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University-Edelen, Los Gatos Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
A Town historic district of 1880s-1920s Victorians and bungalows on University and Edelen avenues, between the downtown storefronts and Los Gatos Creek.
University-Edelen by the numbers
university-edelen by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for University-Edelen historic district: Hwy 9 to Main St, the old rail line to Los Gatos Creek (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in university-edelen · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in University-Edelen
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in University-Edelen 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 (University-Edelen historic district: Hwy 9 to Main St, the old rail line to Los Gatos Creek (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How University-Edelen came to be
University-Edelen began as part of the Mason Tract. According to the Town's designation ordinance, in September 1880 this slice of it was divided into five parcels of 6.75 to 10 acres. Before 1900 those were cut up again as the Miles/Edelen Subdivision (known as the Vineyard Lots) and the Hagerty, Quick and Bentley/Pierce subdivisions, among others, and those lot lines still shape the blocks today. Two of the subdivision names survive on street signs: Miles Avenue and Bentley Avenue.
The district's anchor was a school. The first school on the University Avenue site opened on August 8, 1881; a high school addition followed in 1893, and from 1893 to 1908 the site held both a grammar school and a high school. The old building came down and a new two-story school, modeled on Mission San Juan Capistrano, went up in 1923. It closed in 1961, sold in 1964 and became a fine arts center with more than 50 shops and restaurants, the school auditorium and, until 1982, the California Actors Theater. Today that building is Old Town, the shopping center at 50 University Avenue.
The Town drew the boundary by Ordinance 1844 on April 15, 1991, and restated the designation in 2008 (Ordinance 2168, district HD-86-1B). It is one of five Town historic districts, along with Almond Grove, Broadway, Fairview Plaza and the downtown commercial district. That last one is the district listed on the National Register; University-Edelen is a Town designation.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Two parallel streets do most of the work. University Avenue runs north from Main Street to Saratoga Avenue, and Edelen Avenue runs a block east, from Mullen Avenue to Bentley Avenue, with Miles Avenue crossing the middle and continuing over the creek. Elm Street, Grays Lane and Royce Street come in from the North Santa Cruz Avenue side, and Boyer Lane, off the north end of University Avenue, is a 2001 planned development of 25 two-story homes inside the district line.
The ordinance calls Victorian the predominant style: informal wood-frame cottages and larger two-story houses, mixed with Craftsman bungalows built a little later and a smaller number of Colonial Revival houses. It singles out two Queen Annes on Edelen Avenue, the Miles House (1886, per the Los Gatos Library's local history collection) and the Skinkle House (1890), plus a stone Romanesque-style house on University Avenue from about 1895, built by a local brick mason and now used as offices. County assessor years on the single-family parcels cluster around 1900 to 1925, with a smaller 1940s wave and a scattering of later rebuilds.
Lots are small by Los Gatos standards, mostly about 4,400 to 6,400 square feet, a little larger on Edelen than on University, and about two-thirds of the older single-family homes are recorded as one story. The whole district carries the Town's LHP historic overlay, so exterior changes, additions, new construction and demolition need Town approval and have to fit the district. The ordinance also protects the date stamps in the concrete sidewalks and says existing picket and ornate wire fences, rock walls and front-yard concrete walls must be repaired and retained. Walk Edelen Avenue and look down: the sidewalk is part of the historic record.
streets in university-edelen
- University Avenue
- Edelen Avenue
- Mullen Avenue
- Miles Avenue
- Bentley Avenue
- Boyer Lane
- Elm Street
- Grays Lane
- Royce Street
- West Main Street
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near University-Edelen
- landmark
Old Town
The shopping center at 50 University Avenue reuses the 1923 Mission-style school, on a site that held a school from 1881 to 1964. The Town's 2008 ordinance notes the old auditorium remained available for performances and events.
- shopping
North Santa Cruz Avenue
Downtown's main shopping street runs parallel to University Avenue on the other side of the old rail line, reached by Elm Street, Grays Lane and Royce Street.
- park
Town Plaza Park
The 0.6-acre plaza at 15 South Santa Cruz Avenue, per Town park data, is about a quarter mile from the middle of the district.
- park
Los Gatos Creek Trail
The Town describes it as an 11-mile trail along the creek from Lexington Reservoir to Meridian Avenue in San Jose, with parking and restrooms at Miles Avenue. Its trail map shows entries at the district's south end near Old Town and off Miles Avenue.
- landmark
Forbes Mill
Across the creek at 75 Church Street, the stone remains of the four-story flour mill James Alexander Forbes built in 1854, a California Historical Landmark registered in 1950. The state notes the town around it was first called Forbes Mill, then Forbestown, then Los Gatos.
- landmark
Civic Center
Town Hall, at 110 East Main Street, is just across the Main Street bridge, about a quarter mile from the district's south end.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
University-Edelen is in the Los Gatos Union School District (TK-8) and the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District (9-12), according to U.S. Census school district maps. The closest public campus is Los Gatos High School on East Main Street, just across the creek and Highway 17. Los Gatos Union registration routes each address to a neighborhood school, and high school placement is also by address. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district.
Los Gatos Union guide · Los Gatos-Saratoga high schools · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Bus: VTA Route 27 stops on North Santa Cruz Avenue (at Los Gatos-Saratoga Road and Nicholson Avenue) and on Main Street, then runs out Los Gatos Boulevard toward Good Samaritan Hospital and Santa Teresa light rail station, with its other end at Winchester station in Campbell. Weekday trips ran roughly every 30 minutes in VTA's current schedule.
- Light rail and Caltrain: the Green Line's Winchester station in Campbell is about 4 miles north in a straight line. Los Gatos has no Caltrain station; San Jose Diridon is about 8.5 miles away in a straight line.
- Driving: Highway 9 (Saratoga Avenue) meets Highway 17 at the district's north end. Highway 85 is about 2.5 miles north via Highway 17 (approximate), and Highway 17 heads south over the hill to Santa Cruz.
- Trail: the Los Gatos Creek Trail runs along the east edge, with entries near Old Town and off Miles Avenue. Oak Meadow Park is about 0.8 mile north by straight line and Vasona Lake about 1.2 miles.
- Walking: Town Plaza, Forbes Mill, Town Hall and Los Gatos High School are all within about a quarter mile of the middle of the district.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in University-Edelen: what we check
Buying here
- Every lot here is in a Town historic district. Exterior alterations, additions, new construction and demolition need Planning approval and must fit the district, and the Historic Preservation Committee reviews many of them. Get an early read before you price in an addition.
- Ask for permit history. Window, siding and porch replacements or additions done without permits are harder to legalize in a historic district than elsewhere.
- The district ordinance protects sidewalk date stamps, existing picket and ornate wire fences, rock walls and front-yard concrete walls. Plan to repair them, not replace them.
- Houses this old deserve a full set of inspections: foundation and structure, electrical (ask about any remaining original wiring), plumbing, roof and the sewer lateral. Pre-1978 homes come with the federal lead-paint disclosure.
- Check hazard layers by address. Town parcel data flags a state liquefaction zone on most of Boyer Lane and a few lots on Edelen, Miles and Bentley near the creek, and puts some parcels on West Main Street and lower University Avenue in the Town's 2025 Moderate or High fire hazard severity zones. The parcels show FEMA Zone X, with the Zone A flood strip confined to the creek channel.
- The Town notes that owners of designated historic buildings can use the California Historical Building Code, which can make some repairs and upgrades more flexible. Ask the Building Division whether it applies to your house.
Selling here
- Gather the house's paper trail before listing: permits, any Historic Preservation Committee or Planning approvals, and the Town's historic file. Buyers will want to know what they can change.
- Document restoration work (foundation, seismic, electrical, windows) with invoices and permit sign-offs; on a 100-plus-year-old house it is the first thing buyers ask about.
- Pre-inspections (home, pest, foundation, sewer lateral) shorten negotiations on older homes.
- Market the history accurately: the subdivision the lot came from, the house's style and approximate date, and protected features such as fences and walls. If yours is on Boyer Lane, have the planned development and any HOA documents ready.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
University-Edelen questions, answered
Where is the University-Edelen Historic District?
Just north and east of downtown Los Gatos, between the North Santa Cruz Avenue storefronts and Los Gatos Creek, from Main Street north to Saratoga Avenue (Highway 9). University Avenue and Edelen Avenue are its main streets.
Is University-Edelen on the National Register?
It is a Town of Los Gatos historic district, set by Ordinance 1844 in 1991 and restated in 2008. The National Register-listed district in town is the downtown commercial district next door.
Can I add on to or rebuild a house in University-Edelen?
Often, but with design review. Exterior alterations, additions, new construction and demolition in a historic district need Town approval and must fit the district's character. Start with the University-Edelen guidelines and a Historic Preservation Committee consultation.
How old are the houses?
The lots come from subdivisions recorded before 1900, and county records place most single-family homes between about 1900 and 1925, with Victorians from the late 1880s and 1890s, Craftsman bungalows, some 1940s cottages and the 2001 Boyer Lane homes.
Which school districts serve University-Edelen?
Los Gatos Union School District for TK-8 and Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District for 9-12. Boundaries change, so confirm the exact address with each district.
What is Old Town?
The shopping center at 50 University Avenue, built into the 1923 Mission-style school that served the site until 1961. It was converted to shops, restaurants and a theater after a 1964 sale.
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