| Originally incorporated as Sheraden Borough in 1894, Sheridan quickly grew and was annexed by the City of Pittsburgh in 1907. The neighborhood became a hub for Irish and German immigrants in the early 20th century. Like most European Ethnic groups most families moved to the suburbs in the 70s on the westside leaving a large African American population behind. Sheraden has struggled ever since shedding at least several thousand residents leading to many pockets of blight and disinvestment. The commercial districts along Chartiers and the Sheraden and Hillsboro node also suffered as well leaving a handful of bars and restaurants, a dollar store, and several convenience stores. Yet with the rise in interest and values in Pittsburgh since the 2000s, Sheradan has begun to slowly rebound, most visibly with a rise in price of its attractive turn of the century housing stock now selling in the high 100s and low 200s. There are also several pockets of stable 1950s housing in the Corliss sub district on the hill tops. With a great central park (Sheraden Park), busway access, and downtown only 3.5 miles away, I’m confident the neighborhood will stabilize and hopefully revitalize a couple nice urban business nodes. The speed of this work ready depends on how serious the City of Pittsburgh is about revitalizing its blight. |
URBAN STRENGTHS:
| * Solid public transit access, especially with the West Bus Way running through the neighborhood. * Great access to Dwtn via public transit and driving. Access to Oakland a bit challenging via public transit. * Good racially diversity with a surprisingly large Asian population. Large Pct of family households and good age diversity. * Large range in housing prices from 25K-the low 200KS depends on condition, size, and amount of blight in a particular section of the neighborhood. * Sheraden Park is a large and amenity rich park located at the heart of the neighborhood. Several other nice smaller parks throughout. * Pretty good historic architecture especially in the nicer streets of Sheridan. * Decent tree cover on the residential streets, excellent along the hill sides and hollers. |
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
| * Density is pretty low but better than other Westside neighborhoods. * Sidewalks are generally pretty consistant but ADA curbs missing in most intersections. Also plenty of sidewalks are not in great condition. * Very high poverty rate (around 36%) but still decant economic diversity. * Rental product (at least officially listed) is very low here. * Retail and cultural amenities are limited to a couple restaurants & bars, a dollar general and several convenience stores. Downtown McKees Rocks has some good amenities a mile away though. * Crime doesn’t appear to be a more issue here, but still a fair amount of blight. * One elementary school located is the community is fair at best. A Middle school with a stem focus is located in adjacent Crafton Heights. * Limited modern in-fill but at least there are some stable 1940-1950 homes on the hillside portions of the neighborhood. * Decent urban form at the small biz node of Sheraden and Hillsboro. Chartiers is a tired early 20th century mixed-use Pittsburgh run with some good urban form but few open businesses. * The streetscape is pretty underinvested and has been touched in decades. * Pedestrian activity is fair at best. |
Evaluating our Urban Communities [with a focus on America] 