About Richmond, San Pablo, El Cerrito and Hercules Real Estate
Richmond
Richmond is the largest of the West Contra Costa cities with direct access to Marin via the Richmond / San Rafael Bridge to the northwest and about a 10 minute ride east to El Cerrito, Berkeley and Albany. Another 20 minutes (depending on commute) will find you in Oakland or San Francisco.
Richmond is a diverse city with a rich history dating back to the early 1900’s. The city has many relatively little known neighborhoods that are an excellent value including Richmond Annex, Country Club Vista and East Richmond Heights. The city’s attractive prices for the Bay Area make it a top destinations for home buyers in the East Bay looking for a good value.
Richmond has a variety of detached single family homes primarily constructed in the 1940’s in support of the shipyards, which was one of the biggest and busiest during the war years of WWII.
The Tech industry has had its eye on the West Contra Costa Real Estate market for years and is starting to take a serious look at Richmond as a base for business.
El Cerrito
El Cerrito is a small town in west Contra Costa County. El Cerrito means “Little Hill or Knoll” and it was established in 1916 with only 1500 residents. Today, its current population is well over 24,000.
El Cerrito is a bedroom community to Berkeley and Oakland with 3 distinct neighborhoods –
- Close-in is the area right next to Albany including The El Cerrito Plaza shopping area and BART station.
- Central includes the El Cerrito Community Center, and Cerrito Vista Park (home to many community events).
- Mira Vista is the northern most location in the hills and is the location of many homes built for the executives of Standard Oil in the 1920’s and 30’s. It also has the second of El Cerrito’s two BART Stations called El Cerrito Del Norte. The hills of El Cerrito have some of the best views in West Contra Costa and many homes have spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay along with the Golden Gate Bridge.
El Cerrito has popular shops, eateries and coffee houses. Real estate in El Cerrito is a nice mixture which ranges from vintage homes in Mira Vista to custom homes built in the 1970’s and 80’s. The predominant style is the California ranch of the 1950’s and 60’s.
Feagley Realtors has been active in El Cerrito Real Estate sales and Property Management (lead by Jan Feagley, a Certified Property Manager) for over 40 years. Some of our agents live in El Cerrito and several were also raised there. We know the area well!
Hercules
Hercules is a waterfront bedroom community that borders the San Pablo Bay which is the northern part of San Francisco Bay. It is known for its industrial history dating back to 1881 when it was a railroad town. It also housed a dynamite factory which is paid homage to by a local eatery called “the Powder Keg”. Hercules features a number of comparatively new housing developments including “Victoria by the Bay”, “The Promenade”, “Bayside” and “Baywood” subdivisions: upscale living by the bay with single family homes, Townhouses / Condos and Live/Work spaces.
There are local shopping and dining venues, a park and ride to BART and easy access to the I80 corridor and Highway 4 to Martinez, Concord and Walnut Creek . Jerry Feagley has been an instrumental participant in the planning and development of properties in Hercules at that time and Feagley Realtors continues to sell properties in this community of over 25,000.