Piers, Views, and Wistaria: Inside Piedmont’s New Modern Homes

The week before last Wednesday, our Piedmont Recreation Department’s Walking on Wednesdays group visited Valant Place, a quiet cul-de-sac off Trestle Glen Road, with realtor and fellow walker Stacey Isaacs. We explored the seldom-visited street and toured a Piedmont home that was for sale.

There were two other Piedmont homes on another seldom visited street that we had been monitoring for almost two years. These are new construction homes being built on Wistaria Way on the upper, eastern side of Wildwood Gardens. One of the homes was finally completed and is on the market, and we wanted to see how it had turned out. A large group of 46 walkers and three K-9 best friends were at the Exedra for a house tour that Stacey had arranged for us.

We headed down Highland Avenue to Wildwood Avenue and stopped at the entrance to Wildwood Gardens. We noted that the neighborhood had once been part of developer Frank C. Havens’ early 20th-century “Wildwood Estate,” and that two partially hidden columns still marked the original entrance. We bypassed the lower loops of the neighborhood and continued up toward Wistaria Way.

Along the way, we stopped to inspect an active construction site. On an earlier walk we had assumed the project would be an ADU, but the framing now suggested a full-sized house. A worker had previously told us that 1,500 yards of soil were being removed for the foundation and that completion was expected near the end of 2026. Judging from the activity, that seemed possible.

As we made our way to Wistaria Way, curiosity compelled Lori A to search online for why the street is spelled “Wistaria” instead of “Wisteria.” She discovered that while the modern spelling "wisteria" is now the standard, the "a" version reflects a historical naming convention. The name was first coined in 1818 by botanist Thomas Nuttall to commemorate his friend Dr. Wistar. However, when Nuttall officially recorded the name, it was published as “wisteria” with an "e." Under botanical naming rules, the first published spelling is generally the one that must be used, even if it contains an error.

However, some historians think Nuttall may have chosen the "e" spelling intentionally because it sounded better, or to honor another branch of the family that spelled their name "Wister." Many Americans in the 19th and early 20th-century maintained the "a" spelling to better reflect Dr. Wistar's actual name. So, Piedmont got Wistaria Place.

We continued to the Wistaria loop and the two new homes. The site had once been a vacant lot part of the neighboring property. After the owner died earlier this decade, the lot was donated to a local church and sold in 2022. Initial proposals from the new owners for a single large home were twice rejected after objections from neighbors and the City regarding the project’s size.

The owners then developed a new project to divide the lot into two parcels and construct new homes on them with an ADU alongside one. This is allowed under a new California law, known as "SB9". It went into effect on January 1, 2022, and is intended to address California's housing crisis by allowing homeowners to divide their lots and construct up to four houses on a single-family parcel. This Wistaria project's application was approved by the Piedmont Planning and Building Department in December 2023. Building permits were approved in July 2024 and construction was started immediately.

When we got to the houses Stacey was waiting for us and told us about the homes. They are of a beautiful, modern design with glass exteriors. The owners are going to live in the one on the right and its construction is almost complete. Construction on the home on the left at 67 Wistaria is finished and it is for sale. It’s a modern California design and has four bedrooms, four baths, and two half baths and is listed for $3,995,000. The lower level includes an ensuite guest room that could also function as an ADU.

The owner, Geoff G, was also at the site and talked about the challenges of building on such a steep hillside. He explained that hillside construction can add 20 to 25 percent to costs and noted that 46 piers had to be drilled 10 to 20 feet into bedrock to stabilize the structures. The homes also incorporate solar power, smart-home technology, multi-zone HVAC systems, and central air conditioning, allowing them to meet most of their own energy needs.

Geoff and his family had originally thought they would celebrate Christmas last year in the house, but now the plan is celebrate his wife’s June birthday in their new home. He said construction takes longer than you would hope.

He invited us to go into the home for a visit. We went up the front stairs to the main level and the living room. The kitchen has a large island and the dining area features a sculptural fireplace. This level opens to a spacious deck with views of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges.

After thanking Stacey and Geoff for the enjoyable visit, we continued up Wistaria to Woodland Way, then returned to the Exedra via Crocker, Wildwood, Sheridan, and Highland Avenues. It had been a fun morning exploring new homes that will become part of Piedmont.