Originally published: Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 9/20/2019

The Regional Industrial Development Corp. of Southwestern Pennsylvania has donated a former business center in Duquesne to the nonprofit Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh.
The three-story Business Innovation Center is located on Library Place at Route 837, across from RIDC’s City Center of Duquesne, formerly U.S. Steel’s Duquesne Works. The structure was originally an office building for Carnegie Steel and has 14,512 square feet of space. Urban League’s Family Support Center currently occupies about one-third of the building.

“We look forward to maximizing the potential of this generous gift by planning and attracting even more quality programs and services for Duquesne and the surrounding community,” said Esther Bush, Urban League’s president and chief executive. RIDC acquired the building in 1988 and it was used as an incubator for startups and small businesses. The Urban League has been there since 1994.

“The Urban League’s presence in this building has helped Duquesne families deal with the challenges they faced after its industrial facilities closed down,” said Donald Smith, RIDC president.
RIDC considered selling or leasing the structure, said Mr. Smith, but the development agency determined a better option was to provide Urban League “a secure future of serving this community.”
Urban League provides social services to strengthen individuals and families including housing counseling, early childhood and parenting education, health programs and career support.