A historic site in Crystal City will soon have a new purpose.
Heather and David Crosby of Crystal City plan to transform the building that formerly housed the administrative headquarters for the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., at 26 Mississippi Ave., into a multiuse facility.
The historic 15,560 square foot three-story brick building has stood vacant since 2021. The Crosbys purchased it in Oct. 2024, and they plan to convert it into a wedding venue, a multi-use community center and private residence and call it the Crystal Shard.
Heather, 46, is a retired social worker who substitutes for the Crystal City School District and David, 66, is an attorney.
Heather is also the founder of For His Families Inc., a Christian-based nonprofit organization established in 2016. Four years later, Crosby started a program with For His Families Inc. called The Project, which aims to touch lives through community service projects. With the help of parents and other community members, The Project plants the seeds of good will, compassion and neighborly love, then nurtures their growth with its four core principles of empowering parents; encouraging children; supporting families; and growing community in a way that demonstrates respect, worth, accountability, compassion, love and grace.
Crosby said the group has undertaken many service projects, including making cards for nursing home residents, cutting up T-shirts to make jump ropes, painting fire hydrants, holding community cleanups, creating a community puzzle library and collecting plastic bottle caps for recycling. The Project sends those collected caps to a program in Indiana, which transforms them into benches and other items.
She said The Project has provided free benches from recycled bottlecaps to several local schools, churches and parks.
Crosby said The Project has been operating for the last few years at 725 Mississippi Ave., near the Crystal City Elementary School, but is outgrowing its existing space. So, when she had the opportunity to purchase the old PPG building, she jumped at it, with the hopes of bringing new life to the building and give The Project a new home.
Crosby said much-needed renovations are already in the works, including some demolition, masonry repairs, utility work, roof work and window restoration using original PPG glass. She said she hopes the renovations will be complete in about a year, adding that she will try to use local companies and businesses to complete renovations when possible.
She said she plans to preserve as many historic features and artifacts from the building as possible during the renovation project.
“My goal here is to preserve as much as I can. and so if we find something interesting, let’s hang on to that, whether it’s through the historical society, through the city, or whether it’s through a curio cabinet here in the venue. I really want to honor the city through what I’m doing,” she said.
Once the renovations are completed, Crosby said the first floor of the building will be used as a community center, which is where The Project will operate. The center will have a commercial kitchen, a teaching kitchen for cooking classes, a youth lounge, several meeting rooms and a “maker space.”
She said the maker space will have tools for creative projects, such as an embroidery machine, a heat press, a laser engraver and more. These tools will be available to members of the public, either for a small charge, or in exchange for volunteer labor.
Crosby said the second floor will be transformed into an industrial-chic-themed wedding venue with glass chandeliers, as a nod to the building’s history. The venue will accommodate approximately 150 guests.
Crosby said the third floor will serve as a private residence for her family.
In addition to the inside of the building, the grounds will be spruced up, too. Crosby said the site will have a greenhouse, woodshop and a public garden with walking paths.
“It’s going to be called the painted garden. There will be some landscaping, but it will primarily feature various styles and sizes of rock and walking paths and prayer paths with picnic benches and things of that nature,” she said. “And the reason it’s called the painted garden is because it is supposed to be full of kindness rocks, or painted rocks.”
Crosby said she hopes The Crystal Shard will become the center for the Crystal City community, supporting local businesses, offering community services and fostering a sense of community through various programs and events.
She said she’s glad to be leading the way for these changes and is looking for volunteers interested in serving their community.
“I’m always looking for volunteers in some way, shape or form. I can always use help,” Crosby said.
For more information, visit forhisfamilies.org or call 314-910-3894.