Well, in short, it is a 27,000sqft building at 517-521 Lincoln Ave.

But for a more in depth answer, we need to go back a little.

In 2000, Sabatino DiBattista did what the locals said was impossible, he opened Vivo, a high-end restaurant in Bellevue . Now after 5 years, Vivo and Mr. DiBattista have both been critically acclaimed numerous times. Following the success of Vivo, DiBattista helped his sister and brother-in-law open Frankfurters, a hot dog shop a step above others that has been named, “the best hot dog shop in a 20 mile radius of Pittsburgh ” by Pittsburgh Magazine. Shortly after that, DiBattista convinced Roberto to bring his Authentic Pizza shop to the streets of Bellevue . Since then, Roberto has received international attention in National Geographic World Traveler. Then in fall of 2003 DiBattista opened Affogato, a coffee shop that has a feeling somewhere between a grungy coffee shop that peaked in the ‘90s and today's Starbucks that line most streets in America . Affogato, which was recently named the “..1 coffee shop in Pittsburgh , is also the start to the story of what 517521 is.

Late 2003, DiBattista was in Affogato talking to customers seated around the circular bar, when he met Andy Rubacky. Rubacky, a 28 year old graphic designer was intrigued by Dibattista's desire of starting a local magazine. Rubacky, who at the time had 10 years of magazine experience approached DiBattista to discuss the magazine. The two instantly saw eye to eye on matters of what the area needed and both had the creativity and desire to see it happen. While the idea of a magazine has never been forgotten, many little projects have put the magazine on the back burner until the time was right. DiBattista put Rubacky in charge of Affogato, and the two worked together on more ideas of how to help bring attention to the community. Then in fall 2004, the old G.C. Murphy building at 517-521 Lincoln Ave. went up for sale. The two knew they had to have this building; otherwise it would have been taken over by yet another dollar store. They weren't short on ideas for what to do with the space. There were discussions of a store, a small business incubator, movie theatre, playhouse, lofts, Skate Park, auction house, antique mall, coffee shop, dance hall, art gallery, night club, the list is endless. The thing is, the way the two work together and discuss ideas baffle most people, so after a few partners that didn't think the project could work, the two struggled forward to try to make it happen. “Either we know what we are doing, or we are complete freakin' idiots.” the two have been overheard saying. So, working on every possible idea to buy the building, DiBattista and Rubacky, took every approach they could think of to make their plan work. For awhile it looked almost hopeless, since they had endless ideas but a lack of funds to even purchase the building. Until, a customer of Affogato and Vivo heard what they were trying to accomplish, and offered to help financially with the purchase of the building. So with the ability to purchase the building, they were ready to start planning which idea would be a good start. Well, with the building already zoned as retail, a retail shop it would be. So, the first floor would become a department store, with a twist. Instead of a lot of the typical things you would find at the mall, where everything is mass produced, they wanted something with some individualism. That is where 517521, a department store of sorts, got its start. The idea was a New, Vintage, and Artist-Produced department store. A place where things were pretty much one of a kind. The plan is much bigger than the retail shop. The shop is basically a spring board to the bigger and better ideas. “We want to do a movie theatre, a small independent one that shows B-movies, cult classics and foreign and art films. But there are a few things that need updated to change the buildings code into a movie theatre. So we are using the retail shop to bring in the funds to make that possible,” both Rubacky and DiBattista have claimed. So when people shop at the store, they aren't just shopping at a store, they are helping to bring a much anticipated theatre into town. The other part of the plan for the first floor was to give young entrepreneurs a place to start a small business. So if someone has a dream to open a comic book shop, they can come into 517521 and do it with greater ease than in their own store front. “With a building of this scale, it's easier to have a comic book shop, since its sharing overhead with a lot of other things,” Rubacky has said. The first to take advantage of the low overhead space is a local couple that wants to open a skate shop, with local and national skateboards and skate clothing. After doing a survey of people in Bellevue , Rubacky found that a lot of their ideas were things that others thought were missing in Bellevue . So with the space they can give artists and entrepreneurs a store presence with very low cost to them as well as a unique store that isn't just selling product. Its providing an experience that is unique for everyone. Some enjoy seeing the old G.C.Murphys that many worked in during their youth; others take comfort in the products that remind them of their childhood, and then youth like finding things that they have never seen before. For the rest of the building, they are working on Creative TreeHouse on the second level, which will be Pittsburgh 's creative hub, a space for artists to get together and work and network and eventually hold client meetings and arts based events. “There is still a plan to include a movie theatre into the building, it's just a little bit further down the road,” DiBattista says.

There is still an attempt being made to produce the local magazine that started this story. The old manager's office on the mezzanine level of the building will house the magazine office as well as the marketing department for everything that will reside at the address 517-521 Lincoln Ave.

So, in answer to your question, what is 517521? It's a building at 517 -521 Lincoln Ave. that its owners hope to fill with unique experiences for its patrons and hopefully bring some cultural events that will draw some attention to the little town of Bellevue .
If you have any questions please contact us: contact@517521.com

Take a look at the above links they allow you to:
watch the original video walk-thru of the building,
blog of everything 517521 ,
see a photo tour of the building before we started .

517521 is a project of Metanoia Development.