South Fayette Township’s pastoral views are near schools and shopping
South Fayette Township is a scenic southwestern suburb of Pittsburgh, separated from the hustle and bustle of downtown Steel City and surrounding towns. Homes are zoned for a highly rated school district, while still within reach of grocery stores and restaurants near Bridgeville and Oakdale. “Driving down the main road, you are so high, altitude-wise, that you can see for miles. There are beautiful rolling hills, and you still have farms,” says Mark Handlovitch, an associate broker with Re/Max Real Estate Solutions Inc. and the owner of Edge Property Management. “It gives you that nice feel of the country.”
Various home styles across South Fayette Township’s 20 square miles
Spanning over 20 square miles, the township has a diverse selection of homes and a broad range of prices. Cottages, split-level and brick, ranch-style homes built between the 1950s and the 1970s go from $75,000 to $650,000, with prices depending on lot size and other factors. New Traditional homes and symmetrical Colonial Revivals were largely added between the late 1990s and the early 2000s, fetching between $270,000 and $890,000. Monthly homeowners association (HOA) fees vary widely by community. The township’s newest constructions often feature nostalgic Craftsman touches, selling between $450,000 and $850,000, with HOA fees that range from $15 to $150. Those who do not want the lawn care responsibilities that come with single-family homes may opt for two- to four-bedroom townhouses that cost between $160,000 and $480,000.
About 40 extracurricular activities at South Fayette High School
Students in the township are zoned for the highly ranked South Fayette Township School District. They may begin their educational journeys at South Fayette Elementary School with grades K-2 before moving forward to South Fayette Intermediate School for third through fifth grade. Afterward, they may enroll at South Fayette Middle School, with all three schools earning A-plus grades from Niche. They may then conclude their secondary education at A-rate South Fayette High School, which offers an extensive list of honors and Advanced Placement courses. Outside of class, students can choose from roughly 40 extracurricular activities to join, including Chamber Strings, Media Club, and Cash Club, where teenagers can invest fake money in the stock market and see how it fares.
Restaurants and grocery stores on the outskirts of South Fayette
Most of the township’s shopping and dining is located along its outskirts. “It’s nice from a housing standpoint,” Handlovitch says. “You’re 10 to 15 minutes away from a lot of restaurants, but they’re not in your backyard.” On the southeastern side of South Fayette, Bee'z Bistro & Pub sits next to a Giant Eagle. The family-owned restaurant offers a late happy hour — from 5-7 p.m. — trivia nights throughout the week and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Over the Bar Bicycle Cafe at Hastings’ menu is full of cycling-inspired names, from the Rail Trail Wrap to the Cog Salad. Vintage bikes fixed to the top of booth partitions and large wheels mounted on the wall build on the restaurant’s theme.
Sports at Fairview Park, and almost 3 miles of the Panhandle Trail
Fairview Park occupies almost 200 acres in the southeast portion of the township. The green space includes a designated, leash-free area for dogs, two baseball diamonds and a batting cage for baseball enthusiasts, two tennis courts and a newly added splash pad, which opened in time for the summer of 2024. One evening a month from June through October, families sprawl out on the greens for Movies at Fairview. The township contains almost 3 miles of the Panhandle Trail, which reaches all the way into West Virginia. “We ride our bikes right through there,” Handlovitch says. “There are new pull-offs, and you can park and jump right on the trail.” Hickory Heights Golf Club has a public, 18-hole course, as well as a golf launch monitor. A stately Tudor building houses the club’s pro shop and its restaurant, The Pub, for post-game catchups.
Interstate access to downtown Pittsburgh and a new beltway
Interstate 79 runs through the township and intersects with Interstate 376. The latter leads to both downtown Pittsburgh, which is roughly 15 miles away, and the Pittsburgh International Airport, about 17 miles away. “It's convenient to a lot of areas,” Handlovitch says. “They just extended a highway — think of it almost as a beltway — which goes through that area. It makes it easier to get south into Washington, Pennsylvania and north to the airport,” he says, referring to Pennsylvania state Route 576.
