Neighborhood of the week: New Homestead (Pittsburgh, West Mifflin: top neighborhood, for sale, new house)

[eschaton]

New Homestead is a neighborhood in the 31st ward of Pittsburgh - part of the same pseudo-enclave of the city as Hays and Lincoln Place. Besides sharing land boundaries with these neighborhoods, it also borders West Homestead and Munhall. In 2010 the population of the neighborhood was 990.

Despite being called a neighborhood, in truth there are several different neighborhoods within the confines of the area, which due to topography lack even road connections. They are as follows.

1. A few dead-end roads off of Mifflin Road which are essentially Hays. This area is very rural and backwoodsy, with only a couple houses left.

2. A small hilltop neighborhood above West Homestead. I believe that this area was the historic "core" of the neighborhood, and that it was a black neighborhood in the past, as New Homestead is one of the only city neighborhoods which got whiter with time (it was 30% black in 1940, only 8% black today). Again, it's a fairly rural area, albeit not as backwoodsy and relatively flat. Many of the streets have houses scattered very far apart. I do not think there was much abandonment up in this area, so I can only presume demand never rose enough to fill in the neighborhood. This area has a small parket with a playground, along with a nearby ballfield - the only recreational areas in the entire neighborhood.

3. There are a handful of streets off of Mooney Road which are more or less part of Lincoln Place. This area is fairly suburban.

4. The densest area by far is the "Gates/Homeridge" neighborhood. This is a mid-20th century suburban subdivision, complete with winding roads which is only accessible via West Mifflin. Most of the development is closely-spaced brick ranches and split levels. This area had had new McMansions built over the last decade plus alogn Marina Drive and Cassabill Drive however. These new construction houses are almost certainly the reason why New Homestead was one of the Pittsburgh neighborhoods which had a population gain between 2000 and 2010. Another interesting point of trivia is this is by far the most Republican portion of the City of Pittsburgh - with 60%-65% of the vote going to the Republican presidential candidate in at least the last three presidential elections. I'm not sure why Republicans are buying McMansions within city limits, but there you go.

New Homestead is an entirely residential area. Aside from a single small used car store barely within the neighborhood on Mifflin Road, there is no commerce. The area even lacks churches.

In the medium run, it will probably once again post a population gain in 2020. Additional new houses have been built since 2010, and there are still around 20-25 more lots to be built out in the Cassabill Drive area. But after this small development is done, it will likely continue on the same general path of slow decline as the surrounding neighborhoods and municipalities.

[szug-bot]

this is a weird, interesting place.

the 'historic core' on Revenue Street looks like a dream - QUIET, and with fresh air.

It would be great if there were a long range plan to possibly allow horses for people to travel within the area.

thanks for this very cool look at New Homestead! I can honestly say I have never met a Pittsburgher that I knew was from New Homestead. I am guessing that since it is automobile dependent, there would be much less chance to cross paths with residents, who would generally not have business in the east end/downtown/oakland.

I would consider living there if my needs (work, etc.) were consolidated to the area around it, like in Homestead or West Mifflin.

[DaisyDaisy]

Originally Posted by eschaton

4. The densest area by far is the "Gates/Homeridge" neighborhood. This is a mid-20th century suburban subdivision, complete with winding roads which is only accessible via West Mifflin. Most of the development is closely-spaced brick ranches and split levels. This area had had new McMansions built over the last decade plus alogn Marina Drive and Cassabill Drive however. These new construction houses are almost certainly the reason why New Homestead was one of the Pittsburgh neighborhoods which had a population gain between 2000 and 2010. Another interesting point of trivia is this is by far the most Republican portion of the City of Pittsburgh - with 60%-65% of the vote going to the Republican presidential candidate in at least the last three presidential elections. I'm not sure why Republicans are buying McMansions within city limits, but there you go.

In the medium run, it will probably once again post a population gain in 2020. Additional new houses have been built since 2010, and there are still around 20-25 more lots to be built out in the Cassabill Drive area. But after this small development is done, it will likely continue on the same general path of slow decline as the surrounding neighborhoods and municipalities.

It's my understanding from knowing two families who live near Gates and Cassabill that there are quite a few City of Pgh police and firefighter families living in there. The talk at the latest BBQ we attended last month was how there may be some homes for sale there now that City Police can move outside city limits.

[bradjl2009]

While not the most exciting neighborhood for things to do, your write up and links to street views of the neighborhood are quite fascinating. Never realized there was a part of the city that looks exactly like an exburb. I wonder if the city would ever just try to buy out the remaining homes mentioned in #1 so they can simply stop maintaining and giving services to such streets so far out of the way from other areas.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by DaisyDaisy

It's my understanding from knowing two families who live near Gates and Cassabill that there are quite a few City of Pgh police and firefighter families living in there. The talk at the latest BBQ we attended last month was how there may be some homes for sale there now that City Police can move outside city limits.

^ As an insider, I can assure you that this is correct.

[villageidiot1]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Despite being called a neighborhood, in truth there are several different neighborhoods within the confines of the area, which due to topography lack even road connections. They are as follows.

1. A few dead-end roads off of Mifflin Road which are essentially Hays. This area is very rural and backwoodsy, with only a couple houses left.

This is an interesting area. There are definitely more than a couple of houses here. Granger St. and Circle Ave are little more than paved trails. I wonder if the City provides snow removal? Two vehicles couldn't pass on these roads and there doesn't appear to be many places to pull over.

[Benzman66]

Originally Posted by villageidiot1

This is an interesting area. There are definitely more than a couple of houses here. Granger St. and Circle Ave are little more than paved trails. I wonder if the City provides snow removal? Two vehicles couldn't pass on these roads and there doesn't appear to be many places to pull over.

Yeah, I was shocked to see a house at the end of Granger St. I used Google maps and typed 87 Granger St. Either abandoned or a bunch of hermits maybe? I would hate driving that lane in a bad snow, plowed or not.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by Benzman66

Yeah, I was shocked to see a house at the end of Granger St. I used Google maps and typed 87 Granger St. Either abandoned or a bunch of hermits maybe? I would hate driving that lane in a bad snow, plowed or not.

i know! it's incredible that THAT was surveyed by a driver for google, and some much more travelled streets in various cities, no image was recorded.

that home is isolated! and i thought the buildings along the Chartiers Creek were remarkably hidden away.

[alastad]

I love New Homestead. It's so interesting how rural it is for being in the city. Awsome how you can get a house there by itself and not have to sacrafice convineance as you're right above the Waterfront and pretty close to the South Side and the East End and not too far from the C3 area either.

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by eschaton

New Homestead is a neighborhood in the 31st ward of Pittsburgh...In 2010 the population of the neighborhood was 990.

...This area has a small parket with a playground, along with a nearby ballfield - the only recreational areas in the entire neighborhood.

I thought I would add some perspective from another part of the country. I live in San Diego, CA in a neighborhood of 8000-9000 people. Our public recreational areas are zero, unless you count a landscaped traffic circle.

In fact, our city's policy doesn't call for any recreational facilities until a neighborhood's population reaches 5000. My point, if I have one, is your city may be behind in certain things, but in others, they appear to do well.