Avalon Park, etc.

Avalon Park is another classic 1950s suburban neighborhood, part of South San Francisco’s great post-war growth period. Here, just west of El Camino Real, are winding streets lined with single- and two-story homes built to fill the needs of a rapidly expanding and optimistic city. The district began development in the mid-1950s, with growth stretching out for the next decade. Homes built at Avalon Park’s onset are generally smaller, often with less than 1,000 square feet of living space, and more inexpensive ($700,000 - $900,000) than their newer neighbors, which have two-car garages, or often two stories and can range in size up to 2,000-plus square feet. Newer Avalon Park homes have recently been fetching up to $1.5 million on the open market.

With its cul-de-sacs, two-car garages and small, trimmed lawns, Avalon Park is a bastion of quiet residential living, yet the neighborhood, which is bordered by the California Golf Club of San Francisco (to the north) and the Brentwood neighborhood (to the south) is centrally located and convenient for commuters, with Highway 280, El Camino Real, BART and Tanforan Mall all a stone’s throw away. Buyers looking to combine convenience with suburban serenity (and an affinity for the somewhat modest, clean lines of 1950s subdivision architecture) will find what they seek in Avalon Park.

Favorable

• Convenient for commuters, shoppers and diners — perhaps South City’s most convenient suburban neighborhood

• Neighborhood has a higher percentage of families and long-time residents than South San Francisco as a whole

• Pride of ownership among homeowners evident

Adverse

• Proximity to freeways and heavily-traveled streets can bring noise and traffic to homes located along the neighborhood’s borders