Los Altos Heights: Livermore’s hilltop ambition with a mortgage to match

In the late '60s, Livermore wasn’t just growing—it was elevating itself, quite literally. On the south side, Masud Mehran’s Sunsetown was humming along nicely. But up north, things got fancy fast.

Enter Duc & Elliot, seasoned developers who arrived in 1966 with something more exclusive in mind: Los Altos Heights. The name said it all—elevated, aspirational, and just a little geographically confused.

An ad for Los Altos Heights from April 9, 1967.

Where is this "Heights" exactly?

Perched just north of downtown Livermore, this hillside subdivision came with views, acreage, and… prices that made Sunsetown look like the clearance aisle. While Mehran’s homes were going for $19,950, Los Altos Heights opened at a not-so-humble $27,500. Why the markup?

Air conditioning. Big lots. Bonus prestige if you worked at the Lab.

Location of the Los Altos Heights neighborhood in Livermore, California.

A home with a view (and a line of credit)

Duc & Elliot leaned into luxury with big, Neo-Mediterranean homes on 8,500–10,000 sq. ft. lots. One ad featured a model so aspirational it was never actually built. But hey, it looked stunning in ink.

From the Oakland Tribune in 1966—plans, not products, often stole the spotlight.

Really, it was the views that stole the show. On trip up there and you saw the valley as you've never seen it before. Breathtaking!

From a 1966 Oakland Tribune ad—why just view rainbows when you can view them from the top?

Los Altos Heights 1966 model homes (maybe bring cash)

Six model homes opened atop St. George Court, where the curbs were crisp, and the optimism was high. While homes were available for purchase, buyers could also buy lots and build their own custom homes.

Site of the Los Altos Heights model homes.

Pricing history

1966: $27,500 - $30,950
1967: $28,800 - $32,450

1. The Plan 1 - 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2,425~ sq. ft. Offered an oversized garage.

No picture of the original model available, but it looked a bit like this home.

2. The Mount Rushmore - 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,003 sq. ft.

The original Mount Rushmore model today.

3. The Mount Whitney - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,710 sq. ft.

The original Plan 3 model today.

4. The Plan 4 (unknown name) - 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,125 sq. ft.

The original Plan 4 model today.

From the Contra Costa Times in 1968— in the floor plan of the Plan 4, the central kitchen was ahead of its time.

5. The El Capitan - 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2,256 sq. ft. A stunning Monterey design home.

The original El Capitan model today (expanded). 

Fan favorite alternative elevation in a Dutch Colonial style (expanded).

6. The Plan 6 - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,739 sq. ft.

The original Plan 6 model today (expanded in front).

The challenges of selling luxury in tight times

In a post-recession economy, even a perfect stucco archway couldn’t outrun lending restrictions. Sales stalled. 

So in 1968, the pivot came: three smaller, less grand homes were introduced on Briarwood Drive. The prices dropped (starting at $24,500), the square footage shrank, and the ad copy got just a little more practical.

From the Contra Costa Times in 1968—not nearly as prestigious as before. But then again, fewer view lots were available.

Los Altos Heights 1968 model homes

A model complex of three homes opened on Briarwood Drive in February 1968.

A soft landing? Not quite. By April, the models were closed, the builders packed, and Los Altos Heights—at least as Duc & Elliot envisioned it—was mostly a memory.

Site of the 1968 model homes.

Pricing history
1968: (January preview): $24,500 +
1968: (February opening): $24,800 +

1. The Plan 1 - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,553 sq. ft.

The Plan 1 model today.

2. The Plan 2 - 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,579 sq. ft.

The Plan 2 model today.

3. The Plan 3 - 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,670 sq. ft.

The Plan 3 model today.

A hillside of what-ifs

Of the planned 285 homes, only about 35 were ever built by Duc & Elliot. The rest? Sold off to local realtors and aspiring custom-home dreamers. What followed was a scatterplot of design choices—some bold, some bewildering—all tucked into winding streets with names like Wimbledon and St. George.

By the early '70s, Masud Mehran returned to pick up where Duc & Elliot left off, rebranding the area as The Meadows. The Los Altos Heights name quietly disappeared. But the bones remained.

The legacy

Los Altos Heights today is a neighborhood with an identity crisis that somehow works. There are still original models—Mount Rushmores and Whitney types—mixed with custom homes built in the 1970s and beyond. Walk through and you’ll see decades of optimism layered in stucco, shake roofs, and bay windows.

It’s a living archive of a time when luxury living” meant double-door entries, scenic lots, and a very specific kind of debt.

The neighborhood didn’t quite become the gated Eden Duc & Elliot envisioned, but in its own way, it did reach the heights—it just took a few extra builders, and a whole lot of time.