by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Jun 2, 2023 | Neighborhood descriptions, Neighborhoods, Neighborhoods in Saratoga, Saratoga
The Bellgrove neighborhood in Saratoga, California, is an attractive, newer subdivision in a convenient location with Saratoga schools. It is highly sought after for all of those reasons.
Bellgrove neighborhood houses
Most homes and yards are very well tended, even pristine. Only a couple looked like they could use a little paint or get their front yards tidied up a little. This community is really quite beautiful. Often when communities look this good it’s because of the HOA’s enforcement and the HOA dues. There’s no Homeowner’s Association (HOA) enforcing aesthetics, it’s just the pride of ownership at work.
What will you find at Bellgrove? Here are some key features in this luxury neighborhood.
Quick facts:
- There are 94 homes in this subdivision
- The homes were build by Greenbrier in 1996 (date per county records)
- All of the houses provide 5 bedrooms
- All of them have 3 full bathrooms
- All enjoy 3 car garages
- All are 2 stories – no single story homes available
- There are 3 floorplans, with the smallest offering 2900 SF and the largest 3139 SF
- Lots run from 5803 SF to 11,154 SF (the older house, not part of the tract, has just over 18,000 SF)
- The neighborhood includes a large greenbelt area, a playground, and a par course up against the freeway
- The Bellgrove neighborhood is within the boundaries of highly desired school districts: the Saratoga Union School District (K-8) and the Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District
Most homes do not have pools – just 11 of the 94 do.
Most homes are owner occupied – only 7 are rented out.
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by Mary Pope-Handy | Apr 16, 2023 | Almaden Valley (SJ), Neighborhood descriptions, Neighborhoods, Neighborhoods in Almaden, Parks
Jeffrey Fontana Park is an Almaden gem, set into a residential area but also adjacent to loads of other parkland. In the not too far distance is a view of the coastal hills with Mount Umunhum on top. Jim, Clair, and I spent some time there last weekend and I thought some of our readers may enjoy seeing some photos and learning about this park (and perhaps be inspired to visit it, too).
Where is Jeffrey Fontana Park?
The 10 acre park begins at Meridian Avenue in San Jose at Oakglen Way. The other side of Meridian is TJ Martin Park. and just north of it is the humongous Guadalupe Oak Grove Park (previously shared about this park). In the map below, this is the park with the green park icon in the middle. You could spend many hours checking out these three connected parks !
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by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Jan 31, 2023 | Neighborhood descriptions, Neighborhoods, San Jose (all areas)
The Altura neighborhood in San Jose features quality built, younger townhouses in a convenient location. It also enjoys an expansive, neighborhood park owned by the City of San Jose.
Why people love the Altura neighborhood, in brief:
- Young homes, built in 2006
- Attractive and thoughtfully designed community
- Close to Santa Clara University, easy access to central and downtown San Jose and Santa Clara
- Large neighborhood park nearby
- Double car garages with regular parking, not tandem!
You’re invited!
We just listed a gorgeous townhome in Altura at 1252 Chiapas Terrace with 2 beds + den, 2.5 baths and oodles of luxury amenities you’ll love! It will be open this weekend, Feb 4 & 5 from 2 – 4 pm. Please stop by! Park along the back of the complex (open spots are guest parking) or on Campbell Avenue. Learn more at 1252 Chiapas Terrace, San Jose or visit the virtual tour at 1252ChiapasTerrace.com.
Where is the Altura neighborhood?
The Altura neighborhood is in San Jose but on the Santa Clara border. The major cross streets are El Camino Real (via Campbell Avenue) and Highway 880. Below is a map – you can see how convenient it is for commuting to Santa Clara University, downtown San Jose, and how easy it is to hop on to Highway 880 or Hwy 87 from here. The blue transit icons in the map below are train stations, too. Easy!
On Nextdoor, the online community of neighbors, you’ll find this is the large area called Newhall. The Altura neighborhood is in San Jose CA with the zip code 95126.
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by Mary Pope-Handy | Jan 12, 2023 | Central San Jose, Naglee Park, Neighborhood descriptions, Neighborhoods, Older & Historic Homes
The Naglee Park neighborhood in downtown San Jose is one of the most charming and historic areas in Silicon Valley. Known for older, beautifully maintained and updated homes, it boasts an annual historic homes tour and the opportunity to enjoy the Naglee Park Open Studios periodically.
Where is the Naglee Park neighborhood?
Located just east of San Jose State University, it is extremely convenient for those involved with the college or who work downtown. Scenic Coyote Creek is its eastern boundary, Highway 280 the southern one, and E Santa Clara Street the northern edge of this community. This neighborhood is also close to the ever popular Happy Hollow Park and Zoo (which is in south San Jose, also along Coyote Creek).
You may have visited the neighborhood and not known it if you have eaten at the Naglee Park Garage, a well known local eatery.
Map of the area
Coyote Creek is the jagged eastern border.
What are homes in the Naglee Park neighborhood like?
Houses and homes in Naglee Park are primarily older, with the most historic being constructed in 1890. The average year built is 1935 as some of the properties were put up as recently as 2014 – though that is very unusual.
Naglee Park home – S 14th Street
Besides being older, often historic homes, what can we say about the Naglee Park homes? First, there are 859 single family homes there, plus 39 duplexes, as well as other types of housing in the mix. It is a good sized community, not a small pocket such as the Vendome neighborhood (see link at the bottom of this article).
Livable square footage in the single family homes ranges from a very modest 480 SF to an over sized 5007 SF of living space, with 1904 Sf being average. The average lot size is 6776 – pretty typical for most of the City of San Jose.
A variety of architectural styles can be found in the Naglee Parkneighborhood, including Victorian, Craftsman, Mediterranean, and more. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of selling a house in Naglee Park which was a beautiful Italian-Mediterranean style with classic beauty.
Are there any concerns with living in Naglee Park?
Like any downtown area in a big city, this is a place where you do lock your doors at night and can expect to sometimes deal with people wandering through who don’t live there and may be down on their luck. Naglee Park crime does exist, so do your research.
With the university nearby, parking may be an issue for some parts of Naglee Park. Coyote Creek does sometimes flood, but most of Naglee Park is not in a 100 year flood plain. With the Coyote Creek breaking its banks in 2017, some homes on Arroyo Way were flooded, sadly.
Ask most of the residents what they think, though, and they’ll tell you that the beauty and convenience of the neighborhood far outweigh any potential issues.
What do homes cost in Naglee Park, San Jose?
Right now, in early 2023, inventory is very low, and therefore our data is also low. In general, though expect to find homes selling for between $1.5 million and $2.5 million. The exact location (busy vs quiet, scenic vs not), the home size, lot size, property condition (teardown or need of renovating versus turnkey or fully and recently remodeled or even expanded) can swing the values up or down.
If you want to purchase a turnkey home in Naglee Park it is likely to take more than 1.5 million to buy it in today’s market unless it’s quite small.
Below please find active listings of single family homes as well as condominiums and townhouses in the neighborhood. Also displayed will be sales of the same over the last year. Prices have changed over time, of course, but this will provide a fairly good idea of the Naglee Park neighborhood real estate market.
- List View
- Map View
- Grid View
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$2,249,999
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Lot Size
7,623 sqft
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Home Size
4,987 sqft
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Beds
10 Beds
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Baths
10 Baths
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Year Built
1907
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-
Sold
$2,160,000
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Lot Size
6,988 sqft
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Home Size
3,000 sqft
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Beds
4 Beds
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Baths
3 Baths
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Year Built
1903
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$2,098,000
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Lot Size
23,458 sqft
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Home Size
2,608 sqft
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Beds
4 Beds
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Baths
3 Baths
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Year Built
1991
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-
Sold
$1,850,000
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Lot Size
6,399 sqft
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Home Size
2,084 sqft
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Beds
3 Beds
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Baths
3 Baths
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Year Built
1901
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-
Sold
$1,850,000
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Lot Size
6,413 sqft
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Home Size
2,542 sqft
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Beds
4 Beds
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Baths
2 Baths
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Year Built
1908
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See all Naglee Park of San Jose, California Real Estate.
(all data current as of
9/30/2023)
Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.
Read more – other downtown San Jose or central San Jose areas:
Japantown
Buena Vista
Rose Garden
Vendome neighborhood
by Mary Pope-Handy | Jun 15, 2022 | Local History, Evergreen (SJ), Foothill Areas, Neighborhood descriptions, Neighborhoods, Senior Living
Nestled in the rolling foothills of San Jose’s southeastern Evergreen area is a hidden gem known simply as the Villages.
As you drive up to the secured entrance, you’ll spot a sign: The Villages a Country Club Community. They take that claim to heart. A gated, community-oriented neighborhood centered around numerous country club amenities creates an immersive home for its residents. However this is a senior community, so to live at the Villages you have to be 55 or older (also known as an adult community or seniors community). Therefore many residents are retirees who are active, love entertaining guests, and don’t want to mow the lawn every week. But you don’t have to be a resident to enjoy the country club side of things.
The Villages
Only about a 20 minute drive from downtown San Jose, this area was once agricultural land with vineyards. It is still home to the impressive William Wehner historic mansion, constructed in 1888 and designed by architect David Burnham (this estate is currently closed to the public). The mansion is sometimes called the Cribari Mansion for its later owners, a name that was adopted by the first Village development. The original stone columns (circa 1891) for the estate’s original drive still stand as a prominent feature on one of the golf courses.
Today, the community is still surrounded by untouched rolling hills. And that natural beauty is staying put, as the Villages owns 550 acres of open space with community hiking trails. (more…)
by Clair Handy, Mary Pope-Handy | Jun 14, 2022 | Neighborhood descriptions, Neighborhoods, Neighborhoods in Saratoga, Parks, Santa Clara County (all), Saratoga
The Prides Crossing neighborhood in the northern part of Saratoga has a lot to boast about: a sense of community, easy access to commuter routes and many amenities, and laid-back California luxury. We’ll go into more detail below, but here is a profile of the neighborhood in bullet points:
- The average home is ~2,400 SqFt on ~12,500 SqFt lot, built between the early 1960s-70s
- Homes are in the attendance area for either Saratoga or Cupertino schools
- Expect to pay between $3 – $4M for most homes, possibly a little less for a small home near a busy street, and more for a larger, centrally located home
- The neighborhood is home to 2 parks, a member-owned pool and racket club, and has easy access to commuter routes, shopping, entertainment, and places of worship
- There are few hazards, but keep an eye out for Zinsco panels
Where is Prides Crossing?
Click to view full size – Prides Crossing map with markers
North of 85 near the Campbell and West San Jose borders, boundaries of the neighborhood include Prospect Rd to the north and Cox Ave to the south, with 85 and Saratoga Creek at the southern corners. To the west, Scully Ave and to the east Titus Ave border what makes up the majority of the neighborhood, although they are not exact boundaries (the map paints a better picture). Miller Ave is the main thoroughfare through the community with a brick and brass sign marking it’s entrance at it’s intersection with Cox Ave.
While not technically part of Prides Crossing, I did include a corner of the Summerplace subdivision (built 1973) in the neighborhood map as it might easily be mistaken as such. There are 46 homes in the Summerplace tract (5233), but 37 are only accessible through the Prides Crossing neighborhood, touching the south end of Kevin Moran Park, while the other 9 are on the opposite side of highway 85!
Continue reading below, or explore other areas in our interactive map of neighborhoods in this city. We are slowly adding more!
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by Mary Pope-Handy | Feb 2, 2022 | Almaden Valley (SJ), Neighborhood descriptions, Neighborhoods, Neighborhoods in Almaden
Creekside Almaden is one of the most affordable neighborhoods of single family homes offering the very most sought after Almaden Schools. For those wanting to purchase a home in a scenic area of San Jose 95120, have a decent sized back patio or yard, but not wanting to buy a condo or townhome, this pocket offers great options!
What are the homes like in Creekside Almaden?
There are 75 single family homes, built in 1985 by KB Homes (Kaufman and Broad). Many of them are detached houses on zero lot lines (also known as “patio homes”). The rest are duet homes, or single family attached, so one adjoined neighbor. (Duet homes are not the same thing as duplexes. You can read about the difference between duet and duplex homes here.)
The zero lot line homes have one wall with no windows (since the house is directly on the property line). Depending on the orientation of the structure, it may feel darker inside than usual. Similarly, since the attached homes have one wall in common, they may also be a little dark feeling, depending on which side faces south or west. If the wall with no windows is north facing, you may not feel this way at all.
The Creekside Almaden neighborhood properties all have 2 full bathrooms, some also enjoy a half bathroom, and either 2 or 3 bedrooms. Home sizes range from 956 SF to 1538 SF (the U.S. government refers to houses up to 1500 SF as “starter homes”). Some have lofts, many or most enjoy vaulted ceilings and fireplaces. Closets are a decent size due to the relatively younger age of the homes.
Most lots are between 3000 and 4000 SF, with the smallest lot being 2881 and the largest being 4980. The average lot size is 3571. With small lots, there are small frontages, so not a lot of room in front of any given house for cars. Some of the areas feel a little congested with automobile parking for that reason.
A big plus is that all of these houses have 2 car garages and full sized driveways. All are on public streets, with sidewalks, so there’s no HOA and no HOA dues. For many, those are HUGE plusses.
The Creekside Almaden neighborhood area is scenic, with hills visible east and west.
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by Mary Pope-Handy | Sep 16, 2020 | Neighborhood descriptions, Neighborhoods, Neighborhoods in Willow Glen, Parks, San Jose (all areas), Willow Glen (SJ)
When locals think of Willow Glen, most will picture the charming historic homes and bustling downtown strip, but this attractive community extends beyond the historic blocks. The Willow Glen Neighborhood Association defines the Central and Historic Willow Glen area apart from the Greater Willow Glen Neighborhood and Planning Area, roughly 10.4 square miles with approximately 82,000 residents. One of the scenic communities of the greater Willow Glen area is Doerr Park.
Doerr Park
Doerr Park, sometimes called Doerr-Steindorf or simply Doerr, is within the 95124 zip code of San Jose, not far from the Cambrian border. The boundaries of this community are Curtner Ave, Meridian Ave, Foxworthy Ave, and Leigh Ave (See it on this Google Map). It is marked by tidy homes and yards with neat green lawns and airy street trees. Towards the center of this highly walkable neighborhood sits a nearly 12 acre city park. Doerr Park is a sunny community park with expansive lawns, open tree groves, picnic benches with barbeque stations, two magnificent playgrounds for different age groups (one of them has 3-tiered climbing towers and long slides for the older children!), a basketball court, softball field, four tennis courts, and restrooms. The park is very popular!
This neighborhood is accessible, too! There’s shopping and an office complex at the corner of Foxworthy Ave and Meridian, with a Grocery Outlet, gas station, and bank. It’s very close to more shopping including restaurants, Target, Home Depot, and more. For commuters, it’s only a 6 minute drive to 85, 17, and Almaden Expy, and there are bus lines which run along Curtner and Leigh.
There are a few possible negatives to consider, however. Some areas are beside easements for high voltage power lines, though a large portion of the easement connecting to the park has recently been transformed into a community trail. Not all phone lines are under ground, which might be considered an eyesore by some.
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by Mary Pope-Handy | Jun 16, 2020 | Los Gatos, Neighborhood descriptions, Neighborhoods, Neighborhoods in Los Gatos
The Blossom Manor neighborhood in east Los Gatos is very popular as it is well located close to the highly regarded Los Gatos schools, great shopping and parks, such as Oak Meadow and Vasona Lake County Park. Further, Blossom Manor enjoys comfortably sized lots with room to grow if a home has not already been expanded from its original footprint.
Most of “the Manor” (originally Blossom Hill Manor, though seldom called that now) is currently unincorporated, meaning it’s not properly part of the Town of Los Gatos, but instead is a county pocket. As time goes by, the incorporated areas are likely to grow and the county areas shrink – a trend we are seeing throughout the Los Gatos area and Santa Clara County as a whole.
A couple of streets, Cherrystone Drive and part of Lilac Way, are incorporated and share features typically found in incorporated areas: sidewalks, curbs and gutters.
Part of the neighborhood can join as members of a pool club on Cherrystone Drive (the Stonehedge Swim Club).
The manor is almost exclusively single family homes (houses) but along Blossom Hill Road and also Camelia Terrace, there are a few duplexes.
What are houses like in Blossom Manor?
The vast majority of houses in the Manor began as small to medium sized ranch style homes. Over time, though, many of them have either been improved and expanded or fully torn down and rebuilt. The newer homes often are 2 stories, but not always.
Here’s a little slideshow to introduce you to the neighborhood. Want more info? Please call or email me today!
Sorry, but we couldn't find any results in the MLS that match
the specified search criteria.
by Mary Pope-Handy | May 9, 2020 | Neighborhood descriptions, Older & Historic Homes, Willow Glen (SJ)
Willow Glen is a very charming, older part of San Jose that seems to beckon to a more gracious time. It is perhaps best known for its historic homes and quaint streets, but it is also highly regarded as a tight knit community with its own, vibrant downtown.
Where is Willow Glen?
Willow Glen is close to downtown San Jose, bordered by Highway 87 to the east, Highway 280 to the north, Southwest Expy, Leigh Avenue, and Bascom Avenue to the west, and Foxworthy Avenue to the south. To the west is Campbell and to the south is Cambrian.
This area is mostly the 95125 zip code, but includes a little of 95124 on the south end.
The public schools are mostly within the San Jose Unified School District, but on the south west side, I believe all within 95124, some are in the Cambrian School District.
The district’s centerpiece is Lincoln Avenue, a street bustling with cars and pedestrians alike. It’s filled to the brim with restaurants and shops and seems to attract a never-ending strea of visitors, especially in summer and during the holidays. Additionally, there are a number of businesses and shops along Meridian Avenue.
The boundaries are not always agreed upon. Google Maps shows a much broader area, extending west all the way to Highway 17 and all the way south to Hillsdale, including parts of Campbell and Cambrian. The Wikipedia page on WG only includes the 95125 zip code.
A little Willow Glen history
Willow Glen began as an unincorporated community at about the time of the Gold Rush, at about the same time as when San Jose was the capitol of California. In 1863 the first school was built to meet the needs of the children there. It became incorporated in 1927 to fend off being annexed into the larger City of San Jose, but had a change of heart and voted to be annexed in 1936 so that the area could be on the city’s sewer system rather than to continue with septic tanks and cesspools.
Willow Glen architecture
Much of Willow Glen was built early in the 1900s and so the homes in the “downtown” area are older and feature classical styles of housing on tree lined streets – Spanish, Craftsman, and some even more venerable and Victorian. That is surely a large part of its charm. On the edges of Willow Glen, the homes are newer and tract. One area, known as Palm Haven, has a myriad of palm trees (both Royal Palm and Fan Palm) and older, diverse architecture surrounding a community park. The original access to Palm Haven from Bird Avenue and the rest of Willow Glen has been blocked off, but the grand old road can still be found easily enough via Clintonia off Riverside. (more…)
