East Liberty Transit Center (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: neighborhood, buy, incomes)

[sealie]

$900 does go a really long way in Beechview.
2 bedroom Apartment / Beechview Ave., 15216
Large 4BR Beechview South Hills City of Pittsburgh Single Family House

But hey, whatever you want to do. I like the sailboat stained glass window. Again, easy walking distance to the T and business district.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

In an attempt to veer this thread back on-topic does anyone know what the proposed rents may be for units in Mosites's new East Liberty project? Will they also be in the $1,300/month-$1,600/month range for 1-BR units? Higher? Also, what sorts of retail and restaurant offerings would everyone prefer?

As far as retail is concerned I'd love to have a Best Buy here. Call me old-fashioned, but I still like to buy my CDs, DVDs, video games, computer software, etc. in a brick-and-mortar store, and dealing with the Waterfront can be such a hassle. In terms of restaurants I can foresee Olive Garden being interested, as they replied that the city was "definitely on their radar for future expansion" when I inquired in the past about a new location in the area. I know Olive Garden is bland, cheesy, generic, yada, yada, yada, but my partner and I still like it, oddly enough, and are going there tonight for Valentine's Day. For East Enders we don't have many options for Olive Garden---hike up to Pittsburgh Mills (which we do), hope for a parking space at the overcrowded Green Tree location, or try the North Hills.

For non-chain-styled development, which I hope the majority of the offerings are, I'm drawing a blank. Everything else I would have a need for can be found in the East End within a 15-minute drive of my home.

Pet supplies? We have Petagogy or PetSmart.
Running supplies? True Runner.
Mexican? Verde, Mad Mex, Los Cabos, Qdoba, and Chipotle, to name a few.
Ethiopian? Abay and Tana.
Gyms? L.A. Fitness, Shadyside X, Club One Fitness, numerous yoga studios.
Thrift clothing? Goodwill Store, Avalon Exchange.
Indian? Prince of India or Coriander.
Gay bars? 5801, Cruze, Spin, etc.
Coffee? We have Starbuck's bleeding out our asses in the East End, along with Coffee Tree Roasters, Crazy Mocha, and independent's like Lili's and espresso a mano.
Pharmacies? Plentiful Walgreen's, CVS's, and Rite-Aid's to be found, along with Target.
Bakeries? Dozen, Vanilla, Prantl's, etc.

A Planet Smoothie or Jamba Juice might work, but once again those are chains.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I don't think East End rental prices are about gentrification, so much as the continuing rise in student enrollment. The North Side isn't a cheap place any more to own a house, but it is to rent. On the other hand, it's still fairly affordable (albeit more expensive) to buy in Bloomfield. So why do you pay twice as much now to rent a ****box in Bloomfield? Because you're competing with students who need a quick bus ride to work, and often have mommy and daddy help them pay rent.

The housing quality in the North Side is in large part way better than in Bloomfield and is more desirable according to current trends. Quality is less important to renters, at least in part because they're generally not liable for repairs. For a lot of people, Bloomfield is more convenient due to its proximity and connectivity to the two major employment centers, Downtown and Oakland. Because quality is less of a concern, by default renters weight convenience more heavily than prospective buyers, and that helps to drive up the price of low quality centrally located rentals, of which Bloomfield has an abundance.

[sealie]

You left out fro-yo.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by sealie

You left out fro-yo.

Actually, I could see that working there. I don't believe there's anywhere else in the East Liberty/Larimer area that offers that at the moment. The nearest ice cream place is Oh Yeah! on South Highland in Shadyside, if I'm not mistaken, isn't it?

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

I think Brookline is #1 in the city by population.

Squirrel Hill is the city's most populous neighborhood, more than twice the size of Brookline.

[SteelCityRising]

I'd love a Sheetz in the East End (I like their hot dogs), but I don't foresee that happening. If nothing else, though, something HAS to be done soon to ease the crunch at the GetGo on Baum & Morewood. I can't tell you how many times there's been a traffic jam inside their parking lot!

[FreightTrainRunning]

As far as retail is concerned I'd love to have a Best Buy here. Call me old-fashioned, but I still like to buy my CDs, DVDs, video games, computer software, etc. in a brick-and-mortar store, and dealing with the Waterfront can be such a hassle.

I'd be shocked if Best Buy even exists as a company by the time this development is ready for occupancy.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by GeneW

I'd be shocked if Best Buy even exists as a company by the time this development is ready for occupancy.

'Tis a shame how Borders and Circuit City (and likely Best Buy and Barnes & Noble in the coming years) are going the way of the dinosaur. I cringe to think of the day when 100% of our shopping is done online! Am I the only one who walks into a Best Buy or Barnes & Noble and feels like a kid in a candy store?

[LIRefugee]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Squirrel Hill is the city's most populous neighborhood, more than twice the size of Brookline.

For the hell of it, there are the top ten neighborhoods by 2010 population:

15,110: Squirrel Hill South
13,915: Shadyside
13,214: Brookline
11,363: Squirrel Hill North
10,551: North Oakland
10,113: Carrick
8,799: Mount Washington
8,442: Bloomfield
7,974: Beechview
7,294: Greenfield

East Liberty is at 5,869, the 17th most-populous neighborhood. I have a feeling that number will be higher in 2020.