An inclusive Community Space dedicated to
creating opportunities for Wilkinsburg

COVID-19 Update: Due to the extended public health crisis being caused by COVID-19, Community Forge is currently closed. Through our partners, Opening Doors for Youth and Families and Confluence Catering, we will be serving free, take-away breakfast, lunch, and dinner to at-need families, which can be picked up at our loading dock near the playground from 9AM-1PM or 3-7PM. Currently both programs operate Monday-Friday, but return here for updates. We are also starting an emergency fund to support our entrepreneurs and families. If you are a Wilkinsburg community member, Community Forge program participant, or tenant struggling due to the COVID crisis, please write us at hello@forge.community to get an application. If you are considering donating to our fund, scroll down to donate below. If you are looking for emergency business resources due to COVID-19, see this resource guide kindly provided by our friends at Riverside Center for Innovation.
Please stay safe and healthy and we'll update this page once we re-open to the public.

What we're about

Youth Empowerment

Bringing together organizations and programs to create spaces for youth to explore, define, and pursue their own interests.

Community Collaboration

Developing networks and breaking down silos between Wilkinsburg residents and surrounding communities to build new projects and opportunities.

Organizational Incubation

Supporting individuals and small organizations with dreams in arts, youth programming, and technology to find sustainability in their initiatives.

Neighborhood Wellbeing

Working together with Wilkinsburg residents to strengthen the growth and prosperity of local families, entrepreneurs, artists, and makers.

Join in

Come Out

Community Forge hosts events from youth performances to music festivals to community conversations. Check out what’s coming to Wilkinsburg this week on our events calendar.

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Become a Resident

We have space available in our beautiful former classrooms. Make Community Forge the new home for your office, educational program, meeting, coworking desks, or studio. Contact us for a tour or to get more details.

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Support Us

Running a community space takes a village to succeed. Join our crew and support our efforts to provide affordable space and programming in Wilkinsburg with your labor, donations, and love.

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Find Your Program

Looking for afterschool programs for your kids? Want to develop as an artist? Community Forge and our Resident Organizations host a wide range of programs and services for youth and adults.

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Volunteer Hadley Dean helping out in our first months to paint classrooms with Board Member Travis Alvarez

Volunteer Hadley Dean helping out in our first months to paint classrooms with Board Member Travis Alvarez

We rely on volunteers to help make Johnston beautiful. Thanks to Kurt and Mike for putting in the kitchenette floor!

We rely on volunteers to help make Johnston beautiful. Thanks to Kurt and Mike for putting in the kitchenette floor!

Thanks to Shane Pilster for painting this amazing tag on our building!

Thanks to Shane Pilster for painting this amazing tag on our building!

Shout out to Wilkinsburg Youth Project who worked with us all summer. Thanks to them, we now have a telescope on the roof!

Shout out to Wilkinsburg Youth Project who worked with us all summer. Thanks to them, we now have a telescope on the roof!

Ira Cambric went beyond being an amazing dance instructor and helped us out at our annual BBQ in August.

Ira Cambric went beyond being an amazing dance instructor and helped us out at our annual BBQ in August.

Neighborhood youth helped us write a grant for a day to clean-up the playground and build picnic benches.

Neighborhood youth helped us write a grant for a day to clean-up the playground and build picnic benches.

Glenn is a regular volunteer helping out with events and construction projects.

Glenn is a regular volunteer helping out with events and construction projects.

Attend our next event

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What they're saying about us

Post-Gazette - Former Wilkinsburg elementary school thriving as Community Forge...

After years of empty classrooms and vacant hallways, the former Johnston Elementary School in Wilkinsburg once again is buzzing with activity. The school closed in 2012 and was vacant for five years before Community Forge, a group of eight entrepreneurs with ties to Pittsburgh, purchased the building in...

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NEXTpittsburgh - A vacant school becomes Wilkinsburg's community center for...

When the team behind Community Forge came together in 2016, they envisioned a cooperative social enterprise that would do important things: It would offer a platform for community service, education and civic action, and also play a key role in revitalizing an economically distressed neighborhood. Community members would...

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Wilkinsburg’s Former Johnston Elementary School Reopens as a Community Center...

The mission-driven organization “Community Forge” acquired the former Johnston Elementary School in July of 2017 and has been working daily for the past 9 months to transform the property into a community center. Today, the building is open again and now houses more than a dozen local businesses,...

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Wilkinsburg’s Johnston Elementary School To Be Transformed Into a Community...

On July 18th, the mission-driven organization “Community Forge” acquired the Johnston Elementary School at 1256 Franklin Avenue from the Wilkinsburg School District. Community Forge plans to transform the Johnston School into a community space that will be a home for small businesses, local events, municipal meetings, and educational...

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