This just came in the mail several days ago, and ever since has left me troubled. There are so many things wrong with this, it’s hard to know where to begin, not the least of which being why on earth would they send this to us? To start, the name “Berkshires” harkens the majestic, pastoral scenery and vistas of Western Massachusetts, who’s internationally renowned autumn is a reminder of the staggering beauty of nature. The pathetic saplings pictured forebode little more than a 
dreary, barren subdivision like many others. Witness also the “Ryan Home Bench” behind the duplex, where the developer has carved a gently sloping hillside into as steep a slope as allowed by code to make room for flat parcels of land. The resulting steep slope is devoid of substantial vegetation, making it prone to rapid erosion, causing instability of the hillside and sedimentation of storm pipes and waterways. ON the buildings themselves, the detailing of the façades to make the units appear “customized” or unique, (hoods over the entrance, keystones over the windows, vinyl siding wrapped around from the side to front, French garage doors) leaves much to be desired. Oddly enough, the Port Authority has announced that they will be discontinuing all of their bus service serving that area in their long-term transit development plan. This includes routes 31D, 31E, 33D, 33E and 33F, for which service will now terminate at Bridgeville. According to Nelson Nygaard, the Port Authority’s route reconfiguration consultant, “Ridership and productivity [on these routes] are very low, and the cost per passenger is unacceptably high.” No real surprises there, as the demographics for public transit and those that would be purchasing new homes in the “Upper $160’s” in that area probably don’t overlap much.
The Center for Neighborhood Technology has just completed a study of numerous metropolitan areas, including Pittsburgh, which demonstrates that the conventional wisdom of looking at debt-to-income ratio as the major measure of affordability is short-sighted (http://htaindex.cnt.org/metro-profiles.php). Their point is that we must also look at transportation costs as part of the overall affordability equation when assessing solvency or just choosing where to buy, and not just the cost of the house itself. The data reveals that the far-flung suburbs and exurbs where housing is exceptionally cheap have the hidden cost of transportation that, in some cases, more than makes up for what is being saved by moving farther out. This illusion of savings and affordability will only continue to unravel as fuel prices increase.
One has to wonder how much longer developments like the Berkshires will continue to be built before the whole house of cards comes crashing down. Perhaps it will be the fuel prices. Perhaps this type of housing will show its age and start to be less valuable and less desirable. But more than anything, it will be the constriction of new services and infrastructure, like the Port Authority’s line in the sand, that may finally put developments like The Berkshires out of their misery. Oh, for that day….
