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Cambrian Park, San Jose Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The 1950s tracts around Camden and Union avenues, where Cambrian Park Plaza opened in 1953. About a third of the parcels are still unincorporated county land with San Jose mailing addresses.
Cambrian Park by the numbers
cambrian park by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Cambrian Park: Camden Ave to Hwy 85, S. Bascom Ave to Camden's bend (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in cambrian park · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Cambrian Park
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Cambrian Park 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 (Cambrian Park: Camden Ave to Hwy 85, S. Bascom Ave to Camden's bend (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Cambrian Park came to be
Cambrian Park grew out of farmland in the early 1950s. Permits issued in March and April 1953 let the owner of record, Schaeffer Lands Inc., build a shopping center at Union and Camden avenues, with The Wilder Co. as contractor, and the house tracts behind it were subdivided and built at the same time as the Cambrian Park subdivision, according to a 2016 historic evaluation of the plaza. A 1956 newspaper section advertising the neighborhood listed 20 shops at the center; a 1962 follow-up counted 31 businesses.
The plaza went up in stages. The first wing, facing Union Ave, dates to 1953-54; a 1954 permit added a post office and a bank. An angled north wing followed around 1959-60 and held a bowling alley, Cambrian Lanes, which was in the county phone book by 1961. The carousel-topped pylon sign first appeared about 1959. The 2016 evaluation found it heavily altered since then, possibly replaced in 1994, but in August 2016 the County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to make the carousel sign a county landmark.
City limits arrived in pieces. City annexation records show about 40 separate annexations touching this area, from 'Cambrian No. 1' in July 1954 to the 20-acre plaza site ('Cambrian No. 37') in September 2022, many of them a lot or two at a time. What was never annexed is still unincorporated Santa Clara County, mapped by the Census Bureau as the Cambrian Park census-designated place, a bit over half a square mile. In 2022 the City Council also approved a plan to replace the plaza with a mixed-use village: a hotel, apartments over shops, assisted living, 48 houses and 25 townhouses. A spring 2026 news report said nothing had been built, the permit runs to 2028, and the developer had asked the City to let the housing go first.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Camden Ave frames the north side and then swings southeast toward Highway 85, so the area is roughly a wedge. Union Ave and Leigh Ave run north-south through it, and Branham Ln crosses the southern half. West of Union Ave, around Houge Park, the tract streets take a night-sky theme: Twilight Dr, Starbright Dr, Starview Dr, Sunrise Dr, Aquila Ave, Apsis Ave and Hecate Ct, which suits a park where an astronomy club runs public star parties. South of Camden Ave behind the plaza are Charmeran Ave, Wyrick Ave, Stratford Dr, Chelsea Dr, Herring Ave, Esther Dr, Nelson Way and Berry Way.
This is where the city and county lines get granular. City address records put every address on Acton Dr, Berry Way, Bronson Ave, Chelsea Dr, Cole Dr, Conway Ave, Donner Dr, Elton Dr, Herring Ave, Holden Way, Homerite Dr, Lenray Ln, Payton Ave, Rossmoyne Dr, Standish Dr, Sutton Dr, Weeth Dr and New Jersey Ave south of Camden in unincorporated county. Union Ave, Charmeran Ave, Stratford Dr, Wyrick Ave, Nelson Way, Woodard Rd, Esther Dr, Leigh Ave, Branham Ln, Bercaw Ln and Jacksol Dr are split between county and city. County addresses use five-digit numbers in the 14000s and 15000s, while most city blocks use four-digit San Jose numbers. Annexed parcels sometimes keep the old numbering, though (the plaza is 14200-14458 Union Ave, and Farnham Elementary is 15711 Woodard Rd, both in the city), so the number alone doesn't settle it.
The county side also has bigger lots. On the county parcel map, single-address lots in the pocket mostly run about 8,600 to 10,600 sq ft, against roughly 5,800 to 6,800 sq ft on the San Jose tracts. County zoning maps show R1-8 on most pocket streets, R1-20 with an '-n5' combining district on New Jersey Ave, Bercaw Ln, Homerite Dr, Lenray Ln and Weeth Dr, and some R2 and R3 parcels along Union Ave. The San Jose side is mostly R-1-8 single-family zoning. Most of the housing comes from the post-war tract era, so check the permit history for any addition: the City for San Jose parcels, the County for the pocket.
streets in cambrian park
- Camden Ave
- Union Ave
- S. Bascom Ave
- Leigh Ave
- Branham Ln
- Woodard Rd
- Jacksol Dr
- Charmeran Ave
- Wyrick Ave
- Stratford Dr
- Chelsea Dr
- Herring Ave
- Esther Dr
- Nelson Way
- Berry Way
- Cole Dr
- Bronson Ave
- Barrett Ave
- Twilight Dr
- Starbright Dr
- White Oaks Ave
- Lencar Way
- Calvin Ave
- Nova Scotia Ave
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Cambrian Park
- park
Houge Park
About 12 acres off Twilight Dr (City park records) with two tennis courts, basketball, playgrounds, picnic areas, an 11-station fitness course, an amphitheater and a horseshoe pit, plus the Houge Park Center building. The San Jose Astronomical Association holds free in-town star parties here.
- shopping
Cambrian Park Plaza
The 1953 center on the southeast corner of Camden and Union avenues, about 17.5 acres, with its carousel-topped sign at the corner. It joined San Jose in 2022 and is approved for redevelopment that had not started as of spring 2026.
- park
Camden Park and Camden Community Center
Just north across Camden Ave at 3369 Union Ave: a 10-acre City park with a pool, three pickleball courts, a soccer field, basketball and a playground (City park records).
- landmark
Good Samaritan Hospital
The hospital campus sits just south of Highway 85 at 2425 Samaritan Dr, under a mile straight-line from the center of the area.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Two elementary districts split this area almost evenly: Cambrian School District on most of the north and west blocks and Union School District on most of the south and east, with the line running street by street (Census and City district maps and county tax-rate areas agree). All of it is in Campbell Union High School District. Public schools inside the area are Farnham Elementary (Cambrian SD, 15711 Woodard Rd) and Oster Elementary (Union SD, 1855 Lencar Way); Carlton Elementary (Union SD, 2421 Carlton Ave) is just south of Highway 85. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with the district.
Cambrian School District guide · Union School District guide · Campbell Union High guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Highway 85 runs along the south edge, with interchanges at Union Ave and Camden Ave; Highway 17 meets Camden Ave in Campbell, about 1.2 miles straight-line from the center of the area.
- VTA Route 61 runs on Union Ave and S. Bascom Ave north to downtown San Jose and Berryessa BART; Route 37 runs on Camden Ave to Winchester and Capitol light-rail stations. Check VTA's current schedules.
- Winchester light-rail station (Green Line) in Campbell is about 1.8 miles straight-line from the center; Tamien Caltrain is about 4.5 miles straight-line.
- Camden Ave, S. Bascom Ave, Union Ave and Leigh Ave have striped bike lanes on City bikeway maps, including a separated segment on Camden Ave. The Los Gatos Creek Trail is about a mile west (straight-line), on the Campbell side of Highway 17.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Cambrian Park: what we check
Buying here
- Confirm city or county first. The tax bill's tax-rate area and county records show it. County parcels go through County Planning and Building for permits and are in the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District (county GIS).
- The county GIS puts the pocket inside the West Valley Sanitation District. Still confirm the house is on sewer and have the sewer lateral inspected, as you would for any 1950s house.
- ADU, SB 9 and addition rules differ between the City and the County. For county lots zoned R1-20 with the '-n5' combining district (New Jersey Ave, Bercaw Ln, Homerite Dr, Lenray Ln, Weeth Dr), read the county zoning code before planning a second unit.
- If you are near the plaza, read the City's planning file for the Cambrian Park Plaza redevelopment: its approved uses, the 2028 permit date and any pending changes. The Camden Ave/Hillsdale Ave and S. Bascom Ave (South) urban villages in the General Plan also touch the edges.
- FEMA's flood map labels this area Zone D (possible but undetermined flood hazard), not a mapped special flood hazard area. Read the natural hazard disclosure and ask your lender how it treats Zone D.
Selling here
- Say plainly whether the house is in San Jose or unincorporated county, and back it up with the tax bill. Buyers and lenders here ask early.
- Pull permits from the right agency before listing (City of San Jose or the County) so additions and conversions are documented.
- On a larger county lot, have the parcel map and county zoning ready for ADU questions.
- Give buyers the school district for your exact address from the district's own lookup, since Cambrian and Union split these streets.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Cambrian Park questions, answered
Is Cambrian Park part of San Jose?
Partly. Most blocks were annexed to San Jose between 1954 and 2022, but about 1,100 of the roughly 2,900 parcels in this area are still unincorporated Santa Clara County. All of them use San Jose mailing addresses and the 95124 ZIP code.
How do I tell if a house is in the county pocket?
Check the property tax bill's tax-rate area or county assessor records. A five-digit address in the 14000s or 15000s is a hint, not proof, because some annexed parcels kept their county numbers.
What is happening with Cambrian Park Plaza?
San Jose annexed the 20-acre plaza site in September 2022 and approved a mixed-use village with a hotel, apartments over shops, assisted living, 48 houses and 25 townhouses. As of a spring 2026 news report, construction had not started and the developer was asking to change the plan's order.
Is the carousel sign staying?
The County Board of Supervisors made it a county landmark in August 2016, and the 2021 project plan kept it, moving it to Union Ave between the apartments and the senior residence.
Which school districts serve Cambrian Park?
Cambrian School District or Union School District for elementary and middle school, depending on the street, and Campbell Union High School District for high school. Check the exact address with the district.
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