Pittsburgh Yards®, the innovative business park at 352 University Avenue, is a lynchpin in Atlanta’s community economic development scheme, delivering on the promise of entrepreneurial and small business support at every level.
The Nia Building®, which is industrial and state-of-the-art, is the main hub of the community-led business and community space development. It is a spectacularly designed commercial structure with 101 private offices and space for individual entrepreneurs to occupy and conduct business in a lux industrial-style environment. The locally recognized landmark, which also provides technical support to member businesses, is proof positive that thoughtful planning and smart resource identification and development can revitalize a community and resurrect the dreams of its residents.
Since its opening in December 2020, Pittsburgh Yards has been home to a combined 114 small businesses and non-profit organizations, along with more than 256 individual coworking members. In 2026, The Container Courtyard at Pittsburgh Yards – a creative collection of customer-centric retailers housed in custom, redesigned shipping containers – will boast full occupancy with 10 on-site retailers, restaurants, and on-site service businesses.
The current variety of popular Black-owned Container Courtyard businesses serving the community and Pittsburgh Yards patrons range from; Pink Pothos, an Atlanta-based houseplant retail store and the first resident of the Container Courtyard; The Creamy Spot, a creamery specializing in 100% plant-based frozen treats, Atlanta Bicycle Rentals offering bicycle and E-Bike rentals and minor repairs, Urban Grind, an Atlanta coffee shop offering handcrafted espresso drinks, specialty foods and beverages, and Coffyn Pyes that offer savory meat and vegetarian hand pies. A cascade of more Container Courtyard businesses openings this spring will include Carrot Dog, (which is just what it sounds like), offering whole, organic carrots served hotdog style; Ideal Barbers, Adam J’s Grilled Cheese, and Black Box. For more information on just some of the businesses that operate out of Pittsburgh Yards, click here.
The Pittsburgh Yards (PY) development in southwest Atlanta incorporates 15 acres of commercial property near the Southside Trail of the Atlanta Beltline. The PY business district, which is bordered by Metropolitan Parkway, and Ralph David Abernathy Avenue and Pryor Street, caters to the needs of local consumers while bolstering the neighborhood’s colorful and historic culture. Several of Atlanta’s most historied Black neighborhoods also served by the development include Adair Park, Capitol Gateway, Mechanicsville, Peoples Town, Pittsburgh, and Summerhill and other southwest Atlanta communities.
The architects and stakeholders of this critical piece of the community economic development strategy brought-to-life include long-time residents, business owners and forward-thinking developers who came together to build capacity and expand their expertise. The effort was and continues to be supported by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, which assisted residents, business owners, and developers in coming together to build capacity and consensus while expanding their overall expertise in economic development.
“While the plans were being laid as to what the future use would be, community being able to put their feet on the ground and host their own neighborhood activations like festivals and flea markets, where people were making things, selling their wares, and promoting beautification efforts was essential to keeping it from looking blighted,” explained Chantell Glenn, senior associate, Annie E. Casey Foundation, responsible for the development and operation of Pittsburgh Yards.
“In 2010, the training around economic development tools and real estate knowledge was infused into a program. The Casey Foundation partnered with Georgia Tech on that to build this, to build specific programming, to be able to train residents on how to sit at a table across from a developer and talk about what they needed,” added Glenn.
Since its opening in December of 2020, this national model for successful economic and community development has made invaluable contributions to residents and business owners through its creative, but grassroots approach to growth and collaboration.
Michael Lucas of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation and a PY tenant organization is heavily engaged in providing critical and affordable legal services to those unable to afford representation, particularly in Fulton County.
Lucas and AVLF’s commitment to the Pittsburgh community centers on comprehensive outreach efforts. AVLF successfully integrates legal and social work teams within Atlanta Public Schools to address housing issues and reduce eviction rates, particularly in high-need areas like Thomasville Heights Elementary. With a staff of 54, AVLF serves 4,000 to 5,000 clients annually, with special focus on tenant disputes.
“The biggest program that brought us into the neighborhood, which is eventually how we made it to Pittsburgh Yards, actually sounds nontraditional at first. We started to put teams of lawyers and social workers in APS schools where the evictions and housing issues were so significant and prevalent that the principals and the school social workers knew that that was one of the biggest challenges they were facing,” says Lucas.
AVLF plans to also expand its mobile advocacy for domestic violence survivors. The organization currently operates one mobile legal assistance unit – a van that travels to communities to provide on-site assistance to residents in need of legal services – with plans to add a second mobile unit to meet the increasing demand and to improve emergency response.
Pittsburgh Yards announced a partnership with The Ke’nekt Cooperative founder, Kiyomi Rollins, to more intentionally unify tenants and co-working members in its economic business hub. The Ke’nekt Cooperative’s partnership is in addition to the existing programming provided by Our Village United, which has been with Pittsburgh Yards for nearly five years.
“I’m excited about the collaboration with Pittsburgh Yards and the role I can play in supporting the businesses that call Pittsburgh Yards home,” said Rollins. “We are leading by example of showing how two entities that have similar missions can collaborate to benefit the community. With what I know about the diversity of businesses here, this entrepreneurial ecosystem has a vast array of products and services that are ripe for collective economic opportunities, and I’m excited about helping them connect with each other.”
“This project was built from community vision and continues to be guided by community voice, and I’m so proud to have been a part of its development from the beginning,” adds 40-year Pittsburgh resident and coworking member, Stephanie Flowers, a community impact consultant with Stephanie Flowers, LLC. “Pittsburgh Yards truly honors the legacy of those who built these neighborhoods and is creating opportunities for generations to come. As Pittsburgh Yards has evolved, it’s unofficially become a ‘reclamation project,’ bringing the land back to its purpose and once again pouring into the ancestors of the ancestors of the ancestors who founded the Pittsburgh neighborhood community. It now serves as an anchor and source of support for the Pittsburgh community, strengthening the foundation for its continued growth and resilience.”
A Pittsburgh Yards coworking member turned business office tenant, Legacy Design Counsel (LDC), is another key player in the PY framework for community and economic development. Lashawnda Jones, LDC’s founder and CEO, specializes in estate planning, traffic, and personal injury matters. LDC’s work consistently aids clients in issues that impact the overall quality of life for individuals and communities. “Our guidance includes naming guardians, keeping families out of court, preventing conflicts, protecting assets, and safeguarding business interests,” explains Jones.
“I imagine that we’ll always have an office here regardless of how we grow. That’s my goal,”shares Jones. I love being here in this community. I imagine that we’ll always have an office here regardless of how we grow,” says Jones. “We are service oriented and not high volume. Ultimately [my goal] is to provide that individual expertise, sort of white glove service,” she adds. “I know that there’s a network of other attorneys out there, so I don’t have to be McDonald’s.”
“The ultimate goal and mission of [Pittsburgh Yards] is to provide opportunities for residents so that their families can thrive,” shares Glenn. “That is really embedded in our economic opportunity work … and entrepreneurship is a way to build wealth. You build your business, you profit from that business, you create a succession plan, and pass that business on to create generational legacy wealth. … That’s the long-term goal when we look back at Pittsburgh Yards in 20 years.”
