House in Manchester? (Pittsburgh, Franklin, Beaver: 2013, apartments, buying a house)

[crazytoast]

Hello everyone

My SO and myself were looking into buying a house in lower Manchester. I was just wondering if the neighborhood would be a good fit for us. My SO is obsessed with the area but I'm a little bit hesitant. We are middle class, white, 25y/o and looking to buy our first home. I work in Green Tree and she works in Oakland so the commute both ways is pretty easy. From my understanding, Manchester has a large varied opinion on it and I'd like to know what other people think. From what I've looked up, the house seems to be in a more gentrified area. This is good because I know historically the area isn't known to be the safest place... There seems to be a lot going on with the stadiums just a short walk away and the casino. The travel time to downtown is a plus as well. I've read other threads on Manchester but most of them seem out of date (a few years old at least). Considering all of the recent changes there, I would like to get a more up-to-date idea of the area to better make up my mind.

Some things I would like to know about the area are:
- Is it safe?
- What is there to do (bars, restaurants, etc)
- Current opinions of the area
- Should I be worried about all of the boarded up houses?


Thanks for your help!

[CaptainPittsburgh]

I live in the Northside, am in your age category and would totally live there. In fact, I was just biking through Manchester last week and remarked to the person I was with about how I like that little area.

People have different opinions, but that part of town is totally safe for my money, and it will only improve as the years pass.

[eschaton]

Sheffield Street is on the safe side of Manchester (everything below Decatur is generally considered okay). The population of the lower part of Manchester is overwhelmingly black (probably on the order of 2/3rds) but the neighborhood is one of the focal points for the black urban middle class in Pittsburgh. The gangs have been pushed out of much of Manchester for a decade now, so it's absolutely safe to live there.

That house is one of the "historic-style" infill houses, not an actual historic house like many in the neighborhood. While they are well done, the infill blocks tend to me much more heavily black than the historic blocks. Again, I wouldn't have an issue with this.

Manchester has no business district. This is an unfortunate result of bad urban renewal choices in the past. Chances are if you buy there you'd walk to Allegheny West (about 10 minutes away) or the Mexican War Streets (about 15-20 minutes) if you wanted to do something.

The portion south of Decatur has a lot less blight than it used to. The current blight in southern Manchester isn't a big deal. Much of the remaining blight is because property values appreciated so much that it's not really a feasible area anymore for homeowners to restore and flip (it always would have been difficult with such grand houses though).

[Lobick]

Often, this calculation is a block by block one but, in general, lower Manchester is safe. You don't have much in the way of businesses within Manchester but the Allegheny-West (Western Ave) business district is pretty close by (as is the T). On that front I think it's on the upswing, Benjamin's has been a good addition to the scene. Lola Bistro is really good, if a little pricey.

I continue to beleive that the neighborhood is trending positively. Its got a tremendous community development organization, Manchester Citizens - Home Page, so I'd probably view the boarded-up houses as more of an opportunity than anything else.

Just my $.02, but I'm a Northside booster.

[Uptown kid]

Some things I would like to know about the area are:
- Is it safe?
- What is there to do (bars, restaurants, etc)
- Current opinions of the area
- Should I be worried about all of the boarded up houses?

Lower Manchester is completely safe and is currently 360% away from Upper Manchester... Spillover only occasionally occurs, and when it does it tends to be just minor issolated issues located on Sheffield Street past the Fontella Street intersection and on Western blocks of Liverpool Street... They were terrible streets back in the 90's and a few thugs still want to act like they own the place now.
Currently Upper Manchester (Manchester north of Decatur Street) is in the same category as most of the Allegheny Commons East Apartments, the Langley Street and Ridge Avenue areas of Perry Hilltop, and most of Marshall-Shadeland...
I'm not trying to unjustly label or slander these areas, but IMO they do not qualify as safe. Yet don't get it twisted, they're not quite dangerous either... IMO Lower Manchester, Central Northside, Fineview, Deutschtown, Observatory Hill, Brighton Heights, Spring Hill, Troy Hill and most of Allegheny Center are safer options.

Well a few of the boarded up houses could be trap houses for the local street gang. There are several drug spots that become very popular hang out spots in the summer (ie vacant lots, boarded up houses, local parks and stagnant side streets and slow intersections). The park, Adams Street, Lake Street, 1450-1300 Columbus Avenue, the int of Franklin Avenue & Manhattan Street, and "The Hole" (int of Juanita Street & Fulton Street) are the places to avoid due to gang-related drug activity.
Upper Manchester has without a doubt gotten safer since the days when it was widely consisered as one of the most dangerous [non project] neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. Although in consideration, Upper Manchester (along with most of the other Northside rough neighborhoods) has quieted down in the last three years, but that's largely because literally almost a whole generation of Northside gangbangers is in jail or dead. For example, the police indicted 3 rival street gangs, the S.O.E. Alliance Crips/Charles Street Crips, Manchester O.Gz. and Hoodtown Mafia, and took a total of nearly 80 gang bangers off the streets. Plus from 2008-2010 there were over a dozen gang-related homicides on the Northside (including one in Manchester). Yet none of those gangs are close to currently being defunct, and its only a matter of time until these current gang members make the Northside become the "Warside" again. And truth be told, the newly created Upper Manchester block groups can't do anything and will loose effectiveness if thugs from Upper Manchester from across the bridge in Cali-Kirk/over in the Northview Heights Projects start shooting at eachother with assault riffles again.
That being said gang violence has virtually no chance of personally threatening even if you moved to the heart of Adams Street. Though trust me don't believe the hype just yet. As of 2013 Upper Manchester is thoroughly rough and tough, maybe 5-10yrs from now it won't be, but it sure as hell is now.

So go for it without hesitation if you find a spot in Lower Manchester. Though if you really need this spot and its located in Upper Manchester just be precautions and know its propably going to get worse before it gets better, yet the better may possibly be in the foreseeable future.

[I_Like_Spam]

Does the meth clinic on Beaver Ave. provide any negativity to the crime/gang situation over in Manchester?

Meth clinics bring in folks with self-admitted smack problems into a community on a regular and repeated basis- and unfortunately not every client of this kind of facility is as committed to remaining "clean and sober" as people would like.

[Uptown kid]

Does the meth clinic on Beaver Ave. provide any negativity to the crime/gang situation over in Manchester?

I'm not sure, though it makes a lot of sense that it would... I was actually in Manchester when I wrote that post and I still never knew there was a meth clinic over on Beaver Ave... Interesting you learn something new everyday.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Uptown kid

I'm not sure, though it makes a lot of sense that it would... I was actually in Manchester when I wrote that post and I still never knew there was a meth clinic over on Beaver Ave... Interesting you learn something new everyday.

There's one right by my wife's work in the Strip District, and it hasn't seemed to bother them that much.

[CaptainPittsburgh]

I doubt the clinic has any effect, since it's on the other side of that Berlin Wall of a highway. I also didn't even know it was there, and I'm in that neighborhood all the time.

Also, crazytoast, I don't know why I didn't say this the first time, but you guys should spend a few evenings sitting/walking around in the neighborhood, and see what you think. That will be a great indicator for whether or not it's a good fit.

[crazytoast]

We've been over there a few times over the past week at all times of they day. It's seems pretty friendly. There are kids playing in the streets and generally looks like a nice area. I think we may go for it!