Livermore, CA

Livermore is a city located in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, in Alameda County, California. With a population of 86,098 as of the 2010 census, Livermore is the largest city in Alameda County and the third largest city in the Bay Area. The City of Livermore was founded by William Mendenhall and named after George W. livermore, a U.S. Senator from California who was also president of Stanford University from 1891 to 1893. Livermore is home to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), one of America's premier national laboratories and one of five National Laboratories managed by the United States Department of Energy (DOE).

The history of real estate development in Livermore can be traced back to 1869 when William Mendenhall platted out what would become known as "Mendenhall's Addition." In 1875, he sold part of his property to David Folsom who developed it into what is now called " Folsom Street." In 1905, Frank Phelan developed another section which became known as " Phelan Avenue." The City's first major development occurred with the completion of Lawrence Hall in 1916 which included housing for LBNL employees and their families. Between 1919 and 1922 other large residential developments were constructed including: Franklin Court (1919), Fair Oaks Court (1920), Villa Terrace (1921), Hillview Manor (1922) and Glenview Manor (1923).

In 1923, Mayor George Eberhart established an official zoning ordinance for Livermore which designated certain areas for commercial use while others were reserved for residential use only. This zoning ordinance helped spur continued growth throughout the 1920s with additional commercial developments including: Broadway Plaza (1924), Park Plaza I & II (both 1925), Walnut Avenue Business District I & II (both 1926) and Hillview Heights Shopping Center I & II(both 1927).

The onset of World War II caused a slowdown in housing construction but did not stop it completely; instead it led to more innovative designs such as those seen at Villa Terrace which featured underground parking garages that could accommodate up to twelve cars. After World War II ended new residential developments began appearing including: Brookside Gardens(1950), Crestmoor Village(1959) and Willowbrook Estates(1960).

In 1971, voters approved Measure Z which created an elected City Council consisting entirely of residents rather than appointed officials; this change led to increased transparency within government which ultimately helped spur economic growth within the City during the 1970s and 1980s including: Northgate Shopping Center I&II(1973-1974) Westridge Shopping Center I&II(1976-1977) Monterey Square Shopping Center I&II(1978-1979) Eastridge Shopping Center I&II(1980-1981) Mountain View Plaza Shopping Center I&II(1982-1983) Cedar Glen Village Shopping Center I&II(1984-1985).

It was not until 1991 that significant new development occurred when LBNL announced its plans to construct a new research facility on approximately 1,000 acres adjacent to its current campus; this project became known as Project Discovery. As a result, between 1991 and 1995 numerous commercial projects were completed including: Gateway Village shopping center III & IV (1991-1992), Valley View Plaza shopping center V & VI ((1993-1994)), Willowbrook Commons shopping center VII ((1995)), Concordia Place shopping center VIII ((1996))and Summit Pointe at LBNL shopping center IX ((1997)).

Since 1995 there has been little significant development activity within Livermore until recently when several large mixed use projects have been proposed or completed including: Park Central Square shopping center X ((2013)), The Shops at Diablo Valley Mall((2014)), Concordia Place Phase 2((2015))and Summit Pointe at LBNL Phase 2((2016)).