North Park – San Diego

North Park is located in the heart of San Diego, just north (surprise) of Balboa Park Over 50,000 San Diegans populate the area. Other communities of San Diego near North Park are Hillcrest, University Heights, Normal Heights, Kensington, City Heights, Burlingame and South Park. North Park Real Estate

North Park is an eclectic collection of old craftsman homes, condos and mixed use commercial building: home to businesses on the ground floor and apartments & condos above. Cozy, tidy pockets of Craftsman homes on the north edge of Balboa Park (hence the name), dense apartments, and the pre-interstate retail stretches of University Ave and El Cajon Blvd. define North Park. The closer you live to Balboa Park the nicer and more expensive the homes get. The further away, some home buyers need to become more selective. Many streets are diverse with houses, apartments and businesses all in the same block. North Park consists of single family homes, condos, townhouses, craftsmen homes with a lot of character and mixed use commercial / residential low rises.

The average price of a home is 295,000 for condos and $400K-1 Million and up for single family. The property tax is 1.25% of your purchase price. Contact San Diego Realtor, Thomas J. Nelson, for more information on North Park Real Estate.

New sidewalks, landscaping and an influx of arts, culture and entertainment is what North Park is made of. North Park is one of the most diverse communities in San Diego. It has sizable populations of Latinos, Caucasians, and LGBT individuals. Businesses and residential neighborhoods alike reflect this diversity.

Living in North Park

The community is a relatively safe place for kids/families and so forth, who play well into the evening riding bikes on the cul de sacs and around the fringes of Balboa Park. They also have access to a new recreation center, complete with a baseball field. Neighbors get together at local coffee shops and run into each other on their leg of University Avenue, where the shopping is developing with a stylishly urban flavor. Stores along here sell clothing, new and used books and CDs and antiques and there's lot's of coffee shops. People come in from all over the city to wander University Avenue on weekend mornings while they have their cups of coffee. Many stick around for the shows at the North Park Theatre which was recently restored.

Entertainment in North Park

An eclectic array of restaurants, as well as independent coffee shops, can be found along the main arteries of 30th Street and University Avenue. The area is also dotted with bars and night clubs that cater to a wide diversity of patrons. There’s a lot to do in North Park: dining, nightclubs, arts, entertainment, shopping. It's self-sufficient, and it’s close to neighboring 'hoods like University Heights, Hillcrest and Normal Heights, and, of course, Balboa Park.

Attractions and Recreation in North Park

Balboa Park is North Park's neighbor (hence the name), and the famous San Diego Zoo, museums and walking trails. The is a golf course in Balboa park as well as countless quaint shops and family owned restaurants. About 4 miles from north Park lies Petco Bark baseball stadium.

When residents of North Park want to leave the neighborhood, many of them opt to make the short trip into downtown San Diego, just a few minutes away. There, they can shop at Horton Plaza, browse the tiny shops of Seaport Village or wander through the Gaslamp Quarter. Of course, the alternative is just to head over to Balboa Park, taking in a museum or two, watching the performers by the Botanical Gardens or just playing with a dog on one of the park's many lawns.

Balboa Park

Mission Bay Park

Presidio Park

North Park Schools

North Park - The Heart of Metro San Diego

North Park is one of my favorite areas of San Diego because of the rich architectural diversity of the homes, the canyons that break up the urban sprawl and it's proximity to Balboa Park. Just like Downtown, you can walk to everything and theirs more "mom & pop" businesses than chains-stores. It's old San Diego at it's best and it's in the heart of Metro San Diego, making it close to most of San Diego's other world-famous attractions and neighborhoods. Folks who want to walk to everything without living Downtown move to North Park. You don't move here for the views, with the exception of homes lining Balboa Park or one of the many canyons that grace the neighborhood; it’s mostly suburban and mixed use neighborhood and city lights vistas, but lot's of 1920-s-1950's architecture and character to enjoy. Besides its diversity, North Park is special for the architecture that predominates the neighborhood. North Park is synonymous with the Craftsman cottages and bungalows that reflect California's era of suburban development. Recent years has seen a resurgence of North Park and the gentrification of its sub-neighborhoods. There’s a lot to do in North Park and it's all walkable: dining, nightclubs, arts, antiques, quirky stores, entertainment, shopping. It's self-sufficient, and its close to neighboring 'hoods like University Heights, Hillcrest and Normal Heights, and, of course, Balboa Park.

North Park History

In the summer of 1893, San Diego merchant Joseph Nash sold 40 acres (16 ha) of land northeast of Balboa Park to James Monroe Hartley, who wished to develop a lemon grove. The Hartley family began the arduous process of clearing the land to prepare the earth for the grove, but providing the fledgling trees with proper irrigation was always a problem. Barrels of water had to be hauled from downtown San Diego up a wagon trail that would eventually be called Pershing Drive.

As the growth of San Diego eventually caught up with the original Hartley lemon grove, it eventually became roughly bordered by Ray Street to the west, 32nd Street to the east, University Avenue to the north and Dwight Street to the south. Hartley deemed his area "Hartley's North Park" - and years later, the name evidently stuck as the City of San Diego referred to the new suburb as "North Park."

In 1911, Hartley's eldest son, Jack, and a relative (brother-in-law William Jay Stevens) developed the plot into one of San Diego's first residential and commercial districts. After first establishing "Stevens & Hartley", North Park's first real estate firm, in 1905, Jack and William built North Park's first "high rise" commercial building, the Stevens building, on the northwest corner of 30th Street and University Avenue (today's "Western Dental" building) in 1912. "Thirtieth & University" became North Park's symbolic place name - and within 10 years, this became the heart of the community.

Thomas J. Nelson, Realtor, e-Pro Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage CA Dept. of Real Estate #01261476 2655 Camino Del Rio North Suite 450 San Diego, CA 92108 Phone: (858) 232-8722 TJN@ThomasJNelsonRealtor.com