Hastings development in Bridgeville ( Charters Homes) (Pittsburgh, McDonald: renting, townhouses, neighborhood)

[Sandy GL]

Hi


We have lived in the Pittsburgh area for a year now and are currently renting. We will like to buy a home in South Fayette School District soon. We came across the Hastings development (where the former Mayview State Hospital used to be). We toured the community last week and liked what we saw. Just wanted to see if anyone has had any experience with the builder (Charters homes) and lives in the community. Just want to hear what you like and don't like about the community? If the builder was relatively easy to deal with? Were you satisfied with the end product after building?


Thanks

[Garvdog]

I pass that development every day on my commute. It looks nice. A few things to be aware of though:

1) South Fayette is really like two townships- the one east of I79 and the one west of I79. You are on the Bridgeville side. The other side (where all the school buildings are) is kind of isolated and more rural, and takes awhile to get to from where you would be. I only mention this as it might end up being inconvenient for your kids getting to and from school. That bus must take at least 30 minutes to get there from the Mayview road area. And all the schools are in one big campus so that's something you would be dealing with for many years. Ironically you would be closer to all the schools in Upper St Clair from that development than you would to the SF campus.

2) They are currently building a big retirement home right next to that development. Just be aware as this will increase the traffic and change the dynamic. It's not just a neighborhood full of homes and townhouses.

3) Have you asked about the freight train tracks that run right next to the development? I am pretty sure they are inactive, but I would make sure. The Bridgeville area does still have a freight train that runs somewhere in the middle of the night (I can hear it from where I live). You want to make sure it won't be running right behind your house.

I have never heard of that homebuilder before (Charter) so I can't help you there. The big ones in this area seem to be Ryan, Heartland, and Maronda.

[guy2073]

The train tracks are still active, they are used about 3 times a day. The train is low speed and is usually under 10 cars in length.

[Garvdog]

Originally Posted by guy2073

The train tracks are still active, they are used about 3 times a day. The train is low speed and is usually under 10 cars in length.

Wow. I did not expect that. Those tracks are pretty close to the back of many of those new homes. Down a hill, sure, but still. That would be a dealbreaker for me. There are other homes being built there that are further "into" the development and away from the tracks. I live on the western side of USC and sometimes late at night you can hear a train. I wonder if that's the one. It's not an unpleasant sound but I wouldn't want to be right there next to it.

[Garvdog]

This thread got me thinking a bit- I don't really "get" South Fayette. It has some pretty land and great schools, but it's not really much of a community from what I can see. The western 3/4 of the township is really isolated and surrounded on three sides by sparse rural areas, and there's basically one way in and one way out due to the topology. I know that it is still developing, but it seems so cut off from the surrounding area. You wouldn't even know it existed unless you made it a point to go there and check it out.

The 1/4 of the township east of I-79 is completely cut off from the west 3/4 and bleeds right into Bridgeville and a portion of Upper St Clair. It has more of a coherent feel, is more accessible to nearby shopping, commercial areas, main roads, etc. but since all the community buildings and schools are on the west side I imagine I'd feel more like a resident of Bridgeville or USC living there, but without really being a member of either of those two communities.

[Sandy GL]

Thanks for the responses. The lot we are looking at is away from the tracks, the train doesn't bother us much. The distance from the school is definitely something we need to consider, However being close to 79 is a big priority for us as well. I haven't seen that much reviews(good/bad) on charter homes as well.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by Garvdog

This thread got me thinking a bit- I don't really "get" South Fayette. It has some pretty land and great schools, but it's not really much of a community from what I can see. The western 3/4 of the township is really isolated and surrounded on three sides by sparse rural areas, and there's basically one way in and one way out due to the topology. I know that it is still developing, but it seems so cut off from the surrounding area. You wouldn't even know it existed unless you made it a point to go there and check it out.

The 1/4 of the township east of I-79 is completely cut off from the west 3/4 and bleeds right into Bridgeville and a portion of Upper St Clair. It has more of a coherent feel, is more accessible to nearby shopping, commercial areas, main roads, etc. but since all the community buildings and schools are on the west side I imagine I'd feel more like a resident of Bridgeville or USC living there, but without really being a member of either of those two communities.

I live on the bridgeville st clair line, the train at 2-3 in the morning is the main line that runs from carnegie switch yard off the parkway to towards ohio. The train that goes through mayview starts in mckees rocks and goes out to washington pa. Its schedule is not consistant and it literally only takes 30 seconds to pass. The residents of the new development are going to use the st clair amenities because south fayette doesnt offer much.

[Garvdog]

Originally Posted by guy2073

The residents of the new development are going to use the st clair amenities because south fayette doesnt offer much.

Hence my point about SF. It could offer a ton of amenities but if they are all over near McDonald, PA it's really tough to take advantage of them.

Hastings and the other development off of Mayview really should be part of USC given their location. It's probably due to some boundary drawing back in 1920 or something that landed them in SF.

Note the "tail" on the eastern tip below- that's Hastings.

[SanduskysKids]

Originally Posted by Garvdog

Hence my point about SF. It could offer a ton of amenities but if they are all over near McDonald, PA it's really tough to take advantage of them.

Hastings and the other development off of Mayview really should be part of USC given their location. It's probably due to some boundary drawing back in 1920 or something that landed them in SF.

Note the "tail" on the eastern tip below- that's Hastings.

Attachment 209443

That “tail” is the path of Chartiers Creek and it also is the reason the train tracks take that particular path right there.

Peters Township has a similar feature where the creek winds around Valleybrook Country Club