Mountain View City

MOUNTAIN VIEW CITY HOUSING TRENDS

I remember when I ﬁrst visited Mountain View in 1978! It was very different then. Mountain View used to be the place to live if you were looking for a rental, condo or townhome; it was uninspiring and not a permanent destination. How times have changed!!! Mountain View is now home to Google and many other high-tech companies. And this is the town where, in one sense, it all started, the home of the legendary Fairchild Semiconductor, grandaddy of just about every tech company in Silicon Valley. Mountain View’s a city many are proud to call home, myself included.

The town has a thriving downtown centered on and around Castro Street; this is the place to visit if you’re interested in dining of any sort, ﬁne or casual—it can be found in downtown. Some years ago, the area was renovated—fortunately, a huge success—thank you City of Mountain View, all your hard work and forethought paid off! In addition to all the restaurants, coffee shops, book stores, and boutiques, the town also boasts a modern Performing Arts Center which supports many ﬁne programs year round. A welcome addition to Mountain View has been the introduction of many start-ups in and near the downtown area.

Mountain View has a variety of parks the largest of which is Shoreline Park, also home to a golf course and Shoreline Amphitheatre, an open-air theatre under the world’s largest tent, which has hosted everything from symphonies to the Grateful Dead (yes, I saw them there myself a couple of times—wonderful!). The park has an interesting history. Back in the sixties, someone had the brainwave to offer to handle San Francisco’s overflowing trash, get paid to take it, and make a park out of it! Over thirteen patient years, they ﬁlled in ﬁve hundred acres of marshland, then began turning them into a park with a ﬁfty-acre lake. A win-win situation for everybody.

For those who like to bike, hike, or jog, Stevens Creek Trail is the place to go. In the heart of Silicon Valley this trail is amazingly unfrequented: pick the trail up near downtown, run along Highway 85 for a while and then pass the Moffett Field wind tunnel; keep going and head to the left and you can ﬁnd yourself running by the lake and heading towards Palo Alto. Go to the right and you will most likely ﬁnd yourself to be the only person around except for the ducks! If you’re a bird lover, this is the place to come.

There is a Caltrain and light rail stop in Mountain View. The light rail runs all the way to downtown San Jose. I’ve also enjoyed the Sunday morning Farmers Market, held next to the station. While the town’s train station looks like the real thing, a la Menlo Park, peek inside and you’ll see it’s a magician’s trick: torn down long ago, it was rebuilt to the original speciﬁcations in the boom years of the early aughts—complete with two chimneys outside and no ﬁreplaces inside! And those strange silver looking structures—well, they are Olympic torches built, I hear, when it was hoped the Olympics would be held in San Francisco.

Mountain View is a great place to live, with a little of everything. Want old-world craftsman type homes? Look around Castro Street and you’ll see all the old-world charm you could want. How about ranch-style houses? They abound in various pockets all over Mountain View. Not interested in a single-family home? Mountain View has a large variety of townhomes and condos to choose from and has three really nice mobile home parks and, you guessed it, they’re pricey too!

Schools in Mountain View are good to excellent; parts of Mountain View have Los Altos schools. Mountain View and Los Altos have a joint high-school district.

APARTMENTS

(I give the largest number of apartments because Mountain View is the city I get asked about the most when it comes to rentals)

Americana, 707 Continental Circle

A Prometheus development close to 85 and El Camino Real; minutes away from 101 http://www.prometheusreg.com/?page_id=101&property=Americana

The Eves, 151 Calderon

Close to downtown Castro Street and Caltrain; 85 and Central Expressway are really close; 101 is easy access. Ofﬁce closed on Sundays. The Eves is literally next to the Stevens Creek Trail, a biking and walking trail that goes to Shoreline Park (see History Sidebar under Mountain View).
https://www.avaloncommunities.com/california/mountain-view-apartments/eaves-creekside

The Eves, 555 W. Middleﬁeld

Super close to everything Downtown, to Caltrain and to VTA, also easy access to Highways 101 and 85—I love the pool, spa, and grounds in this complex; very well run with friendly folk to help you.
https://www.avaloncommunities.com/california/ mountain-view-apartments/eaves-mountain-view-atmiddleﬁeld

Avalon at Mountain View, 1600 Villa Street

Close to downtown Castro Street and Caltrain; easy access to 101. Ofﬁce closed on Sundays
http://www.avaloncommunities.com/avaloncore/nfloor. asp?comm=106

Avalon Towers on the Peninsula, 2400 W. El Camino Real

Near El Camino Real and Ortega. Many of the units have views. Easy access to 101. Ofﬁce closed on Sundays

http://www.avaloncommunities.com/avaloncore/nfloor. asp?comm=131

North Park, 111 North Rengstorff Avenue

A Prometheus development located at Central Expressway and Rengstorff; easy access to 101 and 85. Leasing ofﬁce is closed on Sunday
http://www.prometheusreg.com/?page_id=101&property=North+Park

Park Place, 851 Church Street

A Prometheus development close to downtown Mountain View and Caltrain. Easy access to 101 and 85
http://www.prometheusreg.com/?page_id=101&proper-ty=Park+Place

Park Place South, 851 Church Street

A Prometheus development close to downtown Mountain View and Caltrain. Easy access to 101 and 85. Back to back with above complex but very different floorplan and ambiance
http://www.prometheusreg.com/?page_id=101&property=Park+Place+South

Park Place South, 851 Church Street, Mountain View A Prometheus development close to downtown Mountain View and Caltrain. Easy access to 101 and 85. Back to back with above complex but very different floorplan and ambiance

http://www.prometheusreg.com/?page_id=101&property=Park+Place+South

The Shadows, Mountain View, near Shoreline and Middleﬁeld.
http://www.rent.com/rentals/california/san-josesouth-bay-and-peninsula/mountain-view/the-shadows/468043/?linkname=myrent-9500-view-properties

Village Lake Apartments, Mountain View, between Shoreline and Moffett

http://www.rent.com/rentals/california/san-jose-southbay-and-peninsula/mountain-view/village-lake-apartments/445193/?linkname=myrent-9500-view-properties