Hamnett Place Wilkinsburg (Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Hampton: for sale, house prices, neighborhood)

[bingbong]

Anyone know anything about this neighborhood? Pros? Cons? It sounds like there are some serious revitalization efforts afoot there, and house prices are super low.

[Little Mizz Pittsburgh]

Its still 'hood' around there if you ask me, but you can read more about this new revitalization here:

Wilkinsburg Finds: Hamnett Place neighborhood draws urban pioneers

[BrianTH]

It is an interesting little pocket. It is certainly noticeably distinct from the main part of Wilkinsburg, and in some ways more related to the neighboring parts of Edgewood. There are a lot of historic homes in every conceivable state of repair (from falling apart to beautifully restored), and it is conveniently service by a stop on the East Busway. It has its own neighborhood association, and the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation has taken an interest in the area.

Personally, I suspect that gentrification is eventually going to spread east from my neighborhood, Regent Square, through what you might call Whitney Park (the area between Trenton Avenue and the Busway) and over into Hamnett Place. So if you have the "urban pioneer" spirit and are thinking long term, buying in Hamnett Place could be a very good investment. Of course, none of that comes with any sort of guarantee--although the Busway is an embedded piece of infrastructure that I believe will help anchor these developments, assuming real gasoline prices keep increasing (as they likely will).

[tmorrisn]

I think it depends on which side of the busway you're looking - the area inside of the busway is much nicer (and appears safer) than the area outside the busway. I run down Hampton and Whitney all of the time and never feel unsafe on those streets. I also don't feel unsafe on streets in Edgewood that border Hamnett Station (East Hutchinson, Walnut). I have not really gone north of there though.

Where exactly are you looking?

Oh and be forewarned, property taxes in Wilkinsburg are INSANELY high which is why home prices are so low. In my opinion, I'd rather pay more for the house and less in taxes than vice versa (which is why we live in Edgewood and Wilkinsburg).

[nachoslemonheads]

I know there is house for sale that looks in pretty good shape on walnut street down there. It is the edgewood side of walnut but the end of walnut has its own walking acccess ramp for the busway. I couldnt see any cons in buying there, lower property taxes than wilkinsburg, and a better school district.

[groar]

I live on Walnut near that house, it is a nice couple of blocks, and those rowhouses are cute. It definitely makes sense to buy on the Edgewood side, especially at that price! Edgewood taxes are half what they are in Wilkinsburg, but it follows that the house values are higher. for $50k you could buy any of the bigger houses across the street.

Or you could buy one of the abandoned houses on the Wilkinsburg side for practically nothing! There is one that's in really great shape, one that's a bit more run down but structurally sound, and one that's a mess.

Anyway, I really love living in Hamnett Place. There are a lot of really dedicated people and organizations working to improve the neighborhood, and there's a real community feeling. It's certainly not for everyone but there's a certain measure of freedom that comes with living in a somewhat rundown neighborhood, it's potentially a good investment, and there is a cameraderie that comes from mutual struggle to improve a bad situation. It's also a really convenient area; it's an easy walk or bike ride to Regent Square and Point Breeze and a short drive to 376, Monroeville, and most of the rest of the East End. It's also right on the busway so getting to Oakland and Downtown is a snap.

If you worry a lot about getting mugged, this may not be the area for you (although i've never even been hassled in the 2 years i've lived here, and i walk all over the place at all hours). and the schools are awful so if you have kids and can't afford private school (or can't get them into a magnet school), you might want to look elsewhere.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by bingbong

Anyone know anything about this neighborhood? Pros? Cons? It sounds like there are some serious revitalization efforts afoot there, and house prices are super low.

One of Wilkinsburg's drawbacks is that the property tax rates are absolutely outrageous. It may not sting so much when a home can be had for well under 100K, but it's also something that can be a huge drag on large-scale revitalization efforts; and if those efforts ever do pay off, the city could reward those efforts with a gigantic tax bill. I've seen it happen before and it's infuriating.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Drover

One of Wilkinsburg's drawbacks is that the property tax rates are absolutely outrageous. It may not sting so much when a home can be had for well under 100K, but it's also something that can be a huge drag on large-scale revitalization efforts; and if those efforts ever do pay off, the city could reward those efforts with a gigantic tax bill. I've seen it happen before and it's infuriating.

The property tax rate situation really isn't sustainable. Of course, it is being caused by the fact that most of the property values are so low, so presumably if property values went up across the board, the rates could be lower. But since that isn't how an increase in property values would likely work (more likely would be an increase in some pockets, then some more, and so on), the property taxes are really just keeping property values depressed in general.

Really, what Wilkinsburg desperately needs is to merge at least its school district, preferably with Pittsburgh's.

[nachoslemonheads]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Really, what Wilkinsburg desperately needs is to merge at least its school district, preferably with Pittsburgh's.

I heard this was a possibility a while back, but haven't heard anything about it since. Is there any new news about the school district being broken up between woodland hills and city of pittsburgh?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by nachoslemonheads

I heard this was a possibility a while back, but haven't heard anything about it since. Is there any new news about the school district being broken up between woodland hills and city of pittsburgh?

People have been talking about something like this for many years. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of anything new happening recently.