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Neighborhood Spotlight: Hastings
Neighborhood Spotlight: Hastings
Hastings Neighborhood Association
Year Incorporated:
2017
Management Company:
Rj Community Management of Ross
Number of Homes:
434 (approx. 347 built & 87 planned)
Home Types:
152 single-family; 282 attached (townhouse and carriage)
Years Built:
2017 to present
Developer:
Charter Homes & Neighborhoods
Web:
Streets:
40 streets and alleys, including Hastings Crescent and Hastings Park Drive
Location:
Former Mayview State Hospital site along Mayview Road
Issues of Interest:
Roads; stormwater and ponds; township regulations and ordinances
Amenities:
Crossroads business district, walking and biking trails, community green, natural playground, fitness center
Fun Fact:
Hastings has more than 500 street trees. Sycamore Lane is lined with towering
‘Big Learning Curve’
Hastings homeowner association shifts from developer to residents
By Andrea Iglar
Eight years after construction began at Hastings in South Fayette, residents assumed leadership of their homeowner association.
Three officers of the Hastings Neighborhood Association have taken on a huge workload since December, as they have shifted from the developer-controlled group to a resident-led homeowner association, or HOA.
The leaders have been reviewing practices, seeking community input and establishing priorities.
“There’s a big learning curve,” vice president Pat Findle said. “We need to build a good foundation for other folks because we’re not going to be doing it forever.”
Bill Kulp, the president, said the board members are making adjustments that focus on benefiting homeowners rather than the developer. To that end, they have formed committees and issued a survey to assess the neighborhood’s wants and needs.
“We will be compiling the results and trying to then prioritize what we’re working on based on what our residents think is important,” Kulp said. “We’re trying to be radically transparent and open about what we’re doing.”
Part of the process has been reviewing contracts and securing services, such as landscaping and snow removal, that provide the best value.
The key to future decisions, such as how to set homeowner fee rates, will be a study of how much money the group should keep in reserve.
“We want the right amount of fees to be able to pay our bills every year and to be able to provide what the community wants,” secretary Pam Tracy said.
The Hastings board members plan to participate in the first townshipwide Homeowner Association Leadership Forum on May 29 at the South Fayette Township Municipal Center.
The group—founded by HOA officers from The Berkshires, Parkes Farm Estates and Hastings—hope to meet periodically to exchange information and share experiences.
The event is open to South Fayette homeowner association board members and requires advance registration with Lawrence Tomei, president of the Berkshires HOA.
The Hastings board members said topics that would be helpful to discuss among HOAs include management companies, dues, contracted services, insurance, parking and amenities provided.
As a new association, Hastings would benefit from hearing the experiences of more established neighborhoods, Findle said.
“They may have some wisdom for us,” he said.
The final phase of construction is under way in Hastings, along Mayview Road. Once complete, the residential development will be one of the largest in South Fayette, with an expected 434 singlefamily and attached homes, plus 16 apartments above businesses.
The HOA is responsible for maintaining common property such as green space, street trees, playgrounds, sidewalks, trails, alleys and a fitness center.
The neighborhood also includes a business district, and the Hastings HOA must maintain the roofs and exteriors of the commercial buildings, plus provide snow removal for the businesses. (The developer, Charter Homes & Neighborhoods, leases the interiors to businesses.)
The walkability of Hastings has attracted many homeowners. Sidewalks and trails wind through the neighborhood for recreation, dog walking and business access.
Hastings is tucked into the U-shaped bend of Chartiers Creek and is adjacent to more than 750 acres of green space in the Wingfield Pines preserve, Upper St. Clair’s Boyce Mayview Park and South Fayette’s Fairview Park.
Kulp and his dog, Rosie, sometimes visit Bark Park at Fairview Park, and he takes his grandchildren to the splash pad.
Meanwhile, the mix of home types—single-family, townhouse, carriage home and apartment—has drawn a healthy mix of people at different stages of life, “which makes it lively,” Kulp said.
While living in a new neighborhood presents challenges to the homeowner association, it is a plus when it comes to socializing and building a sense of community.
“Everybody that moves in here is new,” Findle said, “so everyone instinctively wants to meet new people."
