Converted Tarentum church now a bustling community spot as The Clement

Once a gathering place for prayer and worship, The Clement in Tarentum is a community hot spot where the multitudes come together.

“Every single room was destroyed when I bought it,” said Phillip Rhodes, 54, a Highland Park software engineer. “Now, every room is filled.”

From guitar lessons and yoga to preschool and dance, the 6,500-square-foot building is bustling on any given day.

Some of the offices in the adjoining former elementary school house data-processing operations and other clerical-type businesses.

“There were 350 students that went to school here in the mid-’90s,” Rhodes said. “My favorite thing is, after this building sat vacant for 20 years, to see all the little preschool children line up and run around the auditorium.”

The former St. Clement Roman Catholic Church was founded in 1906 as a Slovak parish at the corner of West Ninth Avenue and Center Street. For more than eight decades, it served a hardy congregation. In 1992, it merged with Sacred Heart-St. Peter to form Holy Martyrs.

The property had been empty for more than 20 years when Rhodes purchased it at auction in 2015.

“I had no intention of buying an old church,” he said. “But it went up for $50,000, and no one bid. I couldn’t let it go.”

Rhodes had loose ties to Tarentum, having lived in the borough briefly as a child. He grew up not far away, in Clinton Township, and attended South Buffalo Elementary School.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Rhodes co-founded a city bicycle delivery service called Jet Messenger.

When he bought the Tarentum property, Rhodes conceded there was no solid plan for redevelopment.

“I just started room by room,” he said.

The three-story building had no heat or water. The pipes had been stolen, and the interior was somewhat dilapidated.

Undaunted, Rhodes turned to Google. “You have the whole world at your hands on the internet,” he said.

He bought a boiler on eBay from a commercial ravioli manufacturer in New Jersey. He shined up the original blue-and-white checkered tile floor.

In the space where Mass was once celebrated, Rhodes painted a floral mural over the faded wallpaper and opened the room to different events.

He opened for business in 2017. Since then, The Clement has welcomed concerts, niche conventions, school groups and Scouts. There’s even been a wrestling event and a clown troupe.

Rhodes promotes The Clement as an “affordable elegant wedding venue” that’s “available for any faith or secular weddings” with ample space for catering.

He also picked up a trend that started in Britain: camping in a church, or “champing.” Through Airbnb, he rents out the whole space for a night and offers bedding and other amenities.

A 600-square-foot balcony overlooks the former sanctuary, which holds up to 200 people — and their four-legged friends. The site is dog-friendly.

Last month, Rhodes replaced more than 200 feet of slate roofing and applied to Allegheny County to operate the building’s kitchen for commercial use.

He’s focused on maintaining the integrity and character of the building. Visitors will notice many of the original features, such as tall steel radiators and classroom bulletin boards.

Amy Feldbusch has operated her Sincerely Yoga and Massage for four years from the site.

“I found that space and it checked all the boxes for me,” said Feldbusch of Vandergrift. “The tenants are wonderful, there’s parking, and it’s just a really nice space in general.”

Other tenants include the Allegheny Intermediate Unit Head Start program, Family Tree tutoring and Twirl Time baton and dance studio.

For Rhodes, the options are limitless regarding what the building might offer.

“The key is being ready to pivot,” he said. “We want to have an impact on the community and grow with it.”