Phipps Conservatory to buy Irish Centre in Squirrel Hill for $760K

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens said it has a deal to buy the long-vacant Irish Centre site in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

The conservatory said this week that it will use the 4-acre site — tentatively dubbed the Phipps Program Staging Center — to host its Homegrown Edible Garden Program program.

The space will also serve as an incubator for new green community projects throughout the city, a nursery for plants for upcoming flower shows and a laboratory for research projects.

Joe Reed, a Phipps spokesman, said the conservatory will pay $760,000 for the property and is assessing the costs of redevelopment, which will include transforming it into a green building.

The site, which borders Frick Park on Forward Avenue, was embroiled in controversy last year when the city’s zoning board blocked development of a 162-unit, eight-story apartment building.

Since it began in 2013, the edible garden program has installed nearly 400 raised-bed vegetable gardens at households in Homewood, Larimer, Belmar, East Hills and Hazelwood. It also has provided resources and mentoring to hundreds of community members.

For years, Phipps has been looking for a new headquarters for the garden program. The Irish Centre site’s proximity to Phipps, major roads and Frick Park will allow it to expand, the conservatory said.

Maria Cohen, executive director of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, said Tuesday that Phipps’ plan for the site is “exciting” and aligns with the group’s goals to foster community and promote health, such as through growing food.

The coalition, she said, is in the early stages of forming a partnership with the conservatory.

“There’s, to me, nothing more beautiful than community coming together in a supportive way that’s really healthy,” Cohen said.

Breathing new life into a vacant site also helps to ensure that the empty property doesn’t fall into total disrepair or pose public safety risks, Cohen said. Recently, she said, antisemitic graffiti had to be removed from the building.

Vicki Yann of the city’s Swisshelm Park section joined last year with neighbors who shared her opposition to the proposed apartment complex at the site.

Now, she said, the group, called Frick Park Friends, is celebrating that the property will be taken over by an organization they believe is a better match for the neighborhood.

“Phipps and their proposed use of the property will be a welcomed addition to the neighborhood as it will maintain the character of the area, unlike the massive development that was proposed,” Yann said.

The property is currently zoned for community and agricultural purposes, so the conservatory does not anticipate needing any variances, Reed said.

The Irish Centre of Pittsburgh bought the location in 1966 for cultural, educational, social and recreational events.