Suburb of the week: Sharpsburg (Pittsburgh, Carnegie: condo, house, buying)

[gg]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I'd ride my bike over there, but the two bridges both suck for cyclists. Highland Park Bridge is just a giant highway onramp. The 62nd Street Bridge at least has a sidewalk, but it ends with a flight of stairs, and riding on that section of Butler to even get over there is terrifying.

The sidewalk on the Highland Park Bridge is used by cyclists daily. No issues at all. The 62nd does have the stairs. lol Carried my bike up there a few times when the damn train was blocking the trail on the river. lol

Sharpsburg is sitting in a good situation. Prices have gone up quite a bit however. Certainly not dirt cheep as it was a few years back, but a bargain and when the trail gets up to there and Etna puts in the park on the south end of Sharpsburg and on the north end the riverfront development gets going, I think it will really do well. It is in a pretty nice spot actually.

[PGH423]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Some of it is. Overall the risk appears to lower than in Millvale, with a lot of the borough either no-risk or in the 0.2% annual risk chance flood hazard zone. The highest-risk area ppears to be right around the business district actually.

Walkable business districts are usually flat, low elevation, right? That might explain it here.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

This is a good point, and worth discussing that bicycle access on both sides of the river as well as bike access across the river will be important for Sharpsburg's future. It is in such a prime location that if a connection were made through Heth's run and across the river with trails running along both banks of the Allegheny, Sharpsburg could be set to be a bicyclists dream with easy access to downtown, Lawrenceville, and all of the East End.

I know there were some plans for this at one point, including a river crossing on or near a rail bridge. Am I remembering that correctly?

Plans came out last year to potentially convert an unused rail line into an elevated trail - the so called "Brilliant Branch." It would provide direct connection between the city and Aspinwall, and be very "high-line esque" if done right. Without a new surface trail running from Aspinwall to Sharpsburg it wouldn't help that much more with getting there however, because the Freeport/Main St intersection is terrible for anything but cars. Also, I'm still not sold on the Pittsburgh side of it, given the elevated rail line is up in Lincoln-Lemington Belmar and Homewood near Washington Boulevard - not really accessible to most cyclists in the East End.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Plans came out last year to potentially convert an unused rail line into an elevated trail - the so called "Brilliant Branch." It would provide direct connection between the city and Aspinwall, and be very "high-line esque" if done right. Without a new surface trail running from Aspinwall to Sharpsburg it wouldn't help that much more with getting there however, because the Freeport/Main St intersection is terrible for anything but cars. Also, I'm still not sold on the Pittsburgh side of it, given the elevated rail line is up in Lincoln-Lemington Belmar and Homewood near Washington Boulevard - not really accessible to most cyclists in the East End.

Who cam out with the plan? Seems like it was just an architectural firm did it on their own?

[gg]

This is nice news.

https://triblive.com/local/foxchapel...rm-main-street

[Goinback2011]

If there was a lot of demand for housing close to the city, developers would be buying up the old frame houses in Sharpsburg, tearing them down and building new. Same with Millvale. I watched this occur in many neighborhoods close to downtown Tampa. We're not there yet. Bringing Amazon to Pittsburgh would make that occur.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

If there was a lot of demand for housing close to the city, developers would be buying up the old frame houses in Sharpsburg, tearing them down and building new. Same with Millvale. I watched this occur in many neighborhoods close to downtown Tampa. We're not there yet. Bringing Amazon to Pittsburgh would make that occur.

I would guess that teardowns aren't as practical here due to lot size. I mean if you take down an old bungalow or ranch in Houston, you can usually fit two townhouses where it was. Except for some weird houses with big lots, you could really only replace like for like here. Teardowns are really only being seen in Lawrenceville so far, and even there well over half of the new construction is still being built on formerly vacant lots.

[Goinback2011]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I would guess that teardowns aren't as practical here due to lot size. I mean if you take down an old bungalow or ranch in Houston, you can usually fit two townhouses where it was. Except for some weird houses with big lots, you could really only replace like for like here. Teardowns are really only being seen in Lawrenceville so far, and even there well over half of the new construction is still being built on formerly vacant lots.

Builders bought up entire blocks in West Tampa, one of the oldest parts of the city near downtown. Those homes were old, small and on small lots. In some cases, it took a few years to acquire the block. Each home bought would be torn down, and the lot would sit vacant.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

Builders bought up entire blocks in West Tampa, one of the oldest parts of the city near downtown. Those homes were old, small and on small lots. In some cases, it took a few years to acquire the block. Each home bought would be torn down, and the lot would sit vacant.

Ahh, so like Mt. Washington then.

[Tractor Face]

"About a decade ago, things looked pretty bad for Sharpsburg. As Lawrenceville began to gentrify, a lot of the worse elements of "old Lawrenceville" - the drug-addicts, people with mental illnesses which should have been taken care of, etc - began relocating to Sharpsburg and the other Allegheny Valley river towns, like Millvale and Etna, which were just a short bus ride away from Lawrenceville. Over just the last few years though, it's become clear that Sharpsburg has now jumped on the gentrification train as well."


What added insult to injury was a very big flood that inundated Sharpsburg, Etna, Millvale and I believe Carnegie around 2005. Many businesses were more or less hanging on and this sent them over the edge. When the businesses never returned neither did certain workers and some established residents. I remember volunteering to help businesses get back on their feet in Millvale and it was just too much for many of them to claw their way back.


The proliferation of drugs in Sharpsburg and a far too small police force make it difficult to keep things nice. Just take a ride on PAT bus 91 from town through Aspinwall and you get a glimpse of each town, including Sharpsburg. Being in the Fox Chapel School District is probably what's keeping them above water and might be a good reason to invest there if you have the money.