Hill District, Hazelwood Green projects top list of grants from Heinz Endowments

A $1.75 million grant to help restore the landmark, but long vacant, New Granada Theater in the Hill District and a $1.7 million grant to continue the development at Hazelwood Green top the list of the latest awards from the Heinz Endowments, announced Tuesday.

“Strengthening community development is core to building healthy neighborhoods, and improving quality of life for all, now and for future generations,” said Grant Oliphant, president of the Heinz Endowments, in a statement.

The endowments, the region’s second largest foundation, also announced creation of a new $3 million fund to help nonprofit cultural organizations to open their venues. The way the fund will award grants is still being finalized, Heinz spokesman John Ellis said Wednesday.

The $1.75 million for the New Granada Theater was awarded to the Hill Community Development Corp. and is hoped to help encourage more funding for what’s planned to be a $35 million restoration of the art deco theater.

Long-closed, the theater hosted performers like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and County Basie in its heyday. The plans are to revitalize the area around Centre Avenue and Dinwiddie Street to complement other planned improvements in the neighborhood.

Heinz is also committing about $1.7 million to the development of Hazelwood Green, the 178-acre site of a former steel mill, that was initially developed as Almono. The site is jointly owned by Richard King Mellon Foundation, the Benedum Foundation and the Heinz Endowments.

The new grant will help fund required improvements required by PennDOT to access the site and will also continue the renovation of the former railroad roundhouse and other improvements to the area.

Another program that garnered support from the endowments in this round of funding is Bike Share Pittsburgh, which will receive $750,000 toward transforming its Healthy Ride system into one dubbed Health Ride Electrified. It will provide electrified rental bikes to replace the 500 public-use bicycles the group now offers.

Heinz’s support is joined by the Mellon and Hillman foundations, along with support from the nonprofit Bridgeway Captial, to match a $1.6 million state grant awarded to help pay for the upgrades.

The bike share system was a “valued lifeline” for people during the covid-19 pandemic and the transition to electric-assist bicycles will increase accessibility to people of all ages and abilities, Heinz Endowments Sustainability Senior Program Officer Matt Barron said in a statement.

More than 10 other groups were awarded grants by the endowments. The $3 million to help cultural venues reopen after the pandemic is on top of more than $750,000 in relief the endowments funded during the pandemic.

“This is a pivotal time that has further exposed areas of need and inequities in our communities that must be addressed if we are to move forward together in sharing in our region’s economic, social and cultural wellbeing,” Oliphant said.