TractTales | The making of Tri-Valley suburbia

Published July 16, 2026 Set within Sunset Homes ' master-planned Granada Village (Sunset West) neighborhood, Granada Woods opened in August 1963 as Livermore's premier custom-home tract. Inspired by San Francisco's St. Francis Wood, the 65-home enclave occupies only a small portion of Granada Village, yet it represents one of Sunset Homes' most ambitious residential projects in the city. Winding streets, oversized lots, landscaped medians, and architect-designed entrance monuments created an upscale setting aimed at professionals, including many working at the nearby Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Builder Masud Mehran, president of Sunset Homes, described Granada Woods as "an oasis of urban relaxation in a world where gracious living has become almost a rarity." Rather than offering a handful of standardized floor plans, Sunset Homes encouraged architectural variety. Buyers could select one of the featured home designs or commission a custom residence, pro...

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 disappeared from marketing literature in 1964, it later became known as Sunset West. Where 300 Series homes we...

Published June 26, 2025 In 1965, Sunset Homes introduced a new collection of homes in Livermore marketed under the name  Sunset . The builder had been developing Granada Village since 1958, marking a shift in how it identified this phase of construction. The neighborhood is now known as Sunset West. The nine models introduced between 1965 and 1967 ranged from three-bedroom ranch-style homes to larger multilevel designs with courtyards and distinctive interior features. Their varied floor plans and architectural details reflected Sunset Homes’ expanding approach to suburban housing. Where Sunset homes were built Sunset homes were built in the Sunset West neighborhood of Livermore. Annotated aerial map of the Sunset West (Granada Village) neighborhood in Livermore, California. Base imagery from Google Maps. Homes and architecture When Sunset Homes introduced Sunset in 1965, prospective buyers encountered the series through its model homes. The models showcased the differ...

Published May 7, 2025  · Last updated: October 10, 2026 Between 1958 and 1977, Sunset Homes became one of Livermore’s most influential homebuilders, constructing more than 3,500 homes across the city and helping transform it from a small agricultural community into one of the Tri-Valley’s defining suburban landscapes. Over nearly two decades, each new neighborhood reflected changing ideas about architecture, family life, and the California dream. Led by developer Masud Mehran, Sunset Homes focused almost exclusively on Livermore, treating the city as an opportunity to rethink suburban living. Rather than repeating the same formula, each successive neighborhood introduced new planning concepts, architectural styles, and community amenities designed for a new generation of homebuyers. The result became known as Sunsetown—not a single subdivision, but a collection of neighborhoods that together document the evolution of postwar suburbia. From the family-oriented streets of Granada V...