This small borough along the Ohio River in Allegheny County Population arose in the 1870s and grew to 1,000 residents by 1900 taking advantage of its proximity to factory jobs along the Ohio and convenient rail service to Dwtn Pittsburgh. Emsworth’s population peaked in 1970 with just over 3,000 residents but has shrunk by about 1,000 souls.
Emsworth’s attraction lies in its convenience to Dwtn; only a 15 minute drive and around a 30 minute bus ride to during commuting hours. It also has a stable set of single family homes in a quite and safe neighborhood setting. This has led to rising homes prices and it is now difficult to purchase a nice home here for less than 200K. But from an urban perspective there are lots of deficiencies mainly due to the Borough’s lack of retail and cultural amenities. Density is also low and ADA and bike infrastructure are lacking. My hope is that Emsworth and its neighboring inner ring suburbs urbanize and densify around improved public transit connections. There are plans by the Port Authority to re-open dedicated rail to the north Ohio river suburbs.
* Density access is so but only a 15 minute drive to Dwtn and 20 minutes if you time the bus right. Oakland about 40 minutes by bus. * Solid economic and generational diversity. * Some nice historic homes but nothing spectacular. * Solid tree canopy. * For sale homes are moderately priced but stable. Product sells anywhere btwn high 100Ks to the low 300Ks. * Emsworth Community Park is a solid and expansive park really nothing else.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Urban density is rather poor. * No dedicated bike lanes. * ADA infrastructure and sidewalks are pretty hit or miss. Generally sidewalks but more often than not ADA infrastructure is not up to date. * Limited racial diversity. * Limited modern in-fill and most of it is auto centric. * Some mixed-use development on Centre, which has decent urban, massing but most of the commercial is along state route 65 which is auto centric. It has sidewalks but they are located right next to fast moving traffic. * The only school in the City is a small but quality Catholic High School. At least its walkable. * Rentals are also moderately priced but very limited. * Cultural amenities limited to a handful of restaurants, bars, a brewery, and a art gallery. * Retail amenities limited to a handful of salons, a barber shop, a chiropractor, several churches, and some auto centric retail uses.
Settled in 1797, Franklinton is the first American settlement in Franklin County, and was the county seat until 1824. As the city of Columbus grew to the east, Franklinton was annexed and incorporated by Columbus in 1859. Franklinton still hosts some of the City’s oldest surviving building, but unfortunately due to serious disinvestment, much of this has been lost. The eastern portion of Franklinton is sometimes referred to as “The Bottoms” because much of the land flooded historically. But this threat has been eliminated thanks to the construction of a floodwall in 2004. Franklinton industrialized during the second half of the 19th century as four railroads were built here. This also led to a significant influx of families from SW Ohio and West Virginia The fabric of the neighborhood was well maintained until the 1960s with the construction of the innerbelt. This resulted in significant lowering of property values and ultimately blight and disinvestment. Thanks to the construction of the damn and significant political will, there are major redevelopment plans in the works for East Franklinton. The neighborhood has already seen some renovations, large infill projects, new breweries & restaurants, and a bourgeoning arts scene. This will be well augmented by the Scioto Peninsula project projected to bring 1800 new residences, a couple hotels, 2M Sq. Ft. of office and 200K sq ft of new restaurant and retail space to the community. The Scioto Peninsula is the portion of the neighborhood sticking out into the Scioto River where Cosi and the Natural History Museum are currently located directly across from Dwtn.
East Franklinton also excels at hosting wondering recreational amenities, several museums, and some of the best examples of cutting edge in-fill architecture in Columbus. From an urban deficiency standpoint, East Franklinton has limited retail amenities, limited housing options, a lack of tree canopy, low density, and many dead spaces. These issues however will hopefully be resolved soon as the neighborhood continues to fill in. Many current residents and housing advocates are rightfully concerned with potential gentrification and displacement, which hopefully will motivate City leaders to aggressively develop new affordable housing.
Click here to view my East Franklinton Album on my Flickr Page.
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Excellent access to Dwtn sitting literally across the Scioto River front it. Also solid public transit as well. * Several dedicated bike lanes including the Scioto River trail that wraps around the district and a couple road based lanes. Also several bike rental stations in the neighborhood. Scotter rentals are also very plentiful in the neighborhood. * More and more rentals coming to the neighborhood as it is under a construction boom. 1-bedrooms generally lease in the low-mid $1,000s. 2-beds in the mid $1,000s. * Some very nice Park and Recreational amenities with the Dodge Park Community Center & Pool, the Lower Scioto Recreation Trail, wrapping around 2/3rds of the neighborhood, West Bank Park, and Genoa Park. * Culturally the neighborhood excels at Breweries, bars, and art galleries. Also a good number of restaurants & cafes. Franklinton also hosts COSI, the Natural History Museum, and Veterans Memorial & Museum. The neighborhood also has good access to the cultural amenities Dwtn. * Some really wonderful historic buildings but not much of it left in the neighborhood. Franklinton is becoming a skinning example of cutting edge in-fill architecture for the City. * Lots of recent buzz about the district helping to counter act decades of negative perception.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Sidewalks are generally in place but sometimes missing due to the blighted and industrial legacy of Franklinton. About 50% of intersections have current ADA ramps. * Only a handful of schools within East Franklinton but of mixed ratings. Several in the wider Franklinton community also with mixing rating but covering K-12 well. * For sale housing is pretty limited but generally moderately priced. Really not 1-bedroom product. 2-beds btwn mid 100Ks to 300K. New or renovated 3 & 4 beds seem to be selling in the 300Ks & 400Ks but not a lot of comps to go on. * Retail amenities are still very limited. There are a couple boutiques, a florist, a salon, a couple churches, and convenient access to a major hospital. * Safety in East Franklinton is more perceived than real. Most crime seems to occur west of I-315 but East Franklinton still hosts a lot of blight and vacancy. * Lots of missing teeth leading to bad urban form. This will improve, however, as the neighborhood fills in. New develop has been quality urban form and good streetscaping. * Tree canopy is so . * Density is very low but this will improve quickly and tons of development is planned for East Franklinton.
Originally known as Bronzeville by its residents, this neighborhood was rebranded as King-Lincoln during Mayor Michael B. Coleman’s administration to highlight its historical significant to the African-American community in Columbus.
The origins of King-Lincoln date back to the 19th century when freed and escaped slaves from across the Confederate South began to settle in Columbus. The neighborhood’s Black population especially grew during the Great Migration after WWI due to its existing Black population and convenient location near jobs. Restrictive housing covenants in other areas and White flight, solidified Bonneville’s claim as the most populated African American neighborhood in Columbus and by the 30s it was a vibrant self-sustaining Black community. It also became a hub of Black cultural hosting four theaters and multiple jazz clubs. The district would later be the site for much of Columbus’ civil rights activism. Like most African American neighborhoods in America, Brownsville started to decline in the 60s thanks to the construction of I-71, and the migration of middle class Black families to the suburbs. This gutted King-Lincoln of most of its businesses and helped create a concentrated area of blight, crime and poverty.
Thankfully King-Lincoln is on the rise again thanks to the success of neighboring Olde Town East but also to the tireless promotion of its community groups and lots of gorgeous historic homes that are being renovated. While there is a significant amount of permanent rental housing, efforts should be made to ensure long time residents can move to homeownership and take advantage of the rise in housing prices and investment. There are also signs of Long Street being rebuilt with some new food & beverage businesses and some mixed-use infill. But much work is still needed as there remains lots of blight and vacancy in King Lincoln. The northern business district, Mt. Vernon has seen very little reinvestment.
Click here to view my King-Lincoln Album on my Flickr Page
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Solid transit access and excellent convenience to Dwtn being literally on its eastern border. * Good urban connectivity. * Excellent economic diversity decent racial and generational diversity. * A good # of walkable schools within the neighborhood but most average or under performing. * Good diversity in housing. 1-beds condos or rowhouses sell in the high 100Ks or low 200Ks, 2 beds btwn 100K-300K depending on size, condition, and stability of the block, 3-beds btwn mid 100Ks-400K, 4 & 5 beds are similar but with larger and newer homes selling btwn 400K-700K. * Market rate rentals are a bit limited but moderately priced. 1-beds lease around 1,000, 2-beds in the 1,000s, and 3-beds in the mid $1,5000s to low 2Ks. * Medium rent in King Lincoln is only $350 an indication that there remaining a lot of dedicated affordable rentals here. * Some excellent residential architecture on the more stable streets. Also some good recent in-fill although plenty of crummy auto centric in-fill as well. * Solid number of parks and recreational amenities within or near King Lincoln including Mayme Park, Beatty Park and recreation center. Franklin Park and Saunder Park/Swimming poll are in adjacent districts but still walkable.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Density isn’t great thanks to all the demolition and blight that have affected the neighborhood. * Some bike infrastructure with a dedicated bike lane and a 2 dedicated bike stations. * Decent ADA infrastructure but plenty of non compliance ADA curbs and some missing or broken sidewalks. * While King Lincoln is prob much safer than it was still some pretty dodgy areas especially around Mt. Vernon and lots of blight remaining. * As the density is still pretty low and there isn’t a cohesive biz district yet, pedestrian activity is pretty low. * Cultural amenities are limited to the King Theater, the Kings Arts Complex, and a handful of restaurants and bars. Decent proximity to the cultural amenities in Olde Town East, Franklin Park, and Downtown. * Retail amenities are also pretty limited but there is a local pharmacy, florist, library branch, a major hospital, post office branch and a handful of boutiques, barber shops, salons, and banks. Lots of churches however.
Permanent White settlers first came to Willoughby in 1798, who operated a gristmill. In 1835, the village was permanently named “Willoughby” in honor of Dr. Westel Willoughby, Jr., a public health official and founder of a short-lived Medical College. Willoughby reached 1,000 residents in 1880s and slowly grew from there to just over 4,000 souls in 1940. The city’s population really boomed after WWII in areas not covered by this evaluation because they are very suburban.
From an urban perspective Willoughby excels at having an attractive and vibrant historic downtown. There are also several well rated walkable schools, good parks, moderately priced for sale housing, excellent tree canopy and a very high level of safety. But Dwtn Willoughby still has many suburban characteristics with many missing sidewalks, low density, no dedicated bike infrastructure, poor urban massing outside of the main street, and no walkable supermarkets and drug stores. While the chances of this occurring are slim, I’d love to see an effort to densify and urbanize this historic core of Willoughby. The infrastructure, sidewalks, and street grid are certainly there to do it.
Click here to view my Dwtn Willoughby Album on Flickr
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* This is a very safe community. * The population skews old by around 50% of households are family ones. Decent economic diversity too. * Walkable schools within or nearby Historic Willoughby include a public middle & high school and catholic grade school. All are rated well. * For Sale housing is moderately priced with 2-beds selling in the 100Ks, 3 & 4 bedrooms anywhere between 100K-400K depending on size and condition. A handful of larger homes costs more. * Good array of parks within Historic Willoughby. * Cultural amenities include a nice array of restaurants, bars, cafes, breweries, and a couple art galleries. * Retail wise an excellent array of boutiques, home good stores, dessert places, and creative shops. Downtown also hosts a historic public library and the post office. * Very nice historic architecture in Dwtn. The historic homes are mostly mediocre 30s-40s housing but some gems. * Excellent tree canopy.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Poor density more on pare with a suburban community. * Some public transit access but overall pretty limited. * Driving to Dwtn takes about 30 mins via bus on the weekday 50 mins. Limited transit access during the weekend. * ADA and sidewalk infrastructure is good along the historic main street but spotty in the residential areas. About 80% of the streets have sidewalks and less than half current ADA ramps. * No dedicated bike lanes in historic Willoughby. * Very low racial diversity as 98% of population is White. * Rentals are very limited. * Culturally no museums, or theaters. * No supermarket nor drug store in Historic Willoughby. * Not much modern in-fill and what does exist is mostly auto centric development. * Massing and streetscaping is very good in Dwtn but quickly becomes auto centric in areas still within this evaluation. * Pedestrian activity good Dwtn but limited in residential areas.
Shaker Square is technically in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood but I carved out what is more considered the Shaker Square/Larchmere district. This includes the most stable portion of the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood and even a sliver of Shaker Heights. It is the area between the western border of Shaker Heights and Moreland Blvd (in the southern half) and the area between Shaker Square-Fairfield Hill Drive and MLK Dr and Coventry Rd in the northern half. Shaker Square has lived on the edge of some of Cleveland’s most impoverished and blighted communities (i.e. Buckeye, Mt. Pleasant and Woodland Homes) since the 1960s. What has kept it stable is the success of the Larchmere and Shaker Square biz districts and the stability of the Shaker School district present in the eastern half of the neighborhood.
Development of Shaker Square as a American Colonial-Georgian Shopping Center began 1927. At completion, it was the second planned shopping Center in the US after the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. Many attractive restaurants, shops, bars, art galleries, and unique shops line Shaker Square and Larchmere. The neighborhood is also anchored by a cinema & Dave’s Supermarket. Other urban amenities include great transit access, stable but affordable housing, a high level of walkability, great tree canopy, and attractive architecture especially the 1920s Tudor Apartment buildings. Shaker Square still suffers from perceived crime problems and this has really held the neighborhood back and kept it highly undervalued from a real estate perceptive. Most of this concern is mis-placed due to Shaker Square’s close proximity to poorer parts of Cleveland. The neighborhood also needs better park amenities, bike infrastructure, and better performing schools in the Cleveland School District portion of the community. There is certainly also room for more density which would increase neighborhood vibrancy and amenities.
Click here to view my Shaker Square Album on Flickr
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Excellent transit access thanks to many bus lines and a dedicated rail line. This helps give Shaker Square solid access to Dwtn and University Circle. * Great diversity across racial, economic, and generational lines. Over 50% of households are family households. * Housing is generally affordable or moderately priced. Some 1-bedroom condos available mainly around Shaker Square selling in the low-mid 100Ks. 2-bedrooms condos, homes and townhouses sell from anywhere btwn 50K- low 200KS deepening on size and condition. Single Family 3-5 bedrooms sell anywhere between 50K-200K. * Rentals are also very affordable. 1-beds lease for anywhere btwn 600K- the low 1Ks, 2-beds around $1,000s, and 3 beds in the low $1,000s. * There is also a decent amount of dedicated affordable housing. * Great Tree canopy. * Shaker Square hosts some good cultural amenities including many diverse restaurants, plenty of bars, cafes, and several art galleries. There is also a Cinema and dance studio. * Retail amenities include a Dave’s Supermarket, Drug Store, a wonderful book store, nice array of boutiques, antiques, creative stores, and home good stores. There are also several dessert spots, a local post office & library, several gym, a specialty hospital, and indoor ice rink. * Quality historic architecture, especially considering the Tudor apartments. Modern in-fill is generally quality too. * Urban massing and streetscape is generally quite good other than a couple auto centric spots on Larchmere.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Decent but not great density. A bit surprising considering all the apartment buildings in the neighborhood. * Bike infrastructure is limited to only the dedicated bike lanes on MLK Boulevard. * If anything there is not enough higher end luxury product in Shaker Square since the market is so soft. * Schools are a mix of well performing schools in Shaker that some residents have access to and the poor performing schools in Cleveland. Fortunately in Cleveland there are a couple well performing charter schools and a good Catholic High School and Grade School. * The neighborhood is generally safe, especially the areas next to Shaker Heights, Larchmere, and Shaker Square itself. Areas around Moreland and MLK Blvds can be a bit dodgy. * Other than Ambler and Rockefeller park on the north edge, park space is pretty limited. * Shaker Square sadly still suffers from perspective issue. This is mostly unjustified due to its close proximity to rougher parts of Cleveland. This largely holds the neighborhood’s potential back.
In July 1911, a petition by property owners successfully detached Shaker Heights from Cleveland Heights. But Shaker Heights has a history that goes back almost 100 years before this. The community was originally established as the North Union Shaker Settlement in 1822 with just over 80 individuals of the infamous Unity Society of Believes “aka the Shakers”. The community peaked in the mid 1800s but fizzed out by the late 1800s. Modern day Shaker Heights was a planned community developed by the Van Sweringen brothers, railroad moguls who envisioned the community as a suburban retreat from the industrial inner city of Cleveland with a direct rail connection to Terminal Towner in Downtown. Development really picked up in the 1920s and Shaker filled in by about 1950.
Shaker Square was originally supposed to be within the Shaker Heights boundaries, but due to the founders’ wish to keep retail out of their community, it was given over to the city of Cleveland. This agreement also led to this portion of Cleveland remaining within the Shaker School District. Shaker Heights has been an attractive, amenity rich inner ring suburb since its founding characterized by stringent building codes/zoning laws, great park amenities, well rated schools, quality transit access, and good urban business districts. Like Cleveland Heights, Shaker made conscious efforts toward Black-White integration starting in the late 1950s. As a result, Shaker Heights avoided many of the problems created from practices such as blockbusting and white flight and now is a very integrated community, albeit still facing significant economic white-black disparities. To become a great urban community Shaker needs to relax its zoning and permit more density and mixed use development. It especially needs better urban development at the Van Aiken District and Lee & Van Aiken. This is also need for more bike infrastructure and cultural amenities.
Excellent family diversity (65% Family households) and racial diversity.
Great transit access helped by have two light rail lines running through.
Very safe community overall.
Up to date ADA infrastructure was very consistant.
Excellent array of walkable public and private schools. Really impressed with the sheer number of elementary schools providing a walkable options to most residents of the City. Shaker is also home to a large concentration of expensive private high schools.
A decent # of rentals. 1-bedrooms are concentrated around Shaker Square and the Van Aiken District and lease for btwn $700 and the low $1,000s. 2-beds a bit more broadly distributed lease in the law $1,000s, and 3 bedrooms btwn the low 1Ks and low 2Ks.
Good for sale diversity. Cluster of 1-bed condos along Van Aiken selling btwn 30K-100K, 2-beds sell for anywhere btwn 30K-300K and can be a condo, small house or townhouse. 3-bed homes sell anywhere btwn 85K-400K. 4 & 5 beds is a bit more expensive but with the additional of mansions selling btwn 500K-1 M.
Excellent recreational amenities including a whole system of trails, woods, and lakes along Shaker’s natural streams. Instead of burying them (like most cities) Shaker made them assets. Also plenty of playgrounds, ballfields, and a swimming poor spreader throughout.
Culturally a decent amount of restaurants, bars, and cafes in Shakers 4 Commercial nodes (Shaker Square/Larchmere, Lee & Van Aiken, the Van Aiken District, and Fairmount Circle), several art galleries, the Shaker Square Cinema, and Shaker Historical Museum.
Retail amenities are good including 2 supermarkets, several drug stores, a wonderful bookstore, hardware store, lots of general retail, great array of boutiques and creative retail at Larchmere and the Van Aiken district, plenty of banks, dessert spots and gyms.
Excellent tree canopy.
Many gorgeous mansions but also lots of more modest mid century architecture.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Poor urban density. Closer to that of an autocentric suburb than urban district. * Street connectivity works in Shaker Heights but intentionally confusion. This certainly hurts Shaker’s imageability. * A couple recreational/bike lanes but no dedicated bike lanes are strongly connected routes. * Medium household income but still some decent diversity. 8.5% of population is under the poverty line. * No community theaters, museums, or live music venues in Shaker. * Mixed bag in terms of urban form with Shaker’s Biz district. Shaker Square (just outside of Shaker) is great and so is Larchmere. Lee & Van Aiken is mostly strip malls with parking in front, the Van Aiken District is quasi urban but a nice semi-lifestyle center, and Fairmount Circle is small but walkable. * Having lots of auto centric biz districts obviously leads to some crummy modern in-fill. Good mixed-use infill at the Van Aiken District however. * Outside of the business district, pedestrian activity is pretty sparse.
For evaluation purposes I divided Cleveland Heights around Superior Road. Southwest of Superior Road is what I consider to be West Cleveland Heights. This is the more affluent, urban, and amenity rich portion of Cleveland Heights that contains its best housing and the business districts of Cedar-Lee, Coventry, Cedar Fairmount, and Cedar Taylor.
Rockefeller was one of the first to come to Cleveland Heights at present day Forest Hills Park. More consequential development began with the Euclid Heights development in 1892. By the end of 1899 the streetcar reached Cleveland Heights along Mayfield Road to the old village of Fairmount. In 1910 Cleveland Heights had a population about 5,000 people and 15,400 by 1920, This tripled in the next decade and by 1960 the City hit its highwater mark of 61,813. Cleveland Heights is one of Cleveland’s most diverse urban areas. This first began in the 50s when the City saw a large influx of many Jewish people leaving Cleveland, particularly the Hough and Glenville neighborhoods. The City also dismantled its restrict covenants in the 1960s and encourage many African American families to move to the City helping the City move from only 1% Black population to its current representation around 40%.,
From an urban perspective West Cleveland Heights excels at having multiple concentrated urban business districts well distributed across its borders. It also has gorgeous historic architecture, high levels of cultural and retail amenities, convenient access to University Circle, excellent housing diversity, and is safe. Surprisingly Cleveland Heights has very low density. These leads to vibrant activity being concentrated in its biz nodes. There is also need for better schools, more bike infrastructure, and several autocentric areas along Mayfield Rd.
Click Here to view my Cleveland Heights [West] Album on Flickr
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Generally very good ADA infrastructure minus some intersections without modern ADA infrastructure. * Access to Dwtn Cleveland is pretty good but excellent access to University Circle an employment center of around 30K jobs. * Excellent economic diversity but also racial and family diversity. * Excellent diversity of for-sale housing. A good # of 1-bedroom condos selling anywhere btwn 80K to the low 200Ks; 2-bedrooms are either older condos selling in the 100Ks/low 200Ks or new townhomes selling in the 300Ks & 400Ks. Most 3 bedrooms sell between 75K-300K but some larger and newer townhouses sell around 400K & 500K. 4 & 5 bedrooms also have a great range. The large mansions sell btwn 500K and 1 M. * Rentals are generally very moderately priced. 1 beds lease anywhere btwn &700 to low $1,000s, 2 beds btwn 800K and mid $1,000s, 3-beds in the low-mid $1,000s. 4 beds a bit more. * Solid park spaces ring west Cleveland Heights including Doan’s Broke (aka Shaker Lakes), Lake View Cemetery, Forest Hill Park, and Cumberland Park, and Cain Park/ * Culturally a good number of ethnic restaurants, bars, cafes, and breweries. Also a historic cinema that still operates, several local theaters and art galleries, and convenient access to all the museums and other cultural amenities of University Circle and Little Italy. * Solid retail amenities as well including 3 full service supermarkets, drug store, several book stores, a hardware store, banks, dessert joins, and plenty of boutiques and unique retail dispersed among Cleveland Heights several solid commercial nodes. There is also a public library, several top notch hospitals located 2-3 miles away in University Circle and many big box stores in Several & brand name retail in Severance Town Center 1 mile away. * Excellent tree canopy. * Great historic architecture and generally urban in-fill is good except for some auto centric bldgs here and there.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Nice dedicated bike lane along the Shaker Lakes and a small one along Lee road but no dedicated bike stations. * Poor density at just over 5,000 per square mile. * Good pedestrian activity in the commercial nodes. Pretty dead in the residential streets, especially where the larger homes are located. * Good array of walkable schools but rating are only okay. * Generally a safe City but some rough spots, more in east Cleveland Heights however.
Corn Hill is the oldest residential neighborhood in Rochester built just southwest of Downtown and still has homes standing from the 1830s and 1840s. Fortunately much of the neighborhood’s historic residential architecture has been preserved. Its unclear if Corn Hill ever had a vibrant business district. The Southeast quadrant of the neighborhood was redeveloped in the early 2000s with generally historic looking and contextual development. A decent but auto centric mixed-use shopping plaza and apartment development was built in 2008 called Corn Hill Landing. At least this development brought much needed retail to the community.
Additional population and commercial amenities is the biggest need for Corn Hill. Other areas in which it could improve include more walkable schools, better cultural amenities, and better ADA infrastructure.
* Good public transit access and very convenient to Dwtn Rochester. * Nice dedicated bike lane along the River front. * Excellent racial and economic diversity. Average family diversity with about 31% of households as families. * For sales homes are generally pretty affordable. Because of the newer townhouse development there are is a good # of 1-bedrooms selling in the 100Ks. 2-beds sell in the 100Ks and 200Ks 3-beds sell btwn 150K-300K and 4-beds with the same + some larger homes selling in the 300Ks. * Significant % of the new housing was preserved for affordability. * Park amenities are pretty good including a couple playfields, basketball courts, playgrounds, a rec center, waterfront trail, and the historic Lunsford Circle Park. * Solid tree canopy. *Good number of churches and a local public library branch. * Generally a safe district but still some rough/dead spots. * Excellent set of historic homes. The urban form of the in-fill housing is pretty good but architecture a bit tacky. The shopping center is very tacky and rather auto centric.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
*An ok grade school is located in the neighborhood. Several other schools in surrounding neighborhoods but not really walkable. * Rentals are limited. What is listed is generally moderately priced. * A handful of restaurants, bars, and shops thanks to the Corn Hill Landing shopping center. Major retail amenities missing include a supermarket, pharmacy, banks, and post office. * Other than several restaurants & bars a couple art galleries limited cultural options. At least you are a 5 minute car ride to Dwtn though. * Sidewalks are generally in tact but current ADA curbs hit or miss. * Really no biz districts to speak of. The main arteries Ford St. and Exchange Blvd. function more like Blvds in the suburbs. * Very quite neighborhood. Not a lot of vibrancy.
Brown Square is one of Rochester’s oldest neighborhoods and home to much of Rochester’s early industrial development of the 1830s. Widespread development occurred in the mid-late 1800s as Brown Square was settled by Italian, German, Irish, and most recently Puerto Rican immigrants. Along the Genesse River near High Falls many warehouses and industrial uses were constructed. Historically State Street was a major north-south arterial in the City, and Kodak built their headquarters here in 1915. Sadly like many Rochester neighborhoods, Brown Square has not recovered since its post WW-II fall and is considered part of Rochester’s ” Crescent of Poverty”, a cluster of neighborhoods centered around the northern border of Downtown Rochester characterized by extreme poverty and crime.
Some revitalization has come to Brown Square including the repurposing of the Kodak Campus, renovating many warehouse buildings overlooking High Falls into lofts, restaurants, and creative stores, and two new stadiums. The stadiums unfortunately led to the demolition of large swaths of the district thanks no only to the stadium’s footprint but also to the ample amount of parking that surrounds them. Fortunately the neighborhood has held on to two attractive parks spaces (i.e. Brown Square Park and Jones Square Park).
What Brown Square needs is the intentional purchasing and redevelopment of the majority of the neighborhood. That is the type of intervention really needed to bring this neighborhood back. As so much of its fabric has been demolished, it can’t be affectively redeveloped piecemeal.
Click here to view my Browns Square Album on Flickr
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Excellent public transit access. One of the best served neighborhoods in Rochester. * Very convenient access to Dwtn as it sits just north of the western half of Dwtn. * Several disjointed bike lanes in the neighborhood. * Excellent racial diversity and average generational spread. * Decent park amenities with the medium size Jones and Brown Square Parks and the outdoor Edgartown Rec Center. *Some good cultural amenities including the Minor League ball park, a soccer stadium, a major artist center, several restaurants, a handful of bars& cafes, and a couple historic sites along the falls. * Some nice warehouse buildings remain along the Falls and the old Kodak Highrise is great. Some decent in-fil apartments along the Falls as well.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Very poor district as the medium household income is around 15K. *A decent grade school is located in the neighborhood. Several other schools in surrounding neighborhoods but not really walkable. * Housing is very limited. Not many rentals on the open market here. * What for sale housing exists is very affordable. For sale product sells anywhere btwn 25k-100K. A couple loft conversions along the river sell in the 100Ks and 200Ks but very limited product. * Other than the river front and Jones Square and Brown Square Parks trees are pretty limited. * Because of the High Falls redevelopment there are several boutiques, home goods, and creative stores near the river. There is also two banks. But overall neighborhood retail options aren’t great. No pharmacy, supermarket, library, photo office, etc. * Sidewalks are generally in tact but current ADA curbs hit or miss. * Not sure Brown Square is unsafely but its very blighted and abandoned. * Urban massing is pretty bad. Large surface parking lots surround the stadiums and the urban fabric along the historic biz district of State and Lyell is pretty bad.
After the opening of the Erie Canal in the early 1820s, Dwtn Rochester boomed. By 1834, some 20 flour mills were producing 500,000 barrels annually, and the City’s population reached 13,500. Following the Civil War, many post-war industrial companies were founded including the likes of Kodak, Bausch & Lomb, Western Union, and Gleason Works. This led to the construction of many mid-sized skyscrapers in the late 19th century. Many of these buildings are still preserved along West Main Street in what is now called the Four Corners neighborhood. A subway was opened in 1927 on the old Erie Canal bed that ran through downtown but this was closed in the 1950s as public transit systems were replaced with cars and buses.
In the 60s Rochester, still a very corporate town, witnessed several ambitious urban renewals projects. This resulted in the Midtown Plaza mall, one of the first shinning new urban malls trying to compete with suburban malls. And new modern towners for Xerox, Bausch & Lomb, and several banks. Kodak actually built their major high rise and complex in 1915 just outside of Dwtn in the Brown Square district. Sadly these ambitious urban renewal projects sucked the vibrancy and energy out of Dwtn creating several nodes of activity (West Main Steet, the Saint Paul Quarter [a warehouse district], East End [where Eastman School of Music is located], Grove Place [an attractive residential area], and East Main Street) that are quite disconnected from each other. After many years of stagnation, Midtown Plaza mall closed in the 2007. The tower still remains and is now a mixed used bldg, and the mall was converted to a pretty attractive park. The 2010s have been a good decade for Dwtn Rochester as businesses, people, and entertainment are starting to return to downtown. The East Inner belt was converted to a street in 2018 resulting in many new apartments and townhomes and the restoration of a seamless connection to the attractive East Rochester neighborhoods.
But there is still much work to do as many parts of Downtown Rochester remain either dead or blighted. The best untapped potential for Dwtn lies in the Four Corners district where an amazing concentration of gorgeous unspoiled late 1800s buildings lie waiting to be renovated. North of East Main street around the St. Paul Quarter district is a sea of parking lots and underutilized buildings. South of Broad street has almost all been cleared by urban renewal and is generally pretty dead. Plenty of East Main St. bldgs that could be repurposed as well.
Click here to view my Downtown Rochester album on Flickr
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Good dwtn population here. * Good number of dedicated bike lanes within Dwtn. Ok access to Rochester neighborhoods and suburbs. No dedicated bike stations yet in Rochester. * Residential population is one of the most diverse in Rochester. Good economic diversity esp. when you consider the incomes that work Dwtn. About 25% of those living Dwtn are below the poverty line. * Within Dwtn a large okay rate high school. Several pretty well rated schools located with 1 mile of Dwtn. * An okay number of rentals dwtn and a mix of affordable and moderately priced ones. Studios around 750K, 1-beds lease btwn 900K and $1,600. and 2-beds in the $1,000s. Really no 3-bedrooms. * Some for sale units Dwtn but very few 1-bedrooms. 1 bed condos sell in the 200Ks & 300Ks. 2-bedrooms anywhere in between 200Ks-500Ks depending on size and condition. 3 & 4 beds selling for anywhere btwn 300K-700K. These are mostly town homes. * A fair # affordable rents Dwtn. Medium rent is only $868. * A good number of small and medium sized plazas and parks but no great stand out parks. MLK Plaza and now Midtown Commons are the best recreational spaces with some programming. * Several nice smaller colleges dwtn including the Eastman School of Music, Monroe Community College, and Brockport Dwtn amount to about 3K students. * An overall solid skyline due to Dwtn Rochester’s spreadout modern high rises. * Great historic architecture Dwtn. Some much potential for wonderful bldg conversions. * Culturally Dwtn has a decent # of restaurants, bars, cafes, and a few breweries, several art galleries, many performing arts, music, and cabaret theaters (both historic & modern), an indie cinema, several museums (auto, children’s, Modern. Art, etc.). Dwtn also host the convention center, a hockey/basketball arena and minor league ballpark, and a good # of gov’t bldgs on the west side. * Almost 50K employees work Dwtn. Pretty good for a metro its size. Office vacancy is around 8%.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Public transit is only so within the City. Even poorer transit outside the City limits. Only Brighton has decent public transit as a suburb. * Dwtn has a lot of wide Blvds but also plenty of intimate narrow streets. * Only 10% of households are families. This is low even for Dwtn standards. Some adult diversity with Dwtn host a lot of young professionals and empty nesters. * Safety is generally ok but certainly some very dead spots in Dwtn Rochester and plenty of vacant buildings. * Modern in-fill is a tough one evaluate in Dwtn. Lots of corporate modern high, which to some are quite interest, but too many very ugly. Some more recent modern in-fill especially along Union Ave where the inner belt once stood. * Some good blocks of urban form but plenty of surface parking lots and poor urban form due largely to the expensive urban renewal efforts Dwtn. * Overall vibrancy is great but good with some spots Dwtn. * Parts of the Eastern half of Dwtn are gaining positive momentum and buzz but the western half is very dead. * Retail amenities are not great. No dwtn supermarket nor pharmacy. Shopping limited to a handful of boutiques, plenty of banks, a bookstore, some salons a family dollar, and the main public library and post office.
Evaluating our Urban Communities [with a focus on America] 