Santa Fe

In the last five years, Santa Fe has seen a major transformation. Many of the homes have been restored and sold to young families, which is bringing a steady change of energy to the neighborhoods. Houses that were built in the early 1900s look brand new, and new young residents are very involved in the community, making it a safer, friendlier and extremely diverse place to live. Business are noticing and new restaurants and cafes are opening and investing in the neighborhood. There are organic markets, a gluten free restaurant, a couple of bakeries, a cafe, a local legend in southern cuisine (lois the Pie Queen), a pizzeria... More businesses and involved neighbors mean more police attention and more government resources, which is making a huge difference in the neighborhood.

Santa Fe is an older neighborhood just to the west of Bushrod. In many ways this neighborhood is the mirror image of its eastern neighbors. Three quarters of the homes here date to the 40’s and before and unlike in many other neighborhoods they show signs of age. In addition, no new homes have been built in this area in more than two decades. Although some of some of the residents of South Berkeley have spilled into the neighborhood on the north and the recently hot Temescal neighborhood has spilled over on the south. This has raised rents to $1,000 on average.

This, however, is misleading since so many of the homes in the area have multiple bedrooms.

On the eastern edge is Martin Luther King Bvld. , with Children’s Hospital just across the way. The BART is on an elevated track on the center meridian and there are bus lines here as well. MLK is mostly made up of gas stations, liquor stores and a hair salon or two at this point. There is also a market there for local residents.

The most attractive street in the neighborhood is Adeline which horizontally divides the neighborhood. It has the newest homes and a smattering of liquor stores and restaurants.

There are some gang problems in the area. In 2009 there were two murders along MLK Way and in 2007 three murders happened all during the late summer that seems to be the most dangerous period.

Overall, not the most popular of neighborhoods.