their homes with participation in community projects to bolster the area’s growth and continued success as a destination.

Atwood Street: Steve Schachner and Dan Robb

Steve Schachner and Dan Robb, Owner and Broker of Robb Real Estate Company, are landlords who contribute to Oakland’s vitality by taking pride in their investments. Steve and his wife, Marcia, own eight rental housing units in the 200 block of Atwood Street, and have collaborated with Robb Real Estate to manage the properties for nearly 20 years. Pedestrians strolling past this Central Oakland cluster of properties the Schachner’s call “Oakland Village” can appreciate beautiful facades in keeping with the historic design; OPDC recently observed the same commitment to quality and care during a tour of the interior.

When they first purchased the Oakland Village properties over 25 years ago, “none of them were in good condition,” Steve reported. As an experiment, they decided to do some interior renovations on the properties to “test the market and see what happened.” The test was successful—their repair and maintenance costs went down from $15,000 to just under $3,000 a year. “Nicer properties attract better tenants, and good tenants save you money every year, end of story,” he said. They find these tenants through a rigid screening process, taking measures such as requiring parents to co-sign for any student who is not employed.

Certain that the money they were saving each year was a direct result of the interior renovations, Steve eagerly moved on to the external improvements. “By completing this rehabilitation, we’ve been able to raise rents by $100-$300 a month per unit,” he continued, adding that their rents are all still at or below university rates. “This increase, combined with our savings in repairs each year, has proven to be an effective business strategy for us.” Their model shows proven success in other outcomes, as well—they maintain a 50% tenant retention rate, find the units clean and well-maintained by its inhabitants year after year, and haven’t had a vacancy for over 15 years.

Steve also emphasized his firm belief that “regulations are our friend.”  He recalled when he first bought Oakland Village and learned in an inspection that the units were not up to fire code. After making the necessary improvements, he was surprised to get a letter from his insurance company stating they had lowered his rates dramatically due to the recent upgrades. “I think a lot of landlords are afraid of codes and regulations because they think that following them will only cost them money. Most of them would be surprised to learn how much profit you actually make in the long run by following these regulations,” he said.

The Schachners plan to continue investing in Oakland, with plans to build a new six-unit building on a vacant parcel at 238 Atwood Street. The building will have four two-bedroom and two one-bedroom units; Steve told us that they are aiming to fill the building with medical professionals and graduate students. “We attract this audience by including amenities such as washer/dryer units in each apartment and Wi-Fi wiring throughout,“ he said. “These are nice-sized apartments that are larger than your typical student housing.”

Steve has been proactively engaging members of the Oakland community to discuss the project. He’s hired reputable architects Tai + Lee, asked for community input from both OPDC and the Oakland Community Council, and is expecting approval from the Zoning Board of Adjustment after receiving positive feedback at last week’s hearing. The team intends to complete construction by this December.

OPDC Takes 2nd in Regional Sustainability Competition

OPDC has climbed to 2^nd place amid 24 nonprofit contestants in the Pittsburgh Green Workplace Challenge (GWC).  Seeking to position itself as a leader in the regional green movement and to integrate Oakland into that movement, OPDC has joined an alliance of 50 organizations participating in the friendly competition. The program challenges each participant to promote sustainable business practices by reducing waste, energy and water use, with the ultimate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by the year 2020.

Sustainable Pittsburgh launched the 12-month competition, which includes small and large businesses and nonprofit organizations, last October as part of their Champions for Sustainability (C4S) program. To gain points in the competition, participating organizations select from a uniform pool of measurable and verifiable action items, such as utilizing reusable dishes in the office and dedicating a staff person as the primary contact for sustainability practices.

A second year Public Ally, Michael’s role at OPDC is to enhance OPDC’s sustainability through evaluating each program for opportunities to increase energy efficiency and develop green infrastructure projects.

“By making our ‘challenge actions’ public, we hope to influence other Oakland businesses and nonprofits to implement sustainable practices of their own. In a community as densely populated as Oakland, there’s a real opportunity to make a big impact,” Michael said. “The added benefit is being able to redirect funds saved on energy towards supporting community programs.”

So how did OPDC climb to second place, just behind Carnegie Mellon University, in just 4 months? “I picked the low-hanging fruits to start with,” Michael reported. “Some of them were already existing practices, like our distribution of an electronic newsletter, for example. Others are new practices for OPDC, like the recently installed bike racks.”

OPDC Board Spotlight: Meet Kevin Stiles!

Originally from: Erie, PA. Moved to Pittsburgh about 14 years ago and has lived in Oakland for about 12 years.

Why did you move to Oakland? My wife’s family was in Pittsburgh. We came to Oakland because I got a job with UPMC as a lease administrator and my boss told me about a program OPDC ran where someone could get funding towards the down payment of a home in Oakland. In fact, I live in Holmes Place, which was a project built by OPDC. I love Oakland and I have no intentions of ever moving out!

Family: Wife, works in dentistry at Children’s Hospital.

Job: Leasing and Support Services Manager for the University of Pittsburgh, oversees the leasing and management of university properties.

Pets:  Cat named Simba.

Education:  Bachelor’s degree from Edinboro University in Speech Communications; later got a Paralegal certificate with a focus in Real Estate and then a Real Estate License.

Role at OPDC:  Vice President of Board of Directors, and sits on the Finance Committee.

How long have you served on the board for OPDC?  About 3 years.

Why did you come to OPDC? As a representative for Pitt Leasing and Support Services, I went to an event where some OPDC staff were speaking. I met Andrea Boykowycz there are and soon after spoke with her and Nathan Hart about getting more involved in Oakland and possibly joining the board.

What’s your favorite part of being an OPDC Board member?? I like that I’m involved in the possibility of improving Oakland and the changing of people’s perceptions of Oakland.

What’s the best thing about OPDC? I understand and work with the finance a lot, but the community programs are my favorite thing about OPDC. I love KICO–I think it does a great job of changing current residents’ perceptions of students and brings a lot of good to the community.

Favorite thing about Oakland: The restaurants – there’s every type of food available here in Oakland and they’re all walkable. Also, I like the feeling that Oakland is lived in. I think everyone could work to make it cleaner but I like that it doesn’t feel sterile like the suburbs. It’s lived in and has personality.

If you could work on only one project for the next year, what would it be? I would try to institute a program to encourage people to live in Oakland. I’d love to see all the companies and institutions in Oakland, like Pitt and UPMC, encourage their employees to live here. There are so many benefits to having people live where they work, for example, less problems with parking, less reliance on the weather, no long commutes. I’m a passionate urbanist and I really believe in people living where they work. Another side project I’d like to pursue is to see more recognition of cyclists as other vehicles.

Biggest challenge you’ve overcome: In general, staying focused on one project is a big challenge. There are so many different side paths that you can take in any given project, but they can keep you from accomplishing your main goal, so being able to stay on task and complete a project can be a big challenge.

What do you do aside from serving on the board for OPDC:  Married life; I’m the Committee Chairperson for a Boy Scout troop; I’m a seasonal runner and an avid cyclist and member of Bike Pittsburgh. Also, I try to live a vegan lifestyle, which is made easier by living in Oakland with the many food options available to us here.

Favorite thing to do when not at work: Maybe not the actual running itself, but the completion of a run is a wonderful feeling.

What’s your dream job?  I guess it wouldn’t be a job. It would be to work with the organizations I like without having to take time out to work to make money. I’d volunteer for all the groups and causes I’m passionate about.

Something most people don’t know about you: I consider myself to be a secular humanist.

Contact Info: kstiles@bc.pitt.edu

Oakland 2025 Nearing Completion

Final Draft of Vision Plan Coming Soon!

After our very intensive public input process for Oakland 2025 this past fall, you may be wondering what is happening with the Oakland 2025 Vision Plan. While it has been a quiet phase of the planning process, we’ve been working with stakeholders to validate ideas in the plan and integrate our efforts with other concurrent planning projects. The consultant team has been drafting recommendations, completing drawings, crunching numbers, and meeting with key stakeholders to learn how we can implement ideas that were discussed during the community meetings. The team is pulling together comprehensive transportation recommendations and using an examination of key socio-economic, labor and industry, and real estate trends of Oakland to develop strategies to improve residential and commercial market conditions.

One of the tricks during this planning process is for us to think long-range while we are dealing with a dire outlook for public transit funding, transportation infrastructure funding, and other sources of support that will help us achieve our goals.  We are at the same time planning for a new transit service, known as bus rapid transit, while advocating for public transit funding right now.  Please take a moment to contact Governor Corbett regarding the importance of public transit funding to the health of our community. Click here to learn more about the transit funding crisis and how you can contact the governor. This action is more important than ever – the transit cuts looming if nothing is done are region-crippling and city-killing.

The action teams created during the first phase of the planning process making strides while we continue to plan.  The Oakland Code Enforcement Task Force has seen real results – from tough enforcement at housing court to fewer late night disruptions, things are moving in the right direction.  The Rock Alley action team is also making progress on their trail connector project and is looking to expand the group to include greening projects throughout Oakland.  Look for more information soon on a project to improve one of Oakland’s major gateways – the Bates Street corridor between Second Avenue and Boulevard of the Allies.

We’ll finalize the Oakland 2025 plan in early summer after we have another series of workshops and conversations later this spring for community members to give input on the draft.  Stay tuned for dates for those sessions.

Mayor’s ServePGH Newsletter Highlights OPDC’s Sam Su

OPDC’s Keep it Clean, Oakland! (KICO) Program Manager has been getting his hands dirty in cleaning and greening projects throughout Oakland. Recently, his hard work earned him a spot in the Mayor’s latest ServePGH newsletter.

 Read newsletter here…