Interesting Uptown article (Pittsburgh, Troy, Seneca: for sale, real estate, lofts)

[BrianTH]

Here it is:

Lofts already under way at old Fifth Avenue High School

For some reason the title is about the Fifth Avenue High School project, but it is really much broader than that. The article raises a basic issue which has plagued many cities, which is whether things like minimum parking regulations, height restrictions, and inadequate public transit service will prevent developers from maximizing the residential potential of key locations. Those artificial supply restrictions in turn have contributed to core areas becoming unaffordable.

Fortunately it so far appears like the powers-that-be are willing to grant regulatory variances to accommodate developers. Unfortunately, the quality of local public transit is largely being determined by dynamics at the state and federal level. Nonetheless, I think if we allow developers to build as dense as they want, eventually better transit will follow as the constituency and economic case for transit in the relevant areas grow (and I also happen to think the anti-transit political dynamic at the state and federal levels are in their dying phases, but that is a whole other topic).

[PreservationPioneer]

I'm glad that it looks like another historic building will be saved in Uptown. I just hope the historic townhomes can be restored, too.

[pman]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Here it is:

Lofts already under way at old Fifth Avenue High School

For some reason the title is about the Fifth Avenue High School project, but it is really much broader than that. The article raises a basic issue which has plagued many cities, which is whether things like minimum parking regulations, height restrictions, and inadequate public transit service will prevent developers from maximizing the residential potential of key locations. Those artificial supply restrictions in turn have contributed to core areas becoming unaffordable.

Fortunately it so far appears like the powers-that-be are willing to grant regulatory variances to accommodate developers. Unfortunately, the quality of local public transit is largely being determined by dynamics at the state and federal level. Nonetheless, I think if we allow developers to build as dense as they want, eventually better transit will follow as the constituency and economic case for transit in the relevant areas grow (and I also happen to think the anti-transit political dynamic at the state and federal levels are in their dying phases, but that is a whole other topic).

transit is, to some extent, also determined by population patterns. this location in particular should be easy to serve and probably add revenue to existing routes which alleviates some strain on transit agencies. development that adds new low densit routes requires more support. it's kind of a vicious circle. anyway, you have to wonder what places that have parking problems that they are trying to avoid becoming. do you want to be more like boston or cleveland?

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

I'm glad that it looks like another historic building will be saved in Uptown. I just hope the historic townhomes can be restored, too.

I share your hope AA, but I'm not too optimistic about it. The homes that are for sale simply cost too much to be attractive to most potential buyers. There's a *very* limited market segment that is going to spend six figures on the fixed up homes in Uptown, and probably an even smaller segment that is going to spend upwards of 50K on the ones that need huge amounts of work. Maybe they'll get snatched up once other areas of the city stop being such deals, but most people have no reason to spend so much to buy in Uptown at the moment.

[airwave09]

For the life of me I can't understand how there is a zoning law for a neighborhood right next to downtown that prevents buildings from being higher than 3 stories.

That's the part of the article that made me double-take. There are already so many buildings in the neighborhood that are well over that height... I just don't understand the point of an ordinance like that.

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Burn down all the old houses nobody wants, put up something nice, bam, people will move in.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by MeinGlanzendMotorrad

Burn down all the old houses nobody wants, put up something nice, bam, people will move in.

There's no argument that lots of homes in Uptown are unattractive to potential buyers, but I would argue that it's due to their condition rather than their age. People care about condition more than age. The age of a home basically comes down to preference; condition is more about tolerance (either to live with the shoddy conditions, or to tolerate the costs of repair).

[PreservationPioneer]

Uptown is one of the few affordable neighborhoods left in the city with mid-19th century Victorian and Italianate homes, although they come on the market extremely rarely. The others are East Deutschtown and Spring Garden. The rest of the North Side is seeing rapid price appreciation. Similar houses in the South Side Flats and War Streets sell for more than I can afford. I might have to give up my dream of owning an Italianate row house in this city.

It's not that nobody wants those Victorians in Uptown. It's just that none of them are on the market. There seems to be a huge demand for houses like that in Pittsburgh, and not enough of them to go around. Look at real estate listings. You won't find any houses like that for less than $120k.

[ferraris]

There's only 2 homes listed on Trulia in the Bluff right now, so you seem to be correct that there isn't much on the market. However both of them illustrate my points. This one is $136K, and even though it's quite nice, that's still rather expensive for a home in Uptown in my opinion. The other is in need of total rehab and is located along the busy Blvd of the Allies, yet it is still listed at $35K. There are plenty of neighborhoods like Troy Hill, East Allegheny, Arlington, etc. where you can find homes for $35K that need much less repair. And it's not like uptown is a significantly nicer neighborhood than those areas in most people's minds. You'd have to be absolutely gaga over the proximity to Downtown and Oakland to justify $35K for such a run down home.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

There's only 2 homes listed on Trulia in the Bluff right now, so you seem to be correct that there isn't much on the market. However both of them illustrate my points. This one is $136K, and even though it's quite nice, that's still rather expensive for a home in Uptown in my opinion. The other is in need of total rehab and is located along the busy Blvd of the Allies, yet it is still listed at $35K. There are plenty of neighborhoods like Troy Hill, East Allegheny, Arlington, etc. where you can find homes for $35K that need much less repair. And it's not like uptown is a significantly nicer neighborhood than those areas in most people's minds. You'd have to be absolutely gaga over the proximity to Downtown and Oakland to justify $35K for such a run down home.

I thought there were no houses for sale uptown because one man owns them all, and he's waiting 'til the day he can get the absolute max before he'll sell any of them. No?