builder filesfile 50 of 57built here in the 2000s and 2010sboyenga team at compass
Shea Homes
Shea Homes is the homebuilding arm of J.F. Shea Co., a family company that began as a Portland plumbing shop in 1881 and helped build Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. Here it built neighborhoods at Rivermark in Santa Clara and townhomes at Bay Meadows in San Mateo. Here’s what the records confirm and what the homes resell for.
- builder
- Shea Homes Limited Partnership
- parent
- J.F. Shea Co., family-owned
- roots
- Portland plumbing shop, 1881
- homes since
- 1968; first Northern California homes, 1970
- office
- Walnut, California
- builds
- townhomes and small-lot homes
- listings say
- “Shea Homes”
- sales on record · live…
- median $/sq ft, last 2 yrs…
- for sale now · live…
- neighborhoods confirmed here5
where they are
Shea communities in our area
From city records, the Bay Meadows master developer, news reports and Shea’s own filings. Counts are left blank where no record gives them.
| community | city | year | homes | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rivermark: The Landings and The Glen | Santa Clara | from 2002 | — | Two Shea neighborhoods in the 152-acre Rivermark plan; Lennar and Centex built the others, per a 2004 city report. |
| LansdowneBay Meadows | San Mateo | 2012–2013 | 93 | Two- to four-bedroom townhomes at Bay Meadows, between the Hillsdale and Hayward Park Caltrain stations. The first homes opened in 2013. |
| Meadow WalkBay Meadows | San Mateo | 2016 | — | Townhomes sold from 405 Neves Road. The master developer called them the last townhomes for sale at Bay Meadows in late 2016. |
| The AvenueBay Meadows | San Mateo | 2016–2017 | 31 | Townhomes designed by KTGY on a 1.6-acre parcel Shea bought in January 2016, its fourth at Bay Meadows. |
Bay Meadows sources also credit Shea with Brightside (80 townhomes) and Victory (55 homes), which we couldn’t confirm from primary records. Listings credit Shea with Mondrian in Mountain View (about 2009–2011) and the Sonata section of The Villages in San Jose (1998). Shea Properties, a sister company, builds apartments, not homes for sale.
the homes
What the homes are like
From city records, news reports and Shea’s filings.
- bay meadows
Townhomes by Caltrain
Bay Meadows is an 83-acre former racetrack between two Caltrain stations. Shea’s neighborhoods there are two- and three-story townhomes.
- rivermark
A master plan in Santa Clara
Rivermark replaced the west campus of the Agnews Developmental Center. Three builders started homes there in 2002.
- building
Shea as general contractor
Shea runs its own construction and hires subcontractors it calls TradePartners, usually at a fixed price for each community, according to its annual report.
- service
The 1-5-11 service program
New Shea owners get warranty visits in the first, fifth and eleventh months, per the company.
- myth check
Shea Homes or Shea Properties?
Shea Properties and Shea Apartments are the family’s rental and commercial arms. Their San Jose apartment buildings aren’t Shea Homes communities.
the sales ledger
Every recorded Shea Homes sale
Each dot is a sale whose listing names Shea Homes. Hover a dot for the address, date and price.
- sales on record…
- median price…
- median $ per sq ft…
- latest sale…
one recorded salemedian for the yearprice per sq ft = sale price ÷ listed living area
| sold | address | price | $/sq ft | bd / ba | sq ft |
|---|
Many Bay Meadows and Rivermark listings don’t name the builder, so the ledger undercounts them. Sales come from the MLS records available to us and include every sold listing whose description names the builder, so a few homes may be labeled by the listing agent rather than confirmed from tract records. Sold data is shown with the listing brokerage. Price per square foot uses the living area in the listing. Ask us for a full comparable-sales report on any address.
on the market
For sale now
Active listings whose description names Shea Homes.
Checking active listings…
owning one today
Owning one today
- Two layers of HOA at Bay MeadowsBay Meadows has a master association plus a homeowners association for each neighborhood. Ask for both sets of CC&Rs, budgets and reserve studies.
- Bay Meadows special taxBay Meadows is in San Mateo’s Community Facilities District No. 2008-1, a Mello-Roos district that levies a special tax on the property tax bill.
- Warranty and SB 800Shea’s original warranties have run out on these homes. California’s Right to Repair Act generally limits defect claims to 10 years after completion, so the window on the newest Bay Meadows homes closes around 2028.
- SolarThese homes were built before California’s 2020 solar requirement, so ask whether a home has panels and who owns them.
the nerd check
Buying or selling one
What we check when you buy
- Which neighborhoodWe confirm the neighborhood, plan and completion date, since Bay Meadows and Rivermark each mix several builders.
- HOA and tax reviewWe read both associations’ budgets and reserves and check the tax bill for the special tax.
- Builder claimsWe ask whether the HOA has made any claims against the builder.
- The right comparablesWe compare against the same plan in the same neighborhood first.
How we market one when you sell
- Name the neighborhoodBuyers search for Bay Meadows and Rivermark by name, so we lead with them.
- Paperwork up frontWe gather the master and neighborhood HOA documents early.
- Prep with a planOur Prep Lab budgets touch-ups before you list.
- Price from real salesWe price from recent resales of the same plan.
questions
Questions we hear
Who is behind Shea Homes?
J.F. Shea Co., a family company that started as a one-man plumbing shop in Portland in 1881. It began building homes in 1968 and closed its first Northern California homes in 1970.
What else has the Shea company built?
The company says it drilled diversion tunnels for Hoover Dam, built the Golden Gate Bridge’s support piers and worked on six BART projects.
Where has Shea Homes built here?
Confirmed neighborhoods are at Rivermark in Santa Clara and Bay Meadows in San Mateo. Listings also name Shea for Mondrian in Mountain View.
Do Bay Meadows homes pay Mello-Roos?
Yes. Bay Meadows is in San Mateo’s Community Facilities District No. 2008-1. The amount is on the property tax bill.
sources
Sources
SEC, city and news records and Shea’s own pages, checked October 2026.
- Shea Homes: about1881 founding and homebuilding since 1968 (company)www.sheahomes.com/about/
- J.F. Shea Co.: historyPublic works and company milestones (company)jfshea.com/history
- Shea Homes annual report (10-K, fiscal 2012)Ownership, Northern California start, construction model and warrantywww.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001531744/000119312513109613/d454446d10k.htm
- Rivermark of Santa Clara: summary of a 2004 City of Santa Clara reportWhich builders built each Rivermark neighborhood (the city report itself wasn’t read)en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivermark_of_Santa_Clara
- Bay Meadows: first homeowners move in (2013)Lansdowne townhomesbaymeadows.com/2013/08/13/welcome-home-first-homeowners-move-into-new-bay-meadows-development/
- Bay Meadows: final townhomes for sale (2016)Meadow Walkbaymeadows.com/2016/11/25/countdown-is-on-for-final-townhomes-for-sale-at-bay-meadows/
- Bisnow: Shea Homes buys Bay Meadows parcel (2016)31 townhomes designed by KTGYwww.bisnow.com/news/san-jose/mixed-use/shea-homes-buys-bay-meadows-parcel-54449
- City of San Mateo: Ordinance No. 2012-1Bay Meadows Community Facilities District No. 2008-1 special taxlaw.cityofsanmateo.org/us/ca/cities/san-mateo/ordinances/2012/adopted/2012-1.pdf
- Shea Homes: 1-5-11 service programWarranty visits (company)www.sheahomes.com/1-5-11-service-program
- California Civil Code § 94110-year limit for construction-defect claimscalifornia.public.law/codes/civil_code_section_941
builder files
Every builder file, by era
Bars show the years each builder was building here. See all builders or the home styles field guide.
- Fernando Nelson1880–1920s
- Ernest Coxhead1890–1930s
- Willis Polk1890s–1920s
- Frank Delos Wolfe1892–1926
- Henry Gutterson1914–1954
- Gellert (Sunstream)1922–1972
- Birge Clark1922–1970s
- Stoneson1920s–1960s
- Doelger1927–1960s
- McKeon1927–early 1970s
- Gardner Dailey1930s–1960s
- William Wurster1930s–1960s
- Rousseau1931–1933
- Bohannon1936–1955
- Cliff May1950s
- Stern & Price1951–1953
- Mackay Homes1950s
- Goodwin Steinberg1950s–1980s
- Mardell1955–1959
- Hayman Homes1960s–1970s
- Ditz-Crane1962–1984
- Brown & Kauffmann1960s–1981
- Bahl1968–1986
- Ponderosa Homes1970s–1990s
- Shapell1971–2000s
- Anshen & Allen1940s–1960
- Jones & Emmons1951–1970s
- Claude Oakland1950s–1970s
- Owen Signature Homes1970–today
- Swatt | Miers1975–today
- SummerHill Homes1976–today
- Pinn Brothers1976–today
- Citation Homeslate 1970s–2010s
- Robson Homes1989–today
- Pacific Peninsula Group1989–today
- Barry Swenson Builder1990s–2010s
- Classic Communities1990s–2010s
- Warmington1990s–2020s
- Kelly Gordon2000s–2010s
- Feldman Architecture2003–today
- DeNova Homes2000s–today
- City Ventures2011–today
- Trumark Homes2012–today
- Davidon Homes2010s
- The New Home Company2014–2018
- Dividend Homes2010s–today
- KB Home1980s–today
- Brookfield1990s–today
- Pulte Homes2000s–today
- Shea Homes2000s–2010s
- Lennar2000s–today
- Toll Brothers2000s–today
- Taylor Morrison2007–today
- D.R. Horton2010s
- Tri Pointe Homes2012–today
- K. Hovnanian2014–2018
- Meritage Homes2010s
talk to a property nerd
Own a Shea home?
We can value it against resales of the same plan and get the HOA and tax paperwork in order. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
