Sugarloaf

I think this neighborhood may have been named after Sugarloaf Mountain in Brazilian city of Rio (near where Christ the Redeemer stares down over the bay), but I don’t know for sure. I spent a year in Rio and I suppose the hill here somewhat resembles it.
This is a pretty big neighborhood stretching all the way from Highway 92 to Highway 82. On the far northwestern end of Sugarloaf, there is the sloping sub-neighborhood of Glendora. The wide streets and contemporary style homes give this neighborhood a fairly useful, 1980’s suburban sort of look and feel—without seeming to have taken on the wear and tear of a neighborhood that old.
In this part of this neighborhood, home prices are around $1 million. There are also a few foreclosures here which are probably depressing sales figures for the area.
Just to the southeast of this section of the neighborhood is Laurelwood Park, which is best known these days for the new kids play area, which is full during weekdays of bored moms and kids. There are also a handful of hiking trails up here leading up to Sugarloaf “Mountain”—which I have heard has nice views down into the Bay.
The streets continue their descend along straight routes on the eastern end of Sugarloaf Mountain. Many of the homes just to the east of Laurelwood Park date from the 1970’s and, though extensively remodeled do have that sort of groovy feel to them.
In this section of the Sugarloaf neighborhood, you will find Abbot middle school, which has really average test scores for some reason (despite the fact that Cipriani Elementary and Hillsdale High School both have above average test scores).

There is another—much smaller—park in this area, Indian Springs Park.

At the heart of the far eastern end of the Sugarloaf neighborhood is the San Mateo Medical Center, which is a full service hospital. Next to is the Department of Health.

Around the hospital is a pretty ordinary neighborhood, filled with 1940s style Ranch homes. They are relatively well kept but they still do look fairly worn. It does sort of look like your grandpa’s neighborhood in this area.

Home prices drop well below $1 million here, the farther east you get and you start to see some that go for about half a million. On the far eastern end of the neighborhood you find El Camino Real—the main north-south artery in the Peninsula.
North of the hospital you will find a number of boxy apartment buildings. Two bedrooms here go for about $2000 here.

There are also a number of stores and some restaurants here, although the whole area seems to have a bit of worn out look to it as well. But not in a bad way. If you like a greasy spoon, Jack Prime, a Bob’s Big Boy style hamburger joint on El Camino.

Overall this is quite a range of a neighborhood from east to west—so that there is a little bit for everyone.

Although its ridiculous name, Sugarloaf is a large, affluent community within the heart of San Mateo. The district spans about 2.2 square miles with over 10,000 residents, one of the city’s most populated neighborhoods. It also includes the San Mateo Medical Center and the enormous Laurelwood Park, tow big pluses for young families. Demographically speaking, the population is predominately white, with a decently-sized asian population. Moreover, these residents typically live within their middle-class means, residing in a mix of mediocre homes.

Nestled between US Route 92 and South El Camino Real, Sugarloaf’s residential quarters are a mixed bag of ordinary homes planted on ordinary properties. If you head towards the western side of Laurelwood Park, you’ll come across larger, newer, two-story homes. They include two-car garages, sizable driveways and more maintained front yards. According to the 2010 US Census, the neighborhood average estimated price is just above $1 million while rents can tip towards $1,700/month. Moreover, median household income circles around $100,000 year to year.

For your shopping needs, the Hillsdale Shopping Center anchors the northern edge of the neighborhood. The area is outfitted with a couple shopping options including a Nordstrom, a Macy’s, Trader Joe’s, a Barnes & Noble, American Eagle, a food court, and handful of restaurants (with abundant parking). Elsewhere, the Laurelwood Park lies on its southwestern corner and takes up much of the district’s land area. The parkland offers a playground, picnic tables and a large multi-use playing field. For public transit, Hillsdale Caltrain is situated on the corner of South El Camino Real and West Hillsdale Boulevard. The train connects locals up and down the San Francisco peninsula (which includes San Jose).