{"id":65009,"date":"2025-12-19T06:15:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T06:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/65009\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T06:15:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T06:15:19","slug":"affordable-ish-housing-in-pittsburgh-houses-as-pittsburgh-athletes-edition-pittsburgh-city-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/65009\/","title":{"rendered":"Affordable-ish Housing in Pittsburgh: Houses as Pittsburgh athletes edition – Pittsburgh City Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you look at a lot of houses \u2014 or lots of very similar things of any kind \u2014 eventually, your brain will start seeing patterns where there are none. In a sure sign that I\u2019ve been doing this column for too long, I tend to see faces \u2014 windows as eyes, weathered metal awnings as salt-and-pepper mustaches, and so on.<\/p>\n

So, to take that impulse to its logical conclusion, here\u2019s a bunch of Pittsburgh houses that remind me of Pittsburgh sporting semi-legends.<\/p>\n

(Coming soon: houses that remind me of Pittsburgh sandwiches, and houses that remind me of obscure Pittsburgh musicians\/bands).<\/p>\n

For sale: 622 Whitney Ave., Apt. 4,<\/a> Regent Square, $169,000.<\/p>\n

Imagine trying to box out a condominium while scrapping for rebounds with the beasts of the old Big East. This place reminds me of DeJuan Blair,<\/a> who stomped out of the Hill District and the late Schenley High (RIP, you deserved better than becoming condos) like Godzilla, winning the PIAA 4A championship in 2007. He was a 6\u20197\u201d, 270-pound All-American for Pitt, very short for a center, but with the wingspan of a pterodactyl, and could bench-press a PRT bus. Pitt was ranked no. 1 in the country a few times with Blair taking up space in the paint. He ended up with a respectable pro career ranging from the NBA to Russia to China (with the incredibly named Jiangsu Monkey King).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For rent: The Lofts at Terrain,<\/a> 700 Mansfield Ave., Carnegie, $905-1,465\/month.<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t a lot of general practitioners in football; the game rewards specialization, filling one specific role very well. T.J. Watt pretty much just chases quarterbacks, for instance. Then there was Antwaan Randle El<\/a>, a wide receiver who could scamper through defenses like a squirrel, and throw the ball like a quarterback \u2014 which was his job in college, honed while running for his life at Indiana. The ultimate Swiss Army knife of a football player reminds me of this odd duck of an apartment complex, in a location that doesn\u2019t follow the rules of what suburbs are supposed to look and feel like. It looks weird, but that\u2019s a great price, and if it works, it works.<\/p>\n

\"\"3223 Willett Rd. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For sale: 3223 Willett Rd.,<\/a> Brentwood, $220,000.<\/p>\n

This house reminds me of Pokey Reese<\/a>, a kind of guy that used to be common in baseball, but now barely exists \u2014 the speedy little slick-fielding middle infielder who can\u2019t hit his way out of a wet paper bag. This kind of house barely exists anymore, either; like Pokey, it\u2019s small (1,275 square feet), yet gets the job done, keeping you and your family safe and warm. If you don\u2019t need a massive monster truck of a house with a three-car garage and a helipad, why pay for one?<\/p>\n

\"\"LiveWell Apartments, 550 Wood St. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For rent: LiveWell Apartments,<\/a> 550 Wood St., Downtown, $1,718\/month.<\/p>\n

The clich\u00e9 about Finland is that it\u2019s full of taciturn types saving their emotions for the sauna, while ensconced in coldly chic Scandinavian minimalist homes. Then, there was Jarko Ruutu<\/a>, a rough customer who played for the Pens, who once bit a guy on the ice (to be fair, the dude did stick his fingers in Jarko\u2019s mouth). Pittsburghers tend to love anyone who plays with an edge, and \u201cThe Meat Hammer\u201d (OK, only I called him this) was always going to finish his checks at the other team\u2019s expense. These apartments are finished in Finnish-approved minimalist style, but that\u2019s just to get to a sale \u2014 you can do what you want when you move in, like Jarko. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"125 Marlin Drive W. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For sale: 125 Marlin Drive W.,<\/a> Mt. Lebanon, $485,000.<\/p>\n

Maybe this is a little on-the-nose, but there was a Bucco who seemed like a legend for half a season (97 RBIs before the All-Star break in 2019), then faceplanted in the second half. Josh Bell<\/a> had the raw power to blast balls out of PNC Park into the river, but cheap-o management wasn\u2019t impressed, so he ended up as a bad-glove journeyman slugger for a bunch of other teams, including the Miami Marlins (it\u2019s on Marlin Drive; get it?). Josh gets the last laugh; he\u2019s still pulling in a big-league paycheck and lives on in the jerseys of innumerable yinzers who assumed he was the herald of a future that never arrived.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"1523 Dagmar Ave. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For sale: 1523 Dagmar Ave.,<\/a> Beechview, $1,650\/month.<\/p>\n

I actually had the thought, \u201cI wish I could find a house that reminds me of Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton,\u201d<\/a> which has likely never been thought before in the history of the human race. And then I found this place. \u201cBig Snack\u201d was as wide as he was tall, seemed like a terrifying hybrid of pitbull and Gummi bear. That fence is there for your protection, not his.<\/p>\n

This article appears in The Big Winter Issue: Winter Guide\/People of the Year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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