Neighborhood of the week: Terrace Village (Pittsburgh, Avalon: middle-class, real estate, apartments)

[eschaton]

Terrace Village is the portion of Pittsburgh's Hill District sandwiched closest to Oakland. It is one of Pittsburgh's six historic "project neighborhoods" (along with Bedford Village, Fairywood, Glen Hazel, Northview Heights, and St. Clair).

The early history of what is now Terrace Village is difficult to ascertain because up until the mid to late 20th century, it wasn't seen as a distinct neighborhood. The steep topography in this portion of the Hill District did limit the level of development, but by the 1920s there was significant housing development (most of it wood framed detached) over much of the area. Census data from the time appears to conclude that this area had a large black population (around 60%) but still was integrated at the time.

Within just a few decades, this entire area was removed through eminent domain. The first phase, in 1940, was the construction of what became known as Addison Terrace closer to Downtown. This was only the second housing project in Pittsburgh's history, and created 800 units of low income housing. While several blocks of housing were destroyed (most notably along Kirkpatrick Street and the now defunct Ruch Street) up to 100 feet of hillside needed to be removed reconstructed to create the flat space for the housing development. Later this project was joined by Allequippa Terrace, which created another 1,800+ units of housing closer to Oakland. At the time it was built, it was one of the ten largest residential construction projects in the country. Collectively these two projects became known as Terrace Village.

When these projects first opened, they were racially integrated and mixed income, like all of Pittsburgh's early housing projects. The decline of the area from public housing into "the projects" appears to have happened a bit later, concurrent with the decline of the Hill District at large in the 1950s. With the destruction of the Lower Hill, many poor displaced black families had nowhere to go except into public housing, and many moved into the Terrace Village, while white families had access to cheap mortgages and moved to outer-ring city neighborhoods and the developing suburbs. Well-meaning, but in retrospect poor changes to federal housing policy in the late 1960s also ended mixed-income public housing in Pittsburgh and many other places. By 1980, Terrace Village had become 98% black, and by 1996, 95% of residents were on public assistance.

With the traditional public housing format a disaster, the city made the decision to essentially raze the neighborhood of Terrace Village as it was and completely replace it with new, mixed-income and privately-managed apartments. This process began in 1995, with the transformation of what was Allequippa Terrace into Oak Hill Apartments. While none of the old Alliquippa Terrace survives, there still are some empty patches within the development waiting for infill. The neighborhood is now a mixture of townhouses and small apartment buildings. It even has a small neighborhood market. Although it is still a majority-black housing project, it is now truly mixed-race and mixed income once again, with a significant number of Pitt students of all races living in the complex. This redevelopment was joined more recently with the demolition of Addision Terrace. That area has been rebranded Skyline Terrace. It's much lower density now, dominated by small stands of rowhouses in semi-historic styles. Skyline Terrace within the confines of historic Terrace Village is built out, but there are still plans to build additional housing units to replace what was lost within the Middle Hill.

Aside from the "projects" themselves, a few other areas are also located in Terrace Village. A large portion of Pitt's upper campus has sprawled up the hill into the neighborhood. Traditionally this was just the sports buildings, but in recent years Pitt added several dorms near the top of the hill as well, which, along with Oak Hill now being a more racially diverse area, has caused the census tract which comprises the eastern half of Terrace Village to become plurality white. There are also several blocks of "normal housing" on its fringes with West Oakland, the Middle Hill, and the Upper Hill - areas dominated by detached single-family homes or rowhouses. The most notable of these is the micro-neighborhood along Brackenridge and Avalon streets - a small stable middle-class black enclave.

Terrace Village is a much better place today than it was 20 years ago. Although there was a fatal shooting last year, murders are rare now compared to other parts of the Hill District, and the neighborhood is more integrated than it has been at any time in the last 60+ years. At the same time, it's unlikely that it will "improve" much further, as the neighborhood's relative lack of amenities, walkability, or housing to flip mean it won't jump onto the gentrification train even if nearby areas like the Lower Hill and Uptown eventually do. This is a good thing - Pittsburgh could use more affordable, safe majority-black neighborhoods within the urban core.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Aside from the "projects" themselves, a few other areas are also located in Terrace Village. A large portion of Pitt's upper campus has sprawled up the hill into the neighborhood. Traditionally this was just the sports buildings, but in recent years Pitt added several dorms near the top of the hill as well, which, along with Oak Hill now being a more racially diverse area, has caused the census tract which comprises the eastern half of Terrace Village to become plurality white.

There has been Pitt athletic stuff up there, but it was a huge new sports complex (soccer, baseball, softball) and is the biggest, recent (2007) chunk of ground Pitt swallowed up there. It's huge, and nice, and cement barely looks dry.

[sky329]

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4413...7i13312!8i6656


wow that is a nice development

[gg]

Originally Posted by sky329

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4413...7i13312!8i6656


wow that is a nice development

That is nicer than most places built by the private sector that is for sure. Super high end and the best of the best in that neighborhood. How do I sign up?

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by sky329

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4413...7i13312!8i6656


wow that is a nice development

Indeed. I've remarked before it's funny how the mixed-income infill is actually built with more historic touches than the market-rate infill in the city. The only thing that seems off is how far everything is set back from the streets, but this is basically an artifact of Pittsburgh's zoning, which essentially mandates no less than a 15-foot setback unless there are neighboring buildings built closer to the street.

[TBonzie]

I lived in the projects 'til I finished first grade. Had cousins living there for years afterwards (I'm white).

I don't think I'd been up on the hill since the Pirates won in '79. I watched the game at my cousin's house up on Bentley Drive, then we quickly drove downtown to party.

It's weird that the apartments where my family lived, all four of my grandparents (for a while lived there), aunts, uncles and cousins are all gone.

That's some prime real estate - proximity to downtown-wise.

[svband76]

Is there any old construction left in Terrace Village?

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by zalewskimm

Is there any old construction left in Terrace Village?

If you mean "the projects" then the answer is no.

If you mean just old construction generally, yes. Here's a selection of residential streets in Terrace Village.

Allequippa Street - border of West Oakland
Brackenridge Street
Avalon Street

[svband76]

Originally Posted by eschaton

If you mean "the projects" then the answer is no.

If you mean just old construction generally, yes. Here's a selection of residential streets in Terrace Village.

Allequippa Street - border of West Oakland
Brackenridge Street
Avalon Street

Thanks. I know where we are now.