The Many Vacancies of East Liberty

[svband76]

The newer type of boxy unimaginative architecture in East Liberty leaves me cold. I often wonder where the hell I am when in that area. Give me a 150 year old building any day.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

Coop - what is that, and where?

Terminal building - are there/is there anything in there, and open at this time? I drive by but as usual don't have time to stop in and explore. they did a nice job - finally, you can walk along or close to the Terminal Building without risking impact - or, you can driv by without risking a collision with an unaware yokel.

but its hard to really tell what is going on - in every instance of driving by, i can honestly say i hadnt seen anyone use a door to the building. they were just walking along its adjacent promenade and sidewalk.

Coop de Ville...its the new DeShantz restaurant/arcade/bowling in the building where that organic grocery used to be...I think 23rd Street perhaps?

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I believe they just started tearing out the abandoned train tracks by Coop so once that is completed and cleaned up it should make a different.

Ghost town? I was down there at 9:50 am yesterday and couldn't find parking to save my life. There was a huge fitness thing going on where there were tons of people working out all along the terminal building. Then there were a billion people at Pamela's of course. I would say it was pretty lively for a hot June Sunday morning. I agree there aren't a ton of stores yet in Terminal, but every time I am in the Strip (and I am down there at least once a week since some friends just moved there) it seems pretty lively, esp in comparison to what it was before.

probably not fair to call it a ghost town but it was a Friday afternoon...i think it was just due to the scale of the building...it is enormous. once aurora opens up or returns to the office I am sure it will improve. it will be a yuppie playground down there.

looks like yesterday was some white upper middle class fitness influencer event down there. glad to see it was well attended.

[Charley Barker]

Well, in my experience, Friday afternoons in the Strip ARE dead. It is the ONLY time I will go there to shop. All the businesses are well stocked for the weekend rush and you can get in and out in no time. You can actually talk to the merchants since the lines aren't 6 or 7 deep. It starts to pick up around dinnertime, but by then most of the shops are closed, so no matter. . . . I am on my way home to stock the larder by then!

[Independentthinking83]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

Pittsburgh, like maybe other older cities, might be considered a number of smaller towns within a larger.
Your description of Greensburg actually fits Pittsburgh perfectly, as if you are describing specific neighborhoods within our city.

What probably happened was you started a HOME search - you did not tour the city of Greensburg, and because of that, you might have an adulterated view of reality. You did not see all of the good, the bad and the ugly.

I am hardly throwing mud at Greensburg - its a nice place. Pittsburgh is very nice, too.

I hope you find a house you love - good luck with your search.

What perfect neighborhood am I describing in Pittsburgh? Greensburg still needs a lot of work but it already has a decent school district with less crime and I saw more families out.

Are young families staying in Pittsburgh? I think in Greensburg’s case it has enough urban amenities that you really don’t have to leave and go elsewhere to find it. A city of 15,000 with a downtown can turn a corner much more quickly than a city of 300,000.

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

So I guess locals can afford Warby Parker glasses, Bonobos clothes, $10 milkshakes, and lots and lots of macaroons.

That would be the exception and not the rule. As evidenced by the pictures provided by the poster. It is likely a destination business and one of a kind drawing money from outsiders that specifically go there for that shop. Much like Alla Familigia in Allentown. It’s probably the best restaurant in the city. Allentown has a vacant business district with residents that cannot afford to patronize the business. It’s a destination restaurant supported by outsiders that drive there and can afford the dining experience. Again the exception not the rule.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by zalewskimm

The newer type of boxy unimaginative architecture in East Liberty leaves me cold. I often wonder where the hell I am when in that area. Give me a 150 year old building any day.

I'm with you there! I think the most glaring example of this is the corner of Grandview & PJ McArdle at the top of Mt. Washington. That old, deteriorating (yet beautiful) Victorian residence was torn down a couple of years ago and replaced by a modern boxy-looking structure.

Unfortunately preferences change. If today's upper-middle-class buyers didn't like the cold, boxy, unimaginative architecture, then they wouldn't be paying $700,000 for these edifices in Lawrenceville, the South Side, or the Strip District, and developers/contractors wouldn't keep bringing them to the market. I don't understand how someone could consider a "box" with an interior that is just one big "open concept" with neutral paint to be beautiful or charming, but apparently you and I differ from the norm at this point.

As an aside, I see you are now a part-time Maine resident? Congratulations! I vacationed there with my family as a child and can't wait to go back. Acadia National Park is gorgeous! Portland's a cool city, too! Never been to Bangor.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by Independentthinking83

What perfect neighborhood am I describing in Pittsburgh? Greensburg still needs a lot of work but it already has a decent school district with less crime and I saw more families out.

Are young families staying in Pittsburgh? I think in Greensburg’s case it has enough urban amenities that you really don’t have to leave and go elsewhere to find it. A city of 15,000 with a downtown can turn a corner much more quickly than a city of 300,000.



That would be the exception and not the rule. As evidenced by the pictures provided by the poster. It is likely a destination business and one of a kind drawing money from outsiders that specifically go there for that shop. Much like Alla Familigia in Allentown. It’s probably the best restaurant in the city. Allentown has a vacant business district with residents that cannot afford to patronize the business. It’s a destination restaurant supported by outsiders that drive there and can afford the dining experience. Again the exception not the rule.

Everything is an exception to the rule to you when it counters what you think.

Also, Allentown is not empty. It is not full, but it is not empty and has numerous businesses open up in the past few years with more coming.

[BUILD PENN SQUARE]

this ain't gonna help the vacancy situation, in east liberty or downtown

[Independentthinking83]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Everything is an exception to the rule to you when it counters what you think.

Also, Allentown is not empty. It is not full, but it is not empty and has numerous businesses open up in the past few years with more coming.

Do you have links to the more businesses coming? So are you suggesting the residents of Allentown are the main support for the pricy Italian joint?

Lol money trumps all. If there was money to be made in East Liberty you wouldn’t have vacant spaces. Residents in East Liberty don’t have the disposable income to support the places that would likely occupy those spaces. Again that is reality. Businesses are in business to make money. They would be flocking to those open spaces if that were the case. It isn’t the case so they aren’t. Again that’s no my opinion that’s just dollars and cents.

[Independentthinking83]

Originally Posted by BUILD PENN SQUARE

this ain't gonna help the vacancy situation, in east liberty or downtown

It’s 1991 all over again. Back to employment levels from 1991. Plus they are spending big $ to shrink the current airport back to the same size and setup as the old airport was in 1991.

If only the pens won the cup this year like in 1991