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I've heard more rumors that a coffee shop could soon ad to the retail scene on East Ohio Street. A coffee shop is a step towards enhancing the viability of the housing in Deutschtown and other residential neighborhoods.

It may seem like "just a coffee shop," but such steps may be as important or more important than larger developments.

Take in point the new entertainment complex planned for the North Shore. Entertainment is not exactly what we need to boost the viability of housing. More than entertainment, urban housing needs grocery stores and drug stores and coffee shops.

Recently Trader Joe’s announced it's moving into East Liberty. It doesn’t immediately benefit North neighborhoods, but the success of these stores could send companies like these looking for other city locations. I expect our best hope is that with continued downtown residential development, we’ll see retailers like Trader Joe’s and Walgreens looking at spaces—many which already exist on the North Shore and maybe even North Side.

Still, we (North Side) really need to resell parts (Deutschtown, Mexican War Streets and North Shore) of the North Side as "DOWNTOWN" living. These neighborhoods are the remainder of downtown Allegheny, which ajoined downtown Pittsburgh until it was annexed. They should, more than a century later, be officially united with the rest of downtown Pittsburgh.