Concord

In the San Francisco Bay Area, north of the Lime Ridge line rests Cowell/Canterbury. This neighborhood is a part of Concord, claiming the largest population in the county. It offers residents a desirable, classic suburban lifestyle, with quiet, tree-lined residential streets that feature a diverse range of housing options. “This area has very eclectic housing from high-end estates down to quaint dwellings,” Moore says. Another neighborhood perk is that residents here are surrounded by an abundance of outdoor adventure. “Locals in Cowell/Canterbury love the outdoors and spend time heading to the Markham Nature Park and Arboretum or exploring the Lime Ridge,” Moore says. Students attend schools within the Mount Diablo Unified School District, which is ranked among the top five school systems in Contra Costa County by Niche. El Monte Elementary School received an A in Diversity and a B in Teachers categories on Niche. Middle and high schoolers are eligible to transfer from their school of residence through the Intradistrict Transfers initiative. El Dorado Middle is nearby and has a student-to-teacher ratio of 24 to 1. Teens may move on and graduate from Concord High, rated a B plus on Niche. The school promises CTE courses and an Industrial Arts program. “Locals in Cowell/Canterbury love the outdoors and spend time heading to the Markham Nature Park and Arboretum or exploring the Lime Ridge,” Moore says. Considered a community gem, the arboretum has a slow-flowing creek, gardens, and a tree-top canopy along walking trails. The Lime Ridge Open Space invites locals to explore a wildlife protection area and admire picturesque sunsets. The natural landscape is often uncrowded, and while hiking, you can observe evergreen shrubs and wildflowers. A new plant species, named after the ridge, was discovered here. Seasoned visitors take precautions of the native wildlife that call Lime Ridge home, such as rattlesnakes and coyotes. The neighborhood also contains portions of the California Riding and Hiking Trail, but for less wild adventures, head to Concord Community Park. “People also enjoy being close to the park for tennis and swimming. Locals use the park to host large parties,” Moore says. Majestic views of Mount Diablo in the distance are quiet reminders of the neighborhood’s proximity to fault lines. The city of Concord currently has a mitigation plan as well as a volunteer Community Emergency Response Team. Most businesses are found off Treat Boulevard and Clayton Road to the north. You can shop for groceries and pick up prescriptions at Safeway supermarket. Huckleberry’s is a go-to staple for those craving breakfast and brunch favorites. Pasta Primavera Café offers large portions of comforting Italian-influenced classics. ButtercuP is a locally owned chain with a traditional American diner feel and a front sign proudly displaying an uppercase ‘P’. Locals can travel around the area along the local bus system, County Connection, leading to the regional Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). The community is about 5 miles from major routes such as Highway 242 and Interstate 680. Cowell/Canterbury invites residents to a homey enclave that balances outdoor adventure and suburban conveniences.

Midtown Concord is one of Concord’s quiet suburban neighborhoods. Located about four miles from downtown Concord and five miles from the entrance to Mt. Diablo State Park, the neighborhood appeals to people looking for a community with access to nature and shopping. Walking, hiking and biking paths weave throughout the parks and subdivisions, and nearby Mt. Diablo offers trails for serious hiking. Midtown Concord’s proximity to downtown Concord, and most notably Todos Santos Plaza, also means that shopping, dining and entertainment are as close as mountainous trails. There are a variety of housing styles in Midtown Concord, and many properties have shed-style roofs. There are also some Eichler homes in the neighborhood, and most houses in Midtown Concord reflect a contemporary aesthetic, with clean lines and minimal decorative elements, although some do have Mediterranean roofs and brick-work facades or chimneys. Properties tend to start around $850,000 and can reach $2 million in subdivisions like Walnut Heights, which has a walking path through the forested center of the neighborhood, along with a clubhouse and pickleball courts. “It’s a neighborhood where kids can go around and feel safe,” says Marina Petrosov, a Realtor with Compass and Concord resident since 2013. Turtle Creek is another popular subdivision in Midtown Concord and is next to Newhall Community Park. The area is served by the Mount Diablo Unified School District, which has a B-plus rating on Niche. Mountain View Elementary School has a B-minus rating on Niche, and El Dorado Middle School has a C rating. Concord High School has a B-plus rating and has an industrial arts program and award-winning visual and performing arts programs. The school band regularly wins inter-school band competitions and was named “Best Band in the Bay Area” in 2023. Places to hike, walk and bike are plentiful in Midtown Concord, especially thanks to its location near Mt. Diablo. Newhall Community Park is the neighborhood's premiere outdoor space, which has 120 acres of trails, multipurpose fields and ponds. The center of the park also has a Vietnam War memorial in the center of a small ring of trees. For hiking at a high elevation, people drive five miles to Mt. Diablo State Park and trek up and down the mountain, which has an ominous reputation to some. “They used to call it ‘the thicket of the devil,” says Bonnie Spindler, a Realtor with the Corcoran Group who’s been selling Bay Area real estate for 30 years. There are plenty of restaurants and shops close to Midtown Concord. Clayton Road, located just outside the neighborhood, has fast-casual restaurants, drug stores, and a grocery store. For more shopping, people head to downtown Concord to shop in and walk around Todos Santos Plaza, which is rich with history from Concord’s founding in 1869. “It’s the original square from when the town was founded,” says Spindler. “You have the Spanish-style hacienda buildings and shops around it.” Restaurants like House of Bagel and Lima occupy the Spanish-style structures across the street from the plaza. For retail shopping, people head a few blocks down the street to Park & Shop Mall. Bay Area Rapid Transit serves Concord and has a station about three miles from the neighborhood. It provides a direct route into Oakland and San Francisco. Interstate 680 also provides a route into Oakland and San Francisco and is about five miles away. For international Travel, the Oakland International Airport is about 30 miles away.

Colony Park is a small, primarily residential area between the Boundary Oak Golf Course and Briones Regional Park. Surrounded by green spaces, the neighborhood is also just a short drive from Oakland and the San Francisco Bay. <br><br>Homes in Colony Park are mostly ranch-style homes with two-car garages and Mediterranean-style homes with white stucco exteriors and barrel roof tiles. You’ll also find condo and townhouse options as well. Single-family home prices are between $750,000 and $1,200,000 and condos and townhouses typically go for $340,000 to $560,000. Homes in Colony Park have an average of 21 days on the market, which is significantly lower than the national average of 39 days. The average sale price for homes in this community is also down 10% from the average sales price for the previous year. In total, there are about 1,400 homes in Colony Park. Square footage typically falls between 570 and 2,700 square feet for homes, with some dating as far back as 1948 and as recently as 1985. There isn’t much new construction, but there are opportunities for fairly spacious lots that can range in size from 4,000 square feet to 0.56 acres. Curb appeal is bolstered by lush green lawns and plenty of trees and shrubbery. Houses are often separated by wooden fencing but neighbors are connected by sidewalks that encourage dog walkers and joggers to stop and say hello. <br><br>Students in Colony Park can attend Fair Oak Elementary School which received a C-plus rating from Niche. It has about 300 students in grades K-5 with a student-teacher ratio of 26-to-1. Oak Grove Middle School is another option that received a C-minus rating from Niche and has about 730 students in grades 6-8 with a student-teacher ratio of 24-to-1. Ygnacio Valley High School received a B-minus rating from Niche and has about 1,230 students in grades 9-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 20-to-1. They offer a Project Lead the Way Engineering Program filled with additional opportunities for students pursuing that particular career path like college campus trips, summer enrichment programs and internships. <br><br>Len Hester Park is about 4 acres and has a walking path through picnic areas and children’s play equipment. Iron Horse Regional Trail is a rail trail that welcomes everyone from pedestrians to equestrians to cyclists. The trail follows a Southern Pacific Railroad that was established way back in 1891 and later abandoned in 1977. The trail was finished in 2014 and now stretches for 32 miles total. Connecting multiple communities, schools and commercial areas, the trail is a representation of decades of group efforts brought to fruition.<br><br>Once you’ve worked up an appetite, stop by the Cheese Steak Shop for a no-nonsense, counter service experience offering only the best Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks and hoagies. The founders focus on high-quality ingredients like the Amoroso rolls sourced directly from Philadelphia bakeries.<br><br>Colony Park residents enjoy access to additional amenities like a little free library if you’re looking to spend a quiet afternoon indoors. Or if you’re heading outside the neighborhood, hop on Highway 680 which can take you south to Walnut Creek or north to Concord and beyond to Port Chicago on the Suisun Bay.

Homebuyers trying to decide whether the largely suburban residential area of Dana Estates is the place for them may want to consider visiting this Concord neighborhood. Located in the outer East Bay, Dana Estates is the type of place where everyone knows the local dog-walker. It’s where a sea of suburban homes, wide streets, parks and public schools are woven into the district's fabric and community gatherings are packed with spirit. “It’s just a great little neighborhood,” says Vivian Miller, a Realtor with Keller Williams, who lives and works in Dana Estates. “People are always walking around or walking their dogs.” Concord, a city of about 130,000 residents and the largest municipality in Contra Costa County was an agricultural hub in the region until the last century. Today, centrally located Dana Estates is a largely residential area with a wealth of single-family homes with a community garden, swimming pool and shopping center. When the Dana Estates Neighborhood Association isn’t holding informational meetings, holiday parties or other events designed to unite, residents have plenty of other options for outdoor activity. Summer fun is heightened at Gehringer Park Recreation Club where there’s a competition-sized lap pool, diving board, volleyball courts, playgrounds and a picnic area with barbecue pits. Right next door, there’s a large community garden where residents can rent out small plots to grow flowers, fruits and vegetables. For larger spaces to roam, residents head to Willow Pass Community Park, a 40-acre greenspace with pickleball courts, tennis courts, baseball diamonds and a batting cage. It’s also where children can ride on the Pixieland Amusement Park vintage carousel, a spinning teacup ride and the Pixieland Express Train. For indoor exercise and fitness classes, residents sign up for a membership at Fitness 19, a local gym in the neighborhood. Dana Estates features a wealth of single-family homes that offer a mix of mid-century charm and modern appeal. Some areas feature mostly older, well-kept ranch homes with low, gabled roofs, attached garages and small yards, while other areas have traditional, two-story homes on small lots that were built in the early 2000s. Home prices in the area typically range from $600,000 to $1 million, depending on size and whether the home has been renovated. Some renovated ranch homes in the neighborhood have sold for more than $1 million in recent years. There are also several two-story apartment and condominium complexes in the neighborhood. Students living in Dana Estates have plenty of public school options to choose from, with many schools situated along residential roadways at the heart of the neighborhood. Students can attend Monte Gardens Elementary School, Wren Avenue Elementary School, Westwood Elementary School, El Dorado Middle School and Concord High School. Monte Gardens Elementary is among the highest-ranked elementary schools in the area and offers students the chance to participate in an International Baccalaureate program. It receives an A-minus grade from Niche. The neighborhood is also home to the Mount Diablo Unified School District headquarters, where the elected school board meets twice a month. Wren Avenue Elementary earns a B-plus with a focus on the arts, while Westwood, El Dorado Middle and Concord High School all have B grades from Niche. For coffee or a quick bite to eat, Dana Estates has a small commercial strip where residents order espresso drinks at the Starbucks drive-thru. At Mann’s Chinese Cuisine, those who have difficulty deciding on a menu item often get the Bobo Plate for two with a generous selection of menu favorites like teriyaki beef and fried wontons. And it’s fiesta when it’s time to sit down for dinner at Cinco De Mayo, an authentic Mexican restaurant. For a more diverse selection, downtown Concord is a short ride away. The downtown area has grocery stores like 99 Ranch Market, Grocery Outlet and Las Mantanas Supermarket, a family-owned Latin market and a rich variety of restaurants, from the Peruvian-inspired dishes at Lima to Asian fusion at Aung Burma restaurant. Dana Estates is about 2 miles from the California Delta Highway and about 4 miles from the North Concord BART station, making for an easy commute around the East Bay. It’s about 28 miles east of Oakland and 36 miles east of San Francisco. Nearby health facilities include the John Muis Medical Center, Concord Campus and Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center.