Skyfarm

Situated in the southern reaches of Hillsborough, Skyfarm is an affluent, family-friendly neighborhood that just has that ritzy, secluded feeling about it. It might be because of the quiet/orderly streets, large/elegant homes or maybe the enormous properties. It might also be because of the manicured communal spaces with lush green rolling hills and scattered woodlands. Either way, perspective residents will be glad they visited. For numbers sake, the neighborhood measures about 1.3 square miles with a very sparse population (1,300), which can make for a certain level of neighborly disconnect.

Framed by Highway 280, Chateau Drive and the Burlingame Country Club, Skyfarm is a hilly and exclusively residential neighborhood. It consists of about a dozen long, country lanes coursing through a fairly leafy topography. Skyfarm’s residential real-estate is relatively new, usually dating back no later than the 1970’s. And more often than not, these older, more modest-looking homes have been replaced by neo-traditional Tudors or Mediterraneans. There have also been a couple mansion-sized homes popping up in recent years with a much more modern appeal. These residences usually include relatively complex and elaborate front yards with large grass areas, bushy trees, and/or small gardens. Driveways usually run deep into properties, sometimes inclining or declining into house fronts from the hilly geography.

The typical resident is a wealthy white or asian (split 50/50) resident with a household income of about $190,000. He or she might have overpaid for his house, considering most residences sell between $3 million to $5 million. But many aren’t just paying for the house and property. They’re paying for the thriving Hillsborough way of life, which might consist of a country club membership and a close location equidistant to Highway 280 and Downtown Burlingame. Also, the Nueva School is within the district’s bounds and has been gaining significant popularity among the local community.

Skyfarm is a largely wooded neighborhood just to the west of the Burlingame Country Club. For those who dig a bit of history, this is the location of the old Crocker Mansion, which is now the Nueva Day School (I am told). Crocker was one of the big four magnates that pretty much made their money in SF (Hearst and Stanford were two of the others—the fourth is not coming to me right now other than to remember that he has a hotel in Nob Hill named after him).

Anyway Crocker built his Shangri-La here at what he dubbed Sky-Farm. They say the Mediterranean style buildings that make up Nueva Day School are the old Crocker Mansion buildings, but I think that more likely the old abandoned mansion up in the middle of the water district area is more likely the mansion. It looks like an old style mansion that has been abandoned. If you look at it in Google maps you can see that it meets up perfectly with where the Old Crocker mansion is supposed to be.

The mansion was supposed to be at 2270 Reddington Road and if you look at where that is, the abandoned mansion is fits perfectly. Nueva School is a lot farther up. (Perhaps there were two mansions? I understand that there was a fire in the old mansion and maybe this precipitated the Crocker family erecting a new mansion? I don’t know really.)

Anyway, Nueva School is a compelling reason to move here anyway. Nueva School is an alternative co-educational day school. It is kind like a Montessori style school that is completely student centered, helping to teach students how to think critically and creatively. Basically preparing them to become the same kinds of titans of industry as their parents are. Of course, it will cost you to send you kid here--$36K in tuition per year is about as much as it will cost you to send your kid to Stanford. On the other hand, if you live in Hillsborough, cost might not be your central concern.