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santa clara neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Monastery Gardens, Santa Clara Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
A small postwar tract just east of Scott Boulevard, mapped in 1946 and 1952: about 190 mostly one-story houses on Carmel Way, Chapel Drive, Inverness Avenue and the streets around them.
Monastery Gardens by the numbers
monastery gardens by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Monastery Gardens: the 1946 and 1952 tracts east of Scott Blvd (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in monastery gardens · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Monastery Gardens
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Monastery Gardens 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 (Monastery Gardens: the 1946 and 1952 tracts east of Scott Blvd (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Monastery Gardens came to be
Monastery Gardens is the name on two recorded subdivision maps. Unit 1, Tract 346, was surveyed in July 1946, approved by Santa Clara's Board of Trustees on August 5, 1946, and recorded in Book 11 of Maps on September 11, 1946. It covers the land between Catherine Street, Pierce Street, Benton Street and the street the map calls Gould Street, on the line of today's Scott Boulevard. Unit 2, Tract 988, followed in April 1952 and was recorded that May, adding a few blocks south of Benton Street along Fairfield Avenue and Liberty Street.
The maps show a tract laid out in one piece. The 1946 map shows Catherine, Harrison and Stafford streets, Fairfield and Inverness avenues, Chapel Drive and Carmel Way, all lined with lots of nearly the same width. East of Carmel Way it shows an earlier subdivision recorded as New Park, and south of Lexington Street, which appears where Homestead Road runs today, the 1952 map shows the Old Mission Park tract with Viader Court and Fallon Avenue. City parcel data shows how quickly it filled: 179 of the 191 single-family parcels list build years from 1946 to 1959, with a median of 1950.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
The streets are short and easy to read. Catherine and Harrison streets run east-west across the north end, with 53-foot lots backing onto each other. Stafford Street crosses the middle, and Fairfield Avenue, Inverness Avenue, Chapel Drive and Carmel Way run down to Benton Street, Inverness on a gentle curve. The lots facing Scott Boulevard are wider, about 65 feet on the 1946 map. South of Benton, Unit 2 adds Fairfield Avenue and Liberty Street on deeper lots of about 63 by 120 feet.
Most houses are one story: city records list 179 of 191 single-family parcels as one story, with 93 three-bedroom and 66 two-bedroom houses. The median single-family lot is about 5,660 square feet in Unit 1 and about 7,400 square feet in Unit 2. Expect a mix of near-original postwar houses, rear and side additions, and a few rebuilds. The city's historic inventory includes two 1948 Minimal Traditional houses on Chapel Drive, a reminder that postwar houses can be listed too.
The edges are different. A dozen lots are zoned R2 for duplexes, small townhome groups from 1979 and 2003 sit near Homestead Road and Liberty Street, and the corner of Scott Boulevard and Homestead Road is commercial. Scott Boulevard on the west carries through traffic, with medical offices and shops along it.
streets in monastery gardens
- Catherine Street
- Harrison Street
- Stafford Street
- Fairfield Avenue
- Inverness Avenue
- Chapel Drive
- Carmel Way
- Pierce Street
- Benton Street
- Liberty Street
- Scott Boulevard
- Homestead Road
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Monastery Gardens
- shopping
Santa Clara Town Centre
The shopping center across Scott Boulevard at El Camino Real is about 0.3 mile from the middle of the tract (straight-line).
- landmark
Harris-Lass House Museum, 1889 Market Street
An 1865 farmhouse with barn, tank house, gardens and a heritage orchard, about 0.4 mile southeast (straight-line). The museum calls it the last farm site in the city.
- park
Civic Center Park and Fremont Park
City GIS lists Civic Center Park on El Camino Real (about 1.7 acres) and Fremont Park at 1303 Fremont St (about 2.1 acres), each about 0.4 mile away (straight-line).
- park
Henry Schmidt Park and Central Park
Henry Schmidt Park at 555 Los Padres Blvd (about 7.7 acres) is about 0.8 mile southwest, and the city's 40-acre Central Park on Kiely Boulevard is about a mile west (straight-line).
- landmark
Old Quad historic blocks
The old town grid starts at Pierce Street, so 1880s to 1920s cottages and bungalows are a short walk east along Benton, Harrison and Fremont streets.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Monastery Gardens is in the Santa Clara Unified School District (Census TIGER school-district boundaries). The district's campus at 1840 Benton St, home to Wilson Alternative, adult education and preschool programs, sits right next to the tract, and C.W. Haman Elementary (865 Los Padres Blvd) is about 0.4 mile west (straight-line). Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with the district.
Getting around
- VTA Route 53 stops on Scott Boulevard, Benton Street and Homestead Road and runs to the Santa Clara Transit Center and Sunnyvale.
- Rapid 522 and Route 22 run on El Camino Real, a couple of blocks north of Catherine Street.
- Santa Clara Transit Center (Caltrain, ACE, Capitol Corridor) is about 1.2 miles east (straight-line).
- San Tomas Expressway is about 0.6 mile west; I-880 is about 1.5 miles east and I-280 and US-101 are each a little over 2 miles away (straight-line).
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Monastery Gardens: what we check
Buying here
- These are 1946 to 1950s houses: check the foundation, electrical panel and wiring, water lines and the sewer lateral, and match any additions or converted garages to the permit record.
- Lots in Unit 1 are narrow, about 53 to 55 feet, so side setbacks shape what an addition, second story or ADU can look like. Check the R1-6L rules and the state ADU rules with the city before you plan.
- City GIS flags four parcels here as Mills Act properties, and the city's historic inventory lists two 1948 houses on Chapel Drive. If a house is listed or under contract, ask the Planning Division what review applies and read the contract.
- Look at what is next door: a few lots are zoned R2, townhomes sit near Homestead Road, and Scott Boulevard carries traffic and commercial uses along the west edge.
- City data puts the whole tract in FEMA Zone X; confirm on the flood map for the address anyway.
Selling here
- Have permits ready for any addition, garage conversion or second unit; on a 1940s house a clear permit trail heads off the first inspector questions.
- Give buyers the lot size and frontage from the parcel record; in a tract of 53- and 55-foot lots, a wider or deeper lot is worth stating plainly.
- If the house is original or close to it, a pre-sale inspection of foundation, roof and electrical lets you price with fewer surprises.
- Name the walking distances, stated as approximate: Santa Clara Town Centre about 0.3 mile and the old downtown blocks about half a mile.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Monastery Gardens questions, answered
Where is Monastery Gardens?
On the east side of Scott Boulevard between Catherine Street and Homestead Road. Unit 1 covers the blocks north of Benton Street to Catherine Street and east to Pierce Street; Unit 2 covers a few blocks south of Benton along Fairfield Avenue and Liberty Street.
When was it built?
The Unit 1 map was recorded in September 1946 and the Unit 2 map in May 1952. City parcel data lists 179 of the 191 single-family houses with build years from 1946 to 1959.
How big are the lots?
Unit 1 lots are mostly 53 to 55 feet wide and about 105 feet deep, a median of about 5,660 square feet. Unit 2 lots are larger, about 63 by 120 feet, a median of about 7,400 square feet.
Which schools serve Monastery Gardens?
It is in the Santa Clara Unified School District. The district's Benton Street campus is next door and C.W. Haman Elementary is about 0.4 mile west. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with the district.
Is Monastery Gardens part of the Old Quad?
It sits inside the lines this site uses for the Old Quad, but it is its own recorded tract with a different street pattern and age of house. The old town grid begins at Pierce Street, on the tract's east edge.
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