11.30.06 Pittsburgh City Paper - ShortList for Unwrapped 10.28.06 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Green Historic Renovation 10.28.06 I heart PGH Union Station Cafe Catering 10.12.06 Bluffton University Union Project Founder Visit 9.28.06 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Union Station Cafe Review 9.28.06 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Nibbles: Rib-Off 9.21.06 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review New Chef 8.31.06 Robert Morris University Caffeinate Your Community 5.15.06 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-Enrico Scholarship Article 5.15.06 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-Preservation Article 12.26.2005 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 12.1.2005 Pittsburgh City Paper 4.17.2005 Pittsburgh Tribune Review Winter.2004 Designing Home Lifestyles Magazine 12.2.2004 Pittsburgh Post Gazette 6.12.2004 Pittsburgh Tribune Review 2.8.2004 Pittsburgh Post Gazette 2.5.2004 Pittsburgh Tribune Review 11.7.2003 Pittsburgh Business Times 7.2.2003 Pittsburgh Tribune Review 6.1.2003 Pittsburgh Post Gazette 12.8.2002 Pittsburgh Tribune Review 12.6.2002 Pittsburgh Business Times 12.21.2001 Pittsburgh Business Times 11.10.2001 Pittsburgh Post Gazette

The following two articles from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review pre-date the Union Project organization but highlight the importance of this community asset.

Highland Park church pastor vows to rebuild 4/13/00
By The Tribune-Review
The pastor of Union Baptist Church in Highland Park has vowed to rebuild his congregation and renovate the structure into a model place of worship.
"I want to let everyone know we're still here (Highland Park)," said the Rev. Richard Hairston, pastor for seven months.
"My goal is to get that building operating to do something to help the community and help this city."
He is taking an unconventional approach.
In addition to offering religious services, Hairston said he would like to see the church, at Negley and Stanton avenues, provide youth recreational programs and housing.
To be dubbed the "Highland Park Center," the residential component and recreational programs would operate under the auspices of the church, according to Hairston's plans. He said rent and program fees generated from the nonprofit operations would be poured back into the ministry.
"We have to wake up because other churches are doing it," Hairston said. "We have to come up with something that is going to support the ministry. You have to have a base of support. People are falling away from the church."
The church closed its doors a few years ago because of declining membership and financial difficulties. For years, the church had been the religious gathering place for residents from Highland Park and East Liberty.
Those church members who remained followed Hairston to Wilkinsburg, where he has been conducting services in a storefront on Wood Street until renovations can be made to Union Baptist.
Extensive renovations, especially to the windows and roof, are needed, and the lighting and heating systems must be overhauled if the church is to be used again, Hairston said. The church owns the building.
Hairston said he is exploring various financial avenues to secure funding for the church repairs. He said it was too early in the process to elaborate on the financial plans.
Plans were proposed about two years ago to demolish the church and turn the area into a suburban strip mall. Strong community opposition crushed the idea.
"This needs to be a community effort - we have to work together," Hairston said.
Hairston is planning an official reopening in July, when services will resume in the historic church.

Saving grace 3/2/00
Community keeps the faith, hoping to restore an old church with neighborhood importance
By Melanie J. Tush  TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Several months ago, City Councilman Jim Ferlo conducted an open house in the vacant Union Baptist Church in Highland Park.
Community leaders, the church's pastor and other interested parties walked through the aging structure at the corner of Negley and Stanton avenues, brainstorming ways to save the building.
The purpose was to get visitors to envision what the deteriorating structure once looked like - before its once-vibrant stained glass windows dulled and its stately interior that once resonated with prayer and song become a hollow shell.
They walked away determined to find an interested suitor.
"The neighborhood's concern is that we have this incredible historic landmark that is falling apart before our eyes," said Diane DeNardo, president of the Highland Park Community Club. "The neighborhood wants to ensure that something happens to the building before it is in such a bad situation it can't be fixed."
The church has been blighted for years. The building is owned by the church, said club board member Rob Stephany, adding that the congregation left a few years ago because of declining membership and financial difficulties.
The church's phone number has been disconnected, and no one from the church could be reached for comment.
One thing is clear: Trying to get a new, functioning congregation to move in is much more appealing to residents than tearing the church down, Stephany said.
On behalf of the community, Stephany, who's also a real estate development director with the nonprofit East Liberty Development Inc., said he has suggested sending information about the church and floor plans to other congregations looking for a home. So far, those plans still are being discussed.
Part of the sell, however, are the extensive renovations, especially to the windows and roof, that would need to be done if the church is to be used again.
"It is a gorgeous structure that would need some substantial renovations, but the lowest cost would be for a new congregation to come and take title to the building," Stephany said, adding that he has not been in contact with the church's former pastor regarding the plans.
Stephany said the community club may need to conduct a title search.
Depending on what they learn, he said, the group then may have to take a more aggressive approach to save the building.
Although the community group doesn't know much about the church's history, including when it was built, DeNardo said the building adds a lot of personality to the community.
She said improving the church's appearance also is important because of its location - the corner is considered the unofficial gateway to Highland Park.
"We hope something can be done to restore it as a church or another adaptive reuse that would add to the quality of the neighborhood instead of detracting from it," DeNardo said. "It adds a lot of character and is located on a very important corner to the entrance of this neighborhood."
Plans were proposed about two years ago to demolish the church and turn the area into a suburban strip mall. Strong community opposition crushed the idea.
Mitch Kates, a community club member, said residents "freaked out" when a developer looked at that property for a strip mall.
"That would have been awful. It is a cool building," Kates said.
"There are a lot of these incredible church buildings dying off," he added. "We are losing our city neighborhood churches one by one. That building is too spectacular to tear down."
Stephany said resident didn't want to see the building go.
"People live in the neighborhood for certain things - the architectural charm and urban quality of the environment. To put a mini-mall there was not appropriate," he said.
Short-term improvements, like cleaning up the outside of the building, can be done to make the structure look more appealing, Kates said. The old church sign is nearly falling off.
Kates said many residents already have volunteered to get rid of the weeds, plant some flowers and improve the overall landscaping on the property once the weather improves.
"The building has suffered physically to where it will now be a renovation effort," Stephany said. "It is an important building that should be preserved."