Beaverdale- an attractive 1920s-1940s urban district in Northwest Des Moines

Beaverdale is a charming neighborhood in Northwest Des Moines, known for its distinctive brick homes, often referred to as “Beaverdale Bricks.” This area, developed primarily between the 1920s and 1940s, features many tree-lined streets and a strong sense of community cohesion.

Beaverdale excels with good parks, an attractive 2-block urban commercial district at Beaverdale and Sheridan, lots of food & beverage amenities, decent retail amenities and relatively affordable housing stock. While there are lots of for sale options, rentals are pretty limited. Beaverdale also has very convenient access to Dwtn being just 10 mins away (by car) with ok bike and public transit access as well. For Beaverdale to become a premiere urban district it needs more people and more density. They can start with promoting 4-5 story mixed-use development along their commercial corridors and allowing duplexes and triplexes in their single family zoned districts. Schools are also limited and poorly rated.

Click here to view my Beaverdale Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Generally very good sidewalk and ADA infrastructure. Only a handful of streets without sidewalks and curb cuts.
* A couple dedicated bike lanes but no dedicated bike stations.
* Great access to dwtn being only a 10 min drive and 25 min bus ride.
* Excellent generational and economic diversity.
* Overall a very safe community with very little blight.
* Decent amount of affordable housing here even including a Coop.
* Good housing diversity even some smaller 1-bedroom cottages which sell between 85K-150K. 2-beds sell btwn 140K-350K, and 3 & 4 bedrooms sell btwn 150-475K.
* Pretty good park amenities including 3 medium sized parks and a pool but a couple other parks nearby.
* Excellent tree canopy.
* Attractive historic homes from the 1920s-1950 but not spectacular. Pretty nice historic commercial districts on the 2-block biz district on Beaver.
* Good food & beverage amenities concentrated at the commercial node at Beaverdale and Sheridan, but not much else culturally.
* Decent retail amenities including a hardware store, a meat market, a supermarket, a couple drug stores, several gift shop/boutiques/clothing stores, a florist, a bookstore, a post office, a couple banks, a major veterans hospital complex and several doctor’s offices, several dessert joints, a couple gyms, and about 5 churches.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* low density for an urban district.
* So so transit access.
* Racial diversity is pretty limited as 80% of the residents are white.
* Only a couple elementary schools but both aren’t rated very well.
* Rentals are pretty limited but very affordable.
* Decent amount of autocentric development on the northern half of Beaverdale and Douglas Ave.
* Good urban form along a couple blocks of Beaverdale but most of the neighborhood has semi-autocentric biz districts with some

Carpenter/Drake Park- Early 20th Century Des Moines Neighborhoods located just east of Drake University

Both neighborhoods were developed in the early 20th century with a mix of Victorian, Craftsman, and early 20th-century bungalows. The neighborhoods have a nice mix of students and families with more families living in Drake Park. Both communities also have walkable access to the University Avenue Business District and easy access to Dwtn (only a 10 minute drive and 20 minute bus ride).

Drake Park and Carpenter have been located on Des Moines’ racial blight line (MLK and Forest Ave) for many decades and you can tell as homes are worth less than its adjacent neighborhood Drake to the West. Carpenter has experienced as decent amount of blight and demolition as well. MLK and Forest avenues are actually pretty blighted along with the eastern half of University Ave. Redeveloping these important corridors and building new in-fill in the Carpenter neighborhood are key improvements to move these neighborhoods into the same urban category as Drake. Other important urban improvements include better bike infrastructure, more well rated schools, more diverse housing stock, more parks, and several important retail amenities (i.e. supermarket, drug store, and local shops). But the momentum seems to be in place as University and Forest Avenue have seen some new construction recently. Now is the chance for affordable housing to be constructed in anticipation of revitalization and gentrification.

Click here to view my Carpenter Album and here to view my Drake Park Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid urban density.
* Excellent racial diversity and decent economic diversity but Carpenter Park is significantly poorer and less economically diverse than Drake Park.
* Overall safe community but a some blight and a decent # of vacant lots in Carpenter.
* Very good sidewalk and ADA curb cut infrastructure throughout both neighborhoods.
* Good tree canopy.
* Decent cultural amenities including several restaurants, bars and especially cafes, a couple live music venues, a historic theater, and the cultural amenities of Drake University a couple blocks away.
* Decent retail amenities include a hardware store, several banks, a couple dessert joints, several salons & barbers, several churches including a Bascilica, a post office, and a couple medical offices.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Few family households living here.
Bike infrastructure is virtually non-existent. Decent in neighboring Drake University however.
Some rentals but generally very affordable and not much price point diversity.
For sale market is pretty limited across but neighborhoods but particularly depressed in Carpenter. In Drake Park larger renovated homes top out at 380K with high prices closer to the Drake neighborhood.
Only one elementary public school in the neighborhood and its not rated well.
So so park amenities with Drake Park being the premier one. The decent size Good Park is only several blocks east of Drake Park but not parks in Carpenter.
Missing a full service supermarket, drug store & local public library. There are also few boutiques and unique gift shops, and not as many overall retail services as you would expect for a stable neighborhood hosting a college.
Good urban form on the two blocks of University closed to the Drake Neighborhood but falls off pretty quickly as it moves eastwards. MLK and Forest are also quasi-commercial streets but pretty blighted. They more or less form the boundaries to Des Moines’ most blighted and poorest community to the north and to the east.”

Drake, Des Moines- Home of Drake University and a comfortable early 20th century walkable neighborhood

The Drake Neighborhood is an early 20th century diverse community centered around Drake University. Drake forms the backbone of the more affluent early 20th century neighborhoods in Northwestern Des Moines north of I-235. Drake has many components of a comfortable walkable neighborhood including decent public transit access, excellent sidewalk and ADA infrastructure, a decent commercial district along University Ave, and a well integrated University campus with its surrounding urban neighborhood. Drake also boast great racial and economic diversity and offers a hosts of rental and for-sale housing options with lots of affordable options.

For Drake to become a premiere urban district it needs better bike infrastructure as there are essentially not dedicated bike lanes in the neighborhood, more public green space and well rated schools, and more urban density which will help foster many missing retail amenities (i.e. supermarket and more local unique shops).

Click here to view my Drake Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Decent public transit access and convenient access across all modes to Dwtn only 3 miles away.
Several dedicated bike stations in and around Drake University but surprisingly no dedicated bike lanes in the neighborhood.
Good diversity metrics especially racial thanks to Drake University’s demographics.
Good for sale diversity but with limited 1-bed condos homes and on the affordable side 2-beds sell btwn 100K-270K. 3 & 4 bed sell btwn 100K-450K.
Lots of rentals but also on the affordable side. 1-beds and studios lease btwn $700-$900. 2-beds btwn $850-1.5K and some 3-beds for a bit more.
Overall excellent sidewalk and ADA infrastructure.
Overall a very safe community with blight limited to the Northeastern edge of the district.
Attractive historic residential and decent urban infill with a mix of autocentric and urban infill surrounding Drake University.
Decent urban form especially the three urban biz blocks along University by Drake University. Solid Streetscaping throughout the neighborhood.
Good tree canopy.
Good cultural amenities including several restaurants, bars and especially cafes, an art museum at Drake University, a couple live music venues, a historic theater, local performing arts center, and the cultural amenities typical of a university.
Retail amenities include a health food store, drug store, several banks, a university bookstore, a couple dessert joints, several salons & barbers, several churches, a post office, and a couple medical offices.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Decent but not great density for an urban area.
* Several schools on the outskirts of Drake but poor or mediocre ratings.
* Parks amenities are a bit disappointing limited to a couple medium sized parks on the edges of the neighborhood. Lots of greenspace in Drake University but only semi-open to the public.
* Missing a full service supermarket & local public library. There are also few boutiques and unique gift shops, and not as many overall retail services as you would expect for a stable neighborhood hosting a college.

Downtown Des Moines, IA

For the downtown evaluation I include 15th St as the western edge, I-235 as the north, and MLK as the southern edge. Between MLK and the river is a former brownfield that is slowly being redeveloped as mixed-use fabric. This should be nice when it is finished but is still long way to go before its a cohesive neighborhood and partially removed from the rest of Downtown.

Downtown Des Moines like most American cities is the place where Des Moines was founded starting with the establishment of Fort Des Moines in 1843. The area served as a military outpost designed to control conflicts between Native Americans and settlers. By 1851, it was incorporated as a city and quickly grew thanks to its strategic location at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers. City leaders wisely created greenspace and civic centers along both sides of the rivers (instead of industrial uses) and created the Civic Center Historic District flanked by several early 20th century Beaux Arts buildings on both sides of the river. By the mid to late 20th century Downtown Des Moines hosted several large corporations typically specializing in insurance and finance each with their own expansive headquarters. Like other northern midwestern cities, Des Moines also invested in a pretty extensive skywalk network over four miles long.

While Dwtn hosts an impressive 70K dwtn workers this has created lots of dead parking spaces, office towers without much street activity, and a lack of activity after 5 PM. Fortunately Civic leaders have woken up to this reality and over the past 2 decades investments have made Des Moines better for living and hanging out. Other key revitalization efforts include the face lift of the Walnut Street Corridor with new streetscaping and opening of high end retail and restaurants. Major investments were made to the 1.2 Riverwalk where the Civic Center Historic District is located. The Western Gateway was redeveloped as a 7 block long Sculpture Park boasting 28 pieces of art and over 4.4 acres of green park space. Investments have also been made in the Court Avenue District hosting a collection of wonderful late 20th century commercial buildings and now the main night life hub of Dwtn. But for Dwtn Des Moines to top the list of mid-sized City Downtowns it needs more multi-family buildings developed on existing surface parking lots, less parking garages, more local retail and boutiques that help drive active street life and reduce dead spaces.

Click here to view my Downtown Des Moines Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Excellent sidewalk and ADA infrastructure throughout all of Dwtn. Almost all curb have modern ADA standards.
Decent population for a Dwtn area.
Excellent logical grid Dwtn but too many wide one-way pairs and its too easy to get to Dwtn by car.
Pretty good bike infrastructure in Dwtn Des Moines including several dedicated bike trails and riverfront trail and solid bike sharing system that covers Dwtn and several inner city neighborhoods. Pretty good network across the regional with several expansive trails connecting to Dwtn running along the rivers. Decent connections to inner city neighborhoods and expansive trails in the Western Des Moines suburbs.
Museums dwtn include Science Center, several historic sites, minor league ball park & arena.
Decent rental supply and pretty affordable compared to other US cities. Studios lease btwn $800-1K, 1-beds btwn 1K-1.8K, 2-beds btwn similar price but a bit more expensive but 3-beds are very limited.
Lots of for sale product as well and pretty affordable with 1-beds selling btwn 150K-400K. 2-beds sell btwn 200K-500K, and a decent amount of 3-beds selling anywhere btwn 350K-700K.
Good parks in Dwtn Des Moines including an extensive waterfront and recreational trail, the well designed Cowles Commons, the several block long Pappajohn Sculpture Park, and several smaller plazas.
Des Moines has really two civic plazas (Pappajohn Sculpture Park and Cowles Commons) with Pappajohn as the heart now of Dwtn. But are relatively new parks.
Good cultural amenities including excellent food & beverage amenities, several art galleries, the outdoor sculpture park at Pappajohn, several performing arts centers, a handful of live music venues including a jazz club, several night clubs, and a decent # of museums. Other major Dwtn amenities include a major convention center, an arena, ballpark, and a major Dwtn public library.
Dwtn Des Moines has just over 70K employees a very impressive number of its metro size and has recovered better than most American Dwtns with a pandemic workforce of 80K.
Dwtn is overall pretty safe and clean. Not much grit here.
Solid skyline for its size of size pretty filled out vertical and visually interesting.
Nice concentration of historic bldgs on Court St and the riverfront but only a sprinkling of historic structures elsewhere.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

While young professionals are growing in Dwtn still a dipropionate amount of people in poverty living Dwtn.
So so transit access being good Dwtn, north, northwest and slightly west and east of Dwtn. Sub par transit access in south Des Moines which is pretty suburban. Western suburbs of Des Moines have the best transit access but good transit access is limited out here.
Children’s museum is out in the Western Suburbs.
Two schools within Dwtn and one on the boarder with Sherman Hill. The High School rates well but not the grade school. Still nice to have walkable schools dwtn, which many cities cannot claim.
Some important retail amenities exist Dwtn including a supermarket, plenty of banks, a handful of clothing stores & gift stores, several dessert joints & gyms, several churches and a major Hospital. But Dwtn lacks the independent stores and boutiques common in most dwtn likely due to the fact that Dwtn caters mostly to office workers and residents and that many of these stores exist across the river in East Village.
No major universities Dwtn but several smaller satellite campuses. Drake university is the closest larger university 3 miles to the northwest.
Some nicer modern infill apartment bldgs and iconic commercial towers but much of Dwtn is filled with rather bland office towers and lots of parking lots.
So so pedestrian activity.”

Sherman Hill- Des Moines’ best Historic District just West of Downtown

Sherman Hill is one of Des Moines’ oldest neighborhoods but newer than East Village. The neighborhood began developing in the 1870s named after Hoyt Sherman, a prominent local figure and brother of Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman Hill was the City’s first wealthy suburb as large Victorian homes were built here. in the late 1800s. Apartment buildings were constructed in the early 20th century as the neighborhood filled in and the wealthy moved further west to neighborhoods like Greenwood and Linden Heights. By the mid-20th century, Sherman Hill experienced several decades of decline due to suburbanization, highway construction and many of the mansions were subdivided into smaller apartments But a historic preservation movement began in force during the 1970s and fortunately most of the grand homes were saved. Present day Sherman Hill has done well in the “return to the City” movement in Des Moines and several new food & beverage business opened here and new apartments and townhouses are being built on the southern edge of the district.

Thanks to the period of apartments in the early 20th century and subdividing of large mansions, Sherman Hill has a great diversity of rental housing and even for sale housing with a good amount of 2-bed condos, medium sized townhomes, and larger mansions that are relatively modest in price (400Ks & 500Ks). Sherman Hill also has a great tree canopy decent park amenities, great sidewalks and ADA infrastructure and walkable access to Dwtn along with some retail and cultural amenities of its own. For Sherman Hill to become a premiere urban district it simply needs more people. Hopefully dense infill continues along the southern edge on Grand & Ingersoll.

Click here to view my Sherman Hill District on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Excellent Sidewalk and ADA infrastructure.
* Decent bike infrastructure including several bike stations and a couple bike lanes running through the neighborhood. Solid public transit access as well.
* Very racially diverse and decent economic diversity although poverty is still high here.
* Lots of rentals available with studios leasing around $750, 1-beds lease btwn $800-1.4K, 2-beds in the low-mid 1Ks, and even some 3-beds the lease btwn 1.5K-2K.
* Pretty good for sale diversity too. Some 1-beds that sell 200K-350, 2-bed btwn 150K-400 with lots of condo options, and 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 200K-500K with a handful of more expensive mansions.
* Generally pretty safe community but does get some of the Homeless population spilling over from Dwtn.
* Excellent tree canopy except the southern edge of the district.
* No parks within the Sherman Hill boundaries but the excellent Western Gateway Park sits at the southeast corner of the neighborhood. Also the Woodland Cemetery to the west and a decent playground.
* A handful of restaurants & bars and a cafe within the neighborhood along with a couple breweries. Also a historic performing arts space, a couple night clubs, a live music venue, a couple historic mansions and good access to all the cultural activities Dwtn.
* Not a lot of retail in Sherman Hill but some important amenities including a supermarket, drug store, major hospital along with a couple boutique, banks, gyms and salons, and several churches. Good access to all the dwtn retail amenities too.
*Excellent historic homes along with some good in-fill.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Large young adult population living here and no a ton of age diversity or households with kids.
Density is pretty low for an urban district.
A couple grad schools in the neighborhood; one rated well, the other poorly. Several other schools in the area but at least 1/2 mile away.
Grand and Ingersoll on the south edge of Sherman Hill is pretty autocentric but some hope with recent infill. MLK on the western edge is just a wide boulevard with noting on it.”

East Village- Des Moines’ best urban district sitting between Downtown and the Iowa Statehouse

East Village was platted in 1854 but wasn’t settled in large numbers until the 1870s & 1880s primarily with Scandinavian and Eastern European Jewish immigrants. East Village has undergone several transitions starting as a primarily residential immigrant neighborhood, transitioning to a largely commercial district during the turn of the 20th century, experiencing significant urban renewal in the mid 20th century as the Iowa Capital complex continued to swallow up more land, and more recently experiencing rebirth and gentrification.

East Village was well positioned for urban renewal sitting between Downtown to the West across the Des Moines River, and the Iowa State Complex to the east. Thankfully much of the neighborhood’s urban fabric, especially between Walnut and Grand Avenues remained relatively in tact, allowing several streets to form the best mixed-use district in Des Moines outside of Dwtn. In the past decade urban in-fill has augmented the on-going restoration of historic mix-use buildings filling in dead spots and adding much needed population to East Village. The District also has a plethora of locally owned stores, great nightlife and food & beverage amenities, and is Des Moines’ most walkable neighborhood being only a 5-10 walk to Downtown. To advance to the next level as an urban district East Village simply needs more people and infill development to fill its many surface parking lots and dead spaces especially along its southern edge, which is still largely industrial. I’d also like to see better tree canopy, more walkable schools and important retail amenities (i.e. drug store, supermarket, etc..)

Click here to view my East Village album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Great access to Dwtn being just across the river with easy access across all modes of transit.
Solid public transit access and decent bike infrastructure including a couple bike lanes and several bike stations.
Pretty good ADA and sidewalk infrastructure with most intersections containing modern ADA curb cuts.
While about 25% of East Village residents live in poverty there is still a decent amount of economic diversity thanks to the most professionals living here.
Overall a very safe community but a decent amount of dead spaces along the southern edge of East Village.
Decent parks including the large riverfront park and the extensive mall around the State Capitol building and a couple plazas.
Best urban core of East Village is between Walnut and Grand with Locust street as the most cohesive street.
Good mix of historic and urban in-fill.
Excellent food & beverage amenities, plenty of clubs, a couple live music venues, a couple art galleries, several museums and memorials (around the Statehouse). Also convenient walkable access to Dwtn cultural amenities too.
Good retail amenities too including a couple grocerias, several banks & ATMS, plenty of boutiques and gift shops, several books stores, plenty of dessert joints, a several antique and home good stores, a couple bike shops, no local libraries but several State of Iowa libraries including a gorgeous one in the state capital bldg, and several churches.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Density is pretty low for an urban district.
* Large college and young adult population but limited family households here.
* Some for sale product including a decent # of 1 & 2 bedroom condos selling between 150K-300K. A medium sized townhouse development was recently constructed Robert Ray Asian Garden called “The Banks”. These mostly 3-bed condos sell btwn 500K-800K. Not much else because these clusters.
* Some rentals here but not as paying as you would think. Studios & 1 beds lease btwn $800-1.3K, and 2 beds lease around 1.5 and some 3 beds as well.
* A couple schools on the edge of East Village but generally poor ratings.
* Tree canopy is spotty and completely missing in spits especially the more industrial southern edge of East Village.
* Outside of the Walnut-Grand core the urban form of East Village deteriorates and is spotty but more and more quality in-fill and being built.
* Several important missing amenities including a full service supermarket, drug store, post office, medical offices and gyms.

Old Forge, PA- A Scranton Metro Historic Town know for its unique pizza

Old Forge like most boroughs in the Scranton area was settled in early 19th century. It received its name after an old iron forge along the Lackawanna River. Like much of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Old Forge’s development was strongly influenced by the ups and downs of coal mining industry. The town reached 5,500 residents in 1900 and quickly doubled to 11K in 1910 but after 1930 Old Forge went into a consistent decline until 2010 where the population bottomed out at 8,500 from a peak of 12,500 souls. For Northeastern Pennsylvania this level of decline isn’t that bad. Old Forge is also known for its unique style of pizza. The past couple of decades have generally been good to Old Forge as it has witnessed more economic diversity and opening of several new shops.

It will be difficult to make Old Forge a viable urban place as its main street lacks cohesion and is semi-autocentric in character and the population density is very low. Without a major population increase making new construction feasible I don’t see the urban form of Old Forge changing anytime soon.

Click here to view my Old Forge album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Only a 15 minute drive to dwtn but public transit is still 45 min- 1 hr.
* Good walkable schools.
** Limited 1-bed options but lots of 2-bed rentals leasing anywhere btwn 1K and the low 2Ks. Some 3-bed options leasing around 3K.
* For sale 2-beds sell btwn 70K-280K, 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 70K-400K.
* Decent Park amenities.
* So so retail amenities including a dollar store, butcher shop, a couple drug stores & banks, a couple dessert joints, a t-shirt store, several salons, a couple medical offices and plenty of churches.
* Overall a very safe community.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

No bike infrastructure.
Not great public transit access
Culturally there is a good # of restaurants & bars and a small performing arts theater, but not much else.
Limited density for an urban district.
No walkable supermarket, post office, or library.
Main street lacks cohesion is a really lengthy semi-autocentric corridor. Really no clear center of Old Forge.
Tree canopy is good in spots but on most streets is limited.”

Dunmore, PA- An Inner Ring Scranton Suburb with an Irish History

Dunmore has a rich history dating back to its founding in 1835. It gets its name from the large number of Ireland immigrants who were attracted by the area’s coal mining opportunities. Dunmore is a village in County Galway. The borough was officially incorporated in 1862. Thanks to a coal mining boom in the area Dunmore quickly grew to 4,300 residents by 1870. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Dunmore continued to experience significant industrial growth and added new immigrants, particularly from Italy and Eastern Europe. Dunmore reached 12,500 residents in 1900 and peaked at 23K in 1930. The decline of the coal industry in the mid-20th century led to economic challenges and Dunmore dipped to 14K. Both thanks to its diversifying economy and convenient location on the edge of Scranton Dunmore’s population has stabilized recently.

Along with its strong sense of community Dunmore’s strength lies in typically suburban amenities of good parks, quality schools, and safety. Dunmore hosts a great array of economic diversity with an array of housing options and lots of affordable rentals. Dunmore’s economy has also been bolstered by Marywood University, a college of 3,500 students. While Dunmore has decent retail and cultural amenities the urban form of its two business districts (Blakely and Drinker) is fragmented with too many chunks being devoted to autocentric uses. I would particularly like more attention paid to building up the place making where these road meet as it is the heart of Dunmore. Dunmore also needs better tree cover, bike infrastructure, a central supermarket, and mixed-use infill along its main streets.

Click here to view my Dunmore album on Flickr

URBAN STREGNTHS:

Excellent access to dwtn as with a 7 min drive and 10-15 minute bus ride.
Generally pretty good sidewalks and ADA infrastructure but several streets without sidewalks on the northeast corner in the 1960s & 1970s development.
Excellent economic diversity.
Overall a very safe community.
Some attractive historic homes on Green Ridge and surrounding streets but genially Dunmore has very working housing type aesthetics. Dwtn just doesn’t have enough historic fabric left.
Lots of walkable schools and well rated. Several Catholics schools as well.
Decent array of small and medium parks spread throughout Dunmore. Also a modest recreation center and a YMCA.
Rentals are pretty affordable but also plentiful.
Good for sale diversity with a handful of for sale 1-bed. 2-beds sell anywhere from 85K-275K. 3 & 4 beds sell between 90K-500K. Decent amount of dedicated affordable hsg as well.
Decent cultural amenities including a good # of restaurants & bars, several cafes and the performing arts at Marywood University a college of 3500 students.
Decent retail amenities include a couple ethnic groceries, a couple drug stores, several boutiques & consignment stores, a large religious store, a couple florists, a couple banks, a handful of dessert joints & a YMCA, and several churches. Also a walkable post office and public library.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Public transit is so so. Should be better as an inner ring suburb.
So so density
Literally no bike infrastructure here.
In fill consist of a fair amount of auto centric commercial uses in the biz districts and 1960/1970s suburban homes on the outskirts of Dunmore.
Okay tree cover overall.
Supermarket is located outside of the Dunmore core in a shopping mall across the highway with limited pedestrian access.
The urban form and streetscaping of Dunmore business districts (Blakely and Drinker) leaves much to be desired. Some assemblance of an urban sense of place where these streets cross but it both streets quickly become semi-autocentric corridors.
Streetscaping is uninspiring.”

Olyphant, PA- Historic home of the Lackawanna Coal Company, now a walkable bedroom suburban of Scranton

Olyphant’s history dates back to the early 19th century. It was the headquarters of the Lackawanna Coal Company but was also a center of the railroad industry . This mining boom attracted a wave of European immigrants, including Italians, Poles, and Eastern Europeans, who sought work in the coal mines and on the railroads. As the demand for coal diminished in the mid-20th century, Olyphant experienced economic challenges and decline and quickly went from nearly 11K residents in 1930 to just under 6K in 1960. Since then Olyphant has stabilized and transitioned into a more diverse economy while retaining most of its historic footprint and tight-knit community. Olyphant now hosts just over 5K residents.

Olyphant’s strengths lies in its historic walkable fabric where most buildings along its historic main street (Lackawanna Ave) remain hosting decent retail and cultural amenities. Olyphant also hosts good economic diversity, lots of affordable housing options, and is only a 15 minute drive to Dwtn Scranton. Olyphant recently made the top 10 list for safest cities in Pennsylvania, But for Olyphant to become a great urban suburb it needs mixed-use in-fill to fill in the surface lots along the main street and bolster the Borough’s population. I’d also like to see more walkable schools, better ADA infrastructure, and several dedicated bike lanes.

Click here to view my Olpyhant Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Decent access to Dwtn with only a 15 minute drive and 35 minute bus ride (only comes every hour however).
So so density.
Good economic diversity.
For sale homes are generally affordable but some diversity. 2-beds sell anywhere from 70K-180K, and 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 50K-300K. Decent amount of dedicated affordable housing.
Great historic business architecture but residential historic architecture is pretty plain.
Decent # of small and medium sized parks .
Olyphant is actually a very safe City across all metrics and appears on top 10 safest cities in Pennsylvania. The only safety metric is doesn’t score well in is a fair amount of blight.
Pretty good urban form and cohesion along Lackawanna, the urban biz district. Streetscaping however is pretty dated and several large parking lots in the dwtn area.
Central Olyphant has a decent # of restaurants, bars and a live music & event venue, and a couple local museums.
Decent retail amenities including a supermarket (just across the river), a butcher shop, family dollar, a couple pharmacies, several boutiques/clothing stores, a music store, a couple banks, a bakery, several churches, a post office (but not very walkable), and a couple doctor’s offices.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* ADA infrastructure is ok. Most streets have sidewalks and ADA standard curbs are restricted to the dwtn area.
* Bike infrastructure is limited.
* 80% White population but a growing Hispanic community (around 15%).
* Only a handful of walkable schools.
* Rentals are generally pretty affordable but limited product, esp. listings on Zillow.
* Modern in-fill is pretty much non-existent.

Carbondale, PA- one of the first American towns created to exploit anthracite coal

Carbondale was founded in the early 19th century as part of the first regions in the US to exploit anthracite coal deposits. The discovery of coal in the region in the early 1820s marked the beginning of the town’s rapid growth. Carbondale was established as a city in 1851, and its economy continued to thrive until the early 20th century. Carbondale’s population maxed out in 1930 at around 20K. But as coal demand dwindled Carbondale’s industrial importance and population declined. Carbondale has lost over half of its peaked population and currently has 8,800 residents. Surprisingly Carbondale has limited vacancy and has maintained most of its historic business district footprint without widespread abandonment. The town has a wonderful array of historic commercial structures and decent number of restaurants and retail businesses. Downtown also hosts an attractive historic plaza creating a great center point for Carbondale.

But the town is a 25 minute drive and feels far removed from downtown Scranton. Unless the City sees a major influx of immigrants Carbondale seems destined to continue its slow decline and won’t be able to capitalize on its dense, walkable existing urban fabric.

Click here to view my Carbondale album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Great historic stock especially in the commercial district.
Decent generational diversity.
So so parks in central Carbondale including a medium sized recreational park, a cemetery, and skate park.
Overall a pretty safe community and limited vacancy too.
Good number of restaurants, bars, and cafes but not much else culturally other than the Carbondale Historic Society and a historic house hosting classical concerts.
Decent retail amenities including a supermarket, several drug stores & banks, several boutiques & gift shops, a five below store, a couple antiques stores, a dwtn public library & post office, a couple dessert joints, a YMCA, several doctor offices, and plenty of churches.
Good main street and several secondary business districts (Church & Salem). Also a good downtown plaza creating a Civic Heart for Carbondale.
Pretty good urban fabric with limited surface parking lots and autocentric uses. Decent streetscaping too.

URBAN WEAKNESS:

Sidewalks are pretty consistent in the Carbondale but ADA curb cuts are mainly restricted to just the commercial areas.
Density is pretty poor for an urban area.
Pretty poor public transit access.
Not a terrible drive to Dwtn Scranton (25 mins) but a bus ride is over 1 hr.
Bike infrastructure is limited but there is at least a recreational trail on the northern edge of town.
A couple schools in quasi walking distance they have medium ratings.
A handful of rental options but all very affordable.
For sale housing is very affordable topping out at 250K for a large 4 bedroom.
Modern in-fill is pretty much non-existent.”