On June 9, 2006 the Annie E. Casey Foundation purchased 31.4 acres of land along University Avenue in the southern section of NPU-V’s Pittsburgh neighborhood. The Foundation, in partnership with TCWFI, has set out to devise a planning process that will be informed by broad and deep resident engagement and that will lead to a development that will be for the benefit of community residents.

Because they seek deep and broad community engagement and capacity building, the Casey Foundation and TCWFI are investing in area residents to provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to be active, informed partners in the planning and development of this land.

Working with the Fanning Leadership Institute at the University of Georgia, TCWFI’s Community Building Program (CBP) are implementing two cycles of a leadership academy for a diverse cross- section of NPU-V residents, business and faith leaders and community based organization staff who operate within NPU-V. Graduates of the Academy will work with other residents to implement small-scale, short-duration social entrepreneurship projects using small grants to engage a least 200 families in the proposed development efforts.

Working with both the Fanning Leadership Institute and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia, CBP is also implementing a training academy to give residents the knowledge and skills they need to be leaders in the development effort. Topics covered include the principles of community economic development, transit-oriented development and environmental justice, issues of financing in relevant development efforts, the roles of the various public and private partners to be involved in the project, and models for community ownership and benefits.