Community & Economic Development

We are a Community & Economic Development organization in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region. PHDC operates a Business Incubator, a Housing Initiative, and an Employment Program. The programs are in existence. We provide training for entrepreneurs to become business owners; we facilitate households to access housing rentals or private financing for homeownership, and we help individuals and companies connect with employment opportunities.

The PHDC Business Incubator project supports Community and Economic Development by advancing the economic and housing opportunities of an underrepresented demographic group, increasing economic activity in neighborhoods ready for transition, and by building the capacity of neighborhoods to carry development forward. Sustaining and accelerating the growth of the Pittsburgh region can only be accomplished through the promotion of diversity and racial equity.

The Business Incubator guides entrepreneurs to assess their business ideas and plan, launch, market, and operate their businesses. Multi-lingual staff also help Latino entrepreneurs to overcome language and cultural barriers. To optimize the entrepreneurs’ success, they are enrolled in a 12-24 month business program.

PHDC’s Housing Initiative works with real estate companies, landlords, and credit institutions to access housing for Latinos otherwise shut out of the rental or real estate market due to immigrant status, language barriers, and absence of credit history. Latino renters require assistance to communicate with landlords, understand leases, and transfer utility bills. Our initiative also prepares immigrants with workshops regarding financial literacy, credit, and how to plan and prepare to buy a house.

PHDC’s Employment program creates multilingual job listings from local employers and assists Latinos to apply for jobs, draft resumes, prepare for interviews, schedule lab tests, obtain background checks.  

Lastly, we connect clients with our partner Just Harvest, a non-profit that offers bilingual tax preparation services, and we also provide translation as needed. PHDC hosts tax clinics and members of the community can complete their tax returns at no cost.   

We Are In Beechview!

The Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation (PHDC) has no geographic boundaries but has chosen Beechview as the site of its first projects for a number of reasons. Primary among them is its burgeoning immigrant business and residential population and its key transportation infrastructure in the form of the PAT light rail. By catalyzing development and development capacity in Beechview, PHDC will strengthen the region by encouraging an inflow of population and investment.

Beechview has long been the destination for a growing number of Latino immigrants and business owners. However, their integration into the community has been slow and resources to accommodate their housing needs and entrepreneurial goals have been virtually nonexistent. Part of the problem lies in the absence of a coordinated community and economic development strategy and the lack of the capacity to formulate and implement such a strategy. Property values remain low and vacancy, particularly in the neighborhood's commercial spaces, remains high. The Port Authority light rail line with multiple stops throughout the residential and commercial heart of Beechview provides enormous opportunity to catalyze development.

The PHDC incubator is unique, since it includes intercultural tutoring and training for our entrepreneurs. This advice and training is an important component in the success of our companies doing business in the United States. For example, PHDC will offer its services in Spanish and Portuguese in addition to English. There are already several Hispanic organizations present in the Incubator, including LACU and COESA. These organizations promote, preserve and enrich Latin American cultures by raising awareness and appreciation for the cultural, social and economic aspects of the community in the Pittsburgh area.