The former First Presbyterian Church at 416 Library St., Braddock, is about to star in a new, off-screen reality show -- Extreme Makeover: Community Edition.

On Monday, as part of the national Day of Service honoring the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., dozens of AmeriCorps volunteers from here and Washington, D.C., met in the 119-year-old red brick building to begin what the banner outside proclaimed: "Restore Library Street. Restore Braddock."

Newly elected Braddock Mayor John Fetterman bought the church in July 2003 from Resurrection Baptist Church and applied for and received 501-C3, nonprofit status. He wants to turn the vacant 12,000-square-foot space into a community center where residents, especially young people, can exercise, learn, have fun and find alternatives to the street life that destroys so many young lives.

"I'm tired of Braddock making the headlines for the wrong reasons," Mr. Fetterman, 36, told those gathered at the historic Carnegie Library across from the church for the holiday festivities.

An alumnus of the AmeriCorps who currently runs the Youth Out-of-School program at Hill House in Braddock, Mr. Fetterman used family assets for the $50,000 purchase and $15,000 in repairs and fees.

"Yeah, the price was a bit high for the church building, but I bought my house for just $2,000," said Mr. Fetterman, referring to the abandoned warehouse next door that he turned into a contemporary, two-story loft home, complete with roof-deck, in early 2004.

To Mr. Fetterman, it was a matter of location, location, location. The church is across the street from the library, next to the Elks Club and down the street from Ben Franklin Elementary School -- ideal for creating a place to serve an area plagued by drugs, crime and unemployment.

Calling his project Braddock Redux, Mr. Fetterman wants to build a nonprofit enterprise that would include a youth recreation center in the basement level with office spaces and a place for community meetings and events in the high-vaulted ground level of the church itself.

Preliminary plans include an atrium and one-bedroom apartment -- connected by a walkway -- in the right and left church towers.

Right now, Mr. Fetterman is concentrating on the recreation center and will move some of his own exercise equipment into the basement when cleaning and painting are finished, sometime in the next several weeks.

A movable mural, designed by AmeriCorps volunteer Adam Ciochetto, uses the borough's ZIP code, 15104, and the words "The Battle for Braddock," will serve as a room divider and theme for the project's ultimate goal.

"I fundamentally believe in Braddock," said Mr. Fetterman, who first came to Pittsburgh in 1995 to work as an AmeriCorps volunteer in the Young Fathers and Mothers program at Hill House Association in the Hill District.

Julie Beitler, who works with Mr. Fetterman in the Out-of-School Youth program, sees him as a "huge" influence -- the mayor is 6-foot-4 and built like a Steeler linebacker -- in more than just physical appearance.

"John is too modest to say it, but these young men would do anything for him," said Ms. Beitler, gesturing toward Brandon Mason, 20, and his brother, Baron, 19, who both were busily scraping paint from the church walls.

"I think it's fantastic that he can be a role model for them," said Ms. Beitler, while noting that race -- Mr. Fetterman is white and the vast majority of Braddock's approximately 2,800 residents are black -- doesn't seem a barrier.

As far as funds go, Mr. Fetterman knows it's an uphill battle. He earned a master's degree in public policy and economics from Harvard University in 1999.

His first priority is a new roof, something he figures will cost about $500,000, with, as yet, no money on offer.

"I'm counting on when people hear about this project they will respond," said Mr. Fetterman.

"I've lived in Seattle, D.C., Boston and Philly and I honestly wouldn't live anywhere else. If I can get elected as mayor of Braddock, anything can happen."