1509 Walnut Drive
About this property
Here's something you've never seen before: a meticulously designed, built and maintained single level home, brand new from the ground up in 2013, on almost half an acre on a quiet interior street in south Campbell, right against the Los Gatos line.
This one was not developed, it was commissioned. Nothing here was inherited from an older house and worked around. It was drawn as a single unified concept by an architect who also handled the interiors, and every wall, system, and surface went in new at the same time, which is why nothing fights anything else. Nobody was optimizing a per-square-foot return. Somebody was building the house they intended to spend the rest of their life in, and every decision reflects that.
The millwork is where it becomes undeniable. Every cabinet in the house was custom built in alder by a local shop, for these rooms specifically. Not ordered, not configured from modules, not shimmed into place and caulked. Run your hand along an edge and you feel it. Open a drawer and it moves the way something built by hand moves. Nobody produces this at scale anymore because nobody can afford the hours, which is why you will not find it in the new construction going up around the corner at similar money. It is also why the storage here makes sense. Things have places to go, and those places were designed around what actually gets kept in them.
The square footage is unusually useful for the same reason. The floor plan puts space where people actually live in it, so you will not find long hallways swallowing three hundred feet of the house or awkward transitions that exist only to connect one room to another. Every room earns its footprint, which is why a home this size lives considerably larger than the number suggests. Amendoim hardwood runs throughout, with granite and marble on the counters, custom stained glass among the windows, and two gas fireplaces anchoring the great room and the library.
The kitchen is where the investment is most visible. Three separate ovens, an American Range gas oven, a German engineered Gaggenau electric oven, and a Gaggenau steam oven, plus a warming drawer for everything waiting its turn. The Blue Star range top climbs from a bare simmer to full heat almost the instant you ask, and the Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer stand as separate units, so there is genuine room for how you actually shop and cook. What that adds up to is simple. You can put a real dinner in front of eighteen people without the timing turning into a crisis, and you can do it more than once a year, because the kitchen makes it a pleasure instead of an ordeal. Beyond it, a wine cellar with its own dedicated cooling system racks 840 bottles, handling the Cabernet as happily as the chocolates and anything else that wants the extra chill. Outdoors, a gas plumbed DCS grill and double side burner mean no tank to run dry at the wrong moment.
Two rooms are ready to become whatever your life needs. The craft room, which serves as the third bedroom, is a quilter's dream studio with wraparound windows and skylights pouring in natural light, and at long last a proper home for the longarm machine you have been talking yourself into for years. It works equally well as a studio, an office, or a bedroom. The workshop is genuinely substantial, with its own outside access to the front, many electrical circuits including 240V, floor outlets, a built-in workspace with drawers, and a sink so nothing gets tracked through the house. Pre-wired for media, it converts easily to a screening room, a fitness room, or another bedroom. Both sit on the zoned HVAC, so they function as real rooms year round instead of bonus space you use when the weather cooperates. Whatever the next chapter looks like, the house already has the room, and you will not be calling a contractor to get it.
What sits behind the walls is the part buyers appreciate after they move in. A Carrier Infinity system runs six temperature zones reaching every corner of the house, and with spray foam insulation it runs efficiently rather than fighting the building. A 360 amp panel serves two EV charging outlets and a transfer switch with an exterior generator plug, so a long outage is an inconvenience rather than an evacuation. Cat 6 wiring runs to every room from a dedicated IT room. Add a monitored security system, motorized shades, a tankless water heater, a water conditioner, radiant heat under the master bath floor, a steam shower, and walkable attic storage reached by real pull-down stairs. Nothing is leased, everything conveys, and it all comes with a maintenance record, because these owners kept one.
Outside is where the half acre pays you back daily. A gunite pool with two waterfalls, a mature orchard producing olives, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, apples, and mandarins, raised planter beds on their own irrigation zones, and a tea house with power and light. The lawns are an eco-friendly mix of flowering micro clover and grass that stays green on far less water. What nearly half an acre really buys is a backyard where the neighbors are a courtesy rather than an audience, and the kind of morning quiet people move to the mountains looking for.
And yet you are not in the country at all. Walnut Drive sees only the traffic of people who live there, and the Los Gatos Creek Trail is close enough to be routine rather than a destination. Downtown Campbell is minutes away for dinner and the Sunday farmers market, Jack Fischer Park is around the corner, the Pruneyard covers the errands, and Los Gatos and Saratoga are a short drive. Highways 17, 85, and 280 put most of the valley within a reasonable commute. It is the combination that almost never comes up: the land and the quiet of somewhere much farther out, with everything you actually use fifteen minutes away.
1509 Walnut Drive Floor Plan
1509 Walnut Drive Site Plan
1509 Walnut Drive - Virtual Tour
Neighborhood Amenities
The Home
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Campbell
Benjamin Campbell founded Campbell, California in 1846 when he and his family came West. Campbell’s father, who is credited with surveying San Jose and Santa Clara, also opened a sawmill in Saratoga, helping to position it as a viable city in California. In 1851, Benjamin purchased 160 acres and immediately sowed it with grain and hay. That acreage would eventually go on to become Campbell’s Downtown core. Campbell would eventually sell a single acre of his land to the railroad in 1878 before the first subdivision in the area (and one of the earliest subdivisions in California history) was built in 1887.
Campbell is also a great city for anyone who enjoys American history. President Theodore Roosevelt visited the area in 1903, upon receiving an invitation from Professor J. Fred Smith, the first principal of Campbell Union High School . During his visit, President Roosevelt planted a redwood tree on the property of the school. Even though the tree is now gone and the school closed its doors in 1980, the community center that now stands in its place still serves as a tribute to the history of the area, including President Roosevelt’s visit.
It didn’t take long for Campbell to become one of the most important economic centers in the region. Campbell quickly became a hub for canning and food distribution, as there were plenty of orchards and gardens in the area. After incorporating in 1952, many of those orchards were replaced by homes and other businesses. However, Campbell’s influence on the national economy can still be felt today. Notably, Campbell was the city in which online mega-shopping site eBay was founded.
While eBay’s headquarters may have moved on, there are still plenty of attractions for you to check out in Campbell. Most notably, Downtown Campbell (the site of Benjamin Campbell’s first farm) provides a litany of attractions, including shopping, art galleries, coffee houses, nightclubs, antique stores and much more. The variety of eateries in this area is truly staggering. If you’re in the mood for organic, natural foods, Aqui is a wonderful option. A Bellagio provides some of the most authentic Italian cuisine in the area, while El Guapo’s offers mouthwatering, authentic Mexican food. In addition to a huge variety of restaurants and shopping, there is always something going on in the area. Downtown Campbell hosts weekly e-sports tournaments, seasonal parties, music festivals, live concerts and so much more.
Many homebuyers are attracted to Campbell because while it is still considered a part of Silicon Valley, and thus part of the technology center of the world, it is largely a residential area. However, thanks to its proximity to larger cities, the average commute for a Campbell resident to work is only 27 minutes, several minutes shorter than the state average.
There are two annual events that Campbell residents and visitors from all of the country attend every year. The first is a summer concert series that not only includes two days of concerts spread across four stages, but also provides a chance for local artisans, winemakers, brewers, and other local artists to present their goods. The second annual festival, which takes place in the fall, is referred to as the Campbell Boogie Festival (previously known as the Prune Festival). While the general premise may be the same, the Prune Festival is a much larger festival that includes five entertainment stages, all-day music and entertainment, and hundreds of local vendors who set up and sell their art, wine, beer, and more.
There are plenty of things to do, even when it’s not festival season in Campbell. Obviously, the proximity to San Jose means that you’re only a short drive from several professional sports teams, as well as San Jose State University. The proximity to the university is especially attractive for young adults who are finishing their education and families who want their children to pursue a quality higher education.
Additionally, residents and tourists enjoy the array of wineries and parks in the area. The popular Los Gatos Creek Trail is a popular spot for joggers, hikers, and mountain bikers.
Speaking of education, the schools in Campbell are among the best in the state. As of the 2021-2022 school year, there are 12 public schools in Campbell , serving the nearly 7,300 students who call the area home. Based on state-issued standardized tests, Campbell’s school district is among the top 30% in the state of California. Additionally, the district boasts a math proficiency of 51% (11% higher than the California state average) and a reading proficiency of 57% (6% higher than the California state average).
As is the case with most communities in the area, properties that are listed in Campbell, California don’t sit on the market long. In fact, most properties are sold within 10-15 days from the day they are listed. However, unlike some other communities, property prices in Campbell tend to be closer to $1.5 million instead of the $3+ million that is normal in areas such as nearby Los Gatos .
Campbell is one of the best communities in all of the Bay Area for homebuyers who are looking for a good community to put down roots and start the rest of their lives. Whether you’re looking to buy a home in the area or sell your home, it’s important that you choose an agent who is familiar with the area and has a proven track record of getting his or her clients the best deals possible. I would love the chance to work for you. If you’re interested in completing a transaction in Campbell, let’s talk about how to bring your plans to fruition!
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