san jose neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Calabazas, San Jose Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
San Jose's blocks between De Anza Blvd and Miller Ave, Bollinger Rd to Prospect Rd: single-family tracts, townhome and condo courts, Calabazas Creek, a 17-acre city park and a branch library.
Calabazas by the numbers
calabazas by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Calabazas (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in calabazas · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Calabazas
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Calabazas 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 (Calabazas (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Calabazas came to be
Calabazas shares its name with Calabazas Creek, which crosses the neighborhood and runs on north into Cupertino. Public maps show about 1.5 miles of the creek inside the outline, plus about 0.7 mile of Rodeo Creek, with some stretches in culverts. The city's Calabazas Park, Calabazas Branch Library and Calabazas Neighborhood Center sit side by side on S Blaney Ave, so the name belongs to the area's civic center as much as to the water.
This was county land until the mid-1950s. City annexation records show San Jose took in about 42% of today's outline in a single March 1956 annexation (named Johnson No. 1) and about another 46% in a run of annexations named Madera between October 1956 and December 1957. Smaller pieces named Calabazas No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 followed in 1959, 1961 and 1974, and a last one came in 1980. The city's tract layer maps 64 recorded subdivision tracts inside the outline, with about 2,450 lots between them.
The San Jose Public Library's timeline dates the Calabazas Branch to 1966 and the opening of the expanded branch to June 8, 2013. Along the creek, Valley Water lists its Calabazas Creek flood protection project, Miller Avenue to Wardell Road, as completed; it built a long detention basin beside the creek to hold high storm flows and repaired eroding banks. FEMA's current map puts about 89% of this outline in Zone X, while the San Jose blocks just east of Miller Ave are nearly all Zone D.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Blaney Ave runs north-south through the middle and Rainbow Dr crosses it east-west; Blaney continues north into Cupertino and Rainbow Dr continues west of De Anza Blvd into Cupertino. The single-family blocks are curving drives and ways with short courts, laid out tract by tract: Craig Dr, Lancer Dr and Alderbrook Ln toward Miller Ave and Bollinger Rd; Riverside Way, Cynthia Ln and Michele Way near Bollinger Rd and Blaney Ave; Dartmoor Way, Kintyre Way and Devon Way west of Blaney Ave in the southern half; and Elka Ave, Bonnie Joy Ave and Larkin Ave close to Prospect Rd. About half the land is zoned R-1-8 single-family, and county parcel maps put the typical single-family lot at about 6,700 sq ft.
The western blocks are denser. The city's zoning map shows planned-development (PD) courts with townhomes and condominiums on Chantel Ct, Via Vico, Blue Hill Dr, Clarendon St, Ventana Dr, Calabazas Creek Cir and Longfellow Way, and apartment complexes zoned Urban Residential on Rainbow Dr, Weyburn Ln, Brookvale Dr, Coronado Dr and Bark Ln. West of De Anza Blvd, the San Jose strip holds the Water Lily Way planned-development court and a row of frontage parcels before the Cupertino line.
De Anza Blvd is the commercial edge: the city zones its frontage for commercial use on both sides of SR 85, and the General Plan marks it as the S. De Anza Blvd urban village, a commercial corridor whose village plan the city layer lists as not yet approved. In the single-family tracts, remodels and second-story additions go through San Jose's R-1-8 zoning and permits; townhome and condo owners should also read the PD permit and the HOA rules before changing anything outside their walls.
streets in calabazas
- Blaney Ave
- Rainbow Dr
- Bollinger Rd
- Prospect Rd
- De Anza Blvd
- Miller Ave
- Craig Dr
- Lancer Dr
- Alderbrook Ln
- Riverside Way
- Cynthia Ln
- Dartmoor Way
- Kintyre Way
- Devon Way
- Bretmoor Way
- Glenmoor Way
- Elka Ave
- Larkin Ave
- Hanover Dr
- Melvin Dr
- Chantel Ct
- Via Vico
- Weyburn Ln
- Brookvale Dr
- Water Lily Way
- Calabazas Creek Cir
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Calabazas
- park
Calabazas Park
17.31 acres at 1121 S Blaney Ave (city parks layer). The city's amenity list includes three tennis courts, six pickleball courts, soccer and softball fields, basketball and volleyball courts, a BMX area, horseshoe pits, two playgrounds and picnic areas.
- library
Calabazas Branch Library
1230 S Blaney Ave, beside the park. The branch dates to 1966, and the expanded building opened on June 8, 2013 (San Jose Public Library timeline).
- civic
Calabazas Neighborhood Center and Community Garden
The neighborhood center is at 1207 S Blaney Ave, and the city's 0.39-acre community garden is at Blaney Ave and Danridge Dr.
- creek
Calabazas Creek
Part of Valley Water's completed Miller Avenue to Wardell Road flood protection project. The narrow AE and A flood strips on FEMA's map follow the creek channel here.
- shopping
De Anza Blvd frontage
Commercial lots line De Anza Blvd from Prospect Rd to Bollinger Rd on the San Jose side. A separate neighborhood shopping corner sits at Bollinger Rd and Miller Ave, just east in the Rainbow guide.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Calabazas is in the Cupertino Union School District for elementary and middle school and the Fremont Union High School District for high school; the Census school-district layers cover the whole outline with those two districts. Two Cupertino Union elementary schools are inside: John Muir Elementary on Hanover Dr and R. I. Meyerholz Elementary on Melvin Dr. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with the district.
Getting around
- VTA route 25 runs along Bollinger Rd with stops at De Anza Blvd, Blaney Ave and Miller Ave; VTA route 51 runs on De Anza Blvd past Prospect Rd.
- SR 85 has an interchange at De Anza Blvd at the southwest corner; I-280 is reached by going north on De Anza Blvd through Cupertino.
- Caltrain: Lawrence station is about 5 miles north (straight-line). Light rail: Winchester station in Campbell is about 4.5 miles east (straight-line).
- Blaney Ave and Rainbow Dr are the through streets for walking and biking inside the neighborhood; Prospect Rd and Bollinger Rd carry traffic east toward Lawrence Expwy.
- The Saratoga Creek trail begins at Bollinger Rd and Lawrence Expwy, about 1.5 miles east (straight-line).
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Calabazas: what we check
Buying here
- Flood map check: FEMA shows about half the outline in shaded Zone X (0.2% annual chance), about 38% in Zone X (minimal), about 8% in Zone D (flood hazard undetermined) and narrow AE and A strips along Calabazas Creek. Pull the current FEMA map for the parcel and ask your lender and insurer.
- About 5% of the outline, mostly parcels on Blaney Ave and Rainbow Dr, is inside a state liquefaction hazard zone (Cupertino quadrangle, released 2002). Read the natural hazard disclosure and any soils report.
- City line: San Jose stops at Bollinger Rd, De Anza Blvd (except the strip west of it) and Prospect Rd. Homes across those streets are Cupertino or Saratoga, with different permits, taxes and services, so confirm the city on the county parcel record.
- Townhome and condo courts here were built under planned-development zoning. Ask for the HOA documents, the PD permit, the reserve study and current dues before you write an offer.
- Records quirk: county assessor records file some San Jose parcels on the west side of De Anza Blvd under the road's other name, Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd. Search both names when you look up permits and records.
Selling here
- Name the districts (Cupertino Union and Fremont Union High) and invite buyers to verify the address with the district; don't promise a specific school.
- Have the FEMA zone for your parcel ready, especially near the creek, where AE, A and shaded X zones meet.
- PD townhome and condo sellers: gather HOA documents, rules, minutes and the reserve study early so escrow isn't waiting on them.
- Buyers often compare these blocks with Cupertino across Bollinger Rd and De Anza Blvd. Say clearly that the home is in San Jose (ZIP 95129) and describe it by its streets, the park and the library.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Calabazas questions, answered
Is Calabazas in San Jose or Cupertino?
San Jose. The city line runs down Bollinger Rd and De Anza Blvd, with Cupertino on the far side, and Saratoga begins on the south side of Prospect Rd. A narrow San Jose strip west of De Anza Blvd, between SR 85 and Bollinger Rd, is also in this guide. The Census place layer puts 99.8% of the outline in San Jose.
Which school districts serve Calabazas?
Cupertino Union School District for elementary and middle school and Fremont Union High School District for high school. John Muir Elementary and R. I. Meyerholz Elementary are inside the neighborhood. Boundaries change, so check the address with the district.
Is Calabazas in a flood zone?
Mostly not a special flood hazard area. FEMA's map shows about 89% Zone X (shaded and unshaded), about 8% Zone D and about 2% AE and A strips along Calabazas Creek. Check the exact parcel on the FEMA map and ask your insurer.
What is at Calabazas Park?
The 17.31-acre city park on S Blaney Ave has tennis and pickleball courts, soccer and softball fields, basketball and volleyball courts, a BMX area, horseshoe pits, playgrounds and picnic areas, with the branch library and neighborhood center next door.
What kinds of homes are in Calabazas?
Single-family homes on R-1-8 lots cover about half the land, with a typical lot of about 6,700 sq ft. Townhome and condominium courts sit under planned-development zoning, mostly toward De Anza Blvd, and apartment complexes line parts of Rainbow Dr and Brookvale Dr.
next door
More San Jose neighborhood guides
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