PHOTOS BY PREP SOLUTIONS

Until recently, the lot at 237 North Aiken Ave. in Garfield sat vacant — one of more than 20,000 vacant lots within Pittsburgh’s city limits. 

Today, a new concept home, dubbed “The Picket Fence,” has been constructed at the site. The airy, modern townhouse features two units in one dwelling — which is one solution to a constrained housing stock issue in the City of Pittsburgh.

As the America At Home Study concept home, the developers hope this model home changes the face of the housing market, both in Pittsburgh and other cities. 

The Background

But first, what is the America At Home Study? Spearheaded by community design and marketing expert Teri Slavik-Tsuyuki of tst ink, consumer strategist Belinda Sward of Strategic Solutions Alliance and architect Nancy Keenan, president of DAHLIN Architecture | Planning | Interiors, the three-part survey, which took place between 2020 and 2022, looked at concerns the average American has about the housing market. 

The study also asked about what buyers want in a home, such as sustainability, safety features and flexible-use spaces that are conducive to remote work and family life. 

All of those suggestions were taken into consideration for The Picket Fence project, which is a collaborative effort between the founding partners of the America at Home Study, DAHLIN, development partner Housing Innovation Alliance and manufacturing partner Structural Modular Innovations. 

Structural Modular Innovations built the modular home at their facility in Strattanville, Pa., while the design and interior are the work of DAHLIN.  

After studying the data they gathered, Dennis Steigerwalt, President of the Housing Innovation Alliance, says the team applied all of that input to their concept build. While some Americans have negative views of modular builds, today’s technology means factory-built homes can be built to a high standard, with very little waste, Steigerwalt says. 

“Let’s look at this as an opportunity to not only build something that lives extremely well, but that the industry can build easier, faster and with less of an environmental footprint… livability and constructability,” he says.

While a traditional, site-built home typically result in a dumpster full of discarded materials, the factory-built homes are able to use nearly every scrap of product because various homes are being built at once in the same facility; a typical factory build results in only a five-gallon bucket of building waste, Steigerwalt says. 

The Future

As a prototype for the future of housing in Pittsburgh, The Picket Fence is now for sale at market rate. Listed for $930,000 by Steigerwalt’s wife, Colleen Steigerwalt of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, it is currently open for showings upon request. 

The Picket Fence project’s long-term plan, though, is to work with city authorities in Pittsburgh and other regions to replicate the concept idea with affordability measures that will make these homes available below market rate. 

The concept of a larger home with an incorporated studio apartment — called an accessory dwelling unit, ADU, or sometimes a “granny flat” — is a concept the Picket Fence team believes is necessary to remediate the housing crisis in America. 

For example, the lot of 237 North Aiken Ave. once contained a single-family home that has been gone for decades; Now, it shelters two households at once. On a large scale, this can increase the availability of homes for both buyers and renters.

That does take some ingenuity, adds Ryan White, director of design at DAHLIN. While fitting two well-appointed units into the home was a bit of a game of Tetris, White says they managed to create a home that functions well for residents at various stages of living — from living with roommates to bringing home a baby or chilling with teens in the family room. 

“When we ran into things that were constraints, we thought about how to turn those into opportunities,” he says. 

The larger unit in The Picket Fence measures just over 2,000 square feet and has three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a powder room. The smaller unit is 660 square feet and is accessed by a welcoming front porch; the front of the unit contains the den and kitchen, while the bedroom is separated from the main room by the bathroom. 

The larger unit has a rear entrance and off-street parking as well as a balcony overlooking the street. That’s by design, too. 

“It creates a sense of community, with more eyes on the street,” says Steigerwalt. 

In Garfield, people often know their neighbors — and the designers wanted this home to work within the neighborhood’s established architecture rather than stand out. 

“You do celebrate that it is a modern way of building a home, but it was very intentional on our part to make it blend into the neighborhood,” White says.

The House

For the interior, White says designers paid attention to how people store things, adding functional drop zones such as a bench with storage and shelving. There are also built-in work spaces that are more conducive to today’s remote worker, as well as a focus on what White likes to call “precious personal space,” such as a nook in the larger unit’s primary suite that’s perfect for working from home or relaxing with a good book.

The finishes throughout the entire home are high end and sleek; neutral gray-and-white tones mean the residents can add their own touches to a blank canvas. All of the appliances are energy efficient. 

Behind the walls, this home is as green as it gets, too. The materials chosen for the build, as well as the HVAC system, provide peace of mind as far as air quality and exposure to toxins. 

When asked if they plan to build more Picket Fence homes in Pittsburgh and beyond, the team says they hope to continue to work with local agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority to create more sustainable housing — and make it available below market rate. Beyond that, they hope others take their idea and run with it. 

“One of the reasons why this is so interesting is that we put in all of this upfront research and development work, from the design side,” says Steigerwalt. “But our intent is that this becomes a blueprint for the industry.”  

Meg St-Esprit is a Bellevue-based freelance journalist who covers real estate, lifestyle, education, parenting and travel for a variety of local outlets including Pittsburgh Magazine, PublicSource, Kidsburgh, Pittsburgh City Paper, and City Cast Pittsburgh. Meg offers Hot Property, an inside look into unique and historic homes on the market. Each week, Hot Property goes behind the For Sale sign to share the story of a special Pittsburgh-area home.

About: Garfield
Population: 4,000
Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Garfield is nicely positioned for easy access to most of the city’s major arteries. The walkable Pittsburgh neighborhood has many small businesses and eateries, meaning residents do not necessarily need a car. From this home, residents can also catch regular Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses to shopping, Downtown and the airport. It’s also a 20-minute drive to the airport via Interstate 376.
Schools: Pittsburgh Public Schools (pghschools.org)
Neighborhood: Garfield and the surrounding neighborhoods in the East End offer a perfect mix of city living. Known for its blooming arts district along Penn Avenue, the close-knit community’s main street also offers a variety of vibrant eateries, as well as nearby attractions such as the Pittsburgh Glass Center in Friendship and the Octopus Garden in Bloomfield. 

Neighborhood data provided by Niche.