Mountain View Neighborhoods 2012

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OUR NEIGHBORHOODS MOUNTAIN VIEW AND LOS ALTOS

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NEIGHBORHOODS

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NEIGHBORHOODS

OUR NEIGHBORHOODS MOUNTAIN VIEW | LOS ALTOS

INDEX MOUNTAIN VIEW ..........7 Blossom Valley ...................14 Castro City .........................12 The Crossings.................... 22 Cuernavaca ........................24 Cuesta Park .......................16 Gemello .............................10

Michelle Le

A

sk longtime residents of Mountain View or Los Altos what makes their neighborhood special and they’ll easily point to the subtle differences that exist — sometimes block to block.

In our eighth guide to local neighborhoods in Mountain View and Los Altos, you’ll find snippets of history, descriptions of neighborhoods and reminiscences from residents who enjoy living here. We asked them what they liked, and what they’d like to see changed, whether it’s traffic or big-box commercial ventures.

Included in each neighborhood vignette is a fact box, designed to help people thinking about moving to the area. Where will the kids go to day care or school? Where can you pick

Veronica Weber

Veronica Weber

up a bottle of milk or loaf of bread on the way home from work? How far is the nearest fire station? And what would it cost to actually move in?

This year, fuller versions of the neighborhood profiles, along with maps, can be found on our website, www.paloaltoonline. com/neighborhoods/.

If your area has been overlooked — or you’ve found something just plain wrong — please call Carol Blitzer, who edited this publication, at 650-223-6511 (or email her at cblitzer@paweekly.com). We’d love to hear from you.

Tom Gibboney Publisher, Mountain View Voice

STAFF

Home-sales data: for placement only

Publisher: Tom Gibboney Editor: Carol Blitzer Designer: Linda Atilano Map designer: Bill Murray Researchers: Carol Blitzer, Yichuan Cao, David Ruiz Vice President Sales and Marketing: Tom Zahiralis Sales representatives: Connie Jo Cotton, Neal Fine, Rosemary Lewkowitz, Carolyn Oliver, Irene Schwartz

Jackson Park ..................... 20 Martens-Carmelita .............16 Monta Loma ....................... 8 North Whisman..................14 Old Mountain View ............18 Rex Manor/ Mountain Shadows ............. 9 St. Francis Acres .................10 Shoreline West ...................12 Sylvan Park ........................24 Waverly Park ..................... 20 Whisman Station ............... 22 Willowgate ........................18

LOS ALTOS ...................27

Courtesy of J. Robert Taylor, Taylor Properties

Central Los Altos ............... 36 ON THE COVER: With their dogs Heartly and Honey, Anita Rosen hugs her daughter Allison Moser in front of their Gemello neighborhood home in Mountain View. Photo by Michelle Le. Photographs of North Los Altos by Michelle Le; Sylvan Park by Kelsey Kienitz; and Rancho by Veronica Weber.

Country Club..................... 40 Loyola Corners .................. 34 North Los Altos ................. 32 Old Los Altos .................... 28

Copyright @2012 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved.

Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.

Rancho ............................. 34 South Los Altos ................. 38 Woodland Acres/ The Highlands ................... 40

NEIGHBORHOODS

450 Cambridge Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 964-6300 www.mv-voice.com

Additional copies of Mountain View/Los Altos Neighborhoods, as well as companion publications — Palo Alto Neighborhoods and Almanac Neighborhoods — are available at The Voice for $5 each.

All three publications are available online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com.

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NEIGHBORHOODS

MICHAEL GALLI 6

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FACTS

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57 percent multifamily and 4 percent mobile homes. About 42 percent are owner-occupied.

Encompassing 12 square miles, Mountain View is surrounded by Palo Alto, Los Altos and Sunnyvale. Highways 101, 85 and 237, as well as light rail and Caltrain, offer quick access to the rest of the Bay Area.

Mountain View’s diversified population enjoys superb recreation and arts facilities, including Shoreline Park and the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.

NEIGHBORHOODS

rom an early stagecoach stop and agricultural center, Mountain View has grown since its incorporation in 1902 to a thriving city of 74,000+ residents in the heart of Silicon Valley. Internationally known corporations make Mountain View their home, swelling the daytime population to more than 100,000.

Today, Mountain View neighborhoods are as varied as the housing types, with 28 percent single-family, 11 percent townhouses,

2011-12 GENERAL OPERATING FUND BUDGET: $93.5 million POPULATION (2010): 74,066 HOUSEHOLDS (2010): 31,957 OWNER-OCCUPIED HOUSING (2010): 13,332 RENTER-OCCUPIED HOUSING (2010): 18,625 MEDIAN HOME-SELLING PRICE: $956,250 (single-family homes, December 2010 through November 2011) $501,600 (condominiums, December 2010 through November 2011) ESTIMATED MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME (2009): $92,504

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MONTA LOMA

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The Monta Loma Neighborhood Association plays a large role in fostering that idea of community, White said. An email list set up by the neighborhood association includes more than 500 residents and allows neighbors to communicate with one another for both personal matters and local news items. “You see people asking for help every day and everyone is really receptive on the list,” White said, noting that a day’s worth of email can be anywhere from three to 10 items.

The homes have a distinct Eichler influence — low ceilings, a lack of interior walls and rectilinear angles — and were built in the suburban housing boom following World War II. Cochran has seen the changes of each decade.

“We once had a hippie commune move in next door,” he said, and music could be heard on the weekends but it was never a large problem. “I just shouted to them over the fence. I knew them a by a first-name basis, and they always understood,” he said.

Cochran also worked to develop Thaddeus Park when the construction of West Middlefield Road left behind islands of untended land in between itself and Old Middlefield Way. Tom Hayes, a member of one of the several multi-generational households in Monta Loma, was a planner for the city in 1972 when the project began.

“All of us were so excited to work on it; in a very short time we had landscaped a park,” Cochran said of the next-door park.

“We just lucked out,” White said. “It’s one

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: Hobbledehoy Montessori Preschool, 2321 Jane Lane; Monta Loma Babysitting Co-op (part of Monta Loma Neighborhood Association); Kids@Home (run by a neighbor; call Verity Aboudarham 650-968-6735) FIRE STATION: No. 3, 301 Rengstorff Ave. LOCATION: bounded by just south of San Antonio Road, West Middlefield Road, Rengstorff Avenue and Central Expressway NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Monta Loma Neighborhood Association, Wouter Suverkropp, president, wsuverkropp@yahoo.com, www. montaloma.org PARKS: Monta Loma Park, Thompson Avenue and Laura Lane; Thaddeus Park, West Middlefield Road and Independence Avenue POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PRIVATE SCHOOLS: Waldorf High School of the Peninsula, 180 N. Rengstorff Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Monta Loma Elementary School, Crittenden Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos High School SHOPPING: Central Expressway and Rengstorff Avenue; Monta Loma Plaza, West Middlefield Road and Rengstorff Avenue; San Antonio Shopping Center MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $780,000 ($581,000-$895,000) HOMES SOLD: 24 MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $269,750 ($175,350-$750,000) CONDOS SOLD (NEARBY): 6

of those cases when you really can’t see it until you live in it.”

—David Ruiz

Michelle Le

NEIGHBORHOODS

looked out that window, saw that same tall green plant outside and told the real estate agent that I wanted to buy the house.” That’s what James Cochran, mayor of Mountain View from 1992-93, recalls about purchasing his Monta Loma house in 1967, while working as a young bachelor. “I saw these tall windows that let in a lot of light, a lot from outside, and I liked that,” he said.

“It was a great place for me as a starter home,” Cochran said, adding that the homes were less expensive than in Palo Alto or Los Altos Hills. Many families would start here, have a child or two, and then move to neighboring areas when becoming more financially stable, he said. Cochran bought this as his first home and never saw the need to leave. He met his wife, Alice, while living in Monta Loma and said the home is a good place for retirement, as it doesn’t have any stairs.

Cochran mentioned a few neighbors that have passed their houses onto their future generations. “It’s half and half, some new, some old,” Cochran said.

The Google campus is close to Monta Loma, and has had an impact on the types of neighbors moving in.

“The houses and the lots are small, so you see a lot of new families moving in,” Raymond White said. White and his wife have been living at their house in Monta Loma for over a year now, since last August.

“It reminds me of when I grew up in the ‘50s. It has that feel of a community where everyone shares with one another,” he said.

FACTS

REX MANOR/MOUNTAIN SHADOWS

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said. “I woke up one morning and they were gone, and then they built those townhomes.”

Swindell lives with her 2-and-a-half-yearold son and fiancé. She values the familyfriendly feel of the neighborhood.

“Everyone’s always out walking,” she said.

“I see the same people and know them by name.”

Swindell added that most residents either have kids in the house now or did when they were younger.

“There aren’t a lot of young single people around,” she said.

Rex Manor is still fairly social and diverse.

Neighbors gather for Sunday potlucks and a yearly block party and ice cream social.

“We have a lot of nationalities here and everyone gets along,” Gicale said. “Everyone gets invited to birthday parties.”

There are a few small drawbacks for Swindell to living in Rex Manor, though. Her commute — to Foster City, where she works as a program manager at a life-sciences company — can take up to an hour and a half on her way home, and sometimes residents take advantage of the neighborhood’s quiet, safe atmosphere.

“There’s a lot of speeding through the neighborhood,” she said. “I think it’s by residents. They know there’s no cops who go through.”

Despite these small annoyances, Gicale feels very fortunate to have inherited a house in Rex Manor.

“These houses cost a lot,” he said. “I think there are a lot of people who would enjoy our

CHILD CARE AND PRESCHOOLS: YMCA of the East Bay/Mountain View Child Development Center, 750B San Pierre Way; YMCA — Theuerkauf,1625 San Luis Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 3, 301 N. Rengstorff Ave. LOCATION: Rex Manor: between Farley and Burgoyne streets, Central Expressway and West Middlefield Road; Mountain Shadows: between Burgoyne Street and Shoreline Boulevard, San Ramon and Montecito avenues NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Lawrence Shing, chair, Shings.rus@gmail.com PARKS: Rex Manor Park, Farley Street and Central Expressway; Stevenson Park, San Luis Avenue and San Pierre Way POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Theuerkauf Elementary School, Crittenden Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos High School SHOPPING: Bailey Park Plaza Shopping Center, Shoreline Boulevard; strip shopping at 112 Rengstorff Ave. and 580 Rengstorff Ave. MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $677,000 ($459,900-$1,200,000) HOMES SOLD: 22

neighborhood, and I feel for them.”

Swindell, who grew up in the Midwest and lived in San Jose before moving to Mountain View, is also glad to have ended up in Rex Manor.

“Coming from a very small town in Indiana, I really like Mountain View because of the community feel,” she said. She particularly enjoys the farmers market and the nearby Shoreline area.

The Mountain Shadows development, built in the early 1960s, is part of the Rex Manor neighborhood but looks slightly different.

“The homes are a little bit bigger,” said Yvonne Wilson, who moved to Mountain Shadows in 1990. She added that many models have between three and five bedrooms, and some are two-story. “And the streets are wider with fewer trees overhanging.”

The differences end there, though.

“We operate as one neighborhood for most purposes,” she said.

NEIGHBORHOODS

Michelle Le

ocated just off busy Central Expressway, Rex Manor — a quiet neighborhood with tree-lined streets and numerous parks — is the best of both worlds.

“You’re close to everything,” said Frank Gicale, whose family moved to the neighborhood in 1959, four years before he was born. He cited such conveniences as Safeway and the light rail, and being able to bike to almost anything.

For all these nearby comforts, Rex Manor is still a restful place to start a family. Gicale works for the City of Mountain View and has always lived nearby. Today, he’s raising his own three children in the house where he grew up, left to him by his parents when they passed on.

“A lot of our neighbors are from the old days,” he said. “They knew my parents. We feel safe here.”

The neighborhood was built by William Blackfield in 1950. Some of the ranch-style homes have been remodeled, but many haven’t, said Amber Swindell, who moved to the neighborhood in 2009.

“You can tell the whole neighborhood was built at the same time,” she said, because many of the houses are one-story and on the smaller side.

Gicale added that remodels have decreased during the recession, and that he’s seen very few foreclosed homes.

The look of the surrounding area certainly has changed over the years, though.

“When we were kids it was all orchards.

Behind my house were tomato fields,” Gicale

FACTS

— Emma Trotter 9

ST. FRANCIS ACRES

E

veryone seems to like everybody else in St. Francis Acres. At least according to Tom Pedersen, Kathy Lee and Virginia Phelps. They all agreed that their small neighborhood, bordered by El Camino Real, Permanente Creek and El Monte Avenue, is a very tightly knit community and a great place to raise kids.

“We have McKelvey Park, which is right around the corner from us,” said Pedersen, whose two boys grew up playing baseball there.

“Talk about convenience.” Many aspects of St. Francis Acres were and are convenient for Pedersen, who has lived on Todd Street since 1973. It is a short walk to downtown Mountain View and about five minutes from all major freeways.

“I love my neighborhood and so do my neighbors,” Lee, who lives on Ernestine Lane, said. “We watch out for one another.”

Lee said when her kids were growing up they always had plenty of other children to play with and would bounce from house to house.

“They both received outstanding educations,” she added, testifying to the quality of the local public schools. Both her children were avid swimmers and spent lots of time at the nearby Eagle Park swimming pool.

FACTS

In addition to having plenty of playmates, children attended a neighborhood-wide party at Halloween — a holiday her street likes to have fun with. There’s a big party every year.

“I love it here,” Phelps, who has lived on Gilmore Street since 1990, said. “The neighbors are wonderful.”

Each year her street has a Fourth of July block party and potluck. The street is blocked off, they hold a bike parade for the kids and members of the local fire and police departments often come to talk to the children about what they do.

Phelps likes St. Francis Acres for its diversity, as well. Having neighbors of different ethnicities makes the neighborhood vibrant.

“It’s very friendly and involved compared to other neighborhoods.” She enjoys stopping and talking with neighbors who may be out walking dogs or gardening in the front yard, as she makes her way down to the local Peet’s Coffee for “a little zip.”

Overall, Pedersen, Lee and Phelps all love living in St. Francis Acres. “If you live and work in Silicon Valley you couldn’t do much better,” Phelps said, noting that especially on Gilmore Street, the homes are very reasonably priced for the area.

— Nick Veronin

GEMELLO

NEIGHBORHOODS

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emello, its residents say again and again, is an old-fashioned neighborhood. It has old-fashioned architecture, old-fashioned plants and, best of all, an old-fashioned feel with neighbors that know each other, like each other and even remodel with each other.

Gemello — the Mountain View neighborhood located between the Los Altos border, El Camino Real and El Monte Avenue — was once a winery owned by John Gemello. In the 1950s, it was sold to San Francisco-based Meadow Development Company, which promptly starting building three-bedroom, one-bath Blackfield and Excel villages.

Charles Channing is a relative newcomer to the area, having moved to Gemello from the East Coast in 2001. He and his wife Samantha, a Bay Area native, chose the area precisely for its old-fashioned charm. “We loved the older area,” he said. “It’s got older trees and plants and smaller, older homes. Plus, it’s got a nice and quiet feel. Everyone knows everyone else in the neighborhood. It’s a good place to raise kids.”

In contrast, Jeanne Evilsizer moved to Gemello in 1978. Evilsizer, a Los Altos native, was first attracted by the quality of Excel

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: Mountain View KinderCare, 2065 W. El Camino Real; St. Paul Lutheran CDC, 1075 El Monte Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 1, 251 S. Shoreline Blvd.

LOCATION: bordered by El Camino Real, Permanente Creek and El Monte Avenue PARKS: McKelvey Park, Park Drive and Miramonte Ave.; Eagle Park, Shoreline Blvd. and High School Way. POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): Canterbury Christian School, 101 N. El Monte, St. Joseph Catholic School, 1120 Miramonte Ave., St. Francis High School, 1885 Miramonte Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Los Altos School District — Springer Elementary School, Egan Junior High School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos High School SHOPPING: Downtown Mountain View, El Monte Shopping Center (El Monte Avenue near Marich Way), Clarkwood Center (El Camino Real) MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,018,000 ($900,000-$1,135,000) HOMES SOLD: 9

FACTS workmanship and its proximity to her hometown.

Thirty-two years later, she’s still there, one of a group of close-knit long-time residents.

“The neighborhood is very established with several of our neighbor’s living in their homes for 50-plus years,” she said. “We have excellent neighbors who you can always depend on. We are very happy in the neighborhood.”

The neighborhood park, Gemello Park on Solano Drive and Marich Way, is a focal point for families and small children, even if cars driving on Marich Way go too fast.

“People go too quickly on Marich near the park,” her neighbor and Gemello resident Mark Bubert said. “Everyone flies on that street.”

Location was the deciding factor for Bubert, who has lived in Gemello since 2002.

“Gemello is just close to everything,” he said.

“I love to bike, and from Gemello you hop on 280 and you can get away in a few minutes.

There’s a park, and Los Altos High is nearby.”

“I wouldn’t move,” Bubert said. “I love it here. I am very happy in this neighborhood.”

People have asked if he’d like to live in a big house in the hills.

“Only if the neighbors come with me,” he said.

—Angela Chen

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: Childrens Learning Cottage, 675 Escuela Ave.; Mountain View KinderCare, 2065 W. El Camino Real; St. Paul Lutheran CDC, 1075 El Monte Ave.; Wonder World, 2015 Latham St. (nearby) FIRE STATION: No. 3, 301 N. Rengstorff Ave.; No. 1, 251 S. Shoreline Blvd.

LOCATION: bounded by El Monte Avenue, Jardin Drive, Karen Way and El Camino Real PARK: Gemello Park, Marich Way and Solana Court POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St., Blossom Valley, 1768 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): Canterbury Christian School, 101 N El Monte Ave.; The Waldorff School of the Peninsula, 180 N. Rengstorff Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Bubb Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos High School SHOPPING: Downtown Mountain View, Downtown Los Altos, Blossom Valley Shopping Center, Gemello Village, Clarkwood Center, San Antonio Shopping Center MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,070,000 ($842,800-$1,378,000) HOMES SOLD: 9 MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $408,000 ($395,000-$735,000) CONDOS SOLD: 5

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CASTRO CITY

I

n a neighborhood synonymous with Mountain View’s earliest history, change is easy to see.

Once an enclave of cottage houses, today Castro City features a growing number of newly built, narrow, two-story homes squeezed onto tiny lots in the six-squareblock area located across the street from Rengstorff Park.

Kalwant Sandhu, an entrepreneur from Singapore, moved to the area in 2002 and lives on College Street with his wife, Pamela, and three sons.

“My house is sometimes like a community center for the area. Kids come by to play,” said Sandhu, who is chairman of the city’s Human Relations Commission. His wife is chairwoman of the Senior Advisory Committee. “It’s a great neighborhood,” he said.

Sandhu said the neighbors are very friendly and people are typically looking out for each other. On Wednesdays, when the city does street sweeping, neighbors offer to move cars for those who aren’t at home or have forgotten, he said.

The only problem has come from the recent construction of a Ryland Homes

FACTS

housing complex. “A gate was put up that blocks access to our park and now we have to walk 15 minutes on California Avenue to get around it. No one is happy about that,” Sandhu said. The neighbors have complained, but city officials have done little about it.

“The city is condoning one neighborhood locking out another,” he said, adding that Castro City looks to promote civility and the gate only gets in the way.

The area’s namesake is Mariano Castro, whose Spanish rancho included most of the land that Mountain View occupies. Two years after the 1906 quake, a land speculator divided up the area with the hope of turning it into a country suburb for Stanford professors and San Francisco vacationers, using such street names as University and Fair Oaks avenues.

“I enjoy the neighborhood for the compactness of it,” Jim Early, a contractor who moved in 1988 to College Avenue, said.

“There’s still some form of community that you don’t find in a lot of neighborhoods these days. We still all know one another. Our houses get watched over.”

— Todd R. Brown

SHORELINE WEST

NEIGHBORHOODS

A

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s the former home of the Pacific Press Publishing Company and the future partial site of Google, Shoreline West has a history and character as eclectic as its architecture.

The neighborhood originally broke off from Old Mountain View in 1994 in an effort to preserve the home of the city’s first mayor.

Today, the heavily populated area is considering tightening its boundaries even further in an effort to build close community amongst its ethnically and economically diverse populace.

Bounded by Shoreline Boulevard, El Camino Real, Escuela Avenue and Villa Street, the neighborhood’s quiet, tree-lined streets lead to small shops and markets and sit in close proximity to downtown. Residents vary in age, from longtime empty-nesters to young couples.

Architectural styles range from original craftsman and Victorian single-family homes to duplexes to apartments. Julie Stanford, who’s lived there since 2002, loves how the neighborhood “doesn’t have a specific look.

Every house looks completely different.”

As newlyweds, Stanford and her husband were first attracted to Shoreline West for its

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: Oak Tree Nursery School, 2100 University Ave.; Wonder World, 2015 Latham St. (nearby) FIRE STATION: No. 3, 301 N. Rengstorff Ave. LOCATION: bounded by South Rengstorff Avenue, University Avenue, College Street and Leland Avenue PARKS: Castro Park, Toft Avenue at Latham Street; Rengstorff Park and pool, Rengstorff Avenue at Crisanto Avenue POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mountain View Whisman School District — Mariano Castro Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos High School SHOPPING: Mi Pueblo Food Center, 40 S. Rengstorff Ave. at Leland Avenue; Walgreens, 112 N. Rengstorff Ave. at Central Expressway MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $550,000 ($425,000-$675,000) # HOMES SOLD: 2 MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $323,500 ($136,000-$765,000) CONDOS SOLD (NEARBY): 18

FACTS

location near downtown and its friendliness to growing families like their own. Today, the couple enjoys visiting with their neighbors for casual dinner gatherings throughout the year, along with hosting occasional “happy hours” in their own yard. Neighborhood volunteers also organize community potlucks every winter.

The area has become even more communal as years have passed, Stanford said. “I can walk through the neighborhood and know who lives in every house,” she said. “We know everybody on our street.”

Block parties of varying sizes occur throughout the year. This October, the Shoreline West Association of Neighbors hosted its first all-neighborhood block party, which boasted a record attendance of more than 300 people.

Neighbors have most recently been active in developing safer crosswalks with more stop signs, and have monitored recent developments along Mariposa Avenue and El Camino Real.

Overall, residents don’t offer many complaints.

“Everybody that comes to the neighborhood is like, ‘God, I wish every neighborhood could be like this,’” Deniece Watkins Smith, neighborhood association president said.

— Casey Moore

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: Castro Preschool, 505 Escuela Ave.; Childrens Learning Cottage, 675 Escuela Ave.; Wonder World, 2015 Latham St. (nearby) FIRE STATION: No. 1, 251 S. Shoreline Blvd.

LOCATION: bounded by Shoreline Boulevard, El Camino Real, Escuela Avenue and Villa Street NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Shoreline West Association of Neighbors (SWAN), Deniece Watkins, dsoldit@gmail.com PARKS: Castro School Park, Toft Avenue and Latham Street; Mariposa Park, 301 Mariposa Ave.; Eagle Park and Pool, S. Shoreline Boulevard at Church Street POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Castro Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos High School SHOPPING: Downtown Mountain View; California Street Market, 1595 California St.; Escuela Avenue at El Camino Real MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $857,000 ($485,000-$1,320,000) HOMES SOLD: 22 MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $344,500 ($200,000-$514,000) CONDOS SOLD: 10

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13

BLOSSOM VALLEY

“I

t still feels the same way as when I was a kid,” said Chris DeMassa, who moved back in 1996 to the Blossom Valley neighborhood where he grew up.

“It’s neat to see it the same as it was then, seeing my kids go to Springer just like I did,” he said of the “special, magical place.”

Blossom Valley was built on orchard land in the 1950s. Many houses are from that era, but properties are kept up and remodeling remains energetic. Four smaller neighborhoods make up Blossom Valley — Springer Meadows, Varsity Park, Blossom Valley Estates and Gest Ranch. The neighborhood is bordered by Springer Road and Miramonte Avenue and is effectively cut in half by Cuesta Drive.

DeMassa says that along with people who have been in the neighborhood for 30 or 40 years, there are plenty of new families as well.

The large front yards and the broad, clean streets make it easy to run into neighbors.

“There are 14 kids in a four-house area. All the kids grow up together, even the older ones,” he said.

Claudia Osterheld moved in with her family in 1996 to be a part of a family-oriented neighborhood. “It was a nice community with

FACTS

nice schools. It was friendly,” she said. Gettogethers such as play dates and block parties are common and Varsity Park and Springer Meadows have neighborhood associations.

Traffic is an issue that Blossom Valley has had to deal with at times. Cuesta Drive, with only three places to cross by foot, is a wide canyon compared to the rest of Blossom Valley’s quiet, tree-lined streets.

Residents feared that the Satake Estates development, which opened earlier this year on six acres at the former Satake Nursery site, would cause more traffic. DeMassa said that hasn’t been an issue.

According to DeMassa, the developers did a good job talking to the neighbors. They held a public forum, and about 100 members of the community showed up. The developer and the community agreed to keep Marilyn Drive a dead end to lessen the affect of traffic.

Even with the changes new construction brings, the appeal of Blossom Valley hasn’t changed since the time when DeMassa was going to Springer Elementary.

“It’s stayed the same. It’s always been a friendly, safe neighborhood,” he said.

—John Squire

NORTH WHISMAN

NEIGHBORHOODS

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isa Burns knew the first day she moved into her house on Walker Drive that she had found a home in North Whisman. With boxes packed into her garage, she closed the door and left to run some errands.

“What I didn’t know is that the door bounced back up,” Burns said, “leaving all my earthly possessions in full view for whoever might want to come take them.”

When she returned, however, she found her neighbor, Frank, waiting to assure her he had been keeping an eye on her garage.

“Your garage door is malfunctioning,” he told her, “but I think we can fix it.”

And he did.

“It’s just been like that the whole time I’ve been there,” Burns recalled. She speaks from experience — since she’s been in the same house since 1987.

Bordered by Evandale Avenue, Whisman Road, Middlefield Road and Moffett Boulevard to the north, North Whisman encompasses a visible dichotomy of business complexes, and an eclectic range of town houses, apartments, single-family homes and condos.

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS (NEARBY) : Children’s House of Los Altos, 770 Berry Ave.; Little Acorn School, 1667 Miramonte Ave.; St. Timothy’s Nursery School, 2094 Grant Road FIRE STATION: No. 2, 160 Cuesta Drive LOCATION: between Springer road and Miramonte Avenue, Marilyn and Lincoln drives.

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Eastern Varsity Park Neighborhood Association, Lianne Mintz, coordinator, lmintz3@yahoo.com PARKS: Varsity Park, Duke Way and Jefferson Drive; Cuesta Park, Cuesta Drive POST OFFICE: Blossom Valley, 1768 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): St. Joseph Catholic School, 1120 Miramonte Ave.; St. Francis High School, 1855 Miramonte Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: (Eligibility for school districts depends on resident’s address) Los Altos School District — Springer Elementary School, Blach Intermediate School; Mtn. View-Whistman School District — Bubb Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos or Mountain View high schools SHOPPING: Blossom Valley Shopping Center, Miramonte Avenue and Cuesta Drive; Rancho Shopping Center, Foothill Expressway and Springer Road; Grant Road Plaza Shopping Center, Grant Road and Phyllis Avenue MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,450,000 ($718,000-$1,823,086) HOMES SOLD: 29

FACTS

“Our biggest concern is the growth development,” said Peggy Prendergast, who has lived on Flynn Avenue since 2005. She emphasized that while she didn’t want to see large complexes added to the neighborhood, she understood the appeal of North Whisman’s proximity to so many major highways. “I really believe this is an up-andcoming area because of the location.”

Neighbors agree that another one of the main draws to North Whisman is its diversity.

“There’s a good mix, a good diversity,” Prendergast said. She pointed to her complex, and listed each family and their country of origin: the Philippines, Equador, China, Algeria, Japan, India, Bulgaria.

“I like Mountain View because it seems to be a little bit more diverse,” said Lisa Moore, who moved to North Whisman in 1993 from Palo Alto.

“It’s been a nice, peaceful neighborhood.

I’ve got a good friend across the street, another around the corner,” she said. “People feed each others’ animals. It’s small stuff like that.”

— Kelsey Mesher

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: German International School of Silicon Valley, 310 Easy St.; Kiddie Academy, 205 E. Middlefield Road; NASA Ames Child Care Center, Moffett Field FIRE STATION: No. 4, 229 N. Whisman Road NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: North Whisman Neighborhood Association, Jessica Gandhi, 650-969-2429; jessicasgandhi@yahoo. com; Wagon Wheel Neighborhood Association, Lisa Matichak, 650-207-0838, lisa.matichak@gmail. com or board@wagonwheelna.org PARKS: Whisman Park, Easy Street and Middlefield Road; Devonshire Park, 62 Devonshire Ave. POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PRIVATE SCHOOLS: German International School of Silicon Valley, 310 Easy St. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Huff, Landels or Monta Loma elementary schools, Crittenden Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Strip mall on Leong Drive; retail centers on Middlefield Road and Whisman Road MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $527,500 ($370,000-$1,040,900) HOMES SOLD: 12 MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $414,998 ($200,000-$680,000) CONDOS SOLD: 20

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15

MARTENS-CARMELITA

T

hough it’s just a few blocks off El Camino Real, Martens-Carmelita neighborhood has a rustic, rural feel that sets it apart from other areas in Mountain View. The atmosphere is reminiscent of the 1950s, when many of the homes were built.

Countless varieties of trees and shrubberies line the streets, which don’t have sidewalks.

And every few houses, there’s a cluster of brightly painted mailboxes. This touch only increases the warm neighborly feel, according to Shirley Luna, who lives on Carmelita Drive with her husband.

“You really know your neighbors who are in that little group,” she said.

That’s not to say nothing’s changed in 60 years. Since Luna moved to the neighborhood in 1989, there’s always been one rebuilding project or another. Families today tend to add on behind their houses, cutting into the long backyard areas.

But the country feel remains, in Luna’s opinion.

“It hasn’t changed a lot,” she said. “It’s still a very nice neighborhood.”

Couples with young children have been another constant. As Luna’s kids — at one point there were five in the house — grew up, young couples with new babies moved in.

“You don’t realize how many kids are in the

FACTS

neighborhood,” Luna said. “Then all of a sudden they go running for the ice cream truck.”

Just down the street, Luna’s neighbor Lisa Clifford is one of those young moms. She has three children age 7 and under.

Clifford and her husband decided to move to their current house in 2009. They have lived elsewhere in Mountain View — within a onemile radius of their current lot — since 2001.

“We wanted a home in this same place but with a larger back lot,” she said. The family has renovated most of the house, including landscaping the backyard so the kids have more room to play.

Clifford is originally from Ireland, and many of her neighbors also represent diverse countries and cultures, including Vietnamese, Filipino and Indian families.

“It’s very Californian,” Clifford said, “with the melting pot.”

In the past, Luna said, the neighborhood has thrown a big Halloween party for kids. But Clifford said she doesn’t remember the whole street ever hosting a full-on block party. She and her husband still keep in touch with the friends they made when they lived just around the corner, though.

— Emma Trotter

CUESTA PARK

NEIGHBORHOODS

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ith its eclectic mix of old-style cottages, apartment complexes and new single-family homes, the Cuesta Park neighborhood feels like a 1950sera suburb.

And, the people of Cuesta Park exemplify the traditions of the era it resembles. Genuine kindness and respect for each other and their neighbors is an everyday occurrence.

In 2001 Sarah Donahue discovered Cuesta Park in her search to find a neighborhood that provided good schools and pleasant people.

“I’ve found that in spades,” Donahue said.

“I was thrilled to rediscover that there were people who know their neighbors, and they talk to each other.”

Frankie Borison, resident of Cuesta Park since 1989, echoes Donahue’s sentiments. “It’s our own little oasis.”

A key component to the sense of community that resounds in the Cuesta Park neighborhood is the Cuesta Park Neighborhood Association or CPNA. Kim Merry, a resident since 1960 and previous neighborhood association president, credits the creation of the CPNA to the

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: Baby World, 1715 Grant Road; Montecito Preschool, 1468 Grant Road; St. Timothy’s Preschool, 2094 Grant Road; YMCA — Huff Kids’ Place, 253 Martens Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 2, 160 Cuesta Drive LOCATION: Martens Avenue and Carmelita Drive and nearby streets NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: MartensCarmelita Neighborhood Association, Robin Iwai, 650-961-8257, robin.iwai@yahoo.com PARKS: Huff Park, Martens Avenue POST OFFICE: Blossom Valley, 1768 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): St. Simon Catholic School, 1840 Grant Road, Los Altos PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Huff Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Grant Park Plaza, Grant Road at El Camino Real; Mountain View Shopping Center, El Camino at Grant Road MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,330,000 ($800,000-$1,700,000) HOMES SOLD: 7

FACTS

neighborhood’s struggle to keep the Cuesta Park Annex, an additional 12 acres of underdeveloped land, in its natural state.

“I know a million people just from hanging out in my back yard,” Merry said. A chain-link fence is all that separates her yard from the park annex.

The CPNA won its battle and the annex remains untouched, and according to Bruce Hurlburt, Mountain View’s former parks manager, people all throughout the community enjoy this aspect of the park.

“It gives folks a chance to feel they’re not in the middle of the city,” he said.

Neighborhood gatherings abound in this Mountain View locality, and many of them take place in the sprawling 25-acre park bearing the neighborhood’s name, Cuesta Park.

The park plays host to summer concerts, fall picnics, wildflower planting, and every May it’s the location of the Mountain View chapter of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

Oren Shachal, a Cuesta Park resident since 2004, has participated in the Relay for Life event for the past three years, and plans to take part again.

— Kimberly Ewertz

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: Little Acorn Preschool, 1667 Miramonte Ave.; St. Timothy’s Preschool, 2094 Grant Road; YMCA Kids Place, 525 Hans Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 2, 160 Cuesta Drive LOCATION: bounded by El Camino Real, Grant Road, Cuesta Drive, Miramonte Avenue, Castro Street NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Cuesta Park Neighborhood Association (CPNA), Kevin McBride, acting president, kevin.mcbride@pacbell.net PARKS: Bubb Park, Barbara Avenue and Montalto Drive; Cuesta Park, 615 Cuesta Drive POST OFFICE: Blossom Valley, 1768 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOLS: St. Joseph, 1120 Miramonte Ave.; St. Francis High School, 1885 Miramonte Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Bubb Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Grant Park Plaza, Grant Road at El Camino Real; Blossom Valley Shopping Center, Miramonte Avenue at Cuesta Drive; Downtown Mountain View MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $985,000 ($730,000-$1,429,000) HOMES SOLD: 32 MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $557,000 ($290,000-$843,000) CONDOS SOLD: 5

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WILLOWGATE

N

ewlyweds John and Annie Mena moved to a home they built themselves at 155 Santa Clara Ave. to start a family and life together. More than 60 years later, Annie, who is 88, still resides in the same charming house, though her husband has passed away and she has seen many a neighbor come and go.

“I’m the first one that built here and I’m the last one here,” she says of her tiny street off Willowgate.

Mena and her longtime neighbors, Eleanor and Manuel Hernandez, have seen many changes to the neighborhood, including Central Expressway and many other now busy streets, from West Moffet to Highway 85, that now surround the neighborhood.

“There was nothing here, absolutely nothing,” Manuel Hernandez said of the area in 1951.

The surrounding land was mostly used for agriculture, everything from cherries to sweet peas, he said.

“And, over here there was a Navy barracks,” he added, gesturing to where apartments are now.

Mena and the Hernandezes have also seen people come and go in the neighbhorhood.

“I know ‘em all,” Mena says of her neighbors.

She points to a healthy vine bearing a Mexican

FACTS

vegetable. Though she can’t recall its name, she remembers when her old neighbor, a Filipino woman named Rosey, brought her a cutting and taught her how to cook them.

“It’s a little secret area,” says Margaret Poor, who lives with her husband Graham and two children one house over from Mena. The family moved next door six years ago, and occupies another house the Menas built — the same house where Mena’s mother lived for a number of years.

Poor says the best thing about the neighborhood is its location. She walks to the Caltrain station for Sunday’s farmers market, and takes her kids on the train to Menlo Park, Burlingame or San Francisco. She often bikes with her son to Landels Elementary, and can even tote her daughter to preschool on Steven’s Creek Trail.

“It’s representative of Mountain View,” she adds, “because there are houses, townhomes, condominiums, apartments...We’d like to stay here forever, we really like it.”

Another draw to the area is the popular Willowgate Community Garden, which has been around longer than the city keeps track of and has a waiting list of more than 100 people.

OLD MOUNTAIN VIEW

NEIGHBORHOODS

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riginally incorporated in 1902, Mountain View has undergone rapid development in recent years due to lowered construction costs and the influence of Google moving in, said Robert Cox, vice chair of the Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association.

Much of the development has been along Castro Street, the main street of downtown Old Mountain View, he said.

“We broke a landmark recently; we now have over 100 restaurants,” said Cox, a resident of Old Mountain View since 2009. The growth can sometimes lead to controversy, though, he said.

In 2009, Prometheus — a real estate construction company — attempted to build roughly 200 units in an area that was previously zoned for only 100 units. Upset by the efforts of Prometheus, concerned residents turned to the Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association to have their voices heard.

“We had five times more people than at a regular meeting,” Cox said about the election that took place that year. In one night, new members won seven of the eight available seats on the association board.

“I hope it doesn’t lose its soul,” Cox said,

COMMUNITY GARDEN: $42 for plot permit, 650-903-6331, or e-mail recreation@ mountainview.gov to join the waiting list for a plot FIRE STATION: No. 1, 251 S. Shoreline Blvd.

LOCATION: bordered by Central Expressway, West Moffett, Moffett and Highway 85 PARK: Jackson Park, Jackson Street and Stierlin Road POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Landels or Monta Loma elementary schools, Crittenden Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Moffett Boulevard, Downtown Mountain View, Sunday farmers market at Caltrain parking lot (9 a.m. to 1 p.m. year round) MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $820,000 HOMES SOLD: 1 MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $540,000 ($495,000-$538,000) CONDOS SOLD: 5

Prospective gardeners must wait three to four years to gain access to one of the 84 plots in the garden, which flourishes with everything from flowers and tomatoes to kiwi plants.

— Kelsey Mesher

FACTS

commenting on recent growth.

Historic houses mix with new units, and many of the streets preserve the original trees.

Cox said the neighborhood has a commitment to the environment, and that residents will even tie a yellow ribbon around a tree that has been ordered cut. “That’s not something you see other places; we have a few things that make us different,” he said.

Like other neighborhoods, Old Mountain View has an online mailing list in which neighbors can communicate. Two current Mountain View council members live in Old Mountain View and participate in the discussion, raising political awareness throughout, Cox said.

Mary Heeney has been in and out of Old Mountain View since 1992.

Originally from the Midwest, Heeney was looking for a sense of community again. “The hometown rituals, knowing your neighbors, all those things I grew up with I also found in Old Mountain View,” she said.

In the years she was absent, she said Old Mountain View has gotten better. “It used to be a bit scruffier,” she said, mentioning a few old motels that no longer exist.

— David Ruiz

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: YMCA Kids’ Place at Landels School, 115 W. Dana St. FIRE STATION: No. 1, 251 S. Shoreline Blvd.

LOCATION: bounded by El Camino Real, Shoreline Boulevard, Evelyn Avenue and Highways 87/237 NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association, David Lewis, chair@omvna.org; omvna.org PARKS: Dana Park, West Dana Street at Oak Street; Eagle Park & Pool, S. Shoreline Boulevard at Church Street; Pioneer Park, Church and Castro streets; Mercy-Bush Park, Mercy and Bush streets; Fairmont Park, Fairmont Avenue and Bush Street; Landels Park, West Dana Street near Calderon Avenue POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Landels Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Downtown Mountain View, Grant Park Plaza MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $890,000 ($550,000-$1,625,000) HOMES SOLD: 37 MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $599,000 ($315,000-$920,000) CONDOS SOLD: 11

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JACKSON PARK

T

he eerie silence surrounding Stierlin Road suddenly disappears when the park comes into view. Toddlers are screaming in delight as they swing off the jungle gym and sprint after one another in Jackson Park.

Elena Migunova often spends her afternoon with other parents while their children play together. Migunova moved here from Russia in 2011 when her husband found a job in Mountain View.

She says that she likes living in Jackson Park, which is really different compared to living in Russia. “In Moscow, the apartments are eight or nine levels tall. It is like the countryside here,” she said.

Mary Anne Plano echoes Migunova’s sentiments. Plano moved to Jackson Park from Palo Alto 15 years ago when they cut down the trees around her old apartment. She really enjoys having lush greenery around her condo.

“The weather is perfect. I don’t have AC at my place but it gets the best breezes,” she said.

Jackson Park is not only perfect for nature buffs but also ideal for pedestrians.

Jeff Li, who moved into Jackson Park in 2003, admits he chose the neighborhood

FACTS

because it is nestled next to downtown Mountain View. The convenience is hard to beat. “Jackson Park is close to Castro Street, the public transit and freeway access,” he said.

Plus, Stevens Creek Trail is a walkable distance away. Following Shoreline down to the end leads to the 5-mile hiking trail.

Despite traffic-packed Shoreline Boulevard, Moffett Boulevard and Central Expressway sandwiching Jackson Park, the streets are alarmingly quiet.

“I might hear the train sometimes or concerts from Shoreline but it’s not annoying,” Li said.

In fact, Plano finds the noise soothing. It would take a lot for her to move.

“It’s a nice area if you don’t want to use a car,” Plano said as she pointed in the direction of the bus line and transit center. “Parking can be hard in downtown Mountain View. It’s nice to walk there.”

Li, a native of Cupertino, plans on staying here for the next few years. He enjoys living in Mountain View and would only consider moving for his daughter’s schooling. He ruled out moving back to Cupertino though because the high schools are not as diverse as those in

WAVERLY PARK

NEIGHBORHOODS

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averly Park can be summed up by one event, according to Vickie Chegwidden, resident since 2009 with her husband, Scott.

“The Fourth of July celebration epitomizes the neighborhood,” she said. “Everyone rolls their barbecues out into the court.”

This social aspect is part of what drew the couple to the neighborhood with their two children, Alice and Joseph.

“They’re just down-to-earth, loveable people,” Chegwidden said. “It’s very much what we need for a family.”

The neighborhood, bounded by Grant Road, Highway 85 and Sleeper and Bryant avenues, used to be an orchard owned by Joel Levin in the mid-1800s. Development began in the 1960s.

Today, the last parcel of land — formerly a pumpkin patch — is the site of the new Enclave houses, some of which are still under construction. The development was not without controversy, much of it surrounding traffic, which was already known to be a hassle.

“Until you actually live in the neighborhood you don’t realize how bad the traffic is,” Chegwidden said. Still, both she and her husband

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: The Wonder Years Preschool, 462 Stierlin Road FIRE STATION: No. 1, 251 S. Shoreline Blvd.

LOCATION: bounded by Shoreline Boulevard, Stierlin Road, Windmill Park Lane, Central Avenue, Moffett Boulevard and Central Expressway PARK: Jackson Park, Jackson Street and Stierlin Road POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Monta Loma or Theuerkauf elementary schools, Crittenden Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Moffett Boulevard, Downtown Mountain View, Bailey Plaza MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $900,000 ($800,000-$1,000,000) HOMES SOLD: 2

Mountain View.

“There’s too much competition. It wasn’t really diverse when I was there and it’s even less now.”

Migunova smiles when asked how long she plans to stay in Mountain View: “I don’t miss Russia. Just miss my friends.”

— Anna Li

FACTS

have reasonable commutes — that was one reason they chose the neighborhood, which has quick access to highways 85, 101, 237 and 280.

Todd Fernandez has lived in the neighborhood with his wife, Catherine Moore, since 2003, the year their older child was born.

When possible, Fernandez and his family beat the traffic by biking with their daughter to school or to the nearby Safeway.

“Waverly Park appealed to us with its rich open space resources,” he said. “Stevens Creek Trail reaching the neighborhood a few years ago has been a fantastic addition and provides another great connection to the rest of the city that doesn’t require a car.”

Much of the neighborhood socialization, for Fernandez, takes place out and about.

“It’s fun to walk around the neighborhood and meet up with (my daughter’s) friends from school, kids I’ve coached,” he said. “It’s a nice mixture of longtime and newer residents.”

One of Fernandez’s favorite aspects of the neighborhood comes from a bit farther afield.

“The open space area behind Huff really puts the mountain view in Mountain View,” he said.

— Emma Trotter

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: El Camino YMCA, 2400 Grant Road; Mountain View Parent Nursery School, 1299 Bryant Ave.; Primary Plus, 333 Eunice Ave.; St. Timothy’s Nursery School, 2094 Grant Road; YMCA Way to Grow FullDay Preschool, 1501 Oak Ave., Los Altos (nearby) FIRE STATION: No. 2, 160 Cuesta Drive LOCATION: bounded by Grant Road, Highway 85 and Sleeper and Bryant avenues PARKS: Cooper Park, Chesley Avenue at Yorkton Drive, Cuesta Park POST OFFICE: Blossom Valley, 1768 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOLS: St. Joseph, 1120 Miramonte Ave.; St. Francis High School, 1885 Miramonte Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Huff Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Blossom Valley Shopping Center, Miramonte Avenue at Cuesta Drive; Grant Park Plaza; Nob Hill Shopping Center, Grant Road; Downtown Mountain View MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,325,000 ($830,000-$2,260,000) HOMES SOLD: 37

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NEIGHBORHOODS

Denise Villeneuve

21

WHISMAN STATION

B

ruce England, Whisman Station resident since 1998, called the neighborhood “the future of housing for Mountain View.”

Bounded by Highway 237, Central Expressway and Whisman Road, the area got its name from the Valley Transit Authority Light Rail station it encompasses. It’s this focus on transit that makes the neighborhood a model for high-density living.

“I wanted to take public transit to work, and there aren’t a lot of neighborhoods in the south bay where you can do that without a bicycle,” said Anthony Moor, who moved to the neighborhood with his wife and their two teenage daughters in 2010.

And if the light rail won’t work for a particular trip, Moor pointed out, the neighborhood has great access to freeways.

Ease of commute also attracted Monica Lipscomb, who moved to the neighborhood with her husband in 1997. They were some of the original residents in the neighborhood and have continued to make friends as new people move in.

“We meet a lot of friends at the pool,” she said, referring to one of the neighborhood’s common spaces maintained by homeowners’ dues she

FACTS

called “reasonable.”

Various homeowners associations and committees — England says there’s talk of unification — host a variety of events throughout the year, said Lipscomb, who used to be on one of the entertainment committees. Events include an annual picnic, Fourth of July parade and Easter egg hunt.

Residents agree that these events are a great way to meet neighbors — and the neighborhood is home to a lot of diverse groups, even for Mounatin View. Singles and young couples mainly occupy the townhomes, while small families live in houses.

The only thing missing, for Moor, is a coffee shop right in the neighborhood.

England, who is a member of a community group in Mountain View called the Coalition for Sustainable Planning, is seeking to accomplish just that.

“Providing housing where communities already exist is best from a sustainability perspective, and city planning can help to make this happen, while ensuring that quality of life and access to transit and services are well accommodated,” he said.

— Emma Trotter

THE CROSSINGS

NEIGHBORHOODS

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he Crossings in Mountain View is a peaceful housing community that lies between San Antonio Road, Showers Drive, California Street and the Caltrain station.

Once the location of an auto mall, The Crossings was built in 1994 into a 540-unit neighborhood, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s “Smart Growth” website. It now boasts a close-knit community that was awarded the Outstanding Planning Award by the American Planning Association in 2002.

“The neighbors are nice, there’s diversity and it’s safe with close access to grocery stores,” said Kenneth Salisbury, who has been living at The Crossings with his family since 2003.

Salisbury and other Crossings residents don’t overestimate the proximity of stores and other facilities. A Safeway is situated across the street, and Trader Joe’s is about a 10-minute or less walk, in the nearby San Antonio Shopping Center.

Salisbury enjoys going to downtown Mountain View on Castro Street, about a 10minute drive.

The housing community even has three of its own “parks,” as homeowner Yalena Marino,

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS (NEARBY): Kiddie Academy, 205 E. Middlefield Road; Kids Korner Christian Child Care Center, 250 E. Dana St.; German International School of Silicon Valley, 310 Easy St.; Yew Chung International School, 310 Easy St. FIRE STATION: No. 4, 229 N. Whisman Road LOCATION: Central Expressway, Ferguson Drive, streets off Kent Drive, Snyder Lane, N. Whisman Road NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Michael Jones, manager, Community Management Services, 650-961-2630, ext. 120 PARKS: Magnolia Park, Magnolia Lane and Whisman Park Drive; Chetwood Park, Chetwood Drive and Whisman Station Drive POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): German International School of Silicon Valley, 310 Easy St. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Landels Elementary School, Crittenden Middle School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. ViewLos Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: El Camino Real, Downtown Mountain View MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $850,000 ($700,000-$1,035,000) HOMES SOLD: 7 MEDIAN 2010 CONDO PRICE: $645,000 ($585,000-$710,000) CONDOS SOLD: 24

FACTS

who lives at The Crossings with her husband and two kids since 1996, calls them. They are really just large strips of green lawn areas; one has a gazebo and the other a playground structure for neighborhood children to play on.

Residents take their dogs to play together in these areas as well.

This comforting, “just ask next door for some sugar” atmosphere is what Marino likes most about The Crossings. “(The Crossings) isn’t spread out, it’s very close knit, the people are very nice,” Marino said, “You don’t need a large home when they are efficient and there’s lots of commons areas.”

Marino’s children used to play with the other kids in The Crossings; the younger children can be seen riding scooters or bicycles up and down the blocks. Salisbury says the diversity in the area is good for the children.

Salisbury and Marino say the interaction at The Crossings doesn’t stop with the dogs or the children. The community holds monthly housing-association meetings and co-coordinated garage sales, and many houses display Neighborhood Watch markers. The area is full of young professionals, Marino said.

— Peter Maxwell

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS (NEARBY): Oak Tree Nursery School, 2100 University Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 3, 301 N. Rengstorff Ave. LOCATION: between San Antonio Road, Showers Drive and California Street NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Separate associations for condominiums, townhouses, row houses and single-family homes; all run by Nagi Chami, CEO of Tri-State Enterprises; 650-210-0085 PARKS: Concord Circle and Sondgroth Way, Beacon Street and Laurel Way; nearby: Klein Park, Monta Loma Park POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School, 450 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Los Altos School District — Covington Elementary School, Egan Junior High School; Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos High School SHOPPING: San Antonio Shopping Center, strip shopping on California Street MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $679,000 ($550,000-$720,000) CONDOS SOLD: 7

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SYLVAN PARK

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n outsider wouldn’t know the neighborhood was so conveniently located and social from wandering down the peaceful streets of Sylvan Park.

Located nearby 280, 101 and 85 freeways, as well as shopping centers, the winding side streets off of Sylvan Avenue boast one- and two-story homes, two well-kept senior mobilehome parks and a few apartment complexes, all centered on a spacious park.

“There is an outback feel, but a connection to where you need to go quickly,” said Linda Holroyd, who moved to the neighborhood in 1999. “(The neighborhood has) unique homes with high ceilings, a rustic, homey feel and also an Eichler feel” with big windows and lighting,” she said.

Sylvan Park is an evolving community and they like to include new neighbors, said Holroyd, who lived in Fremont and moved to Mountain View to avoid traffic when crossing the bay for work.

Neighborhood traditions include an annual Fourth of July parade in the park and a potluck every six weeks, which a different neighbor hosts each time.

“Every Thanksgiving I send email saying how

FACTS

grateful I am to have everyone as my neighbors and give the potluck schedule,” said Holroyd, who organized the potluck tradition more than eight years ago with her husband.

Neighbors meet at one house and serenade each other with carols at a Christmas-caroling event every December. “We’re pretty active in maintaining the quality of life in the neighborhood,” she said.

The neighborhood uses both traditional ways of bonding and technology to get together. They use Yahoo! groups to exchange events and security information.

“When the neighborhood was built 30 years ago, (the home builder) sold the homes to friends and to his kids’ friends,” said Holroyd, who lives in the house of the original builder of Sylvan Park’s homes.

“I wanted to be in a neighborhood that wasn’t commercial,” said Marty Brewer, who has lived in Sunset Estates senior mobile-home park since 1996. “Driving down Sylvan Avenue, I would not have known there was even a mobilehome park there.”

Brewer said Sunset Estates is very convenient, with freeways and shopping close by.

“It’s a small park with only 144 spaces and

CUERNAVACA

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tep inside Cuernavaca’s main gate and the first thing you’ll see is the planned community’s clubhouse, which includes tennis courts, a pool, a workout room and a “tot lot” for the neighborhood’s children. For many residents, this is paradise.

“It’s like a resort,” said Steve Cowan, who lives on Elena Privada with his wife Suzanne.

The clubhouse, a social hub for the neighborhood, is the site of about three or four all-neighborhood parties a year.

“You get to meet a lot of people that way,” Cowan said.

A recent party, in September, was a Mexican fiesta, catered by a resident who is the head chef at a nearby restaurant. About 85 neighbors enjoyed music, “Cuernavaca punch” and a short walk home.

That party was planned by Julie Finucane, who lives on Cuernavaca Circulo with her two kids.

“I am the activities committee,” she laughed.

Finucane, who moved to the neighborhood in 2006 from Los Altos, knew she wanted to live in a townhouse for closeness to neighbors in case of emergency.

“I loved everything about Cuernavaca,” she

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: Kids Korner Christian Child Care Center, 250 E. Dana St.; Western Montessori Day School, 323 Moorpark Way; YMCA — Slater, 325 Gladys Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 4, 229 N. Whisman Road LOCATION: bounded by West El Camino Real, Highway 85, Highway 237 and the Sunnyvale border PARKS: Sylvan Park, Sylvan Avenue and DeVoto Street POST OFFICE: Mountain View, 211 Hope St. PRIVATE SCHOOLS: St. Stephen Lutheran School, 320 Moorpark Way PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Landels Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Americana Shopping Center — Lucky Stores MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $834,000 ($699,000-$1,250,000) HOMES SOLD: 9 MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $347,950 ($331,000-$364,900) CONDOS SOLD: 2

people are really friendly,” she said.

— Sally Schilling

FACTS

said. “I feel like it’s a private area for us to live, yet I’m still close to the community.”

Steve Cowan lives in a four-bedroom F model townhouse — the one with the largest floor plan. He moved to Cuernavaca in 1994 with his first wife and her two kids. One draw for Cowan was the architecture — Spanish style with a signature color that can be hard to pin down.

“It’s a very light beige with a pink overtone,” he said. “Depending on how the sun catches it, it can either look yellow or pink.”

Finucane added that there are orange tinges to it, and that not all houses are exactly the same color.

There is no typical resident of Cuernavaca, both neighbors said. Cowan estimated that more than 20 languages are spoken at home in the 170-unit neighborhood. Over the years, he said, the neighborhood has attracted more and more younger residents.

She said there are many demographics represented in the neighborhood, from retired people to young families to working couples with no kids.

— Emma Trotter

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS (NEARBY): Western Montessori Day School, 323 Moorpark Way; St. Timothy’s Nursery School, 2094 Grant Road; YMCA — Huff Kids’ Place, 253 Martens Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 2, 160 Cuesta Drive LOCATION: off Crestview Drive, near El Camino Real and the Sunnyvale border NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Matthew Duncan, president, Cuernavaca Homeowners Association; CMS property management, 408-559-1977; www.cuernavacahoa.com PARKS: Green belt on the property POST OFFICE: Blossom Valley, 1768 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): St. Stephen Lutheran School, 320 Moorpark Way PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District — Huff Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Americana Shopping Center — Lucky Stores MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $945,000 ($922,500-$983,000) CONDOS SOLD: 6

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View and Los Altos Hills. Highways have replaced local railroad service, with easy access via Highway 85 and Interstate 280 to nearby metro centers.

Known for its excellent schools and neighborhoods replete with mature trees, Los Altos supports seven commercial areas serving its close to 30,000 residents. And for those still yearning for apricot orchards, a weekly farmers market offers a chance for neighbors to interact while shopping for local produce and flowers.

FACTS 2011-12 CITY OPERATING BUDGET: $28.6 million revenues; $28.6 million expenditures POPULATION (2010): 28,976 HOUSEHOLDS (2010): 10,355 OWNER-OCCUPIED HOUSING (2010): 9,002 RENTER-OCCUPIED HOUSING (2010) 1,743 MEDIAN HOME-SELLING PRICE: $1,635,000 (single-family homes, December 2010 through November 2011) $800,000 (condominiums, December 2010 through November 2011) ESTIMATED MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME (2009): $155,466

NEIGHBORHOODS

hat once was a brief stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad evolved after World War II to a tree-lined city providing a quiet housing enclave for Silicon Valley. Since incorporation in 1952, Los Altos has grown to a community of mostly single-family homes, rather than apricot and plum orchards, a winery and ranch land.

Today, Los Altos encompasses seven square miles, stretching from Palo Alto to Sunnyvale and Cupertino, sandwiched between Mountain

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OLD LOS ALTOS

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with little children.”

Like many of their neighbors, the Beumers have remodeled their house over the years. They have redone their kitchen twice, updated bathrooms, and improved the grounds, including adding a greenhouse where Beumer grows hundreds of orchids.

All of the Beumer kids attended the local schools, graduated from Los Altos High and went to college in state. The kids now live within a half hour of their childhood home, and Beumer says one of the perks of having family so close by is being able to walk downtown with her grandchildren to the shops and library.

She admits Main Street is “all changed, but still pretty low key. It’s kind of like good ol’ Main Street USA.” The Beumers recently sold a portion of their land to the city so two parks, Shoup and Redwood Grove, could be connected. “It’s new,” she said. “Parents can park in the back and let their kids walk along the creekside.”

Mark Duller and his wife Linda live just down the street in a two-story ranch-style home on a half-acre. He grew up in Los Altos, and moved back to the area in 1991 so his schoolaged children could attend the same schools he did, and enjoy the small-town activities that Los Altos is known for, such as outdoor Friday night movies, free Shakespeare plays in Shoup Park and the Festival of Lights parade.

“It’s such a family neighborhood, it’s safe to send the kids downtown,” he said.

His street has become a destination on Halloween; he figures about 100 trick-or-

FIRE STATION: No. 15, 10 Almond Ave. LIBRARY: Los Altos, 13 S. San Antonio Road LOCATION: between El Monte and Edith avenues, Foothill Expressway and Los Altos Hills border PARKS: Village Park, Edith Avenue at San Antonio Road; Shoup Park, 400 University Ave.; Lincoln Park, University at Lincoln Avenue; Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, 482 University Ave. POST OFFICE: Main, 100 First St. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Los Altos School District — Covington Elementary School, Egan Intermediate School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos High School; Bullis Charter School SHOPPING: The Village (the triangle bordered by Edith, San Antonio and Foothill) MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,490,000 ($1,339,125-$2,391,800) HOMES SOLD: 7

treaters come through each year.

Duller also likes the fact that his yard backs up to Adobe Creek, which runs along the Redwood Grove Nature Preserve.

“People are remodeling houses to keep the neighborhood looking good,” he said, but he still sees a lot of wildlife in the area: possum, raccoons, skunks, deer, squirrels and birds.

One of the Dullers’ daughters is away at college in Chicago, where she continues to be classmates with two friends she has known since grade school. “All of the kids really become close because the schools here (in Los Altos) are so close knit,” Duller said, adding that these girls are “friends forever.”

— Kate Daly

Michelle Le

NEIGHBORHOODS

arlene Beumer calls her home since 1966 in Old Los Altos, “this blessed land.” She recalls back in the days when she and her husband, Delbert, were looking for a larger space to raise their four young children and two dogs.

“San Antonio Road was only two lanes” then, and apricot orchards and wild mustard covered acres and acres. Even today, some streets don’t have sidewalks and there aren’t many streetlights.

They found themselves drawn to the oldest and relatively flat part of Los Altos, defined

by El Monte and Edith avenues, Foothill Expressway, and what is now Los Altos Hills.

The family spotted a charming house on University Avenue and moved in.

Beumer says their house was once owned by one of the founding fathers, Guy Shoup, whose father, Paul, lived a couple of doors down. Paul Shoup is credited with helping create the village back in 1906 when he was an executive of Southern Pacific Railroad with an eye towards expansion.

More than a century later, both the homes and trees look mature in the neighborhood.

Most of the lots are one-quarter acre, dotted with one-story houses built in diverse architectural styles.

“The neighborhood used to have a lot of empty lots around, and now there are nil,” Beumer said.

When she drove a school bus back in the ‘70s, she said, “There were very few kids, and now in my neighborhood it’s bustling

FACTS

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NORTH LOS ALTOS

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Chu said that all of her neighbors made an effort to get to know her family and that her children enjoyed playing at the local elementary-school playground as youngsters.

North Los Altos also offers her a lovely backdrop to get her exercise. “I take walks every single morning,” she said. “It’s very nice ‘hood to walk around.”

She said that traffic can get heavy on her street in the mornings and mid-afternoons due to the proximity of Los Altos High School. However, it is not something she worries about too much. “It doesn’t really bother me,” she said.

Mardell Blaufarb has lived on Yerba Buena Avenue since 1966 and doesn’t plan on going anywhere soon. “It’s a very cohesive, friendly area to live in,” she said. Lots of the blocks have annual block parties. “It’s a place where people want to live out their lives.”

Still, Blaufarb said her street is “definitely getting younger.” She estimates that Yerba Buena Avenue is evenly divided between younger and older generations.

A recent remodeling near her home caused some of the older residents to raise their eyebrows, but no one has made any significant protest. “It is a very contemporary home. It doesn’t quite fit in, but change is good for all of us.”

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: Children’s Corner, 97 Hillview Ave.; Children’s Creative Learning Center, 700 Los Altos Ave.; Los Altos Parents Preschool, 201 Covington Road (nearby); Tiny Tots Preschool, 647 S. San Antonio Road FIRE STATION: No. 15, 10 Almond Ave. LIBRARY: 13 S. San Antonio Road LOCATION: bounded by Foothill Expressway, El Monte Road, El Camino Real and Adobe Creek PARKS: Village Park, Edith Avenue at San Antonio Road; Shoup Park, 400 University Ave.; Lincoln Park, University at Lincoln Avenue POST OFFICE: 100 First St. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): Los Altos Christian School, 625 Magdalena Ave.; Canterbury Christian School, 101 N. El Monte Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Los Altos School District — Santa Rita or Almond elementary schools, Egan Intermediate School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos High School SHOPPING: Downtown Los Altos, Los Altos Village Court and San Antonio Center MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,720,000 ($820,000-$4,500,000) HOMES SOLD: 101 MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $760,000 ($115,000-$1,248,000) CONDOS SOLD: 41

— Nick Veronin

Michelle Le

NEIGHBORHOODS

or prospective homebuyers considering the North Los Altos neighborhood — loosely bounded by Foothill Expressway, El Monte Road, El Camino Real and Adobe Creek — perhaps the best place to start is the Los Altos History Museum.

Located on S. San Antonio Road next to the library and open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., the museum is a great resource for community history and to get an idea of what Los Altos looked like as a budding town at the turn of the 20th century.

As early as 1880, ranch settlements began to give shape to what would one day become North Los Altos. Some homes in the neighborhood still reflect this ranch style, partially sparked by development of the railroad in the area.

Ellen Chu moved into her home on Casita Way in 1989. She and her husband chose the area because of its proximity to good schools. Her two children went to Almond Elementary, Egan Jr. High and Los Altos High schools. Chu said she was very happy with the Los Altos schools.

Of all the benefits of living in North Los Altos, Chu said she liked the convenient location most. “Everything is very accessible,” she said, including groceries and other shopping, from downtown Los Altos to the San Antonio Shopping Center. “Within a mile or two I can find things I need.”

FACTS

NEIGHBORHOODS

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RANCHO

W

hen Bob Grimm moved to the Rancho neighborhood of Los Altos in 1962, he found a safe, inviting community. Since then, he said, it really hasn’t changed all that much.

“It’s been a friendly neighborhood all these years,” Grimm said. “My kids grew up here and there are new families with kids the same age as mine when they lived here. The cycle keeps on repeating.”

Rancho fits that throwback description, its broad residential streets framed by a creek on Springer Road and anchored by the Rancho Shopping Center. On the corner where Springer meets Covington, a wooden sign with yellow, painted letters reads “Welcome to Rancho, Los Altos.”

The shopping center has been around since the early 1950s when Christian Wilder developed the area. It still serves as the neighborhood hub with bakeries, grocery stores and the very popular Brian’s Restaurant often full of local patrons.

The shopping center has made room for some changes while protecting its classic look and feel.

It now has a Starbucks, but its signage conforms to the faded-wood style that all of the other

FACTS businesses have, so that “one doesn’t outdo the other,” Grimm said.

“It’s a nice style of construction, the same as it was built many years ago,” he said.

The shopping center has also started hosting a farmers market on Saturday mornings in front of the Andronico’s market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Melanie Hoffman is a big supporter, she said, partly because it features many of the same local vendors featured in the downtown Los Altos farmers market that she’s been attending for years.

“We walk by and it’s just lovely,” she said.

After growing up in Los Altos herself, Hoffman moved to Rancho in 1992 when her daughter entered the second grade. She loves the community feel of Rancho, she said.

It’s the type of place where neighbors know each other, said Eleanor Besson, who moved there in 1961. She meets her neighbors on Riverside Drive three or four times during the summer for gatherings, she said, and looks forward to the annual community picnic on Labor Day. “It’s a fine neighborhood and we have fine people who live here,” Grimm said.

— Cyrus Hedayati

LOYOLA CORNERS

NEIGHBORHOODS

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34

elcome to Loyola Corners” reads the painted brick sign in front of the Shell gas station on Fremont and Dolores avenues, greeting cars as they pull into town from Foothill Expressway.

Like much of the downtown, it harkens back to a time before the expressway was even built, when Loyola Corners was a key train station down the Peninsula.

“Back then, this was all summer homes for families who would come down from San Francisco,” said Norman Shapiro, who has lived in Loyola Corners for more than 40 years. The train station has always served as a hub for the community, he said.

Framing the neighborhood from the south, a cluster of small shops and restaurants filling up with customers at lunchtime remains where the station used to be. The rest of the neighborhood is mostly residential, apart from a row of dental and medical practices along Altos Oaks Road.

Below, the winding residential streets of Loyola Corners still resemble the country roads that ran through its orchards.

That makes it great for people with kids, said Shapiro, because they can let them play

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS (NEARBY): Children’s Center of Los Altos, 770 Berry Ave.; Los Altos Christian Preschool, 625 Magdalena Ave.; Los Altos Parents Preschool, 201 Covington Road; Los Altos United Methodist Children’s Center, 655 Magdalena Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 16, 765 Fremont Ave. LIBRARY: Los Altos, 13 S. San Antonio Road LOCATION: bordered by Foothill Expressway, Parma Way, Riverside Drive and Springer Road PARKS: Rosita Park, 401 Rosita Ave.; McKenzie Park, 707 Fremont Ave. POST OFFICE: Loyola Corners, 1525 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): Pinewood School, 327 & 477 Fremont Ave.; Los Altos Christian School, 625 Magdalena Ave.; Canterbury Christian School, 101 N. El Monte Ave.; Saint Francis Catholic High School, 1885 Miramonte Ave., Mtn. View PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Los Altos School District — Loyola or Springer elementary schools, Blach Intermediate School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos or Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Rancho Shopping Center, Loyola Corners, Downtown Los Altos MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $2,807,500 ($1,615,000-$4,000,000) HOMES SOLD: 2

FACTS

outside safely. One of the most popular cul-desacs, he said, is at the end of Clinton Road and leads to the playgrounds and tennis courts of McKenzie Park.

On the other side of Clinton lies Heritage Oaks Park, adding another large green space to the area. With Loyola Elementary and Saint Francis nearby, he said, it’s a neighborhood very friendly to families.

That’s what attracted Shapiro to the neighborhood in the first place. In those days, he said, he and his wife were one of the youngest couples on the block.

“Now we’ve got lots of couples that are about a generation ahead of me,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of young couples come in the last 10 to 12 years. And it’s become one of the more popular neighborhoods.”

But Loyola Corners has also undergone a multi-cultural change, said Antonius Vankessel, who first moved to the neighborhood in 1978.

“When I arrived here, Caucasians were the majority,” he said. “Now, Caucasians are the minority and we have a wide international community with people from India, Mexico, the Philippines. ... It’s great.”

— Cyrus Hedayati

FIRE STATION: No. 16, 765 Fremont Ave. LIBRARY: Los Altos, 13 S. San Antonio Road; Woodland, 1975 Grant Road LOCATION: a triangle roughly bounded by Fremont Avenue, Miramonte Avenue and Clinton Road PARKS: McKenzie Park, 707 Fremont Ave.; Heritage Oaks Park, Portland and Miramonte avenues POST OFFICE: Loyola Corners, 1525 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): Canterbury Christian School, 101 N. El Monte Ave.; Los Altos Christian School, 625 Magdalena Ave.; Pinewood School, 327 & 477 Fremont Ave.; Saint Francis High School, 1885 Miramonte Ave., Mtn. View PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Los Altos School District — Loyola Elementary School, Blach Intermediate School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Loyola Corners, Rancho Shopping Center MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,170,000; nearby: $1,725,000 ($1,650,000-$1,765,000) HOMES SOLD: 1; nearby: 3

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CENTRAL LOS ALTOS

T

36

Central Los Altos and is what keeps the neighborhood young. “There were 20 to 30 younger kids at this year’s picnic,” McClatchie said.

Older tract homes sit next to two-story behemoths on the green curbless streets in Central Los Altos. The neighborhood is made up of two connecting triangles.

Besides a few zigs and zags, the boundaries of the northern triangle are El Monte Avenue, Springer Road and Foothill Expressway and the southern triangle is bordered by Covington Road, Grant Road and Foothill Expressway.

For years the area has been active with remodel after remodel. “Everyone takes pride in how their house looks. There’s lots of renovation. People are interested in their property,” McClatchie said.

Ibaraki values how neighbors look out for each other. “It’s like an informal Neighborhood Watch,” she said.

Though Central Los Altos has changed, the new generation is making it a neighborhood with efforts like the Heritage Oaks picnic.

“People sign up and have name tags.

It’s great to see people talking and then realize that they’re neighbors,” McClatchie said.

— John Squire

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS (NEARBY): CCLC School Age at Covington Elementary, 201 Covington Road; Children’s House of Los Altos, 770 Berry Ave.; Los Altos Parents Preschool, 201 Covington Road; St. Simon’s Catholic Church Extended Day Care Center, 1840 Grant, Road; St. Timothy’s Nursery School, 2094 Grant Road; Little Acorn School, 1667 Miramonte Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 15, 10 Almond Ave.; Loyola station, No. 16, 765 Fremont Ave. LOCATION: between Foothill Expressway, El Monte and Springer, and Covington and Grant PARKS: Heritage Oaks Park, Portland at Miramonte Avenue; Marymeade Park, Freemont Avenue at Grant Road; McKenzie Park, 707 Freemont Ave.; Rosita Park, 401 Rosita Ave. POST OFFICE: Blossom Valley, 1768 Miramonte Ave. Mountain View; Rancho, 1150 Riverside Drive; Main, 100 First St. LIBRARY: Los Altos, 13 S. San Antonio Road; Woodland, 1975 Grant Road PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): Canterbury Christian School, 101 N. El Monte Ave.; Pinewood School, 327 and 477 Fremont Ave.; St. Simon Catholic School, 1840 Grant Road; St. Francis High School, 1855 Miramonte Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Los Altos School District — Covington, Loyola, Oak or Springer elementary schools; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Los Altos or Mountain View high schools SHOPPING: Blossom Valley Shopping Center, Miramonte Avenue and Cuesta Drive; Downtown Los Altos; Rancho Shopping Center, Foothill Expressway and Springer Road MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,673,772 ($875,000$3,700,000) HOMES SOLD: 78

Eric Lawson

NEIGHBORHOODS

he Heritage Oaks neighborhood picnic is a tradition that is passed from generation to generation.

Martha McClatchie, who moved to Central Los Altos in 2007, met many of her neighbors while jogging on the street. She got to know people so well she was asked to help organize the event by a neighbor who had been running it for years.

That neighbor was asked by a former organizer a generation before, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1958.

Ann Ibaraki, who moved her family from Mountain View in 1984, can remember when the picnic was held in backyards and she brought over steaks for the big barbecue.

“There weren’t that many kids in the beginning. The neighborhood aged. Some neighbors moved, some passed away,” she said.

New families moved in and Central Los Altos grew. Eventually, more streets were included in the annual event. Now the picnic is held every September at Heritage Oaks Park.

“A lot of families are moving in now.

It’s a really vibrant atmosphere. It’s nice to see kids playing,” Ibaraki said.

The high-scoring Los Altos School District is what drew both families to

FACTS

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SOUTH LOS ALTOS

A

38

District or the Cupertino Union School District, depending on their address. Both district’s public schools are highly rated, but the dual district attendance doesn’t lend itself to neighborhood cohesiveness.

Paul and Karen Van Buren have lived in South Los Altos for more than 35 years, and raised their family there.

Although she appreciates the quiet neighborhood, she “felt separated” when it came to her kids attending local schools. Due to school zoning their own children attended school in the Cupertino school district, which they felt distanced them from being more involved. Although they felt Homestead High School was a good school, they did not feel close enough to it.

In some ways the city has improved the neighborhood, according to the Van Burens.

Added in 1975, the Woodland Library is an extension of the Los Altos Main Library, and is conveniently located on Grant Road for the readers of South Los Altos. The Van Burens also appreciate having grocery stores nearby, such as the Lucky Supermarket on Grant Road and the Trader Joe’s found on Homestead Road.

The South Los Altos area does not hold any large events, but neighbors find other ways to get to know one another. When Jean Vecchiet and her husband moved into their neighborhood in 1996 they knew no one. But, they wanted to raise their children in a place where neighbors knew each other and looked out for one another.

“It was my husband’s idea to go around to

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: CCLC Preschool, 2310 Homestead Road; Mountain View Parents Nursery School, 1299 Bryant Ave., Mtn. View; St. Simon’s Catholic Church Extended Day Care Center, 1860 Grant Road; YMCA — Way to Grow Full-Day Preschool, 1501 Oak Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 16, 765 Fremont Ave. LIBRARY: Woodland, 1975 Grant Road LOCATION: between Grant Road, Homestead Road Stevens Creek, Joel Way, Harwalt Drive, Oak, Truman, Miravalle avenues PARKS: Grant Park, 1575 Holt Ave.; (nearby) Marymeade Park, Fremont Avenue at Grant Road POST OFFICE: Loyola Corners, 1525 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOL: St. Simon Catholic School, 1840 Grant Road PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Los Altos School District — Oak Elementary School, Blach Intermediate School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School; or Cupertino Union School District — Montclaire Elementary School, Cupertino Middle School; Fremont Union High School District — Homestead High School SHOPPING: Foothill Crossing, Homestead Road; Greenhaven Plaza, Grant Road MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,435,000 ($1,010,000-$2,750,000) HOMES SOLD: 45

the neighbors and start a woman’s book club,” Vecchiet said.

Creating a flyer, Vecchiet introduced herself to her neighbors, to great success. After eight years the book club is still going, with about 15 active members meeting each month. The group chooses a book to read every other month, but still meets each month just to play board games or swap stories.

“It’s more of a social group than a real book club,” Vecchiet said.

The club is also connected through an online Yahoo! group, where neighbors share resources, such as where to find a good plumber.

According to Vecchiet the book club has helped create a friendly environment in their neighborhood. “I think everyone likes being able to drive down the street and wave to their neighbors, knowing who they are,” she said.

Although South Los Altos is not often the center of community events, it is a central location with access to many larger communities and activities.

Colleen Cummins

NEIGHBORHOODS

fter living in South Los Altos since 1975, Steve Anderson says his favorite aspect is the friendly, quiet neighborhood.

“Around 1989 my wife and I thought of moving,” Anderson said, “but after looking around we realized we wouldn’t find a better neighborhood than the one we live in.”

Snuggled into the borders of Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Cupertino, the South Los Altos community stretches between Grant Road and Stevens Creek. Some of the homes are built in the modern, two-story, Mediterranean look, while many are modeled after the classic ranchstyle home, according to Laura Bajuk, executive director of the Los Altos History Museum.

“It’s interesting to see what the imprint of a community is,” Bajuk said.

Working at the Los Altos History Museum, Anderson educates visitors on the town’s history, and its beginnings from a ranch community into a piece of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Since the rail company purchased the land in 1907, the town of Los Altos expanded further out, stretching towards South Los Altos.

Anderson describes South Los Altos as more affordable than the northern part of the town. He says parts of the neighborhood lack sidewalks, but the district has nice parks and an excellent school system. The neighborhoods maintain a rural feeling compared to North Los Altos and the downtown area.

Children in South Los Altos attend either Mountain View-Los Altos Union School

FACTS

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39

COUNTRY CLUB

N

estled against the rolling hills of Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve (replete with wildlife, hiking trails and a working farm), the neighborhood known as Country Club (part of the larger San Antonio Hills community) stands apart from, and between, the towns of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.

It’s built on unincorporated Santa Clara County land and has not been annexed, meaning residents “have no hometown,” Ida Crawley, who’s lived here since 1987, said.

“But Los Altos is close — walking distance for most,” she said, adding that Mountain View, too, is a short drive away from the neighborhood.

Glen Balzer, who’s called Magdalena Avenue home since 1993, said the majority of the home sites are on 1-acre parcels and maintain a rural, “woodsy” feel, with horse trails running nearby and not much change since the construction of the first pre-war cottages and 1940s homes that make up Country Club.

Balzer said the San Antonio Hills Homeowners Association, of which he is a

FACTS

board member, strives to preserve the unique qualities of the area.

For Balzer, the access to the great outdoors is one of the most special attractions of his neighborhood.

“I hike in the preserve all the time — once a week at least. I can do a 12-mile hike in three hours and be back home in time to have a beer or take a shower or both,” he said.

As the name suggests, the Los Altos Golf and Country Club, founded in 1923 on former ranch land, is a defining feature of the neighborhood. The exclusive club (membership is by invitation only), along with “a few churches,” provides the only commercial activity in the neighborhood, according to Balzer, contributing to a peaceful, low-key atmosphere.

Crawley, 72, described the neighborhood population as a blend of newer and long-time residents.

“There are young families with kids, a lot of old timers and a lot of new people. It’s a nice place to raise kids — good local schools, the preserve for biking and walking. It’s definitely a plus,” she said.

CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS (NEARBY): Los Altos Christian Preschool, 625 Magdalena Ave.; Los Altos United Methodist Children’s Center, 655 Magdalena Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 16, 765 Fremont Ave. LIBRARY: Woodland, 1975 Grant Road LOCATION: bounded by Magdalena Avenue, Foothill Expressway, Permanente Creek and Interstate 280 NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Richard Blanchard, president, San Antonio Hills Inc. Homeowners Association, 650-948-3073, www. sanantoniohills.com PARK (NEARBY): Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, Cristo Rey Drive POST OFFICE: Loyola Corners, 1525 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOL: Los Altos Christian School, 625 Magdalena Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Los Altos School District — Loyola Elementary School, Blach Intermediate School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District — Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Loyola Corners, Miramonte Avenue and Rancho Shopping Center MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,783,600 ($1,028,000-$3,610,000) HOMES SOLD: 23

— Karla Kane

WOODLAND ACRES/THE HIGHLANDS

NEIGHBORHOODS

B

40

efore moving to The Highlands in Los Altos in 2004, Brett and Kristin Baker lived on a busy street and knew none of their neighbors. They hadn’t even moved in to their two-story rancher on Montclaire Court when “We had people bringing by gifts, ... we immediately fell in love with all the people and the community,” Brett Baker said.

And they get together all the time. On their cul-de-sac they set up tables several times a year to gather over brunch, put on an annual barbecue and hand out treats to adults and kids on Halloween. Neighbors also connect through a Yahoo! group.

“We’ve got a good age mix, from 80 to a toddler less than 2 years old,” he said, plus lots of dogs and even chickens living on their street.

The Bakers appreciate their easy access around 280 via a pedestrian underpass to go hiking in Rancho San Antonio Open Space and visit the farm animals at Hidden Villa.

They also like their easy commute, whether they’re taking their young children to the Mandarin-immersion school in the Cupertino Union School District, or driving to work in San Jose.

Kristin Baker formerly headed the Los Altos Historical Commission and has met many local residents through that organization.

Another opportunity to meet neighbors is at the Woodland Vista Swim & Racquet Club, a private club founded in 1958 on Deodara Drive.

Donna Thompson lived in one of 15 homes located on another quiet cul-de-sac in the area, Laver Court.

Her seven kids enjoyed free range. “It was a wonderful place to raise children,” she said.

Over the years, most of the large tracts of land have since been subdivided into one-third or quarter-acre lots, she said, and the ethnic mix has changed in the neighborhood.

Woodland Acres, the community bordered

by Beechwood Lane and Permanente Creek, spills into the Highlands yet feels separate.

Original owner Edward Hohfeld planted hundreds of trees back when the area was called Toyon Farms. In the ‘50s the land was developed into 120 half-acre-plus lots, which now feature many new two-story homes that are high enough to peek through the branches and take advantage of the sweeping views of the Western hills and the Bay. — Kate Daly

FACTS CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS (NEARBY): Children’s Creative Learning Center, 2310 Homestead Road, Suite E, Los Altos FIRE STATION: No. 16, 765 Fremont Ave. LIBRARY: Woodland, 1975 Grant Road LOCATION: between Foothill Expressway and Interstate 280, Beechwood Lane and Permanente Creek NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Kay Mazzola, president, Woodland Acres Association PARKS: Montclaire Park, St. Joseph Ave.; (nearby) Grant Park, 1575 Holt Ave.; Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, Cristo Rey Drive POST OFFICE: Loyola Corners, 1525 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOL: St. Simon Catholic School, 1840 Grant Road PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Cupertino Union School District — Montclaire Elementary School, Cupertino Middle School; Fremont Union High School District — Homestead High School SHOPPING: Foothill Crossing, Homestead Road; Loyola Corners; Rancho Shopping Center MEDIAN 2011 HOME PRICE: $1,600,888 ($1,140,000-$2,400,000) HOMES SOLD: 29 MEDIAN 2011 CONDO PRICE: $757,500 ($720,000-$785,000) CONDOS SOLD: 4

DETAILS As a long time resident of Los Altos Hills with 16 years of Peninsula real estate experience, I bring a wide variety of skills and expertise to help make YOUR home buying or selling process feel effortless

Keen negotiating skills network of Broad professional associates and contacts understanding of Strong the local market and the people who call the Peninsula home background Solid handling a wide range of real estate transactions, including extensive properties and estates

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

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161S. SAN ANTONIO ROAD, LOS ALTOS DIRECT: 650.917.7983 EMAIL: VICKI@VICKIGEERS.COM WEBSITE: WWW.VICKIGEERS.COM

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(650) 947-2900 369 S. SAN ANTONIO ROAD LOS ALTOS | (650)323-1900 258 HIGH STREET PALO ALTO

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Our team of leading physicians and medical professionals at Stanford Hospital & Clinics is dedicated to healing humanity through science and compassion, one patient at a time. We are proud to be recognized as one of the best hospitals in America on this year’s U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll.

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My clients always want to know what is happening in the real estate market.

As part of your financial team, it is my responsibility to keep you informed of the general and specific real estate market conditions.

I have all the current market trends, conditions and statistics. If it’s happening, I know about it.

Houses are selling!

95% of my business is referrals from past clients and previous clients. Clients trust me to help them make decisions.

Want to make the right financial decision?

I will guide you to success.

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