a luxury property presented by josh dickinson
282 lake drive, kensington • sold for $1,325,000

Details

DETAILS
Beds: 3
Baths: 2.5
Year Built: 1938 
Square Feet: 1959  
Lot Square Feet: 5500 

Superb, level-in 3BR, 2.5BA home on one of Kensington’s finest streets! Surrounding a sunny interior courtyard, enjoy California living all on one level with an open kitchen and indoor-outdoor flow to your exterior deck. The open kitchen features copious counters and cabinets, dining area, garden views and an ideal layout for cooking and entertaining. The home also boasts both a large formal living room and separate family room with vaulted ceilings and fireplace. Three spacious bedrooms include an owner’s suite with large walk-in closet. The sunny backyard is perfect for socializing or gardening, with a multi-tiered deck and mature fruit trees. The attached two-car garage also provides excellent storage opportunities. The home is conveniently located a short distance from multiple entrances to Tilden Park, Ye Olde School Trail to Kensington Hilltop Elementary, and AC Transit stop at the corner.

Neighborhood

The community of Kensington is an unincorporated part of Contra Costa County in the Berkeley Hills. The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and the 1923 Berkeley Fire resulted in people looking to Kensington for housing alternatives. Streetcar #7, which connected Kensington with Berkeley, and the network of pedestrian paths also made it easier to commute from here. By 1930, the population grew from 226 to 1500. Today, the population is about 5,000 cozily squeezed into 1 square mile.

Even though Kensington is unincorporated, it does have its own police and fire departments, park services and trash collection. Tilden Park and Blake Garden are two beautiful green spaces located in and around Kensington. There is also just about anything you need in one of its two business districts: hardware store, bank, restaurants/pubs and a liquor store. It even has its own town newsletter, the Kensington Outlook. 

A few other interesting facts:

  • Claims the most number of nobel laureates per capita (2/5000)
  • Was the home of Robert Oppenheimer when he was working on the Manhattan Project
  • Kensington Hilltop Elementary is rated in the top 3% of all elementary schools in California 

Useful Links:
Kensington Police Protection and Community Services District
Kensington Hilltop Elementary
Kensington Outlook