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san mateo neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Beresford & Hillsdale, San Mateo Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The streets south of Highway 92 from the hills to the Caltrain tracks and down to the Belmont line: 1940s and 1950s Hillsdale houses, Beresford Park, Hillsdale High and the Hillsdale Shopping Center block.
Beresford & Hillsdale by the numbers
beresford & hillsdale by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Beresford & Hillsdale (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in beresford & hillsdale · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Beresford & Hillsdale
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Beresford & Hillsdale from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Beresford & Hillsdale (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Beresford & Hillsdale came to be
Postwar Hillsdale grew out of one big land purchase. David D. Bohannon's company says it acquired and began developing 848 acres at Hillsdale, San Mateo, in 1939 and 1940, and started a store building at Hillsdale Boulevard and El Camino Real in 1941 before the war stopped construction partway through the year. Census estimates fit that timeline: in the tract between 28th Avenue and West Hillsdale Boulevard the median home dates to about 1951, with roughly 40 percent of units from the 1940s and another 39 percent from the 1950s, and the tracts farther south have medians of about 1955 to 1957.
The same company built the shopping center on the east side. Bohannon completed the Hillsdale Shopping Center master plan in 1952 and opened the center in 1954 with Sears and Macy's; Nordstrom was added in 1982, when the center became an enclosed mall (company timeline). Hillsdale High School opened on Del Monte Street in 1955 with indoor-outdoor passages, landscaped courtyards and skylit classrooms, according to the school's history page.
Beresford is the other name on the map. It survives in Beresford Park and its recreation center, in Beresford Elementary School and in the city's Beresford/Hillsdale Neighborhood Association, whose stated area runs from El Camino Real to the Alameda between 28th Avenue and the Belmont border, plus the hills west of the Alameda except Laurelwood. North of 28th Avenue, the Hacienda Neighborhood Association covers the blocks up to Highway 92, where San Mateo City Hall sits at 330 West 20th Avenue.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
The flats are a grid of numbered avenues. 20th through 31st Avenues run east-west between El Camino Real and the hills, crossed by Hacienda Street, Isabelle Avenue, Flores Street, Edison Street and Garfield Street; south of West Hillsdale Boulevard the numbers pick up again at 36th Avenue and run to 44th near the Belmont line. Alameda de las Pulgas is the main north-south street, and West Hillsdale Boulevard climbs west from El Camino Real past Hillsdale High toward Laurelwood and the College of San Mateo.
About 2,700 parcels are zoned R1-B single-family and about 1,100 R1-C, with the middle half of R1-B lots at roughly 5,500 to 8,200 square feet by our measurement of county parcel maps. Multifamily zoning lines the Alameda (about 160 R3 parcels), 20th Avenue, Flores Street, 28th Avenue and Edison Street, and El Camino Real carries commercial zoning with residential overlays. The strip between El Camino Real and the Caltrain tracks holds the 25th Avenue business blocks, commercial lots on Palm Avenue and short blocks of East 20th, 21st and 25th Avenues. Single-family projects go through the city's design review, guided by design guidelines adopted in 2001 and revised in 2006.
West of the Alameda the land rises. Country Club Heights streets (Ensenada Way, Cuesta Avenue, Pico Avenue, Sequoia Avenue, Scenic Way, Portola Drive, Campus Drive) climb toward Highway 92 and the Peninsula Golf & Country Club, a private club whose grounds Census maps place outside the city limit; membership is separate from owning a home. On the south side, Kingridge Drive, Rolling Hills Avenue and West 39th to 42nd Avenues climb toward the Belmont line, slopes that listing records call Westwood Knolls and San Mateo Knolls.
streets in beresford & hillsdale
- Alameda de las Pulgas
- El Camino Real
- West Hillsdale Boulevard
- 20th Avenue
- 25th Avenue
- 26th Avenue
- 27th Avenue
- 28th Avenue
- 29th Avenue
- 30th Avenue
- 31st Avenue
- Hacienda Street
- Isabelle Avenue
- Flores Street
- Edison Street
- Garfield Street
- Del Monte Street
- Sylvan Avenue
- Monterey Street
- Ventura Avenue
- Sunset Terrace
- Fernwood Street
- Kingridge Drive
- West 39th Avenue
- 41st Avenue
- 42nd Avenue
- Rolling Hills Avenue
- La Casa Avenue
- Ensenada Way
- Cuesta Avenue
- Pico Avenue
- Sequoia Avenue
- Scenic Way
- Portola Drive
- Campus Drive
- Palm Avenue
- O'Farrell Street
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Beresford & Hillsdale
- park
Beresford Park and Recreation Center
An 18.5-acre city park at 2720 Alameda de las Pulgas with a playground, ball fields, basketball and tennis courts, a skate area, a community garden, bocce and picnic areas (city park records); the center's page also lists pickleball and horseshoes.
- park
Neighborhood parks
West Hillsdale Park (345 31st Avenue, 1.6 acres, playground and basketball), East Hillsdale Park (123 31st Avenue, 2.1 acres, playground and tennis), Indian Springs Park (313 West 39th Avenue, 2.7 acres) and Trinta Park by the tracks (150 19th Avenue, 2 acres, playground, ball field and basketball), per city park records.
- shopping
Hillsdale Shopping Center
The center fills the block between Edison Street and El Camino Real from 31st Avenue to Hillsdale Boulevard; it opened in 1954 and became an enclosed mall in 1982 (company timeline). The 25th Avenue business blocks are the other shopping street.
- landmark
San Mateo City Hall and Hillsdale library
City Hall is at 330 West 20th Avenue in the north end, and the city's Hillsdale branch library is on West Hillsdale Boulevard near El Camino Real (city facilities map).
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Census maps put the whole area in the San Mateo-Foster City School District (TK-8) and the San Mateo Union High School District. Public schools inside it include Beresford Elementary (300 28th Avenue), Meadow Heights Elementary (2619 Dolores Street), Laurel Elementary and Abbott Middle School (both on 36th Avenue) and Hillsdale High School (3115 Del Monte Street). Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district.
San Mateo Union High guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Hillsdale Caltrain (50 East 28th Avenue, Zone 2) is on the east edge, about 0.6 mile straight-line from the middle of the area; Hayward Park station is about 1.1 miles and Belmont about 2.1 miles.
- SamTrans ECR runs on El Camino Real, and Routes 250, 251, 292, 294 and 295 connect at Hillsdale station (Caltrain station page).
- Highway 92 runs along the north edge with interchanges at El Camino Real, Alameda de las Pulgas and West Hillsdale Boulevard; US 101 is about 1.4 miles straight-line east and Interstate 280 about 2.6 miles southwest by way of Highway 92.
- West Hillsdale Boulevard climbs to the College of San Mateo, about 1.5 miles straight-line west.
- Sugarloaf Mountain Open Space and Laurelwood Park are about 1 mile straight-line southwest.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Beresford & Hillsdale: what we check
Buying here
- Liquefaction: state seismic hazard maps put roughly 1,550 parcels, largely the flatter blocks from 20th to 28th Avenues and along Isabelle Avenue, Edison Street and the Alameda, in a liquefaction zone. Ask about foundation condition and any past work.
- Hillside streets: earthquake-induced landslide zones cover roughly 230 lots, including parts of Kingridge Drive, 42nd Avenue, Greenfield Avenue, Fernwood Street and Verdun Avenue, and the city issues brush-clearing notices for areas around Kingridge, Campus Drive and Greenfield Avenue.
- Flood: the county's FEMA layer shows Zone X here, with shaded Zone X (0.2 percent annual chance) on about 40 parcels, mainly along West Hillsdale Boulevard. Check the exact address.
- Houses from the 1940s and 1950s: plan inspections for the sewer lateral, electrical panel, foundation and any unpermitted additions.
- Jurisdiction is city everywhere here except the Peninsula Golf & Country Club grounds, which Census maps place outside the city limit; one Madera Drive address shows as county in city address data, so verify any listing there.
Selling here
- For older houses, gather permits and any foundation or sewer-lateral records before listing.
- Liquefaction and landslide zones are lot-specific; order the natural hazard disclosure early.
- State the distance to Hillsdale station accurately, straight-line or walking.
- For condominiums on the Alameda and 20th Avenue, assemble HOA documents and reserve information up front.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Beresford & Hillsdale questions, answered
Where are Beresford and Hillsdale?
In southwest San Mateo, south of Highway 92: the grid of numbered avenues between El Camino Real and the hills, plus the hillside streets west of Alameda de las Pulgas, down to the Belmont city line. The city's Beresford/Hillsdale and Hacienda neighborhood associations cover it.
Is Hillsdale Shopping Center in this neighborhood?
Yes. The center fills the block between Edison Street and El Camino Real from 31st Avenue to Hillsdale Boulevard. Bohannon's company opened it in 1954 and enclosed it in 1982, when Nordstrom was added.
Which public schools are nearby?
Beresford, Meadow Heights and Laurel Elementary, Abbott Middle School and Hillsdale High School are all inside the area, in the San Mateo-Foster City School District and the San Mateo Union High School District. Check the exact address with the districts, since attendance boundaries change.
How old are the houses?
Census estimates put the median year built at about 1951 to 1957 in the tracts from 28th Avenue south, with large shares from the 1940s and 1950s. The tract between Highway 92 and 28th Avenue is more mixed, with pre-1940 houses and newer apartments.
Is the Peninsula Golf & Country Club part of the neighborhood?
It sits inside the area on the map, west of the Alameda near Highway 92, but it is a private club and Census maps place its grounds outside the San Mateo city limit. Club membership is separate from owning a home nearby.
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