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redwood city neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Greater Downtown, Redwood City Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Redwood City's county-seat core and the two older neighborhoods beside it: the Caltrain station and courthouse blocks, Centennial's Mezesville streets, and Stambaugh-Heller toward Highway 101.
Greater Downtown by the numbers
greater downtown by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Greater Downtown (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in greater downtown · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Greater Downtown
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Greater Downtown 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 (Greater Downtown (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Greater Downtown came to be
Redwood City started at the water. The city's Path of History marks the old Redwood Creek turning basin, near Broadway and Main Street, as the town's founding site: logging operations began there in 1850, and the redwood lumber shipped from it gave the city its name. In 1854 Simon Mezes surveyed the townsite he called Mezesville and dedicated parcels to the town, including California Square, which later became part of the county government center. Mezes Park, on Warren and Standish streets, carries his name. When San Mateo County was created in 1856, Redwood City became the county seat, and it still is.
The courthouse blocks hold the rest of the early story. The 1910 San Mateo County Courthouse on Broadway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the fourth courthouse built on that property since 1858; its 1910 facade was reconstructed in 2006, and the building now houses the San Mateo County History Museum, with Courthouse Square in front. Nearby, city history data describes the 1859 Diller-Chamberlain Store at 726 Main Street as the county's oldest commercial building and first brick structure. The Fox Theatre on Broadway was built in 1928 as the New Sequoia and reopened under the Fox name in 1950. The Path of History, set up in 2010, links 12 downtown sites dating from 1850 to 1920.
Planning shapes the modern skyline. The City Council adopted the Downtown Precise Plan on January 24, 2011: a form-based code for about 180 acres between Veterans Boulevard, Maple Street, El Camino Real and Brewster Avenue that sets building standards and a faster approval path for projects that meet them. By 2015 a public-radio report counted nearly 1,500 new homes built under its original 2,500-unit cap, and a local news report covers a further round of amendments in 2023. A 22-acre Transit District plan around the Caltrain station followed in November 2022. In January 2026 the council held a study session on the Greater Downtown Area Plan, which covers about 660 acres out to Whipple Avenue, Highway 101, Woodside Road and El Camino Real, with adoption targeted for about 2027.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Downtown proper is mostly apartments and condominiums. Homes sit in mid-rise buildings, many built since 2011, mixed with offices, the county Hall of Justice, City Hall, the Main Library and the restaurants and shops along Broadway, Main Street, Middlefield Road and Marshall Street. About three-quarters of the Downtown association's zoned land carries the city's Planned Community (P) designation rather than a standard residential zone, so ask the city which plan governs a given parcel.
Centennial has two halves. North of Whipple Avenue, the lettered streets (A through G Street), Lenolt, Garden and Flower streets make up the area's single-family (R-1) zone, and a local walking blog describes them as lined with single-story ranch houses with one-car garages. South of Whipple, the Mezesville blocks between El Camino Real, Veterans Boulevard and Brewster Avenue mix older cottages, several of them pre-1906 Queen Anne designs, with apartments and condominiums. The street names come from a 1909 renaming that used Mayflower family names such as Allerton, Bradford, Brewster, Standish, Howland, Warren and Winslow, per a local history column. A 2008 city historic-resources map lists more than 50 Centennial properties, clustered on Alden, Samson, Standish, Warren, Allerton, Hopkins and Brewster.
Stambaugh-Heller fills the wedge between Maple Street, El Camino Real, Woodside Road and Highway 101; its two namesake streets were opened in 1861. City parcel data counts roughly equal numbers of single-family houses and multifamily buildings, typically on lots of about 5,000 square feet, with recorded build years from the 1860s to recent infill and a median of 1944. Much of the residential land is zoned R-3 and R-4 for apartments, with mixed-use corridor zoning along Broadway, El Camino Real and Veterans Boulevard and industrial-park zoning near the freeway. About 30 parcels form a certified local historic district.
streets in greater downtown
- Broadway
- Main Street
- Middlefield Road
- Marshall Street
- Winslow Street
- Hamilton Street
- Jefferson Avenue
- James Avenue
- Arguello Street
- Brewster Avenue
- Hopkins Avenue
- Allerton Street
- Warren Street
- Standish Street
- Alden Street
- Samson Street
- Howland Street
- Bradford Street
- Whipple Avenue
- Veterans Boulevard
- A Street
- D Street
- E Street
- G Street
- Lenolt Street
- Maple Street
- Stambaugh Street
- Heller Street
- Beech Street
- Cedar Street
- Chestnut Street
- Elm Street
- Lathrop Street
- Spruce Street
- El Camino Real
- Woodside Road
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Greater Downtown
- landmark
Courthouse Square and the San Mateo County History Museum
The 1910 courthouse at 2200 Broadway, on the National Register, now houses the county history museum; the plaza in front is Courthouse Square.
- transit
Redwood City Caltrain station
1 James Ave, fare Zone 2, with three parking lots including an underground garage reached from James Ave, plus bike racks and on-demand e-lockers, per Caltrain.
- landmark
Fox Theatre
Built on Broadway in 1928 as the New Sequoia and reopened as the Fox in 1950, per city history data.
- park
Mezes Park
A city neighborhood park at Warren and Standish streets, about 1.4 acres in the city's park layer, with a playground; it sits in the Mezesville blocks.
- park
Jardin de Ninos
A city mini park of about a third of an acre at Middlefield Road and Chestnut Street in Stambaugh-Heller.
- library
Redwood City Main Library
On Middlefield Road in the 1921 Italian Renaissance-style firehouse, remodeled and expanded for the library in 1989, per city history data.
- shopping
Broadway, Main Street and the El Camino edge
Downtown restaurants and shops line Broadway and Main Street; public maps show several supermarkets inside the area, including near Jefferson Avenue and on Broadway east of Main.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Greater Downtown is in the Redwood City School District for TK-8 and the Sequoia Union High School District for high school. Public schools in or beside the area include Redwood High School, Sequoia Union's continuation school at 1968 Old County Road in Centennial, and Sequoia High School at 1201 Brewster Avenue just west of El Camino Real. Hoover Elementary (701 Charter St.) is just across Woodside Road, and McKinley Institute of Technology and North Star Academy share a campus at 400 Duane St. west of El Camino. Assignments and choice-program rules change, so check the exact address with both districts.
Getting around
- Caltrain: the Redwood City station at 1 James Ave is inside the area, about 0.5 mile straight-line from Mezes Park and about 0.6 mile from the middle of Stambaugh-Heller.
- SamTrans: Caltrain lists routes ECR, EPX, 270, 276, 278, 296 and 397 at the station, plus Commute.org shuttles.
- US-101: the Whipple Avenue interchange is about 0.4 mile straight-line from Mezes Park, and the Woodside Road (SR 84) interchange about 0.6 mile from the middle of Stambaugh-Heller.
- Woodside Road (SR 84) and El Camino Real are the main surface routes south and west; El Camino Real leads to San Carlos to the north.
- Bikes: city bike maps show protected (Class IV) lanes on parts of Middlefield Road and Arguello Street, bike lanes on Woodside Road toward Highway 101, and the Vera Avenue bike boulevard heading west from El Camino Real.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Greater Downtown: what we check
Buying here
- Check the flood zone parcel by parcel. FEMA's current panel here (06081C0301F, effective April 5, 2019) maps large parts of all three associations in Zone AE, the 1-percent-annual-chance flood zone, mostly on the bay side around Veterans Boulevard, Main Street, Broadway and Highway 101 but also some Centennial residential blocks. Lenders can require flood insurance in Zone AE; ask for an elevation certificate.
- Ask about historic status before planning exterior changes. Stambaugh-Heller has a certified local historic district, Centennial includes the Mezesville area, and city parcel data flags many pre-1940 Stambaugh-Heller homes as potential historic resources.
- For condos and townhomes, read the HOA documents, budget, reserve study and any rental or parking rules, and check current dues instead of relying on an old listing.
- Follow the Greater Downtown Area Plan. The city expects to draft policies and an environmental review through 2027, and the vision includes more housing and missing-middle homes in Stambaugh-Heller and Centennial, which could change what gets built next door.
- Older cottages can have original wiring, raised foundations and old sewer laterals; homes by Caltrain, Highway 101 and El Camino Real hear trains and traffic, so visit at commute hours. Single-family (R-1) lots north of Whipple Avenue fall in the city's SB 9 area; confirm ADU and lot-split rules with the city.
Selling here
- Measure the walk: minutes from the front door to the Caltrain platform, Courthouse Square and Broadway are concrete selling points here.
- Pull the FEMA zone and any elevation certificate before listing, since buyers and lenders will ask.
- If the house is historic or in a historic district, gather past design-review approvals, permits and any designation paperwork.
- For condos, have the HOA documents, current budget and any special-assessment notices ready early to keep escrow on schedule.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Greater Downtown questions, answered
Is Greater Downtown one neighborhood?
It is three city neighborhood associations, Downtown, Centennial and Stambaugh-Heller, that together cover the city's Greater Downtown Area Plan, plus Centennial's blocks north of Whipple Avenue.
What is the Downtown Precise Plan?
A form-based code for the downtown core, adopted January 24, 2011 and amended several times since. The Greater Downtown Area Plan now under study would extend planning to the surrounding districts.
Is downtown Redwood City in a flood zone?
Parts of it are. FEMA's 2019 map puts large areas near Veterans Boulevard, Main Street, Broadway and Highway 101, and some Centennial blocks, in Zone AE. Other blocks are Zone X. Check the exact parcel on FEMA's map.
Are there single-family houses downtown?
Yes, in Centennial and Stambaugh-Heller. Centennial's lettered streets north of Whipple Avenue are zoned single-family, and Stambaugh-Heller has roughly as many single-family houses as multifamily buildings. The downtown core itself is mostly apartments and condominiums.
How far is Caltrain?
The station is inside the area at 1 James Ave. Most blocks are within about a mile straight-line, and the Mezesville blocks are about half a mile away.
next door
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