When analyzing development patterns in cities, there’s a concept called the “favored quarter,” a direction on the map that gets the vast majority of the attention, services, convenient transportation, and thriving businesses, stretching all the way out to the affluent suburbs. Pittsburgh seems to have this too — going east from central Oakland through Squirrel Hill/Point Breeze. It makes sense, given that the three rivers’ delta points in the opposite direction, leaving the most developable land to the east.
But having a favored quarter means that the other three quarters are not favored. This is a bad thing. And the West End always seems to be the part of town that gets the smallest slice of the pie.
It doesn’t have to be that way. The western neighborhoods of Pittsburgh don’t get a lot of notice in the media and are pretty short on amenities and attractions. But they are still quite interesting and give those looking at housing some options less infected by the price inflation that plagues many East End neighborhoods.
WEST END
For sale: 1440 Isoline St., Sheraden, $139,800
If you go by the interior photos, this house looks like it was built last week. Everything is new and painted neutral gray in that way that apparently sparks joy in the hearts of realtors, leaving no patina of age, or changing styles left to scrape off. However, this house was built in 1880 (according to Redfin), making it one of the older homes available for purchase in Pittsburgh. Nobody’s building 896-square-foot, two-bedroom houses anymore, which is kind of a giveaway — but maybe they should. To compensate a little, there’s a big porch that wraps around the front and one side, and a fairly big backyard (for the city) with a six-foot wooden fence — “Good fences make good neighbors,” etc.
This place has got it all: swimming pool, spacious gym, dead mall in walking distance. Believe it or not, Parkway Center Mall was once the spot to be in Pittsburgh. But it went downhill in the ‘90s — almost literally, since the ground it was built on was quite unstable. Now, there’s not much left but the Giant Eagle to remind anyone that it existed. But if you’re out walking the dog and see a spectral presence sipping Orange Julius and looking for the vanished Stride Rite, it’s probably harmless. This “City Vista” is one of those managed communities where everything is new and clean and fairly identical to its analogues in every other city. That’s okay, demand is there, the pool is nice, and no bulldozing of anything historic or interesting was required.
For sale: 1307 Kinmount St., Banksville, $265,000
Banksville: all the inconvenience of a suburb, and all the taxes of the city! It may be missing a few important things — walkability, foremost — but Banksville has plenty of subtle advantages. It’s quiet and has lots of parks and green space, and easy access to employment centers on the other side of the tunnel (Moon, the airport, Parkway West). Banksville Park in the warmer months is particularly glorious, if you don’t mind the happy din of beer-league softball games, kids playing dek hockey, and a particularly intense cricket match (sometimes all at once). Without much notice, this area is becoming one of Pittsburgh’s most diverse, reflected in the delicious cuisine nearby: kebabs, curry, arepas, barbecue, and, uh, cold cheese thrown on pizza (for some reason) at Beto’s. Housing ranges from surprisingly large apartment towers to this tiny two-bedroom mid-century (1955) gem.
For rent: Emerald Gardens, 2400 Village Rd., Fairywood, $1,100/month
There’s a disappointing lack of hobbits and elves in Fairywood, unless they’re just lurking out of sight in the verdant, forested hillsides nearby (or joy-riding forklifts at the Amazon warehouse). However, there is a combination of convenience to job centers nearby and blessed quiet — not things that usually go together in the city. Emerald Gardens is a fairly fanciful name, but this development is otherwise pretty standard suburban-style townhouses, which do make pretty good places for young families to get their start. If a city is to draw in enough residents to sustain itself (still an open question in Pittsburgh!) it needs housing of all kinds and price points.
