Visitacion Valley, San Francisco: Homes, Zoning & Real Estate Guide
Visitacion Valley is the valley neighborhood at San Francisco’s southern edge, between John McLaren Park on the west and Bayview Hill on the east, with the San Mateo County line as its southern boundary. The Assessor’s 2025 roll for subdistrict 10E lists roughly 3,960 parcels; about 3,260 are single-family houses, with a median build year of 1947.
Two large redevelopment sites sit inside the neighborhood: the former Schlage Lock factory at Bayshore Boulevard and Leland Avenue, and the Sunnydale HOPE SF public housing redevelopment. Each has its own special use district, so a purchase near either one starts with knowing which rules apply to which block.
Visitacion Valley homes for sale
Visitacion Valley market report
The valley floor, the hills and the county line
Wikipedia describes the neighborhood as bounded by McLaren Park and the Gleneagles golf course on the west, Mansell and the Portola on the north, Bayview Hill and Candlestick Cove on the east, and the county line on the south. Some of its streets continue into Daly City, and part of the Cow Palace parking sits inside the neighborhood.
Spanish travelers named the valley in 1777 for the feast of the Visitation. The shape of today’s neighborhood owes more to the railroad: in 1907 Southern Pacific built the Bayshore Cutoff and a railyard of roughly 200 acres on the bay side, which cut the valley off from the water until the yard was demolished in 2009.
On the MLS, Visitacion Valley is subdistrict 10E of SF District 10. The Portola lies uphill to the north, Little Hollywood sits at the southeast corner, and the Excelsior and Crocker Amazon are on the far side of McLaren Park.
A wartime and postwar house stock
The houses here are a generation younger than those along Mission Street to the west. More than half of the subdistrict’s single-family houses carry a recorded build year between 1940 and 1959. The single busiest year on the roll is 1944, with about 257 houses, followed by 1947 with about 221.
| Years built (Assessor record) | Portion of 10E houses |
|---|---|
| Before 1920 | Roughly 10% |
| 1920–1939 | Roughly 14% |
| 1940–1945 | Roughly 21% |
| 1946–1959 | Roughly 35% |
| 1960–1979 | Roughly 14% |
| 1980 and later | Roughly 6% |
Half the houses have less than about 1,240 square feet of living space, and the median lot is roughly 2,500 square feet. The roll’s other building types:
- about 140 two-unit flats and about 35 flat-and-store buildings;
- 15 apartment buildings of up to four units, 11 of 5 to 14 units and 3 larger ones;
- about 180 parcels in a class the roll codes PD; the ones we sampled, on Sunnydale, Argonaut, Garrison, McCarthy, Kelloch and Burr Avenues, were recorded as built between 1962 and 1965 on lots of about 1,400 square feet;
- 19 condominium units and 12 below-market-rate condominiums, whose resale rules are explained in our BMR homes guide.
Leland Avenue and the residential zoning
Leland Avenue is the neighborhood’s main street. Planning Code Section 746 creates the Leland Avenue Neighborhood Commercial District “on Leland Avenue between Bayshore Boulevard and Cora Street.” Its main controls:
- Height: varies, but generally 40-X.
- Density: up to one dwelling per 800 square feet of lot, unless the closest residential district allows more.
- Housing: permitted on every floor; removing an existing unit needs a conditional use.
- Retail: formula retail and ground-floor liquor stores need a conditional use.
- Parking: none required.
The section was last amended effective April 11, 2026. Two civic buildings anchor the street. The Visitacion Valley branch library opened at 201 Leland Avenue on July 30, 2011, and St. James Presbyterian Church at 240 Leland Avenue, a 1923 building that Wikipedia attributes to Julia Morgan, became San Francisco Landmark No. 308 in 2022.
Off Leland, the blocks are overwhelmingly one-family. In the Assessor’s zoning field, RH-1 accounts for about 3,550 parcels, against roughly 100 RH-2 and 65 RM-1. Planning’s current map adds NC-1, NC-3 and NC-S commercial parcels, public (P) land and, on the industrial side near Bayshore Boulevard, M-1, PDR and MUG districts.
An RH-1 house block we checked west of Bayshore Boulevard also falls inside the Priority Equity Geographies Special Use District (Planning Code Sec. 249.97, in effect since January 14, 2024). The SUD itself adds no height or density rules; its controls are written into Sections 311 and 317, the permit-review and unit-loss sections, so check them before planning a demolition or a major expansion.
The Schlage Lock site, now Leland Square
The Schlage Lock factory opened in 1926 and closed in 1999, leaving about 12.3 acres vacant. Wikipedia’s history records that Universal Paragon Corp took over the site in 2008 and that the plant and railyard buildings were demolished in 2009, except the company’s office building.
The site is now governed by the Visitacion Valley/Schlage Lock Special Use District, Planning Code Section 249.45. The SUD has two zones:
- Zone 1, the former factory site, built under the Design for Development and a Development Agreement the Board of Supervisors approved in Ordinance No. 149-14, with uses based on the MUG district.
- Zone 2, the adjacent frontages on Bayshore Boulevard (from Tunnel Avenue south to the county line) and on Leland Avenue, where the design document applies only as guidelines.
SF Planning’s annual update from October 2025 calls the project Leland Square, by Baylands Development, Inc. It plans 1,679 homes, about 252 of them affordable under the agreement’s 15 percent requirement, about 46,700 square feet of retail, Leland Park and a Schlage Lock Community Terrace. The restored office building was completed in 2022 with about 4,000 square feet of community space.
As of that update, the housing had not been built. It put the Phase 1 timeline as “delayed pending improved market conditions” and said entitlement of the neighboring Brisbane Baylands, then targeted for early 2026, would help it move forward. We found no newer City status report as of October 2026, and a Local News Matters report from late April 2026 said Brisbane’s Baylands plan was still in final review, with a decision expected in the fall. Treat any delivery date for the new streets, shops or parks as unconfirmed until the City reports construction.
Sunnydale HOPE SF
Sunnydale HOPE SF is a public housing redevelopment project on the 50-acre Sunnydale-Velasco Housing Authority site, led by Mercy Housing California and Related California with the City. Wikipedia dates the original complex to 1941. The City’s October 30, 2025 announcement describes the plan as replacing 775 public housing units with more than 1,700 homes.
- Zoning: the Sunnydale HOPE SF Special Use District, Planning Code Section 249.75, with RM-1 as the underlying district and design standards adopted by the Planning Commission.
- Infrastructure: work for Phase 1A3, including street realignment, grading and utilities, began in June 2022.
- Completed: the Amani (79 apartments) and Nia (90 homes) buildings, formerly Blocks 3A and 3B, with about 24,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space; the City counts more than 390 new affordable homes finished on the site.
- Under construction: Block 7 (89 homes) and Block 9 (95 homes), which broke ground at that October 2025 event.
For a nearby buyer, the practical effects are realigned streets and years of phased construction; Block 9, for example, is a five-story building planned at Sunnydale Avenue and Santos Street.
Light rail, Caltrain and buses
The T Third light rail ends at Sunnydale station, and Wikipedia lists both Sunnydale and Arleta stations in the neighborhood. Caltrain’s Bayshore station, a Zone 1 stop, is just south of the county line by Caltrain’s own coordinates; the Baylands plan includes rebuilding it.
Published route lists from 2022 show several buses ending here: the 9 San Bruno at Bayshore and Arleta, the 9R San Bruno Rapid at Sunnydale and McLaren School, the 8AX Bayshore Express at Geneva and Schwerin, and the 56 Rutland between Visitacion Valley Middle School and Thomas Mellon Circle. Confirm current service with SFMTA.
Slopes, soils and the old bay edge
Most of the valley sits outside the state’s mapped seismic hazard zones. Planning’s landslide layer shows about a dozen small polygons scattered on the slopes around the valley, none of them large. Its liquefaction layer has a large polygon that reaches the county line from the south and a single small polygon inside the subdistrict, near Parque Drive and Esquina Drive.
An RH-1 point we checked west of Bayshore Boulevard in October 2026 returned no liquefaction, landslide or FEMA flood-zone feature. If a home does sit in a mapped zone, the seller discloses it, usually through the report covered in our natural hazard disclosure guide. Check the exact lot on our San Francisco hazard maps page, which also covers the City’s storm flood map.
Selling a home in Visitacion Valley
Buyers here are usually comparing 1940s and 1950s houses on similar lots, so the record behind the house matters as much as its finishes.
- Match the house to the 3R report. If a ground-floor room or second unit was added without a permit, our unwarranted units guide covers the choices.
- Check the title on small-lot rowhouses. For the 1960s parcels of about 1,400 square feet, read the title report for shared walls, easements and any association documents.
- State project status accurately. Near Leland Square or Sunnydale, link the City’s own updates and label each feature as proposed, approved, under construction or complete.
- For flats and apartment buildings, gather leases and rent history early.
Rent-ordinance coverage, the 3R report, energy rules and transfer tax are covered on our San Francisco selling requirements page.
Questions people ask
Has the Schlage Lock site been built?
Not the housing. The restored Schlage office building reopened in 2022 with community space, but SF Planning’s October 2025 update says Phase 1 of Leland Square, planned for 1,679 homes in total, is delayed pending better market conditions. We found no newer City update as of October 2026.
What is Sunnydale HOPE SF?
A public housing redevelopment project on the 50-acre Sunnydale-Velasco site that the City says will replace 775 public housing units with more than 1,700 homes. Two buildings with 170 homes are complete, and two more blocks broke ground in October 2025, per the City.
Where is the Leland Avenue commercial district?
It covers Leland Avenue from Bayshore Boulevard to Cora Street. Section 746 of the Planning Code sets its rules, including a 40-X height district on most lots and housing on all floors.
Is there a Caltrain station near Visitacion Valley?
Yes. Bayshore station, a Zone 1 stop, is just south of the county line; Wikipedia’s T Third station list gives Arleta as the transfer point to it.
How old are most Visitacion Valley houses?
The median single-family house on the 2025 roll was built in 1947, and more than half have recorded build years between 1940 and 1959.
Is Visitacion Valley in a liquefaction zone?
Mostly not. Planning’s map shows one small liquefaction polygon near Parque and Esquina Drives and small landslide polygons on some slopes. Check the specific lot.
Are some Visitacion Valley streets in Daly City?
Yes, some streets cross the county line. A home on the Daly City side is under that city’s permits and San Mateo County’s tax rules, so confirm the jurisdiction on the title report.
Thinking about a sale or purchase in Visitacion Valley? Request a home valuation and we will measure your house against recent sales of similar age, lot and floor area. Nearby guides cover the Portola, Little Hollywood and Crocker Amazon; for the whole city, start with our San Francisco guide.
Sources & notes
- DataSF / SF Assessor-Recorder: Assessor Historical Secured Property Tax Rolls, 2025 closed roll (parcel counts by class, build years, zoning field and sample parcels for subdistrict 10E; queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning: PlanningData map service (zoning districts, special use districts, landmarks, CGS liquefaction and landslide zone layers; queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning Code (via GoCodebook): Sec. 746, Leland Avenue Neighborhood Commercial District
- San Francisco Planning Code (via GoCodebook): Sec. 249.45, Visitacion Valley/Schlage Lock Special Use District
- San Francisco Planning Code (via GoCodebook): Sec. 249.75, Sunnydale HOPE SF Special Use District
- San Francisco Planning: Leland Square annual update presentation (October 2025)
- City and County of San Francisco (SF.gov): Mayor Lurie celebrates new affordable housing in Sunnydale
- City and County of San Francisco (SF.gov): Groundbreaking of critical infrastructure at the Sunnydale and Hunters View HOPE SF sites (June 15, 2022)
- California Department of Housing and Community Development: San Francisco marks end of construction for revitalized Sunnydale (May 8, 2024)
- Caltrain: Bayshore station page (fare zone 1, station coordinates)
- Wikipedia: List of San Francisco Municipal Railway lines (route names and termini; status as of July 2022)
- Wikipedia: Visitacion Valley, San Francisco (boundaries, rail and Schlage history, library, church; background only)
- Local News Matters (Bay City News): Decades in the works, Brisbane development to add 2,000 housing units nears final review (April 27, 2026)
- San Francisco Planning Code (via GoCodebook): Sec. 249.97, Priority Equity Geographies Special Use District
- Wikipedia: T Third Street (station list and connections)
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
