500 Block of Scranton (Pittsburgh, Washington: fit in, apartments, condos)

[Avoca resident]

Looks Nice!
Renaissance at 500

[roxxy38]

Originally Posted by A_D_M

Looks Nice!
Renaissance at 500

Do you know what the apts. are starting at?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by roxxy38

Do you know what the apts. are starting at?

My guess would be in the upper-$200k range. It sounds outrageous, but if these condos come with full high-end features (granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, hardwood flooring, recessed lighting, exposed duct-work for the "urban loft" effect, etc.) then that's actually reasonable. The town homes in Glenmaura Commons on Montage Mountain are in the mid-$300k range. This is exactly the type of project I myself would like to reside in someday after growing up here in the soccer mom hell they call the suburbs.

[weluvpa]

Ya but who in their right mind would pay $200,000 for a condo/loft/apt in downtown Scranton?

[NYRangers 2008]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

Ya but who in their right mind would pay $200,000 for a condo/loft/apt in downtown Scranton?

Not me, that much to live in a ghost town? I'll pass.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

Ya but who in their right mind would pay $200,000 for a condo/loft/apt in downtown Scranton?

Downtown living is a growing trend nationwide, and considering there is currently no offerings of this nature downtown I don't believe they'll have any trouble selling these units since there's not going to be too many of them. Now the key to successfully growing the residential population downtown is to offer broad-serving price-ranges for units, including not only the higher-end offerings of the 500-block (and likely high-end ones in the proposed Connell Building project), but also some lower-income units and some mid-priced units. I don't know why the mayor seems intent on driving out Washington Plaza and Florence-Midtown when most models suggest that the most successful downtown renewals include those that attract a diverse range of new residents from ALL socioeconomic backgrounds? Does he not know this?

I'm the type of person who would love to live in a downtown environment in the future in whatever city I may happen to land a career opportunity in---right now I'm shooting 50/50 for either Hartford or Pittsburgh. It would be nice to head out in the evening to go on a pub crawl or bar-hopping and being able to simply walk home and invite your friends to sleep over at your place so that they're not driving home inebriated. It would be nice to walk to church on Sunday mornings, walk to my office, walk to restaurants and shopping, etc. That's the "allure" of a place like the 500-block. Scranton needs one or two more "anchors" to be a viable neighborhood. If a Whole Foods and Barnes & Noble ever decided to renovate downtown buildings and set up shop, you'd see a much higher demand for downtown living since people could feasibly have nearly ALL of their daily convenience demands met.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by NYRangers 2008

Not me, that much to live in a ghost town? I'll pass.

The population decline in Scranton has slowed. Most people who wanted to get the hell out of dodge have already done so in prior years, leaving generally content residents remaining (perhaps not "happy" ones, but at least they're committed to the city for the long haul). Couple that with the older generation continuing to die off and an apparent recent increase in the city's birth rate, and we may just see the city's population increasing between 2010 and 2020. As long as developers continue to put up attractive subdivisions right on the city's periphery, and as long as the city refuses to reduce its exorbitant wage tax, we'll continue to see the city struggle to retain its residents.

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Downtown living is a growing trend nationwide, and considering there is currently no offerings of this nature downtown I don't believe they'll have any trouble selling these units since there's not going to be too many of them. Now the key to successfully growing the residential population downtown is to offer broad-serving price-ranges for units, including not only the higher-end offerings of the 500-block (and likely high-end ones in the proposed Connell Building project), but also some lower-income units and some mid-priced units. I don't know why the mayor seems intent on driving out Washington Plaza and Florence-Midtown when most models suggest that the most successful downtown renewals include those that attract a diverse range of new residents from ALL socioeconomic backgrounds? Does he not know this?

I'm the type of person who would love to live in a downtown environment in the future in whatever city I may happen to land a career opportunity in---right now I'm shooting 50/50 for either Hartford or Pittsburgh. It would be nice to head out in the evening to go on a pub crawl or bar-hopping and being able to simply walk home and invite your friends to sleep over at your place so that they're not driving home inebriated. It would be nice to walk to church on Sunday mornings, walk to my office, walk to restaurants and shopping, etc. That's the "allure" of a place like the 500-block. Scranton needs one or two more "anchors" to be a viable neighborhood. If a Whole Foods and Barnes & Noble ever decided to renovate downtown buildings and set up shop, you'd see a much higher demand for downtown living since people could feasibly have nearly ALL of their daily convenience demands met.

Thats great Paul but Scranton has NO downtown and although there might be a trend towards downtown living in the nation, there needs to be a downtown with a demand for living space. There are already downtown apartments right now that are very nice like the Brooks Building. There is a huge surplus of housing in this city and we are cutting our nose off to spite our face by building these units........

Hartford, Pittsburgh.....No comparison on the downtown districts of those cities...Scranton has a downtown (if you could call it that) of about 4 square blocks surrounded by neighborhoods that have a surplus of housing...

.....Lets face it please...Scrantons downtown is purely a 9-5 business district and thats it, thats all its going to be.

There are no jobs and there are significant reasons to live in the downtown of Scranton unless you want to have a place that you could stumble home to after the bar and thats not really what I think they are going after at $200,000 a unit.

Midtown and florence apartments do not fit into the social picture that Doherty is trying to paint for the medical school....You cannot have poor and lower middle class people living around the utopian state of yuppie bliss that Doherty is trying to create in the center of the blue collar universe.....

He doesn't care about those people at all, not even in the slightest...Why would he ILLEGALLY close down Washington Plaza due to lack of firewalls after all these decades that its been there only to find out after he did it that he CANNOT legally sell those properties to anyone because they are deeded as a public trust and cannot be touched...OOOOOPS

Thats right... the medical school was supposed to get washington plaza by having it spot blighted and condemned but it blew up in his face.....Thats why its empty...The units are ready to go and are habitable but he will not move anyone back in there because they are waiting to see where the med school is going to end up as far as its campus.....

[NYRangers 2008]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

The population decline in Scranton has slowed. Most people who wanted to get the hell out of dodge have already done so in prior years, leaving generally content residents remaining (perhaps not "happy" ones, but at least they're committed to the city for the long haul). Couple that with the older generation continuing to die off and an apparent recent increase in the city's birth rate, and we may just see the city's population increasing between 2010 and 2020. As long as developers continue to put up attractive subdivisions right on the city's periphery, and as long as the city refuses to reduce its exorbitant wage tax, we'll continue to see the city struggle to retain its residents.

Paul, you made my point for me. Why would I want to live in downtown Scranton, where there is really nothing great to offer me, when I could get a nice house with a nice piece of land away from the city. And I wouldn't have to pay that silly wage tax either.

[findinghope]

just want to bump up this thread. it's been a year now and i was wondering how this project is going? looks nice from their website. have they occupied the retail space? how are the condos moving?