Birckhead Place Historic District...Toledo (Maumee, Monroe: for sale, renters, houses)

[Splinter]

Thinking of relocating to Toledo from NC. Is this a nice/safe area of Toledo in which to live???

[Cassidy]

Originally Posted by Splinter

Thinking of relocating to Toledo from NC. Is this a nice/safe area of Toledo in which to live???

Hmmmm...I am not familiar with that specific area (Birckhead). The historical district can be hit or miss and has been going through a slow transistion of delapitated houses to some of the most beautiful restored historic homes I have ever seen....even rivaling Charleston, SC. or Savanah, Ga. If Birckhead is at Bancroft and Collingwood, you may want to reconsider. Thats not the best location and definately not an area I would recommend. If you would like, list what you need and I'll give you some areas you may want to research on your own.

[rrtechno]

I don't know anything about this area, but from the map it appears to be more southeast of the Central-Cherry area. Perhaps someone from Toledo knows more about it specifically. There are a couple of houses I saw listed that appeared to be beautiful from the pictues.

[MsPlusModel]

Birckhead Place is a beautiful gated community, dead smack in the middle of the hood!! It's next to a highly competitive catholic high school, Central Catholic. It's great in both academics and athletics.

So, in terms of safety, it's okay. You're immediate neighborhood is fine, but once back on the main streets are typical of an innercity neighborhood. Overall, Toledo's fine, no real reason to be scared.

[quid_pro_quo]

I can't speak about Birckhead, I'm really not familiar. But if you're looking for a great historic area I would look at the Old West End. It's not too far from where you described but located from the Toledo Museum of Art on Monroe and extends west to about Central Ave, with Bancroft and I-75 as rough North and South boundaries.

I live in this neighborhood and absolutely love it! It's an artsy, socially liberal area. The people who live here, even the renters like me, invest their time and money into the neighborhood. Most of the houses around here were built from 1850's-1920's. People come here becuase they love the historic homes (I believe this is the largest neighborhood of restored Victorian and Arts and Crafts home in the country), but stay becuase of the wonderful community that's here.

If you would like more info on the neighborhood or Toledo in general, I would be happy to help. I've lived in many different areas in Toledo and have spent most of my life here.

[Hutch]

I believe that Birckhead Place is a very fine place to live. I myself was born there, and after many years living away from Toledo and considering moving back with my wife, we have looked at Birckhead. It is family-oriented and you will find that the people who live there generally are people who care about having a historically significant home near private schools and within a quiet, gated community. Walk around the neighborhood on a nice evening on a weekend night and you will see that it is a solid community.

My wife and I walked around the neighborhood just last Friday night, met a few of the newer residents, and gazed upon the home in which I was born. We are looking in other historic districts as well, such as Westmoreland and Old Oarchard, but I can tell you that you will find none quieter than Birckhead Place. In fact, it looks even better nearly thirty years later! Good luck finding a home, there are not many for sale at this time!

[jweinstein]

Hutch,
Which Birckhead house did you live in?

I myself lived in Birckhead for almost 3 years in number 4.

Birckhead itself is a beautiful gated and historic neighborhood with some awesome constructed homes. It has a couple public park areas within the grounds and is maintained via a Birckhead Park Board consisting of neighborhood members (I was on this board for 2 years as Secretary). Inside Birckhead grounds is absolutely great, but as MsPlusModel said, it is located within the center of the hood in a not so great area of Toledo. I remember constantly hearing sirens from the adjacent St. Vincent's hospital and police station down the street, not to mention the cars driving by with their bass blasting. There are pockets of good areas within the Old West End (less than a mile away, which I also lived for 6+ years prior to Birckhead) so I have experienced both areas. The board/community itself prior to my leaving was experiencing some problems with a percentage of neighbors not paying their dues, street problems (real brick sinking w/ potholes), and old sewers dating back to the early 1900s when the neighborhood was founded. The Birckhead historic district is the only remaining privately owned neighborhood (not owned by city) left in the Toledo area to my knowledge. While that is neat to say, there are drawbacks like the city won't help them fix the streets and the sewers inside the neighborhood as they are the responsibility of Birckhead not the city. Hopefully things have turned around since I left in September 2006, but I don't believe things have gotten much better. One of the positives about living in Birckhead is that the property taxes and home values are amazingly low for the type of house you can buy within the neighborhood. I know live in a suburb of Toledo called Maumee right off the Maumee River and could not be happier with the neighborhood. Good luck with your relocation if you go through with it.

[xbr1133]

I would have to agree that Birckhead is a very quiet place to live. Everyone I have come in contact with in the 6 months I lived here have been extremely friendly. It is important to know that there is only one exit/entrance here so we don't get people coming back here unless they know someone. This helps tremendously when there are so many annoying people on the outside of the gates blaring their bass-heavy music at all hours of the night. There are amazing homes in the Old West End, but there is something special about the brick streets and overall architectural style of Birckhead. Like any historical neighborhood, there are a couple of eyesores and owners not staying true to the original style of their home. With that said, the truly standout houses are well kept and if anyone is thinking about living in Toledo, I highly recommend Birckhead Place.

Craig

[GlassCityRes]

My family and I moved into Birckhead a few months ago, and I pretty much agree with what has been said here. However, we do have one concern that goes along with the city not being responsible for maintenance within the neighborhood: now that the winter weather is finally here, the streets have been neither plowed nor salted the few times we've had snow and ice. Can anyone on this board who either lives here or has until recently confirm whether or not the roads are kept clear? It doesn't make sense that they wouldn't be.

[xbr1133]

The monies collected from the association fee pays for grass cutting, light replacement, snow removal, etc. If the city of Toledo was to take control of Birckhead Place (i.e. pay for the much needed road repair) they A. would not use the brick which sets Birckhead apart from everywhere else and B. open another entrance in the back of the development. I talked with a resident about road repair and apparently it would cost $10,000 per lot to repair the streets correctly. Nobody, including myself, would pay that much for something that does not improve their home. Also, I guess only 70% of people pay their association fee on time or at all. This contributes to the problem....

Any residents of Birckhead Place, feel free to send me a private message concerning any issues they have.