Bronze Coast

Bronze Coast is home to several major institutions: Alameda High School, Alameda Hospital, and St. Joseph Notre Dame High School. Alameda High School which is actually a pretty strong school—if test scores can be used to judge the effectiveness of schools anyway. (This is a little unusual in that Wood Middle Schools that feeds it is actually below average in terms of test scores, which usually is a bad indicator for the local high school.)

The Alameda High School location is also home to the Emma Hood Swim Center where there are water polo leagues, swim meets, and times for public use. It has two outdoor Olympic size pools and the usual locker facilities you would expect.

The Alameda Hospital facility boasts having the shortest wait times in the East Bay and, in addition to being a stroke center, also has a number of community outreach services, including classes and volunteer services.

The private Catholic Saint Joseph High School is also here. It is well-known as a college prep institution and for its yearly science fair.

In addition to these institutions, there is the unusual feature of the waterway that makes up the southern end of the neighborhood. It is shallow and not particularly attractive on this eastern end, but it does offer some character for the neighborhood.

As to home prices here, the median home goes for around $500 K, with prices ranging from $450 to $600 K. These are mostly older homes with a fair number of them being bungalows.

The southern end of Park Street is on the eastern end of this neighborhood. That is where you will find the Alameda gym, a handful of pubs and restaurants like Angkor Grill (a Cambodian joint) and Troy (a Greek joint).

Overall a pretty good spot.

Bounded by Central Avenue, Park Street, Otis Drive and Union Street, Bronze Coast is a pedestrian-friendly, middle-class Alameda community. It is a pretty dense residential community, totaling 7,500 residents in a span of about 0.7 square miles. Of that, the racial makeup is predominately white, with a somewhat sizable asian minority. As for the community itself, it boasts some orderly streets, family-friendly atmosphere and is within walking distance to the San Francisco Bay.

Bronze Coast residential terrain is a flat, almost exclusively residential community and offers a wide variety of housing inventory. The community is evenly split between condominiums and single family houses. Of the latter, the neighborhood is saturated with old one and two-story Victorian homes (built around the 1940’s), but have, for the most part, been well-kept over the years. Most homes, however, are tightly packed along each residential block affording just a narrow driveway (no garages) that runs into the side of the property. The landscaping on each lot gives off a sense of traditional values, with its sculpted bushes and neat lawn space. For the prospective resident, median household incomes are around $62,000/year. If you’re looking for something cheaper, there is plenty of affordable renting options that will only run you about $1,200/month. These accommodations offer a few two-story apartment facilities nestled between the many homes of the community. However, they can be a bit more bland than their housing counterparts.

While the neighborhood can be a bit boring, there are a couple amenities that residents can take advantage of. For one, the area is centrally located in Alameda and encompasses the Alameda Hospital. There is also a small shopping plaza that is located just to the south end of the neighborhood. It offers a Trader Joe’s, a 24 Hour Fitness, a Applebee’s, a Sushi House and a Ross department store. If you continue along the road, you’ll hit Park Street, which hosts a variety of restaurants, bars, coffee shops and some eclectic entertainment options (i.e. new movie theater, etc.).