east liberty station: realizing the potential - City of Pittsburgh

Study Area
City of Pittsburgh
44
Total Housing units 11,167 156,165
Single family detached 1,678 73,751
% Single family detached 15.03% 47.23%
% Owner occupied 27.15% 47.6%
% Rental 72.85% 52.4%
Vacant units 1,721 19,948
% Units vacant 15.41% 12.77%
Source: US Census American Community Survey 2005-09;
City of Pittsburgh
Taxable Land: Assessed Value
commercial
multi-family residential
single family residential
industrial
other
Taxable Land: Acres
commercial
multi-family residential
single family residential
industrial
other
Approximately 75% of the land area is
currently utilized for owner occupied or
rental residential use. A much higher
percentage of rental units exist within
the study area as compared to Citywide
averages due to a concentration of
subsidized housing. Of the 11,000 total
housing units within a half mile of the
transit station, over 15% are currently
vacant.
Single family residential use accounts for
approximately half of the total taxable
assessed value and 40% of acreage within
the study area. Many of those units are
located within the heart of Shadyside to
the south of the Busway. Portions of the
primary residential area of East Liberty
are captured within the northern boundary
of the study area. Other pockets of single
family residences can be found west of
Penn Circle to the north of Baum Boulevard
towards Friendship and to the northeast in
Larimer.
Approximately 20% of the taxable land
area and assessed value comes from
commercial multi-family properties. As
mentioned, the concentration of rental
units within the study is much higher
than the ratio throughout the City. Multifamily
units appear along much the
same geographic areas as single family
residences. Though once again, differences
exist between the product types in
Shadyside versus East Liberty and Larimer.
A few larger complexes exist within
Shadyside especially along the 5th Avenue,
Shady and South Highland corridors. Many
of the multi-family units however are within
large former owner occupied residences
that have been renovated. Both are
traditionally offered at market rents.
Within the historically low income
neighborhoods to the north, several large
subsidized housing towers have been
recently demolished. These were replaced
with modern apartment and townhouse
complexes that still cater to low income
residents. Most of the multi-family
development occurs in larger 25+ unit
structures or larger redevelopment sites as
opposed to smaller renovated residences in
Shadyside.
Commercial retail, office and mixed-use
parcels comprise the majority of the rest
of the land use within the study area. The
primary commercial corridor runs between
Baum and Center Avenues to the West
into the Penn Avenue corridor including
the central business district within the
former Penn Mall loop. To the south of the
Busway, ancillary commercial areas can be
found along Ellsworth and South Highland
Avenues. A small cluster of industrial
buildings is situated behind the Busway
in Larimer to the east of East Liberty
Boulevard.