Future of Berwick? (Columbus, Bexley: real estate, house, neighborhoods)

[gsher]

I have seen Berwick mentioned numerous times in various posts as a great community in the east side. I would agree. My parents live in Berwick and we are considering it for our first house. However, I have to ask those who are long time Columbus residents and real estate agents who look at this post who have done business in Berwick, where do you see Berwick going? It's been a fairly stable area in terms of real estate values, but still it seems there are only a few people that know about this community and it doesnt seem to be in great demand. I have seen some beautiful homes and some run down homes particularly on the south and east end of Berwick. Do you think that some of Bexley (which is just north) will spill over into this community (empty nesters moving to Berwick for lower taxes) or do you think it will go the other way with some of the less desirable east side areas eventually spilling into Berwick and it will become less desirable over time? I know that the area has a lot of older residents and I have noticed a lot of estate sales.

[dustin183]

good question. i think it will probably stay flat or improve somewhat. probably depends more on the broader economy.

[streetcreed]

Berwick is a neighborhood that has many great homes that are all custom built. The neighborhood is just south of Bexley but in the city of Columbus.

The area is home to the mayor of Columbus and as the poster has mentioned is a great place to find a very nice house. Berwick is an area with home appreciation though it is not the highest in the metro but it has great stability. The fact it touches Bexley help. Also, it is divided from less off areas by highways.

Second, Berwick has seen a steady increase in the number of renovations. Homes very seldom sit unrenovated. Every decade the home owners tend to reinvest and this has continued as a high income yet diverse population has moved in including some LGBT people. A neighborhoods proper values only increase as the gay and lesbian community renovates or gentrifies homes/communities and resales them.

Third, Berwick is served by the Columbus City Schools. The city school district offers some great schools, has an open enrollment policy (so those within the lower performing schools can send their kids elsewhere in the district), and lastly the city district just renovated the neighborhood Berwick Elementary and expanded it to the middle school ages (kindergarten to 8th grade.)

The new school is state of the art and features expanded advanced course offerings in math, science, and strings in the music area. This may help to propel families back into the neighorhood although many families of the recent decades have used private schools as their income bracket tends to incline them to do so.

[jmargaret]

Oh, gosh, Streetcreed--do you really have to say stuff like that?: "A neighborhood's property values only increase as the gay and lesbian community renovates or gentrifies homes/communities and resales them".

[streetcreed]

Oh, gosh, Streetcreed--do you really have to say stuff like that?: "A neighborhood's property values only increase as the gay and lesbian community renovates or gentrifies homes/communities and resales them".

Yes because many in Columbus' finer up and gentrified neighborhoods owe their property values to the hard work many gays, lesbians, and early urbanites poured into restoring their neighborhood and thus increasing property values so they can either A) sell high or B) move into a neighborhood that would have been nothing more than declining dirty place, at this stage, had the gay and lesbian community not had a part in it.

If I recall you live in German Village, or have a house there. Any German Village resident would know their neighborhood was one of the first gay enclaves and thus renovated starting the in late 1960s.

[jmargaret]

Uh, oh, honey, there goes the neighborhood--the straight people are moving in!

[darlameow]

Face it, gay people are the first to be willing to live in a less desirable area as people with families move to the suburbs or already established areas.

I completely agree with streetcreed on this...

[jmargaret]

People who don't have children (i.e. empty nesters, singles, childless couples, etc.) are willing to move into areas without regard for the quality of the school district. It has nothing to do with being "gay" or not, and it is incredibly insensitive for someone to make such a generalized, prejudiced comment. There are more factors that go into the value of housing in a neighborhood besides the headcount of LGBT residents!

[darlameow]

And those who don't have children are more likely to be gay couples. It's no offense to straight people so try not to take it so personally.

[stationplay]

i think Berwick will always be a strong neighborhood. I have had like 9 friends who have lived over there when i growing up and for most of them, the parents are still in the neighborhood.

I have always said i would soooo buy a home that way. It's so quiet and the homes are very nice. Lots of blacks folks over there too. (being black it is always nice to see us actually living an upper/middle class lifestlye. Don't want to make that a big issue in the forum as it was about to go with the "gay" thing lol)

Im wondereing how it could grow? The bounderies are kind of tight and im not sure if there is any room for actual growth. Im not sure. Maybe someone could expand upon the issue... I don't want to come out sounding like a goofball.