Westborough was built in three phases between 1960 and 1969. As one of South City’s “newest” post-war neighborhoods, its one- and two-story homes are generally larger than those found in older developments, measuring in at between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet. Most have two car garages and small lawns and have been maintained well by their owners. Westborough is well-positioned for car and train commuters, close to two large shopping centers and Tanforan and includes a hidden bonus: a series of walking trails which run through the northern end of the district. Add all of this up and you have a neighborhood where recent sales have fallen in the $1 million to $1.6 million range, putting Westborough at the top of South San Francisco’s real estate market.

Favorable

• Larger and newer homes than those available in most South San Francisco subdivisions

• Residents show great pride of ownership in maintaining their properties

• Proximity to Highway 280 for commuters and two large shopping centers for day-to-day convience

Adverse

• Located far from downtown, Westborough has a completely suburban character and is not easy to access/egress

• Homes here are selling at the top of the South San Francisco market

New residents are flocking to South San Francisco’s diverse neighborhoods, choosing between pre-war downtown cottages, sweeping post-war mid-century suburbia, large-scale transit hub apartment developments and condominiums and the spacious mini-mansions of Terrabay’s Mandalay Heights, whose multi-level homes sit in a small valley on the southern slope of San Bruno Mountain, offering bay views and the perks of 21st-century design with a twist — Western Pacific Housing developed Mandalay Heights “with feng shui in mind,” incorporating small and large details designed to allow for the flow of chi.

South San Francisco is known as the birthplace of biotechnology since 1976 when Genentech opened its door. With over 200 biotech companies (Amgen, Stemcentrx, 23 and me) and 11.5 million square feet of space, South San Francisco is the world’s leading research and development (R&D) (e.g. vaccines, gene therapies, ect) hub for applications for drugs and therapies, as well as the manufacturing of medical devices.

In recent years, it has become the local hub for other tech leaders such as SAP(Successfactors) as well as the Headquarters for See’s Candies and Sanrio(parent of Hello Kitty. Just a short distance from San Francisco and the Peninsula, South San Francisco is expanding rapidly, as can be seen by the large numbers of cranes and construction sites. New offices and residential buildings are popping up rapidly.

This growth in the business sector is leading to a large demand for services to support the business infrastructure. A trip through downtown’s Grand Avenue reveals that the city’s decades-old family-owned businesses are now sharing space with increasingly stylish restaurants, a downstairs brewery and tap room, hip and trendy restaurants/bowling alleys/ basketball courts/meeting locations such as Foundry & Lux, and a growing number of cafe’s. Pedestrian street life is vibrant, encouraged by city government’s partnerships with urban bicycle and carpooling apps spin.com and Scoop.com. A new Business Costco also opened last fall in South San Francisco to support and supply all these small businesses.