Millvale Food Hub

The Millvale Food Hub is a mixed-use building located on the main street of Millvale’s Town Center. The project called for the renovation of an historic building that had been left vacant for over a decade. Our community visioning process helped establish the goal of attracting a food-based business as a primary tenant, since Millvale had previously been dubbed a food desert.

The building features second floor office space and a cafe by Tazza d’Oro on the ground floor that focuses on providing fresh prepared foods and high quality coffee beverages. This project is an anchor project in a larger Ecodistrict Pivot Plan that evolveEA developed with the community of Millvale. The Plan envisions Millvale as a “foodie paradise” known for local food production and a food-based entrepreneurial culture.

The design of the building preserves the historic character of the surrounding context while opening the building to the sidewalk to foster a greater connection with the community. As much as possible, original materials were salvaged and reused inside and outside the space. Local artists were engaged to provide art for the building in the spirit of collective effort, spurring the nickname, “Stone Soup Cafe.”