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south san francisco neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Paradise Valley & Terrabay, South San Francisco Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
South San Francisco's northeast corner at the foot of San Bruno Mountain: 1940s-50s streets off Hillside Boulevard below, and Terrabay's 1990s-2000s hillside homes and Mandalay Point tower above.
Paradise Valley & Terrabay by the numbers
paradise valley & terrabay by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Paradise Valley & Terrabay (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in paradise valley & terrabay · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Paradise Valley & Terrabay
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Paradise Valley & Terrabay 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 (Paradise Valley & Terrabay (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Paradise Valley & Terrabay came to be
The valley behind Sign Hill was the town's back road. The city's story map says the paving of Paradise Valley Road, connecting Hillside Boulevard (then called the 'Old Snake Road') with Linden Avenue, was finished in 1930. Earlier, in 1907, developer E.C. Peck bought land on the town's east side for the subdivision the story map calls Peck's Lot, and the city's subdivision layer records Peck's Heights #1 in 1900-1919. The valley filled after the war: Paradise Valley, the five Sterling Terrace tracts, High School Park Terrace, Crestview Terrace and two more Peck's Heights tracts were all recorded in 1940-1959, with Hillside Terrace following in 1960-1979.
Terrabay is the newer half, on the south and southeast base of San Bruno Mountain. Per the story map it was approved in the 1980s and built in three phases: townhomes and detached houses first; then more housing, including the condominium tower the story map calls the Peninsula Mandalay; then an office development, Centennial Towers. The original developer was W.W. Dean & Associates; SunChase Holdings acquired the project in 1992 and sold the Phase I parcels to Centex Homes, then partnered with Myers Development on the later phases.
The mountain shaped the plan. The site held habitat for the mission blue and callippe silverspot butterflies, and Terrabay was built under the 1982 San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan. A legal settlement led to land holding a shell-mound archaeological site and butterfly habitat being sold to The Trust for Public Land for San Bruno Mountain State Park, and the last phase was scaled back. The county runs the plan today, with South San Francisco's city manager among its trustees.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Hillside Boulevard and Sister Cities Boulevard divide the area. South of them is the older valley, and its recorded tracts map onto streets: Sterling Terrace on Hemlock, Larch, Ash, Franklin and Highland Avenues and Irving, Kearney, Lincoln and Jefferson Streets; Paradise Valley on Arden, Claremont, Belmont, Drake, Edison and Grove Avenues; High School Park Terrace on Beech Avenue and the upper end of Spruce Avenue; Hillside Terrace on Spruce Avenue, Leo Circle and Damonte Court; and the Peck's tracts on Randolph, Chapman, Madrone, Gardiner, Green and Lewis Avenues and Pecks Lane, near Airport Boulevard.
North of Hillside Boulevard, Terrabay climbs the mountain in loops: Baycrest Way, Highcrest Lane, Windcrest Lane, Viewcrest Circle and Northcrest Drive (Village #1); Parkgrove Drive, Baypark Circle, Skypark Circle, Parkridge Circle and Greenpark Terrace (Village #2); and Viola Street, Bayview Drive, West Way, Woods Circle, Crescent Drive, Upland Drive and Monte Vista Way off South San Francisco Drive (the Woods). At the east end, Mandalay Place and Pointe View Place make up Mandalay Point, with detached houses and the condominium tower.
County parcel records inside the outline count about 1,440 single-family parcels, 41 with a recorded ADU, about 230 condominium parcels (112 in the tower) and about 70 parcels with two to four units. Measured from the county parcel map, single-family lots run about 5,000 square feet on the valley streets and about 3,800 in Terrabay. The city's zoning map puts most houses in RL-8 (Low Density Residential), with RM-22 on some blocks and a high-density RH-180 district on the tower parcels.
streets in paradise valley & terrabay
- Hillside Boulevard
- Sister Cities Boulevard
- Hemlock Avenue
- Larch Avenue
- Ash Avenue
- Franklin Avenue
- Highland Avenue
- Arden Avenue
- Claremont Avenue
- Belmont Avenue
- Drake Avenue
- Edison Avenue
- Beech Avenue
- Spruce Avenue
- Randolph Avenue
- Chapman Avenue
- Gardiner Avenue
- Pecks Lane
- Leo Circle
- Damonte Court
- Baycrest Way
- Highcrest Lane
- Windcrest Lane
- Northcrest Drive
- Parkgrove Drive
- Baypark Circle
- Viola Street
- Bayview Drive
- South San Francisco Drive
- Monte Vista Way
- Pinnacle Street
- Mandalay Place
- Pointe View Place
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Paradise Valley & Terrabay
- park
Paradise Valley Park
At Hillside Boulevard and Spruce Avenue, next to Martin Elementary, with ballfields, basketball courts, a children's play area, picnic tables and restrooms, per the city's park list.
- park
Terrabay Gymnasium
The city's gym on South San Francisco Drive in Terrabay, listed with a gymnasium, basketball and tennis courts, a children's play area, picnic tables and restrooms.
- park
Hillside Athletic Field and Gardiner Playlot
The city's field at 1400 Hillside Boulevard has ballfields, a soccer field and restrooms; Gardiner Playlot at Gardiner and Randolph Avenues has a basketball court and play area.
- park
San Bruno Mountain State & County Park
The county lists 2,416 acres with elevations from 250 to 1,314 feet. Its main address is 555 Guadalupe Canyon Parkway in Brisbane; Terrabay backs onto its southern slopes, which are unincorporated open space.
- landmark
Sign Hill
Across the ridge to the west; the Ridge Trail starts at the parking lot on Ridgeview Court, off Hillside Boulevard.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Census school-district maps put most of the area in the South San Francisco Unified School District (K-12), and Martin Elementary (35 School Street) sits inside it near Paradise Valley Park. The exception is Mandalay Point: Census maps put Mandalay Place and Pointe View Place in the Brisbane School District, whose schools are Brisbane Elementary and Lipman Middle in Brisbane and Panorama Elementary in Daly City, and in the Jefferson Union High School District. That split comes from Census maps, so check the address with the district before you rely on it. Attendance boundaries change in both systems.
Getting around
- Caltrain: South San Francisco station's west entrance (296 Airport Boulevard, at Grand Avenue) is about 0.9 mile straight-line from the middle of the area and about half a mile from the Peck's streets.
- Roads: Hillside Boulevard runs west toward Colma and Daly City, Sister Cities Boulevard runs east to Airport Boulevard, and US-101 lines the east edge.
- BART: South San Francisco station (1333 Mission Road) is about 1.7 miles straight-line from the middle; San Bruno BART about 2 miles.
- Ferry: the Oyster Point terminal for the weekday San Francisco Bay Ferry route to Oakland and Alameda is about 2 miles straight-line east, across US-101.
- Trails: Sign Hill Park's Ridge Trail (from Ridgeview Court) and San Bruno Mountain's trails are the walking options above the neighborhood.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Paradise Valley & Terrabay: what we check
Buying here
- Confirm the school district for Mandalay Place and Pointe View Place: Census maps put them in the Brisbane School District and the Jefferson Union High School District, not South San Francisco Unified. Check the address with each district.
- Check the fire hazard zone. The State Fire Marshal's 2025 map puts most of Terrabay and Mandalay Point, plus parts of Ridgeview Court, Randolph Avenue and Spruce Avenue, in a Moderate fire hazard severity zone; the city's fire department page covers building and defensible-space rules.
- Check the seismic hazard map: 2021 state earthquake-induced landslide zones cover parts of Mandalay Place, Windcrest Lane, Northcrest Drive, Highcrest Lane, Larch Avenue, Ash Avenue, Pecks Lane, Bayview Drive, Lewis Avenue, Franklin Avenue, Leo Circle and Pointe View Place, and a liquefaction zone touches parts of Hemlock Avenue, Hillside Boulevard and Larch Avenue.
- Terrabay lots were planned under the San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan; the county requires a site activity review before work that would disturb conserved habitat. Read the title report and any HOA documents for habitat or open-space obligations, and check current HOA dues.
- For the Mandalay Point tower, review the HOA budget, reserves, insurance and building-system history before you write an offer.
Selling here
- Be precise about the school district: for Mandalay Place and Pointe View Place, give buyers the Census district names and send them to the districts to confirm.
- Have the hazard disclosures ready early (fire zone and any landslide or liquefaction zone) with any defensible-space or geotechnical work you have done.
- Terrabay and tower sellers: gather HOA documents, reserve studies and the open-space or habitat obligations on title.
- On the valley streets, lead with the setting: Paradise Valley Park, Martin Elementary and Grand Avenue within about a mile (straight-line).
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Paradise Valley & Terrabay questions, answered
Which school district serves Terrabay?
Most of Terrabay and the valley streets are in the South San Francisco Unified School District. Census maps put Mandalay Place and Pointe View Place (Mandalay Point) in the Brisbane School District and the Jefferson Union High School District. Check the address with the district.
When was Terrabay built?
It was approved in the 1980s and built in phases; the city's subdivision layer records Terrabay Villages #1 and #2 in 1980-1999 and the Woods, Mandalay Point and the residential tower in 2000-2011.
What is the San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan?
A 1982 plan, run by San Mateo County with trustees from the county, Brisbane, Daly City and South San Francisco, that protects butterfly habitat on the mountain while allowing limited development such as Terrabay. Work that would disturb conserved habitat needs a county site activity review.
Is Paradise Valley in a fire zone?
The valley streets south of Hillside Boulevard are mostly mapped NonWildland. Much of Terrabay and Mandalay Point is in a Moderate fire hazard severity zone on the 2025 state map. Check the exact parcel.
Where is Peck's Lot?
The streets near Airport Boulevard and Linden Avenue, including Randolph, Chapman, Madrone and Gardiner Avenues and Pecks Lane, laid out after developer E.C. Peck bought land there in 1907, per the city's story map.
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