San Leandro Hills Offer Beauty, Safety, Convenience
Residents of the San Leandro Hills neighborhoods have the best of both worlds: Conveniently close to I-580 and minutes from San Francisco and Oakland, the neighborhoods offer views and activities associated usually associated with those menacing hours-long drives.
Bounded by I-580 and Fairmont Drive, the neighborhood consists of two major developments: Bay-O-Vista, which sits above I-580 in San Leandro; and Sheffield Village, which straddles the San Leandro-Oakland border.
Realtor Diana Huggins not only sells many properties in the area, but she is also a resident. “Sheffield Village is a bit flatter, and some homes there back up to a stream,” she explains. “There are sweeping views of the Bay, however, particularly further up the hill.” Prices in that part of the San Leandro Hills begin in the upper $500,000s and go upward, with the most expensive homes going for $1,000,000-plus.
Bay-O-Vista offers a similar price range and opportunity. Built during the 1960s, the neighborhood was built in phases, with each home being distinctly different from its neighbors. Like other areas, “As you go higher up the hill, the homes go up in price,” she adds.
In addition to the views afforded by the hillside location, residents enjoy many recreation opportunities right in their own back yard. Sheffield Village boasts a Community Center operated by the Oakland Parks and Recreation Department. The center holds many community get-togethers and other activities during the year. Bay-O-Vista offers a community swim club, but Huggins says membership is optional. “You don’t have to be a resident to join, and residents aren’t required to join.” The club, however, offers many amenities besides a pool, including tennis courts, a barbecue area, workout facilities, and a driving range.
Bay-O-Vista residents can choose to join an optional neighborhood association for about $15 per year, which gives them a newsletter updating them on local events. “It gives you information about who’s moved in, what’s going on in your area, that kind of thing,” Huggins notes. Sheffield Village has a similar association, and membership is around $30 per year.
In both developments, being close to nature is part of daily life. “Across Lake Chabot is a private reserve,” Huggins explains. “Wildlife sighting is common. I’ve seen deer, raccoons, squirrels. You will see chicken wire all around new landscaping. That’s usually to keep the deer out,” she says, laughing. But residents don’t mind at all. “My own back yard backs up to a canyon, with a stand of pine trees and views of the city. It has a real vacation feel to it.”
In fact, that serene, back-to-nature feeling is so pervasive, residents may forget the freeway is nearby. “You don’t realize I-580 is right below you. It feels very different up here, yet you’re close to everything.”
That was one of the reasons Hanada Yamini and her family moved to the area in 1994. “It’s a wonderful neighborhood,” she says. “It’s quiet. It’s safe. And it’s very convenient to most of the Bay Area.” Yamini should know: Her extended family is stretched out across the region, from Marin to San Francisco to San Jose. She says living in the San Leandro hills makes it easy to get to relatives’ homes — no matter where they are in the Bay Area.
In addition to the convenience, Yamini says the closeness of the neighbors is also important. “You just tend to know everybody.” Overall, she says the neighborhood is, “Ideal. It’s luxurious. Everything works out very well.”
Evelyn Malone would tend to agree with that assessment. A resident of the area since the late 1950s, Malone says she enjoys the view and the proximity to so many parts of the Bay Area. “It’s a quiet neighborhood, and I would say there is little to no crime,” she says.
Malone says another benefit to the area is the weather. “It’s usually cooler in summer than it is down the hill, or out in the Danville area,” she explains. “And in the winter, temperatures stay milder, too.”
Malone notes that a wide variety of age groups are now in the neighborhood. “We have a good cross-section of families. Younger families have come in, and bought from the older, original owners,” she explains. Huggins echoes this, noting that that is responsible for many of the listings on the current market.
Unlike many areas with homes for sale, however, Huggins notes that homes in the area tend to be larger than the average for the Bay Area. “Lots are good-sized, averaging around 8,000 square feet,” she says. “The homes themselves range from 1,600 to 5,000 square feet.”
The larger homes and desirable area mean that listings tend to be scarce, and move quickly. “It’s definitely still a seller’s market,” Huggins explains. And, in spite of the changing generations, homes don’t come up that frequently. “There is a lot of long-term ownership here,” she explains.
Which is understandable — Anyone who already owns a piece of paradise like this will want to hang on to it.
