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I am going to be moving to Pittsburgh in the fall for graduate school and I am looking to purchase a ~2 bed/2 bath condo. I was wondering if anyone knows any specific information about any of the following buildings?
In particular, I'm interested in things that you might know, but can't find out from real estate listings alone (management company here is horrible, building X is filled with grad students, people have gotten mugged in front of building Y, this building is half empty, etc). I'll be visiting Pittsburgh in a few weeks but was hoping to get the "inside scoop" as much as possible beforehand.
The buildings I'm considering are:
1. 5 Bayard Road in Shadyside
2. 128 N Craig Street in Oakland
3. 3289 Dawson Street in Oakland
4. 5523 Ellsworth in Shadyside
5. 5100 Fifth Avenue in Shadyside
6. 5600 Munhall Road in Squirrel Hill
7. 552 N Neville in Oakland
I don't know anything specific about the buildings, but I know the locations. I would avoid the one on Dawson St. It's pretty far from campus (I'm assuming you are planning to attend Pitt or CMU), and you probably won't want to be walking that every day, but it does not have good bus service either. Also, it's mostly surrounded by undergrad students and older families. Not many grad students / young professionals that way.
As far as just location, I would recommend the ones you mentioned in Squirrel Hill and Shadyside. Both are nice neighborhoods, and all the buildings you have listed within those neighborhoods are located well within the neighborhoods.
Location: If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brdncer
(management company here is horrible, building X is filled with grad students, people have gotten mugged in front of building Y, this building is half empty, etc).
1. 5 Bayard Road in Shadyside
2. 128 N Craig Street in Oakland
3. 3289 Dawson Street in Oakland
4. 5523 Ellsworth in Shadyside
5. 5100 Fifth Avenue in Shadyside
6. 5600 Munhall Road in Squirrel Hill
7. 552 N Neville in Oakland
You've got two outliers and then a cluster of 5 that are near each other.
Outliers...
1. Dawson - not familiar with the property but it's a seedier area with less access to resources. Personally, I wouldn't even look there.
2. Munhall - not familiar with the property but it's in a nice area - plenty of families and mixed demographics. It'd be a quieter street (for city living) near plenty of resources - grocery, public transit, shopping, park, schools. Probably wouldn't be walking to CMU/Pitt from there every day but you could and it's a short bus ride.
Cluster...basically in geographic order west-ish to east-ish...
FYI - All of these (except maybe Ellsworth) are post war buildings. They don't have lots of character or pleasing architectural details. They are basic box condos
1. Craig - closest to pitt...businesses in the building...bus stop right outside...construction going on nearby...access to schools, restaurants, banking, museum, transportation...not great access to grocery if you don't like walking (couple miles away)...I think they have a garage - that's nice if so - lots of competition for off street parking around there.
2. Neville - same as above but nicer street and more older people living there. Laundry is in the basement, not in the apartment. That's pretty typical, though.
3. Bayard - Never been in there but only ever see college-ish kids around it. Getting closer to grocery here. Right between some really nice homes, families, private high school...but then there's a strip club two blocks away and a blah part of Center Ave. Strip club is right next to GetGo-convenience/gas station. So...pros and cons. Personally, I wouldn't want to live with all those college kids.
4. Ellsworth -never been in but it just feels "weird" to me. The buildings seem sort of neat but...I dunno...you'll have to check it out for yourself. I'd wonder about acoustics with those courtyards too. Ellsworth is nice but that's not the greatest block. It's really near transportation and plenty of shopping (including grocery). Not sure about laundry/parking there.
5. Fifth - closest to cmu. Busy street - more lanes of traffic than the others. Plenty of transportation and access to Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. Not sure of population living there or of parking/laundry situation. The place doesn't appeal to me personally.
Personally, Neville would be my choice - unless I actually saw and liked Ellsworth.
Good luck with your search and feel free to DM me or post with other questions.
I am going to be moving to Pittsburgh in the fall for graduate school and I am looking to purchase a ~2 bed/2 bath condo. I was wondering if anyone knows any specific information about any of the following buildings?
In particular, I'm interested in things that you might know, but can't find out from real estate listings alone (management company here is horrible, building X is filled with grad students, people have gotten mugged in front of building Y, this building is half empty, etc). I'll be visiting Pittsburgh in a few weeks but was hoping to get the "inside scoop" as much as possible beforehand.
The buildings I'm considering are:
1. 5 Bayard Road in Shadyside
2. 128 N Craig Street in Oakland
3. 3289 Dawson Street in Oakland
4. 5523 Ellsworth in Shadyside
5. 5100 Fifth Avenue in Shadyside
6. 5600 Munhall Road in Squirrel Hill
7. 552 N Neville in Oakland
I really appreciate any info you have. Thanks!
I just worked with a really amazing realtor to sell my row house. Her name is Erin Marton and she specializes in condos. Her office is Howard Hanna Condominium on S Craig St in Oakland. It sounds like she would be a perfect fit to help you out. She knows the city, and developments better than anyone I know. If you want, PM me and I'll get you guys connected.
I have to disagree about the Dawson St. location. I lived in an apartment at 3305 Dawson for a year while attending Pitt. It is across the Blvd. of the Allies from the rest of South Oakland, so it is not in the student ghetto part of South Oakland, and not at all "seedy." That area does not have as many young professionals as Shadyside or Squirrel Hill, but it feels more like a neighborhood where people know and look out for each other than North Oakland or even Shadyside. It also has easy, low-traffic access to both Squirrel Hill and Greenfield. As for transportation to the universities, I didn't find the walk that bad, and Pitt has 2 shuttles that stop right across the street at Dawson and Edith Pl.
Edit: It is also in a city permit parking area, so if the condo doesn't have off-street parking, you can get a permit for on-street parking (I think they are $25/yr + $1 for a guest pass). This discourages commuters from parking in the area.
Last edited by trotter_rej; 03-25-2010 at 08:58 AM..
Reason: Added parking info
When I was looking for condos in Shadyside, my realtor wouln't even show me units in 5523 Ellsworth because she said the building was that bad. That was about six years ago.
I just went through something very similar (I just closed on a place two months ago, I actually looked at many of the same buildings as you)
1. 5 Bayard Road in Shadyside - great building. I almost bought a condo here. Good area, safe and close to bus lines. It is difficult to rent your unit out here though. That might not be an issue, but if you ever wanted to upgrade and keep the condo as a rental property this might not be the building for you.
2. 128 N Craig Street in Oakland - very high condo fees - not worth it.
3. 3289 Dawson Street in Oakland - ???
4. 5523 Ellsworth in Shadyside - low condo fees, but on-street parking only
5. 5100 Fifth Avenue in Shadyside - ??
6. 5600 Munhall Road in Squirrel Hill - all old people living there (not a bad thing, but just be aware)
7. 552 N Neville in Oakland - very high condo fees - again, not worth it for me
I know you said you are only looking at condos, but consider a townhouse in bloomfield as well. Bloomfield is a very up and coming area, extremely safe MUCH cheaper than the places where you are looking. I looked at many of the exact buildings you listed before I bought a place two months ago and ended up in a townhouse. Utilities are lower than the $500-$700/mo you could pay for an oakland condo, and you get much more space for the money.
Thanks for all of the advice/thoughts! I'm going to be going to CMU, and I was hoping to not have a car for a year or two (I've heard the bus system is good and I am trying to stay within walking distance of campus... is no car a reasonable idea, or is Pittsburgh still mostly a driving city?) Walking distance of campus means, of course, that the location is my primary concern.
Second question -- would it be pretty easy to rent out my second room, assuming that the management company allows me to do so? Is Craigslist the typical route for finding a potential roommate? Are there any grad student lists floating around?
Thanks again!
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