Prestonia/Belmar/Parkway (Louisville, Newburg, La Grange: for sale, condominiums, crime)

[glamdais]

Looking at homes to buy. I'm priced out of the Highlands and want to be fairly close to downtown, so I started looking at Germantown (police stats show bad crime, especially thefts), Bradley (same problem). A realtor has suggested the Prestonia area which I'm not that familiar with except for it's general vicinity. According to the police stats it looks low in crime and has houses in the range I'm looking for ($120 up or down a bit). Belmar and Parkway were also mentioned. Can anyone tell me about theses areas as far as your impression of crime, quality of life and houses? I know it's not an area that I'll make money off a house (not sure that exists anymore anyway), but I'm more interested in a good house, in a safe neighborhood that I can stay in for quite some time without throwing good money after bad. Any help would be appreciated.

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by glamdais

Looking at homes to buy. I'm priced out of the Highlands and want to be fairly close to downtown, so I started looking at Germantown (police stats show bad crime, especially thefts), Bradley (same problem). A realtor has suggested the Prestonia area which I'm not that familiar with except for it's general vicinity. According to the police stats it looks low in crime and has houses in the range I'm looking for ($120 up or down a bit). Belmar and Parkway were also mentioned. Can anyone tell me about theses areas as far as your impression of crime, quality of life and houses? I know it's not an area that I'll make money off a house (not sure that exists anymore anyway), but I'm more interested in a good house, in a safe neighborhood that I can stay in for quite some time without throwing good money after bad. Any help would be appreciated.

Germantown is far from dangerous. I am not a big fan of Belmar and the Camp Taylor areas. I believe them to be a little run down.

Parkway, and nearby Audubon Park, are beautiful however. My advice would be to get as close to Audubon Park as you can afford in that area. Prestonia is ok, but Parkway and the northern reaches of Germantown close to Eastern Parkway are much nicer IMO. You cannot go wrong with a bungalow on streets like Fetter Ave.

[Nmissi]

I used to live on Wolfe Ave off Preston, near Belmar. God, I loved that house. The homes in the neighborhood have so much character! They're all different, and a lot of them have little architectural touches that make them stand out, or make the house feel special. I suspect some of them were built by the same builders who worked in Audobon park- the homes are the same sort of build quality and class, but they're not as pricey. Preston's not terribly attractive, but the neighborhood I'm talking about (across from Value City) is actually very quiet and pleasant. I still drive by the old house from time to time; if it ever came up for sale again, I'd be sorely tempted.

[glamdais]

Thanks for the replies. How long ago was it that you lived on Wolfe Ave.? As far as the crime in Germantown, I was going by the police report they have on the Courier Journal. Some streets seem OK and some seemed like they had an awful lots of thefts and burglaries. I really like the area, I am just crime leary. Same with Bradley. What I'm really looking for is a safe, walkable area without break-ins or thefts with houses in the $120-$130K range. I know these days no area is immune from that, just trying to avoid an area that already has those types of problems as I am single. People have also mentioned the Merriweather and St. Joseph areas as being nice and close to the city while being affordable.

[JazzLobster]

Originally Posted by stx12499

...Parkway, and nearby Audubon Park, are beautiful however. My advice would be to get as close to Audubon Park as you can afford in that area. Prestonia is ok, but Parkway and the northern reaches of Germantown close to Eastern Parkway are much nicer IMO. You cannot go wrong with a bungalow on streets like Fetter Ave.

I'm curious about the Audubon Park area, stx. The maps show it close to the airport. After growing up outside of O'Hare airport I wonder if Audubon gets a lot of airplane noise.

[censusdata]

I've always thought of the Audubon Park/ U of L part of Preston Highway as being a pretty nice area. Btw I-264 and Outer Loop its more of a working class.

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by JazzLobster

I'm curious about the Audubon Park area, stx. The maps show it close to the airport. After growing up outside of O'Hare airport I wonder if Audubon gets a lot of airplane noise.

As a Chicago native, I can tell you that comparing SDF to O'hare is no comparison. However, it is the UPS Worldwide cargo hub, making it one of the 10 busies and largest cargo airports in the world, even though it has a tiny passenger terminal for a metro area near 1.5 million.

That said, Audubon Park tends to be less loud than parts of St Joseph and Germantown certainly. At night UPS lands a huge cargo plane about every 5-10 minutes.

Audubon Park is a historic, very wealthy, "streetcar suburb." In many ways it is comprable on a smaller scale to it's counter parts in Chicago. Places like Oak Park or even a La Grange, IL which also run nearby to Chicago's east-west industral corridor (in Louisville this corridor is oriented north south and is of cf course on a 5-10 times smaller scale). That is many folks in Chicago's gripe about those hoods, and likewise in Louisville very nice and often overlooked areas like Audubon Park run very close to historic industrial and often unsightly commercial corridors (i.e, Preston Highway).

Audubon is very well kept with historic homes and tree lined streets, and well very respected as a neighborhood by locals and long time natives. Each May it hosts a "dogwood festival" before Derby, which shows you its ties with the south. Further to the east you go in that area, the less airport noise, and it usually is not too bad. Areas around George Rogers Clark Park are also nice, and the same can be said for the areas off of Trevilian way close to the Louisville zoo netween Newburg Road and Poplar Level, north of I-264. Here you can get a bit newer homes for cheap, still be in the heart of the city close to Germantown and the Highlands, and not have to worry a cent about crime. Also there are several historic condo conversions and even a new condo midrise in that area, should you not want a house.

Audubon Woods
The Plaza at Audubon Park Condominiums, Louisville, Kentucky

[amac626]

Glamdais,
I think based on your wants the Schnitzelburg area in Germantown fits what you are looking for (40217 zip code). Stx mentioned Fetter Ave., which is the nicest street in the area in my opinion. Per the MLS there are 3 houses currently for sale ranging from $128,000 - $139,900 on that street. It's a safe area and very safe/friendly. I'd look at the following streets: Texas Ave, Delor, Eastern Pkwy, Keswick, Fetter, Lydia, and Minoma.

I think some of the crime stats are rather deceptive for Germantown (fwiw). Many of my neighbors have said the neighborhood isn't much different from what it was 25 years ago. I see that as a good thing as its rather stable and young families are moving in as the elderly pass away.

[glamdais]

Thank you. I'm actually going over to look at those houses on Fetter this weekend. There's also one on S. Shelby. What do you think about that area? I know to stay away from Shelby Park, but I've heard some good things about the Merriwether section of Shelby and how new businesses are opening through there.

[JazzLobster]

I've noticed a few really nice looking homes for sale right on Eastern Pkwy.

I'm guessing that traffic and noise is an issue here. Is that correct?