Stop Press: An Underrated (Underpriced?) Bay Area Neighborhood
I have long thought the Piedmont Avenue area of Oakland has a huge amount to offer and yet seems to be somewhat overlooked when surveys are taken of the joys to be had of living in the Bay Area.
Reasons to like this spot include the fabulous Piedmont Avenue itself with its extensive choice of stores, restaurants and cafes. It’s all there, from Fenton’s Creamery to Piedmont Grocery, from a highly regarded yoga studio, to the quirky Dr Comics & Mr Games, from useful stores such as a cobbler to serious cycling hot spot Montana Velo, from where my son is determined to acquire his next bike.
Half a dozen of my favorite restaurants are on this street — including Dopo and Bar Cesar (above, middle), and at least one is run by an Alice Waters alum: Mary Jo Thorenson’s Jojo.
The Piedmont cinema (above left) is a gem — showing art house and foreign movies; the Frederick Law Olmstead designed Mountain View Cemetery (above right) is a splendid place to take a bracing walk and pause for spectacular Bay views; and to top it all there’s a real down-home neighborhood feel to this enclave — not something that can necessarily be said of nearby chi-chi Piedmont proper.
The Chronicle might have put it best:
“Block for block, it may be the most interesting and eclectic district in Oakland.”
Current Redfin estimates put the median price per square foot of a single family house in the neighborhood at $469. Here are three interesting recent listings to investigate:
4384 Howe Street: a remodeled, 2+/2, one-level Craftsman with bonus room opening onto back deck. Price: $549,000 ($469/sq ft).
4135 Howe Street: a 2/1 updated Craftsman bungalow with two car garage and French doors to large deck and garden. Price: $675,000 ($764/sq ft).
4141 Piedmont Avenue: 1/1 condo in 1970s 10-unit block, with one-car garage, updated in “mid-century” style with bamboo floors. Price: $369,000 ($590/sq ft).
Related links:
Piedmont Avenue neighborhood data from Redfin
Sweet Digs: A Neighborhood with Curb Appeal
San Francisco Chronicle neighborhood review: Piedmont Avenue
[Photo credits: cemetery: www.mountainviewcemetery.org/; Cesar: www.barcesar.com; cinema: flickr.com]
anon said:
This is our neighborhood, and we LOVE it! There’s something for everyone. It does still struggle with crime from time to time (welcome to Oakland…) but has enough great things that we didn’t think twice about buying here after renting off of Piedmont for a number of years.
October 9, 2008 2:57 PM
Farrah said:
I’m a fan of this neighborhood too. I think it remains under the radar because it’s overshadowed by the larger Lake Merritt hood which has a huge body of water and a great farmer’s market to attract attention. It’s also just a big too far away from the Bart station to walk there comfortably.
I ‘m a big fan of Video Room, Messob, Piedmont Yoga Studio and Nathan’s. Tropix is also great for brunch.
October 9, 2008 5:15 PM
anon said:
Some little-known secrets: if you commute to SF, there are two Transbay buses that go from Piedmont and Broadway during commute hours, so you don’t necessarily need to go to BART. We love the Lake Merritt farmers’ market too, but the Temescal one is equally terrific and is even closer to the main Piedmont drag (as are all of the great Temescal hot spots emerging along Telegraph). Kaiser Hospital is rebuilding their campus there, too, and moving the hospital further south to the base of Piedmont, which is likely good news for the whole neighborhood since it will bring some energy to Lower Piedmont too.
October 9, 2008 6:21 PM
tracey.taylor said:
Aaah, the wisdom of crowds. Well, OK, three people. But such sharp insider information. All of which supports my hunch about the Piedmont Avenue area. And I know from friends that use them that those Transbay buses are great.
Definitely a neighborhood to watch (or leap into, why not?).
October 10, 2008 4:47 PM
tracey.taylor said:
Joan Dark said:
I’m a realtor who’s lived in the Piedmont Ave. neighborhood since 1989, and I’ve sold most of the property over the years.It’s politically active,very neighborly,pedestrian oriented, and desirable as a place to live.Block parties are not uncommon,many are organized for disaster preparedness,and most neighbors know each other on a first name basis.People rarely move out of the neighborhood unless they die or get divorced!Many build on,or just live with less space as their families grow because they love it here so much.You can park your car and walk everywhere. Heavily used library.Still basic services like banks,dry cleaners,shoe repair,fabric store,news stand,plus gelato, movie,restuarants,tea shop:BART,busses easy to SF.Very low crime rate.Cops say if they could afford it,they’d live here. I wouldn’t live anywhere else.(Find out where realtors live.They know the best places and hear about them first.)
October 10, 2008 6:28 PM
tracey.taylor said:
Sorry, me again. Just to be clear: Joan Dark (above) kindly left this informative comment on a post I linked to in the above post and I think its rightful place is here so I am duplicating it here. (And if that makes sense you’re smarter than I thought you were.)
Thank you, Joan, for giving even more weight to my argument that Piedmont Avenue is underrated. I want to move there now.
October 10, 2008 6:31 PM