Cleveland Real Estate News

This week I trekked to Pittsburgh for the second time this year and for that matter, the second time ever. I have relatives all around the area but had never been in the heart of the City before. And this year it was voted the World’s most livable city by Rand McNally.

This Spring, Manager Mark and a few Realtors® visited to take in the Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership’s preview of new condo construction. It was fascinating; their prices are higher than ours on average. I have to say the Erie Building Lofts and Park Square rival any I saw during that trip. However, Pittsburgh has a light rail system (four stations Downtown) that is free! There are also some ‘no fare’ bus zones. This enhances/entices Downtown residential living quite a bit.  They have over 13 miles of waterfront space which includes parks and trails. They have over 200 restaurants located within what they call their Golden Triangle.  Then of course there is the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Art Institute and other art venues, The International Academy of Design and Technology and too many colleges to name (Alright, Duquesne is one).

Their condo units sell fast. One, The Carlyle had 21 units sold before they finished construction and there were only 60 total.  They said something intriguing in their brochure….what do you think about their conclusion? Here is a quote about why they do not provide a parking garage for residents:

“….The parking solution at The Carlyle is a superior one; as it allows the residents to purchase their condominium at a much more favorable price, as no garage was constructed and it allows the Condominium Association to keep its costs down while still providing first class amenities to its residents. The economics of this last point is one of the key drivers in determining appreciation of a condominium unit….”

You can see their floor plans and prices (which range from the mid $200′s to over a million) here.

Pittsburgh also has  a tax abatement policy that is different than ours. The Carlyle describes it here. It allows for abatement on the City part of the tax but does not exclude monies allotted for the schools, for example. It’s a ten year tax abatement. 

My second trip occurred for a Howard Hanna convention. The trip reinforced my initial thoughts that Pittsburgh reminds me of a European city. Built on hills, densely constructed, gorgeous hills and river views, homes built on hills. It’s really quite a pretty place. Only three hours away I recommend it as a day trip! This time around my taste buds were very happy. About sixteen of us ate at Eleven, a block away from the Westin Hotel. It was the best meal I have had in quite some time (perfectly cooked slices of lamb on a bed of creamy, sweet polenta with whole corn kernels, wonderfully crunchy baby green beans and a pear/caramel dessert which I am still fantasizing about).

I took the above photo last Spring. It is a mural on Liberty Street, painted by Brian Holderman as part of the Sprout Fund public art program in Pittsburgh. I love it and wish it was in Cleveland!  (Kudos to my friend Linda Davis and her friend Kim for ferreting out the artist and origination of this mural).   Peace Out – 3C

10/14/07 Note: I received an email from Chris Thompson of Fund For Our Economic Future and I wanted to provide a link here to an Advance NE Ohio post on Cleveland and Pittsburgh joint ventures that make sense, are a natural, and in some forms are already happening. It’s called Building the Pittsburgh-Cleveland Tech Belt.  I love the idea of course, and ahem, can’t help but note that the Ohio Hub would certainly help with Pittsburgh/Cleveland collaborations.  Peace Out Again.