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Nationally renowned comedian and former Los Angeles resident Steve Hofstetter now calls Pittsburgh home — and he’s in the process of making a second purchase of a local church.
Hofstetter was the host and executive producer of the first season of “Laughter” on FOX and appeared on “The Late Show with Craig Ferguson.” His previous purchase of a Pittsburgh church came when he began turning a church into the home of the Stanton Heights nonprofit Steel City Arts Foundation in 2020. In late December of that year, he announced he was moving from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh.
Hofstetter’s latest attempt is to convert a former church into a comedy club and film production studio, even though it hasn’t actually been a house of worship for more than 30 years. The commercial subdivision building purchased by Hofstetter is the former Melwood Party Center at 3312 Babcock Blvd. In Ross, about five minutes southwest of Ross Park Mall. The purchase is set to be finalized on March 30, and Hofstetter said he plans to start construction that afternoon.
His plans include converting the former chapel into a 200- to 300-seat performance space for comedy, drama, music and special events. Hoffstetter also plans to use 20,000 square feet of studio space for film production.
“I started looking around for places where I could shoot easily. I found this space, and it was great because it could do live events and shoot, and it also had a recording studio,” says Hofstetter.
“There’s an area that’s currently being used for storage that we’re going to turn into a workshop, and that’s where the sets will be built,” he said. “Then these sets will be used in the front church. The cool part is the set is not very three-dimensional. It’s almost a back wall so we can move them around and when we do shows and live events, you can sit in there from the View it in a barber shop, bar or living room etc. The decor will be constantly changing and unique.”
His latest project is a for-profit venture that he believes will benefit his fellow comedians.
“It’s hope, not just comedy,” Hofstetter said. “That’s the world I specialize in. That’s the world I know.” The chapel would be gorgeous. It will be capable of speaking, music, weddings or various events. It’s going to be a really cool vibe, something that people are going to really enjoy. ”
Hofstetter said he also sees the venue as an incubator for performers.
“The way the chapel is structured, the stage itself is so large that it has a curtain separating it (and) the stage becomes a small performance area,” Hofstetter said. “So, when you’re not using the whole room, you can close the stage, and then you can have 30 to 40 people. So we’ll be able to use open mics, we’ll be able to do smaller shows. It’s like a theater Black box.”
Hofstetter said he plans to bring in some big-name comics, which will create opportunities and open doors for local comedians.
In keeping with the humorous theme, he even plans to include a piece called “Sunken Bus” as part of the decor — a nod to the public transit bus that fell into a sinkhole in downtown Pittsburgh during Monday morning rush hour in 2019.
“The thing I’ve enjoyed most since I moved here is that Pittsburghs are proud of Pittsburgh,” Hofstetter said. “No matter what happens here, good or bad, this is our city. It’s something I haven’t experienced before. I grew up in New York. I lived in Los Angeles, and you don’t feel it there. So, I Really wanted to give a little tip on that.”
According to Hofstetter, the targeted opening date for the Ross space is sometime this summer.
“We wanted to make it a very interesting space.”
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