Homewood Neighborhood Revitalization Plan

Housing Development Strategy
The Community of Homewood

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Cities, like anything else, succeed only by making the most of their assets. If we
understand the principles behind the behavior of cities, we can build on potential assets
and strengths, instead of acting at cross-purposes to them. First we have to know the
general results that we want., and the next step is to examine some of the workings of
cities at another level: the economic workings that produce the neighborhoods that we
want.
- Jane Jacobs
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Prepared for
Homewood Brushton Comprehensive Community Organization

Prepared by
Jaxon Development Company

Perkins Eastman Architects
JAXON
Development Company
23 Bedford Square
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
412.431.5151
Fax: 412.431.6361
Homewood Brushton Comprehensive

Community Organization
c/o: Mr. Jeffrey L. Richardson
Comprehensive Plan Coordinator
J. Richardson Consultants
7125 McPherson Boulevard
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208
Re: Homewood Housing Development Strategy
Dear Mr. Richardson:

On behalf of Jaxon Development Company and Perkins Eastman Architects, P.C., we are pleased to present here the
report of our evaluations and recommendations concerning a Housing Development Strategy for the community of
Homewood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
As detailed within the report, Homewood is a seriously distressed neighborhood but it retains attributes that can
form the basis for effective physical revitalization; and, if that revitalization is pursued strategically, it can help to
beneficially reshape the community and the way that it fits into Pittsburghs future.
Against the background of a severely depressed current reality, our report addresses the basic issues and some of the
strategic principles that apply to the process of re-building a distressed neighborhood; and, based on that framework,
we have sought to identify core problems and priority opportunities as targets for a series of development
interventions and key housing development projects that are designed to embody and set into motion a change
process that can help to make Homewood a more sustainable neighborhood.
Our philosophy is that a neighborhood revitalization strategy should be realistically attainable but that it should also
aim high in terms of the vision that it represents. Our experience is that compromise is inevitable no matter where
the target is set. Our ideas are both big and small, some easily done and some much less easily done.
We hope that we tell a story here that conveys a sense of Homewoods potential and that it is sufficiently
compelling to encourage a commitment to embrace and explore and, to the fullest extent possible, to resolve all of
the challenges big and little, easy and hard that might need to be addressed in making Homewood the best place
that it can be.
Sincerely yours,
John A. Johnston
President

April 15, 2002
Prepared By:

Perkins Eastman Architects, P.C.
Prepared For:
Homewood Brushton Comprehensive

Community Organization (HBCCO)
HBCCO Sponsoring Organizations:

Community Empowerment Association
Homewood Brushton Revitalization &
Development Corporation
Homewood Brushton Roundtable
Operation Better Block
Rosedale Block Club
Stingers Development Corporation
The Office of State Representative
Joseph Preston
HBCCO Community Plan Coordinator:

Jeffrey L. Richardson,
J. Richardson Consultants

Executive Summary
Since the 1950s, Homewood has been a

community in decline and, after fifty years of
persistent physical, economic, and social
deterioration, it is severely impacted by the degree
and kinds of distress that impoverish neighborhoods
as places to live.
Since 1950, the community has lost two-thirds of
its population, almost half of its families, one-third
of its households, and one-third of its housing.
The strength of its historical diversity is gone. It
has changed from a vibrant socially and
economically mixed neighborhood to one that is
almost exclusively African American and very
predominantly very low income.
The ramifications of a very low income population
are readily apparent. Its business district has been
eroded to practically nothing. Its physical character
is very modest. Vacant lots are common. Boarded
houses are not uncommon. Housing generally is
deteriorated. The streets seem barren.
With a low income population, rents are low. With
low rents, the upkeep of rental properties is
inadequate. With deteriorating rental properties,
home values are compromised. Compromised
home values are a disincentive to reinvestment.
Many homes have been converted to rental use.
Rental properties tend to deteriorate.
Problem: self-sustained and progressive

neighborhood disinvestment associated
with a high concentration of a low
income population.
Symptoms:
vacant land, boarded
houses, a deteriorated housing stock, low
property values.
Solution: the introduction of strategic

physical changes through real estate
development that positively influences
market dynamics and competitively
repositions the neighborhood in the
citys housing market.
Objective: economic diversification of

the neighborhood housing market.
Resources for renewal are limited --far less than the

task requires. Interventions into the neighborhood
in the form of new housing investment should be
made in a way that is synergistic and catalytic.
Developing new housing as a part of a community
revitalization agenda involves more than providing
housing as shelter: it should improve the housing
condition of disadvantaged residents but it should
also eliminate blight and encourage economic
diversification of the local residential market.
The overall pattern is one of persistent, selfperpetuating, and progressive disinvestment.

In physical terms, the cycle of disinvestment needs
to be broken for effective revitalization of a
distressed neighborhood. This involves more than
building houses for the sake of building houses.
New housing is the essential tool for physical
renewal but, to be effective, the housing built needs
to be strategically built.
Homewood Housing Development Strategy

Executive Summary
The Homewood community exists as an

assemblage of corridors and districts, each affected
by different sets of circumstances and each
deserving a different approach to new development.
With limited resources in the face of extensive

needs, the process is necessarily incremental and
each piece of development should progressively
build on the last piece and leverage the next piece
to a higher potential. Where to start?
Each of the neighborhoods major areas has parts

where distress is relatively concentrated and each
has attributes that can serve as revitalization
building blocks.
Real estate is place-based and neighborhoods

consist of many parts. In distressed neighborhoods,
some parts are relatively good and some parts
absolutely bad. A physical revitalization program
that also aims to rebuild the neighborhood housing
market through incremental action has to start with
whats there, in particular the relative attributes that
are there.
Homewood has both relatively good and bad places
throughout most of the neighborhood. The bad
places need to be redeveloped by developing
housing that borrows some contextual strength and
thus marketability from the good places, enhances
that value through the development that is done,
and transfers that higher value back into the good
places.
Major Planning Areas

The Frankstown and Hamilton
corridors create three major neighborhood
districts, each with stronger and weaker places within it and
each with a character that is generally internally consistent
but basically different from the others.
Principles for strategic incremental development

include some basic ideas:
new physical improvements should eradicate

blight as a principal cause of neighborhood
disinvestments
In general, the front doors to the neighborhood and

the principal corridors into and through it show
signs of considerable distress and are accordingly
targets for development interventions.
physical changes should be made in a

concentrated visible way from place to place
throughout the neighborhood and each place
should be re-built incrementally in order to add
value progressively back into the neighborhood
new development should start with whats there

now, both in terms of physical and market
context, and it should take value from the
relative attributes in that context while
reinforcing and enhancing those attributes and
adding greater value to them
new development should build from low to high

in its market orientation and it must, to a
significant degree, progressively test and prove
out demand potentials in the higher end of the
market
diversification of development is essential in

terms of place, type, market orientation, and
resource requirements
a structured complementary multiplicity of

diversified development initiatives is most
strategically effective in terms of impact.
In general, each of the neighborhoods residential

districts has places in them where the basic
structure of the neighborhood is weak and/or where
distress is high; and they also have places where the
architectural character and physical condition of the
built environment is relatively good.
Over time, most of the major streets in Homewood
evolved as mixed-use corridors, sometimes with
uses that were originally not complementary. The
pull of the railroad and the concentration of
industrial development in North Point Breeze, for
instance, encouraged a scattered pattern of
industrial development in the southern parts of
Homewood that usually occurred along the major
streets there within or at the edges of residential
neighborhoods and that sometimes occurred off the
major streets in the middle of those neighborhoods.
ii

Executive Summary
Lang Avenue
vacant lots, nonconforming uses
mid-Frankstown Avenue
vacant lots
Western Portal
physical isolation
Hamilton Avenue
bad housing, ,vacant lots
Southeast Homewood
bad housing, vacant lots, weak structure
Business District
vacant lots, deterioration
major non-conforming
industrial uses
Key Problem Areas

Key problem areas are the focus for early action
in an incremental revitalization process. They are the
places that cant fit into the re-woven fabric of a strong
neighborhood or the places where the existing fabric is most
intensely distressed.
The pattern of physical distress in the neighborhood

is the target for revitalization interventions. In
rebuilding a neighborhood, the physical symptoms
of the communitys problems are the opportunities
that need to be addressed.
More often the mix of uses along the corridors

gradually
became
non-complementary
or
compromised as things changed. The strength of
neighborhood industrial activities devolved and the
utility
of
industrial
properties
declined.
Neighborhood businesses lost their viability; the
market for scattered storefronts disappeared; the
storefronts fell into disrepair. As the car became
more essential to life, the streets carried more and
more traffic and the housing along the major streets,
especially owner-occupied homes, became less and
less desirable.
The marketability of housing is influenced by all of

the features that comprise its setting. As a part of a
housing revitalization strategy, the parts of a
neighborhood that are less well suited for
residential development than for other development
still need to be addressed if the neighborhoods
housing potential is to be maximized. The bad
places that shouldnt be housing need to be turned
into better places that provide something of value to
the community as a place to live and a housing
development strategy has to deal with those needs
and opportunities as a part of the process of creating
a sustainable housing market.
Inside the neighborhoods traditional residential

areas, the general economic decline of the
neighborhood was given expression in the form of
deterioration in the housing stock leading to
concentrated distress in places where the original
housing was of lower quality and where the basic
physical structure of the neighborhood was weak.
iii

Executive Summary
Non-Residential Development Initiatives

Some parts of Homewood are fundamentally not
suited or are at least less well suited than others to
be treated as residential revitalization opportunities.
Those areas are places where non-residential uses
might be either expanded or introduced to better fit
each place to its more natural market and, in doing
so, to support the housing components of
Homewoods revitalization plan.
Western Portal
Retail Center
Mid-Frankstown
Cutural Center and Marketplace
Business District
Improvements
SouthCentral
Commercial Development
Homewood Industrial Park
Plan Components Non-Residential
Western Portal Retail Center

z
multi-tenant retail and office
showroom facilities between west of
the Conrail overpass
Business District Improvements
z
public parking between Kelly and
Bennett, east and west of
Homewood Avenue
z
in-fill commercial development
z
rental housing and/or offices south
of Hamilton
z
selective building rehabilitations
iv
Mid-Frankstown Corridor Revitalization

z
community cultural center
z
Homewood marketplace
z
selective building rehabilitations and
adaptive re-use for office purposes
SouthCentral Commercial Development

z
public elementary school on Tioga
z
public park at Hamilton
z
professional office development
z
multi-purpose sports/wellness center

z
office/showroom, distribution, and
light manufacturing facilities in
southeast Homewood at Braddock

Executive Summary
Residential Development Initiatives

The pattern of development in Homewood creates
three major planning districts that are generally
defined by the Frankstown Avenue and North
Homewood Avenue corridors. Most of each district
is residential in character but each district is
different in terms of its housing pattern and
condition so that different approaches to housing
revitalization are appropriate in each case.
Lang Corridor
North District
Northwest District
Sterrett-Collier
Bennett Street Lot
Kelly / Murtland In-Fill
Hamilton, west
mid-Hamilton
Hamilton / Braddock Site
Hamilton, east
Brushton Corridor
Cora Street Redevelopment
Plan Components Residential

591 new housing units:
313 for-sale detached units
278 rental units in 65 apartment houses
North Homewood Housing Initiative
[85 for-sale units]
concentrated new housing development in areas
of significant distress
scattered site in-fill housing development in
areas of light and moderate distress
selective showcase housing rehabilitations
throughout
Southeast Homewood Housing Initiative

[147 for-sale units; 144 rental units, 32 buildings]
throughout
Southwest Homewood Housing Initiative

Other

throughout
Frankstown, east and west [108 rental units, 21

buildings]
in-fill housing development and selective
housing renovations

Executive Summary
By sequencing new development from place to

place in the neighborhood, the physical conditions
that compromise the neighborhoods market
potential can be progressively eliminated. By
pursuing development in moderately scaled
increments, the market orientation of each
increment of development can be broadened toward
the top end of whats there now; and, by doing that
successively from increment to increment and place
to place throughout the neighborhood, the full
scope of new development will introduce a
substantive economic diversification of the market.
Again though, the plan is not so much a matter of

building individual houses in a pattern shown on a
map as it is a matter of a process of making change
that remediates the physical features in a
neighborhood that compromise the way the
neighborhood housing market works.
Ultimately, physical changes can provide a setting
for a more viable housing market and that setting
can help to influence other aspects of community
life; but it is nonetheless just one part of the overall
process of improving and renewing a community
and it must be balanced with the other parts of a
comprehensive community planning commitment
that addresses the full range of Homewoods social
and economic issues and needs.
Because the approach is incremental, the objective

of a diversified, sustainable housing market can
only be realized through the cumulative outcomes
of the individual initiatives; and it is essential that
the plan, as an expression of strategy, be viewed
and pursued as an integrated whole.
Housing Development Summary

for sale
units
total
all units
low
mid
high
all
8
10
8
26
14
10
15
39
0
0
20
20
22
20
43
85
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
22
20
43
85
total
15
12
0
3
0
8
38
6
11
8
0
4
8
37
0
0
3
0
0
3
6
21
23
11
3
4
19
81
0
0
4
6
16
0
26
0
0
1
3
8
0
11
21
23
15
9
20
19
107
total
10
0
17
5
20
52
6
0
17
11
20
54
3
0
0
11
27
41
19
0
34
27
67
147
64
80
0
0
0
144
16
16
0
0
0
32
83
80
34
27
67
291
total
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
36
72
108
9
13
22
36
72
108
116
130
67
313
278
65
591
market orientation
North Homewood
Lang Corridor
Northwest District
Scattered Site In-Fill (north district)
total
Southwest Homewood
West Hamilton Corridor
Hamilton Corridor, mid-section
East Hamilton Corridor
Bennett Street Lot
Kelly / Murtland Site
Scattered Site In-Fill
Southeast Homewood
Sterrett Street / Sterrett-Collier
Brushton Corridor
Frankstown Corridor
West
East
Total, All Areas
rental
buildings
units
mixed
vi

Executive Summary

Table of Contents
Introduction
Background
HBCCO Mission
HBCCO Planning Goals
HBCCO Planning Framework
Scope of Work
Part Five:
Key Housing Development Projects:
1
1
1
1
2
Part One:
The Homewood Community Existing Conditions
Historical Perspective
Neighborhood Setting
Physical Context
Housing Typology
Housing Condition
Problem Housing
Recent and New Developments
Neighborhood Demographics
The Housing Market
Rents and Values
Indicators of Distress
Neighborhood Balance Sheet
3
4
4
7
8
9
10
12
13
15
16
19
Overview
North Lang Avenue Corridor
Hamilton Avenue Corridor
Sterrett-Collier
Brushton Corridor
Cora Street Housing
67
68
69
70
71
72
Part Six:
Strategy Implementation
Introduction
Implementation Requirements
Vision
Resources
Sustained Effort
HBCCO Roles
Early Action Agenda
Development Planning
Priority of Initiatives
Miscellaneous Implementation Ideas
73
73
74
75
76
76
79
79
80
81
Part Two:
Neighborhood Building Issues
Basic Issues
The Role of Real Estate Development
The Change Process
Housing Market Dynamics
Housing Need / Demand Potential
Tenure Considerations
Housing Affordability
21
22
22
23
24
24
25
Part Three:
Neighborhood Assessment
Overview
Neighborhood Districts
Neighborhood District Evaluations
Patterns of Neighborhood Strength and Weakness
29
30
31
45
Part Four:
Strategic Initiatives
Public Improvement Initiatives
Neighborhood Revitalization Concept Plan
Selected Master Plan Components
48
53
63
64
65
Note: Throughout this report, graphics are used for illustrative purposes only
and related captions and comments do not refer to specific properties unless
so noted within the text of the report.
Introduction
Background
HBCCO Mission
From 1940 to 1990, the population of the

Homewood Brushton community declined from
more than 30,000 people to just a bit more than
9,000. Attendant changes affected almost every
aspect of community life physical conditions
deteriorated, the social fabric of the community was
eroded, and its basic economic vitality became
imperiled.
HBCCO exists to coordinate, foster and plan the

comprehensive revitalization of Homewood
Brushton through improving the housing,
economic, educational and social conditions that
impact the community.
By 2000, after some 60 years of gradual decline,

many parts of Homewood (as it is more commonly
known) had become severely distressed and a cycle
of self-perpetuating and progressive disinvestment
had set in that seriously compromised the lives of
neighborhood residents and threatened the essential
sustainability of the community as a whole.
With respect to its housing agenda, HBCCOs

planning process advances four stated goals:
HBCCO Planning Goals
In 1999 the interests and the energies, as well as the

frustrations, of many concerned Homewood
citizens and community organizations coalesced in
the form of the Homewood Brushton
Comprehensive Community Development Plan
Steering Committee which was assembled to
sponsor and coordinate a new and newly unified
community-based planning process aimed at setting
a comprehensive agenda for revitalizing the
neighborhood.
a balanced housing market that responds to the

diverse needs of all community residents;
a housing market that provides opportunities that are
attractive to new buyers and renters;
a working understanding of resident and landlord
responsibility in improving existing housing
conditions;
neighborhood development and beautification
improvements that aesthetically enhance the
desirable qualities and overall character of the
community.
HBCCO Planning Framework
The Steering Committee has now evolved into the

Homewood Brushton Comprehensive Community
Organization (HBCCO); and, with funding from the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development and the Urban Redevelopment
Authority of Pittsburgh and with the leadership of a
core group of dedicated resident and organizational
representatives, HBCCO has retained a wide range
of professional support services to help it execute
its planning process.
At the heart of HBCCOs planning process is the

idea of community-based empowerment which
encourages people to assume responsibility for
themselves and their community, to have
aspirations, and to act on those aspirations by
investing both in themselves and in their
community. In this regard, the community plan
seeks to facilitate empowerment based on
education, opportunity, and action.
As a facilitation mechanism, HBCCOs planning
process builds on the concept of informed
community involvement in making change. It
embodies the practical concept of stepped actions
that work together and build incrementally toward
attainable objectives that promote the goals of the
plan. And it also embraces the practical concept of
partnering in order to link to opportunities and
The process is built around community-based,

professionally-supported task forces that have been
organized to address issues of environment,
housing, commercial development, public safety,
education, and youth development.
The work reported here is in support of HBCCOs
Housing Task Force.
1
needed resources that may not be readily available

within the community.
market in a way that either is or isnt supportive to

market viability.
As related specifically to housing issues, HBCCOs

planning framework recognizes the need to affect
perceptions about the community as a means of
securing sustainable change. It also recognizes the
constraint of adverse economic realities and
prevailing market dysfunctions on the ability to
create needed new physical improvements as a
means of evidencing change and building positive
perceptions about the community. In this regard, it
identifies subsidized new housing construction and
existing housing rehabilitation as potentially
effective ways of introducing physical change while
also addressing the communitys housing needs
within the context of its economic realities.
Real estate development is good at making physical

changes but it is much less well suited to social
engineering. As a result, the effectiveness of the
suggestions that will be made here is critically
dependent on the effectiveness of HBCCOs
planning process in other areas of community
concern.
Finally, Homewoods decline occurred over some
sixty years and it is unrealistic to expect it to be reconstituted in short order or without a very
substantial investment of new public resources.
Distress is not unique to Homewood and those
resources are in great demand. They are also in
limited supply and, because of this, revitalization
interventions need to be competitive, selective, and
strategic in terms of impact as well as the
sustainability of that impact relative to cost.
Scope of Work
The work reported here seeks to support HBCCOs
planning process by focusing on the role of real
estate development in distressed communities as a
tool for restructuring neighborhood housing
markets as a part of a comprehensive communitywide revitalization program.
This report is not about building houses just for the

sake of building houses. It is about building houses
but its about doing that in a way that builds a
market as a part of re-building a neighborhood.
Reflecting these considerations, the work that is
reported here has been pursued within the following
framework:
This report is intended to provide a framework and

specific suggestions for a housing development
strategy that will catalyze change. In this regard,
this report will not paint a picture of all of the
buildings and streets and trees that might ultimately
shape a new community. It does not seek to depict
a physical vision; and it is not meant to set out a
program that will fix everything that is wrong. But
it is meant to define strategic approaches and
initiatives that will instigate basic changes
changes that, when put into place, will help to
create and sustain a viable neighborhood housing
market.
It should be understood from the beginning that the

quality and desirability of neighborhood housing
markets embodies all aspects of neighborhood life.
Real estate development, even when it is extremely
effective, has a limited role in changing people and
the way they live their lives. At the same time, the
ways in which people live their daily lives in their
neighborhood tends to define the social dimension
of the desirability of the neighborhood housing
It seeks to define the circumstances of the

community in terms that treat it as a market setting
for housing development.
It seeks to delineate a process of change where real
estate development influences market dynamics in a
way that encourages self-sustaining market function
as a contribution to a compre-hensive neighborhood
revitalization strategy.
In terms of that change process, it seeks to delineate
general approaches to intervening in prevailing
market forces based on real estate development
activities that are appropriately and strategicially
varied in the ways that they respond to the range of
existing housing needs and opportunities in the
community as well as to the inherent competitive
market position and potential of the community.
In terms of those approaches, it seeks to delineate
selected key development initiatives that might
serve as prime catalysts in the change process.
Part One:
The Homewood Community,
Existing Conditions
The growth of Homewoods population, together
with that of adjacent residential neighborhoods,
encouraged a vital commercial district that, by the
middle of the Twentieth Century, included five
grocery stores, three banks, two movie theatres, and
numerous other neighborhood-serving businesses.
Today, just about 9,000 people live in Homewood
and the business district is largely shuttered.
Background Historical Perspective

Until the mid-nineteenth century the Boroughs of
Homewood and Brushton were agricultural areas
lying just beyond the border of the City of
Pittsburgh. Homewood was annexed by the City in
1867; Brushton, in 1894. Today, they exist as a
single community, commonly called just
Homewood.
Homewoods precipitous decline over the last fifty

years represents a convergence of urban economic
forces that have worked to imperil many
communities in Pittsburgh as well as elsewhere
throughout the nation.
Based on its close proximity to the City,

Homewood offered an attractive opportunity to
accommodate Pittsburghs growing population. It
was an early suburb. Spurred by the construction of
a street grid and trolley routes that connected the
community to the City, and by rail lines that
brought with them industry and jobs, Homewoods
population grew continuously through the latter part
of the Nineteenth Century and well into the
Twentieth Century, reaching almost 31,000 by
1940. At that time, Homewood was one of
Pittsburghs largest neighborhoods, consisting of a
population that was mostly ethnic, working class,
and middle income.
A massive post-war investment in the construction

of a regional highway system opened the door to
the development of outlying suburbs that were
attractive to many city residents. Post-war housing
finance programs made suburban development
more affordable to many city residents. As the
national economy evolved, Pittsburghs traditional
economic advantages were weakened and, as
employment patterns shifted away from
manufacturing and away from Pittsburgh, working
people followed. Suburban shopping centers and
highways stole most of the remaining market for
traditional neighborhood business districts and they
gradually disappeared.
In Homewood, the impact of these circumstances
was intensified by demographic shifts within the
City population and by the social ramifications of
those shifts.
Large-scale urban renewal elsewhere in the City, in
places like the Lower Hill and East Liberty,
required large-scale relocation of existing residents,
typically low-income and non-white; and, with a
population that had already began to decline as a
result of more macro trends, Homewood provided
an opportunity to accommodate displaced residents.
Fueled by social and economic intolerance, the bythen established pattern of out-migration was
exacerbated and turned into white-flight.
3
With the exception of Penn Hills, all of its

neighbors are communities that are distressed. It is
generally well served by public transportation and
offers reasonably convenient connections to and
from major destinations elsewhere in the City and
region. Pittsburghs central business district, the
Golden Triangle, is about four miles to the west via
the Penn Avenue corridor. Along the western side
of the community, Washington Boulevard connects
to the Route 28 Expressway on the northern side of
the City. Braddock Avenue provides a direct link
to the William Penn Expressway to the south. And
Frankstown Avenue offers an immediate
connection to Pittsburghs eastern suburbs.
Now, what had been a vibrant and diverse urban

neighborhood sixty years ago has become
essentially a low-income minority neighborhood
without sufficient economic vitality to resist the
continually advancing deterioration of its
increasingly older housing stock.
Viewed as an economic phenomenon, the
neighborhoods asset base has been significantly
eroded and not replenished so that the utility of the
community in the context of Pittsburghs larger
housing market has been substantially lost.
In this sense, the challenge to be addressed here is
to rebuild the communitys asset base in a way that
re-establishes a viable fit between what the
community has to offer as a place to live and its
market.
Route 28
Neighborhood Setting
CBD
Homewood is situated along the northeast edge of

the East End of the City of Pittsburgh.
Parkway East
The community consists of some 700 acres or

roughly 2% of the Citys land area. With a year
2000 population of about 9,300, it accounts for
almost 3% of the Citys population.
Homewood is for the most part bordered by City
neighborhoods of generally modest character East
Hills to the east, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar to the
north, Larimer to the west, and North Point Breeze
to the south. It is adjacent to the Borough of
Wilkinsburg along its southeast edge and to the
Municipality of Penn Hills along its northeast edge.
Physical Context
Homewood is very strongly defined by its street
grid and its geography.
Along its southwestern boundary, elevated railroad
tracks are reinforced by Washington Boulevard, a
major connector into the City from the northeast
suburbs; and, taken together, these features mark
the edge of the community and provide a major
separation between it and the adjacent Larimer
neighborhood. Along the northwest boundary, a
steeply sloped hollow terminates the neighborhood
street grid.
Lincoln Lemington
Larimer
Penn Hills
Along its southern boundary, the edge of

Homewood is marked and separated from North
Point Breeze by a Conrail right-of-way and the
Allegheny County Port Authoritys restricted access
East Hills
North Point Breeze
Wilkinsburg
In Homewood, the flats extend south from

Hermitage Street to the Port Authority busway. To
the north of Hermitage, the land slopes up sharply
to the hillcrest that extends along the northerly
border of the neighborhood.
busway east route. This boundary is reinforced by

industrial development over most of its length on
the North Point Breeze side as well as on the
Homewood side to the east of Braddock Avenue.
The northerly and easterly edges of the community
are effectively defined by topography.
The
northern boundary between Homewood and
Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar exists as the crest of a
hill that slopes sharply down into Homewood and
wraps around the northeast corner of the
neighborhood to Frankstown Avenue. A second
hillcrest rises just to the south of Frankstown and
serves to separate Homewood from East Hills and
Wilkinsburg.
Within its boundaries, Homewood is divided into

major parts that are formed by major streets and the
overall pattern of the neighborhood street grid.
In general, a strong and regular north-south / eastwest grid predominates. The neighborhood is
bisected east-west by Frankstown Avenue, which is
the major street through Homewood.
The Frankstown corridor is wide and long, running
through the neighborhood over a distance of about
twelve blocks. It has a major presence and it is
highly disjointed, consisting of several segments
where each segment shows a slightly different mix
of residential and commercial land uses that are
affected in each case by varying concentrations of
underutilization, physical deterioration, and vacant
land.
Strong Street Grid
The area to the north of Frankstown is very

consistently residential in character and the housing
stock there is largely intact but old and worn. The
general quality of housing here is fairly good as
compared to the rest of the neighborhood; and,
while the physical condition of housing in this area
Weak Street Grid
Washington
Boulevard
Lang
Avenue
Steep Slope
Frankstown
Avenue
Hamilton
Avenue
Homewood
Avenue
Busway / Railroad
Braddock
Avenue
is generally marginal, it is good in comparison with

most of the neighborhood, with a relatively low
incidence of vacant lots and severely deteriorated
homes.
district are tattered with a high concentration of

vacant land. More generally, vacant lots are
scattered throughout the area in a pattern where
they tend to be more concentrated in the vicinity of
non-residential intrusions.
To the south of Hamilton Avenue, the east-west

street grid shifts in axis somewhat to generally
parallel the Conrail and Busway East rights-of-way.
The pattern of the streets here is much less regular,
especially in the zone between Hamilton and Tioga
Street and the pattern of development in this area is
therefore more confusing. This is exacerbated by a
fairly frequent incidence of non-conforming
commercial and industrial land uses, especially
along the railroad tracks at the southern border of
the neighborhood and on the primary north-south
streets Homewood, Braddock, and Brushton
that either used to or still connect to the large
predominantly industrial area to the south of the
tracks in North Point Breeze.
As elsewhere, the housing stock here is generally

old and worn. Here, though, it is much more varied
in terms of its basic quality and condition with areas
of relatively good housing in fair condition mixed
with areas of very modest housing in bad condition.
Overall, the physical context of Homewood has
suffered immensely from the neighborhoods long
economic decline. The commercial district has
shrunken down essentially to its Homewood
Avenue spine, leaving remnants behind in the form
of vacant land and many buildings that are
deteriorated and largely empty.
Industrial
properties are generally poorly maintained and give
the appearance of marginal viability.
Many
businesses have left the area. The housing stock is
badly worn with some concentrated instances of
extreme deterioration.
The disjointed street grid, the confusing pattern of

existing development, and the intrusion of nonresidential uses that generally appear to be
marginally viable all contribute to a very weak
residential context in this area. The level of
physical deterioration here is generally more severe
than elsewhere in the neighborhood, the incidence
of vacant lots is generally much more common, and
the basic quality of housing is generally less
substantial.
The central portion of Homewood, between
Frankstown and Hamilton, evidences a marginal
residential context. It is stronger than the area to
the south of Hamilton but weaker than the area to
the north of Frankstown.
The street pattern here is very regular and it
provides a uniform overall structure to the area.
But the development pattern is generally weak
because it is frequently interrupted by nonresidential uses and by housing with a scale and/or
density that is inconsistent with the context of the
area.
Commercial and/or industrial uses are found
intermittently throughout the area and are
concentrated in the vicinity of the business district
along North Homewood Avenue and along
Brushton Avenue. The old edges of the business
6
Housing Typology
Pittsburgh Worker House

Pittsburgh Manager House
One bay wide, typically 17 to

22, on a 17 to 25 wide lot,
often semi-attached. Two bays
deep. Usually, frame; sometimes
brick.
Worker Row
A bay and a half wide with an

entry vestibule in the half bay,
typically 25 to 33, on a 35 to
50 wide lot, detached. Two
bays deep. Either frame or brick.
Apartment House
Row House
Pittsburgh Four-Square
Two bays wide, typically 35 to

45, on a 50 to 60 wide lot,
detached.
Two bays deep.
Usually, brick; sometimes frame.
Apartment Building
Homewoods residential fabric has a highly varied

character with a range of housing types that reflects
the communitys economically diverse history.
Large areas within the community are characterized
by similar housing types in a pattern that represents
a historic distribution of housing value that was tied
to the incomes of early residents.
In Homewood, worker housing is the prevalent type

in the northwest, the south central, and the
southeast parts of the neighborhood; manager
houses prevail in North Homewood; Four-Squares
and manager houses are generally mixed in the
middle part of the neighborhood between
Frankstown and Hamilton.
In some areas, worker housing prevails

typically modest frame houses in a relatively dense
pattern of small lots. In most areas, though, more
substantial manager housing prevails larger
houses, more often brick, on larger lots with bigger
yards. In Homewood, a high-end version of the
manager house, the Pittsburgh four-square is
infrequent..
Interspersed in these overall patterns are various

kinds of attached and multi-family housing that
help to add texture to the neighborhood fabric and
provide a variety of housing accommodations for
neighborhood residents.
Housing Quality
Very little new housing has been built in

Homewood and the housing stock is generally old.
Given the age of the housing stock, it is not
surprising that its condition is worn.
In
Homewood, the normal wear-and-tear that is
attendant to age has been exacerbated by the
economic decline of the community.
At least at a small scale, block by block, a strong

and consistent pattern of housing type and scale
contributes to a more legible sense of the place and,
thus, in housing market terms, greater product
identification. A place that has a consistent pattern
of housing in poor condition has more market
potential than a place that has housing in poor
condition in a pattern that is a hodgepodge of type
and scale.
To some degree, the general pattern of housing

deterioration follows the general pattern of housing
types.
Similarly, a strong public domain in a residential

area can help to make bad housing better. Good
Streets and yards, appropriately sized, adequately
planted, and well tended, can help to unify the
image of a place and mask deteriorated housing
conditions.
Worker housing bears wear less well and, with

generally lower income ownership, deterioration
tends to occur earlier and to advance more rapidly
than with more substantial housing types. In
worker housing areas, demolition is more frequent
and vacant lots appear more commonly. The result
is that areas where worker housing is most
prevalent are the areas where physical distress tends
to be most severe.
Homewood generally has fairly poor quality streets

and yards and the image of economic decline and
physical deterioration is intensified rather than
alleviated by the general character of the public
domain there.
Over time the distress in those areas encroaches on

areas where the basic character of housing is more
substantial and where the income profile of the
property ownership is higher.
As instances of
distress occur, values tend to be eroded and the
economic profile of ownership tends to decline in
relative terms. Higher income areas and larger
areas of more substantial housing tend to resist
these dynamics but, eventually, the physical
indications of economic distress work their way
from the bottom to the top of the communitys
housing market and permeate all parts of the
community.
The stark streets, however, expose a basic pattern of

development that is fairly strong.
Most of
Homewood has a very regular and very strong
street grid and this gives structure to a lot pattern
that varies fairly consistently from place to place
which, in turn, gives rise to a fairly consistently
varied pattern of housing types.
That is essentially what has happened in

Homewood. Physical distress is varied but very
widespread so that a house that is in good condition
is generally so only in relative terms as compared to
the typically marginal condition of the communitys
housing stock.
Housing quality, however, consists of more than
just the architectural character and physical
condition of individual houses.
The only places in Homewood where the basic

pattern is weak is in a zone from Homewood
Avenue to Braddock Avenue to the south of
Hamilton and to the north of Tioga; and in a part of
the southeast quadrant of the community between
Braddock and Rosedale to the south of Hamilton.
These are areas where the existing street grid is less
accommodating of housing patterns that prevail in
most of the community and where any
redevelopment would have an opportunity to
introduce new kinds of places that vary from the
general context of the community.
mostly abandoned, boarded, and foreclosed by

HUD.
Problem Housing
Bad housing is scattered throughout Homewood in
patterns that vary from place to place. The three
locations shown below are particularly problematic.
The Susquehanna and Cora Street properties remain

operational but are seriously deteriorated and
represent a very high concentration of very low
income residents.
Each consists of a high density concentration of

small and old rowhouses that were acquired by an
investor group in the 1970s and modestly
renovated as project-based Section 8 housing. All
have been unsuccessful and have defaulted on
HUD-insured mortgages.
Each of these properties has had a detrimental

impact on their immediate surroundings and that
impact has in turn compromised the viability of
each as public housing. Within the community,
they are regarded as major blighting influences.
The largest, the Sterrett-Collier complex, gradually

became extremely deteriorated and has now been
Sterrett-Collier
Susquehanna Street
Cora Street
10
Recent and New Developments
2
9
9
7
6
10
3
1 YWCA
2 Silver Lake Commons
3 Rosedale Street Housing
4 Frankstown Court, Phase 1 2
5 The Coliseum
6 Homewood Avenue Housing
Rosedale Housing
Park Lane Houising
YWCA
Elderly High Rise
7 Lang Avenue Housing

8 Bennett Street Housing
9 Elderly High Rises
10 Homewood Brushton Elementary School
(Helen Faison Academy)
11
HOMEWOOD PHOTO GALLERY
12
As Homewood has lost population, the composition

of the remaining residents has changed greatly.
Neighborhood Demographics
Demographic analysis is constrained by the fact
that, at the neighborhood level, the most recent
available data is based on the U.S. Census for 1990.
Where it is pertinent, that data is supplemented here
with information provided by HBCCO based on
data analysis and statistical projections prepared by
Claritas, Inc.
In general there has been an appreciable aging of

the neighborhood population.
In Homewood,
between 1970 and 1990, the percentage of the
population accounted for by people over the age of
55 increased substantially from about 23% to
almost 30%, while the percentage between the ages
of 35 and 54 and under 20 both declined
substantially from about 62% to about 40%. At the
same time, the percentage of the neighborhood
population accounted for by people between the
ages of 20 and 34 increased from about 15% to
about 20%.
Over the last fifty years of the twentieth century,

population losses were not uncommon among large
cities but were especially severe among the more
industrialized cities in the northeast and mid-west.
In Pittsburgh, between 1940 and 2000, the
population declined by just about half, falling from
672,000 in 1940 to 335,000 in 2000.
Over a
twenty-year period, from its high point in 1950 to
1970, the City lost 157,000 people, a decline of
about 23%. Between 1970 and 1990, it lost 151,000
people, a loss of about 29% over twenty years. And
over the ten years since 1990, the population has
continued to decline (by about 35,000 people) but
the rate of loss has moderated somewhat to slightly
less than 10%
Homewood Neighborhood Profile

Population By Age Group, 1970-1990
Neighborhood
1970
1940
30,990
671,659
1950
30,235
-2.44%
676,806
0.77%
1960
26,971
-10.80%
604,332
-10.71%
1970
20,266
-24.86%
520,117
-13.94%
1980
15,158
-25.20%
423,938
-18.49%
1990
11,511
-24.06%
369,879
-12.75%
2000
9,283
-19.36%
334,563
Source: Pittsburgh Department of City Planning, U.S. Census.
-9.55%
1990
% chng.
(70 - 90)
<20 years
7,601
3,445
-54.68% 169,392
88,879 -47.53%
20 - 34 yrs.
3,120
2,347
-24.78% 98,098
98,794
35 - 54 yrs.
4,931
2,359
-52.16% 120,566
80,177 -33.50%
55 - 74 yrs.
3,897
2,463
-36.80% 105,792
73,119 -30.88%
> 75 yrs.
717
927
29.29%
28,910
26,269
0.71%
10.05%
This very generally suggests the possibility that the

age group shifts may have been tied to a loss of
families with children and a gain among younger as
well as older adults. Household composition data
generally bears out this possibility but with a few
surprising twists.
Pittsburgh
% chng.
1970
all
20,266 11,541 -43.05% 520,117 369,879 -28.89%
Total Population Count, 1940-2000

#
Pittsburgh
% chng.
(70 - 90)

Neighborhood
1990

Household Composition, 1970 1990
Neighborhood
1970
1990
% chng.
Pittsburgh
1970
1990
70 - 90
The decline in Homewood has been significantly

more precipitous than what has occurred in the City
as a whole. From 1940 to 2000, Homewood lost
roughly two-thirds of its population--a loss of some
20,000 people from almost 31,000 in 1940 to just a
bit more than 9,000 in 2000. While the rate of
decline moderated slightly between 1990 and 2000
(19%), it had averaged almost 25% for each tenyear period over the prior thirty years.
% chng.
70 - 90
Total HH
6,690
4,609
-31.11% 178,016 153,483 -13.78%
Family HH
-41.49% 127,248 87,455 -31.27%
4,931
2,885
married couple
3,245
1,075
-66.87% 98,576
55,449 -43.75%
w. children
1,456
412
-71.70% 47,243
21,931 -53.58%
259
212
-18.15%
5,649
5,541
-1.91%
73
99
35.62%
1,037
1,992
92.09%
other, male head

w. children
other, female head
w. children
Non-Family HH
1,427
1,598
11.98% 23,023
26,465 14.95%
906
1,067
17.77% 10,621
15,351 44.53%
1,759
1,724
-1.99%
50,768
66,028 30.06%
single
1,519
1,527
0.53%
45,201
55,582 22.97%
other
240
197
-17.92%
5,567
10,446 87.64%
Group Qrtrs.
51
9
-82.35% 17,685 20,838 17.83%
13
Between 1970 and 1990, the total number of

households in Homewood declined by slightly more
than 30% from 6,690 to 4,609. At the same time,
though, family households declined by about 41%
from 4,931 to 2,885. Surprisingly, though, nonfamily households (single individuals living alone
or unrelated individuals living together) held
steady, falling from 1,759 households in 1970 to
1,724 in 1990. The only significant gain in
Homewood was among female-headed households
with children.
measure changes in income over time, it appears

that only the area that has been generally defined
here as the north central district may have gained
with a reported 1989 median of about $19,400.
The precise dimensions and origins of change in
incomes within Homewood are not of great bearing
on the condition of the neighborhood. However it
got that way and whatever population shifts may
have been contributory, what does have great
pertinence is the fact that, Homewood has lost
economic vitality both in the absolute sense that
household incomes have actually declined and in
the relative sense that the disparity between income
levels in Homewood and the City as a whole has
increased; and, further, simply that Homewood has
now become a very low income community.
Because the number of households in Homewood

has become progressively smaller, the changes over
time are, in terms of absolute numbers, also small.
A more telling story comes from an analysis of
changes in percentage composition of households.
In 1970, married-couple family households
accounted for almost 49% of all of the
neighborhoods households. By 1990, this ratio has
fallen to 23%. Over the same period, family
households headed by a single individual increased
from 25% to 39% of the total (and single-headed
households with children grew from 15% to 25% of
the total); and non-family households increased
from 26% to 37% of the total.

Household Income Distribution, 1989
Neighborhood
Viewed in terms of traditional cultural values, these

kinds of changes represent a significant
destabilization of the neighborhoods social fabric.
Interpreted
less
arguably,
the
suggested
destabilization has very likely entailed a dimunition
of the neighborhoods economic vitality since
losses from the overall population and household
base has been greatest among age groups and
household types where earning capacity,
motivation, and income tends to be highest.
Pittsburgh
< $10,000
1,988
43.92%
41,113
26.77%
$10,000 - $14,999
655
14.47%
17,683
11.51%
$15,000 - $24,999
791
17.48%
29,494
19.20%
$25,000 - $34,999
484
10.69%
22,724
14.79%
$35,000 - $49,999
346
7.64%
20,400
13.28%
$50,000 - $99,999
220
4.86%
17,689
11.52%
> $100,000
42
0.93%
4,504
all
4,526
100.00%
153,607
2.93%
100.00%
By 1990, almost 60% of the households in

Homewood had annual incomes of less than
$15,000 - indicating that the overall median in
Homewood in 1989 was well under $15,000 and at
least less than 75% of the citywide median.
Another 28% had incomes between $15,000 and
$35,000; and only about 13% had incomes above
$35,000.
In 1979, the median household income for the City

of Pittsburgh was $22,630 while the medians in
Homewood were about $13,300 in the south and
south central parts of the neighborhood, about
$14,200 in the southwest and western parts of the
neighborhood, and about $18,600 in the northerly
parts of the neighborhood. By 1990, while the City
median had fallen to about $20,750 the
neighborhood medians generally fell even more in
percentage terms ranging from place to place
from about $8,000 to $12,500. Although changes
in the definition of statistical areas make it hard to
14
The Housing Market

Housing Stock Composition, 1970 1990
In 1990, Homewoods housing stock consisted of

5,225 units accommodating 4,609 households. The
overall vacancy rate was about 12%, slightly higher
than the 10% rate that characterized the City as a
whole.
Neighborhood
1970
Total HU
7,531
5,225
841
616
6,690
owner occ. HU
renter occ. HU
170,159
16,676
1940
8,394
179,867
7.80%
1950
8,751
4.25%
193,889
1960
8,338
-4.72%
196,168
1.18%
1970
7,531
-9.68%
189,840
-3.23%
1980
6,092
-19.11%
179,191
-5.61%
1990
5,225
-14.23%
170,159
-5.04%
2000
n.a.
n.a.
-10.37%
41.04%
4,609
-31.11% 178,016
153,483
-13.78%
2,881
2,178
-24.40%
89,626
80,199
-10.52%
3,809
2,431
-36.18%
88,590
73,284
-17.28%
1.81
4 .10
126.5%
1.10
2.70
145.45%
Rental Vac. %
14.78
7.36
-50.2%
7.70
9.80
27.27%
The fact that 35% of the 1970 inventory was

removed over a twenty year period and, for the
most part, not replaced provides some sense of the
impact of vacant properties on the physical context
of the neighborhood.
Pittsburgh
% chng.
% chng.
(70 - 90)
11,824
Occupied HU

Total Housing Unit Count, 1940-2000
#
1990
-26.75%
Owner Vac. %
% chng.
Pittsburgh
1970
-30.62% 189,840
Vacant HU
This loss very closely parallels the 31% decline in

the neighborhoods household base over the same
period and this, in turn, suggests that a rough
balance was maintained between housing supply
and demand during that period.
% chng.
(70 - 90)
Between 1940 and 1990 Homewood lost almost

38% of its housing stock. Most of the decrease,
30%, occurred between 1970 and 1990.
Neighborhood
1990
While overall vacancies in Homewood actually

decreased slightly between 1970 and 1990, the
owner vacancy rate increased dramatically
indicating to some degree the decreasing
desirability
and
competitive
appeal
of
homeownership opportunities in the neighborhood.
At the same time, a dramatic decrease in the rental
vacancy rate suggests a possible undersupply of
rental housing relative to demand even though
renter occupancy declined appreciably between
1970 and 1990. This, in turn, indicates that the
inventory removals were disproportionately from
the neighborhoods rental stock.
In 1990, only 10% of the inventory was less than

thirty years old.
This suggests that new
construction brought an average of about 17 units a
year to the market between 1960 and 1990 at an
annual rate equal to about 0.3% of the total supply.
In 1990, of the 2,178 owner-occupied units in the

neighborhood, 1,449 units or almost 67% were
owned by households that were headed by an
individual over the age of 55. This proportion is
about 50% higher than for the City as a whole and,
given the apparent need for rental housing in the
neighborhood, it is possibly problematic in that it
presents the prospect of a relatively high turnover
on owner-occupied homes with the potential for
subsequent conversion to rental tenure.
In 1970, the neighborhoods housing stock

consisted of 7,531 units. Assuming that an average
of 17 units per year were added to the inventory,
roughly 340 new units were built between 1970 and
1990; and, with 5,225 units remaining in 1990,
some 2,646 units were removed from the inventory
over the period.
In 1990, 2,224 units or almost 43% of the total

inventory were single-family detached homes;
almost 30% were attached homes (rowhouses,
townhouses); and about 27% were multi-family
15
apartments. While the single-family detached

component represented about the same proportion
of the inventory in Homewood as it did for the City,
Homewood
contained
a
relatively
high
concentration of attached housing and a relatively
low concentration of multi-family housing.

1990 Housing Stock By Type
Neighborhood
Pittsburgh
detached
2,224
42.56%
70,673
41.53%
attached
1,536
29.40%
26,632
15.65%
multi-family
1,417
27.12%
70,998
41.72%
mobile / other
48
0.92%
1,856
total
5,225
100.00%
170,159
1.09%
100.00%
Based on housing types, this suggests a relatively

high rate of homeownership but, in Homewood, the
1990 homeowner rate was only about 47% as
compared to 52% for the City as a whole. This then
indicates a relatively high incidence of rental tenure
in single-family detached and attached housing.
16
During the 1997 2001 period, high end sales in

the neighborhood ranged generally from around
$40,000 to $80,000.
Rents and Values

2001 fair market monthly rents in the Pittsburgh
region were $389 for an efficiency, $476 for a onebedroom unit, $574 for a two-bedroom unit, $719
for a three-bedroom unit, and $803 for a fourbedroom unit.
Assuming the conventional affordability standard
that not more than 30% of household income
should be devoted to direct housing costs, a
household should have an annual income of roughly
$15,000 to afford just an efficiency apartment at the
fair market rent value.
$24,050
$39,200
On this basis, it would appear that well more than

half of Homewoods households could not afford to
rent a decent efficiency apartment. Because of this,
rents in Homewood are low. In 1990, the median
contract rent in Homewood was in range of $150 to
$200 a month while the median for the City then
was in the vicinity of $300.
$25,800
$29,020
$36,330
Homewoods prevailing rent levels, even adjusted

to reflect escalation over the past ten years, are
marginally economic at best. Non-economic rents,
of course, translate into inattentive property
management and maintenance and gradually
progressive physical deterioration; and, given the
relatively high proportion of rental housing in
Homewood, this helps to explain the modest overall
physical context of the neighborhood. This, in turn,
presents a compromising influence on values in the
homeownership market.
Five-Year Mean Home Sale Prices, 1997-2000.

(For sales in excess of $10,000)
$35.000-$45,000
$40,000 - $55,000
$40,000-$50,000
From 1997 through 2001, a total of 474 owneroccupied homes were sold in Homewood. This
represents an annual average turnover rate of about
4.2%. This is substantially less than the 7% rate for
the City in 2000 and it likely reflects the greater
stability (lower mobility) of the relatively older age
profile of Homewood homeowners.
$45,000 - $80,000
$40,000 - $75,000
High Range Home Sale Prices, 1997-2000.
Of the 474 units sold over the five year from 1997
through 2001, 86 were sold at Sheriffs Sales and
238 were sold for less than $10,000. Of the 150
remaining sales, the five-year mean sales price in
Census Tracts of the neighborhood ranged from
about $23,000 to $39,200.
17
Property tax liens are reliable indicators of

economic distress and they have a high correlation
with existing or likely physical deterioration.
Again, the pattern of tax liened property in
Homewood is extensive and, based on its
correlation with physical deterioration, it indicates
an extreme level of distress that helps to explain the
generally
marginally
condition
of
the
neighborhoods housing stock.
Indicators of Distress
Property in public ownership that is not used for
public purposes typically exists as vacant land or
dilapidated buildings. Together with privately
owned vacant property, they represent an underutilization of a communitys most basic resource;
and, very often, that under-utilization has a strong
local blighting influence.
The combined patterns of public, vacant, tax liened

and deteriorated properties in Homewood provide a
strong indication of the extent of possible blighting
influences within the neighborhood.
Since
elimination of blighting influences is one of the
prime objectives of revitalization, this in turn
indicates the scope of the challenge that the
community faces.
In Homewood there is a widespread pattern of

public ownership that contributes to an even more
pervasive pattern of vacant land that adversely
affects every part of the neighborhood.
Property in Public Ownership
While property in public ownership

sometimes represents an important community
asset, it also often exists as minimally maintained
vacant lots that, in Homewood, are widespread and
significant detriments to the quality of the neighborhood.
18
Vacant Property
Vacant lots, both public and private, are generally

abandoned and, where that is the case, they affect the
image and value of properties in almost every block in
Homewood. As such, they are instances of blight that
promote disinvestment throughout the neighborhood;
and, because of that, they are primary targets for
redevelopment.
High localized concentrations of vacant lots represent

areas of significant physical distress. They also represent
a high level of opportunity for development intervention
since vacant property in distressed communities does not
have a ready market and is generally available.
Public ownership of buildable vacant property is a
serious waste of a citys asset base, but it also provides
an important and effective tool for strategic intervention.
19
Tax Liened Property
Property tax liens indicate economic distress on the part

of individual property owners. The limited ability of
property owners with modest means to adequately
maintain an increasingly older building stock translates
into gradually progressive physical deterioration that
erodes the willingness of property owners of less modest
means to maintain the value of their investments in the
neighborhood.
There is an extremely high incidence of tax liened

property in Homewood and the pattern of that is
pervasive and almost uniform throughout the community.
It indicates a very high level of economic distress and it
suggests a strong likelihood that physical deterioration
will be on-going in the absence of interventions that
entail economic diversification of the neigh-borhood
population while also building investment incentive for
current residents and businesses.
20
The Neighborhood Balance Sheet

The current condition of a neighborhood is always
transitory but in severely distressed communities
the forces of disinvestment tend to feed on
themselves and be mutually reinforcing. For this
reason, in the absence of intervention or a
fundamental shift in market dynamics, current
conditions will worsen.
The Busway East and major street bus routes

through the neighborhood offer generally
convenient and good public transportation.
Having strong physically defined boundaries,

it is relatively self-contained, identifiable, and
isolated from adjacent communities.
The Homewood neighborhoods greatest and most

fundamental deficiency is the markets negative
perception of the community as a place to live.
To be effective in turning and re-building a housing

market, interventions need to address basic
neighborhood strengths and weaknesses in a way
that begins and evidences a process of realizing the
value potential that may be embedded in the
neighborhoods asset base. The goal has to be to
capture unrealized value by optimally re-fitting the
neighborhoods actual market position to the
market potential that is inherent in the fundamental
character of its context.
While this perception reflects a very apparent

distressed physical condition that, in turn, is closely
related to the very modest economic profile of the
resident population; those conditions are regarded
more as liability issues that can be restructured to
some meaningful degree through physical
revitalization and economic diversification, but
only if market perceptions can be changed.
Every neighborhood has its balance sheet. Its assets

and its liabilities each may be inherent or acquired,
strong or weak, well or badly used, productive or
unproductive. Its net worth may represent realized
value or it may hide potential that could be obtained
through strategic redeployment of resources and
restructuring of liabilities.
In re-establishing a more optimal fit for the

neighborhood relative to its inherent asset potential,
the neighborhood balance sheet presents a range of
building blocks assets that should be reinforced and
capitalized as well as a range of detrimental
liabilities that should be negated or minimized.
Selected Assets
To carry the analogy just one step more, community

development balance sheet analysis requires an
investigation of the fundamentals that might be
hidden by a report of transitory current conditions
at any one point in time.
The Homewood neighborhoods most basic

and enduring resources are the attributes of its
location.
It is relatively central to the Pittsburgh region.
It enjoys relatively good accessibility with

fairly direct connections to the major regional
highway system.
It is relatively close to Pittsburghs major

urban employment centers in Oakland and the
central business district.
21
Selected Liabilities
Frankstown Avenue as the major street into,

through, and out of the neighborhood, it is disjointed and
sterile:
mixed uses are sometimes unrelated and
incompatible; the streetscape is barren; the physical
condition of existing development is extremely modest;
vacant lots dominate the image of the street. Being both
commercial and residential in character, the marginal
character of each makes the street neither. It has no
identity.
Neighborhood Building Assets
Frankstown Avenue as a strong orienting spine and

as a potential marketing tool it bisects the
neighborhood from east to west and provides a basic
structural foundation for the organization of the
neighborhood. As a major through street, it also offers high
visibility to traffic from within and outside the
neighborhood.
The business district it is economically depressed

and physically blighted, offering little value to the
neighborhood as an anchor or in terms of service or
employment opportunities provided.
The basic street grid it is largely intact and gives

definition and legibility to the structure of the
neighborhood, in turn offering in-place infrastructure and a
strong existing context for neighborhood improvements.
Legible breaks in the grid offer opportunities for the
differentiation of places within the neighborhood.
Deteriorated housing conditions while the structure

of Homewoods residential districts is strong and some
blocks of good housing are scattered throughout the
community, the prevailing condition of the housing stock is
deteriorated.
The existing housing stock it includes a diverse

range of housing types that are generally varied from place
to place to create a pattern of different residential districts
that, in turn, support potentially varied market orientations.
While generally of modest condition, throughout the
neighborhood the pattern includes sub-districts where a
legible traditional residential character remains in the form
of relatively good housing that has been relatively well
maintained.
Problem Properties several clusters of highly

concentrated, severely deteriorated housing constitute
blighting influences that have impact well beyond their
immediate settings.
Streetscape character there is little distinction

between the public and private domain and, in general, the
functional character of Homewoods streets, including most
of its residential streets, is unalleviated by amenity either
within the public right-of-way or in private front yards.
Vacant lots they are widely scattered throughout the

neighborhood and, as the basic building block for making
new neighborhood improvements, they provide a
significant opportunity for revitalization.
Vacant lots and alleys While vacant lots are an

improvement as compared to a deteriorated, abandoned
house, on a block-by-block basis they still are blighting
influences that negatively affect perceptions, downgrade
realizable property values, and remain as incentives to
disinvestment. While alleys are advantageous ingredients
in the structure of the neighborhood, they are usually
neglected and their poorly maintained and poorly lit
condition detracts from the quality and image of the
neighborhood.
Alleys in many parts of the neighborhood, they are an

integral part of the existing street grid and they offer
opportunities for parking and service that preserve the
consistency of the streetface character on principal
residential streets.
Good institutions Carnegie Library, Community

College of Allegheny County, the YWCA, the YMCA, the
Montessori Magnet School, a variety of other neighborhood
schools, churches.
Distressed neighbors neighboring communities are

generally distressed, in some cases as severely so as
Homewood. They provide few assets that can be borrowed
as building blocks for Homewood and, absent strong
borders, their condition imperils revitalization efforts inside
Homewood.
Long-time residents almost 70% of Homewoods

residents have lived there for more than 5 years.
Neighborhood Building Liabilities
Concentrated poverty it is estimated that 30% of

Homewood households now have annual incomes of less
than $10,000 and more than 50% have incomes under
$25,000.
Poor front doors the principal points on entry to the

community are weak. Taken together, the quality of the
uses and the character of these front-doors create a poor
image of the neighborhood and this perception effectively
limits the neighborhoods development potential.
22
Part Two:
Neighborhood Building Issues
homes. Most of the remaining housing stock is

compromised by inadequate maintenance and
upkeep.
Basic Issues
In this setting, the sense of physical blight is

overwhelming and, within the context of the
neighborhood, the basic physical agenda for new
housing development is to create not just new
houses but rather new housing that makes new
neighborhood places where, in the context of each
place, there are the attributes of a good, habitable,
and sustainable neighborhood that will encourage
people to live there.
Neighborhood distress tends to be multi-faceted

with parts that work together to impoverish the
sense of community that makes neighborhoods
good places to live. As much as houses collectively
give value to the larger neighborhood where they
are located, they also take their value from their
neighborhood.
2.
The Economic Agenda:
Deteriorating
neighborhoods are a fact of urban life. What gets
built gets old. Where there is effective demand in a
functional market, the life of a neighborhood can be
extended based on continual reinvestment. In
distressed neighborhoods, though, existing housing
demand is generally ineffective and the housing
market is largely dysfunctional.
Building housing just for the sake of building

housing is different than building neighborhoods.
A house is essentially a shelter device; but the
qualities of a good neighborhood provide much
more than just decent and affordable shelter.
Distressed communities are, at best, imperiled
neighborhoods. They have lost some of the
essential qualities that make them habitable and
their diminished attractiveness as places to live
threatens
their
basic
sustainability
as
neighborhoods.
Where there is ineffective demand in a

dysfunctional market, both the capacity and the
motivation for reinvestment is diminished. In the
absence of reinvestment, disinvestment occurs
naturally as the housing stock ages and it is
expressed in the form of physical deterioration that
tends to spread gradually and to become
increasingly discouraging to reinvestment.
While the adequacy of the shelter provided by the

housing stock in those neighborhoods may be
severely compromised, incidental and non-strategic
house building does not assure that the qualities of a
good neighborhood will be put back into the
community. If the quality of the neighborhood is
not addressed, the objective of realizing value from
the development of individual houses will be
compromised.
The result is that disinvestment tends to be both

self-perpetuating and progressive in the absence of
interventions that encourage and enable new
investment in the form of new development that is
not otherwise supported by prevailing market
dynamics.
In the process of neighborhood building, the agenda

for housing development has to extend beyond the
provision of shelter.
The resources that are needed for effective

interventions are limited and a basic economic
agenda for new development is to optimize the
relationship between the investment required and
the catalytic impact of that investment in building
back both the capacity and the motivation for selfsustaining private investment.
1. The Physical Agenda: In many cases, the

physical context of distressed neighborhoods has
been blown out. While distressed neighborhoods
may have inherent natural attributes and pockets of
development where the physical character is still
relatively good, they often suffer from widespread
severe deterioration. Much of the housing stock has
simply been lost in many areas, vacant lots and
abandoned houses are more common than occupied
3. The Social Agenda: Neighborhoods that are

decaying
physically
and
economically
impoverished are usually also socially distressed.
Typically, distressed neighborhoods have lost the
23
market fit that once made them viable

neighborhoods. However that may have occurred,
their problems now revolve largely around a
population with very limited incomes and the
solution to those problems, the social agenda for
new housing development, inevitably lies in
diversifying the neighborhood financially either by
raising the condition of its residents or by attracting
new people to live there or, preferably, by doing
both.
in the realm of market psychology, they are

nonetheless real, functional, and form-giving as a
market force.
Viewed as an economic development agenda, the
essence of neighborhood building is investment
and, in distressed neighborhoods, investor
psychology is generally negative so that the process
of re-building a neighborhood is a matter of
influencing investor perceptions where the
investor is most critically the population that lives
or might live in the neighborhood.
The Role of Real Estate Development

Neighborhood marketing, promotion, and remerchandising can help to change perceptions, but
the real building block for influencing market
perceptions has to be physical improvements that
represent a substantive physical change to what is
most apparent as a cause of disinvestment.
Real estate development is not very good at raising

peoples incomes. In the long run, it can be a
strategy for building the wealth of a neighborhood
but, while it may be able to provide a few job
opportunities, it can only really provide just a
hopefully conducive context for encouraging people
to improve themselves.
Clearly, as a starting point, new development has to

attack and eradicate physical blight by addressing
vacant lots, dilapidated property, and, where
appropriate for the purposes of effective
neighborhood building, instances of nonconforming or otherwise marginal use.
What real estate development is all about, though,

is the process of providing a competitively
advantageous product to an appropriate market; and
where this is done in a way, a strategic way, that is
successful, it attracts demand to it, demand that
may have been previously compromised or even
latent because the suitable product wasnt available.
Because blighting influences tend to be pervasive in

severely distressed neighborhoods, the process of
eliminating blight has to be pursued either
comprehensively at a very large scale or selectively
and strategically at a more limited scale so that
change is apparent. Change that is not apparent has
limited impact.
By strategically responding to unaddressed or

poorly served needs in the market, new housing
development can attract demand to it even in a
distressed market setting and, by doing that, it puts
into place physical improvements that demonstrate
change and positively influence market perceptions.
Changed perceptions in turn set in motion
fundamental forces that encourage reinvestment and
affect the dynamics in the market in a way that
progressively introduces elements of diversification
contributing critically to a more vital and
sustainable community.
Because comprehensive physical renewal typically

requires a scale of investment that exceeds
generally available resources, a uniformly new
market setting usually cant be created throughout a
neighborhood in a single step and the opportunity to
attract new and more diverse demand to the
neighborhood tends to be limited during the early
stages of physical revitalization. As a result, as
physical changes are made, the process of building
a neighborhood has to work from step to step with
the needs, interests, and potential of demand groups
that can be realistically addressed within the context
of a neighborhoods market setting.
The Change Process

Effective change is change that becomes embedded
in the context where it occurs so that it is functional
and form-giving rather than superficial. In a market
context, demand is motivated by perceptions and it
is important to recognize that, while perceptions are
As physical changes are made from place to place

within a neighborhood, each of those places has to
24
be reconstituted to provide new housing in a new

setting that will be attractive to market segments
that are reasonably accessible based on the
competitive attributes of the housing that is created.
balance between market supply and demand is

maintained. In Pittsburgh, as in many older cities,
this process has broken down.
In the absence on new housing supply that
effectively addresses available demand so as to
maintain a quantitatively balanced market while
eliminating substandard housing from the stock,
more longevity is demanded from the existing
inventory even though a significant part of the
inventory may have already outlived its useful,
competitive life. When the demand base shrinks
faster than non-competitive housing units are
removed from the inventory, vacancies increase.
Where change is effective, it becomes embedded in

the context of the neighborhood and each
reconstituted place then serves as a rung in a ladder
that supports another step up.
At each step, incremental investments create new
places that add physical, economic, and social value
to the neighborhood so as to reinforce and enlarge a
sense of change that supports a progressive
expansion and diversification of the market.
As the number of demand units (i.e., households)

in the Pittsburgh market has declined, the removal
of obsolete housing has not kept pace thus
precipitating gradually increasing levels of vacancy
which, then, have given rise to disinvestment
which, in turn, tends to advance the pace of
physical and functional obsolescence and
precipitate further market instability.
Housing Market Dynamics

Between 1970 and 2000, the City of Pittsburgh
population declined from 520,117 to 334,563--a
loss of just about 35%. Over the same period, the
number of households in the City declined from
178,016 to 143,739--a loss of almost 20%. The
Citys housing stock declined from 189,840 to
163,365 units--a loss of 14%. But, during the same
time, the housing vacancy rate increased from about
6.3% to 12% and the absolute number of vacant
housing units in the City increased from 11,824 to
19,627 units for a gain of slightly more than 65%.
The general result is an increasingly aged housing

inventory with decreasing quality and functionality
and increasing vacancy levels comprised of noncompetitive housing that constitutes an everincreasing proportion of the total housing inventory.
New housing production in urban areas is generally
constrained by the scarcity of available land at
locations that are attractive to market segments
where demand is effective that is, those segments
where the rents and values that are required to
support new construction are affordable to the
existing or potential demand base.
In a market with a declining household base, the

demand for new housing is derived primarily from
the need to replace substandard units in order to
maintain a market-wide balance between
quantitative demand and supply and, secondarily,
from the need to create a better qualitative fit
between the available housing stock and the everevolving needs and interests of housing consumers.
In a fluid market setting, these demand forces are at
least theoretically inter-related: construction of a
new unit that satisfies market interests provides an
inventory addition which, when occupied, frees
another unit for a trade-up occupant.
New construction in cities tends to be relegated

now to non-prime locations where effective
demand is least available and where available
demand tends to be least effective. The result is
that new development generally must involve a
scale of change to the characteristics of a non-prime
location sufficient to attract effective demand to it.
Where that cant be done, it must address niche
market opportunities where the housing product is
seen as being sufficiently unique or otherwise
competitively advantageous to counteract the
deterrent of a non-prime location relative to the
interests of a specific segment of effective demand.
As the trade-up transactions trickle through the

market from house to house or apartment to
apartment, the process allows for the removal of the
least desirable units from the bottom of the market
so that, overall, the functional characteristic of the
housing stock is enhanced and a quantitative
25
Since there is relatively little opportunity for new

urban development in prime locations, development
in response to demand in the upper ranges of the
market is limited by the scarcity of suitable land
and does not encourage sufficient production to
support a functional trickle-down process as a
means of improving the quality of housing supply
at the lower ranges of the market.
in vacant housing between 1970 and 2000 suggests

an over- supplied market condition and it would
further suggest that no new production is warranted
until the over-supply has been worked off based on
new growth in the market or through removal of
non-competitive supply.
This conclusion, however, is valid only in terms of
the need to maintain a quantitative balance between
market demand and supply and it fails to address
the functional and qualitative adequacy of a housing
supply where perhaps as much as 10% - some
14,000 units--are regarded as substandard and not
in compliance with current building codes.
Factoring in the matter of functional and qualitative
adequacy suggests that the market is, in fact,
currently under-supplied by some 6,000 units.
Because of this, the need to maintain a housing

supply that is both quantitatively and qualitatively
balanced to reflect demand has to be addressed
through revitalization of distressed neighborhoods
where the opportunity for development, in the form
of under-utilized property, is greatest. Because of
conditions and market forces in those areas, it has
to be addressed, at least initially, in terms of market
demand that is financially ineffective relative to the
cost of new housing construction.
Additionally, without adequate new production to

remove obsolete stock from the housing inventory,
55% of the existing City housing stock is now more
than 60 years old--and this is about 30% higher than
it should be in a fluid, balanced market. In order to
maintain functional and qualitative adequacy in the
supply, old units must be consistently replaced with
new units and the rule of thumb is that about 1% of
the existing housing stock becomes obsolete each
year so that, based on that, roughly 1,500 new units
are needed each year to maintain a functional
housing inventory.
Housing Need / Demand Potential

Distressed neighborhoods are non-prime locations.
Where distress is severe and pervasive, realistic
opportunities to address niche markets or to
otherwise develop at a scale sufficient to attract
effective demand are limited and the available
demand base is therefore generally ineffective
relative to the cost of new housing.
This analysis suggests that, even in a declining

market, Pittsburgh offers a need-based backlog
demand potential of some 6,000 units and an ongoing annual demand potential for another 1,500
units. Over the past ten years, new housing
production in the City has averaged only about 255
units per year; and, based on this, the annual
replacement need is not being satisfied and the
backlog potential is growing
But, even in the face of a shrinking demand base

and an increasing incidence of ineffective demand,
there is still a basic and critical need for new
housing based on the progressively decreasing
serviceability of the existing housing stock.
This need is measured as replacement housing
demand and that demand is greatest in the Citys
distressed neighborhoods where housing conditions
are most compromised. At the same time, that
demand is also most acute with respect to the needs
of the Citys lower income population since
affordability considerations tend to relegate those
segments of the market to the lower priced and
generally less desirable components of the existing
housing inventory.
Tenure Considerations
A fundamental factor in formulating a real estate
development strategy for building a market in a
distressed setting is the value placed in American
society on homeownership. It is a good thing with
both economic and psychic rewards. It is the tenure
of choice and it is increasingly prevalent at
successively higher income levels.
If it is assumed that the Citys 6.3% vacancy rate in

1970 is roughly what is generally required for
normal market fluidity, then the 7,800-unit increase
26
At the opposite end of the market, rental tenure

prevails. It is not always but often a bad thing,
especially in distressed neighborhoods, with both
economic and psychic costs.
tenure and a higher level of financial and psychic

neighborhood investment on the part of residents.
Nonetheless, given the resident income profile in
most distressed neighborhoods, rental development
is an essential, critical component in a
neighborhood-building strategy. In addition to
responding to needs, it allows for a diversification
of development initiatives and market orientations
and it commands resources that would not, in its
absence, be otherwise available so that the scale and
the geographic scope of new development and thus
its impact can be enlarged. Whats more, by
enabling a larger scale of physical improvement, it
provides an enhanced and more viable context for
for-sale development and, in this way, can be used
to set the stage for reasonably sized for-sale
development initiatives.
In between there is a relatively large base of

ineffective demand where homeownership is
desired but where housing choice is dictated by the
relative affordability and availability of product for
rent or purchase.
The value of Pittsburghs housing stock is relatively
low--in 2000, the average price of homes sold in the
City was $72,943 but the median was only $47,000.
Current Census data for income is not available but
even based on the citywide median household
income in 1990 ($20,747), existing home values are
generally highly affordable. Nevertheless, again
using 1990 data, more than 50% of Pittsburghs
households can afford to own a home valued in
excess of $50,000 but only about 20% actually do
and this difference represents a very significant
demand potential for homeownership housing.
Housing Affordability
As previously described, in order to avoid
progressive deterioration of the Citys housing
market, if there is no growth in segments of the
market where demand is effective and where there
are only very limited opportunities to provide
qualitatively better housing in response to the
interests of the existing base of effective demand,
housing needs have to be addressed within the
context of less competitive neighborhoods in
response to the needs of market segments that
where demand is largely ineffective.
The homeownership rate in Pittsburgh is now 52% up slightly from the 1970 level of 50%.
Conversely, the rate of rental tenure is now 48% some 69,000 units. Based on the very generalized
assumption that most renters have a desire if not a
capacity to be homeowners, if the rental component
of the market is reduced to account for current
renters who can afford to own a home but do not
because of supply factors, then need-based demand
potential
is
skewed
toward
affordable
homeownership opportunities.
While housing needs in these segments of the

market are acute, those needs can be only be
converted to real demand if the effective cost of
new housing can be reduced to be affordable to
market segments that can be realistically attracted
to the housing product and neighborhood setting
that is created through new development.
While the need and demand potential for rental

development is substantial and should be reflected
in a neighborhood building strategy, this analysis
supports a development format that encourages
homeownership as a key building block for
neighborhood revitalization.
At very low income ranges, while homeownership

may be inherently desirable based on prevailing
cultural values, it may be an inappropriate housing
choice even if the effective cost of acquisition can
be made to be affordable through subsidies since
these segments of the market have very little
discretionary income and may not be able to
realistically afford the on-going costs of responsible
property upkeep.
While the prerequisite for the development of

homeownership housing is a market setting that is
conducive to equity investment, the impact of that
is minimized because downpayments required by
affordable for-sale financing programs are minimal;
and, if a setting is created on a place by place basis
in re-building a neighborhood, then homeownership
is advantageous in terms of providing more stable
27
In general and depending on the specific

circumstances of individual homebuyers, the cut-in
point for financially qualified home acquisition and
ownership is regarded as being in the $20,000 to
$30,000 annual income range.
Required subsidy support--in the form of direct

subsidies as well as low-cost financing--is typically
available through public sector agencies and, to a
lesser degree, through financial intermediary and
private foundation housing and community
development financing programs.
Subsidies
provide for either front-end support related to the
developers cost of building housing or back-end
support related to the homebuyers mortgage
financing transaction. In Pittsburgh, the primary
source of subsidy support is through the Citys
Urban Redevelopment Authority which provides
both front-end grants and low-interest loans as well
as back-end low-interest first mortgage programs
and no interest,
deferred payment second
mortgages for buyers. Under current guidelines, the
maximum available direct subsidy support through
these programs is about $80,000 per unit.
Reflecting conventional affordability standards, the

table below shows the home values that are
supported by household incomes ranging from
$20,000 to $55,000.
As estimated there,
supportable home values range from about $50,000
to about $150,000. Against this, a reasonable
minimum cost for building and selling a fairly
straight-forward house in Pittsburgh today is near
the upper end of this range assuming the
availability of a buildable and serviced lot at fair
market value in a distressed neighborhood setting.
Based on this, homeownership demand at income
levels up to about $55,000 is ineffective relative to
the cost of new construction and, in this range of
the market, cost subsidies are required to actualize
available demand potentials and the range of
subsidy needed grows at successively lower
incomes, reaching as much as about $100,000 at the
$20,000 income level.
Because the available URA funding does not cover

the subsidy needed at the lower end of the
homebuyer income range, it must be supplemented
by other sources or, alternatively, development
must provide for an internal cross-subsidy from
high end to low end units or the design of homes
must be varied to reflect fundable cost constraints at
various income levels.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING COST ANALYSIS
Downpayment:
5%
1st Mortgage:
7.000%
2nd Mortgage:
$0
Closing Date: 1/1/2000

Buyer Income:
Front-End Ratio:
Supportable Annual Home Ownership Cost

Less: Private Mortgage Insurance Premium
Less: Hazard Insurance Premium
Less: Real Estate Tax Cost Allowance
Less: Homeowner's or Related Assessment
Supportable Annual Mortgage Payment
Mortgage Payment Constant (7% - 30 yr.)
Supportable Mortgage Amount
Add: Deferred 2nd Mortgage
Supportable Mortgage Debt
Add: Equity Downpayment (5%)
Total Supportable Purchase Cost
Less: Closing Cost Allowance (4.5%)
Supportable House Price
$20,000
30%
$25,000
30%
$30,000
30%
$35,000
30%
$40,000
30%
$45,000
30%
$50,000
30%
$55,000
30%
$6,000
221
250
2,000
0
$3,529
0.07980
$44,222
5,000
$49,222
2,591
$51,812
2,441
$7,500
293
275
2,250
0
$4,682
0.07980
$58,667
5,000
$63,667
3,351
$67,018
3,158
$9,000
366
300
2,500
0
$5,834
0.07980
$73,113
5,000
$78,113
4,111
$82,224
3,874
$10,500
438
325
2,750
0
$6,987
0.07980
$87,559
5,000
$92,559
4,872
$97,430
4,591
$12,000
510
350
3,000
0
$8,140
0.07980
$102,005
5,000
$107,005
5,632
$112,637
5,307
$13,500
582
375
3,250
0
$9,293
0.07980
$116,450
5,000
$121,450
6,392
$127,843
6,024
$15,000
656
375
3,500
0
$10,469
0.07980
$131,191
5,000
$136,191
7,168
$143,359
6,755
$16,500
730
375
3,750
0
$11,645
0.07980
$145,932
5,000
$150,932
7,944
$158,875
7,486
$49,371
$63,860
$78,350
$92,840
$107,329
$121,819
$136,604
$151,389
28
affordable housing financing programs. These

costs are estimated to total about $225,000 or
$22,500 per unit.
Development Economics
The budget that follows provides a generic sourcesand-uses model for a hypothetical 10-unit
affordable for-sale housing development in a
distressed neighborhood setting. As projected, it
entails a total project cost of about $1,710,500
including $1,608,598 for acquisition and
development and $101,902 for sales costs.
As modeled, the acquisition and development cost

($1,608,598) is financed with direct front-end
subsidies of $480,000 and an internal subsidy of
$26,881 with $50,000 in developers equity and the
balance ($1,051,717) in interim first mortgage and
below-market second mortgage debt.
With
projected unit holding and selling costs of
$123,195, equity recovery and repayment of interim
debt requires a breakeven average selling price of
about $122,491 per unit.
Reflecting the presumed setting for the

development, it includes allowance for premium
costs with respect to site acquisition, site
preparation, public infrastructure, and site
engineering as well as for costs attendant to
Affordable For-Sale Housing Project

Conceptual Project Budget Model - 10 units
Planning
Period
Construction
Period
Unit Count:
Avg. Unit Price:
10
$123,050
Avg. Def. 2nd Mortgage:
$40,000
Effective Price:
$83,050
Post-Const.
Period
Total
Comments
A. Sources of Funds
1. Developer's Equity
2. Sponsor's Contribution
3. Private Grants
4. Public Grants
5. Site Acquisition Loan - Phase 1
6. Pre-Development Loan 1
7. Public Sector Interim Loan URA
8. Bank Interim Loan
9. Home Sales Revenue
Total Sources:
$50,000
$0
$0
$0
$72,777
$72,777
$0
$0
$0
$195,555
$0
$80,000
$0
$400,000
$0
$0
$172,574
$733,589
$0
$1,386,163
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$1,230,500
$1,230,500
$50,000
$80,000
$0
$400,000
$72,777
$72,777
$172,574
$733,589
$1,230,500
$2,812,217
$80,520
$0
$0
$80,520
$26,400
$0
$0
$26,400
$0
$1,000,400
$150,000
$1,150,400
$0
$0
$0
$0
$26,400
$1,000,400
$150,000
$1,176,800
$2,500
$5,600
$42,414
$17,000
$67,514
$8,000
$2,110
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$1,698
$0
$3,000
$29,110
$1,000
$33,110
$16,000
$10,405
$10,750
$6,000
$19,517
$58,720
$0
$15,254
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$2,000
$0
$0
$6,000
$0
$0
$9,588
$8,279
$2,500
$8,600
$71,524
$18,000
$100,624
$26,000
$12,515
$10,750
$12,000
$19,517
$58,720
$9,588
$25,231
CDC "Recoverable Grant"

URA - $40,000 average / unit
bank / LISC / etc.
URA
"gap"
65% on net sell out value
B. Uses of Funds
1. Site Acquisition
2. Construction
2.1 Remediation / Stabilization / Demo
2.2 New Constuction Building
2.3 Site Construction
Sub-Total
3. Design & Engineering
3.1 Approvals
3.2 Survey / Subdivision
3.3 Architectural Services
3.4 Engineering Services
Sub-Total
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Legal, Appraisal & Misc. Professional

Project Insurance
Project Marketing
Interim Property Taxes
Interim Financing Costs
General & Administrative
Holding Costs - Completed Units
Interim Loan Interest
29
6.00% + reimbursables
civil and soils
title, builders risk, liability
developers fee
12. Contingencies
SUB-TOTAL
13. Deferred Selling Costs
TOTAL PROJECT COST
14. Financing Applications
14.1 Loan Repayments
14.2 Equity Return
Sub-Total
TOTAL USES
PROFIT / LOSS
$9,312
$66,008
$1,014
$76,334
$195,555
$0
$1,386,163
$0
$26,881
$101,902
$1,608,598
$101,902
$195,555
$1,386,163
$128,783
$1,710,500
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$1,051,717
$50,000
$1,101,717
$1,051,717
$50,000
$1,101,717
$195,555
$1,386,163
$1,230,500
$2,812,217
$0
$0
$0
$0
5%
commissions, closing costs, etc.
Based on a projected average selling price of

$123,050 to allow for a modest margin, and with a
deferred second mortgage of $40,000 from the
URA, the effective price of the average unit is
$83,050. This would be generally affordable to
buyers with incomes at or above $25,000. Since
$25,000 is in the upper range of household incomes
in the most distressed neighborhoods, it builds off
the in-place markets in those neighborhoods.
Deep subsidies are unavoidable in connection with

doing marketable and economically feasible
housing development in severely distressed
neighborhoods. Because subsidy resources are
limited, a neighborhood revitalization agenda must
be approached strategically with the objective of
minimizing the subsidy investment required by
broadening the market and building market values
efficiently and progressively.
Including deferred selling expenses, the cost of

building a basic house of the kind assumed for the
purpose of the budget model is just slightly more
than $170,000 and the subsidy required to
effectively price it to be both marketable and
affordable at the early stages of revitalization in a
distressed neighborhood is about $85,000 or
roughly 50% of the cost.
In terms of development economics, the strategic

goals are, first, to build the market to the point
where the effective price of new homes is
supported; and then to build it to the point where
the base price is supported; thereby reducing and
then eliminating the need for deferred second
mortgage subsidies; and, finally, to build it to the
point where the cost of new housing is supported,
reducing and ultimately eliminating the need for
development cost subsidies.
While the model is for a for-sale development,

similarly deep subsidies are required for feasible
rental development. Currently, the economics for
feasible market-rate rental development in an urban
setting require a gross monthly rent of about $1 per
square foot--a rent of about $800 per month for an
800 square foot apartment. For this to be regarded
as affordable, a tenants annual income should be
around $32,000. At this income level, though, the
market in most distressed communities is very
shallow and generally does not support a scale of
feasible development that is meaningful in terms of
neighborhood impact. To reduce the qualifying
tenant income to about $25,000, roughly 20% of the
cost of rental development would have to be
subsidized; and to reduce it to $15,000, some 50%
of the development cost would have to be
subsidized.
The analysis below shows the subsidy investment

for a 100-unit housing revitalization program with a
ten-year build-out based, first, on a $40,000 per unit
deferred 2nd mortgage that reduces to $0 over the
first five-year stage of revitalization activity; and,
second, a $50,000 per unit development cost
subsidy during the first stage of development that
reduces to $0 over the second five-year stage of
revitalization activity.
Assuming, hypothetically, that the stage 1 units are
re-sold during the second stage of revitalization and
that half of the deferred 2nd mortgage is recovered
on sale, the net subsidy investment is $42,500 per
unit and, if each unit generates $3,500 in annual
property taxes, the payback to the subsidy
30
investment is about twelve years before counting

the effect of other tax revenues (transfer taxes,
income taxes, etc.) and the long-term impact of new
home values on the aggregate neighborhood tax
base.
Subsidy Investment Model:
10-Year, 100 Unit Housing Revitalization Program
stage 1
stage 2
total
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:
unit count
50
50
100
build out period
5 years
5 years
10 years
average unit cost
$170,000
$170,000
$170,000
cost subsidy per unit
$50,000
$25,000
$37,500
average base price
$120,000
$145,000
$132,500
deferred 2nd mortgage
$20,000
-0-
$10,000
average effective price
$100,000
$145,000
$122,500
development subsidy
$2,500,000
$1,250,000
$3,750,000
deferred 2nd mortgage
$1,000,000
-0-
$1,000,000
total
$3,500,000
$1,250,000
$4,750,000
-0-
$500,000
$500,000
NET SUBSIDY SUPPORT:
less:
2nd mortgage paybacks
net subsidy
$3,500,000
-0-
$4,250,000
avg. net subsidy/unit
$70,000
$15,000
$42,500
annual property tax/unit
$3,500
$3,500
$3,500
subsidy payback period
12 years
31
The immediate task undertaken here is to

understand what parts of the neighborhood structure
work and what parts dont, to see the patterns and
relationships there, and then to devise interventions
in the form of an agenda for new development that
will help to fix what doesnt work in a way that
re-builds the neighborhood housing market.
Part Three:
Neighborhood Assessment
Real estate markets are place-based and housing
takes part of its value from the characteristics of the
setting where it is located. In terms of market
dynamics, communities are made up of
neighborhood districts and sub-districts that are
often highly differentiated from one another as
market settings based on differences in their
physical, economic, and social context. Patterns of
difference tend to be delineated along boundaries
that are defined in terms of natural topography, the
street grid, or other major physical features that
give basic structure to a neighborhood.
The objective is to define general approaches to reweaning and re-configuring the various parts of the
communitys housing market into a more interrelated, competitively advantageous whole.
In this section, we address the aspects of the
community that might be treatable though real
estate development the need and opportunity for
strategic real estate development.
In this sense, market structure follows physical

structure and an understanding of the way the parts
of a neighborhood are connected and disconnected
is essential to the process of defining interventions
that are designed to re-build the neighborhood
market.
This is done first in terms of the various parts of the

neighborhood, its districts, and then in general in
terms of the patterns of strength and weakness
formed by the parts.
Homewood is defined by major natural and built

features that separate it from abutting areas. Inside
these boundaries, the neighborhood is given
structure by corridors that access and delineate
different districts within the neighborhood. Inside
each district, differences in character from place to
place create sub-districts.
A strong neighborhood is one where all the parts
are woven together almost seamlessly, where there
is physical variety and social diversity but where
the distinctions between places and people are
blurred.
In Homewood, the relationship among the various
parts of the neighborhoods structure is disjointed
and not complementary. Over time, the fabric of
the neighborhood has been worn very, very thin.
The challenge for neighborhood-building real estate
development is to discover what breaks down the
physical structure of the neighborhood and its
various parts and to re-connect the pieces into a
better integrated whole that re-fits the neighborhood
to its potential.
32
Homewoods physical structure is generally defined

by major street corridors that lead into the parts of
the neighborhood and that mark some form of
difference between adjacent parts.
Neighborhood Districts
Streets, of course, have two sides that are seamed

together by the street itself. The geographic
boundaries between places are usually defined as
lines but, where the boundary is a street in the
context of an urban fabric, the division between
places occurs as a corridor that encompasses both
sides of the street. While Homewood is politically
and statistically one neighborhood, parts of two
wards, and six census tracts; as a real estate market
setting, it is actually less than the politically-defined
neighborhood and it consists of many yet smaller
parts that tend to be somewhat separate and distinct
parts of the larger market setting.
The primary streets in Homewood divide the

neighborhood into eight major neighborhood areas.
As a setting for new development, each has a
character that is different from the others.
The major streets in a neighborhood provide the
first impressions of what it is like. The major
streets in Homewood have a hierarchical
importance that helps to give a clear structure to the
neighborhood and differences in the character of the
streets helps to give the structure variety.
33
District Evaluations
Frankstown Corridor
The Frankstown Avenue Corridor divides
Homewood into two big halves to the north and
south. It is the principal approach to the northsouth street grid that connects into the
neighborhood and it is the major route through the
neighborhood.
On its western end, at Washington Boulevard, it is
the primary front door to the neighborhood but the
front door section of the corridor is isolated from
the neighborhood by the Conrail overpass. Beyond
the overpass, it exists as three fairly distinct
sections.
In its midsection, Frankstown is a remnant of the

neighborhoods old business district. Remaining
active uses are almost exclusively commercial and
generally of marginal apparent viability. Buildings
are small scale, of modest quality, and in poor to
fair condition. Vacant land is predominant. The
corridor conveys a sense of deeply depressed
circumstances.
The westerly segment, from the Conrail overpass to

the middle of the block between Lang and
Homewood, it is predominantly residential, largely
intact, and in fair relative condition.
As the backbone of the neighborhood, Frankstown

presents an image that has a very significant
compromising impact on the whole community.
To the east, beyond the middle of the block

between Collier and Braddock, it is mostly
residential but with a mix of vacant land and small
scale apparently marginal commercial uses.
western segment:
mixed residential with occasional
vacant lots and deteriorated housing
mid-section:
depressed commercial with
a high concentration of vacant
lots and poor to very modest
building conditions
34
eastern segment:
mixed commercial and residential,
generally in poor to modest condition
with occasional vacant lots and some
new housing construction
North Lang Corridor

above Frankstown
North Lang Street is one of five principal spines
into the north section of Homewood from
Frankstown. It is different from the other four:
south of Hermitage, the east-west street

grid shifts, causing a slight break in the
pattern of development to the east and
west of Lang;
to the west of Lang, houses generally face

the east-west axis of the streets but along
the west side of Lang they face the northsouth axis of Lang;
there is a fairly regular pattern of vacant

lots along Lang, especially on the west
side of the street; and,
at the lower end of the street here, there

are several incidental non-conforming
commercial uses.
Because of these differences, Lang has a

prominence that sets it up as a dividing line
between the area to the east of it and the area to the
west of it. In doing so, it buffers the relative
strength of the area to the east from the relative
weakness of the area to the west, but it is a poor
front door to both.
house fronts on the west side face house sides on

the east side
vacant lots are prevalent on the west side
commercial uses intrude on the lower section
35
North Homewood Corridor

Busway to Frankstown
This section of North Homewood Avenue is what
remains of the neighborhoods traditional business
district. From Hamilton north to Frankstown, it is
almost exclusively commercial and institutional but
the pattern of development is of uneven scale, is
interrupted frequently by vacant land, and is
generally in modest physical condition. Remaining
businesses generally appear to be only moderately
viable at best and relatively few neighborhood
serving businesses remain.
To the east, the area is dominated by the

community health center and expansive areas of
surface parking and vacant land around it.
The physical character of the district and the area

immediately around it is diminished by private,
open parking lots. Between Hamilton and Kelly, the
district branches out about one block to the east and
west. The westerly leg exists as a mix of
institutional and civic uses that generally appear to
be fairly strong and the physical character and
condition here is relatively good.
The area to the south of Hamilton is a front door to

the neighborhood. New townhouses have been built
along the upper section of western side of the
corridor; but elsewhere here, vacant land and
marginal commercial activities dominate and
physical conditions are poor.
vacant land
churches
abandoned buildings
private parking lots
Community College of Allegheny County
vacant storefronts
Community Health Center

new housing
deteriorated commercial uses
vacant land
Public Elementary School

Carnegie Library
36
North Braddock Corridor

below Frankstown
North Braddock Avenue connects from Frankstown

Avenue through a large area of industrial
development in North Point Breeze to the Swissvale
interchange of the Parkway East. In Homewood,
the North Braddock Corridor consists of two
different segments: one to the north and another to
the south of Hamilton Avenue.
To the south, the lower section is a hodgepodge of
small scale commercial and industrial uses, linked
to the industrial areas just beyond the Busway and
the Conrail tracks in North Point Breeze and in the
southeast corner of Homewood.
The physical
context here is very weak: buildings generally are
deteriorated, uses appear to be marginal, some
buildings face the corridor while others turn toward
the side streets. Occasional vacant lots add to the
disarray.
The upper section, to the north of Hamilton, is more

of a residential street that is a regular part of the
street grid in that area but, reflecting the character
of the lower section, it is perceived as a division
between the central and easterly parts of the
neighborhoods midsection.
The southerly part of the Braddock corridor is a
strong element that separates the areas to the west
and east of it. The northerly part is a very weak
corridor that marks modest distinctions between the
pattern of development to its west and east.
.
Upper Section
house pattern is continuous to west and east, with
house facing house across the east-west side streets
vacant lots
generally deteriorated building condition
Lower Section
inconsistent scale
mixed commercial and industrial uses
vacant lots
generally deteriorated building conditions
37
Hamilton Corridor
Hamilton marks a shift in the axis of the east-west
street grid between the areas to the north and south
of it. To the north, the grid is regular and parallels
Frankstown. To the south, the grid breaks down in
the area to the west of North Homewood Avenue
and shifts to parallel the Conrail tracks in the area
to the east of Homewood and, in this area, the grid
becomes increasingly disjointed from west to east.
The corridor is broken into four general segments.
From west to east, the most westerly section is
book-ended by under-used industrial buildings in
the area of Dallas Avenue and the relatively strong
westerly leg of the business district off North
Homewood Avenue with residential development in
between. The business district extends along one
midsection between Lang and Sterrett. Block-long
row housing dominates the next section between
Sterrett and Braddock and a mixed pattern of
detached single-family housing and small scale
apartments characterize the easterly most section.
Overall, the pattern of development along the

corridor is very weak: vacant lots and deteriorated
housing are common in the most westerly section;
vacant land, private parking lots, deteriorated
buildings, and marginal businesses characterize the
section around the business district; the problem
housing at Sterrett-Collier is dominant in the next
section; and vacant lots and marginal housing
conditions intrude on the most easterly section.
weak housing pattern

scattered non-residential uses
mix of poor housing on Frankstown

non-conforming industrial uses
civic center
parking lots
38
Northwest Homewood
Bounded by Silver Lake Hollow, the hillcrest
between Homewood and Lincoln-Lemington, and
the Lang Street and Frankstown Avenue corridors,
this area is almost exclusively a residential
neighborhood with small apartment buildings and
some larger homes interspersed in a general pattern
of worker housing that is old and typically very
worn.
Sub-districts to the west of Murtland, both above
and below the Westinghouse High School, dead end
at Silver Lake Hollow and are generally of lower
quality and in worse condition than elsewhere in the
area.
Between Murtland and the Lang corridor, to the

north of Hermitage, the street grid and general
development pattern is continuous across Lang into
North Homewood. Below Hermitage, the grid in
Northwest Homewood shifts to offer an interesting
break in and a distinction from the regular pattern
of evenly aligned long blocks in North Homewood.
The mix of housing is generally at a consistent scale

and the overall pattern of variety is pleasing. The
best housing is typically only in fair condition and
serious deterioration is widespread. Vacant lots are
common throughout the area.
relatively strong housing pattern with

occasional vacant lots and deterioration
strong street grid
good potential housing pattern
relatively high incidence of vacant lots

and deteriorated housing
39
Southwest Homewood
The southwest district in Homewood is bounded by
the Conrail overpass on the west, the Frankstown
corridor on the north, the business district on the
east, and the Hamilton corridor on the south.
This area is predominantly residential with a
relatively fair to good housing stock. The housing
is old and typically worn, of moderate scale, both
brick and frame. The condition of the housing is
varied, with scattered instances of serious
deterioration. Vacant lots and non-conforming uses
are occasionally intrusive, particularly along
Murtland between Kelly and Bennett Streets.
along it are, as a result, much more marginal than

the housing on Bennett Street which is generally of
strong character and in relatively good condition.
An elderly highrise on Kelly between Murtland and

Lang is out of scale and has excess site area that is
improved and well maintained but not well used.
Kelly is adversely affected by its proximity to the
Hamilton corridor and by the mix of scale and uses
along it. The two predominantly residential blocks
At its easterly end, Southwest Homewood abuts the

business district. This area is a sub-district that is
characterized by a high incidence of commercial
and institutional uses, with some interspersed
residential, vacant land, and private surface parking.
Bennett / Kelly Streets:

good housing
large vacant lot
non-conforming use
Hamilton Corridor:
non-conforming uses
weak housing pattern and
condition
good housing
vacant lots / bad housing
Susquehanna Street:
non-conforming use
deteriorated housing
and vacant lots
good new housing
40
North Homewood
North of Frankstown and east of Lang, North
Homewood is a largely intact residential
neighborhood with a consistent pattern and scale of
Pittsburgh-type brick homes facing the east-west
axis of long blocks.
While most of the housing here is worn, its relative
condition is generally fair to good. Instances of
severely deteriorated houses and vacant lots do
occur but they are not pervasive and have only a
moderate impact given the greater sense of stability
afforded by relatively good housing that are visible
along the long blocks of the street grid.
The overall image of the area is one that makes it
one of Homewoods best residential neighborhoods.
The long blocks of fairly similar housing along
straight streets create long vision corridors that are
somewhat barren in terms of streetscape character.
more modest housing

above Hermitage
strong street grid
good housing pattern
scattered vacant lots
41
Central Homewood
Central Homewood is bounded by the business
district on the west and the Frankstown, Brushton,
and Hamilton corridors on the north, east, and
south.
At its westerly end, where it abuts the business
district, it is an area of mixed commercial,
institutional, and residential uses with a high
concentration of vacant land, private surface
parking, and deteriorated buildings.
East of Sterrett, the pattern of development and
conditions in the district splits it generally into two
halves. The southwest half, along Sterrett and
Hamilton, is the location of the Sterrett-Collier
rowhouses one of Homewoods largest and worst
properties under single ownership. The northeast
half, along Bennett and Braddock is a mix of fairly
substantial houses and small scale apartments that
are in generally worn but relatively good condition.
The Braddock corridor is weak and, in terms of

neighborhood structure, it only defines a difference
between relatively better housing to the west and
relatively poorer but similar housing to the east.
weak edge at back of

business district
relatively strong housing

with occasional vacant lots
and deteriorated homes
Sterrett-Collier - severely
deteriorated housing, mostly
abandoned
42
South Central Homewood

Bounded by the Conrail and Busway East rights-ofway on the south and by the Homewood, Hamilton,
and Braddock corridors on the west, north, and east,
the south central area is primarily residential with a
very substantial incidence of commercial and
industrial uses at its corridor edges.
The interior of the area is predominantly frame
Pittsburgh worker housing in generally poor to fair
condition with a widespread pattern of vacant lots
and some intrusion from non-conforming uses.
At the midsection of the lower portion of the area,
bounded by Tioga, Richland, Finance, and
Dunfermline Streets, a proposed new public
elementary school will, when built, become the
major feature in the area and will have a substantial
impact on it.
North of Tioga, the street grid found elsewhere in the

district changes between Dunfermline and Braddock
and, in this area, Tioga marks a line of difference
between a regular pattern of development to the south
and an irregular pattern to the north.
renovated Section 8 row

houses

concentrated vacant lots
substantial housing
deterioration
Braddehanna severely
deteriorated housing
concentrated vacant lots

weak edge at Braddock corridor
substantial housing deterioration
new elementary school site
43
East Homewood
East Homewood is a small district bounded by the
Brushton, Frankstown, Oakwood, and Hamilton
corridors.
It is predominantly residential in character with a
mix of mostly Pittsburgh worker and modest
Pittsburgh manager housing types. Some small
scale apartments and non-conforming uses are
inter-mixed.
Reflecting the distress found along the Brushton
corridor, the pattern of housing here is stronger to
the east of Hale than to the west where there is a
high concentration of vacant lots.
.
relatively good housing with

occasional vacant lots and
deterioration to the west of
Brushton Avenue
concentrated vacant lots,

deteriorated housing, and
non-conforming uses along
Brushton Avenue
44
Southeast Homewood
The southeast corner of Homewood is an area
where the structure of the neighborhood breaks
down and the existing pattern of development is
highly varied,
Bounded on the west, north, and east by the
Braddock, Hamilton, Oakwood corridors and by the
Conrail and Busway east rights-of-way on the
south, the area is a mix of residential and industrial
land uses.
It is split into a series of sub-districts by Tioga
Street, which bi-sects it from west to east, and from
north to south by both Brushton Avenue and
Rosedale Streets.
In terms of residential character, the balance of the

district is highly disjointed with a very irregular
street grid and a resultant irregular pattern of
housing development consisting of mixed housing
types in generally poor to, at best, fair condition,
significant intrusion of marginal industrial and
commercial uses and deteriorated buildings along
and at the bottom of the Brushton corridor, and a
fairly pervasive pattern of vacant lots.
East of Rosedale, the district shows a fairly strong

pattern of modest housing in fairly good general
condition. New single-family detached, suburbanstyle, for-sale housing has been developed along the
western side of Rosedale above Tioga. This area
appears to be relatively stable and is one of the
better housing districts in Homewood.
new housing
deteriorated older housing

relatively stable existing housing
modest housing quality,
vacant lots, deteriorated housing
major industrial activities
45
Inwood Street
In many respects, the Inwood Street area is a

microcosm of much of the Homewood
neighborhood conditions here are very typical of
what is found in most of the neighbor-hood but,
because it is so well insulated from the
neighborhood, Inwood Street has little physical or
economic relationship to whats around it and it is
therefore regarded as non-strategic.
Inwood is a block-long dead end residential street

off Frankstown Avenue near the Conrail overpass.
It contains about fifty houses that face each other on
Inwood and several houses that are on half lots
facing McCombs Street just to the west.
This area is cut off and highly insulated from the
neighborhood by the elevated grade of the Conrail
tracks and arc of a steep undeveloped hillside
falling away into Silver Lake Hollow.
While this area is compromised somewhat by its

proximity to the railroad line, it is buffered from the
influence of other adverse externalities and it shows
more clearly the physical effects of marginal
resident financial circumstances. The housing is old
and of modest stature it is basically worker
housing and is typical of much of Pittsburghs more
modest housing stock. In general, it is poorly
maintained and very worn with some instances of
serious deterioration. One or two houses are
boarded and several vacant lots indicate places
where housing has been demolished. Parking is
generally on-street and is cramped since some of
the housing here has been converted to multiple
units. The fairly regular pattern of housing is
intruded upon by a large, out of scale, one-story
industrial-looking building that is used as a church.
46
Western Portal Area

west of Conrail tracks
Frankstown, Kelly, and Hamilton are all gateway

streets into Homewood from Washington
Boulevard. On each, though, the first block off
Washington Boulevard is cut off from the
neighborhood by the Conrail overpass, making the
real portal to the neighborhood the overpass itself.
As a result, the area between the Boulevard and the

overpass is separated from the neighborhood by a
very strong divider and it is more influenced by the
context of the Washington Boulevard corridor than
by the neighborhood. Still, beyond the freestanding
commercial buildings that front on large lots on the
Boulevard, the area is primarily residential. The
character of the housing there is fairly substantial
but its condition is generally poor. Most houses
show signs of serious deterioration and a few are
abandoned. Several large vacant lots suggest
housing that has been demolished.
As a residential area, it is miscast because of its
proximity to Washington Boulevard and the fact
that it is very evidently separated from any other
residential area.
47
Oakwood Corridor
below Frankstown
The Oakwood Corridor links Frankstown to
Wilkinsburg.
Above Batavia Street its physical context is badly
compromised by empty lots and deteriorated
building conditions associated with apparently
marginal small scale commercial and industrial
activities.
South of Batavia, it is consistently residential,
largely intact, of relatively good character and in
relatively good condition.
Housing on the east side of the street faces
Oakwood and sit at the bottom of a steep slope that
forms a strong boundary between Homewood and
East Hills. The side streets from the west meet
Oakwood at a slight angle so that the pattern of
development on the west side of the street is offaxis and, while some corner houses turn to front the
sidestreets while others front onto Oakwood, the
overall pattern is strong and generally pleasing.
This area is one of the stronger residential districts
in the neighborhood.
48
Patterns of Neighborhood
Strength and Weakness
At a very broad level of generalization, Homewood

is a relatively strong and stable neighborhood to the
north of Frankstown Avenue and a relatively weak
and unstable neighborhood to the south of
Frankstown.
Within this overall pattern, however, in terms of the

physical aspects of the neighborhood that affect it
as a market setting, there are both good and bad
parts in all areas of the community.
One objective in strategic neighborhood
development is to use the strengths of a community
as building blocks for revitalization. The map
below shows the areas that are regarded as relative
assets. These are the areas that give strength to
Homewood as a market setting.
This very general distinction follows the basic

structure of the community as expressed by its
street grid: relatively regularly organized and
uniform to the north and much less organized and
uniform to the south.
Areas of Relative
Strength and Weakness
Relatively Strong Development Context
Relatively Weak Development Context
49
Neighborhood Spines
The Frankstown Avenue and Hamilton Avenue

to the south of Frankstown are both very distinctive
within the context of Homewoods overall character and,
together, they create spines that serve as a focus for the
parts of the neighborhood that they separate.
North Homewood
Southwest
Homewood
Southeast Homewood
Major Planning Areas
The Frankstown and Hamilton corridors

create three major neighborhood districts,
each with relatively strong and relatively weak
places within them and each with a character that is
generally internally related or similar but basically
different from the others.
50
Planning Anchors
Within each major district, places that

have arelatively strong development context
are anchors for physical revitalization that
re-integrates more distressed places back into the
fabric of the larger neighborhood.
Lang Avenue
vacant lots, nonconforming uses
mid-Frankstown Avenue
vacant lots
Western Portal
physical isolation
Hamilton Avenue
bad housing, ,vacant lots
Southeast Homewood
bad housing, vacant lots, weak structure
Business District
vacant lots, deterioration
Key Problem Areas

major non-conforming
industrial uses
Key problem areas are the focus for early action

in an incremental revitalization process. They are the
places that cant fit into the re-woven fabric of a strong
neighborhood or the places where the existing fabric is
most intensely distressed.
51
Part Four:
Strategic Initiatives
Western Portal
mid-Frankstown
Business District
SouthCentral
Some parts of Homewood are fundamentally not

suited or are at least less well suited than others to
be treated as residential revitalization opportunities.
Those areas are places where non-residential uses
might be either expanded or introduced to better fit
each place to its more natural market and, in doing
so, to support the housing components of
Homewoods revitalization plan.
Industrial Park
Recommendations:
Western Portal Initiative:

The western portal is the
primary front door to the
Homewood neighborhood.
It is a weak residential area
and is in poor physical
condition; and, as such, it
presents a very negative
introduction to Homewood.
The western portal should be redeveloped for

commercial uses that would benefit from a location
that is central to multiple East End neighborhoods
and from the traffic and visibility potentials
afforded by Washington Boulevard.
Ideas:
1. Assemble all property in the western portal area
to enable a planned commercial redevelopment.
the overpass on Kelly
2. Focus access into and out of Homewood on

Frankstown Avenue by closing Kelly Street and
possibly Hamilton Avenue from Washington
Boulevard to the Conrail overpass.
Provide
substantial public streetscape improvements along
Frankstown.
compromised housing
on Frankstown
3.
Redevelop the assembled site between
Frankstown and Hamilton as a multi-tenanted retail
facility anchored by a major destination user or as a
single-purpose big box retail facility, in either
case with a streetfront orientation and parking at the
interior or rear of the site.
Problems:
The portal area is cut off from the neighborhood
and is more influenced by the commercial character
of Washington Boulevard corridor than by the
Homewood residential community. As a residential
area, it is severely compromised and its
redevelopment potential for housing purposes is
very limited.
4. Redevelop assembled land on the north side of

Frankstown as commercial out-parcels with a
streetfront orient
52
Business District Strategy

The geographic extent of the business district
should be re-concentrated into the area along North
Homewood Avenue between Hamilton and
Frankstown Avenues. Within this area, existing
impediments to doing business and to patronizing
businesses should be removed; and incentives for
doing business and patronizing businesses there
should be promoted if they already exist and
otherwise invented.
A concerted community-sponsored business
development, recruitment, and assistance program
should be pursued to attract new businesses to the
area and to encourage new business formations that
are responsive to local market needs. The physical
product should be enhanced: better and more
parking; streetscape beautification improvements;
conversion of selected vacant lots to vest-pocket
parks and re-use of other vacant lots for new in-fill
commercial development; restoration of storefronts;
adoption of consistent storefront signage standards.
Deterioration in the center has gradually eaten away at the fiber of

the surrounding community.
Ideas:
deteriorated vacant storefronts , south of Kelly
1. Develop new moderate-density mixed-income

rental housing or low-density office buildings along
Homewood Avenue to the south of Hamilton.
the business district, a

Saturday afternoon
2. Bring the Main Street Program to Homewood.

Retain the services of a Main Street/business
development coordinator. Consolidate scattered
private parking lots through the development of
new public parking facilities, with free usage,
through a partnership among existing parking lot
owners, major local institutions, an appropriate
community-based organization, and the City.
Problems:
Like many neighborhood business districts,
Homewoods has lost its fit in the market. While
demand potential is constrained by the low-income
profile of the neighborhood population, there is
demand in Homewood. While some of that demand
is siphoned away by competing shopping and
service opportunities, the survival of some other
neighborhood business districts suggests the
existence of a viable market niche.
3. Facilitate expansion of the Community College

campus, targeting available properties in the
business district. Involve the Community College
as a collaborator in a business development,
training, and assistance program. Incubate new
businesses in vacant storefronts with subsidized
rents.
The problem is a two-sided issue: on the supply

side, there is a limited availability of neighborhoodbased goods and services; on the demand side, there
is insufficient neighborhood-based patronage.
Underlying both is a fundamental scarcity of
merchants able to serve the African-American
community in a neighborhood setting.
4. Develop a financial assistance package to

encourage viable retail and service businesses
scattered throughout the neighborhood to relocate
to the business district.
Recommendations:
53
The mid-section is primarily commercial in

character with a high concentration of vacant lots
and buildings in very modest or deteriorated
condition.
Mid-Frankstown Corridor Initiative:
Recommendations:
Strengthen the residential context to the east and the
west of the mid-section of the corridor by
developing new in-fill housing, both mixed-income
rental and for-sale, on vacant lots and to replace
severely deteriorated buildings in these areas.
Frankstown Avenue is the major street into, out of, and through
Homewood. It has a highly varied character with a disjointed mix
of uses and a high incidence of vacant properties and deteriorated
property conditions. Its image is generally symbolic of the
distressed conditions in the larger community.
large vacant lot,

east of Homewood Avenue
Within the mid-section of the corridor, on the north

side of the street, reuse existing buildings for
professional and general business offices and infill
vacant lots with new small scale street oriented
office buildings. On the south side of the street,
develop the large vacant lots as small scale street
oriented office buildings with parking off Felicia
Way, or as a major community public space and
cultural center that would embrace and encourage
enhanced use of the existing Coliseum Building.
vacant lot and marginal storefronts, the corner of Homewood

and Frankstown
Ideas:
1. Encourage viable businesses located at the
eastern end to relocate to the Homewood Avenue
business district and acquire the properties so
vacated for residential redevelopment.
good houses in bad shape,
west of Homewood Avenue
2. Acquire the fast-food property at the corner of

Frankstown and North Homewood or facilitate
relocating it to the western portal area. Assemble
that property with the vacant lot across North
Homewood Avenue and the abutting vacant
properties to the east extending to the Coliseum and
develop a mixed-use community cultural center and
marketplace that would incorporate the Coliseum as
a community special events center and would house
a cultural center and an indoor/outdoor marketplace
designed to accommodate a permanent farmers
market, arts and crafts vendors, antique and
collectibles stalls with public open space
programmed to encourage street performers and
weekend music festivals. Set up a communitybased corporation to own and manage the center
and do that as a minority business development and
resident employment opportunity initiative.
good houses in a strong

pattern, west of Homewood
Problems:
The western section of the corridor is primarily
residential in character and is in relatively good
condition. Elsewhere the problem is that the
markets historically served by the businesses along
the corridor have deteriorated and those businesses
have declined or disappeared, precipitating physical
deterioration.
The eastern section is a mix of institutional, small
scale commercial, and residential uses of variable
quality and condition but including some new forsale housing at Frankstown Court.
54
itself and much more severely so by the impact of

the busway and the railroad along the southern
boundary and by the existing and reasonably
prospective character of the adjacent Homewood
and Braddock Avenue corridors to the west and
east. These various influences affect all but a small
part of the SouthCentral area in terms of residential
development possibilities.
SouthCentral Initiative:
elementary
school site
Recommendations:
While
residential
redevelopment
of
the
SouthCentral area is a distinct possibility, its
potential is regarded as being compromised and less
than a highest and best kind of use. A more
desirable revitalization solution would be to
redevelop the entire area for non-residential uses in
a way that recognizes the impact of the surrounding
corridors, connects it to and enhances the potential
of adjacent areas, accommodates the new school in
a mutually supportive way, and integrates the
school more fully into the physical fabric of the
neighborhood.
SouthCentral is a very large area of almost uniformly poor housing.

The housing stock is old and worker housing is dominant.
Deteriorated housing conditions are prevalent and vacant lots are
common. A new elementary school is planned for a large site
tucked away at an interior location that will have a significant
interplay with the immediate neighborhood but without any physical
connection to the larger community.
Ideas:
1. To feature the proposed school, better integrate
into the community context, and enhance
development potential across and along Hamilton,
develop a new public park extending from
Hamilton to Tioga
vacant lots and old worker housing in poor condition dominate the
character of the SouthCentral area
The SouthCentral area is not an advantageous

setting for an elementary school. It detracts from
the investment to be made in the school and
demeans the educational experience that will be
provided at the school. While a new school is a
community asset that is potentially valuable to the
attractiveness of the neighborhood as a place to
live, its location has no presence in the physical
context of the community.
2. To the south of Tioga develop both sides of the

school site as a small scale mixed-use office park
featuring a unique comprehensive wellness center
with a regional draw based on a multi-use offering
of medical, counseling, and sports-medicine
facilities including a full-scale health club and
commercial membership-based and time-rental
sports facilities such as an indoor swimming pool,
soccer field, tennis courts, a running track, and so
on. Move the existing Community Health Center to
the wellness center and redevelop the existing
health center location along with abutting properties
for small scale multi-family residential purposes.
At the same time, residential development

potentials within the area are at least somewhat
compromised by the physical impact of the school
3. If all else fails in the area south of Tioga, build

new for-sale housing to the west of the school site
and new rental housing to the east.
Problems:
55
interest in preserving existing viable industry and in

encouraging new industrial development in the
community as a part of the communitys
comprehensive revitalization plan.
Industrial Park Initiative:
This area is the logical place to do that and it is

suggested that the area to the south of Cassina Way
be assembled as a light industrial and distribution
park. There is already a considerable industrial
presence in this area. The housing there is already
generally severely compromised. It is a logical
adjunct to the large industrial area just across the
Conrail tracks. And it provides relatively direct
access to the Parkway East via Braddock Avenue.
Ideas:
1. Close Brushton Avenue between Tioga Street
and Cassina Way. Acquire properties in either side
of the closed street and build new houses facing
Tioga Street.
Susquehanna Street, between Braddock and Rosedale, consists of a

mix of generally poor housing and industrial uses, some of which
have a dominant presence in the area.
warehouse
on Susquehanna
2. Close Finance Street between Braddock and

Brushton to consolidate the property to the south of
Finance into a larger contiguous industrial site.
Subdivide the area into roughly eight parcels. Front
the development along Braddock and the busway;
back it into alleys and backyards to preserve the
residential character of the streets adjacent
neighborhood.
vacant lot
on Susquehanna
Problems:
The segment of Susquehanna Street to the east of
Braddock contains a relatively high concentration
of industrial facilities that generally appear to be
viable and some of which are large. As such, they
have substantially compromised the viability of the
existing housing there and they preclude reasonable
approaches to any residential redevelopment in the
area.
Recommendations:
3.
Market the parcels facing Braddock as
office/showroom/distribution sites with showroom
building entrances off Braddock and service at the
rear.
Both HBCCO on behalf of the Homewood

community and the Urban Redevelopment
Authority on behalf of the City have stated an
56
North Homewood
The pattern of development in Homewood creates

three major planning areas that are generally
defined by the Frankstown Avenue and North
Homewood Avenue corridors. Most of each district
is residential in character but each district is
different in terms of its housing pattern and
condition so that different approaches to housing
revitalization are appropriate in each case.
Southwest
Homewood
Southeast Homewood
The corridors are strong orienting devices and they

have the potential to be good front doors. In most
parts of the neighborhood, both the topography and
the features of the street grid encourage a strong
housing pattern. And in many parts of Homewood,
the existing housing is of a good basic character
and, even though it may be in modest over-all
condition, that good housing offers a fairly strong
context for new development and an opportunity to
positively impact market perceptions and values
based on the elimination of blighting factors.
Homewood has some relatively good housing but it

also has some absolutely bad housing. Throughout
the neighborhood, but especially where the housing
is bad, many units have been lost from the
inventory. Because the market has not justified
replacement, vacant lots remain. They are both
widespread and concentrated in some places.
In some cases the bad housing is a matter of
physical deterioration related to both financial
duress and homeowner motivation. In other cases,
bad housing also results from a neighborhood
physical structure that is incompatible with
common standards for good, habitable living-housing in close proximity to adversely nonconforming uses, housing that fronts on alleys or
into the backs of other housing, a confusingly
disjointed street grid, a jarringly inconsistent pattern
of housing scale or styles, and so on.
In removing the blighting influence of vacant lots

and severely deteriorated housing, the basic strategy
suggested here is to work within the basic context
and structure of the neighborhood (or, where
necessary, to re-create a better structure), to tie new
development
into
the
strength
of
the
neighborhoods relatively good housing, and then to
leverage the value of the new housing back into the
existing housing stock through an incremental
progression of development that generally follows
the hierarchy of the street grid in a front-door, stepin approach.
Throughout Homewood, what remains of relatively

good housing is imperiled by the blighting
influence of vacant lots and bad housing as well as
by an on-going pattern of progressive
disinvestment.
The challenge is to eliminate
blighting influences throughout the community as a
cause of disinvestment and to rebuild the physical
context of the places in the community in a way
that also builds the dynamics of a newly sustainable
housing market.
Given the extent of physically distressed and
economically
depressed
conditions
in
Homewood,
the challenge is daunting; but
Homewood also offers a variety of building blocks
that can anchor and give some strength to the
development of new housing.
Relatively good housing is not

uncommon in Homewood and
it provides a strong building
block for new development.
57
North Homewood Initiative:
A strong pattern of solid manager homes is typical in much of North

Homewood.
Setting:
light distress
moderate distress
The area to the north of Frankstown Avenue, both

to the east and west of Lang, is a relatively stable
part of Homewood. It has a very regular street grid
that supports a generally strong housing pattern.
severe distress
The housing in here is typically manager housing

with a solid character and good basic quality. This
style of housing is especially prevalent in the lower
section of the area, below Kedron Street.
Elsewhere, manager housing is mixed with worker
housing.
Based on the intrinsic quality of the housing stock,
physical conditions in North Homewood are also
relatively good. In general, the condition of most
housing shows its age and the generally modest
economic circumstances of the areas residents but
severe deterioration is much less common here than
in other parts of the neighborhood.
Vacant Lots,
North Homewood
While physical distress is relatively modest, the

strong pattern of housing in large parts of the area
does, however, tend to hide some instances of
severe deterioration and a widespread pattern of
vacant lots. These aspects of distress tend to be
most intense in areas where worker housing is more
common, especially west of Lang, along Lang
where mostly long gone commercial uses once
compromised the character of the corridor as a
residential street, and in areas like the northwest
corner where the basic structure of the
neighborhood is weak.
58
Problems:
a high concentration of vacant lots on Lang with

some severe deterioration and, in the lower
section, non-conforming use
concentrations of vacant lots with some
deteriorated housing both to the north and south
of the high school as well as along Idlewild
Street to the west of Lang
scattered vacant lots and deteriorated housing to
the east of Lang
the absence of alleys on blocks north of
Hermitage with resultant parking congestion on
the main streets
houses fronting on Beecher but facing the backs
of houses across the street
a dead end on Kedron on the block to the west
of Murtland
abandoned good house and

vacant lots east of Lang
non-conforming use and

vacant lots on North Lang
vacant lots on North Lang
In sequence:
1. Develop new mid-range affordable for-sale
single-family detached housing on vacant lots and
in place of severely deteriorated properties along
Lang Street; follow up with selective rehab for-sale
of salvageable deteriorated properties; convert nonconforming buildings to for-sale housing or
demolish and redevelop as new for-sale housing.
2. Develop new high-end affordable for-sale
single-family detached housing on vacant lots in the
area to the east of Lang between Hermitage and
Idlewild; follow up with limited showcase rehab
of the most severely deteriorated good housing
stock in the area. Work up the principle northsouth streets, progressively eastward from Lang two
streets at a time, and then into the intervening
blocks along the east-west streets.
Recommendation:
General Strategy: Do new housing development to
remediate areas of concentrated blight in highly
distressed parts of the neighborhood; do
comprehensive scattered site in-fill development in
the relatively strong areas to stabilize and reinforce
the value of those areas; allow the values created to
permeate areas of moderate distress while also
enhancing those areas through follow-up selective
in-fill development.
3. Develop new low-end and mid-range affordable

for-sale single-family detached housing on vacant
lots and in place of severely deteriorated properties
in severely distressed areas to the west of Lang,
working in from Lang and up from Frankstown;
follow up with selective rehab for-sale of
salvageable deteriorated properties.
59
Ideas:
1. Create a cul-de-sac turn-around at the west end
ofKedron Street to facailtate access to and from the
existing housing on what is now a dead-end block.
Utilize vacant lots as maintained side yards to avoid
exacerbation of parking congestion attendant to
new housing development. Market City low-interest
home improvement loan programs to existing
residents.
3. De-densify the housing pattern above Hermitage

to reduce on-street parking demand by undertaking
an aggressive program to demolish abandoned
housing and convert vacant lots to side yards
maintained by neighbor-owners. Where possible,
encourage the development of off-street private
parking at the rear of the new side yards.
2. Acquire properties between Beecher and Garritt

from Idlewild to Montecello and develop as
community open space so that housing fronting on
the west side of Beecher and on the east side of
Gerritt face each other across the new park.
60
Southwest Homewood Initiative:
A variety of good houses throughout the area and a small civic

district near Homewood Avenue anchor the southwest section of
Homewood.
light distress
moderate distress
severe distress
Setting:
In general, the southwest corner of Homewood is
adversely impacted by vacant or under-used
industrial properties at the western side of the area
and, probably to a lesser degree, by the influence of
rail and bus traffic on the busway and Conrail line
to the south. On its eastern side, private parking
lots at the back of the business district intrude into
the housing pattern on Lang Avenue; but the cluster
of religious, institutional, and educational facilities
just east of Lang on Hamilton are a kind of civic
district that provides a good anchor for the area.
Although it is usually in modest condition, there is
some good quality housing in Southwest
Homewood in a variety of housing types. Much of
the core area is relatively strong but the consistency
of that is interrupted by a large vacant lot on
Bennett west of Murtland and by a concentration of
non-conforming uses at the corner of Murtland and
Kelly.
Vacant Lots,
Southwest Homewood
New single-family detached homeownership

housing on Park Lane Drive demonstrates the
market potential but Hamilton Avenue, just above
Park Lane, is very weak with a high incidence of
vacant lots and deteriorated housing along its
length. Even here, though, there is some very good
manager housing (but in poor to modest condition)
in the vicinity of the civic district just west of Lang.
61
Problems:
the vacant and under-used industrial properties

at the western end of Hamilton and along
LaSchall Street
a weak housing pattern and concentrated
distress along Hamilton Avenue and at the
western side of the area along LaSchall
the large vacant lot on Bennett and the
depressed non-conforming uses at the
intersection of Kelly and Murtland
scattered severe housing deterioration and
vacant lots throughout the relatively good parts
of the area; most concentrated west of Dallas
a weak physical definition to the back of the
business district just to the east of Lang
abandoned good house

on Hamilton

on Hamilton
non-conforming uses
on Kelly
abandoned house,
south of Hamilton
In sequence:
vacant lots on Hamilton
modest worker houses

on Hamilton
1.
Eliminate the blighting influence of the
Hamilton Avenue corridor by developing new lowend and mid-range affordable for-sale single-family
detached housing on vacant lots and in place of
severely deteriorated properties along Hamilton and
between Hamilton and the busway. Selectively
rehab salvageable good houses in poor condition.
2. Develop new mixed-income, mixed-tenure
housing on the Bennett Street lot and in place of the
non-conforming properties at the corner of Kelly
and Murtland. On Bennett, do low-end subsidized
for-sale townhouses or small single-family detached
homes. On Kelly, do mid-range subsidized for-sale
single-family detached homes west of Lang and
manager-style mixed-income apartment houses east
of Murtland.
Recommendations:
3.
Develop subsidized for-sale single-family
detached housing on vacant lots and in place of
severely deteriorated buildings and non-conforming
uses above Formosa Way west of Dallas.

distressed parts of the neighborhood; do selective
scattered site in-fill development elsewhere to
borrow from the value of the new housing as a
means of stabilizing and reinforcing existing values
in those areas.
4. Do selective scattered site in-fill high-end

subsidized single-family detached homes on vacant
lots elsewhere.
62
Ideas:
1. In conjunction with the Western Portal Initiative,

close Kelly Street at the Conrail overpass to
eliminate through traffic on Kelly east of LaSchall.
Clean up and maintain the Conrail abutment along
LaSchall between Hamilton and Frankstown.
2. In conjunction with the second stage of

development in the area, re-landscape the open
space plot at the intersection of Bennett and
Frankstown to better screen the sides of the
adjacent housing and to create a more pleasingly
organized image of this front door to Southwest
Homewood.
3. The industrial property on the north side of

Hamilton at LaSchall is currently for-sale. Take
early action, in concert withy the Urban
Redevelopment Authority, to control this property
for redevelopment purposes.
63
Southeast Homewood Initiative:
Southeast Homewood offers

some very good and some
relatively good housing that
can serve as useful building
blocks for new development
light distress
moderate distress
severe distress
Setting:
Southeast Homewood is highly disjointed and, at
the Cora Street and Sterrett-Collier Section 8
complexes, it contains some of Homewoods worst
housing.
The new for-sale housing on Rosedale Street and
the relatively stroing pattern of housing to the east
of Rosedale are assets that can serve as building
blocks for revitalization. Similarly, there is a
generally consistent pattern of housing and of
housing styles to the east and west of Brushton
Avenue above Hamilton and, while vacant lots and
some deteriorated housing intrudes on both sides, it
provides a relatively strong context for new
development and an opportunity to weave the
neighborhood back together across Brushton.
Vacant Lots,
Southeast Homewood
South of Hamilton, the street grid is irregular and,

west of Rosedale, the housing pattern is weak with
a high concentration of vacant lots and deteriorated
housing. This area is adversely impacted by very
depressed
commercial
development
along
Braddock Avenue and by the large cluster of
industrial facilities in the vicinity of Susquehanna
Street.
64
Problems:
While the area contains

some good housing, vacant
lots are pervasive and it also
contains some of the
neighborhoods worst
housing.
a high concentration of vacant lots, deteriorated

property, and non-conforming uses along
Brushton Avenue
the severe blighting influence of the SterrettCollier and Cora Street low-income housing
complexes
The very weak pattern of housing to the south
of Hamilton from the area just to the west of
Braddock to Rosedale based in part on the
disjointed street pattern found there
In sequence:
1. Redevelop the Sterrett-Collier complex and the
area just to the west of Sterrett as mixed-income
rental housing using apartment houses and singlefamily detached homes and/or duplexes as the
building types. Simultaneously, redevelop vacant
lots and severely deteriorated houses in the area
around Sterrett-Collier, north of Hamilton and
extending to the Brushton Avenue corridor as midrange and high-end affordable for-sale singlefamily detached housing. Follow-up with limited
showcase rehab of salvageable good homes in
poor condition.
2. Redevelop vacant lots and severely deteriorated
housing on Brushton Avenue as low-end and midrange affordable for-sale single-family detached
housing. Close Brushton at Tioga Street and
develop new housing in the right-of-way and on
adjacent lots.
3. Redevelop the area to the west of Braddock and
below Hamilton as mixed-income rental housing
using apartment houses and single-family detached
homes and/or duplexes as the building types.
Simultaneously develop mid-range affordable forsale single family detached housing on vacant lots
and in place of severely deteriorated buildings and
non-conforming uses in the area just to the east of
Braddock south of Hamilton and in the area above
Hamilton abutting the Brushton corridor. South of
Hamilton, redevelop the area around Cora Street
and the southern end of Hale Street, as high-end
affordable for-sale detached housing clustered
around a new street island.
Recommendations:
distressed parts of the neighborhood; do selective
scattered site in-fill development elsewhere to
borrow from the value of the new housing as a
means of stabilizing and reinforcing existing values
in those areas. Reorganize the street pattern
strategically to provide a structure that supports a
stronger pattern of housing.
4. Do selective scattered site in-fill high-end

affordable single-family detached homes on vacant
lots elsewhere.
65
Ideas:
1. Create a public park in the triangular shaped

property at the intersection of Hamilton and
Oakwood.
2. On the block south of Mulford between

Braddock and Brushton, in lieu of new houses
facing those streets, provide a neighborhood center
incorporating adult and child day care with open
space and recreational facilities accessible to the
public.
66
Community Space Initiatives

Recreational Pathway
The quality of the public environment in a good

neighborhood reflects the importance of the shared
life of the community. Public spaces, whether
streets, sidewalks, parks, or playgrounds, are the
connective tissue of the community space that
supports social interaction, creates amenity, and
adds to the overall quality of a sense of place.
Green Streets
Public Park
Public Improvement Ideas:
Private Improvement Ideas:
The SouthCentral area is the weakest part of

Homewood.
Turn that weakness into
something of value by creating a major public
park between Hamilton and Tioga. It would
serve as both and real and symbolic focus for
Homewoods renewal, would help to support
the business district, would help to integrate
the proposed elementary school more fully
into the neighborhood, would considerably
improve the character of Hamilton Avenue,
and, in doing so, would provide an amenity
that greatly enhances development potentials
in the immediate area.
Create private open space as a community

amenity for public consumption Large or
irregular sites often create opportunities for
open spaces. Rather than treating them as
afterthoughts, as overly ample back yard
areas or as common space interior to the site,
feature them and take advantage of them as
public open spaces that help to announce,
orient, and/or buffer new development. They
add value to the neighborhood without much
incremental cost and the neighborhood gives
that value back to the development in the long
run.
Make the important places nice. Plant street

trees in places like the business district, along
the mid-section of Frankstown, and along
major streets.
Work with residents to
establish a street tree planting program on
local residential streets.
Make any new developments streetscape

complementary to the development. Plant
street trees. Do good front yards.
Make some places distinctive. Do small

planted islands in the middle of the larger
intersections in the Southeast area.
Use undeveloped land as an opportunity to
enhance public spaces and recreational
opportunities. In vacant lots, do small sitting
parks in residential and commercial areas. Do
a walking and biking loop around the
perimeter of the neighborhood using the
busway and Conrail rights-of-way and vacant
land around the top of Silver Lake Hollow,
connected around and through the rest of the
neighborhood by green streets that are treated
to accommodate walkers and bikers.
67
Neighborhood Revitalization
Concept Plan
Plan Components Residential
Plan Components Non-Residential
591 new housing units:

313 for-sale detached units
278 rental units in 65 apartment houses
Western Portal Commercial Development

z
multi-tenant retail and office
showroom facilities between west of
the Conrail overpass
Business District Improvements

z
public parking between Kelly and
Bennett, east and west of
Homewood Avenue
z
in-fill commercial development
z
rental housing and/or offices south
of Hamilton
z
selective building rehabilitations
North Homewood Housing Initiative

[85 for-sale units]
z
Mid-Frankstown Corridor Revitalization

z
community cultural center
z
Homewood marketplace
z
selective building rehabilitations and
adaptive re-use for office purposes
Southwest Homewood Housing Initiative

z
SouthCentral Office Park / Wellness Center

z
public elementary school on Tioga
z
public park at Hamilton
z
professional office development
z
multi-purpose wellness center

z
office/showroom, distribution, and
light manufacturing facilities in
southeast Homewood at Braddock
Plan Components Public Improvements
Public Park on Hamilton in SouthCentral

District
Parklet Renovations Frankstown and Bennett
Parklet Development Hamilton at Oakwood
Open Space and Walkway Development
Busway
Homewood Loop Walkway circumferential
route
Greenstreets street tree planting at primary
streets
concentrated new housing in areas

scattered site in-fill housing
development in areas of light and
moderate distress
selective showcase housing
rehabilitations throughout
Other
Frankstown, east and west

[108 rental units, 21 buildings]
z
68

moderate distress
Southeast Homewood Housing Initiative

[147 for-sale units; 144 rental units, 32
buildings]
z

moderate distress
in-fill housing development and

selective housing renovations
Selected Plan Components
cultural center and marketplace on Frankstown
commercial development atwestern portal
open space and walkway along the busway
new housing at Cora Street
industrial park
entrance on Braddock
in-fill housing at Murtland and Kelly
in-fill housing and public

parking at Land and Kelly
new school, public park, and wellness center

south of Hamilton
new community center at Brushton and Mulford
69
Housing Development Summary

Unit Counts by Area and Type
for sale
rental
units
total
market orientation
low
mid
high
all
units
mixed
North Homewood
Lang Corridor
Northwest District
Scattered Site In-Fill (north district)
total
8
10
8
26
14
10
15
39
0
0
20
20
22
20
43
85
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
22
20
43
85
total
15
12
0
3
0
8
38
6
11
8
0
4
8
37
0
0
3
0
0
3
6
21
23
11
3
4
19
81
0
0
4
6
16
0
26
0
0
1
3
8
0
11
21
23
15
9
20
19
107
total
10
0
17
5
20
52
6
0
17
11
20
54
3
0
0
11
27
41
19
0
34
27
67
147
64
80
0
0
0
144
16
16
0
0
0
32
83
80
34
27
67
291
total
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
36
72
108
9
13
22
36
72
108
116
130
67
313
278
65
591
Southwest Homewood
Bennett Street Lot
Kelly / Murtland Site
Southeast Homewood
Brushton Corridor
Frankstown Corridor
West
East
Total, All Areas
Lang Corridor
buildings
all units
North District
Northwest District
Sterrett-Collier
Bennett Street Lot
Kelly / Murtland In-Fill
Hamilton, west
mid-Hamilton
Hamilton, east
Brushton Corridor
70
Part Five:
Key Housing Development Projects
Key projects are the ones that make a statement

about neighbhorhood change and, in doing so,
begin to change perceptions about the
neighborhood that, in turn, begin to introduce new
market potentials to the neighborhood.
To be effective, a key project should be visible; it
should demonstrate substantive change; and it
should be catalytic.
Lang
In rebuilding neighborhoods, change is much more

effective when it is apparent and recognizable and
early developments in any individual part of a
neighborhood should generally be at visible
locations.
Then, in the place where new
development occurs, it should substantially
eliminate localized blight and create an image of
the place that is more good than bad. Finally, the
change made at each place should create a context
for additional development that demonstrates the
potential for development and that encouarges
progressive diversification of the neighborhood
housing market.
Hamilton
Brushtron
Sterrett-Collier
Cora
Key Projects Summary

for sale
rental
units
low
mid
high
all
14
22
22
total
15
12
0
27
6
11
8
25
0
0
3
3
21
23
11
55
0
0
4
4
0
0
1
1
21
23
15
59
total
10
17
5
32
6
17
11
34
3
0
11
14
19
34
27
80
64
0
0
64
16
0
0
16
83
34
27
144
67
73
17
157
68
17
225
market orientation
North Homewood
Lang Corridor
Southwest Homewood
Southeast Homewood
Brushton Corridor
Total, All
total
units
mixed
71
buildings
all units
Project 1:
North Lang Avenue Corridor
Location:
Unit Count:
Market Orientation:
affordable
Construction Timetable:
Estimated Project Cost:
Responsibility:
partner
North Homewood
22 for-sale units
low- and mid-range
March, 2003 July, 2004
$3,750,000
HBCCO and developer
Ideas:
Execute the North Lang development in two
sequential phases with the first phase targeting the
lower portion of the corridor and the second phase
targeting the upper portion.
Form a relationship with a developer partner that
would carry beyond the North Lang development and
into subsequent project initiatives timed to provide for
a continuous, consistent involvement of that
developer.
72
73
Project 2:
Hamilton Avenue Corridor
Location:
Unit Count:
units
Market Orientation:
affordable
2005
Responsibility:
partner
Southwest Homewood
55 for-sale units; 4 rental
low- and mid-range
March, 2003 October,
Ideas:
$9,000,000
HBCCO and developer
Execute the rental component as part of the mixedincome rental redevelopment of the Sterrett-Collier
complex.
Develop the project in successive phases working
from west to east along Hamilton, starting with
redevelopment of the industrial properties at the
western end.
Overlap the timetable of development along
Hamilton with the timetable of development along
Lang involve a second for-sale housing developer
for Hamilton and sequence that developers
involvement into future initiatives to continuous,
consistent participation throughout execution of the
plan.
74
Project 3:
Sterrett Collier
Location:
Unit Count:
Market Orientation:
Responsibility:
North Homewood
19 for-sale units; 64 rental units
low, mid, high-end affordable
September, 2003 March, 2006
$13,800,000
HBCCO and development partners
75
Ideas:
Do the rental and for-sale components with
separate developer partners.
Include the Hamilton Avenue rental component
with the Sterrett-Collier project; involve the SterrettCollier rental development partner in the Frankstown
and Southeast Homewood mixed-income rental
development to maintain continuous and consistent
participation and to and to make the project more
attractive to the selected partner.
Project 4:
Brushton Corridor
Location:
Unit Count:
Market Orientation:
Responsibility:
Southeast Homewood
34 for-sale units
low- and mid-range affordable
$5,750,000
HBCCO and developer partner
Ideas:
Develop the Brushton corridor in two phases
with the first phase targeting the area above
Hamilton and coinciding with the development of
the for-sale component of the Sterrett-Collier
project.
Close Brushton south of Tioga; build houses in
the abandoned right-of-way.
Build a new community center at the foot of
Mulford.
76
77
Project 5:
Cora Street
Location:
Unit Count:
Market Orientation:
Responsibility:
Southeast Homewood
27 for-sale units
low, mid, high-end affordable
$4,800,000
HBCCO and developer partner
Ideas:
Proceed with site acquisition and demolition of existing
structures as properties are available. Use the Urban
Redevelopment Authority as the acquisition agent and as a
land bank until development is ready to proceed.
Phase late in the Southeast revitalization process.
Sequence development in two phases with perimeter
properties first as affordable housing; consider a low-end
market rate orientation for the interior housing around the
street island.
78
Beyond the concepts embodied by the plan and the

key catalytic initiatives, we have not envisioned in
any detail all of the development that might be
required to obtain HBCCOs housing goals. Doing
so would have treated this report as only a
promotional tool and would have ignored the reality
that such plans need to be regarded with so much
latitude that they dont express a definitive
Part Six:
Strategy Implementation
The basic purpose of this report has not been to
illustrate a built-out plan for a re-constructed new
Homewood.
Much of what has been discussed here has to do
with the dynamics of urban housing markets as they
relate to severely distressed communities and the
ways by which real estate development can
intervene and use those dynamics to rebuild a
depressed neighborhood housing market. Much of
what has been discussed here has had to do with the
physical structure and character of Homewood and
the ways in which those features contribute to or
detract from the strength and viability of its housing
market.
plan as much they express just one possible result

that derives from some assessment of possibility
and potential,
Building houses for the sake of building houses or
for the sake of satisfying narrow or temporal
parochial or political motives is not a good way to
re-build a good neighborhood. Too many houses
need to be built; resources are too scarce; people
and motives change; circumstances change.
We have identified suggested interventions in the

form of inter-related kinds of real estate
development actions that are designed to introduce
physical improvements that will change the context
of the community as a market setting by positively
affecting market dynamics.
We have focused on process and dynamics and

intervention approaches as a way of providing a
core strategy that will be useful in guiding the ways
that the HBCCO or others involved in revitalizing
the physical context of the neighborhood pursue
and respond to opportunity.
We have also suggested key catalytic development

initiatives that are designed to instigate a change
process that can help to carry out the suggested
intervention program and lead to a more selfsustaining and hopefully sustainable housing
market in Homewood.
In this sense, by way of example, our belief is that it

is not so important whether the Western Portal
becomes a strip commercial district, an office
district, or maybe even a location for some kind of
rental housing that can withstand the adverse
impact of Washington Boulevard. What we think is
much more important is the recognition that it is
now a very bad front door to the neighborhood and
will always be inhospitable to single-family
detached housing, especially homeownership
housing. We are confident that the recognition that
something is wrong, that something needs to be
done, and the understanding as to why will lead to a
positive result in whatever form it may come.
This report is more about neighborhood

development as a matter of process, approach, and
technique than it is about
neighborhood
development as an end in itself.
We have not envisioned a master plan for
Homewood. The plan presented here is conceptual
it does not reflect a full and detailed analysis of
the neighborhoods housing stock and it is meant
more to focus attention on problem areas and on
what to do about them than it is meant to define the
particulars of specific development programs. That
is the domain of development as opposed to
strategic planning.
Implementation Requirements
In Homewood, as in all severely distressed
communities, normal market processes dont work.
Revitalization requires intervention in order to
79
make things happen that wont happen if left to

normal processes.
Interventions need to be invented and driven.

Again, they have to be made to happen. Most
fundamentally, intervention requires a causative
agent, an agent for change. It is assumed here that
HBCCO is that agent in Homewood.
adherence to a vision, one that is defined in

terms of values rather than units,
application of needed resources, and

a sustained long-term effort.
These are essential ingredients and none is less

important than the others.
economic
profile
of
the
The single greatest cause of physical distress and

market dysfunction in Homewood is concentrated
poverty. Free markets dont function where there is
no buying power.
Vision
Real estate development can help to build wealth in

a community in the longer term but it is much less
effective as a way of lifting existing resident
incomes in the short run. It can, however, do two
basic things: it can create better and more
affordable housing for residents that are housing
disadvantaged and it can diversify the economic
profile of a neighborhood by strategically orienting
new housing products to market segments that
introduce diversity to the community.
What is wanted must be known, constantly

respected. and consistently enforced to the fullest
extent possible.
As related to the physical improvement component
of a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization
program, the end goal is a physical structure that is
self-sustaining, a structure where the character,
condition, and value of the communitys assets are
maintained without intervention.
A strategic action is one that obtains an intended

consequence beyond the conclusion of the action
itself. It is catalytic and it leverages multiple
objectives. The more the objectives leveraged by
any single action, the more strategic and effective
that action is.
The vision that is expressed here is greater than

houses that are built just for the sake of building
houses to eliminate the unsightly and discomfiting
occurrences of blight that stigmatize a distressed
neighborhood.
In the context of a distressed community there is

much to be done in the way of physical
improvement and, with limited resources, effective
development must be strategic development and
any development that does not advance at least two
and preferably all three of the suggested vision
objectives will not be strategic and, to the extent
Vision Statement:
The strategic objective of neighborhood building housing
development is new housing that effectively contributes to a
sustainable neighborhood market by:
diversifying the current

neighborhoods population.
A sustainable neighborhood is one where assets are

preserved through the natural functioning of the
marketplace, where resources lost are replaced,
where autonomously driven disinvestment is
counter-balanced by market-driven reinvestment.
Any housing that gets built in Homewood has to
contribute to the realization of a market setting
where this can happen; and that has to be the most
basic criterion for the propriety of any real estate
development initiative that is undertaken as a
neighborhood building revitalization intervention.
If its not part of the solution, it will be part of the
problem.
Effective implementation of an agenda for

revitalization by HBCCO will involve three
fundamental elements:
eliminating the debilitating market impact of blight and

other deficiencies in the communitys physical structure;
and,
improving the housing condition of disadvantaged residents;
80
that its effectiveness as a neighborhood building

initiative is consequentially compromised, it will be
an inefficient use of scarce resources.
What is embodied by the suggested vision

statement is not just houses, but housing that has a
purpose that extends beyond the provision of
shelter, that has a market impact based on what
housing is provided, how, where, and when.
Resources
Multiple resources will be needed to pursue and
execute HBCCOs revitalization agenda. Most
generally, taken together, the resources required
represent the capacity to do what should be done.
To do what has to be done, HBCCO will need:
Strategic development will be more or less effective

depending on the ways in which it addresses the
what, how, where, and when issues. In pursuing its
vision, HBCCOs most basic responsibility will be
to assure the most effective possible use of
available resources, to be sure that new
development is not only strategic relative to the
objectives embodied by the vision but also as
effective as possible.
The ways in which the what, how, where, and when

questions are answered will represent what the
vision is, not just the houses that result. An
effective vision will adhere to some basic thematic
ideas for housing revitalization:
leadership capacity,
technical capacity, and
financial capacity.
Leadership capacity is the most critical of these it

is a prerequisite for technical and financial capacity.
Without it, needed technical and financial resources
will be much less readily available if at all. It is the
role of leadership to set the agenda for physical
revitalization, to focus the energy and work of the
community and of HBCCO on behalf of the
community, and to address and resolve obstacles by
assembling the various other resources that will be
needed to do that.
Part Two of this report describes the context for

neighborhood building development in distressed
communities. The issues and the approaches
discussedthere are an important foundation for the
vision statement suggested here and they provide a
basic framework for understanding the challenges
involved in re-building distressed neighborhoods.
diversification of development is essential in

terms of place, type, market orientation, and
resource requirements:
a structured complementary multiplicity of
diversified development initiatives is most
strategically effective in terms of impact.
new physical improvements should eradicate

blight as a principal cause of neighborhood
disinvestments;
physical changes should be made in a
concentrated visible way from place to place
throughout the neighborhood and each place
should be re-built incrementally in order to add
value progressively back into the neighborhood;
new development should start with whats there
now, both in terms of physical and market
context, and it should take value from the
relative attributes in that context while
reinforcing and enhancing those attributes and
adding greater value to them;
new development should build from low to high
in its market orientation and it must, to a
significant degree, progressively test and prove
out demand potentials in the higher end of the
market;
Good leadership
committed.
Good leadership must be validated by the

informed support of the community that it
represents and that community must be
representative of the community at large.
Good leadership must be validated not only by

the recognition and respect of its constituents
but also by the credibility given to it by the
audience from outside the community that
represents the other resources that will be
needed to make change happen.
must
be
informed
and
Technical capacity is the commitment of

knowledge to the various tasks that will have to be
done.
Most critically, this will involve the
capability to make development happen and to get
it done in a way that promotes HBCCOs
revitalization agenda.
81
This process will involve an extremely wide range

of competence planning, design and engineering,
site acquisition, community relations, financial
analysis and financing, construction, marketing,
property management, and so on. Whats more,
the competence needed will be different from one
type of development to another new construction
is
different
from
rehabilitation,
for-sale
development is different from rental development,
affordable development is different from marketrate development.
sector partnerships that are formed to marry

leadership and technical resources.
The ability to develop and sustain a leadership
capacity, however, invariably entails some
commitment of financial resources that are
generally distinct from those applied to the planning
and execution of development projects.
The
essential qualification for the needed support here is
leadership itself and the prospect that the leadership
currently embodied within HBCCO can be
maintained and enhanced to be effective in the role
that is envisioned for it in the community
revitalization process.
Qualified and specialized capability is best obtained

through formal collaborations and the full range of
competence that will be needed to implement and
execute a full-bodied revitalization agenda in
Homewood will require a wide range of
collaborations
HBCCO leadership should be technically

informed but it does not have to be technically
competent.
Reliable in-house technical capability, either in

the form of a retained non-staff relationship or a
staff presence, is essential to effective
leadership but it should be of a generalist
character in order to be relevant to the full range
of issues, needs, and opportunities that will be
involved with HBCCOs revitalization agenda.
HBCCO has limited operational funding

relationships with established and reliable sources
and those relationships should be reinforced and
enhanced based on the results of the revitalization
planning that is now being concluded. It should
also be aggressively expanded to make available
new resources, including support from the
institutions, businesses, and residents of the
community itself to the fullest extent possible.
Recognizing that operational funding for
community-based organizations is both scarce and
competitive and that HBCCO remains new and still
largely unproven in its leadership role, HBCCO
should be realistic in assessing and pursuing its
initial requirements and should envision an
incremental evolution of its organization.
Specialized capabilities should be obtained

through
various
forms
of
partnering
relationships on an as-needed basis in order to
assure the involvement of qualified technical
capacity that is relevant to each part of the
agenda.
Operational funding can be supplemented, and in

some cases augmented substantially, through
financial participation in the real estate
development projects that are facilitated by
HBCCO.
The most critical partnerships will be with

public sector agencies who will help to facilitate
the communitys revitalization work, with
funding sources who will provide the financing,
and with real estate developers and other
professional service providers who will help to
execute the work.
These opportunities are intermittent and uncertain

and they cannot be relied on to support the
organization.
They are, though, potentially
important opportunities and to take effective
advantage of them HBCCO needs to be a true and
good partner and it needs to bring something of
value to its partnering relationships.
Financial capacity is essential to the execution of

any revitalization plan and it is perhaps most
critical to the capital-intensive physical components
of a plan. In this regard, though, the financial
resources that are needed to plan and execute real
estate development activities tend to flow from the
combination of leadership and technical capacity
and, more particularly, from the public and private
Again, leadership is the unique critical resource that

it can bring to the table. The leadership offered
should be active and effective and it needs to be
brought to bear in a way that responds to the needs
82
and compliments the capabilities of HBCCOs

development partners. Beyond leadership, HBCCO
can also access financial resources that might not be
otherwise available to its public or private sector
development partners and, depending on its internal
or retained capabilities, it can constructively help to
facilitate and implement various community liaison,
site acquisition and resident relocation, public
approval, and marketing and promotion aspects of
the development process and to facilitate the
introduction of needed supportive human services
as an important adjunct to the development that is
undertaken.
HBCCO Roles
The one resource requirement that is uniquely a
community-based responsibility and which must be
fulfilled by HBCCO or an organization like it is
leadership.
In community development, the leadership role is
the one that speaks to and for the community. It is
where problems are identified and prioritized and
where solutions are explored and crafted; it is the
channel for obtaining the buy-in that assembles the
resources needed from inside and outside the
community; it is the communitys agent for making
things happen and for assuring that the things that
happen promote intended results.
Sustained Effort
Real estate development is not a quick fix approach
to the challenge of bringing a community back. It
takes time and, along the way, many obstacles and
opportunities that cannot be specifically foreseen
will be encountered.
The range of this role will involve HBCCO in three

general areas of functional responsibility.
HBCCO as a promoter.
The first step in
implementing the plan is to promote it effectively
with the goal of obtaining audience buy-in a
shared understanding of, support for, and
commitment to the big ideas represented by the
plan.
The effort has to be sustained over time and it has

to be both consistent in its adherence to core
objectives and flexible in considering and
embracing different ways of getting what is desired.
It is critically important to not confuse means with
ends. The completion of new houses along the
North Lang corridor is not the end of the North
Homewood intervention. The big deal does not
obviate the need to follow up with the smaller deals
that make the intervention complete.
The story of the revitalization agenda and the vision

of its impact will have to be told and sold to a
collected audience that should include all of those
affected by the plan in terms of either its impact on
them or their desired participation in it.
In some important ways this part of the process has
already begun in that the Steering Committee, task
force members, and various public sector
representatives have been involved in the planning
process as either resources or as participants and are
at least somewhat informed about it. As the
planning has been pursued, a series of open public
meetings have helped to inform and educate the
community at large about the planning. While all of
this has helped to legitimatize the planning, it
should not be relied upon as a sufficient
promotional process.
Success is also critical to maintaining a sustained

effort. In housing, the deal isnt done until the
housing built is sold or rented. Each initiative
needs to be carefully planned to be a realistic
response to the local markets potential but, when a
mistake happens, which it will, a follow-through
correction needs to be actively and flexibly
encouraged.
Early success is important. While big deals afford
big changes, they take time. Large-scale and smallscale
developments
should
be
pursued
simultaneously so that success can be evidenced
early in the process and maintained more or less
continuously throughout the process.
We recommend a more full-bodied, inclusive, and

formal process than has been involved to date in the
conduct of the planning work. Much of the
exposure given to the planning process to date has
been necessarily piecemeal and disjointed and the
83
end vision is just now being crystallized into the

form of a comprehensive plan.
z
z
z
z
The end vision, each of its components, and the

rationale for those components as well as the
general agenda for implementation need to be
cohesively and compellingly exposed to a broad
audience of affected or otherwise potentially
interested people.
While all parts of the
comprehensive plan will affect and be of interest to
the community, each part will tend to have a
different audience outside of the community.
With regard to physical revitalization, and
specifically housing, this report should be viewed
as an educational and marketing tool. The essence
of what is in this report should be embraced by
HBCCO and conveyed to its audience.
In this regard, again, the pictures of new houses that
are painted here are less important than the
rationale for them. It is the rationale that will shape
reasonable expectations; that will make the agenda
believable or not; and, if believable, that will justify
support and ultimately the commitment of needed
resources.
the local business and institutional community

z
neighborhood business owners
z
major churches
financial intermediaries and institutions

z
the Pittsburgh Partnership for
Neighborhood Development
z
the Local Initiatives Support Corporation
z
the Federal Home Loan Bank
z
the Federal National Mortgage Association
z
private foundations
z
private banks
z
the East End Neighborhood Forum
One primary collaboration will be with the City

with regard to the formulation of development
policies, initiatives, and financial commitments that
advance the various components of the agenda.
Accordingly, the process of selling the rationale

should be directed to four general audiences:
key public sector agencies

z
the Mayors Office
z
the Department of City Planning
z
the Urban Redevelopment Authority
z
the State Department of Community
Resources
z
the Department of Housing and Urban
Development
In this regard, HBCCOs role will be to initiate the

collaborative processes by identifying the key lines
(or areas) of collaboration, assembling qualified and
committed collaborators, defining the agenda and
standards that will produce collaborations that are
supportive to the communitys goals and interests,
and then supporting the collaborative efforts in
areas where HBCCO can bring something to the
table.
Widespread informed and active support is the ideal

goal. General acquiescence with informed active
support from key constituents can be a tolerable
objective. Uninformed and strong resistance will
kill the process.
the local residential community

z
neighborhood residents, neighborhood by
neighborhood within Homewood
HBCCO as a community-building facilitator. The

neighborhood development agenda recommended
here is multi-faceted and involves a variety of
resources and initiatives that HBCCO will not be
directly responsible for and the implementation of
the agenda will require a range of critical
collaborations.
The resources that are needed have to come both

inside and outside the community. Alliances need
to be developed. Selling the rationale to those in
the community who are most affected and hopefully
benefited by it is essential. The communitys
support is what validates and empowers leadership.
Without it, the ability to obtain needed political and
financial support will be severely compromised.
local schools
the library
the community college
the YWCA , YMCA, etc.
The Citys financial resources are limited but

typically very critical ingredients in making
development work in distressed communities and it
is essential that HBCCO work effectively to put
Homewood on the public agenda and then to
84
establish and maintain relationships that are focused

on actions that promote the communitys agenda.
developer has an equal capability to do many

different things well. All developers are not alike.
As a result, HBCCO should very diligently and
selectively seek partners that are sensitive to and
experienced with neighborhood development
processes and, as importantly, skilled at producing
the particular product that will advance the
communitys realistic interests.
A second primary collaboration will be with the

financial intermediaries and institutions that can
help to fund expanded community planning efforts,
more detailed planning for individual development
initiatives, and the execution of specific
development projects.
The work done here has been pursuant to a specific
scope that intentionally did not extend to the
formulation of detailed, ready to go, development
programs for specific projects. Even the key
initiatives are expressed as concept plans. As a
result, each development initiative that HBCCO
pursues will have to be planned in much greater
detail and, whether HBCCO would pursue that
planning independently or in collaboration with
partners, the financial intermediaries and banks are
a key source of the money that will be needed to
allow those efforts to proceed.
Early Action Agenda

The very critical first steps for HBCCO in
implementing any revitalization plan are:
First, to understand and embrace a plan and to
commit itself to the values and concepts
embodied by it;
Second, to organize itself for the immediate
purpose of promoting the plan: and,
Third, to promote the values, the concepts, and
the potential of the plan initially to the
Homewood community and then, with the
support of the community, to the public sector
officials and agencies and to the financial
intermediaries and institutions whose support
will be a prerequisite for meaningful
implementation activity.
To address these facilitation roles and

responsibilities, it is suggested that HBCCO
establish an active standing development
implementation committee and provide generalist
technical support to it either in the form of in-house
staff or through a retained outside services
relationship.
HBCCO as a development partner. Inherent to a
multi-faceted long-term neighborhood development
agenda is the idea of marrying HBCCOs
community-based leadership capacity with the
technical capacity and financial access of qualified
private or public sector development partners.
Whether constituted formally or informally, the
marriages made will be a form of a development
partnership that consolidates public and private
resources and that expresses the communitys
physical revitalization agenda in the terms of actual
development activity.
Neither the housing plan presented here nor

HBCCOs comprehensive community plan is an
end in itself. They are beginnings and they have to
be sold. The more substance that can be conveyed
in the pitch; the more easily the sale will be
made. A plan will not sell itself simply because it
is a response to a desperate need the supply of
desperate needs is large and Homewood must make
its needs the better ones to address by its customers,
its prospective partners.
What makes the difference, what will give
Homewood a competitive edge in attracting
meaningful attention to its needs, is the merit of the
plan itself in terms of its underlying logic and its
scope, impact and benefit and HBCCOs ability to
deliver in its various roles as the sponsor of the plan
and as the communitys agent for revitalization.
As mentioned earlier, the agenda for development

that has been recommended here is full-bodied with
many different components, each entailing
potentially specialized development capabilities.
The real estate development business tends to be
somewhat specialized and it is unusual that any one
85
A common mistake in neighborhood revitalization

planning is to promote a plan and to obtain
commitments to it on a piecemeal basis. The plan
must be promoted as an integrated whole strategy
and any commitment to any one part of it must
entail at least a good faith commitment to the
related parts. If commitments are only to individual
parts or if one part has to change due to
circumstances, then other parts need to be
reconsidered and adjusted in order to assure that the
synergy between the parts adds up to the results
originally desired by the plan.
The conceptual agenda presented here has focused

on new housing construction that eliminates the
major sources of blight that break down the value of
the neighborhood.
Those sources have been
identified as vacant lots and, selectively, as severely
deteriorated existing housing. It has not developed
a site acquisition strategy, budget, or timetable with
respect to those properties and that work remains to
be done as a part of the implementation process.
While the conceptual agenda has focused on new
construction, it has also recommended a
strategically limited housing rehabilitation program
in order to demonstrate the potential value of the
good existing housing stock and in order to improve
the marketability of the physical context for the
new housing. Housing deterioration is progressive
and what might be salvageable today may need to
be demolished down the road. Similarly, houses
that are in tolerable condition now may become
intolerable blighting influences as time passes, so
that rehab properties need to be targeted in
conjunction with the detailed planning for each area
of new development as that planning is being done.
As the sponsor of and the agent for the plan,

HBCCO must assure that the plan is sold and
bought as a whole strategy and that there is
consistency in integrating the commitments to and
the execution of its individual parts with the values
and concepts embodied by all the other parts.
Pitching the Plan:

An idea sell a process, not a plan.
Finally, of course, what has been presented here as

concepts for housing development must be
converted to real plans, specifications, and budgets
with associated funding and development partner
commitments.
Pitch the plan as a conceptual framework for a ten to fifteen-year

revitalization strategy that will be implemented in terms of detailed
development planning and executed in terms of actual investment
and development incrementally and progressively based on a
realistic commitment of required resources from HBCCOs key
partners and collaborators.
Sequentially, obtain commitments to the conceptual framework first
and then investment commitments to the implementation of
prioritized plan components and then investment and partnering
commitments to the actual development of fully planned elements.
It is suggested that HBCCOs involvement in these

areas of detailed planning might be usefully
informed and more purposefully directed through
early collaboration with pre-selected prospective
development partners.
Development Planning
Pitching the Plan:
The authorized scope of work underlying this report

has been limited in that it has excluded both a
detailed
comprehensive
assessment
of
neighborhood housing conditions and detailed
programming of individual development initiatives.
Its objective has been to establish a framework for
that kind of more detailed planning and
implementation activity.
An idea to enhance HBCCOs credibility and the credibility of the

plan, as part of the early process of promoting the plan to the public
sector and to the financial community, attach to it the expressed
interest of prospective development partners with respect to key
components of development.
In this regard, as a part of its early efforts in

promoting the plan, it is suggested that HBCCO
market the plan to the development community
with the objective of forming collaborations with
That work remains to be done based on the

adoption of this report by HBCCO as the
conceptual framework for it.
86
one or two qualified affordable for-sale housing

developers prepared to undertake the for-sale
development components of the plan and with one
or two qualified low-income tax credit housing
developers prepared to undertake the mixed-income
rental components of the plan.
Hamilton Avenue is larger and more complex than

Lang but the western segment of it, as a first phase,
entails relatively few acquisitions and addresses a
major concentration of non-conforming uses, the
removal of which is a prerequisite for subsequent
phases as well as for revitalization elsewhere in
Southwest Homewood. It is another high priority.
Priority of Initiatives
Sterrett-Collier involves properties that are, to a

significant extent, thought to be readily available.
It is a also a large and complex initiative. The
mixed-income rental component is the priority part
of the initiative and it should be pursued
immediately but with the recognition that actual
development will be dictated by the logistics and
protocols related to the low-income tax credit
application and approval process. Ideally, the
timing of this component would coincide with the
first phase for for-sale development at the west end
of Hamilton Avenue in order to create a sense of
major change along the length of Hamilton. At
Sterrett-Collier, the for-sale component should be
timed to lag the rental development so that it can
capture the value created through the physical
improvements put into place by the rental
development.
The non-residential revitalization initiatives

suggested here are critically important to the
effectiveness of the
overall plan. They tend to involve highly visible
locations that are severely compromised by existing
physical conditions and, because of that, they are
opportunities to evidence substantive neighborhood
changes that will help to secure a much improved
context for residential development.
In general, though, the non-residential initiatives
are also difficult ones involving potentially
extensive land assemblage and the need to invent
proper uses and find qualified users.
The residential initiatives, on the other hand,
generally are more straight forward since they
address existing or accessible demand potentials
and since they typically entail vacant lots and
severely deteriorated housing that is likely to be
more readily or even currently available.
Elsewhere in the Southeast area, the Brushton

corridor should be pursued to follow up on the
Sterrett-Collier for-sale housing in order to help
link the area to the west with the area to the east of
Brushton and the Cora Street redevelopment should
follow that.
Prioritization of initiatives inevitably requires as

assessment, here necessarily somewhat subjective,
of possible impact and benefit relative to resources
required. Early results are an important
consideration.
In each area, scattered-site in-fill and smaller site

development should follow the development of
each key project in the area of the key project and,
as market momentum is built up, the possibility of
some over-lapping and potentially competitive
development should be encouraged not avoided.
On this basis, we recommend that the highest

priority be accorded to the Lang Avenue
development. It is of relatively modest size, will
have a major impact on the Lang corridor, will set
up significant ensuing development elsewhere in
North Homewood that can be pursued if necessary
in small scaled increments, and it involves
properties that are likely to be relatively readily
available.
It can ands should be pursued
immediately and results, in the form of the first new
houses completed, could appear as soon as a year or
so after detailed project planning is begun.
The non-residential initiatives are all regarded as

high priorities and all should be pursued
immediately in terms of pre-development planning
and implementation activities. Of them, though, the
cultural center and marketplace at mid-Frankstown
involves properties that are in general relatively
available and an envisioned use that is not highly
dependent on market forces or on the need to locate
anchor tenant users; and it should be accorded the
highest priority.
87
plan and that can help to assure a more

substantive role for HBCCO in the planning
and development process.
The SouthCentral initiative is the most complex

non-residential recommendation it is recognized
as a very significant challenge but one that offers a
significant benefit. In terms of impact on the
context of the neigh-borhood as a place to live, the
proposed public park and related street treatments
are viewed to be the cornerstone of the initiative
and these ideas should be more formally assessed at
a very early date in the process of implementing the
overall plan. The ideas of a wellness center or
office park are both regarded as being more
critically market dependent than housing and the
detailed feasibility of these specific ideas should be
assessed early on.
Miscellaneous Implementation Ideas
Establish a neighborhood-based youth corps

to help to clean up vacant lots and to assist in
the maintenance of public open space.
A side yard program can be an effective way

of re-using vacant lots that are too small or
otherwise unsuitable for a new house. Title
transfer logistics and costs and property taxes
can be disincentives to homeowner
participation in the program. HBCCO should
lobby for an expedited, no cost title transfer
process and for a property tax waiver for so
long as the participating homeowner owns his
home and its abutting side yard.
Working with public sector agencies and the

financial community, HBCCO should seek to
establish a pre-development planning fund
and equity pool, similar the East Liberty
Growth Fund, in order to provide ready
access to high risk capital that will be needed
to advance the individual components of the
88

Homewood Neighborhood Revitalization Plan

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Housing Development Strategy

The Community of Homewood

Homewood Brushton Comprehensive Community Organization

Jaxon Development Company

Homewood Brushton Comprehensive

Re: Homewood Housing Development Strategy

Dear Mr. Richardson:

Jaxon Development Company

Housing Development Strategy

April 15, 2002

Jaxon Development Company

Homewood Brushton Comprehensive

HBCCO Sponsoring Organizations:

HBCCO Community Plan Coordinator:

Housing Development Strategy

Since the 1950s, Homewood has been a

Problem: self-sustained and progressive

Solution: the introduction of strategic

Objective: economic diversification of

Resources for renewal are limited --far less than the

The overall pattern is one of persistent, selfperpetuating, and progressive disinvestment.

Homewood Housing Development Strategy

The Homewood community exists as an

With limited resources in the face of extensive

Each of the neighborhoods major areas has parts

Real estate is place-based and neighborhoods

Major Planning Areas

Principles for strategic incremental development

new physical improvements should eradicate

In general, the front doors to the neighborhood and

physical changes should be made in a

new development should start with whats there

new development should build from low to high

diversification of development is essential in

a structured complementary multiplicity of

In general, each of the neighborhoods residential

Homewood Housing Development Strategy

Key Problem Areas

The pattern of physical distress in the neighborhood

More often the mix of uses along the corridors

The marketability of housing is influenced by all of

Inside the neighborhoods traditional residential

Homewood Housing Development Strategy

Non-Residential Development Initiatives

Plan Components Non-Residential

Western Portal Retail Center

Mid-Frankstown Corridor Revitalization

SouthCentral Commercial Development

Homewood Industrial Park

Homewood Housing Development Strategy

Residential Development Initiatives

Cora Street Redevelopment

Plan Components Residential

Southeast Homewood Housing Initiative

Southwest Homewood Housing Initiative

concentrated new housing development in areas

Frankstown, east and west [108 rental units, 21

Homewood Housing Development Strategy

By sequencing new development from place to

Again though, the plan is not so much a matter of