PHOTOS COURTESY PITTSBURGH PHOTO COMPANY AND CUPP MEDIA

The stately house situated at 2740 Glenmore Avenue in Dormont has a long and storied history — one that Heather Schmidt Bresnahan has been carefully researching. She inherited the home from her lifelong friend, Charles Fenner, after he died last summer. 

“He was 87, and he passed on July 4, which I always thought was kind of crazy because he hated fireworks and he passed right before they started,” she says.  

Bresnahan has spent the last year updating the home before putting it on the market for $595,000. Her hope is a new family will fall in love with the property. After all, they will be her neighbors. 

Bresnahan has lived on Glenmore Avenue since 1971; she grew up across the street from Fenner, whom she counted as a close family friend. 

“He knew me all my life,” she says. “You know, he was just an older guy, but we became really good friends and remained best friends up until his death.” 

Fenner was only the second owner of the home, which Bresnahan believes was built around 1913. Her research found the house, which has four bedrooms and 1 ½ bathrooms on a double lot near Dormont’s business district, was built by Frederick Hugh Groves.

Groves immigrated to the U.S. in 1894 and built his life in Dormont. Involved in local media and well-connected in the Mason community, Groves eventually became a piano dealer. He and his wife, Viola, raised two sons in this home, which Fenner purchased from the Groves estate in 1971. For more than 50 years, Fenner kept it in immaculate condition. 

“He was just a stickler about his home and yard,” Bresnahan says. “He literally had a calendar, timed the rain, and he would cut it every three days after the rain. He never let anyone else use their lawnmower to help — only his.” 

To prepare the home for its next residents, Bresnahan focused on updates that would enhance the features of the historic home without removing any of the charm. A new roof, new plumbing and wiring, a new bathroom and repairs to plaster and paint mean this home is turnkey ready. 

The Colonial-style stucco house has four bedrooms on the upper level, two staircases, a morning room that is flooded with light and hardwood floors throughout most rooms. Historical details such as one-of-a-kind light fixtures and original fireplaces preserve the charm of the house, while the recent updates negate many of the issues old homes typically have. It’s the best of both worlds, Bresnahan says. 

The double lot totals nearly a half acre, and the three-car garage makes this a rare spacious find in a walkable bedroom community like Dormont, says realtor Bob Dini of Berkshire Hathaway. 

A resident of Dormont himself, Dini says neighbors have long been curious about the stately Glenmore Avenue home. Upward of 50 people came to the first open house, mostly out of curiosity. 

“We did have a lot of neighbors who have been looking at the house for years and years, decades in some cases,” he says. “Chuck bought it in 1971, so outside of any neighborly functions, nobody’s really been inside of it since it hasn’t changed hands.” 

While the new owners will receive two deeds for the property, the listing price encompasses the home, garage and both level lots. Dini says many things will draw buyers to this house. If the perfectly preserved woodwork and leaded glass built-ins don’t win them over, the location will.

“One of the things that really has helped drive the growth that we’ve had in Dormont in the last 10 years has been proximity to downtown Pittsburgh,” Dini says. “The walkability factor and a lot of unique architecture has really driven the market here.”

About: Dormont
Population: 8,255
Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Few communities in the greater Pittsburgh region are as perfectly situated for transit as Dormont. A Pittsburgh Regional Transit subway stop in town means both the city and South Hills Village Mall are a few stops away. The walkable nature of the borough itself means the next residents of this home don’t necessarily need to fill that three-car garage with vehicles. Hopping on the Parkway West is easy from Dormont when residents need to catch a flight, and PRT buses run regularly through the area as well.
Schools: Keystone Oaks (kosd.org)
Neighborhood: Dormont originally was supposed to be a part of the city of Pittsburgh at its inception, but instead was incorporated as its own borough in 1909. The main avenue is packed with restaurants and shops, and the community has several popular parks as well. Dormont is a mix of long-time residents, new families and young professionals drawn by the easy access to the city.