palo alto neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Palo Verde, Palo Alto Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Southeast Palo Alto between Middlefield Road and US 101: late-1950s Eichler tracts and Eichler-inspired homes on loops and cul-de-sacs, with Palo Verde Elementary on Louis Road and the 101 bike bridge at its corner.
Palo Verde by the numbers
palo verde 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 Palo Verde: Middlefield Rd to US 101 (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in palo verde · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Palo Verde
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Palo Verde 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 (Palo Verde: Middlefield Rd to US 101 (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Palo Verde came to be
Palo Verde took its name from the elementary school on Louis Road, and the name stuck to everything around it. A 2021 Eichler Network history of the Royal Manor tract notes that the city's Eichler map calls the area Royal Manor, but most people say they live in Palo Verde. The land east of Middlefield Road filled in quickly in the 1950s: on the city's parcel layer, about two-thirds of the roughly 830 single-family lots inside these edges carry a 1950s build year, peaking in 1956 to 1958.
Joseph Eichler's company built a good share of it. The city's table of Eichler tracts lists Royal Manor (1957-58, about 200 lots), which takes in Kenneth Drive, Thomas Drive, Janice Way and Greer Road, and Los Arboles (1959-61, 84 lots, designed by Anshen & Allen and Jones & Emmons). Los Arboles means 'the trees,' and its streets play along: Holly Oak Drive and Cork Oak Way, plus a run of Ames Avenue and Middlefield Road. Non-Eichler builders filled the gaps, from 1952 houses on Vernon Terrace and Stockton Place to 1960s homes on Arbutus Avenue and Christine Drive.
The two Eichler tracts later split on the question of second stories. In 2015 Los Arboles owners asked for a single-story overlay; the city's staff report counted 83 homes, 95 percent of them original one-story Eichlers, and 80 percent owner support, and the council rezoned the tract R-1(S) that November. Royal Manor tried next, support slipped, and in May 2016 the council halted the request. City planners then wrote Palo Alto's Eichler design guidelines, adopted in 2018 as voluntary guidance.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
This is a patchwork of 1950s subdivisions, not one grid. Louis Road and Ross Road are the long through streets; most others are short loops and cul-de-sacs hung off them, such as Kenneth Drive, Thomas Drive, Janice Way, Richardson Court, Ross Court and Torreya Court. A 2017 Palo Alto Online profile describes the narrow roads and cul-de-sacs as a street plan meant to limit traffic. Build years on the city's parcel layer read like a timeline: Vernon Terrace in 1952, Rorke Way in 1955, Richardson Court, Driftwood Drive, Lupine Avenue and Stone Lane in 1956, Royal Manor in 1957-58, Los Arboles in 1959-60, Torreya Court in 1974 and Talisman Court in 1987.
The Eichlers follow the house recipe the city's guidelines describe: single story, post-and-beam framing, a concrete slab with radiant heating pipes, an open living area that opens to the back yard through walls of glass, and a fairly closed face to the street. Remodels range from new roofs and glazing to second-story additions; the Los Arboles staff report counted four small second-story additions among its 83 homes, all on original Eichlers. Lots run mostly 6,300 to 8,800 square feet under R-1, R-1(7000) and R-1(8000) zoning.
Only Los Arboles carries the R-1(S) single-story overlay: one habitable floor and a 17-foot height limit. Everywhere else, a second story or a two-story rebuild is possible but goes through the city's Single-Family Individual Review. The southeast corner changes character: East Meadow Circle and West Bayshore Road hold ROLM-zoned offices, and a 2008-09 townhouse community sits on private lanes named for California rivers (Feather, Klamath, Trinity, Tuolumne and Stanislaus).
streets in palo verde
- Louis Road
- Ross Road
- Kenneth Drive
- Thomas Drive
- Janice Way
- Greer Road
- Ames Avenue
- Ames Court
- Holly Oak Drive
- Cork Oak Way
- Rorke Way
- Christine Drive
- Evergreen Drive
- Vernon Terrace
- Stockton Place
- Richardson Court
- Arbutus Avenue
- Torreya Court
- Talisman Drive
- Talisman Court
- Lupine Avenue
- Stone Lane
- Ross Court
- Thornwood Drive
- Murray Way
- Driftwood Drive
- Aspen Way
- Loma Verde Avenue
- East Meadow Drive
- East Meadow Circle
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Palo Verde
- landmark
Palo Alto Family YMCA and Eichler Swim and Tennis Club
Two neighborhood fixtures listed in Palo Alto Online's Palo Verde profile: the YMCA at 3412 Ross Road and the Eichler Swim and Tennis Club, a private club at 3539 Louis Road, both inside the neighborhood.
- park
Ramos Park
Don Jesus Ramos Park sits on East Meadow Drive just across the neighborhood's southern edge, on a 4.3-acre city parcel at 820 East Meadow Drive, about 0.4 mile from the middle of Palo Verde.
- park
Seale Park
Henry W. Seale Park is on Stockton Place just north of Loma Verde Avenue, about half a mile from the center of the neighborhood.
- park
Mitchell Park
A 21.4-acre city district park at 600 East Meadow Drive, about 0.6 mile away, designed by Robert Royston and opened in 1957. It has tennis and pickleball courts, soccer fields, a water play structure, the inclusive Magical Bridge Playground (opened April 2015) and a dog park with a separate small-dog area.
- trail
Highway 101 Bike and Pedestrian Bridge
Opened November 20, 2021, the 1,400-foot bridge crosses US 101 with a 12-foot path and gives year-round access to the Baylands. Its 800-foot Adobe Reach Trail starts on East Meadow Drive at Adobe Creek, between Fabian Way and East Meadow Circle, about 0.4 mile from the center of Palo Verde.
- shopping
Midtown Shopping Center
Palo Alto Online's neighborhood profile points to Midtown, around Middlefield Road and Colorado Avenue, about 0.9 mile northwest; the Charleston Center at Middlefield and Charleston roads is about 0.8 mile south.
- landmark
Mitchell Park Library and Community Center
The Mitchell Park branch library at 3700 Middlefield Road, about 0.6 mile southwest, is the neighborhood's closest library.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Palo Verde is in the Palo Alto Unified School District. Palo Verde Elementary is inside the neighborhood at 3450 Louis Road, and Fairmeadow Elementary and JLS Middle School are about 0.7 mile southwest on East Meadow Drive. High school (Palo Alto High or Gunn) is assigned by address. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with PAUSD before relying on any school.
Getting around
- Caltrain: California Avenue station is about 1.6 miles west and San Antonio station (Showers Drive, Mountain View) about 1.6 miles south, straight line from the middle of the neighborhood.
- VTA Route 21 runs along Middlefield Road between Stanford Shopping Center and Santa Clara Transit Center; check VTA for current frequency.
- US 101: the San Antonio Road interchange is about 0.7 mile east; West Bayshore Road is the frontage road along the east edge.
- Bike: the Highway 101 bridge and Adobe Reach Trail start on East Meadow Drive about 0.4 mile from the center and lead to the Baylands and its trails.
- Ross Road was rebuilt as a city bicycle boulevard starting in 2017, including a traffic circle at East Meadow Drive; Louis Road was part of the same south Palo Alto bikeway plan.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Palo Verde: what we check
Buying here
- Check the flood zone by address. The city's parcel layer puts about two-thirds of the single-family lots here in FEMA zone AE (base flood elevation 10.5 feet), including Kenneth, Thomas, Louis, Greer and Evergreen, while Holly Oak, Cork Oak and several western blocks show zone X. In a special flood hazard area new floors must sit above flood level, basements are effectively ruled out, and you should price flood insurance with your lender early.
- Know the zoning on your block. Los Arboles (Holly Oak Drive, Cork Oak Way, 700-788 Ames Avenue and 3287-3333 Middlefield Road) is R-1(S): one habitable floor, 17-foot height. Elsewhere a second story is possible but goes through Individual Review, and in a flood zone the height rules interact with the required floor elevation.
- Have an Eichler-savvy inspector look at the radiant heating pipes in the slab, the flat or low-slope roof, single-pane glass and insulation; the city's Eichler guidelines list these as the common weak spots.
- Match the house to the permits. Many 1950s homes have been enlarged, so compare listed square footage and bedroom count with city permit records.
- Visit the edges at commute hours: Middlefield Road, East Meadow Drive near the office park, and the West Bayshore frontage along US 101 all carry more traffic and noise than the interior loops.
Selling here
- Lead with the tract and the facts: Royal Manor or Los Arboles, build year, and your original floor plan. Eichler buyers search by tract name.
- Have flood paperwork ready: the zone from the city's parcel report, any elevation certificate, and your flood insurance history.
- Document Eichler upgrades with permits, especially radiant heat repairs or replacement, roofing, insulation and glazing.
- Use measurable location facts in your marketing: Palo Verde Elementary on Louis Road, Mitchell Park at about 0.6 mile, the 101 bike bridge at about 0.4 mile and the San Antonio Road on-ramp at about 0.7 mile.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Palo Verde questions, answered
Where is Palo Verde in Palo Alto?
In southeast Palo Alto, east of Middlefield Road. Palo Alto Online's profiles bound it by Middlefield Road, West Bayshore Road along US 101, Loma Verde Avenue and East Meadow Drive. The ZIP code is 94303.
Is Palo Verde the same as Royal Manor?
Royal Manor is the 1957-58 Eichler tract of about 200 lots inside Palo Verde, on streets such as Kenneth Drive, Thomas Drive, Janice Way and Greer Road. Most people use the school's name, Palo Verde, for the whole area.
Can I add a second story in Palo Verde?
It depends on the block. The Los Arboles tract has a single-story overlay (one floor, 17 feet). Elsewhere second stories and two-story rebuilds are allowed subject to the city's Individual Review, and the 2018 Eichler design guidelines are voluntary guidance.
Is Palo Verde in a flood zone?
Partly. The city's parcel layer shows about two-thirds of single-family lots in FEMA zone AE and the rest in zone X. Check the specific address with the city's parcel report and your lender.
Which schools are near Palo Verde?
Palo Verde Elementary is at 3450 Louis Road, and Fairmeadow Elementary and JLS Middle School are on East Meadow Drive. All are Palo Alto Unified schools; confirm assignments for any address with the district.
How do I get to the Baylands from here?
Take East Meadow Drive to the Adobe Reach Trail between Fabian Way and East Meadow Circle, then cross US 101 on the bike and pedestrian bridge that opened in November 2021.
next door
More Palo Alto neighborhood guides
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Palo Verde? 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 Palo Verde? Send us a note.
