Live Local. Shop Local. Dine Local.

As we all try to reduce our carbon footprint, we’re trying to be in our cars less and less, which means we’re looking to get what we need close to home.  At SummerHill, we build infill neighborhoods, a fancy way to say that our neighborhoods are close to everything you need.

In a recent article for CNN Money, David Futrelle wrote about putting a price on walkability. Part of the search process for many homebuyers is determining how their potential new home will impact their life – convenience definitely adds a positive impact for a new home for all homebuyers.

Life just gets easier when it only takes 5 minutes to get to the grocery store (all of our communities are less than 5 minutes from grocery stores!).  Work late and need a quick bite to eat?  So much convenience when the restaurant is close to home.

While the measurement tools used to rate addresses for walkability is new, it seemed to be a good measure for our communities.  The funniest thing I caught on Walk Score was that it listed Jamba Juice as a bar – last time I checked it was just a good place to grab a smoothie.  Once the WalkScore.com has even more information to fill in the gaps and make it more accurate, we’re sure our community walkability scores will go up, up, up.

Check it out.  When you click the links for each community, be sure to click the “expand all” link on the Walk Score site as this will give you

Village Square in San Jose got a 77

We’ve been sharing for awhile just how close Village Square is to well, pretty much everything and since Village Square got the highest score of all of our communities – the proof is there.  Just 1/2 a block to Starbucks and just about a block to Safeway plus less than 3 mi to Santana Row and Westfield Valley Fair.  Whether it is a quick outing for coffee, last minute run for milk, or a night out on the town – Village Square is at the center of it all.

Redwood Gate in Palo Alto got a 69

Gosh, when Natalie and Jenny talk about convenience, they are right.  There is so much within just 1 mi of Redwood Gate, grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, parks, and much, much more.  Homebuyers have certainly been attracted by the convenience of Redwood Gate with over 14 homebuyers buying their new homes in just 3 short months.

Satake Estates in Mountain View got a68

It is less than 0.5 mi to Castro Street in downtown Mountain View and just over 1 mi to downtown Los Altos.  This is an oasis close to everywhere you want to be.

Lane Woods in Menlo Park got a 66

Lane Woods offers the best of both worlds – close to Menlo Park and Palo Alto, talk about great living in these two fine cities.  Burgess Park, popular for families and adults with great swimming facilities, is just 0.53 of a mile from Lane Woods.  Mike’s Café is just 0.14  of a mile – it’s a popular Palo Alto restaurant close to Echelon , this Menlo Park location is the 2^nd restaurant opened a few years back.  There is only one home remaining as of this posting, so if you want to live here, better act quickly.

Park Station in South San Francisco got a 62

This score is fairly accurate, but I think they may have missed just how close it is to BART – with less than half a block between BART and Park Station, well, pretty much the whole Bay Area is walkable from Park Station.  Trader Joe’s and Starbucks are only 0.1 mi from Park Station.

Parkwood in San Jose got a 55

There are over 5 grocery stores within 2 mi of Parkwood.  Dining galore within a mile of Parkwood.  Schools are less than 1 mi from Parkwood.  Many parks within 2 mi of Parkwood including a park within the community that will open this fall.  Parkwood is down to the last 4 homes and these homes are perfect for an easy lifestyle with 2 bedrooms and end-unit locations, they just ooze with easy living and bonus they have beautiful views of the new park.

Rosewood in Fremont got a 52

Grocery stores, parks, schools, even libraries are close to Rosewood.  And, Fremont makes it easy to get anywhere in the Bay Area with easy freeway access, ‘cause we just have to get in our cars to get to oh, say work.

Echelon in Palo Alto got a 49

This makes a bit of sense although seems to us that there is far more in the area than this score indicates.  The closest grocery store is less than a mile away.  Midtown Palo Alto is just over a mile away.  The elementary school is less than a half-mile from Echelon.  Echelon is down to the last 3 homes, so if you want Echelon, it’s time to act quickly.

Merimont in San Bruno got a 42

Well, Merimont is nestled in the San Bruno Hills.  It’s just over a mile from Lunardi’s Market and Mollie Stone’s.  It’s less than a mile from over 5 restaurants and lots of parks.  Movie theaters are just under 2 miles from Merimont.  And the schools, well some are less than a mile from Merimont.

Talavera in West Union City got a 22

Although Talavera may not be quite as walkable as some of our other communities, there is a 99 Ranch Market just over 1 mi from Talavera.  Talavera is great for outdoor activities with a recreational trail just across the street from Talavera that goes for miles and miles and a park in the heart of the community. Plus Talavera is great for commuting, close to highways and centrally-located.

How close is your home to where you want to be?

Oh and if you want to have some fun, there is a drop down menu for Celebrity Locations where you can check the walkability of locations such as:

The Friends Apartment Building, New York, NY 100
The White House in Washington, D.C. 97