Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh, a Larimer-based charter school on Turrett Street, is putting the finishing touches on part one of a bold expansion plan.
123 Meadow Street, the former fraternity house of the Iota Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, will now serve as the school’s administrative offices and community space residents can use for meetings, events, healthy cooking demonstrations, student enrichment activities, and more.
For Urban Academy CEO K. Chase Patterson, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The grand vision is a full-blown campus, complete with an early learning center, community building, offices, and potentially even affordable apartments or dormitories for high school students.
As reported by NEXTPittsburgh, Urban has been acquiring property to expand its Larimer campus and now owns more than 20 properties in the neighborhood.
The inspiration came from a 1965 Pittsburgh Public School District report called “The Quest for Racial Equity in the Pittsburgh Public Schools,” which outlined solutions to challenges facing Black students.
“One of the solutions which was really attractive to me and stood out as a great opportunity for the Urban Academy to replicate was what they called in the report ‘education parks,’” Patterson shared.
These “parks” would provide resources like green spaces, libraries, and other amenities to support the growth and development of the community around a school — creating an environment for children to thrive and giving schools a more active role in community development.
“The idea is that the Urban Academy, through its programming, can help instigate opportunities for other developers and investors in the neighborhood to come in and help us revitalize the community,” Patterson said. “123 Meadow Street is really the first shot being fired, so to speak—the work is coming.”
With an endorsement from the Larimer Consensus Group and positive feedback from the community so far, Patterson hopes that the space can become an example for future programming and development in Larimer.
The design of the Meadow Street building incorporates vibrant colors and fabrics, glass enclosures, and cameras for live-casting cooking demonstrations. Tink + Design along with Studio Volcy are the architects and design team for the project, while Patterson, along with a consultant from Wayfair, handled most of the interior furnishing selections.
“It’s not your traditional community center where everything can be wiped down with bleach,” Patterson said. “We’ve designed a place that we hope will become a beautiful and rich resource for the community.”
As for the rest of the plans, pre-development work is underway, including environmental, zoning, and infrastructure analysis. Urban Academy will use that information to start fundraising an estimated $60 million needed to realize its vision. Funding for the Meadow Street building comes from the initial financing for the school.
Urban Academy hopes to break ground on phase one of the campus, which would be the early education center and parking lot, in early 2026.
