The Kenwood Acres subdivision on the east side of Los Gatos was begun in 1947 and 1948 with smaller, ranch style homes on good sized lots.
This was a sleepier time, but the 1940 installation of Highway 17 through downtown Los Gatos had made Kenwood Acres a little less remote for those working in San Jose. Nearby Surry Farm was still a horse ranch at that time, with the stables up against Kennedy Road. The valley was still full of orchards then, too.
Even then, it was convenient, with schools only about a mile away and downtown Los Gatos only a mile or two away, depending on your destination.
Where is Kenwood Acres?
The Kenwood Acres runs along Marchmont between Kennedy and Hilow and includes all of Topping, most of Littlefield, and parts of Hilow, Kennedy, and Englewood.
It’s in the same general area as Stonybrook (“Stony Brook” in the list of subdivisions in the county), Surrey Farm, and Vista del Monte.
What are the homes and the neighborhood like in Kenwood Acres?
As a once unincorporated area, this neighborhood does have a more rustic feel to it generally. In most of the neighborhood, power lines run in front of the homes (later subdivisions had them against the back, and the youngest ones are underground). The home sizes and styles are mixed today, with some smaller, original houses and some very large and elegant homes that have been built fairly recently.
There are 83 single family homes in Kenwood Acres. From my research, it appears that many of the homes in this part of Los Gatos initially were modest ranch style houses, some with 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and less than 1000 SF.
Today there are just 3 homes that under 1,000 SF, with the tiniest one at 884 SF. Many houses have been expanded and quite a number fully rebuilt. Even so, eleven of the houses still have just 1 full bath and 10 have 2 bedrooms.
At the other end of the spectrum are 9 homes with more than 4,000 SF (the largest is appx 5700 SF).
The average home size is 2497 SF, and on average, homes there have 3.75 bedrooms (the range is 2 – 6 bedrooms).
The parcels stretch from about 8,500 SF to around 14,800 SF (average is 11,200 SF).
Today there is a mix of old and new, small and large, ranch and everything else: contemporary, ranch, Craftsman, Spanish, and more.
Home values in Kenwood Acres
This area is close to town, and enjoys easy proximity to Highway 17. It’s also within the Los Gatos Union School District. All of these things make it a highly desirable area in which to live.
The sale prices in this pocket of Los Gatos range based on home and lot size, property condition, and the exact location within the subdivision. Kennedy, Englewood, Hilow, and Marchmont all get more traffic than Topping, and Littlefield is a dead end road, so gets very little congestion.
This year, there have been 3 closed sales in the neighborhood year to date. The largest home just closed for $5,050,000. The least expensive recent sale in 2021 was for $3,081,000. Last year there were a couple of sales in the 4 millions. The year before, one sold off market in the low 2 millions – but don’t count on that. The odds are good that if you buy in this community, you’ll be paying upwards of 3 million for an average house. Perhaps less if you can find a much smaller home on a much smaller lot.
Is Kenwood Acres in the town, or is it a county pocket?
This part of the Kennedy Road area did begin as an unincorporated area, or county pocket. (County islands are often identifiable as the house numbers have 5 digits, and there are no sidewalks, curbs, or gutters.)
I don’t know if the area was always on sewer, as I believe that it is today, or if originally it was on septic, which was common then, especially in county managed areas.
In 2019, the town of Los Gatos incorporated two dozen “county pockets ” (see the link below under “related reading”). Normally there are fees if a home owner applies for incorporation, but this time it was the town’s initiative, and the fees were waived.
So the answer is this: Kenwood Acres is an incorporated area, it is a part of the town of Los Gatos. It is no longer an unincorporated area.
Special concerns in the neighborhood
Traffic is an issue throughout Los Gatos, but that’s especially true here with both “beach traffic”, cut through traffic on Englewood between Shannon and Kennedy, and school traffic. Hillbrook School is at the top of Marchmont, and in the past there have been some challenges with auto traffic on the feeder roads.
A good amount of Los Gatos has issues with water damaging foundations, and that is particularly true in areas like this near the hills. It’s extra important to direct water away from the house with proper grading, extending downspouts, and so on. In some parts of town, occasionally water percolates up from underneath on super rainy days. It’s something to keep an eye on. If that’s the case with your house, it’s wise to seek professional help and to look into a sump pump with a battery backup (so that it doesn’t fail should the power go out).
Related reading
Annexation map of 2019 – 24 pockets or islands came into Los Gatos at the town’s initiative.
East Los Gatos (a list of neighborhoods)
