National Retailer Puts Bullseye on East Liberty
The East End and the entire City of Pittsburgh celebrated East Liberty’s continued resurgence with the opening of Target Sunday July 24, 2011 on Penn Avenue in the heart of the neighborhood’s commercial core.
Unique features
East Liberty’s Target store is truly one-of-akind. While it’s one of 10 two-story Targets in the nation, it is the only one with windows throughout the sales floor. The store also features bioswales, which are elements in the landscape designed to use storm water to water grass, plants and trees around the store. These will eliminate some of the runoff that goes to the sewer drains and into the city’s rivers during storms.
Jobs
Over 1,300 local residents applied for positions at Target. There were 268 jobs created at the store, and 116 of those were filled by residents of the 15206, 15208 and 15224 zip codes. A collaboration of employment centers, Target and the City of Pittsburgh brought job fairs to the East End, as well as information regarding the hiring process and what to expect from a Target interview. The nine employment centers included the Career and Workforce Development Center East (Homewood YMCA), the Coalition of Organized Residents of East Liberty, Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center, First Source Center, Garfield Jubilee Association, Goodwill of South Western PA, the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh,
Joblinks/Oakland Planning and Development Corporation and the Larimer Consensus Group.
Infrastructure improvements
Part of the construction phase of Target included the bi-directional conversion of Penn Circle South from Highland Avenue, continuing on to Penn Circle East to the intersection at Collins Avenue. This process also included a streetscape update, adding trees, vegetation and benches along Penn Circle South and on Penn Avenue across from Target.