McPherson/Fifth in Point Breeze North? (Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg: apartment, roughest, houses)

[tabinekotaro]

I'm looking at an apartment on McPherson Blvd. near 5th Ave. in Point Breeze North. I've read several threads discussing the area and am comfortable with the neighborhood in general. It's less than ideal, commuting-wise for me, but my partner is really interested so we're looking at it anyway. I have a couple concerns about this specific location, though:

1) In some older threads, McPherson was referred to as still pretty rough. Google's street view backs this up--boarded up houses, etc.--but I know those photos can be old. Is it still this way? Getting better? I'll know more after actually visit that block, but maybe someone can give an idea of the general direction it's trending.

2) Proximity to Homewood: McPherson is really close to the busway/RR tracks, and the block is between two of the streets that connect to Homewood via underpasses. Does this make it worse than other locations in the neighborhood?

3) The apartment itself looks great from the photos I've seen, but it has been on CL for a while now. This makes me think there must be something wrong with the location, or the house itself.

Thanks for any insight!

[Evergrey]

Great proximity to the East Liberty Target... which... uhhh... may not be a good thing.

[Uptown kid]

I'm looking at an apartment on McPherson Blvd. near 5th Ave. in Point Breeze North. I've read several threads discussing the area and am comfortable with the neighborhood in general. It's less than ideal, commuting-wise for me, but my partner is really interested so we're looking at it anyway. I have a couple concerns about this specific location, though:

1) In some older threads, McPherson was referred to as still pretty rough. Google's street view backs this up--boarded up houses, etc.--but I know those photos can be old. Is it still this way? Getting better? I'll know more after actually visit that block, but maybe someone can give an idea of the general direction it's trending.

2) Proximity to Homewood: McPherson is really close to the busway/RR tracks, and the block is between two of the streets that connect to Homewood via underpasses. Does this make it worse than other locations in the neighborhood?

Point Preeze North is a safe, diverse, working class-middle class neighborhood that's uncomparably safer than even the quietest parts of Homewood. Although, currently its only set back is it's proximity to Homewood (as Wilkinsburg west if the busway is no longer that bad). It's been this way since the 70's.
That being said it has annual spill over as many black residents of Point Breeze North are from originally Homewood that's not too far away. While Point Breeze South is notably nicer, and doesn't have these problems. TBBH in Point Breeze North spill over shootings occur 3-5 times a year (yet most gunshots sounds you'll hear will come from Homewood), and on McPherson/Thomas you might see undesirables hanging out and walking to-from Westinghouse Park to Homewood South. *Note: the only scary part of the area is Westinghouse Park, and don't take a stroll through there at night..

All in all Point Breeze North IS safe, but there IS spill over from the roughest neighborhood in Southwest Pennsylvania that's up the street. And if that doesn't bother you as it doesn't bother most residents, including a city councilmen (who propably has a wife & children) you should be fine.

[Evergrey]

Another setback is the violent automobile sewer that is Penn Avenue in that part of the city... very hostile environment for bikers and pedestrians... and motorists need to keep a lookout for random parked cars in the outer lanes.

That said... it's a decent area with some interesting boulevards... which is a rarity in Pittsburgh. It's sorta the "median" between its two very different neighboring areas... Homewood and Point Breeze proper.

[tabinekotaro]

Thanks, Uptown Kid and Evergrey. I drove by today, and I can't think of a better term than "violent automotive sewer". The street was a little scruffy but not awful looking. One block towards Penn, Thomas, was remarkably nicer. We ended up settling on a place in Lawrenceville.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by tabinekotaro

Thanks, Uptown Kid and Evergrey. I drove by today, and I can't think of a better term than "violent automotive sewer". The street was a little scruffy but not awful looking. One block towards Penn, Thomas, was remarkably nicer. We ended up settling on a place in Lawrenceville.

Congratulations! We live very near to Lawrenceville and due to our own lack of a business district in Polish Hill we tend to use Butler Street as our own "business district". That area has improved tremendously even just since I moved here in 2010, and the dining options are growing more quickly than we've had the opportunity to sample. There are also some great boutiques and galleries.

Penn Avenue is certainly a mess through Point Breeze and even into Wilkinsburg. The entire corridor between Fifth Avenue and the East Busway overpass could use a major overhaul. If it's not idiots parking ON Penn Avenue in front of the Evergreen Cafe it's people bullying each other as they jockey for position as the two lanes in each direction suddenly "disappear" without warning just over the Wilkinsburg town line. This just encourages more aggressive driving, which has led to a few deaths now and NUMEROUS close-calls.

[tabinekotaro]

Thanks! We're really excited about the place and the move. We'll be right on the southern border of Upper Larwenceville, so there's not quite as much hubbub as a few blocks down, but it's still close to everything.

Polish Hill was recommended to us as a neighborhood to look at, but there was no availability there that we could find.

[ex-burgher]

So you'll be commuting to Morgantown from there? Years ago my Mom lived in Pine Township but worked in Morgantown (for 3 years). She rented a small cheap basement flat for the week and came home on weekends. It worked out, but she did not have a partner.

[tabinekotaro]

Originally Posted by ex-burgher

So you'll be commuting to Morgantown from there? Years ago my Mom lived in Pine Township but worked in Morgantown (for 3 years). She rented a small cheap basement flat for the week and came home on weekends. It worked out, but she did not have a partner.

That's right. It's good to hear about more people that make that work. I'll start out trying the trip 2x a week, staying over a couple days in Morgantown, and if that's too much, I can go the weekdays in WV, weekends in Pittsburgh route. The nice thing is that in the summer (and during breaks), I don't have to be in Morgantown much at all because I don't teach summer classes. (Of course I don't get paid in the summer either. ) So I'll be able to do my independent work from home and enjoy being in the city.

We looked in the neighborhoods with more direct I-79 access, but ended up wanting a more urban feel. Hopefully it wil be a worthwhile tradeoff. I think it will, but I won't know until I get into the thick of doing it!