Doron Loewenberg
PITTSBURGH (PTTP) – Residents were invited to sign the beams of The University of Pittsburgh’s BioForge, an under-construction biomanufacturing facility located in the Hazelwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The event took place on September 6th, 2024, when members of the Hazelwood community were invited onto the construction site and were offered the chance to sign one of the beams that the BioForge will be built around.
The University was excited to offer locals the chance to sign the building’s beams, with the Director of Greater Hazelwood Neighborhood Commitment Heidi Ward saying “today was all about the community. Honoring the history, celebrating the future, and coming together for a really amazing construction milestone.”
Members of the Hazelwood community were also excited about the ongoing project. Local resident Joe Mignacca said “Unfortunately a lot of people moved out of Hazelwood… I’m glad to see something going on… Besides jobs it’s practical… It gives a little more pride in the area.”
The BioForge, which was first announced on November 17th, 2021, will be a 185,000 square foot biomanufacturing facility built on Hazelwood Green, the site of a former steel mill. It will, according to construction and operations overseer Dr. Ken Gabriel said, “close the gap between where these technologies get to in the laboratory, and where they need to be so that we can get it out to everyone as equitably and as fast as possible.” The BioForge is being funded by a $100 million grant from the Richard Mellon Foundation whose director Sam Reiman stated “we need to discover and manufacture health care advances right here at home. And we are even more eager to lead in this sector because of its potential to generate family-sustaining job opportunities that are accessible to all our communities.”
Construction is slated to be complete in the first half of this year. The structure will be over six stories tall, and LEED-certified gold building, the third highest rating offered by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a green building certification program used across the world. There is no definite date for the end of construction, but both the University of Pittsburgh and Hazelwood residents are looking forward to the day it is finally done.