The Carrick Dairy District is a retail shopping district being developed along Brownsville Road from West Meyers Street to West Cherryhill in the Carrick neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. Development is expected to spread into surrounding areas.
The concept behind the Carrick Dairy District is to transform the area into a destination that provides an anchor for that stretch of Brownsville Road in Carrick.
The Dairy District’s pavilion is a multipurpose venue. It is home to the Citiparks Farmers Market in Carrick, which is a weekly open-air market that sells farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, cheese and baked goods on Wednesday afternoons during the summer and fall.
Other events have been held there are well – Brews and Bites, food truck roundups and maker events. Leadership Pittsburgh did an art installation. The business district debuted with demonstrations of cow milking. Cheese and ice-cream samples were handed out.
The Carrick Dairy District could be an incubator for new entrepreneurs looking for inexpensive real estate to grow a dairy-themed business.
Access to the Carrick Dairy is available by the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s 51-Carrick and 51L buses, which travel Brownsville Road through the day.
The concept of a dairy-themed business district was unveiled in 2014. Part of the funding was intended to develop the district, revitalize a low to moderate income community and improve the quality of life for the residents.
The space was named the Carrick Dairy District in a nod to the city’s only and oldest dairy – it opened in the early 1900s – being right there. When the planning began, Colteryahn Dairy was locally owned. After the Carrick Dairy District opened, the Brownsville Road dairy was sold to Turner’s Dairy of Penn Hills – still local, just not as local. Turner is known for their iced tea. Turner Dairy renamed the Brownsville Road facility to Special-T Dairy and continued operations. Special-T Dairy processes milk brought in from area farms. It manufactures products branded with the Turner name and other labels. Carl Colteryahn III remained president of the Carrick dairy operation.
During the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, the opening of the farmers market was delayed. Volunteers distributed free meals to school age children at the Carrick Dairy District pavilion. A number of organizations – Pittsburgh Public Schools, United Way, Eat’n Park, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Community Kitchen and Scratch Food & Beverage – worked to make grab-and-go meals happen. When the Citiparks Farmers Markets opened, wearing masks, social distancing and safe purchasing requirements were put in place.
The Carrick Dairy District is a joint initiative of Economic Development South (EDS), Carrick Community Council, the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority, Colteryahn Dairy/Special-T Dairy, the City Of Pittsburgh, the Design Center, Pittsburgh City Council and private investors. EDS, a nonprofit community development corporation that worked to develop the Route 51 and Brownsville Road commercial corridors, functioned as project manager.
The Dairy District is located at 1529 Brownsville Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15210.