home / south san francisco / downtown south san francisco
south san francisco neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Downtown South San Francisco Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The original 1890s town grid around Grand Avenue, City Hall and the Carnegie library, from the foot of Sign Hill to Railroad Avenue, with the Caltrain station at the east end of Grand.
Downtown South San Francisco by the numbers
downtown south san francisco by the numbers · live from the mls
- for sale now…
- median list price…
- homes sold, last 12 months…
- median sale price, 12 mo…
- median price per sq ft, sold…
- sale price vs. list…
Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Downtown South San Francisco (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in downtown south san francisco · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Downtown South San Francisco
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Downtown South San Francisco from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
Loading listings…
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 (Downtown South San Francisco (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Downtown South San Francisco came to be
Before there was a town, this was cattle country: the city's story map traces the land to the Miller & Lux cattle firm's holdings on the old Rancho Buri Buri, and to the railroad laid through that property in 1863. In 1890 the South San Francisco Land and Improvement Company was incorporated, and in 1891 the town site took the name South San Francisco, a name picked by a company shareholder. The grid you walk today is that company's town: Spruce Avenue was deliberately lined with trees in 1896, a streetcar began running down Grand Avenue to the waterfront in 1904, and by the 1906 earthquake most homes in town stood on Grand Avenue, Baden Avenue and a few on Linden Avenue, per the story map. The city incorporated on September 19, 1908.
The civic core came next. The city bought land for a civic center in 1913, and City Hall at 400 Grand Avenue was dedicated on Armistice Day, November 11, 1920, modeled after Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Next door, the 1916 neoclassical revival Carnegie library is now the Grand Avenue Library at 306 Walnut Avenue, reopened in October 2016 after a yearlong renovation. Down the hill, the Martin Building (Metropolitan Hotel) at 220 Linden Avenue was completed in 1914 as the land company's headquarters and is on the National Register of Historic Places; the Spanish Revival State Theater at 201 Linden Avenue opened in 1931, and the post office at 322 Linden Avenue holds a 1941 New Deal-era mural, per the city's walking-tour brochure.
The newer layer is about transit. Caltrain rebuilt the station with a 700-foot center platform and a pedestrian underpass to Grand Avenue on the downtown side and to East Grand Avenue and Poletti Way on the other, and the city's zoning map now carries the districts of its Downtown Station Area Specific Plan. The story map adds the free South City Shuttle (2014) and the Miller Avenue garage with electric-vehicle chargers (2017); a Centennial Clock went up at 324 Grand Avenue in 2008.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Grand Avenue is the spine, running from Chestnut Avenue east to Airport Boulevard. Miller Avenue parallels it on the north and Baden, Commercial and Railroad Avenues on the south, and the cross streets climb toward Sign Hill in a row: Chestnut, Eucalyptus, Orange, Magnolia, Spruce, Walnut, Maple, Linden and Cypress. Numbered service lanes and Tamarack Lane run behind the lots. East of Spruce, north of Miller, sit Lux, Pine, Aspen, Olive, Armour and California Avenues; Circle Court curls along Orange Memorial Park's edge, and Village Way is a small pocket by Airport Boulevard near the tracks.
The housing stock is mixed. County parcel records inside the outline count about 800 single-family parcels, 66 of them with a recorded ADU, beside about 530 parcels with two to four units or more than one house, about 170 apartment parcels (mostly 5-19 units), about 110 condominium parcels and about 50 mixed-use buildings with homes. Lots are small and narrow: measured from the county parcel map, the median single-family lot is about 4,000 square feet and the middle half runs about 3,000 to 5,600. Expect early 1900s houses, back-lot cottages and newer infill on the same block.
Zoning follows the Downtown Station Area Specific Plan. The city's zoning map puts Grand Avenue's storefront blocks in the Grand Avenue Core district, Linden Avenue in the Downtown Transit Core and Linden Neighborhood Center districts, and the residential blocks in Downtown Residential Low, Medium, High and Core districts, with medium-density residential zoning at the edges. The city also keeps a list of designated and potential historic resources; the version we read (updated 2002) has about three dozen designated and about 70 potential entries, most of them on Grand, Baden, Miller and Linden Avenues.
streets in downtown south san francisco
- Grand Avenue
- Miller Avenue
- Baden Avenue
- Commercial Avenue
- Railroad Avenue
- Linden Avenue
- Maple Avenue
- Walnut Avenue
- Spruce Avenue
- Magnolia Avenue
- Orange Avenue
- Eucalyptus Avenue
- Chestnut Avenue
- Cypress Avenue
- Lux Avenue
- Pine Avenue
- Aspen Avenue
- Olive Avenue
- Armour Avenue
- California Avenue
- Juniper Avenue
- Laurel Avenue
- Circle Court
- Village Way
- Airport Boulevard
- Tamarack Lane
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Downtown South San Francisco
- landmark
City Hall
400 Grand Avenue, dedicated November 11, 1920 and modeled after Independence Hall. The city lists City Hall and its 1929 memorial fountain as designated historic resources; the City Hall Playground is on the city's park list.
- landmark
Grand Avenue Library
306 Walnut Avenue, in the 1916 Carnegie building next to City Hall, reopened in 2016. It holds the library's local history collection; patron parking is in the City Hall lot on Miller Avenue.
- shopping
Grand Avenue and Linden Avenue
Downtown's storefront streets, zoned Grand Avenue Core and Downtown Transit Core. The 1931 State Theater (now the State Room) is at 201 Linden Avenue and the post office with its 1941 mural at 322 Linden Avenue.
- landmark
Martin Building (Metropolitan Hotel)
220 Linden Avenue, completed in 1914 as the land company's headquarters and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, per the city's walking-tour brochure.
- landmark
Historical Society house museum
519 Grand Avenue, a restored 1905 Colonial Revival house run by the Historical Society of South San Francisco as a museum; the city lists it as open Saturday afternoons.
- park
Cypress and Pine Playlot
At Cypress and Pine Avenues, with basketball courts, a children's play area and picnic tables. Orange Memorial Park is just across Tennis Drive from downtown's southwest corner.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Census school-district maps put all of downtown in the South San Francisco Unified School District (K-12). No district school sits inside the outline, but several are at its edges: Spruce Elementary (501 Spruce Avenue) just north of Tamarack Lane, Martin Elementary (35 School Street) at the Hillside Boulevard end, and Los Cerritos Elementary (210 West Orange Avenue) and South San Francisco High School (400 B Street) across Orange Memorial Park. The district's Find Your School page has an address locator and street directory and says assignments near a boundary can vary. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with the district.
Getting around
- Caltrain: South San Francisco station, 590 Dubuque Avenue, with its west pedestrian entrance at 296 Airport Boulevard at the end of Grand Avenue; about 0.4 mile straight-line from the middle of downtown. Caltrain lists 81 parking spaces, bike racks and lockers, and SamTrans 130, 141, 292 and 397 plus the free South City Shuttle at the station.
- BART: San Bruno station (1151 Huntington Avenue) is about 1.3 miles and South San Francisco station (1333 Mission Road) about 1.7 miles straight-line from the middle of downtown.
- Freeways: US-101 runs along the east edge, with Airport Boulevard alongside; I-280 is roughly 2 miles west (straight-line) across El Camino Real.
- Ferry: the San Francisco Bay Ferry's weekday commute route from Oyster Point to Oakland's Jack London Square and Alameda leaves from the Oyster Point terminal, about 2 miles straight-line east across US-101.
- On foot and bike: Grand Avenue's shops, City Hall and the Grand Avenue Library are within about a mile of every block (straight-line), and the underpass at the station connects downtown to the East of 101 job center on foot.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Downtown South San Francisco: what we check
Buying here
- Check the city's historic resources list before you plan a remodel. The city's handout says any structure 50 years or older may need a historic analysis, and a substantial change to a listed resource needs a Certificate of Alteration approved by the Planning Commission (Municipal Code Chapter 2.56).
- Read the zoning for the exact parcel. Downtown blocks carry the Downtown Station Area districts (Downtown Residential Low to Core, Grand Avenue Core, Downtown Transit Core), which allow more units than a typical single-family zone; ask the Planning Division what can be built next door as well as on your lot.
- Flood: on FEMA's current maps, Circle Court and nearby parts of Commercial Avenue and Eucalyptus Avenue are in Zone AE along Colma Creek, and a few lots on Armour Avenue are in Zone AH; most of downtown is Zone X. Pull the flood zone and ask for an elevation certificate if it applies.
- Seismic: the state's liquefaction zone covers Circle Court and parts of Railroad, Commercial and Armour Avenues; the rest of downtown is outside it. Read the natural hazard disclosure and budget for an older-home inspection (foundation, wiring, sewer lateral) on pre-war houses.
- Multi-unit and mixed-use buildings: confirm legal unit counts with county and city records, and check any ADU or second house against city permits.
Selling here
- Lead with location: Caltrain, City Hall and Grand Avenue are within about a mile of every downtown block (straight-line).
- Document your units. Buyers of duplexes, back-lot cottages and ADUs will ask for permits and the legal unit count; have them ready.
- If your home is on the city's historic list or is 50+ years old, say so up front and note any past Certificate of Alteration or design review.
- Have the flood zone answer ready: most lots are Zone X, but Circle Court and parts of Commercial Avenue are Zone AE, where lenders require flood insurance.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Downtown South San Francisco questions, answered
Where exactly is downtown South San Francisco?
This guide follows the city's Downtown planning sub-area: Chestnut Avenue east to Airport Boulevard and US-101, between the alley behind Miller Avenue at the foot of Sign Hill and Railroad Avenue, plus the blocks north to Armour Avenue and Hillside Boulevard. The city's 2018 neighborhood map calls the same grid Old Town.
How far is Caltrain from downtown?
The station's west entrance is at 296 Airport Boulevard, at the east end of Grand Avenue: about 0.4 mile straight-line from the middle of downtown.
Are downtown homes historic resources?
Some are. The city's list of designated and potential historic resources is mostly on Grand, Baden, Miller and Linden Avenues, and its handout says any structure 50 years or older may need a historic analysis before changes. Ask the Planning Division about a specific address.
Is downtown in a flood zone?
Mostly not. FEMA's current maps show Zone AE along Colma Creek at Circle Court and nearby parts of Commercial and Eucalyptus Avenues and Zone AH on a few Armour Avenue lots; the rest is Zone X. Check the exact parcel.
next door
More South San Francisco neighborhood guides
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Downtown South San Francisco? Let's run your numbers.
Eric, Janelle and the Boyenga Team have sold more than 2,520 Silicon Valley homes, $2.6+ billion in all, since 1996. Get a value, a plan, or a straight answer about a street.
Questions about Downtown South San Francisco? Send us a note.
