new rowhomes on federal street next to mexican war streets? (Pittsburgh: real estate market, rental)

[pittsburgheer]

hey everyone,

first post - i know a lot of people here are all about the suburbs...but i want to get some feedback on the central northside of pittsburgh:

what is everyone's opinion on the new rowhomes being built on federal street next to the mexican war streets area (they are brand new being built by s&a homes)? a good buy or is the area still too sketchy? a new carnegie library is open, a new coffee shop, and the rehab of the garden theater is underway.

i'd like to buy one, but am concerned about the "riff-raff" from the nearby allegheny dwellings (a housing project) and the homeless shelters in the area. don't get me wrong...i don't mind living by disadvantaged people...i'm not snobby or elitist....i just don't like the news stories of muggings and shootings that tend to get reported on the northside . therefore, i am all about self-preservation.

basically, i know this area is being revitalized but how much crime is there? i would like to be able to take a walk at night with my dog and not worry about looking over my shoulder all the time, etc. i'm not talking about at 1AM, but more like 8-10PM.

are the news reports overblowing the situation or is this really a dangerous place? (i know local news tends group the northside all into one big area...but what about the safety of this area which is in the "central northside"?)

lastly, is this a good investment if i decide to move...expectations of the resale potential of these rowhomes in 5-6 years?

thanks everyone!

[BrianTH]

I think there is a good chance that area is going to take off, but there is always going to be some risk involved with investing at this stage, particularly with a timeframe as short as 5-6 years.

As for crime--personally I wouldn't be overly concerned, assuming you exercise normal city-living precautions, but really only you can assess your personal comfort level. It isn't a war zone, but historically there has been a higher crime rate per capita in that area than is otherwise normal for Pittsburgh.

[Renaldo5000]

It's a bad neighborhood, but it has gotten better. They've been trying to clean it up for years.

It's either going to take off and be a good investment...or it's not going to work at all. I wish I could give you a more definitive answer.

[vtPGH]

I live one block off Federal St, and about 100 yards from the new townhomes in question. I regularly walk home by myself after dark and have never had any safety issues or incidents. Yes, theirs plenty of 'disadvantaged people' hanging around, but I've never witnessed anything close to violent or dangerous in three years. With common sense and good awareness of your surroundings, most folks do just fine.

[gg]

I used to live up the hill off Perrysville Ave. where the view is. Had to drive up Federal all the time. I have to say, they have done a great job cleaning it up from the old days. That place was a war zone years ago when the police station was there. Looking pretty good now.

[Uptown kid]

The current Northside in all has gotten a whole lot safer since the early 90's...
Yet there are still 4-5 types of active street gangs:
OGz that fly black & purple in Manchester and the tip of allegheny west
Cripz that fly blue, white, & black in Northview Heights, Fineview, Californa-Kirkbridge, & the southern part of Brighton Heights
Tre 8's that fly white 8 red in Perry South and the tip of East Allegheny
Hoodtown Mafia who fly black and white in Central Northside
In Marshall-Shaden there might be a gang
I could be wrong about the "terf" but I know I'm right about the "colors".
I am a none northsider

[gg]

Originally Posted by Uptown kid

The current Northside in all has gotten a whole lot safer since the early 90's...
Yet there are still 4-5 types of active street gangs:
OGz that fly black & purple in Manchester and the tip of allegheny west
Cripz that fly blue, white, & black in Northview Heights, Fineview, Californa-Kirkbridge, & the southern part of Brighton Heights
Tre 8's that fly white 8 red in Perry South and the tip of East Allegheny
Hoodtown Mafia who fly black and white in Central Northside
In Marshall-Shaden there might be a gang
I could be wrong about the "terf" but I know I'm right about the "colors".
I am a none northsider

Interesting. As someone who has lived all over the place and in the city plenty of times, I wouldn't have ever known any of that information. That being said, I don't know if people need to pay attention to terf wars if you aren't in those circles, but you should be aware not to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Keep your eyes and ears open so to speak. I haven't had too many problems in the city. I was confronted by a gang once. I pretty much went on my way figuring they were packing. Also, I was on my bicycle when Peabody High School was letting out. I saw another cyclist ahead of me get punched when riding by the kids. I road towards them and had my elbow at the ready, but they didn't want a part of me. There was backup in place or I would have changed that plan. You can't win against guns and several people in a gang with that mentality. You have to be smart about it. Having my elbow at the ready wasn't the best idea, but I tend to have an edge to me. Sometimes an edge can be good in the city. Now that I am an affluent suburb, the edge is deep in the brain and my guard is very low.

[vtPGH]

Originally Posted by Uptown kid

The current Northside in all has gotten a whole lot safer since the early 90's...
Yet there are still 4-5 types of active street gangs:
OGz that fly black & purple in Manchester and the tip of allegheny west
Cripz that fly blue, white, & black in Northview Heights, Fineview, Californa-Kirkbridge, & the southern part of Brighton Heights
Tre 8's that fly white 8 red in Perry South and the tip of East Allegheny
Hoodtown Mafia who fly black and white in Central Northside
In Marshall-Shaden there might be a gang
I could be wrong about the "terf" but I know I'm right about the "colors".
I am a none northsider

That's pretty accurate, though the turf colors are not as prominent as they were even 6-7 years ago. As was stated just below, these groups are much more under the radar and into self preservation than back in the 90's. Not much brazen, out in the open incidents within the last few years. At least in many North Side neighborhoods, they operate within their own underground circles, and rarely interact or hassle folks (i.e. professional people) that clearly are not into their thug games. So if you don't look like a someone who's trying to cut into their neighborhood drug turf, they know its in their best interest to stear clear of you. Since you're probably not a loyal subject to the law of the street (No Snitch), and there's a much higher probability you would go to the police if you saw them engaging in something blatantly illegal, they don't want to have anything to do with you. The dealers and users preference is to rob other dealers and their families because they know they have money and nice stuff on them, and would never go to the cops, and risk a light being shined on their own shady dealings.

[pittsburgheer]

thanks for the posts everyone. what does everyone think about resale value or even the ability to turn the home into a rental if i need to move due to job relocation?

[Datcha120]

I live right up the hill in Fineview and drive/walk past these row houses everyday (also the dwellings). The new row houses have really been a huge part of brightening up the Federal street corridor. As far as crime goes, vtPGH is right. I walk to work many days the weather is nice and down the street to the new library and even though you are going by "projects" no one has ever bothered me one bit. The crime that is here on the northside, is not the kind of crime that directly affects your average citizen (breaking and entering, mugging, car jackings), these are just not prevalent (I keep my ear to the ground pretty well and I have not heard of one major criminal incident affecting my average law abiding neighbors). The only crime I have seen is a drug deal a few times, but that sure as anything isn't happening on federal st, they take place on random back streets. All in all, just use some common sense and you will have no problem with crime.

As far as resale value and the general improvement of central northside, I would say the odds are greatly in favor of the federal street corridor taking off along with the rest of central northside and surrounding neighborhoods. Take it for what its worth, but I've put my money where my mouth is. I bought and renovated my own house here in Fineview and am in the process of renovating a large duplex. If you could see the amount of money that is being invested in this area right now, not just from public sources, but more importantly, from private sources, you would know that something big is going to happen here.

That being said, in general if you think there is a good chance of being relocated in the near future I don't know that it is smart to buy a house at all, except in rare instances like if you know you could get enough rent to cover all your costs and be willing to put in the time and effort of managing a rental from afar. I would not recommend ever relying on appreciation and/or being able to sell quickly since you never know what state the real estate market will be in.