Downtown North Neighborhood, Palo Alto, CA

Downtown North Neighborhood —An architecturally diverse, urban neighborhood in downtown Palo Alto

Lauded and loved for its diversity and modern sense of community, Downtown North is one of the most desirable places to live in Palo Alto, California.

Downtown North is Palo Alto’s most urban neighborhood and for many its most desirable due to its very close proximity to downtown Palo Alto. Three of these four streets are major arterials through Palo Alto, and the Cal Train runs along Alma. The Palo Alto train station is located within easy walking distance.

Downtown North is the most architecturally and economically diverse of all Palo Alto neighborhoods. Charming bungalows and homes with porches built between 1910 and 1925 are mixed in with high rise studio apartment buildings, low rise condominiums of various ages, and some newly built high density modern homes. There are many renters due to the very convenient proximity both to downtown shops and restaurants and to Stanford University. Prices for single family homes exceed $1000. per square foot.

Once marked by a quaint small-town feel, the dot-com boom blasted Downtown North into a competitive real estate market where homes start at $860,000 and can reach up to $4.8 million. The median home in 2006 sold for $1,475,000 while the median condominium sold for $684,000.

Downtown North is a walking community, with downtown Palo Alto’s University Avenue and Stanford Shopping Center nearby as well as the downtown branch library, and Cogswell Plaza, El Camino Park, Johnson Park, Hopkins Creekside Park, and El Palo Alto Park in the area as well.

The parks serve as a meeting place on weekends and holidays, especially in the summer. Residents can enjoy concerts and recreation at the many parks, particularly the 2.5 acre Johnson Park.

Recent issues have been raised with the growing traffic problem. There has been a dramatic increase in motorists seeking the shortest distance between the east side of Palo Alto and Menlo Park, and the west side along Sand Hill Road. Traffic has naturally funneled itself through the downtown north neighborhood because of the gap between Willow Road and Sand Hill Roads. The neighbors want to preserve the pedestrian friendly qualities of the neighborhood. Recently, the city of Palo Alto has utilized traffic slowing measures such as traffic circles and no turn signs. Generally most residents are happy with the new street configurations.

Lack of street parking has been raised as an issue recently. Residents complain that employees of restaurants and stores park their cars in the neighborhood so they will not have to pay for a parking permit at one of the downtown garages. The traffic control officers patrol the neighborhood assiduously and mark car tires and issue tickets when cars have been parked for too long.

Downtown North is part of the outstanding Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) which is distinguished amongst other Santa Clara County districts. Downtown North students attend Addison Elementary School, Jordan Middle School and Palo Alto High School.