Civic Plaza
Completed 2018 in Braddock
A celebration of a $1 million public-private cooperation, Braddock Civic Plaza serves as the centerpiece of a new complex of commercial and residential buildings that also includes The Overlook, a family apartment complex; 501 Braddock Ave., a commercial and retail building; The Avenue Apartments, a senior-citizen complex; and the Free Press Buildings, a mixed-use commercial and residential development owned by Mon Valley Initiative.
The Civic Plaza is located on a portion of property that was once occupied by UPMC Braddock Hospital.
Following the hospital’s closure and demolition, MVI in 2011 hosted the first of several public meetings in Braddock to review ideas for the site, Shattuck said. Early in the process, residents voiced their opinion that the community needed a town square or central gathering place.
The plaza opened in 2018 and in 2021, it was renamed Clara Davis Friendship Park to honor a lifelong Braddock resident.
The plaza’s construction was funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Allegheny County Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund, The Grable Foundation, The Allegheny Foundation and The Richard King Mellon Foundation, with additional support from Dollar Bank, PNC Bank and WesBanco Bank, who are part of a neighborhood partnership program in Braddock.
View press coverage:
90.5 WESA: Braddock Civic Plaza Groundbreaking Signals 'New Beginning' For The Borough
KDKA News: New Civic Plaza Bolsters Braddock’s Revitalization
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Braddock celebrates opening of ‘lifegiving’ plaza
