by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Mar 11, 2023 | Los Gatos Neighborhoods, West Los Gatos
Rinconada Hills, which sits on the northwest side of Los Gatos, adjacent to Saratoga and Cambpell, is a resort-like community with many luxurious amenities. It is one of the few gated communities anywhere in Silicon Valley, and one of the largest in the greater San Jose area.
Built in stages between 1968 and 1981, the homes here were built by Brown & Kaufmann in 5 different sections. The campus is quite large, 107 acres (almost as big as Vasona Lake County Park) and includes 394 townhomes (see floorplans here) and 40 houses, or single family homes. Approximately 1,000 people live here (in a town of about 30,000). Most everyone in LG knows someone who lives at Rinconada Hills!
The campus includes a remodeled clubhouse (Great Room, library alcove, commercial kitchen, lockers, showers), 10 pools (1 at the clubhouse), spa, and 3 tennis courts. The residents may utilize an extra parking lot for cars or the RV lot for boats/ trailers etc. – though there is a waiting list for that. Additonally, there are 3 ponds plus a lake, and great views to be enjoyed while walking up the hill in the private grounds.
What are homes like at Rinconada Hills?
All of the homes, whether townhouses or single family homes, have stucco exteriors and tiled roofs, although there’s quite a bit of diversity within the areas and styles. Home sizes range from small 2 bedroom townhouses to large 3000 + SF homes on big lots with views. There’s a little bit of everything, but a typical residence might be an 1800 SF 2 story townhouse with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, an attached 2 car garage. There are a few single story townhomes as well as single story houses, though.
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Mar 5, 2023 | Los Gatos Neighborhoods, West Los Gatos
One of the largest townhome communities in Los Gatos, the Los Gatos Woods community includes 232 townhouses set on private roads near Pollard Road. This is a very attractive neighborhood and includes many trees. This area is considered west Los Gatos and is close to the border with Campbell and Saratoga.
Los Gatos Woods is very convenient for those wishing to commute to Cupertino, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara as Quito Road is nearby and becomes Lawrence Expressway. This community is also extremely convenient for those working at El Camino Hospital of Los Gatos or any of the nearby medical centers; it’s probably a half mile on foot or by bike.
There’s a nicely sized, remodeled Safeway and a good number of other shops close by, too, along with the middle school (and the elementary isn’t much further). Most things seem to be within a mile or so.
What are the homes like at Los Gatos Woods?
Most of the units were built between 1971 and 1973 and most seem to have been renovated since then with dual pane windows, remodeling inside, etc.. Home sizes range from 997 square feet to 2754 square feet, with typical homes being around 1400 – 1700 SF.
The lot sizes vary, too, from about 1921 SF to 2639 SF, and the average being 1850 SF. Homes all include some sort of outside space, often both a back patio and a balcony. All have 2 car, attached garages, and many have driveways which are big enough to accommodate a car (though some are a bit short for that).
How’s the neighborhood?
This is a really beautifully maintained community. As a general rule, homes are well maintained and you won’t find an overcrowded, junky feel as you sometimes run into in townhouse or condo communities.
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Dec 14, 2022 | West Los Gatos, Events, Los Gatos Neighborhoods
The English Oaks and Oakwood neighborhood consists of two adjacent subdivisions set in a pretty area of west Los Gatos not far from Quito Road and just off of Bicknell Road.
English Oaks
Off the beaten path, the west Los Gatos subdivision or neighborhood named English Oaks offers younger homes with a woodsy, natural environment – including some oak groves which are “common areas” – on spacious lots with lots of elbow room. Immediately adjacent to it, with similarly sized lots and houses (but no common areas), is the Oakwood subdivision or neighborhood.
Below please find a map with approximate boundaries of these neighborhoods. Although I studied the plat maps at length, the county does not lay out the parcels neatly tied together in subdivisions, so ascertaining the boundaries means flipping from page to page and back again. Hence my disclaimer: these boundaries are not exact.
Where is the English Oaks subdivision?
It would be easy to miss the English Oaks neighborhood of Los Gatos as it requires traveling away from the main roads. This tidy subdivision is located generally off of Quito Road, accessed specifically from Bicknell Road and More Avenue. Streets include:
- part of Bicknell Road
- Shire Court
- Chippendale Court
- Ash Court
- Hepplewhite Court
- part of Montclair Road
If you drive along Montclair Road, especially, you will find lovely pockets of oak trees – they seem like a park, not part of someone’s back yard. These are the common areas, for which homeowners pay small fees each month. (And well worth it! They are lovely!)
Oak Grove in west Los Gatos part of English Oaks area
The Oakwood subdivision
A smaller subdivision, but with equally large lots and houses, Oakwood lines part of Bicknell toward the end of the road and all of Smith Creek Drive. (more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Aug 1, 2021 | Los Gatos Neighborhoods, Maps of Los Gatos, Parks, Videos of Los Gatos, West Los Gatos
Saratoga Highlands, Rio Rinconada, Granada Way and La Rinconada Park neighborhood are situated in west Los Gatos near the Campbell and Saratoga borders. As they are close to the large Safeway and surrounding shops along Pollard Road, this is a very convenient community.In this area you’ll find a beautiful park and tidy neighborhood with homes of varying sizes and price tags. From looking at the plat maps, I believe that originally this entire area was part of the Rinconada Hills tract of land, but today just part of the area, the gated community, bears that name. (Video below of a sampling of the area that I took from 2014!)
Please continue reading for much more information on the neighborhood!
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Dec 4, 2019 | Los Gatos Neighborhoods, West Los Gatos
Old Adobe Road area in west Los Gatos, just off Quito Road
At the northwest corner of Los Gatos you’ll find a really beautiful neighborhood that consists of Old Adobe Road and nearby streets. It’s just off of Quito Road on the border with Saratoga one one side and Monte Sereno on another.
This lovely area doesn’t have tightly defined boundaries (at least not as far as I know), but runs roughly between Old Adobe and Quito at the north end to Bicknell at the south and fanning out to beyond Montclair to about More Avenue. It clings to Rinconada Hills along one stretch, too.
What are homes like in the Old Adobe area?
Today I mapped out the approximate neighborhood using the county records and it appears to have about 250 houses or so. Nearly all were built in the 1960s and 1970s, but 10% of the neighborhood spans a century from 1920 to 2018. Most of the homes are between about 2,000 and 3,000 square feet, but about 1/6 of them are larger, a dozen reach 4,000 SF and up, but that is not typical. Most lots are around a quarter to a half acre, but some are bigger and some smaller. So they are comfortable houses on uncrowded lots in a mature neighborhood.
There are some areas within this part of west Los Gatos with no subdivision name, but others are within identifiable subdivisions: Adobe Manor, Verona Manor, Montclair Oaks, Rinconada Acres, Rinconada Terrace, Rinconada Oaks. (A nearby neighborhood is English Oaks, and next to that is Oakwood. Yes, there are plenty of oaks in the region!)
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Oct 30, 2018 | Los Gatos Neighborhoods, West Los Gatos
The Los Gatos Estates townhome community sits just off Pollard Road and More Avenue on the west end of town. Although this area on the north side of Pollard is actually in Campbell, it has a Los Gatos mailing address, which may confuse folks with a gps device. Our MLS also treats it as Campbell, so good to know about this area quirk since if you search for “Los Gatos homes for sale” there it won’t show up! (Same thing for the nearby Cameo Park West neighborhood of Leep homes a little closer to Quito Road.)
Basic facts: appx 57 homes, HOA dues as of this writing are in the high 300s (includes roof, painting, private roads, grounds, pool, spa and tennis court). Homes do not come on the market very often, but expect to see prices between $900,000 to $1,200,000 for most if they are remodeled.
Townhouses in Silicon Valley are usually either held in condominium ownership or as PUDs. These are condo. (For more info on the difference between PUD and condo ownership for common interest developments, please read this article on another of my sites.)
What are the Los Gatos Estates homes like?
They were built in 1979. Individual units range in size between 1739-2063 SF, with the average being 1921. Parcels are not big, running from 1739-2063 SF, but there’s a lot of open common space, so it does not feel small or crowded.
Why people love Los Gatos Estates
If you value a convenient location, Los Gatos Estates has it! Directly across the street from the entry to the community you’ll find a large, remodeled Safeway and a number of other helpful shops. El Camino Hospital of Los Gatos is only about a mile away. More shopping is found within 2 miles at Westgate and El Paseo de Saratoga. For workers commuting to Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and similar areas, a trip north on Pollard turns into Lawrence Expressway, making the journey pretty straight forward.
The highly regarded public schools are very nearby: Rolling Hills Middle School (API 919) is pretty much “next door” but on the other side of More, and Marshall Lane Elementary (API 945) is about a half mile away. Westmont High School (API 796) is within a mile also.
The townhomes at Los Gatos Estates enjoy tremendous convenience, but there’s much more to the complex than that. The townhomes are well laid out, with good floor plans, spacious rooms, and often high ceilings. Each one includes an attached 2 car garage and of course a laundry room or closet. In many ways, these townhomes feel more like houses than attached homes. Not only that, but residents get to enjoy a pool, spa, and tennis court, too.
Above is one of two gateway signs along Pollard Road, a nice welcome to the community!
Below, a typical two story townhome with both a back patio and balcony. One end of this complex is adjacent to highway 85, the train tracks, and the high voltage power lines, which you see in the image, too. Homes closest to the freeway, train and electrical wires will be somewhat price impacted by them, of course, but this creates an opportunity for more affordable housing than you might otherwise find in this neighborhood. If you are looking for good real estate pricing, this may be a great opportunity – lots of home for the money.
(more…)
