California-Kirkbride: Trending Upwards or Continuing to Decline? (Pittsburgh, Manchester: for sale, 2014)

[SteelCityRising]

I've been flirting with the idea of scheduling appointments to see two homes in the California-Kirkbride neighborhood of the North Side that are currently listed for sale. Both homes are within my budget, both are historic, and one seems as if it would offer beautiful skyline views from its upper floor. I drove through the neighborhood a few times during the past two weeks, and while desolate and replete with neatly-maintained urban prairie it seems like it has stabilized after years of decline.

Here's my question for all of you. Do you foresee California-Kirkbride being the recipient of spillover gentrification from adjacent Allegheny West and the Mexican War Streets (in similar fashion to what we've been seeing in portions of Manchester) or do you envision the issues currently facing Marshall-Shadeland creeping down the hill a bit into California-Kirkbride? I'm looking to stay here relatively long-term if I buy the home.

I'd be especially interested to hear from Uptown Kid, who seems to know a great deal about gang turf wars in various parts of town, and I'd also be interested to hear from GeneW, Lobick, ferrarisnowday, ML North, CaptainPittsburgh, and others who are very well-acquainted with this area of the North Side. After working in Shadyside today and bearing the brunt of a lot of flippant behavior from clients who thought they were "all that and a little bit more" (if you catch my drift) I'm beginning to find the East End "attitude" less appealing. I've always really liked the architecture and general built environment of the North Side, but it's always seemed like a very divided area of either uber-expensive and "crunchy" (Mexican War Streets/Allegheny West) or uber-ghetto (Marshall-Shadeland, much of Manchester, Chateau, the Perrys, etc.) with very little middle ground (Troy Hill would fit this category). I've been taking a lot of drives lately all over the North Side trying to learn the area better, but I'd really appreciate more of your insight into this part of town and ESPECIALLY California-Kirkbride.

I currently work in Oakland and would miss my current commute, which I WALK in fair weather, but in the long-term I do envision myself working Downtown by 2014 with my current employer via a promotion I hope to secure by that point. If and when that comes to fruition I'd imagine I'd just walk from California-Kirkbride to the "T" station and take the subway to Downtown. My partner already works on the North Shore.

Thanks so much!

[SteelCityRising]

Here are the two homes in question:

Property 1 (which I'm favoring): 1911 B Street, Pittsburgh PA - Trulia

Property 2 (which features a nice little setback from the main road but is a tad above my ideal budget): 924 California Avenue, Allegheny PA - Trulia

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Here are the two homes in question:

Property 1 (which I'm favoring): 1911 B Street, Pittsburgh PA - Trulia

Would the vacant lot next door be part of your property?

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Property 2 (which features a nice little setback from the main road but is a tad above my ideal budget): 924 California Avenue, Allegheny PA - Trulia

Do you want to deal with a lawn (small as this one is)? It's either an expense or a bit of labor you don't have now.

One thing I like about both houses is that you don't share any common walls. That was the worst part about living in a rowhouse, I thought, having to deal with the smell of my next door neighbor's three ****-factories, as well as the chemical fumes that wafted through the walls when she cleaned up after them (once a week only). I love dogs and cats, but you've got to take better care of them than she did.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Would the vacant lot next door be part of your property?

According to the county tax records the lot size is only 888 square feet. The house's footprint is 22' x 24', which does not include a 3' x 11' front porch and steps. That's a total of 561 square feet of built environment, leaving 321 square feet of open space. That doesn't appear to include the vacant lot next-door.

Originally Posted by jay5835

Do you want to deal with a lawn (small as this one is)? It's either an expense or a bit of labor you don't have now.

I would either want a small lawn or a fenced patio area. All I want in terms of outdoor space would be enough room for the dog to do its business, room for some sunflowers, and eventually a hot tub.

Originally Posted by jay5835

One thing I like about both houses is that you don't share any common walls. That was the worst part about living in a rowhouse, I thought, having to deal with the smell of my next door neighbor's three ****-factories, as well as the chemical fumes that wafted through the walls when she cleaned up after them (once a week only). I love dogs and cats, but you've got to take better care of them than she did.

I'm also not a particularly huge fan of sharing common walls, but I do know that's an inherent attribute of living in a major city. Our upstairs neighbors frequently have small parties, and we can hear everything (and I mean everything) that goes on up there. I'm sure they're also able to hear us.

[I_Like_Spam]

The Cal/Kirkbride area is dominated by vacant land and urban prairie. The future of the area is going be determined by those who owns and is assembling this acreage.

BTW, its a long walk from the LRT all the way up to California Avenue, more than a mile- I would take the bus to town or to Allegheny Center and transfer to a 71 or 54C trip.

[PB&J O'Rourke]

An area can only improve if good people move there. If you move there and help it improve, it will improve. If you ignore it, who knows?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

The Cal/Kirkbride area is dominated by vacant land and urban prairie. The future of the area is going be determined by those who owns and is assembling this acreage.

BTW, its a long walk from the LRT all the way up to California Avenue, more than a mile- I would take the bus to town or to Allegheny Center and transfer to a 71 or 54C trip.

A long walk as part of my commute wouldn't deter me. I currently park my car near the juncture of Bigelow & North Craig (just past the Bloomfield Bridge) and walk to my workplace in the middle of Oakland. According to Google Maps that is about 1.1 miles. When I walk all the way from my home it's 2.0 miles. I would definitely walk from California-Kirkbride either all the way to Downtown OR to the "T" station by Heinz Field.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by PB&J O'Rourke

An area can only improve if good people move there. If you move there and help it improve, it will improve. If you ignore it, who knows?

Very true. I think I will make an appointment to see at least the one on B Street, which is more comfortably within my budget anyways. Since it seems like this sub-forum may have a bit of "clout" since it turns up at the top of many search engine results maybe if I move here and publicize the neighborhood it will improve?

[PB&J O'Rourke]

Sure, go with that.

[LIRefugee]

Nothing is lost by merely looking at the properties, so I'd say go ahead and schedule the appointments.