Member Highlight: Hill District Consensus Group

1. Organization:Hill District Consensus Group
2. Founding Date:1991
3. Executive Director:Carl Redwood Jr. & Bonnie Young-Laing, Co-directors
4. Current Staff Size:3 part-time employees
5. What geographic area do you serve?The Hill District
6. What is your mission statement?"The mission of the Hill District Consensus Group is to work together through the differences and with the commonalities, to establish and enforce standards and processes in all aspects of community life: economic, political, spiritual, and social, for the ongoing health and prosperity of the community."
7. What is one project or program that you are really excited about?Weil KaBOOM! Playground Project – In the Hill District Master Plan, community members expressed a desire to create safe play spaces for youth.  As a result, the Hill District Consensus Group is very excited to announce that we are working on our very first playground project! We are partnering with the Hill District Education Council, Pittsburgh Public Schools, and KaBOOM! to build a playground at Pittsburgh Weil Elementary School. To learn more, please visit our website.
8. What are some of your organization’s recent accomplishments?  Greater Hill District Master Plan – As an organization, one of HDCG’s main priorities now is to help implement parts of our community master plan. The HDCG Playground Committee is addressing the need for play spaces by coordinating our KaBOOM! playground project. The HDCG Arts Working Group is working on a neighborhood arts plan. And HDCG supports our neighborhood’s very own green team, Clean Green Hill!Youth Organizing for Educational Justice – HDCG is completing our first year of youth organizing. The purpose of the program is to build a team of middle and high school age youth organizers to create change in their schools. HDCG is working with other local organizations as part of a broader movement for educational justice.Community Vision for the Lower Hill – HDCG is advocating on behalf of our community and organizing community members to fight for the community vision of the Lower Hill: 30% Affordable Housing, 20% Hill Business Development, Cultural Legacy, and the Dollar A Car Campaign.
9. What is your favorite thing about your neighborhood?Shop at the newly opened Centre Ave Shop ‘n Save at Centre Heldman Plaza! Designated a food desert, the Hill District has been without a full-service grocery store for over 30 years. The opening of the Shop ‘n Save marks a new beginning of access to fresh and nutritious food for the neighborhood. In addition, the Plaza includes space for other businesses that will be coming soon to Centre Ave. Even better, all of this is located across the street from one of our neighborhood’s oldest and most reputable institutions, the Hill House Association.
10. What is your neighborhood’s best kept secret?Public art in the neighborhood!
11. What is a restaurant or business in your neighborhood that partners with your organization for an event or on a regular basis?Hill House Association’s Irene Kaufmann Center is a newly renovated multipurpose facility with an auditorium, conference rooms, a café, and more. The historic Elsie H. Hillman Auditorium was built in 1928 and completely renovated in 2010. The state-of-the-art performance space is the ideal setting for musical, cultural, and arts performances as well as movie screenings, speaking engagements, and other presentations. HDCG hosts meetings, events, and other activities at the Kaufmann Center and other facilities on the Hill House campus.
12. Interesting fact about the organization:The HDCG helped organize the One Hill Coalition which negotiated the first ever Community Benefits Agreement in Pittsburgh. This agreement came after nearly a year of negotiations with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Sports and Exhibition Authority (SEA), the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. This historic first step begins the process of ensuring that major economic development projects provide concrete benefits to the communities where they are located.
13. Upcoming event(s):Monthly Meeting – April 2014
14. Contact information:
    1. Name of contact person for further inquiries:Justin Shao
    2. E-mail: shao@hdcg.org
    3. Phone: 412-697-4692
    4. Address:1835 Centre Ave, Suite 265Pittsburgh, PA 15219
    5. Link to Website: www.hdcg.org
15. Link to Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn):
    1. Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HillDistrictConsensusGroup
    2. Twitter (@hillconsensus) - https://twitter.com/hillconsensus