South Allison Hill- Harrisburg’s Immigrant Community Slowly Emerging from Decades of Disinvestment

Allison Hill (also known as The Hill) was named after William Allison, an early Harrisburg landowner who owned farms on the bluff outside of the then-Borough. Allison Hill encompasses the Mount Pleasant Historic District located in the western half of the district including a diverse array of mostly rowhouse styles from the late 19th century. Allison Hill quickly transitioned into the booming industrial heart of the city in the late 19th century. Initially Allison Hill attracted immigrants from primarily European countries but this has diversified since the 70s to include a diverse melting pot with immigrant groups from West African, Vietnamese, Indonesian, several Latin American countries and a significant African-American population. Following its decline since the 70s The Hill has also become a hot bed of artists and social justice activists. Disinvestment in he community peaked in the early 1990s and the neighborhood has someone stabilized since then thanks largely to an influx of immigrant families. However, Allison Hill has never really gentrified and still contains a large number of vacant properties, contains a high level of families living in poverty, has a higher crime rate than most of Harrisburg and lacks crucial retail and cultural amenities.

Thanks to its dense late 19th century rowhouse fabric, South Allison Hill still has a lot of positive urban attributes despite several decades of disinvestment. The neighborhood has excellent public transit service, convenient access to dwtn, and very affordable housing. With some investment and increase in economic diversity South Allison Hill could become a premiere Harrisburg urban district and boast density levels higher than even Midtown.

Click here to view my South Allison Hill District Flickr Album

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Some of the best public transit access in all of Harrisburg and only a 5-10 min trip to Dwtn about 1-1.5 miles away.
Sidewalks are consistent throughout the districts.
Solid Density esp. for a community that has seen a lot of disinvestment since the 1970s.
Decent poverty numbers at about 20% but also a good # of middle income households too. Large Hispanic and Black populations but limited White populations.
Good array of late 19th century rowhouse architecture but not well maintained like Uptown & Midtown.
The urban form of the biz districts (Market, 13th, 17th & Derry) actually isn’t that bad in South Allison Hill outside of several concentrations of vacant lots and underutilized land uses. Limited crummy autocentric uses and several good clusters of urban commercial blocks, albeit underinvested.
Decent rental availability with lots of affordable options. 1-beds lease btwn 800K-1.1K, 2-beds btwn 800K-1.3K, and plenty of 3-beds leasing in the low-mid 1Ks.
Decent retail amenities including a bank, plenty of small ethnic grocerias, a dollar store, a couple drug stores, a local bakery & cafe, tons of barbers and salons, a bike shop, a couple churches and a health center.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Sidewalks while plentiful are also very dated as Allison Hill has not seen major streetscaping reinvestment. Only about 1/4 of all curb cuts have been updated.
* No dedicated bike infrastructure here.
* Parks are very limited in South Allision Hill but at least the expansive Reservoir Park is just outside of the neighborhood.
* Tree canopy is so so and very hit and miss.
* While crime is not off the charts here Allison Hill does hosts some of the most dangerous pockets of Harrisburg and has a lot of blighted and unkept bldgs. But there are strong community ties here esp. among the immigrant groups making it safer. Neighborhood still has a pretty negative perception among locals.
* Western and southern edges are very industrial with unattractive often autocentric uses.
* The only schools located within South Allison Hill are 3 public schools of mixed ratings located in the SE corner of the district.
* Decent for sale inventory but generally very inexpensive. A handful of 1-bed condos selling btwn 50K-100K, 2-beds btwn 50K-150K, 3 & 4 beds btwn 50K-250K. Decent amount of renovated product selling over 150K.
* Cultural amenities are limited to several restaurants and bars along with a brewery. Plenty of Dwtn cultural amenities located only about a mile away.

Verona, PA- a curiously named portmanteau along the Allegheny River only 20 minutes from Dwtn Pittsburgh

I included most of Verona in this evaluation except the northern and western edges of the Borough where there is a significant amount of underutilized industrial space. Verona was named by creating a portmanteau of the Verner and Iona railroad stops along the Allegheny Valley Railroad. Like many Pittsburgh river towns Verona was formed along a river with railroad access in the late 19th century. Population reached 2K in 1900 and peaked at 4.4K in 1940. Verona is healthier than many Pittsburgh river towns but has still nearly lost half of its population and currently sites at 2,500 with population appearing to stabilize between 2010 and 2020.

One can see the Borough’s population lost with the numerous vacant lots sprinkled around the residential areas and business districts (Allegheny River Blvd and Railroad Ave). But the Borough has managed to mitigate the damage and a downward blight cycle by maintaining its vacant lots, redeveloping some for parks, and retaining a relatively cohesive urban fabric and population density. Verona also has good retail and food & beverage occupancy in its dwtn, good schools, decent parks & tree canopy, and affordable housing. Hopefully with Verona’s population stabilizing since 2010 and its quality amenities and relatively low crime values will increase enough for new construction filing in its vacant lots and commercial spaces with new homes and mixed-use buildings. I’d also like to see at least one bike lane cut across down, more cultural amenities & nightlife, more ADA compliant curbs, and more housing diversity.

Click here to view my Verona Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good access to dwtn via driving (only 20 mins) but transit and biking is only so so.
* Pretty good income diversity but mostly working class households.
* Several average or good schools within Verona or in neighboring Oakmont.
* Rentals are pretty limited but affordable.
* Decent park amenities including two medium sized parks and a solid Dwtn park (Railroad Park).
* Solid tree canopy throughout.
* Decent but not great cultural amenities limited to a decent amount of food & beverage businesses.
* Pretty good retail stores including a supermarket, drug store, music store, a furniture store, a couple boutiques/clothing stores, a hardware store, several gyms & salons, a bike shop, a couple banks, a dollar store, and several churches.
* A couple good urban blocks along Allegheny River Blvd and Railroad Ave but also plenty of surface parking lots and vacant lots. Streetscaping is pretty good though.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Decent amount of blight in Verona especially the small neighborhood along the river where many homes have actually been removed.
ADA compliant curbs are often missing. Missing sidewalks along the eastern edge of Verona and the streets along the river.
Pretty mediocre public transit access.
Bike Infrastructure is non-existent.
Not much for sale housing diversity but affordable. 2-beds sell btwn 50K-200K, 2 & 4 beds sell btwn 50K-250K. A handful of newer homes that sell in the mid-300Ks.
Not much modern in-fill and what does exist is either strip malls or industrial uses.”

Washington, PA- Heart of the Whiskey Rebellion

Washington PA has a long history going back to colonial times. Washington was first settled by colonists around 1768 by mostly Northern Irish and Scottish immigrants. It is not surprisingly then that an open rebellion broke out when the new US government decided to tax the Whiskey production in Western PA. This resulted in the well known ‘Whiskey Rebellion’ of 1791. Fortunately things settled down in Washington and the Washington & Jefferson (a small liberal arts college) was established and the town was incorporated as a borough in 1810. Washington is also located along the Marcellus Shale formation and had several oil booms in its history including the turn of the 19th century and more recently. Washington’s population peaked in 1950 at 26K souls but has decreased in half to only 13K today. Fortunately its decline slowed significantly between 2010 and 2020.

Given its significant population decline its not surprising there are many blighted areas of Washington, but it has not completely lost its form and many of the Downtown buildings (especially along Main St) are still in-tact. There are some signs of rebirth as population decline is slowing and new food and beverage businesses are opening again downtown. Washington also has several walkable schools with decent ratings, lots of affordable housing, and decent cultural and retail amenities. To become a quality urban environment again Washington needs more people and businesses. The City also suffers from a lack of any bike infrastructure, limited public transit access and park spaces, and a pretty high crime rate.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good generational diversity (thanks in large part to the college) and economic diversity.
* Several walkable schools with decent ratings.
* Some rentals available and very affordable.1 & 2 -beds lease btwn 700K-1,000, and 3-beds btwn 1K-1.5K
* For sale is also very affordable . Very limited 1-bed product selling btwn 40K-75K. 2-beds btwn 50K-250K, 3 & 4 beds is similar but with some product selling btwn 250K-300K.
* ADA infrastructure is very good in parts and pretty bad in others.
* Culturally a decent # of restaurants & bars, a couple cafes breweries & art galleries, a couple local museums and local theaters. Washington also has a local symphony and good performing arts coming from Washing & Jefferson College.
* Decent but not great retail amenities including a Shop n Save and large Mexican grocerias & local farmer’s market, several dollar stores, a couple drug stores, several consignment shops & gift stores, a couple antique stores, several banks, a dwtn library & post office, a local hospital, and plenty of churches.
* Urban form and streetscaping is good in Dwtn but pretty poor outside of Dwtn.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Density is pretty low.
* There is a local; Washington Co transit system and a commuter bus to Dwtn but I sense its pretty limited. Commute takes over an hr to Dwtn. To drive to Dwtn Pittsburgh is 40 mins.
* No bike infrastructure here.
* Only one park within my evaluation area although there are several on the edges of the City. Pretty limited park amenities overall.
* Crime is high in spots but overall not terrible in Washington. Certainly areas of blight still remain.