Parkway

Parkway is a small neighborhood located within the larger Sign Hill district, just north of downtown South San Francisco’s Grand Avenue. The subdivision was developed in response to South City’s “first” housing shortage, in the early 1930s. The homes, built 10 at a time by developer James Arnott and Sons, were modeled after San Francisco’s Parkway Terrace subdivision, which had been built a decade earlier. Parkway added homes throughout the 1940s and 50s, but at its core still resembles a post-Victorian San Francisco neighborhood more than any of its post-war South City neighbors.

Parkway homes run the gamut, from small 1930s cottages to late 1950s ranches — and middle level of the South San Francisco market, ranging from the low $800s to just over $1.2 million, and can have two, three or four bedrooms and between 800 and 2,000 square feet of space on smaller lots than will be found west of El Camino Real (think 3,000 to 4,000 square feet). It’s difficult to summarize Parkway real estate, but all homes share a hilly location and proximity to downtown, Highway 101 and South City’s biotech hub. Parkway has a WalkScore of 60, which doesn’t make it a “walker’s paradise” but does place it among South San Francisco’s most walkable neighborhoods.

Favorable

• Lots of vintage details and period charm in many homes; many have been expanded

• Proximity to downtown South San Francisco gives Parkway more of a pedestrian culture than can be found in “typical” post-war suburban South City neighborhoods

• Relatively inexpensive price points

Adverse

• As a result of its housing diversity, neighborhood lacks the architectural cohesiveness found in other South San Francisco neighborhoods

• Some homes are smaller and are on smaller lots than those found in newer and more suburban neighborhoods