Apartments in Dormont and Mt. Lebanon

The South Hills offers the benefits of the suburbs and the convenience of the city. While still in the city of Pittsburgh, Dormont and Mt. Lebanon are viable alternatives to the more condensed neighborhoods.

Mt. Lebanon has long been one of the high-end neighborhoods of the city with top schools and sports programs for youth. Homes in this area tend to be expensive, so renting a Mt. Lebanon apartment is an option for those who can’t make the investment in home ownership. Mt. Lebanon has several clusters of businesses in its expansive area. Beverly Road boasts several shops and restaurants, including sushi, pizza, and ice cream. The Himalayan Institute of Pittsburgh, a non-profit that offers yoga classes, is also located in this stretch of shops. Washington Road houses another commerce district, that includes restaurants, galleries, and coffee shops. The largest stretch of businesses is on Banksville Road, which includes several auto repair shops and larger stores, like Staples and Kuhn’s.

Mt. Lebanon borders on Greentree and Dormont. It offers multiple entrances to the 376 parkway — either via Greentree or Banksville Road.

Dormont is an affordable neighborhood that is on the rise. Along with an abundance of shopping and eating options, the borough is home to several unique attractions. The Hollywood Theater screens cult favorites — including a weekly audience-participation Rocky Horror Picture Show — and hosts the premieres of local films. The neighborhood is also home to Rickert & Beagle Books, formerly Eljay’s, where local authors are invited to read from their books in the shop that sells both used and new. The Dor-Stop Restaurant is an attraction in and of itself. The small family-owned diner garners out-the-door lines for breakfast on the weekends. Dormont apartments are also close to Dormont Lanes, as well as the unique bars and shops of Potomac Avenue.

Dormont apartments are just a short car or bus ride from the South Side, Downtown, and, in the other direction, South Hills Village. The borough offers the convenience of proximity to major areas while being removed from much of the chaos and the high price tags.

Apartments in Dormont and Mt. Lebanon are the ideal combination of city and suburb.

Apartments in Regent Square

Regent Square is an up-and-coming neighborhood in the east side of Pittsburgh. Bordering on Frick Park, the area offers several attractions within walking distance, including the Frick Fine Arts Museum, the Nature Reserve, as well as bike and walking trails, lawn bowling, and tennis courts. For those seeking indoor entertainment, the neighborhood is home the famous Regent Square Theater, a division of Pittsburgh Filmmakers where cinephiles can catch foreign or independent movies.

Four municipalities comprise Regent Square — Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Wilkinsburg, and Swissvale. This confluence makes the area unique. The main drag is Braddock Ave. that is lined with stores, restaurants, and other businesses. It stretches from Penn Ave. past the entrance and exit ramps to 376, and into Edgewood and Swissvale. Regent Square’s business district includes several cozy bars and restaurants, as well as yoga and martial arts studios, and art galleries.

Apartments in Regent Square offer the convenience of being in close proximity to other prime neighborhoods. Squirrel Hill is on the other side of Frick Park. Continue down Forbes Ave. through Squirrel Hill to get to Oakland. Or, take Braddock (or the side streets to avoid traffic) to Penn and get to East Liberty and Shadyside. And, Regent Square apartment residents ever need to get anywhere further, the highway is just a few blocks away.

Regent Square apartments are growing in popularity as more unique businesses open in the area. It’s an up-and-coming neighborhood with apartments that appeal to young professionals seeking minimal removal from the city.

Apartments Near the University of Pittsburgh, aka. Oakland Apartments

With the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University at the center, Oakland is a hub of student life. Bars, restaurants, and shops geared towards college students line Forbes Avenue.

Apartments near the University of Pittsburgh are a valuable commodity to students. Not only does living close to the university offer convenience in getting to class, it facilitates student social life. South Oakland residents are predominantly college students, and the neighborhood attractions are geared towards this population. There’s an abundance of pizza shops, ethnic eateries, and nightlife options.

South Oakland apartments are generally geared towards students. Often, they are divided houses with multiple units. It is also quite common in the area for an entire house to rent to a group of students. The major selling point of South Oakland apartments is their proximity to the University of Pittsburgh and all that comes with it. Pitt students comprise the majority of the South Oakland apartment renters, but the area is also a popular destination for students at Carnegie Mellon, Point Park, Duquesne, Carlow, and Chatham.

South Oakland is one of the flatter areas of Pittsburgh, which is helpful to so many residents that travel on foot. University shuttles circumnavigate the area, carting students from North Oakland, through Central Oakland, to the outer reaches of South Oakland. Several area universities also allow students to ride the city buses for free by presenting their student IDs.

Centered around the University of Pittsburgh, Oakland also boasts the school’s top-ranked hospital system. It also borders on Schenley Park, and features cultural attractions like the Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History and the main branch of the Carnegie Library.

The two main drags are Fifth Ave. and Forbes Ave. — two multi-lane boulevards that run parallel to one another in opposite directions as they approach and surround Pitt, then allow two-way travel when they reach the CMU area. Forbes features coffee shops, restaurants, bars, and even a grocery store. Primarily residential streets run perpendicular, and feature restaurants, bars, and bodegas scattered amongst South Oakland apartments. S. Craig Street is a popular destination for CMU students, with an eclectic selection of shops (a record store and vintage book store) and eateries (noodles and crepes among some of the fare).

Leases for apartments near the University of Pittsburgh often start around the beginning of a semester. And, due to the value of living near campus, do not last long.  

Winter Outside of Your Pittsburgh Apartment: It’s Not Just a Polar Vortex

When you rent a Pittsburgh apartment, you may not know what to expect. It’s an eclectic city known for football, steel mills, and zombies. And, yes, it gets cold here. But, if you brave these chilly winter squalls, you’ll discover the city outside of your Pittsburgh apartment is an adventure any time of year.

Once you figure out how to navigate those winding, one-way streets and that interesting public transportation system, you’ll find so many attractions and activities when you venture out of your Pittsburgh apartment.

South Side’s Annual Soup Contest

On Saturday, February 22, South Siders and those who enjoy the South Side will take part in a different kind of crawl. A soup one. This year marks the tenth annual event. South Side eateries and local host businesses open their doors and warm the chilly crawlers with inventive soups. It’s then your civic duty to vote for the best.

Ice Skate in Schenley Park

Set in the trees of the park is a full hockey rink for skating. Skating. Not checking your buddies into the boards. Not even during adults-only Friday night public skates.

Penguins Hockey

The Pens are good. There’s a whole bunch of them heading to Sochi this year. They score a lot of goals. They acquire scoring titles and MVP trophies like a college student acquires road signs. They’re fun to watch. Students, take advantage of their Student Rush specials that enable those with a valid student ID to get into the always-sold-out arena for $25. Or, just walk out the door of your Pittsburgh apartment. Whether you’re in Shadyside, South Side, or Dormont, there’s a bar nearby with a Pens game special.

Museums

Cold weather is a perfect excuse to stay indoors. When you have three rivers filled with kayaks, several neighborhoods of gallery crawls, and new outdoor dining options popping up all the time, it’s hard to justify checking out a museum when the weather’s nice. Let winter be the excuse. Pittsburgh’s art museums — including the Mattress Factory, Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Museum or Art, and the Frick Art & Historical Center — are world renowned. Then there are those niche exhibits that may prove just as memorable as their mainstream counterparts. The Photo Antiquities Museum of Photographic History on the North Side features a room of cameras and photos of Pittsburgh taken during the Great Depression. The Cultural District’s Toonseum is a celebration of comic books and otherwise cartoon art. And, if you’re in the mood for a mini road trip, the Living Dead Museum in Evans City, located right next to the cemetery from Night of the Living Dead, is an homage to another Western Pennsylvania pop cultural contribution — zombies.

When you rent a Pittsburgh apartment, you’re becoming a citizen of a dynamic city with opportunities for entertainment year-round. Yes, even on the cusp of a polar vortex.

Pittsburgh Restaurant Week

Sure, the best-known regional dish involves French fries on a sandwich, but Pittsburgh Restaurant Week is on a mission to prove that the Steel City’s collective palate is more sophisticated than that.

The semi-annual event begins with a kick-off party at Bill Chisnell Productions on Penn Ave in the Strip District at 6 PM on January 9, during which the participating restaurants entice potential diners with free samples of their dishes. The official week of the restaurant starts on January 13 and lasts until the 19^th.

During those seven days of gastrological delight, Pittsburghers can reserve their tables at participating restaurants for three-course prix fixe meals or $20.14 specials. It’s an opportunity for local eateries to showcase their specialties and for diners to experience them at a discounted price.

Restaurant locations range from Monroeville to Cranberry, but most are located in the city. Many are even within walking distance of Nexus Real Estate apartments.

In Shadyside:

^∧up modern italian

Avenue B

Mercurio’s

In South Side:

Bridge Ten Brasserie

Ibiza Tapas and Wine Bar

Mallorca

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant

In Oakland:

The Porch at Schenley

Learn more at pittsburghrestaurantweek.com.

Learn more about renting Pittsburgh apartments in Shadyside, South Side, and Oakland from Nexus Real Estate at pghnexus.com.

Renting in Pittsburgh: South Side Apartments

A recent study just found that Pittsburgh has the most bars and pizza shops per capita of any city in the United States. A major contributor to this somewhat dubious distinction (well, at least to health-conscious teetotalers) is the South Side. Running alongside the Monongahela River, this flourishing entertainment district has become a magnet area for students and young professionals. South Side apartments are hot commodities that don't stay on the market long, as lifelong Pittsburghers and recent transplants continue to flock to this bustling area.

It’s not just the bars and nightlife that make the area attractive to the city’s younger residents. The South Side is just a drive (or walk, with the recent addition of a pedestrian area) over the awesomely named and arachnid-like Hot Metal Bridge to Oakland, where the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Carlow College are located. For Duquesne University and Point Park University students, with downtown campuses that are not conducive to student living, the South Side apartments are popular choices. The neighborhood is just a quick walk over the 10^th Street Bridge to downtown.

The South Side is made up of two areas — the Slopes and the Flats, which are exactly what they sound like. The Flats are on a grid and, with the exception of some inexplicable one-way streets, are easy to navigate. The Slopes, on the other hand, are not for the Pittsburgh neophytes or those with a fear of heights or who like their neighborhoods planned in a logical fashion. However, if you can manage the narrow roads, some truly great South Side apartments are available for affordable prices in the Slopes.

The South Side has seen major revitalization in the past decade. True, it was always vibrant — the streets were crowded with late-night revelers — but the area has become more diverse in its options. The South Side Works opened in the mid-2000s with shopping, dining, and a movie theater. It’s since expanded to include a wine bar, hotels, and a German beer hall. The South Side Riverfront Park is an even more recent addition to the area that offers a great view of the Mon and links to the river trail for jogging and biking.

If you only pass through the South Side every couple months, it may seem that it is constantly changing. There’s always something new. A new restaurant, a new store, a new coffee shop, and, of course, a new bar. The South Side is fun. It’s walkable. It’s vibrant.

One major trend in the area has been the renovation of older houses into multifamily properties. Most of the homes in the area are like others in Pittsburgh — old. The new demographics of the area are dictating a change. No longer do South Side residents require an entire house. Younger people without children are willing to live in smaller quarters. So, property managers and investors are renovating properties and turning them into high-end apartments in the trendy neighborhood. This style of South Side apartments started in the Flats and is moving up to the Slopes. 

Different Things to do in Pittsburgh over the Holidays

Staying in Pittsburgh next week? Maybe you’re a lifelong Steel City denizen, or maybe a recent transplant to the land of Yinz who will be spending Christmas in town. As a Pittsburgh property management company, we’d like to provide our tenants with some ideas of ways to spend this Christmas in da ‘Burgh.

Our eclectic city that’s becoming as notable for robots as it is zombies and Lombardi trophies has just as wide a range of activities this week. Some of them have the holiday spirit. Some do not. One thing’s for sure — there’s something for everyone (at least everyone who’s looking to have at least a little fun) in Pittsburgh next week.

The Rat Pack Christmas

Heinz Hall

December 24–29

It’s the holiday version of Live at the Sands. Celebrating the talent of the Rat Pack, performers will sing holiday tunes (like “Silent Night”) and classic numbers (like “The Lady is a Tramp”) as Sammy, Frank, and Dean.

Harlem Globetrotters

Consol Energy Center

December 26

On the day after Christmas, these classic basketball stuntmen are reprising a big hit from last year as they’re letting fans vote on new rules, including whether one team can challenge another to a “trick shot contest.”

Three Rivers Classic

Consol Energy Center

December 27–28

For those who like their sports with a bit more grit, there’s the second annual collegiate hockey tournament featuring local hockey force on the rise Robert Morris University. The Colonials will be up against Bowling Green, Penn State, and Boston College.

Winter Flower Show and Winter Light Garden

Phipps Conservatory    

The Oakland conservatory is showing a collection of luminous glass artwork, LED lights, and flowers. The display is set among such winter staples as “icicles” and illuminated trees.

The Irony City Holiday Reunion Comedy Spectacular and Benefit

Arcade Comedy Theater

December 21

Enjoy some holiday improvisation from this local comedy troupe that has been performing all over the city for the better part of a decade. It’s laughs for a good cause as proceeds benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

And, if you have any Pittsburgh property management needs, we're always in the holiday spirit at Nexus Real Estate!