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Old 04-21-2012, 10:04 PM
 
2,290 posts, read 3,807,679 times
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Couldn't find any discussion on these major Oakmont developments here.

Oakmont (pop. 6,303) is located along the Allegheny River and is one of Pittsburgh's most desirable suburbs. Famed for its world class country club, Oakmont was developed as a model "factory town" with its own industries. One of these industries was the riverfront Edgewater Steel, which went out of business some years ago. That site is now being redeveloped.

A few years ago, two separate developments were proposed for Oakmont, Edgewater and River's Edge. These are examples of brownfield redevelopment and feature "new urbanist" principles. This is a great example of a municipality that has long been "built out", finding new opportunities to maximize growth and development.

Edgewater is $100M residential development on a 34-acre site along the border with Verona. It will have about 240 homes at build-out. It features traditional neighborhood design and density intended to mesh seamlessly with the existing urban fabric of Oakmont.

Excitement builds for Edgewater at Oakmont development - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Edgewater Neighborhood in Oakmont, PA - Real Estate in Oakmont, Pennsylvania

Edgewater at Oakmont - Real Estate - Oakmont, PA | Facebook

A few photos from their Facebook page:

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/524622_10151415341500128_10150109882335128_2341985 3_965105202_n.jpg (broken link)



http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/392357_10150906160180128_10150109882335128_2151919 1_667103841_n.jpg (broken link)

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/294000_10150799995840128_10150109882335128_2077923 6_1651175582_n.jpg (broken link)

...

River's Edge is a proposed $85M residential development on 28 acres adjacent to the Edgewater site and slated to feature 168 homes. Its street network will align with Edgewater and the existing town. It is currently awaiting TIF approval.

River's Edge plan aims to mesh with Edgewater - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The River's Edge of Oakmont : Website Concept



Rothschild Doyno Collaborative









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Old 04-21-2012, 10:12 PM
 
20,273 posts, read 32,864,150 times
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Definitely great to see brownfield/infill projects like this in the core area. I might note that tossing in the AVR commuter rail plan would further enhance their value (the AVR is the railroad running right along the eastern border of these sites).
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Old 04-22-2012, 12:22 AM
 
783 posts, read 2,012,326 times
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Looks like nice work on the waterfront, but those homes look cheap and hideous. I wonder what kind of resale value a new Heartland home with lime green vinyl siding sitting on the border with Verona has? Gag!
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Old 04-22-2012, 06:11 AM
 
Location: About 10 miles north of Pittsburgh International
2,458 posts, read 4,183,227 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Love2Golf09 View Post
Looks like nice work on the waterfront, but those homes look cheap and hideous. I wonder what kind of resale value a new Heartland home with lime green vinyl siding sitting on the border with Verona has? Gag!
Heartland isn't the builder there, and that's not vinyl siding.
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Old 04-22-2012, 06:31 AM
 
783 posts, read 2,012,326 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ditchdigger View Post
Heartland isn't the builder there, and that's not vinyl siding.
Ok, my mistake. What kind of siding is it? And, who is the builder? Per the Trib article:

"A line of "Courtyard" homes constructed by Heartland Homes sits in the Edgewater at Oakmont development on Wednesday, March 7. Homes at the development have been selling quickly, putting it on pace to be completed two years earlier than expected."

Excitement builds for Edgewater at Oakmont development - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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Old 04-22-2012, 07:01 AM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,768,265 times
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I have walked that site. The location is great and it isn't right on top of Verona at all, but the construction isn't very good IMHO. Not a fan of what they built on such a prime site. The river views are really great and there is a walkway along the river. Then you can walk to the shops and restaurants in Oakmont, but of course most won't walk, but you could if you can handle a few blocks on your feet.

I think they could have done a much better job with the construction end of things. Certainly not the quality of the homes in the Summit at Oakmont across from the CC.
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Old 04-22-2012, 07:02 AM
 
Location: About 10 miles north of Pittsburgh International
2,458 posts, read 4,183,227 times
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Quote:
Murrysville development firm Kacin Companies received a $7.7 million loan in 2008 to clean up contaminated soil on the property.
^ Them.

The siding is Fiber cement siding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Costs about twice what vinyl does. (Disclaimer: I haven't been to the project, but I know what they use on other sites.)

Quote:
"A line of "Courtyard" homes constructed by Heartland Homes sits in the Edgewater at Oakmont development on Wednesday, March 7. Homes at the development have been selling quickly, putting it on pace to be completed two years earlier than expected."
Hmm. I didn't read the caption to the picture, just the article I know Kacin's there because I know guys working for them. Maybe Heartland is too.
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Old 04-22-2012, 09:18 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,254,359 times
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It's nice to see front porches on new construction for a change of pace, even if they'll probably be largely underutilized. It's also nice to see that garages are accessible via rear alleyways instead of sitting prominently perched in FRONT of the homes, which is what you see in most poorly-planned suburbs today.
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Old 04-22-2012, 10:17 AM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,768,265 times
Reputation: 17378
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post
It's nice to see front porches on new construction for a change of pace, even if they'll probably be largely underutilized. It's also nice to see that garages are accessible via rear alleyways instead of sitting prominently perched in FRONT of the homes, which is what you see in most poorly-planned suburbs today.
The front porches you see in that first picture will be utilized. Those units have a view of the river and views get used most of the time.

When I left Edgewater I felt is was just some okay place. Nothing special. On the other hand, I knew Edgewater Steel VERY well since I grew up in Oakmont and what is there is a vast improvement in every way. Sure Edgewater Steel employed lots of people back in the day, but the pollution from that place was amazing. I kid you not, if you lived next to it, you would have to clean your windshield of your car off in the morning so you could see out of it.

I am a bit disappointed in what they are building there, but feel the price range for new construction on that riverfront site is about as good as they could do, so their hands are sort of tied. Oakmont taxes are too high and there just aren't enough people that want to spend tons of money there. Most of them would prefer to live up on the hill in Oakmont, not down below the tracks as we used to say. That below the tracks comment is still sadly being used today in Oakmont. I always felt the area was the most disjointed town I ever been around. Such resentment towards those on top of the hill from those on the lower streets. An amazingly diverse place when it comes to income/living standards, but for some reason that diversity wasn't welcome from either side. Very odd feeling and NOTHING like the East End as far as acceptance of different wealth in residence. Don't get me wrong, Oakmont is a nice place and there are tons of really nice people that live there. Sidewalks on most streets and a cool downtown. They keep the town in great condition for the most part and it is still a good place to live. Not as nice as back in my days there because we had a huge community pool and a great auditorium with great architecture in the Gilmore School. Allegheny Angel wouldn't want to know about the old beautiful Gilmore School. The new high school is ugly and a joke of a building. Also an amazingly poor location for those walking to it as I did.
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Old 04-22-2012, 10:22 AM
 
2,290 posts, read 3,807,679 times
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What would you like to see built on this site, h_curtis?
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