The Hazelwood-based nonprofit group Center of Life has announced plans for a huge new community center on the former mill site known as Hazelwood Green.

Plans for the three-story, 127,000-square-foot building were made public Friday in an event at the site, at the corner of Hazelwood Avenue and Lytle Street. That’s just a block from Irvine Street, the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare, and three blocks from Center of Life’s current headquarters in a church and former Catholic school.

​​Standing on the former steel mill grounds in Hazelwood where his father once worked, Tim Smith imagines how an area that symbolizes Pittsburgh’s industrial decline can be transformed, renewed.

On a chilly Friday afternoon, Mr. Smith and the nonprofit he founded, Center of Life, unveiled their plans to do just that – by building a community hub in the heart of Hazelwood Green.

Center of Life has revealed a $60 million to $70 million community development project that with three partners it will bring to Hazelwood Green, calling it a transformative step not only for the 23-year-old nonprofit organization but also for the neighborhood and its residents.

The Center of Life summer camp program has challenged that with a rowing program for its 11- to 14-year-old participants through a partnership with Central Catholic High School’s crew team, led by alumnus and Syracuse graduate Anicet Mundundu.

“The potential of young people is enormous,” - Tim Smith, CEO

“...[The album] is for the future because this is our next generation. We are the next generation right here. And we're gonna be moving this world forward.” - Dahnayl/Dj Loveasy

Dahnayl Champine had been working on a new song for some time. But Dj Loveasy just couldn’t finish it.

“I had the words and thought this would be good,” said the 16-year-old musician, emcee and producer who is a junior at Woodland Hills High School. “I just missed the lead, and I didn’t have a hook.”

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In a blog post titled "Seeding by Ceding," the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says she's giving away $2.7 billion to "high-impact" underfunded organizations. Two of those organizations are the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh Fund and the Center of Life.

Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh, which is a joint grantmaking program created through a partnership between the Pittsburgh Foundation and the Heinz Endowments, says the fund "is where access and opportunity connect with Pittsburgh artists who are thriving in their creative process as a means and a way of life."

The Center of Life, based in Pittsburgh's Hazelwood neighborhood, focuses on giving kids life skills, education, training and resources to strengthen youth and their communities.

On Monday, Americans will celebrate Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Organizations around Pittsburgh are throwing parties to celebrate the occasion and the continuous battle for equality.

Center of Life presents the Black History: Closer Than You Think Juneteenth Celebration, a day-long picnic and outdoor concert at Hazelwood Green. Hear live jazz, soul, funk, and hip-hop by students from the Center’s COL Jazz and The KRUNK Movement music programs. Enjoy Jamaican food, kid-friendly activities and games, and more. Blankets and lawn chairs are encouraged.

The Center of Life wanted to cover its Hazelwood community with prayer during National Gun Violence Awareness Day on Friday.

Its leaders found many partners who agreed to help on this first event, one Center of Life hopes to turn into an annual activity. Donna Smith, who leads the organization’s social justice resource center, said leaders offered brief periods of prayer at seven different locations through the community, and she encouraged residents attending to offer reflections and remembrances of those who were lost to gun violence in Hazelwood last summer and in years past.

Pittsburgh has played a significant role in Black history, with jazz legends, sports heroes, literary giants and civil rights activists. Influential Black Pittsburghers have shaped the culture and society of the nation. But how much of this history is known and remembered by the current generations?

A bowl without a bottom is, well, a bit strange. But for Lisa Riehl -- painting shards of a broken ceramic bowl at Center of Life in Hazelwood -- the significance is there for all to see.

“To me, it has often felt like the bottom’s falling out,” she said. “Between mother’s guilt, losing people that I love…” she trailed off, concentrating on her bowl. “I’m outlining the cracks because they’re important too.”

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Center of Life celebrated 20 years of service to the greater Hazelwood and Pittsburgh community on Friday.

The organization provides all kinds of resources for the community -- everything from promoting health and wellness to helping people register to vote.

To celebrate, they held an all-day live stream to honor their roots and look forward to the road ahead.

There were live musical performances, throwback videos and more.

Center of Life marks 20 years!

Pastor Tim Smith, who is executive director of the Center of Life in Hazelwood, has become frustrated with Black History Month.

“It just seems so limiting,” he said. “It is Black history period. Black history is all our history.”

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Our reporters at KDKA produced a series of special reports on the anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They focus on remembrance and resilience and how Pittsburghers persevered since the declaration of a global pandemic. Kym Gable talked to community leaders about the outreach and charity they saw in the past 12 months.

"We discovered how many people are really struggling in their homes," said Tim Smith, the CEO at Center of Life in Hazelwood.

Gospel singers Lamont and Mary Shields were eating dinner when they received the call that could have changed their lives. The caller said Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, liked one of their songs. He would consider it on one condition — that they change one word.

The Hampton couple turned down that chance to most likely earn a big payday.

Citizens Bank, Trib Total Media and Pittsburgh Cares have named Center of Life in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood as a 2021 Champion in Action, an award that comes with $35,000 in funding and promotional and volunteer support.

The announcement was made Wednesday at Hazelwood’s Spartan Community Center, where Center of Life launched a community learning hub for students to have a safe place for online education.