It’s not easy to find affordable housing in Pittsburgh anymore. At one point, pretty much everything was more-or-less affordable except some 100-year-old mansions in Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. Those days are gone.
It’s still out there, but it’s probably not anywhere you’ve gone on purpose. It’s probably not going to be a short walk from your favorite restaurants, boutiques, or coffee shops. (You can still walk, but you might need hiking boots). It’s also probably going to require some work and some imagination.
But with a tiny bit of faith in the future (admittedly, a tall order), homes are out there in Pittsburgh that many, if not most, people can afford.
Here are a few.
UPTOWN
For sale: 305 Miltenberger St., $250,000
The face that Uptown shows the public — mostly traffic whizzing past on Fifth and Forbes — is mainly defined by missing teeth: dozens of abandoned buildings and garbage-strewn parking lots for commuters. And yet, once you get away from Fifth and Forbes, there are lovely pedestrian-scaled historic rowhouses (like this 1910 example) situated ideally between the city’s heart (Oakland) and its central nervous system (Downtown) — and very little abandonment. Uptown never seems to turn the corner, and yet, it’s got a new hospital, a new medical school, a shiny new skyscraper, and soon-to-arrive Bus Rapid Transit system. Maybe it’s finally time for people to give Uptown the look it deserves.
This is quietly one of the nicer local redevelopments of an economically unnecessary but aesthetically essential school building from the early 20th century. Inside, every room has hardwood floors polished to a squint-inducing shine, ample light, and all the modern fixtures and conveniences renters nowadays require. There are a few hints of its previous iteration too, like the occasional blackboard left on the wall.
SOUTH
For sale: 3706 Oakleaf Rd., Baldwin, $160,000
You know you’re in the mid-century suburbs when they don’t bother to put in sidewalks: “Why would anyone leave the house except to get in the car?” Yeah, that’s kinda bleak — and pretty close to a dealbreaker for me. However, this 1958 Cape Cod is right up close to the city, and its sturdy, simple construction reminds me of the house my grandpa, a Polish blacksmith, built by hand, so I can’t help but love it a little. Just be prepared to only see your neighbors through a window and care a lot about gas prices, I guess.
Carrick has had its struggles, but it’s also pretty convenient, and you can see the contours of a potential revival if you’re optimistic enough. The yellow brick isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but it’s nice when the decades of industrial pollution are washed off. This double-decker comes with a lot of porch space and a “mud room,” off the kitchen, which is pretty useful since mud season is about nine months long here.
NORTH SIDE
For sale: 1184 Damas St., Spring Hill, $150,000
Well, now we’re looking at a mustard-yellow house in a forgotten acre of the North Side that may literally be called Dumbass Street (your guess is as good as mine). And yet … it’s $150,000 for a three-bedroom home. I don’t hate any house enough to cover it in yellow aluminum siding and aluminum awnings. But what’s that? A built-in greenhouse for growing plants? Multiple weird sheds out back? A sun room that could have probably been a porch? Did I just talk myself into living on Dumbass Street?
For rent: 1203 N W Ave., Unit 302. Manchester, $1,195/month
There aren’t a lot of pieces of Manchester, one of Pittsburgh’s most historic and beautiful neighborhoods, left for sale at reasonable prices. Some rents are still reasonable, though; and this way you can enjoy the multifarious charms of old Allegheny City without doing the painstaking process of restoring historic properties yourself. Walkable and bikeable to more amenities — from pro sports stadia to restaurants to concert venues — than you can probably utilize in a year.
