Don’t Let the Word “Penthouse” Fool You
I got excited when I saw that Sunday’s Daily Stat leader was a penthouse…in Mountain View. It is rare that you see penthouse apartments on the West Coast. Top floor units, yes, but penthouse units, not so much. Especially anywhere other than the City. But there it was, plain as day, a listing stating this unit at 2255 Showers Drive is Parc Crossing’s 2-story penthouse. I imagined grand views (like the photo above), a high-end kitchen, luxury incarnate. What I got was…a plain old condo.
Typically, a penthouse is an apartment on the top floor of a tall building, usually distinguished by having two or more levels, and having high-end features and amenities (think private elevator, sweeping views, butler’s pantry, bidets, all those things us regular folks don’t have). So, this is a unit on the top floor, but the building is only 3 stories, which really cannot be defined as tall. It does have two levels, but nothing approaching high-end amenities. Having only 50% of the attributes of a penthouse doesn’t really qualify it as a penthouse in my book, although Wikipedia does mention, way down in its definition of the word “penthouse,” that the term is “sometimes applied to apartments/condominiums that are no different than others in a building, other than being on one of the uppermost floors.” So there you have it, a bit of creative license, stretching the definition of a word for marketing purposes.
However, should you be in the market for a top floor condo in Mountain View, right next to the CalTrain station and tracks, easily accessible to Highway 101, with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, plus bonus room, all for only $595,000, then this is your answer. The Parc Crossing community is only 8 years old, with 128 units, and HOA of $298. The unit is standard, but the grounds are very nice, with a pool and playground for children. Listed for about 2 weeks, it will be held open this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.
Recent Sweet Digs Posts:
Pleasanton Sales Under $1 Million Plus Resident BART Brawl
SF: Sue Your Way to Heath and Happiness- or at Least to Lower Property Tax
Berkeley: Home Sales Are Picking Up — Better Late Than Never
