TractTales | The neighborhoods that built the Tri-Valley

Published June 30, 2025 In February 1964, Sunset Homes introduced its 300 Series of homes in the Granada Village neighborhood, marking a new phase in the builder’s expansion across Livermore. The series followed several earlier Sunset Homes series in the neighborhood, but introduced a more distinctive approach: memorable architectural features and marketing designed around the experience of suburban living. The 300 Series reflected a changing era in tract-home development. Rather than presenting homes as simple variations on a floor plan, Sunset Homes emphasized character and lifestyle—indoor-outdoor living features, flexible family spaces, and designs intended to stand apart from conventional suburban housing. The 300 Series homes were built in Granada Village, the master-planned community Sunset Homes had been developing since 1958. Although the original community name faded over time, it is commonly known as Sunset West today. February 1964 newspaper ad announcing the grand open...

Published June 27, 2025 Between 1970 and 1976, homebuilder H. C. Elliott built 472 homes across 139 acres in the Vintage Hills housing tract in Pleasanton. H. C. Elliott’s tract overlooked the Amador Valley and became a coveted spot for buyers looking for charm, views, and something just a little different. August 1970 Oakland Tribune ad—a world apart at its grand opening—where the views were sweeping, the model complex was miles away, and the dream was worth the detour. Where is Vintage Hills by H. C. Elliott? Annotated aerial map of the Vintage Hills housing tract in Pleasanton, California. Base imagery from Google Maps . The grand opening & early sales Vintage Hills launched with a grand opening on August 23, 1970, but homes weren’t actually sold on-site. Early sales were conducted through Elliott’s Pleasanton Meadows housing tract—freeway-close, but nowhere near the hills. Prospective buyers had to follow a winding trail of turns to get to Vintage Hills, making the journey ...

Published June 26, 2025 In 1968, William Lyon Homes began home sales in San Ramon with a distinctly California vision of suburban living: bright kitchens, expandable floor plans, compact efficiency, and just enough style to make tract housing feel futuristic. While we tend to think of tract housing names as the ultimate name of a neighborhood, that wasn't the case with William Lyon Homes. The company instead offered lines of homes in areas it owned, just as Sunset Homes did in Livermore. While this practice was applied elsewhere in the Bay Area, the first housing tract offered was a series of homes called California Classics  —a collection of affordable homes built during San Ramon’s rapid suburban expansion. Yet, it left homeowners without a clear identity of the tract it was built in (some realtors call it "Westchester" for the street that runs through it). California Classics didn’t remain the only line of homes in a single tract for long. As market conditions change...

Published June 26, 2025 Introduced in 1965, the Castillos Series was Sunset Homes ' most ambitious collection of homes in Granada Village (now known as Sunset West), Livermore. Drawing on the Spanish word for castle, the Castillos Series combined dramatic architecture, premium features, and imaginative marketing to redefine what suburban buyers could expect from a tract home. The Castillos Series marked Sunset Homes' fourth major collection in Granada Village, where the builder had been developing homes since 1958. Rather than offering variations on a few floor plans, Sunset Homes introduced a family of distinctive models that emphasized architecture and lifestyle as much as practicality. July 1965 Oakland Tribune ad introducing Sunset Homes’ Castillos Series. Although the image continued Granada Village’s earlier promise of country living, the message looked toward the future: five new models imagined as “1972 homes” for buyers seeking tomorrow’s features today. Selling the...