In September, The Brashear Association held a special progress groundbreaking of their new Creative and Analytical Play Space (CAPS)! As proud partners, we are thrilled to see this project one step closer to completion.
At the celebratory groundbreaking, the Brashear Association welcomed Mayor O’Connor, Senator Costa, Rep. Jess Benham, Councilperson Charland, and representatives from the Knoxville Community Council to speak. Everyone shared the excitement about bringing a new, useful space to the South Hilltop.
“Neighborhood Allies came to this project with so much energy and [excitement for] community engagement.”
–Andrea Matthews, Executive Director, The Brashear Association, Inc.
How CAPS came to be
In the summer of 2023, our Social Impact Design team partnered with The Brashear Association, Inc. and South Pittsburgh residents to co-design a Creative Analytic Play Space (CAPS) to be built in two vacant lots across from the Brashear CARES Center.
Our team worked alongside seniors and youth from the South Hilltop communities to bring a community vision to life–engaging over 100 residents in a series of inspirational design exercises and feedback sessions that were used as the foundation to create a final design document that Brashear can use as a guide for the development of the site. We also worked alongside several folks from our Equity-Centered Designer Network, including Jen Gallagher, Principal Architect at Studio for Spatial Practice, Chase Kea, and Heather Mallak.
Check out some photos of the iterative, community-driven process below!
You can read more about the process in the articles linked below…
- Help Neighborhood Allies’ Social Impact Design Team Imagine The Brashear Association’s NEW Creative Analytic Play Space, Designed by and for the Community
- Neighborhood Allies’ Social Impact Design Team engages with community at Juneteenth Cookout at the Brashear Association; Gathers feedback for new Creative Analytic Play Space
- From Vision to Action: Creating a Creative Analytic Play Space in the Hilltop
….and check out our project page to learn more about our contributions!
Securing the Funding
Originally, this project was constrained by a $500k budget, but after several budget-specific meetings, the team was able to expand the scope to include a $1.1 million “Community Promise” phase and a $2.5 million “Community Dream” phase, the latter of which became the primary goalpost.
In 2024, The Brashear Association leveraged an additional $1,075,000, including $75k from ARPA via the URA and a $1M RACP grant utilizing the designs we created as a key element in their fundraising requests.
Since then, the Brashear Association has continued to fundraise for the project, and, in 2026, officially began construction with just a little over $100K left to fulfill the over $2M final budget. Studio for Spatial Practice has continued to work with Brashear to adjust elements as needed for feasibility, and Mosites joined as construction lead.
You can still donate to support this project (and Brashear’s other vital community program): Donate here!
The Future of CAPS
Once completed, two previously vacant lots will become an intergenerational outdoor classroom, playground and wellness space for community members. The space will include exciting amenities such as an ADA-accessible treehouse; educational posters and stations showing physical activities one could do in the space with information on muscle activation and more; life-size games such as chess; innovative playground equipment and accessible swings for seniors; a walking path….and so much more.
The Creative and Analytic Play Space not only activates unused green spaces in the Hilltop, it is a unique place for the young, the young at heart and our beloved Seniors where they can stay active, build connections, and live healthier lives.”
–Andrea Matthews, Executive Director, The Brashear Association, Inc.
