Neighborhood of the week: Friendship (Pittsburgh, Liberty: apartments, rental homes, condo)

[eschaton]

Friendship is a small neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, sandwiched between Bloomfield, East Liberty, Garfield, and Shadyside. The exact boundaries of the neighborhood are subject to some debate. The city officially defines Friendship as only being a narrow strip four blocks wide east of S Graham and west of S Negley. Unofficially the portions of Bloomfield north of Liberty and east of Gross are generally considered to be part of the neighborhood. Sometimes the few blocks of East Liberty south of Penn with similar housing stock (like Amber Street) are included. We covered the "Friendship portions" of each neighborhood in prior weeks, so will not do so extensively here.

While Bloomfield and the core portions of East Liberty were built out in the mid 19th century, Friendship (particularly "Friendship proper") remained mostly undeveloped farmland owned by the Roup family through to 1890. The neighborhood was then was nearly fully built out within a ten-year period, filled with large detached brick houses built for the professional class in Pittsburgh (doctors, lawyers, engineers and the like, but not the true upper echelons of Pittsburgh wealth). A few areas along Roup Avenue were not yet developed during this period, and were infilled with more modest housing in the early to mid 20th century. During this period Frendship did not have an identity of its own - much like what we now know of as Highland Park and the northern third of Shadyside, it was merely seen as a sub-neighborhood of East Liberty.

Friendship took a turn for the worse during the mid 20th century, with the wealthy of the neighborhood decamping for the suburbs. At the same time nearby Garfield and East Liberty's housing projects triggered a measure of white flight from the neighborhood (although the neighborhood never came close to being majority black). Pittsburgh also changed its zoning during this period, allowing subdivision of many of the grand houses, which also resulted in the ruining of many of the grand hoses through unkind renovations - most notably the removal of many of the porches which were formerly universal in the neighborhood.

Friendship began its turnaround in the 1980s and 1990s, with a trickle of middle class homeowners who moved into the neighborhood and began restoring many of the houses. Indeed the creation of the name Friendship came due to their efforts to rebrand the area as something other than East Liberty. Ironically, most of these "urban homesteaders" actually live in the Bloomfield part of Friendship, where the houses are slightly smaller and weren't as frequently subdivided. Within "Friendship proper" most of the housing stock stayed in the hands of landlords, but the tenant pool has shifted to heavily be comprised by students (undergrads and graduate) along with young professionals just out of school. Unfortunately the condition of the buildings which are rentals has generally not improved over time - the owners just shifted from being slumlords to student slumlords. The transition between the homeowner occupied and rental houses can be quite jarring.

Friendship is mostly a residential area, lacking a business district of its own. A few blocks of Penn Avenue's "Garfield" business district are actually in Friendship on one side. This area most notably includes Alloy Studios and the Pittsburgh Glass Center. One block of the Baum-Centre corridor is also within Friendship technically, including the Aldi, a Crazy Mocha, and the new Baumhaus apartment building (which is now almost finished). In general though Friendship is close to a lot of very active areas, but is pretty quiet itself.

The future of the neighborhood looks a lot like its recent past. Friendship has passed the gentrification point. There really aren't too many grand old houses left for people to restore, and what's little that goes on the market can sell for $500,000 and up. At the same time, students will always pay top dollar to live in crap, so there's not really any chance that the landlords of the neighborhood could be cajoled to improve the external and internal conditions much. Honestly, with the advent of so many upscale mega-apartment buildings nearby (or in the case of Baumhaus, technically in the neighborhood) the rental market might go a bit more downscale as those who wish to pay more have better options. Still, Friendship is in a good place to settle into comfortable stagnation.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

I really like Friendship but wish there was a way to force the "slumlords" to improve their properties (the facades, at minimum). I don't think Friendship has many rental homes that are not subdivided the way Oakland does, which would seemingly give the city limited ability to force anything via the ordinances that limit the number of unrelated persons living in a single residence. Most of the places I am aware of are subdivided into studios, efficiencies, and 1 BR places that have single or dual occupants. We aren't talking about 9 students in a 4 bedroom house. I would expect that many of the places would not pass code for a new landlord to get an occupancy permit for a building that changes hands, so our only hope might be that some of the holding companies go belly up if the new apartments force rents to a point where they don't cover maintenance costs and taxes.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

I really like Friendship but wish there was a way to force the "slumlords" to improve their properties (the facades, at minimum). I don't think Friendship has many rental homes that are not subdivided the way Oakland does, which would seemingly give the city limited ability to force anything via the ordinances that limit the number of unrelated persons living in a single residence. Most of the places I am aware of are subdivided into studios, efficiencies, and 1 BR places that have single or dual occupants. We aren't talking about 9 students in a 4 bedroom house. I would expect that many of the places would not pass code for a new landlord to get an occupancy permit for a building that changes hands, so our only hope might be that some of the holding companies go belly up if the new apartments force rents to a point where they don't cover maintenance costs and taxes.

IMHO the only real hope for some of these houses is if our condo market becomes competitive enough that some of the big houses with more potential are converted over. AFAIK there's only two subdivided houses in Friendship which have "gone condo" with both of them three unit (presumably one unit per floor).

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

I really like Friendship but wish there was a way to force the "slumlords" to improve their properties (the facades, at minimum). I don't think Friendship has many rental homes that are not subdivided the way Oakland does, which would seemingly give the city limited ability to force anything via the ordinances that limit the number of unrelated persons living in a single residence. Most of the places I am aware of are subdivided into studios, efficiencies, and 1 BR places that have single or dual occupants. We aren't talking about 9 students in a 4 bedroom house. I would expect that many of the places would not pass code for a new landlord to get an occupancy permit for a building that changes hands, so our only hope might be that some of the holding companies go belly up if the new apartments force rents to a point where they don't cover maintenance costs and taxes.

you dont need a new occupancy permit if a property is sold. You just cant change the use of the property. If you have a non conforming use to current zoning code, the building can continue its use indefinitely no matter how many times it sells. Once you try to change the use, then you would need a new occupancy permit and would need to comply with current zoning codes.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by jea6321

you dont need a new occupancy permit if a property is sold. You just cant change the use of the property. If you have a non conforming use to current zoning code, the building can continue its use indefinitely no matter how many times it sells. Once you try to change the use, then you would need a new occupancy permit and would need to comply with current zoning codes.

I sometimes think there should be more stringent enforcement of building code than this. To allow rental properties to become dilapidated and in some cases unsafe (for example, non-working fire escapes or non-GFI outlets in kitchens and bathrooms) seems unfortunate.

[selltheburgh]

There is a difference between a building code and a zoning code.

Building codes are enforced on the mansions split into 8 units when work is done to them or if they become so distressed that the inspector cites them. It takes a lot for this to happen, but it does. Also work being done on the property is supposed to be permitted and inspected by the city.

The building codes do not have aesthetic rules to them though.

Zoning codes limit the use of a property. Some blocks in Friendship are only legal for 2 or 3 units in a building, but have properties that have an existing occupancy permit for 4 or 6 units. They are allowed to continue that way because of the occupancy permit.

With that said, if somebody wants to renovate a property with 3+ units, they need a commercial contractor and have to follow more stringent building codes than they would on a 2 unit or a single family home.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by selltheburgh

There is a difference between a building code and a zoning code.

Building codes are enforced on the mansions split into 8 units when work is done to them or if they become so distressed that the inspector cites them. It takes a lot for this to happen, but it does. Also work being done on the property is supposed to be permitted and inspected by the city.

The building codes do not have aesthetic rules to them though.

Zoning codes limit the use of a property. Some blocks in Friendship are only legal for 2 or 3 units in a building, but have properties that have an existing occupancy permit for 4 or 6 units. They are allowed to continue that way because of the occupancy permit.

With that said, if somebody wants to renovate a property with 3+ units, they need a commercial contractor and have to follow more stringent building codes than they would on a 2 unit or a single family home.

Why is 3+ units the cutoff for more stringent building codes and where is that indicated?

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

Why is 3+ units the cutoff for more stringent building codes and where is that indicated?

Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections | Commercial Building Permit

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by jea6321

Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections | Commercial Building Permit

Wouldn't an R3 be considered residential?

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

Wouldn't an R3 be considered residential?

from a lending standpoint yes. anything under 5 units is residential. for city building codes, sfr and 2 family are classified as residential and 3+ is considered commercial. It can seem a bit confusing, but if you buy a 3-4 unit property its a residential purchase, but for renovations its a commercial entity to the city.