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Gemello, Mountain View Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
A wedge of 1950s ranch homes on the southwest side of El Camino Real at the Los Altos line, named for the Gemello family winery that once stood on the boulevard.
Gemello by the numbers
gemello by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Gemello: southwest of El Camino Real at the Los Altos line (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in gemello · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Gemello
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Gemello 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 (Gemello: southwest of El Camino Real at the Los Altos line (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Gemello came to be
Gemello takes its name from a winery. In the mid-1920s John Gemello bought a 31-acre ranch on the west side of El Camino Real from Louis and Arthur Martel, grandchildren of Henry Rengstorff. When Prohibition ended, John and Mario Gemello opened the Gemello Winery in 1934; the family's own history puts its sign at 2003 El Camino Real.
The winery kept making wine on the boulevard for roughly five decades while the land around it filled with houses, most of them ranch homes built in the 1950s. When Mario Gemello retired he sold the business to his niece, who renamed it Obester Winery and moved it to Half Moon Bay. Part of the property was dedicated to the city and became Gemello Park, the winery's spot on El Camino Real is now the Gemello Village complex, and the neighborhood kept the family name.
Gemello is also a geography lesson. It is the piece of Mountain View that reaches south of El Camino Real here: the Los Altos city line runs just west of Karen Way and along Jardin Drive, so the houses across those lines have Los Altos addresses.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
The street plan is loops and courts off El Camino Real and El Monte Avenue. Marich Way is the long collector, running west from El Monte Avenue across the neighborhood and on into Los Altos, with Ednamary Way, Solana Drive, Cecelia Way, Karen Way and Creeden Way around it. One cluster leans hard on the Plymouth Colony story: Pilgrim Avenue, Mayflower Court, Priscilla Court and Carver Place.
The Voice describes mostly 1950s ranch-style houses on tree-lined streets with large front yards. Listing records on Pilgrim Avenue fit the pattern: a 1951 house with about 974 sq ft, three bedrooms, one bath and an attached one-car garage on an 8,600 sq ft lot, and a 1952 house of about 1,960 sq ft with four bedrooms on a 14,586 sq ft lot. One sits on a slab and the other on a concrete perimeter foundation, and both lots are zoned R1.
The scale changes on El Camino Real. Gemello Village Apartments and Townhomes, 52 units behind the Gemello Village shopping center, front the boulevard at the 2000 block of West El Camino Real, and the Voice noted more apartment complexes in recent years.
streets in gemello
- El Camino Real
- El Monte Avenue
- Marich Way
- Ednamary Way
- Solana Drive
- Solana Court
- Cecelia Way
- Karen Way
- Creeden Way
- Jardin Drive
- Pilgrim Avenue
- Mayflower Court
- Priscilla Court
- Carver Place
- Brighton Place
- Ashley Place
- Blackfield Way
- Judson Drive
- Morton Court
- Anthony Court
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Gemello
- park
Gemello Park
A city park at Marich Way and Solana Court, about half an acre by map measurement, with a playground. Its land came to the city from the old Gemello winery property.
- landmark
Gemello Village
Shops and apartments on El Camino Real where the Gemello Winery once stood; Gemello Village Apartments are at 2043 West El Camino Real.
- shopping
San Antonio Center
About a mile northwest by bike, with a Safeway, Trader Joe's and Walmart around San Antonio Road and Showers Drive, and a Whole Foods Market across El Camino Real in Los Altos.
- shopping
Downtown Los Altos
About 1.5 miles southwest via El Monte Avenue, roughly 11 minutes by bike (approximate).
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
U.S. Census school district maps place Gemello in the Mountain View Whisman School District for TK-8 and the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District for grades 9-12. No public school sits inside the neighborhood; nearby campuses include Mariano Castro Elementary on Escuela Avenue, across El Camino Real, and Los Altos High School on Almond Avenue, just over the city line in Los Altos. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district before you buy.
Mountain View Whisman guide · Mountain View-Los Altos high schools · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Caltrain: San Antonio station is about 1.6 miles north, roughly 13 minutes by bike; Mountain View station at the Downtown Transit Center, with VTA light rail, is about 1.9 miles (approximate).
- El Camino Real runs along the north edge, with VTA bus service; check VTA for current routes and stops.
- Highway 85 is about 2.4 miles east via El Camino Real, roughly 6 minutes by car; US 101 is about 2.3 miles north (approximate).
- Downtown Mountain View: Castro Street at El Camino Real is about 1.2 miles east, roughly 9 minutes by bike.
- El Monte Avenue leads southwest into Los Altos toward downtown Los Altos and Foothill Expressway.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Gemello: what we check
Buying here
- Confirm the city on the listing. The Los Altos line runs just west of Karen Way and along Jardin Drive, and houses on the far side have Los Altos addresses, schools and building rules.
- Check the zoning (listing records show R1) and any height or design overlay on the city's zoning map before planning a second story or an ADU.
- On a 1950s house, ask about the foundation (slab and concrete perimeter both show up here), the electrical panel, the sewer lateral and older plumbing.
- If a house backs onto El Camino Real, look up what the city's El Camino Real Precise Plan allows on the parcels behind it, and visit at rush hour to judge traffic noise.
- Lot sizes vary widely, even on one street, so compare lot square footage as closely as house size, and check ADU and SB 9 potential on the larger parcels.
Selling here
- Lead with the lot size and the short walk to Gemello Park.
- A line on the Gemello winery history gives buyers a reason to remember the neighborhood name.
- Have permits and dates ready for additions and system upgrades.
- Pre-inspections help on a 1950s house, especially roof, sewer lateral and foundation.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Gemello questions, answered
Where is Gemello?
On the southwest side of El Camino Real in west Mountain View, between El Monte Avenue and the Los Altos city line near Karen Way, south to Jardin Drive.
Why is it called Gemello?
For the Gemello family winery, which opened on El Camino Real in 1934 on a ranch John Gemello bought in the mid-1920s. The business later moved to Half Moon Bay under a new name, part of the land became Gemello Park, and the neighborhood kept the family name.
What kind of homes are in Gemello?
Mostly single-story ranch-style houses from the 1950s, many remodeled, on lots that run from about 8,600 to more than 14,000 sq ft in listing records, plus apartments and townhomes along El Camino Real.
Is Gemello in Mountain View or Los Altos?
Mountain View, ZIP 94040. Los Altos starts just west of Karen Way and south of Jardin Drive, so check the city on any listing near those edges.
Which school districts serve Gemello?
Mountain View Whisman School District for TK-8 and Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District for high school. Confirm the exact address with the districts.
How far is Caltrain?
About 1.6 miles to San Antonio station and 1.9 miles to Mountain View station, roughly 13 to 14 minutes by bike (approximate).
next door
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