Pat Hebda is saying goodbye to her beloved eco-friendly home in Clinton Township for the last time.

Hebda, 74, is selling her dream home, dubbed “Dream’s End,” a 60-acre estate designed with an emphasis on being environmentally friendly. The asking price is $1.25 million.

Hebda’s husband of 40 years, Jim Morrow, died in December 2021 after a fall that resulted in a brain injury.

“I’ll be leaving a little bit of my heart with this property,” Hebda said recently while visiting from Boston, where she relocated to be closer to her son. “I really had mixed emotions. It took me a year just to be here and feel everything. It’s still hard because you don’t have that partner and all the things I’m enjoying. It’s painful to think how much Jim wanted to be there, too.”

The couple met as college students at Michigan State University. Jim was from Penn Hills, and the couple eventually wanted to settle back in Western Pennsylvania.

Located at the end of a private, dirt road at 150 Hidden Hill Road, the earth-sheltered modern home is surrounded by fields and rolling hills.

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Hebda and Morrow bought the property in 1979. They lived in an 1850s-era farmhouse that stood at the time while pursuing careers in education.

The couple grew hay, corn, sunflowers and their own vegetables. They raised cows, pigs, chickens.

As empty-nesters with two grown children and retirement looming, Hebda and Morrow decided to design and build a home that would enable them to “age in place” on the property they never planned to leave.

They hired Pittsburgh-based architect Robert Kobet, who specializes in sustainable design and high-performance green buildings, and they collaborated for months to design the home.

Hebda is hopeful new owners will enjoy the peace, serenity and environmentally friendly design of the home and surrounding acreage.

“All of it is just us. And even though I’m leaving it, (Jim) is not here anymore and my family is elsewhere. It’s a new season for me,” Hebda said.

Joyce Hanz | TribLive Pat Hebda is selling her custom eco-designed home on 60 acres in Clinton Township, Butler County.  

The home is built into the hillside, and about one-quarter of the 60 acres is wooded, with the remaining acreage offering open fields, suitable for farming.

“If people aren’t into farming, they could lease the fields to local farmers who are always looking for extra planting space,” Hebda said.

Water is supplied to the home from a deep well. State-of-the-art, energy-efficient heating and cooling appliances, including an induction stove, result in an electric bill that averages about $140 a month for the more than 3,600-square-foot space. Concrete and stone throughout the home help to absorb the heat, and heated floors provide additional climate control.

A large rain barrel behind the home collects rainwater to water plants.

“You can live all on this one level, there’s no stairs, and the doorways are wide enough for wheelchairs or gurneys,” said Hebda, who grew up in Grosse Point, Mich. “We planned to remain here.

“We love the property … and we didn’t want to move to an institutional place. We were planning ahead.”

Large windows are abundant, flooding rooms with light and offering expansive views of the rolling hills and surrounding landscape.

The old farmhouse, once visible from the home on a sloping hill, was torn down. A large barn remains visible from Dream’s End.

Hebda helped to design an open kitchen with a large, concrete island.

An indoor greenhouse and sewing room were must-haves in the design, with her husband particularly enjoying his green thumb pursuits.

The couple enjoyed living at Dream’s End for several years before his death.

Joyce Hanz | TribLive Pat Hebda tends to her plants Thursday inside the custom greenhouse in her eco-friendly home in Clinton Township, Butler County.  

“We see bears, wild turkeys, deer, and we’ve heard the coyotes,” Hebda said.

Realtor Michelle Blume said she has fielded one offer, and several out-of state buyers have expressed interest in moving to a farm that offers privacy and modern amenities.

“They’re calling this the new Fox Chapel. The taxes are lower than Allegheny County, and it’s just a wonderful property,” Blume said.

To view the Dream’s End listing online, click here.

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