In 2002, Deb Rose faced a familiar challenge in Wilkinsburg—she couldn’t secure a bank loan. For nine years, Rose rented an apartment at the corner of Whitney Avenue and Center Street, where the sounds of Motown, courtesy of Miss Lorna’s porch speakers, filled Sunday mornings. Despite the neighborhood’s rough reputation, Rose fell in love with Hamnett Place and knew she wanted to stay.
Across from her apartment stood a Queen Anne Victorian with a wraparound porch, a property Rose had admired since moving to the neighborhood in 1994. When one of the owners passed away, her husband agreed to sell it to Rose. However, Wilkinsburg was a redlined district, making traditional financing impossible. Determined, Rose turned to Dwelling House Savings and Loan, a Black-owned institution in the Hill District, which helped her purchase the house in 2003.
Twenty-one years later, Rose still calls the Victorian home, having converted it into two apartments. She lives downstairs, renting out the upstairs unit, and continually works on improvements, including a new back porch funded by the WCDC’s HARP Program. Additionally, Rose recently crafted a will through the WCDC’s free wills program to ensure her beloved home remains in the hands of someone who cherishes it as much as she does. Her will also aims to protect the neighborhood from predatory developers.
In 2010, Rose and a group of neighbors succeeded in getting Hamnett Place listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This designation allowed the Hamnett Place Neighborhood Association to secure funding for restoring over 70 structures and expanding affordable housing.
However, Rose’s block of Whitney Avenue, a quiet dead-end near the busway, is increasingly under threat. Decades of redlining and economic challenges have left many homes vacant, neglected, or behind on property taxes – making them prime targets for profit-driven developers.
This shift alarmed Rose and her neighbors, including Pam Panchak, with whom she co-founded the Strong Neighborhoods Committee. Supported by Rising Tide Partners, a local nonprofit real estate developer whose mission is to keep properties affordable and in the hands of community members, Rose and Panchak fought back. They took one developer to court and won the conservatorship of a decaying house at the end of Whitney Avenue, right by the busway.
Although structurally beautiful, the house was beyond repair. Rose and Panchak decided to demolish it, planning to transform the lot into Radio Way, a green space with a walking path and compost bins, providing a well-lit route from the busway to the northern streets of Hamnett Place. The project pays homage to Frank Conrad, a Westinghouse engineer who lived nearby and is celebrated as the father of modern radio.
Walking the block between her house and Radio Way, Rose gives the history of every home she passes; she knows the neighbors, their plans for their gardens, and which houses were abandoned and why. She points to one house that developers tried to claim, only to discover its taxes were paid, prompting the owner to return with his whole family to clear brush and vines and put the house back into shape.
Rose’s vision is clear: a neighborhood that thrives through both aesthetic and functional improvements, maintained by the community rather than outsiders. Through decades of relationships and partnerships with nonprofits committed to preserving the historic and cultural integrity of Wilkinsburg, Rose, Panchak, and the Strong Neighborhoods Committee are dedicated to keeping Hamnett Place a true home for its residents.
For more information on the WCDC’s Housing Acquisition, Repair & Preservation (HARP) Program, its free Wills and Estates Program, and/or to learn more about the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative – visit wilkinsburgcdc.org.
Written by Wilkinsburg resident Dade Lemanski.