Up close and personal with my vision for Leland Pointe, Baldwin Borough.

This is an aerial image of my vision for Leland Pointe, located in South Baldwin. Currently, Leland Pointe consists of over a thousand recently-renovated one- and two-bedroom apartments.   This vision will broaden the tax base for a municipality that is almost entirely residential.

Streetscape of Leland Pointe Town Center.  Pictured here is a new bridge located to the north of Curry Hollow Road.  Left of center is access to a commuter rail station along the existing and lightly used CSX line.

As indicated in my vision for Baldwin Borough, there are two areas of likely economic development investment. One of those areas includes the existing Leland Pointe Apartments, formerly known as Green Meadows. Recently, Green Meadows experienced a change of ownership and ultimately a massive renovation of the rental properties. My vision actually came together before these renovations took place.  With the use of Google SketchUp, I have put together some three-dimensional drawings of how I would like the future of Leland Pointe to look. 

Other proposals, ranging from a public golf course to a larger shopping center, were loosely discussed.  Considering the existing apartment community sits adjacent to a suburban strip mall, I thought, "why not incorporate my vision into a redevelopment of this shopping complex?" This is adjacent to a major arterial roadway in the South Hills, and a lightly used rail line running from Pittsburgh to Washington could potentially be used as a commuter rail line linking this neighborhood with two large employment centers in the region.  

I developed my vision around these two amenities. Another existing amenity includes Leland Park Community Center, which contains athletic fields and a multipurpose facility. Port Authority also provides bus service courtesy of the Y47 Curry Flyer. With a commuter rail line potentially making good use out of the lightly-used CSX line, this could possibly lead to a rerouting of this bus line and make viable the potential for future bus lines connecting riders to Leland Pointe as well as the commuter rail line to Pittsburgh and Washington. With all of these amenities in place, my Leland Pointe vision will include:

• Ample recreational or open space
• Improved public transportation access
• A more diverse tax base for Baldwin Borough as well as a portion of Jefferson Hills
• Improved traffic flow via an improved street grid layout, which will include an extension of Macassar Drive to Brownsville Road to improve access to this neighborhood.

This vision is still a work in progress. More information as well as updated images will soon follow. Stay tuned!