Nice Manchester House highlighted in Nytimes real estate section (Pittsburgh: apartments, rental)

[Aqua Teen Carl]

That $675k home has Section 8 housing a stones throw away and some abandoned properties around the corner. They're smoking crack if they think they're going to sell it for that.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by dtrtrggr13

I would not pay $360,000 let alone $675,000 for a house in that neighborhood, no matter how nice it was.

You can get places like that, in great condition for under $100,000 in Detroit, in even better neighborhoods right now. Its nuts.

I would, but that's just me, although... you only need one.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by GeneW

It's half the price of the one across the street at $675.

I would never buy a home there if I had that much money to spend on a home. I want my investment to be worth it and not live down the street from the rif-raf.

[BrianTH]

I'm not sure what these homes will actually sell for right now, but I wouldn't bet against them being good investments in the long run.

[biggybugaboo]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I'm not sure what these homes will actually sell for right now, but I wouldn't bet against them being good investments in the long run.

Agreed and I have a hunch that Manchester will be more desirable than the Mexican War Streets in 15 years.

[Mtl-Cns]

I would live in Manchester for the housing stock and the location, but the problem is there are NO amenities, and I'm not sure that they have room for them. While Western Avenue is decent in Allegheny West (and not that far away I guess), it becomes a total dump as soon as you cross Allegheny Avenue heading for the West End Bridge. Just a bunch of warehouses, chain link fences and of course, the unfortunately ubiquitous surface parking lots. Does anybody know if Manchester ever had its own traditional business district? I feel like it'd be hard for it to become a viable city neighborhood without one. Even though the Garden Theater block is up and coming, it's still a hike from most of Manchester.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Mtl-Cns

Does anybody know if Manchester ever had its own traditional business district? I feel like it'd be hard for it to become a viable city neighborhood without one. Even though the Garden Theater block is up and coming, it's still a hike from most of Manchester.

I've heard or read (don't ask me where) that Manchester used to have a lot of corner shops back in its Victorian period.

[BrianTH]

Searching archives:

Bidwell Street:



Beaver Avenue appears to have been the main commercial street:











Beaver and Columbus today:

Beaver Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA - Google Maps

[Evergrey]

I agree about the chain link fence wasteland, Mtl-Cns. I hate that area so much. As for business districts... I assume Beaver Ave was Manchester's business district (now the light industrial void mysteriously/ironically christened Chateau). Old photos I've seen of Beaver Ave look similar to Carson St.

Most people on city-data have severely outdated perceptions of Manchester... it's immediately adjacent to the shangri-la that is the two whole blocks of Allegheny West.

The reason why a house like this might command such a lofty sum despite proximity to the alleged "riff raff" (can we retire this euphemism from City-Data Pittsburgh?) is because the housing in Manchester that wasn't destroyed by highways, bizarro world 1960s ranch house redevelopment, chain link fences, and the myriad urban socio-economic ills of the latter half of the 20th century... is some of the most spectacular Victorian-era housing in the city. There's a niche market out there who really really likes this type of irreplaceable housing... and they're undeterred by stories of "riff raff" and the lack of amenities. There is investment flowing into Manchester... lots of rehabs... and brownfield reclamation yielding new units. A house in Manchester IS a great long-term investment... the neighborhood will only get better and better along with the rest of the "Near North Side".

[BrianTH]

I believe Beaver Avenue is the street crossing right through the middle of this picture:



Today:

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