New residential units planned for SHV T station (Bethel Park, Castle Shannon: apartment complex, leasing)

[fleetiebelle]

I can't think of very many suburban apartment complexes that are entirely beautifully situated. Somebody always has a view of the parking lot or the highway or a strip mall.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by JoshM25

A good concept, but if they are building it there. Pretty dumb.

The T station is where it is.

I'm willing to bet if it does get built, the units will be very popular, notwithstanding the questionable aesthetics of some of the surrounding.

[JoshM25]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

The T station is where it is.

I'm willing to bet if it does get built, the units will be very popular, notwithstanding the questionable aesthetics of some of the surrounding.

No, I understand where the T station is, I just have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to have the mall as their literal backyard. I can see the convenience, but holy heck is that area busy.

[neurodistortion]

Originally Posted by JoshM25

No, I understand where the T station is, I just have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to have the mall as their literal backyard. I can see the convenience, but holy heck is that area busy.

The way I see it, it's no different than living in any other busy semi-urbanized area such as around a mall. At the mall in Natick, Mass, there's condos that are actually located on the mall property.

[BrianTH]

Obviously all things being equal, people would likely prefer a nicer setting. But the convenience alone will sell it (after all, most people, when in their home, are looking at a TV, computer, book, etc., not out the window).

[Tinare]

Isn't it basically like the apartments at the Waterfront, but with the added benefit of the T? Some of those places have the view of the river, but otherwise it's a huge parking lot and a strip mall.

[greg42]

There are apartments visible by Ross Park Mall too. And Robinson if I remember right. It's not that unusual really.

[BrianTH]

Castle Shannon too:

http://triblive.com/home/2683364-74/...#axzz27lCYjhj3

[Tirade]

Originally Posted by neurodistortion

This could potentially be the key to making South Hills Village more of a hub for transit and mixed-uses with residential, office, healthcare, and other services all available in one pedestrian-friendly place. Ironically, the architect of SHV was urbanist Victor Gruen, who's initial vision for the mall development was centered around this concept.

I've actually ridden the T to SHV, and it's not as pedestrian-friendly as you might suspect. You can access the mall and the Eat-n-Park, but the rest of SHV's attractions are inaccessible by foot. Not only are peripheral big box stores and strip malls a long walk away, but the complex itself is surrounded by very busy, multi-lane roads with no walk signals. You can't even walk to the very nice Market District and LA Fitness that are less than a mile away. If they want to encourage pedestrian traffic in the area, then they're going to have make some very drastic and expensive changes to that whole area.

Personally, I don't understand why anyone would want to live in a mall parking lot when the East End offers better public transportation options and walkable neighborhoods. If it's T access you really want, then even Beechview is a better option because it's closer to Downtown and you can walk to a grocery store there.

[Tirade]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Obviously all things being equal, people would likely prefer a nicer setting. But the convenience alone will sell it (after all, most people, when in their home, are looking at a TV, computer, book, etc., not out the window).

It's not the view that's the main problem. It's the loud trucks making deliveries at 5 am. It's the bright flood lights in the parking lot that are on at all hours of the day. It's the traffic congestion on the weekends not to mention the holiday season.

There's also the issue of not being able to walk to anything else besides the mall, but I concede that's not a problem for many people.