Redwood Shores & Foster City
East of Highway 101 there are two planned, waterfront communities that share a lot in common—Redwood Shores and Foster City. Houses began springing up on these reclaimed marshlands in the 1960s. Both have a high concentration of condos and townhouses, as well as single-family homes. HOAs are common. Lagoons weave through the community with opportunities for waterfront properties. Parks and schools are good, and well-known tech companies reside in each.
What makes them different? Redwood Shores is part of Redwood City and shares a border with San Carlos and Belmont, while Foster City is its own city next to San Mateo. Foster City is bigger in both land area and population. It also has a lot more shopping centers, including several grocery and big box stores.
Redwood Shores
When Redwood Shores was built, it needed a city to attach itself to. San Carlos and Belmont weren’t interested, but Redwood City was up for the task. But Redwood Shores has a completely separate feel from its parents city, and the only way to drive into it is through San Carlos or Belmont. It was actually home to Marine World until 1986, when the park moved to Vallejo (now known as Six Flags Discovery Kingdom). This led to an influx of new housing projects in the 80s and 90s.
In addition to single-family homes, Redwood Shores has an extremely large concentration of condos and townhouses. Many properties have lagoon or bay views, some even with private docks where homeowners can launch non-motorized boats. On weekends, you may see Stanford and Cal rowing teams competing in the lagoon. The community has beautiful outdoor spaces and wildlife, including 11-acre Marlin Park with sports fields, playground and lagoon-side summer concerts. Redwood Shores library has a cafe, great storytimes and bay trails. While Redwood Shores is mostly residential, there is a shopping center anchored by a Nob Hill grocery store and well-known companies like Oracle, Electronic Arts, Nintendo and Shutterfly.
Photo by: Kasimira Photography
Residents are part of the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District, and schools are generally very good. Depending on your address, kids may attend school in Redwood Shores or Belmont through middle school, ultimately coming together at Carlmont High School. Design Tech High School (or d.tech) is an in-demand charter school on the Oracle campus. Admission is based on a lottery system, with priority given to students living within the Sequoia or San Mateo Union High School Districts.
Foster City
It took years to create the land that Foster City is now built on. It was originally marshlands known as Brewer’s Island until T. Jake Foster put down some of his own money to begin development. The first house was built in the 1960s. Because Foster City is bigger than Redwood Shores, you’re going to find slightly more single-family homes, and inventory in general. There are also three neighborhoods of Eichlers—Bay Vista, Treasure Isle and Marina Point. The Eichlers were part of the initial building in the mid-1960s, and are 3 or 4 bedroom homes.
The entrance to the San Mateo Bridge is in Foster City, and will quickly connect you to the East Bay. Jump on Highway 92 in the opposite direction and it will shoot you out to the coast in Half Moon Bay. The San Francisco Bay Trail runs through Foster City and makes for some scenic walking or biking. Head north on the trail, under the bridge and into a popular area for fishing, windsurfing and kite-surfing. Nearby you’ll find Mariners Point Golf Center.
San Mateo Bridge and Foster City / Photo by: ArnoldReinhold / CC BY-SA
Foster City has over 160 acres of well-maintained parks and open space. There’s a mix of sports fields, dog exercise areas, bocce ball courts and playgrounds. The network of lagoons also allows for beautiful views and water recreation. No powerboats are permitted but sailing, kayaking and swimming are all fair game. There are two public boat ramps.
There are quite a few large companies with offices here, most notably Visa. Shopping centers are plentiful, and consist mostly of chains. The largest is Bridgepointe Shopping Center which has an ice skating rink and big box stores like Target, Ulta and The Home Depot.
Residents are part of the San Mateo-Foster City School District. There are four public schools within Foster City—three elementary plus Bowditch Middle School. These schools rank well. Kids funnel into the San Mateo Union High School District.