Stickers like tonight's certainly prove that the message is often far more important than the people who create it. For the last couple of years these "homes not whole foods" stickers have been one the more prevalent finds within my collection. I'm pretty sure I've seen them all over the city but there are two in particular that I see every single day, since it's on my route into work. And even though I've seen these stickers everyday, they still continue to catch my eye. It is such a simple and clean design that it often just stands out on the typical surfaces. It is also fairly clear that whoever made this sticker was more concerned with getting their message out there than garnering attention for themselves. Unfortunately I have to admit that until I actually looked into this sticker tonight, I really only had a vague idea what this message pertained to. While I hate the idea of being ignorant, I have never been very good at keeping up with current events especially on the local level. So it was fairly interesting to see how this story unfolded over the course of two years through the various articles I found related to this sticker.
For those who are about on the same level of obliviousness as I am, this particular controversy started back in 2015 when the residents of Penn Plaza over in East Liberty were given eviction notices. The owners of the building, LG Realty, had made the decision to redevelop the property into a new complex of apartments, offices, and to create the space for a larger commercial venue. Which of course meant the current housing had to be demolished and the residents would have to find homes elsewhere. After some time it was then announced that the store that would be headlining this redevelopment would in fact be Whole Foods, whose current location wasn't too far from this proposed project. Well this announcement led to a fair amount of outrage by local rights groups, with a few of them calling for a boycott of Whole Foods. However while this attempt to shine a light onto the issues of affordable housing within Pittsburgh did get a bit of attention, it really wasn't enough to make a dent into the lives of people who would normally go to this store anyway. This project and Whole Food's involvement did become a big discussion point for people when they were looking at the housing issue though. With the ever increasing tech presence here in Pittsburgh and the gentrification that tends to accompany it, there are some valid concerns about people being able to afford living in many of the neighborhoods. Then the story takes an interesting turn. The demolition officially began in the spring of 2017 and then Whole Foods announced that it would no longer be part of the project in the summer. After all of the struggles this project created and the relocation of the previous residents, the main component decided that they were no longer interested in it for the moment. A portion of this decision I'm sure had to do with the Amazon purchase of Whole Foods and the company as a whole doing an evaluation of its current state. While some could say that this was a bit of a win, there are others that would say that this served more as a cautionary tale. The situation as a whole seemed to showed poor planning on the developer's part and caused many to wonder how you balance that wish to develop an area with supporting your current residents. Obviously this isn't an easy question to answer, I know I personally have been feeling the financial strain of living by myself here in Shadyside these past few years. But no matter the outcome of this discussion, the "homes not whole foods" stickers serve as a reminder that this is a larger issue that still needs to be looked at. Oh and if you were wondering where the Penn Plaza development currently stands, it was announced back in November that Whole Foods had renewed their interest in the project. And with the recent race to lay a claim for being the newest Amazon headquarters, I can guarantee this project plays some small role in Pittsburgh's play for the title.
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Maggie Ondrey
An amateur photographer and writer capturing a small portion of the city. Archives
August 2017
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