Brookline: Neighborhood Rebranding (Baldwin, Liberty, West Liberty: houses, buy, maintenance)

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by doo dah

Pssst! 1004 Creedmoor Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15226 is For Sale - Zillow

That house has...potential. Stained glass is nice, and the woodwork is still there. Painted, but at least it's not painted white. Still, it's going to mean hours and hours of stripping with soy-gel. The kitchen and bathrooms would obviously have to be redone, although they look functional for the time being.

Still, I dunno if I'd say I love the house, looking at it. It's not horrible, and certainly above average for the neighborhood, but I think I'd need to decide on the neighborhood itself first before choosing something like this.

Originally Posted by Evergrey

That's one of my main problems with Brookline and Beechview... they don't connect with the rest of the city's urban fabric. Saw Mill Run creates a fissure, the the transportation infrastructure in that valley was poorly designed to accomodate anything other cars. At least Carrick "blends" into Mt. Oliver and the rest of the South Hilltop and eventually the rest of the city.

The West End has the same issue, come to think of it. Which is also probably why it feels so isolated.

Originally Posted by szug-bot

i do like how beechview 'blends' (eventually) into Dormont. that is, if you risk your life crossing Wenzell, even in a car to get down to Dormont.

If I lived in Beechview, I'm pretty sure I'd just take the T to Dormont and get off at Potomac Station.

Hell, it's interesting to think how well-positioned Beechview really is. While the business district itself is pretty mediocre, you can easily get to Dormont, Mount Lebanon, or Downtown. It's part of why Beechview appeals to me more than Brookline, despite being a worse neighborhood overall.

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I would also like to see the storefront design improvements that other areas have gotten but that may happen on its own once the Blvd reconstruction is complete.

I thought about saying this, but I thought it would be petty to say "your business district looks like ass." Plus a lot of nice business districts in the city (Walnut and Forbes for example) are mostly comprised of pretty ugly buildings.

What I think hurts Brookline most is the scale of the business district compared to the roads. A road should not be so much wider than the businesses are tall. Obviously the narrowing of the Boulevard has helped, but really more of the storefronts should have 2-3 stories of apartments and offices above as well.

[Evergrey]

Great point on the scale of Brookline Blvd, eschaton. Part of the width problem is the diagonal parking... which is something you see more in Midwestern small towns.

And while Walnut and Forbes have undistinguished commercial buildings... the big difference is the signage, awnings, etc. are much more attractive and updated than Brookline Blvd.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by doo dah

Pssst! 1004 Creedmoor Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15226 is For Sale - Zillow

The house is beautiful. I loved the entry and the stained glass. I want to buy all of the mid century furniture though. That furniture has neen in place since the 50s.

[hinsey86]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

The house is beautiful. I loved the entry and the stained glass. I want to buy all of the mid century furniture though. That furniture has neen in place since the 50s.

Lol..that is exactly what I thought. Could be some valuable pieces there.

[PghYinzer]

I am in total agreement about needing signage standards how it really detracts from the Blvd. I go as far as hitting up my council member to see if certain signs are agains city regulations. I don't want to deter a business from opening but I def dont like to see a huge "LOWEST TOBACCO PRICES" banner attached to the awning of a business. I have considered stopping in and offering my opinoin on how to make things look better, but that is usually not considered a very nice thing to do.

As for the width of the Blvd, the pull in parking is something that they say is beneficial. Now that there is a lane designated for backing out (not sure they can keep people from driving in it) it should help. The Blvd is very wide though compared to most, but it had a dedicated street car lane at one point. Maybe they should have considerd a tree lined island down the middle like Grant Street has...now that would have made it a true Blvd.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by eschaton

That house has...potential. Stained glass is nice, and the woodwork is still there. Painted, but at least it's not painted white. Still, it's going to mean hours and hours of stripping with soy-gel.

At first I thought you meant you were okay with non-white woodwork. And I was like "Why is he overlooking homes with white woodwork? He can just paint it a different color!"

But then you mentioned soy-gel, a product I had never heard of. I grew up with white woodwork and white brick fireplaces and was always told that it was basically impossible to strip unless you had an unbelievable amount of time to dedicate to it. I even watched my parents undertake some ultimately fruitless efforts at scraping the paint off old doors. Reading the reviews on amazon this soy-gel stuff looks promising. I just ordered a quart -- thanks for my new weekend project!

The kitchen and bathrooms would obviously have to be redone, although they look functional for the time being.

Keep in mind that the house would likely be completely paid off (and then some) once you sell your Lawrenceville house.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

The weird signs and "unappealing" storefronts are what make Brookline a distinctly Pittsburgh neighborhood. I would much rather have how it looks right now than some played out "industrial chic" signs or Universal Studios fake looking facades.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by ferraris

But then you mentioned soy-gel, a product I had never heard of. I grew up with white woodwork and white brick fireplaces and was always told that it was basically impossible to strip unless you had an unbelievable amount of time to dedicate to it. I even watched my parents undertake some ultimately fruitless efforts at scraping the paint off old doors. Reading the reviews on amazon this soy-gel stuff looks promising. I just ordered a quart -- thanks for my new weekend project!

The best thing about Soy-Gel is that it's a safe way to remove questionable paint that may have lead in it. So there's no health hazard, unlike things like a heat gun. It is a drippy gloppy mess though, and it can take 3-4 applications to get all the paint off something.

[JimboPGH]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

The weird signs and "unappealing" storefronts are what make Brookline a distinctly Pittsburgh neighborhood. I would much rather have how it looks right now than some played out "industrial chic" signs or Universal Studios fake looking facades.

Agreed.

The Blvd reminds me of a lot of small town business districts in the mid-state, mixed with down-home, Pittsburgh trashiness (which I mean in the most pleasant of terms). All that's missing from it business wise is a South Hills Spak Brothers branch and an all-ages punk venue.

I personally love the rolling, verdant, streetcar-suburban, aesthetics of Brookline. It's Pittsburgh to the bone.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

The weird signs and "unappealing" storefronts are what make Brookline a distinctly Pittsburgh neighborhood. I would much rather have how it looks right now than some played out "industrial chic" signs or Universal Studios fake looking facades.

I agree, better than Subway, Sports Clips, or Pizza Hut.