Pittsburgh real estate update (Manchester, Penn: storage, appraisal, garage)

[eschaton]

It would be much better if the shadows blocked more of The Village of Shadyside.

Seriously though, I walk through that lot on a weekly basis, and I would love a park there. One of your better ideas.

[BUILD PENN SQUARE]

Originally Posted by eschaton

It would be much better if the shadows blocked more of The Village of Shadyside.

Seriously though, I walk through that lot on a weekly basis, and I would love a park there. One of your better ideas.

i was going to send it to laura karet who runs giant eagle and the allegheny conference - she and i went to high school together

the park would be a tremendous asset for their new shady hill center development

decided against it - people don't care if east liberty has a public square or not - it's a waste of time trying to promote the concept that a business district needs a public square to be complete

the strip district doesn't have one and they seem to be doing fine

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by BUILD PENN SQUARE

i was going to send it to laura karet who runs giant eagle and the allegheny conference - she and i went to high school together

the park would be a tremendous asset for their new shady hill center development

decided against it - people don't care if east liberty has a public square or not - it's a waste of time trying to promote the concept that a business district needs a public square to be complete

the strip district doesn't have one and they seem to be doing fine

I don't think you can drop a square just about anywhere. But it helps that that block of Broad and the building across Sheridan both front on the square. It instantly improves the viability of those storefronts. Add to this that some of the buildings on Kirkwood could maybe be retrofitted to have rear storefronts (kinda like here) and you could have a nice nexus of commercial activity.

Unfortunately the Target side will always be a dead edge, but Centre is a wide street with high-speed traffic, so it's unlikely that the square would ever get as much traffic from that side anyway.

[BUILD PENN SQUARE]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I don't think you can drop a square just about anywhere. But it helps that that block of Broad and the building across Sheridan both front on the square. It instantly improves the viability of those storefronts. Add to this that some of the buildings on Kirkwood could maybe be retrofitted to have rear storefronts (kinda like here) and you could have a nice nexus of commercial activity.

Unfortunately the Target side will always be a dead edge, but Centre is a wide street with high-speed traffic, so it's unlikely that the square would ever get as much traffic from that side anyway.

also east liberty doesn't have the momentum it once had when the ace hotel was open and being written about in the NY times

back then bakery square was an instant success - now liberty east is struggling to hit 50% occupancy

https://www.cbre.com/properties/prop...burgh-pa-15206

what i want to know is - at what point does the supply of new apartment units in east liberty become oversupply?

giant eagle is adding 230 new units on shady - on centre they're putting the finishing touches on a new 170-unit apartment building

office demand is weak now - is residential demand next?

[gg]

Originally Posted by BUILD PENN SQUARE

... people don't care if east liberty has a public square or not - it's a waste of time trying to promote the concept that a business district needs a public square to be complete

I think it would be a mistake to put a public square in East Liberty. It would just be a place for drug activity, crime and the hood to hang around and create more trouble than they already do. At least businesses can call police. An open area can't and it will just be filled with litter and crap. I think the days of places like public squares are over if you have a community near it that can walk there and destroy it. Larimar, is so close.

East Liberty is getting better and better. No good restaurants, but for the people that just want thaw and serve, or thaw and heat it does well.

Enjoy.

[svband76]

Originally Posted by gg

I think it would be a mistake to put a public square in East Liberty. It would just be a place for drug activity, crime and the hood to hang around and create more trouble than they already do. At least businesses can call police. An open area can't and it will just be filled with litter and crap. I think the days of places like public squares are over if you have a community near it that can walk there and destroy it. Larimar, is so close.

East Liberty is getting better and better. No good restaurants, but for the people that just want thaw and serve, or thaw and heat it does well.

Enjoy.

Ha, funny comment. "Thaw and serve".

Parklet will just become another druggie tent camp.

[wpipkins2]

There is a fairly large park/square one block north east of this location. The Larimer park is sufficient and utilized for festivals, movies, and food trucks. The park is very nice and loved by the surrounding community. I drive past there often and it appears to pleasant. The park is in the shadow of the abandoned Saint Peter and Paul church. The area surrounding East Liberty Presbyterian church is a parklet. It is beautifully landscaped with permanent

https://www.ura.org/news/city-and-ur...ark-in-larimer

[BUILD PENN SQUARE]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

There is a fairly large park/square one block north east of this location. The Larimer park is sufficient and utilized for festivals, movies, and food trucks. The park is very nice and loved by the surrounding community. I drive past there often and it appears to pleasant. The park is in the shadow of the abandoned Saint Peter and Paul church. The area surrounding East Liberty Presbyterian church is a parklet. It is beautifully landscaped with permanent

https://www.ura.org/news/city-and-ur...ark-in-larimer

and that's the whole point - it's useless to try to promote the traditional concept of a public square like market square or mellon square because now if your building has landscaping and a few benches then that's considered a square or a park

just go into google maps, make the whole area green, including the sidewalks and the parking spaces, and add a label calling it a square - then you have a square!

it's not what you are that's important - it's what you identify as...

[BUILD PENN SQUARE]

i thought mcknight realty was supposed to build apartments above the kelly strayhorn - what ever happened to that?

Supporters of the Kelly Strayhorn Theater win delay of encroaching development

https://www.publicsource.org/kelly-s...ty-pittsburgh/

"A developer’s plan to build apartments beside and above East Liberty’s landmark Kelly Strayhorn Theater drew heated opposition from artists, activists and neighborhood residents at a hearing of the City Planning Commission, which opted to postpone its vote pending further discussions."

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Yeah that is very true, but this is my final home, so I will die in it hopefully (although not any time soon). So not really worried about resale. It's just me and my dog, so I just dont need the space, dont want empty rooms, rooms I will eventually feel compelled to fill with stuff, I dont want to heat rooms I dont use, etc. It sucks that trying to be reasonable and take up less space in this world is harder than being wasteful and going large.

Thanks in advance for any insights you might be able to pass along.

I feel very fortunate. My fiancé (will be husband in a few weeks) and I bought a 2-BR/1-BA alley rowhome built in the late-1880's or early-1890's on the North Side in March 2020 for $54,900. It is about 1,100 square feet, and there is one attic room with a very sloped roof we only really use for storage/home office (when my fiancé works from home).

It is very minimalist-friendly. It has a flat tiny yard that is fenced, and we have a 1-car detached garage (tiny---but perfect for my Honda Fit). My fiancé doesn't drive, and there is a bus stop right around the corner for the 17 or bus stops for the 13 and 16 are each 10 minutes away on foot.

My home doesn't have things like stained glass windows or historic transoms or natural woodwork or pocket doors or anything (although it does have a lot of exposed interior brick), so my home wouldn't personally be up your alley (pun intended).

I will keep a look out for you, but anything that you will like in Lower Manchester, Allegheny West, East Allegheny, or the Central North Side/Mexican War Streets is either going to be grossly overpriced, snatched up quickly, or not have any off-street parking.