Neighborhood of the week: Mt. Washington (Liberty, Ulysses: for sale, real estate, apartments)

[Copanut]

Can't imagine what the gas bills would be for that thing. And living on concrete in the middle of two heavily traveled secondary streets is not my cup of tea.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised based on the lack of maintenance, but I was surprised that this house that could have been more of a gem was completely gone last time I drove through Mt. Washington: https://goo.gl/maps/Mn6XzM21jDq

My very first apartment in Pittsburgh was in the building catty-corner to this house, and I always liked its style.

That's sad. It looks like the house was occupied as recently as 2011 as well on Streetview.

[slamont61]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised based on the lack of maintenance, but I was surprised that this house that could have been more of a gem was completely gone last time I drove through Mt. Washington: https://goo.gl/maps/Mn6XzM21jDq

My very first apartment in Pittsburgh was in the building catty-corner to this house, and I always liked its style.

So you lived in a Gazebo?


I lived in the House/Bldg directly across the street. For Rent sign visible. It was at the time the Gazebo was being installed. Too much noise from traffic at the intersection. Yikes...

[lprmesia]

Shhhhhh. Housing prices have gone up quite a bit over the last few years up here while we do have a lot of infill happening (though maybe not as much as I'd like). We have an intact business district despite the downturn of bricks and mortar. The NIMBYs do block a lot of development up here, but I think we kind of like the stable/strong growth and don't want to be another bubble/bust neighborhood like South Side.

DON'T SPOIL OUR SECRET!

And houses within 2 blocks of Shiloh usually don't take too long to sell. There are plenty of SFH through here, just we don't feel like leaving. We're very happy where we are. Even the renters on my street are usually 5-10 year tenants.

[xdv8]

Originally Posted by lprmesia

Shhhhhh. Housing prices have gone up quite a bit over the last few years up here while we do have a lot of infill happening (though maybe not as much as I'd like). We have an intact business district despite the downturn of bricks and mortar. The NIMBYs do block a lot of development up here, but I think we kind of like the stable/strong growth and don't want to be another bubble/bust neighborhood like South Side.

DON'T SPOIL OUR SECRET!

And houses within 2 blocks of Shiloh usually don't take too long to sell. There are plenty of SFH through here, just we don't feel like leaving. We're very happy where we are. Even the renters on my street are usually 5-10 year tenants.

Steady increases are ideal but do you really think South Side is bubble/bust? Or did the momentum slow down to natural levels after a boom?

[lprmesia]

Originally Posted by xdv8

Steady increases are ideal but do you really think South Side is bubble/bust? Or did the momentum slow down to natural levels after a boom?

Growth is its own form of industry. So any sustained decrease is going to have a cascading effect.

The South Side grew much because it was cheap with infrastructure in place. Then it became expensive, NIMBYs and Bruce Kraus found enough footing to stop future neighborhood investment, and the retailpocalypse all happened within a few short years.

People want to blame the bars, but that's been a fabric of the neighborhood for a long time. Using a few hours on Friday and Saturday nights to paint the perception of being the source of all the neighborhood's woes is terribly inaccurate and downright unfair.

Mt. Washington has had many attempts to have larger private investment in the neighborhood over the past few decades much like South Side, but the NIMBYs have almost always had their way up here. It taking the Edge 30 years to be torn down was part of that - the NIMBYs blocked almost every developer attempt to put something else there. However, Mt. Washington also has an incredible councilwoman that's kept public investment into parks moving to make it very neighborhood-like and family friendly.

There's not many (frequently any) empty storefronts despite the retail downturn. That's a good thing. While people clamor for a hardware store and/or gift shop instead of an extra bar or 2 - it's a very minor trade-off. The NIMBYs even tried to stop development of a former BP site at Virginia & Wyoming into an upscale 30+ type establishment (one that doesn't create issues) and folks were raising hell. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to stop the project from moving forward.

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by slamont61

So you lived in a Gazebo?

I feel like a gazebo is more of an accessory structure than a building, but sure.

[lprmesia]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Interestingly enough I belong to a Facebook group for Mt. Washington, and the vast majority of residents of Mt. Washington approved of the "generic modern sh*tbox" that's replacing that Victorian when posts were made covering its demolition. I guess Mt. Washington houses a lot of people who care more about modernism than historic preservation.

I saw mixed feelings on it. I think a lot of the approval for the modern sh*tbox had more to do with the acceptance and understanding that the existing building was far beyond repair. There were rodent issues, foundation issues, and the money it would have taken to restore the site had chased off prospective buyers for years.

I absolutely agree that it was a beautiful home and I was upset to see it go being replaced by something ugly - but I understand that the money wasn't there - and in the long run an occupied home is probably better than watching that building fall apart and decay even further.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by lprmesia

I saw mixed feelings on it. I think a lot of the approval for the modern sh*tbox had more to do with the acceptance and understanding that the existing building was far beyond repair. There were rodent issues, foundation issues, and the money it would have taken to restore the site had chased off prospective buyers for years.

I absolutely agree that it was a beautiful home and I was upset to see it go being replaced by something ugly - but I understand that the money wasn't there - and in the long run an occupied home is probably better than watching that building fall apart and decay even further.

I just wish it was being replaced with something a bit higher density like a mini apartment building or even a small set of townhouses. That area should really have a higher density than just single-family houses.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I just wish it was being replaced with something a bit higher density like a mini apartment building or even a small set of townhouses. That area should really have a higher density than just single-family houses.

Parking becomes an issue on that corner. Its such a unique (and tough) piece of land. I don't think that is indicative of density building in the area, just that one triangle. I imagine if Pittsburgh heats up, other parcels will look to develop some more medium density up there.