By Ethan Markon | Staff Writer

The new Community Hub at the Allegheny Center Alliance Church (ACAC) was completed in August of 2023 and has since become an important part of the church’s operations. Ken Turnbull, the Advancement Operations Pastor at Allegheny Center Alliance, recounted the creation of the Hub as he sat down with The Chronicle.

While The Allegheny Center Alliance Church stayed cautious on COVID-19, the difficulties the pandemic brought did not stop the church from taking risks. In mid-2021, Pastor Ken coordinated construction on a massive new addition to the church: a multilevel community center equipped with a multitude of amenities for the congregation and the Northside community. This center connects the three already-existing buildings that have made up ACAC for a century. With the pandemic and a recent lead pastoral transition, the project was a large, but worthwhile undertaking.

“Family is hard-wired into the design” said Pastor Ken. The pastor and his father worked on the project for two years, naming it the “Community Hub.”

The Church leadership made the decision to leave ACAC signage off of the Hub to put an emphasis on the community-first aspect of the building. The construction stalled in the beginning of the project due to the pandemic. Its completion took one additional year beyond the one that was expected and only went 3% over budget.

This difficult project was something of a “Rubik’s Cube,” as Pastor Ken described it. The Community Hub was built on the space that was previously occupied by the main parking lot and exists between buildings of uneven levels of elevation. This required a lot of careful planning so as to respect the historic structure of the older buildings.

The Hub does not just serve as a physical connection to the historic ACAC buildings, but also as an open space to connect with the community. The unique window-paned exterior design was added to allow the community to glimpse into the Hub and consider taking part in the multitude of events and activities designed for the Northside Community.

Upon its completion last year, the Community Hub has enhanced community events like the annual Northside Pumpkinfest right outside on the lawn, in their section of the Allegheny Commons Park.

“People were so excited about what happened here that it invigorated them,” Pastor Ken said.

He explained that with more programming space for the congregation, ACAC now has the capacity to provide community care sessions, counseling, more book studies, and more childcare. The Community Hub has also brought in organizational partners to the church including the East Allegheny Community Council and Allegheny General Hospital.

New spaces in the Hub like the newly emerging cafe on the ground floor, which is set to open soon, will provide more opportunities for the Northside community to take advantage of and connect with each other.

“This is our new front door,” Pastor Ken said. “Our responsibility is to keep the lights on 24 hours a day, seven days a week… It provides a real value to the community.”