As an infill project within Pleasanton’s Del Prado neighborhood, Standard-Pacific Corporation built a collection of 3- and 4-bedroom homes under the names Easy Street, and later, Pleasant Meadows.
Approximately 113 homes (6 duets) were built between 1972 and 1976.
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| A July 1974 advertisement announces the grand opening of Easy Street, a new home community in Pleasanton's Del Prado neighborhood. Promoted as “the new home community with everything going for it,” the ad highlights four distinct home designs priced from $42,490 to $45,490—reflecting the era’s optimism and suburban growth. |
Where Easy Street is located in Pleasanton
Easy Street is an infill development in the Del Prado neighborhood.
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| Annotated aerial map of the Standard Pacific homes in the Del Prado neighborhood in Pleasanton, California. Base imagery from Google Maps. |
Selling the dream
The first preview opening came in June 1972, with four model homes on Hansen Drive near Hopyard Road. The model homes were left unfurnished. Standard-Pacific claimed this would help buyers better imagine their own furniture inside. A surprising strategy, especially considering how essential staging is in modern home sales. That year, 19 homes were built and sold before Pleasanton’s housing moratorium took effect—an early success.
A second phase followed in late 1973, with 37 additional homes.
Sales were sluggish due to high interest rates, and by 1975, Standard-Pacific began offering discounts up to $3,000 to attract buyers.
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| From a July 1972 Oakland Tribune ad—an artist's rendering of one of elevations available for the Cypress model during Easy Street's preview sale. |
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| From a July 1972 Contra Costa Times ad—an artist's rendering of another Cypress model elevation with its unique roof design. |
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| An April 1975 advertisement announces a builder’s inventory reduction sale in response to a slowing housing market. With up to $3,000 in price reductions and new 7¾% conventional financing, the ad reflects the economic uncertainty of the mid-1970s and the challenges builders faced in selling new homes. |
Legacy of Easy Street
Easy Street represents one of the later phases of development around the original Mackay and Ditz-Crane tracts. By the mid-1970s, those earlier communities were largely complete, and Standard Pacific turned its attention to the remaining open parcels in the Del Prado area.
The result was a new generation of smaller subdivisions, including Easy Street and nearby Pleasant Meadows, reflecting the changing market and development patterns of the era. Together, these communities marked the transition from Del Prado’s original large-scale tracts to the smaller infill neighborhoods that followed.
Much of the surrounding land remained undeveloped until the mid-1980s, when communities like Country Fair began filling in the remaining open space. The Del Prado area reached its final form in the late 1990s, with smaller infill projects near Hansen Park and along Hopyard Road completing the neighborhood.
Exploring the original Easy Street today
Although the sales offices are long gone and the advertisements have faded, the original Easy Street model homes remain part of the neighborhood. These homes gave prospective buyers their first glimpse of Standard-Pacific's vision for suburban living in 1972.
Today, they provide a tangible connection to Easy Street's earliest days. The guide below documents the original model home complexes, the homes themselves, and how they appear today.
Original advertised prices
- 1972 (Phase 1): From $31,800
- 1973 (Phase 2): $36,990 - $45,990
- 1974 (Phase 2): $42,490 - $45,490
- 1975 (Phase 2): $42,490 - $45,490
Original model home complex
When Easy Street opened, buyers toured a collection of Standard-Pacific model homes showcasing the neighborhood’s mix of architecture, indoor-outdoor living, and family-oriented floor plans. Though individual elevations varied, these original models helped define much of the neighborhood’s visual identity.
The four original models opened in 1972 on Hansen Drive.
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| Annotated aerial map of the original Easy Street model home complex on Hansen Drive. Base imagery from Apple Maps. |
Original model home designs
1. The Cedar - This model offered approximately 1,400 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Cedar model today, once used as the sales office, via Google Street View. |
2. The Maple - This model offered approximately 1,520 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Maple model today via Google Street View. |
3. The Cypress - This model offered approximately 1,652 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Cypress model today via Google Street View. |
4. The Elm - This model offered approximately 1,527 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Elm model today via Google Street View. |
Collection
Pleasanton — the places that built a modern city
This collection explores the new-home communities, builders, and neighborhoods that reshaped Pleasanton during the decades when the city evolved from an agricultural town into one of the East Bay's defining suburban cities.
Continue exploring
- Pleasant Meadows by Standard-Pacific — the final phase of a 1976 Del Prado subdivision
- Ditz-Crane homes in Del Prado (Pleasanton, 1969)
- Mackay homes in Del Prado (Pleasanton, 1969)
- Mackay homes in Del Prado (Pleasanton, 1973)
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