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South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks, Menlo Park Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The City of Menlo Park's South of Seminary/Vintage Oaks neighborhood: 1940s tract blocks off Santa Margarita Avenue and the late-1990s Vintage Oaks subdivision, between Middlefield and Willow roads.
South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks by the numbers
south of seminary / vintage oaks by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks: Middlefield Rd to Willow Rd, Menlo Oaks to the office blocks south of Coleman Ave (the City's own neighborhood outline). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in south of seminary / vintage oaks · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks 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 (South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks: Middlefield Rd to Willow Rd, Menlo Oaks to the office blocks south of Coleman Ave (the City's own neighborhood outline)); it may not match every local definition.
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Our sales near South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks
None of our sales since 2012 that we can match to MLS records sit inside the South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks outline, so these are our closest listings, measured from its edge.
All 15 of our Menlo Park sales, on a map Selling in South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks? Book a strategy call
the story
How South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks came to be
South of Seminary/Vintage Oaks is the City of Menlo Park's own name for the wedge of streets between Middlefield Road and Willow Road. The name appears on the City's GIS neighborhood map and in its 2022 neighborhood profiles. It covers two quite different places inside one boundary. The older tract blocks lie east and southeast of a large institutional property in the middle of the area. Vintage Oaks, a late-1990s subdivision, wraps around that property's north and west sides. The City's 2022 profile describes the neighborhood as mostly detached single-family houses, with offices at the south end.
The older blocks sit on recorded maps that City parcel records list as The Alcorn Estate Tract (San Mateo County Book 2 of Maps, page 96), along Santa Margarita Avenue and Willow Road, and the Nash Tract (Book 4, page 54), along Nash, Santa Margarita, Santa Monica, Gilbert and Coleman avenues. Tract No. 605 (Book 29, page 26) added San Luis, San Clemente and San Andreas drives. City records date 18 houses to the 1920s and 1930s, but put about 130 between 1940 and 1959, for a median of 1949. The same records place these blocks in the June 26, 1951 annexation filed as North Palo Alto. That annexation also brought most of the Willows into the city.
Vintage Oaks came half a century later. Its three recorded units (Book 126, page 35; Book 127, pages 35 and 42) and an amending map (Book 127, page 58) hold 148 lots, and City records date the houses from 1996 to 2000. Most of those lots carry the January 29, 1949 annexation that the City lists as Belle Haven City, the same entry as that institutional parcel. Nine carry a September 14, 1993 annexation named Vintage Oaks. The City's 2013 historic resources report sums up this stretch of Middlefield Road as large office complexes, residential streets of single-family houses and a fire station at the corner of Santa Monica Avenue.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
On the older side, Santa Monica Avenue and Santa Margarita Avenue run northeast from Middlefield Road, parallel to Willow Road. Nash Avenue, Gilbert Avenue and Coleman Avenue cross them and end at Willow Road, and San Luis, San Clemente and San Andreas drives are short streets off the east side of Santa Monica Avenue. Santa Margarita Avenue alone has 66 lots. City records list 152 houses on these blocks as one story and 20 as two, with about 15 built since 2000. The median lot is about 7,800 sq ft. These blocks are zoned R-1-U, where the City's zoning summary sets a 7,000 sq ft minimum lot, and 41 of the 181 R-1-U lots here are smaller than that.
Vintage Oaks is laid out on curves. Seminary Drive leaves Middlefield Road and loops around the north and west sides of that property to Santa Monica Avenue. Gloria Circle is a loop off it near Middlefield, and Brady Place and Pepperwood Court branch off it. Hanna Way leaves Seminary Drive, with Elmwood Place off it, and meets Riordan Place, which reaches Coleman Avenue. The houses are mostly two story, and the median lot is about 11,700 sq ft under R-1-S zoning, which has a 10,000 sq ft minimum lot. Seminary Oaks Park sits on its own lot inside the subdivision.
The edges are less uniform. Apartment buildings from the 1950s and early 1960s line Coleman Avenue and Coleman Place. The 1973 Willow-Wood condominiums are at 610 Gilbert Avenue, and a short row of small-lot houses from 1988 is also on Gilbert. Offices fill the Middlefield Road frontage near Willow Road. FEMA's flood map puts 80 lots in Zone AE at the parcel center, all on the older side near Willow Road: Santa Margarita Avenue (39), Willow Road (30), Nash Avenue (6) and the San Luis and San Clemente blocks (5). None of the Vintage Oaks lots is in that zone, and no CAL FIRE fire hazard zone touches any lot here.
streets in south of seminary / vintage oaks
- Middlefield Road
- Willow Road
- Santa Monica Avenue
- Santa Margarita Avenue
- Nash Avenue
- Gilbert Avenue
- Coleman Avenue
- San Luis Drive
- San Clemente Drive
- San Andreas Drive
- Seminary Drive
- Gloria Circle
- Hanna Way
- Riordan Place
- Elmwood Place
- Brady Place
- Pepperwood Court
- Coleman Place
house sales by street, 2021–2026
| Street | Sales | Median price | Per sq ft | Typical lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanna Way | 4 | $5.47M | $1,691 | 11,000 sq ft |
| Gloria Circle | 7 | $5.4M | $1,662 | 10,630 sq ft |
| Seminary Drive | 5 | $4.7M | $1,573 | 12,250 sq ft |
| Santa Margarita Avenue | 11 | $3.5M | $1,721 | 7,100 sq ft |
| Gilbert Avenue | 3 | $3.4M | $1,724 | 5,960 sq ft |
| Willow Road | 4 | $2.88M | $1,405 | 7,510 sq ft |
| Coleman Avenue | 3 | $2.77M | $1,933 | 7,680 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 Menlo Park & Atherton.
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks
- park
Seminary Oaks Park
A 3.51-acre city park at Seminary Drive and Santa Monica Avenue, next to Vintage Oaks and behind the fire station. It has an open lawn, picnic tables, a playground, a shaded seating area, a drinking fountain and a walking path that circles the park.
- park
Willow Oaks Park
A city park at 490 Willow Road, just outside the neighborhood's northeast corner across Willow Road, about 3.3 acres by the City's GIS outline. The City's 2022 profile lists an off-leash dog park, public art and tennis courts.
- landmark
Fire station at Middlefield Road and Santa Monica Avenue
Menlo Park Fire Protection District Station 1 at 300 Middlefield Road. The City's 1990 historic sites survey inventoried the fire house as a significant cultural resource.
- landmark
114 Santa Margarita Avenue
A building that City parcel records date to 1902, now in office use near Middlefield Road. The City's 1990 historic sites survey listed it as eligible for listing under a local ordinance.
- shopping
Grocery at the southeast corner
The City's 2022 profile notes a grocery store just outside the neighborhood's southeast corner. Downtown Menlo Park's Santa Cruz Avenue shops are a little over a mile west (straight-line, approximate).
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
City parcel records and U.S. Census school-district maps put every lot here in the Menlo Park City School District and the Sequoia Union High School District. Menlo-Atherton High School (555 Middlefield Road, Atherton) is about 0.55 mile northwest (straight-line). Laurel School's Lower Campus (95 Edge Road, Atherton) is about 0.55 mile north, and its Upper Campus (275 Elliott Drive) is about a mile east (both straight-line). Attendance areas change, so check the exact address with the district before relying on any school assignment.
Menlo Park City Schools guide · Sequoia Union guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Menlo Park Caltrain station on Merrill Street is about 0.9 mile (straight-line) west of the middle of the area.
- City transit data lists SamTrans stops on Willow Road at Nash, Gilbert and Coleman avenues and on Middlefield Road at Santa Margarita and Ringwood avenues. Check SamTrans for current routes and schedules.
- Willow Road and Middlefield Road are the two arterials, which the City's 2022 profile describes as the neighborhood's links to the rest of the city: Willow Road leads northeast toward US 101, and Middlefield Road runs northwest into Atherton and southeast toward Palo Alto.
- The City's 2022 profile notes lower-frequency bus service on Coleman Avenue and Santa Monica Avenue.
- Seminary Oaks Park is inside the neighborhood, and Burgess Park and the Civic Center are about 0.7 mile (straight-line) southwest across Middlefield Road.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks: what we check
Buying here
- Flood: 80 lots on the older side near Willow Road are in FEMA Zone AE at the parcel center, and the City's 2022 profile puts about 40 percent of the neighborhood in a flood hazard area. Check the exact parcel on the FEMA map; lenders generally require flood insurance in Zone AE.
- Lot size and zoning: R-1-U (older blocks) has a 7,000 sq ft minimum lot and R-1-S (Vintage Oaks) a 10,000 sq ft minimum. The City's zoning summary notes that new construction or extensive remodeling on a substandard lot may need a use permit or architectural control review by the Planning Commission. Measure your lot against the rule before you plan a rebuild.
- Some lots here carry a City below-market-rate (BMR) designation; if a listing does, ask the City's housing staff what it means for resale and occupancy before you write an offer.
- Utilities differ by side: City records list Menlo Park Municipal Water District on the older blocks and California Water Service on most of Vintage Oaks. West Bay Sanitary District and the Menlo Park Fire Protection District serve both.
- For a 1940s house, ask for permit history on additions and budget for sewer lateral, electrical panel and foundation checks. For a late-1990s Vintage Oaks house, check roof age, windows and the original mechanical systems.
Selling here
- Name the map: Vintage Oaks Unit 1, 2 or 3, or the Nash Tract, The Alcorn Estate Tract or Tract No. 605. It tells buyers the era of the house and the zoning rules that apply.
- State the lot size from public records. The older-block median is about 7,800 sq ft and the Vintage Oaks median about 11,700 sq ft, so buyers compare against those.
- If the lot is in Zone AE, have flood insurance quotes and any elevation certificate or Letter of Map Amendment ready before listing.
- Document updates and permits. Original 1940s houses on the older blocks are compared with the houses rebuilt since 2000 there, and late-1990s Vintage Oaks houses with each other.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks questions, answered
Where is South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks in Menlo Park?
Between Middlefield Road and Willow Road in ZIP 94025, from the Middlefield-Willow intersection north to Menlo Oaks, the Atherton town line and South Perimeter Road. Linfield Oaks is across Middlefield and the Willows is across Willow Road.
Is this part of the Willows?
It depends on the map. The City's GIS neighborhood map and its 2022 neighborhood profiles treat South of Seminary/Vintage Oaks as its own neighborhood, with Willow Road as the line. The City's 2013 historic resources report describes the modern Willows as arguably reaching Coleman and Santa Monica avenues, which would include the older blocks east of Santa Monica Avenue.
When were the houses built?
In two eras. City parcel records give the older tract blocks a median year built of 1949, with about 130 houses from 1940 to 1959. Vintage Oaks was built from 1996 to 2000.
Is South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks in a flood zone?
Part of it. FEMA puts 80 lots in Zone AE at the parcel center, all on the older side near Willow Road (Santa Margarita Avenue, Willow Road, Nash Avenue and the San Luis and San Clemente blocks). Vintage Oaks is outside that zone. Check each address on the FEMA map.
Which school districts serve it?
Menlo Park City School District and Sequoia Union High School District, per City parcel records and Census school-district maps. Confirm the exact address with the district.
Is it in the city or unincorporated?
In the City of Menlo Park. Menlo Oaks, just to the north, is unincorporated San Mateo County, and the Town of Atherton begins at the northwest corner on Middlefield Road.
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on the home styles field guide
Home styles in South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks
South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks shows up on this plate in our home styles field guide. Each plate shows how to spot the style from the sidewalk, with live listings opened to Menlo Park.
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