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sunnyvale neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Orchard Gardens, Sunnyvale Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
A 1953-54 tract of about 220 small single-story houses in north Sunnyvale, set between US-101 and SR-237 around Orchard Gardens Park and the John W. Christian Greenbelt.
Orchard Gardens by the numbers
orchard gardens by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Orchard Gardens: Weddell Dr to Persian Dr, Mathilda Ave side to Borregas Ave (drawn along streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in orchard gardens · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Orchard Gardens
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Orchard 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 (Orchard Gardens: Weddell Dr to Persian Dr, Mathilda Ave side to Borregas Ave (drawn along streets)); it may not match every local definition.
sold by the property nerds
Our sales near Orchard Gardens
None of the Sunnyvale sales we can match to MLS records since 2012 sit inside the Orchard Gardens outline, so these are our closest, measured from its edge.
All 96 of our Sunnyvale sales, on a map Selling in Orchard Gardens? Book a strategy call
the story
How Orchard Gardens came to be
Orchard Gardens is a recorded subdivision name, not a nickname. The County Surveyor's record-map index lists Tract 978, Orchard Gardens, in Book 40 of maps at page 2, and the City of Sunnyvale's parcel layer puts 220 of the 222 houses here in that tract. The same layer dates every house to 1953 or 1954, which makes this a single burst of construction: 78 houses carry 1953 and the rest 1954. The city park at the center of the tract has the same name.
The setting is unusual for a 1950s tract. The houses sit on an island of residential land between two freeways, US-101 along West Weddell Drive on the south and SR-237 just beyond Persian Drive on the north, with North Mathilda Avenue and its interchanges on the west and Borregas Avenue on the east. North of SR-237 the city's zoning maps show the Moffett Park Specific Plan area; south of US-101 is the SNAIL neighborhood. The city parcel layer files the tract under its Lakewood planning area.
Two pieces of public works shape daily life here. The John W. Christian Greenbelt, a city pathway, crosses the south side of the tract, and Orchard Gardens Park serves as one of its trailheads. And Borregas Avenue, the east edge, carries two bicycle and pedestrian bridges, one over SR-237 and one over US-101, a City of Sunnyvale project that lets people on foot and bike cross both freeways on Borregas itself.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Read the street names in order and the alphabet shows up: Bradford Drive curves along the north and west side of the tract, Garner Drive runs along the south side next to the park and greenbelt, and four short avenues connect them from west to east, Colton, Duncan, Essex and Fulton. Bradford, Colton, Duncan, Essex, Fulton, Garner. More houses face the west side of Borregas Avenue, and a few sit on Plaza Drive in the northeast corner near Persian Drive.
The houses are compact single-story tract houses. In the city parcel layer the median living area is about 1,150 square feet, the middle half runs from about 1,090 to 1,360 square feet, and only 3 of the 222 have two floors. Three bedrooms is the most common count, though 70 records show four bedrooms, so it pays to check how and when rooms were added or reconfigured. Lots are uniform, almost all between about 5,100 and 5,250 square feet, and every house is zoned R-0, the city's low-density single-family zone.
No house in the tract has a 2000-or-later year built in the parcel layer, so the streetscape is still the 1950s one, changed by remodels rather than replacement. That uniformity also makes comparisons easy: when two houses on the same avenue differ a lot in size, check whether the difference is an addition and whether it was permitted.
streets in orchard gardens
- Bradford Drive
- Garner Drive
- Colton Avenue
- Duncan Avenue
- Essex Avenue
- Fulton Avenue
- Borregas Avenue
- Plaza Drive
- Persian Drive
- West Weddell Drive
- Ross Drive
- North Mathilda Avenue
house sales by street, 2021–2026
| Street | Sales | Median price | Per sq ft | Typical lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford Drive | 5 | $1.55M | $1,199 | 5,000 sq ft |
| Garner Drive | 4 | $1.44M | $1,138 | 5,000 sq ft |
| Colton Avenue | 3 | $1.4M | $1,386 | 5,300 sq ft |
Single-family house sales inside this guide’s outline, Oct. 1, 2021 to Oct. 21, 2026, from MLS records, with each sale counted once. Streets with at least 3 sales; prices, price per square foot and lots are medians. The whole city, ranked: The most expensive streets in Sunnyvale.
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Orchard Gardens
- park
Orchard Gardens Park
238 Garner Drive, 2.6 acres on the city's park page. It has a basketball court, a playground and tot lot, two tennis courts, restrooms and first-come picnic tables, and it is a trailhead for the John W. Christian Greenbelt pathway; open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- park
John W. Christian Greenbelt
A city pathway that crosses the tract between Borregas Avenue and the Garner and Duncan corner, with Orchard Gardens Park as a trailhead. The city's Active Transportation Plan proposes a signed bike connector on Garner, Bradford and Ross drives from the greenbelt to the bike lanes on Weddell Drive.
- park
Seven Seas Park
1010 Morse Avenue, about half a mile east (straight line). The city lists 5.3 acres with an ocean theme: a pirate-ship play structure, a half basketball court, tennis courts, a multi-use field, a dog park and a water play area.
- landmark
Borregas Avenue bicycle and pedestrian bridges
Two city-built bridges on Borregas Avenue, one over SR-237 and one over US-101, that ramp up along the street on one side of each freeway and down on the other. They connect the tract by bike and on foot with the Moffett Park area to the north and the SNAIL blocks and downtown to the south.
- shopping
Downtown Sunnyvale
Murphy Avenue and the downtown blocks around the Caltrain station are about 1.7 miles south in a straight line, across US-101 via Mathilda Avenue or the Borregas Avenue bridge.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Orchard Gardens is in the Sunnyvale School District for kindergarten through eighth grade and the Fremont Union High School District for grades 9 to 12. The California Department of Education's 2025-26 district map shows those two districts at three points inside the tract, and the city parcel layer's school-district fields agree for all 222 houses. Attendance boundaries change, so check any specific address with the districts.
Sunnyvale School District guide · Fremont Union guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Freeways: US-101 runs along the south edge and SR-237 just north of Persian Drive, and North Mathilda Avenue next to the tract has interchanges with both. Expect freeway sound on the outer streets; visit at different times of day.
- Biking and walking: Borregas Avenue has bike lanes from Weddell Drive to Persian Drive in the city's Active Transportation Plan layer, with an upgrade to buffered lanes proposed, and its two bridges cross SR-237 and US-101. The John W. Christian Greenbelt starts at Orchard Gardens Park.
- Caltrain: the Sunnyvale station downtown is about 1.6 miles south in a straight line.
- VTA light rail runs on Java Drive north of SR-237; the Borregas stop is about 0.8 mile north in a straight line, reachable over the Borregas Avenue bridge. Check VTA's current map and schedule.
- Drive times on US-101 and SR-237 vary a lot with peak traffic; test the trip at the hour you would make it.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Orchard Gardens: what we check
Buying here
- Check permits against the house. With a median of about 1,150 square feet and 70 parcel records showing four bedrooms, many houses have added or reconfigured rooms; compare the county's recorded square footage with what is there and ask for permits and finals.
- These are 1953-54 houses: plan on an electrical panel and wiring check, a sewer lateral inspection, foundation and roof review and a look at original plumbing. Homes built before 1978 come with a federal lead-based paint disclosure.
- FEMA's current map puts all 222 houses in Zone X marked 'area with reduced flood risk due to levee', outside the Special Flood Hazard Area. Flood insurance is not federally required there, but the levee note means the risk is reduced rather than absent; confirm the zone for the parcel and price a policy.
- On a lot of about 5,250 square feet in R-0, ask the city's planning division about ADU, junior ADU and SB 9 options, setbacks and second-story rules before you plan an expansion.
- Two freeways bracket the tract and the Moffett Park Specific Plan area begins north of SR-237. Visit at different times for traffic sound, and ask the city what is approved or proposed nearby.
Selling here
- Lead with the tract: Orchard Gardens, Tract 978, built 1953-54. Buyers compare these houses with each other, so state the permitted square footage and bedroom count clearly.
- Have permits, finals and any as-built drawings ready for additions and conversions; in a uniform tract, buyers spot the extra rooms right away.
- State the school districts (Sunnyvale School District and Fremont Union High School District) and invite buyers to verify by address.
- Measure and publish the real walking or biking route to Orchard Gardens Park, the greenbelt, the Borregas Avenue bridges and the light rail stop rather than straight-line distances.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Orchard Gardens questions, answered
Where is Orchard Gardens in Sunnyvale?
North of US-101 and south of SR-237, just east of North Mathilda Avenue, inside the loop of West Weddell Drive, Persian Drive and Borregas Avenue. The name comes from the recorded Tract 978, Orchard Gardens, and the city park on Garner Drive.
How old and how big are the homes?
The city parcel layer dates every house to 1953 or 1954. They are single-story tract houses with a median of about 1,150 square feet on lots of about 5,100 to 5,250 square feet; only 3 of the 222 have two floors.
Which school districts serve Orchard Gardens?
Sunnyvale School District (K-8) and Fremont Union High School District (9-12), on the state's 2025-26 district map and in the city's parcel records. Check any specific address with the districts, because attendance boundaries change.
Is Orchard Gardens in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer puts all of the houses in Zone X marked as an area with reduced flood risk due to a levee, outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Check the current map for the exact parcel.
What parks are close by?
Orchard Gardens Park (238 Garner Drive, 2.6 acres) is in the middle of the tract and is a trailhead for the John W. Christian Greenbelt. Seven Seas Park on Morse Avenue, with its pirate-ship play structure and dog park, is about half a mile east in a straight line.
next door
More Sunnyvale neighborhood guides
From the blog: Sunnyvale Neighborhoods by Their Houses
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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.
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Listing data comes from the MLS through our IDX feeds and is shown as reported; it isn’t guaranteed. Repeat listings from overlapping feeds are removed, and land and mobile homes are left out.
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