Today’s focus takes us to the neighborhoods of Samarkand and the adjacent “Midtown” area near Cottage Hospital. Downtown is just a 5-minute drive away, and beaches 5-10 minutes, depending on your choice of beach. Samarkand is predominantly houses, some very beautiful older Spanish style homes, some updated cottages and Craftsman homes, some more 1950s tract, updated or not. Closer to Cottage Hospital there are smaller houses, a few Spanish style gems, and quite a few condominiums.
The Midtown commercial area along the upper De La Vina corridor has seen a recent renaissance. Trader Joe’s opened a store there maybe 10 years ago, and the assortment of diners and small businesses has, in the last 2 years, become decidedly more upmarket. Recent additions along De la Vina include a second location of one of the top Mexican restaurants in town, Los Agaves. A decades-long favorite bakery cafe, Our Daily Bread, moved to the corner of Alamar and De La Vina as well. The old standbys remain in this area as well: El Sitio Mexican food, an Albertson’s super market, pizza places, CVS, and, on this section of State Street, a few other favorite restaurants: Flavor of India and two Japanese restaurants, Shintori and Kyoto. Tap Thai recently moved to this part of State Street too. For coffee and tea, the Coffee Bean/Tea Leaf is at State and De La Vina, and a second location for the Daily Grind has recently been opened too (good little cafe as well, with a juice station and bakery and sandwiches).
Listings here can run from traditional Spanish style homes from the 1930s to all manner of condominiums and cottages. Pricing from around $500k (smaller condos) to maybe $2.5 million for the statelier homes near State Street, in a mini-neighborhood fondly known as the Upper “Weast “– the west side of State Street that is similar to the adjacent Upper East (Mission area). Here are some samples of current listings in the Midtown / Samarkand neighborhoods:
http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?12khp60uhiol%2C1%2C1
Sue Irwin Realtor 