CONCORD, CALIFORNIA
Real Estate in Concord is much less expensive than Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill.
If you are looking for a central location with a lot of businesses, activities, access to
public transportation and freeways, then Concord may be of interest to you. Please go to the
Home Page, click on the MLS Search button, enter your preferred criteria for Concord
and do a search for the type of housing that may suit your needs. You will find
some of the most reasonably priced housing in this area.
For a detailed map of Concord click on the following link:
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The following information about Concord was derived from Wikipedia:
Concord is located 29 miles northeast of San Francisco, 22 miles northeast from Oakland,
65 miles southwest of Sacramento, and 51 miles north of San Jose. According to
the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.1 square miles.
Todo Santos Plaza is the focal point of downtown Concord, encompassing an entire city block,
is known for its farmers market, free summer concerts, and large number of surrounding
restaurants. Much of the immediate area around downtown has recently been redeveloped,
with new high-density apartment and condominium projects to take advantage of
the close proximity to public transportation and the vibrant area surrounding the park.
Despite this, some crime and homelessness remain issues in the downtown area.
To the north and east of downtown is the older residential area of Concord, with many
homes dating back to before World War II. In the far northern edge of town is a primarily
industrial area, dominated by the Tesoro Golden Eagle refinery (which is actually not located
within city limits). The southeastern area of the city, centered along Clayton Road,
is primarily residential and was mostly developed in the 1960s and 1970s. In the southwest
area of the city is the primarily Latino neighborhood known as Four Corners,
centered around the intersection of Monument Boulevard and Oak Grove Road.
Concord is bordered on the west by Pleasant Hill and the unincorporated community of
Pacheco, on the south by Walnut Creek, on the southeast by Clayton, on the northeast by Pittsburg
and the unincorporated community of Bay Point, and on the north by the unincorporated
community of Clyde. Though it shares no border with Concord, Martinez (the county seat)
is located almost immediately adjacent to Concord on the northwest.
Climate
The temperature in January typically ranges between 41 and 57 degrees F.
In July the average range is between 58 and 88 degrees F, but does reach 90+,
with an average annual rainfall of just over 18 inches.
History
Concord was founded under the name of Todos Santos "all saints" in 1869. The surrounding area
was a large agricultural area; crops included grapes, walnuts, wheat, hay and tomatoes. In the 1860s,
the nearby town of Pacheco was destroyed by a series of fires, floods and an earthquake.
To avoid the devastation of fire and flood, Pacheco's residents relocated to Concord.
Shopping
Concord has been primarily a bedroom community for San Francisco and Oakland over the last forty
years, but during the last decades, jobs within the city have increased. Corporations with strong
Bay Area regional ties, such as Chevron and Bank of America, have established extensive back-office
operations there, diversifying the local economy. Concord also has a strong retail sector including
the Sunvalley Mall, one of the 50 largest malls in the USA, auto dealerships, Costco, and
Fry's Electronics. Prior to its dissolution, Atrivo was headquartered in Concord.
Naval Weapons Station
Aerial view of the Naval Weapons Station
To the north of the city of Concord is the Concord Naval Weapons Station, which was established
in 1942. The station functioned as a World War II armament storage depot, supplying ships at
Port Chicago. The Concord NWS supported war efforts during the Vietnam War and through
the end of the Gulf War, processing and shipping out thousands of tons of
war material to Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
The station consists of two areas: the Inland Area (5,170 acres which is within the Concord city limits,
and Tidal Area (7,630 acres. Because of changes in military operations, parts of the Inland Area
began to be mothballed and by 1999, the station had only a minimal contingent of military personnel.
In 2007 the U.S. Federal Government announced that the inland portion of the Naval station
will be closed. The Tidal area of the base is not scheduled for closure. The city is working on a
reuse plan that may include developing the land while keeping a large portion for open-space
and parks projects. The city has had many meetings on this subject and will continue
to do so. Any plan for reuse is subject to approval by the Navy.
Transportation
Until 1995 the city was the eastern terminus of the Concord line of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
commuter train system; the line has since been extended eastward to Pittsburg/Bay Point.
The County Connection provides limited public transportation in the city and to other points in the
county. Buses run from the North Concord BART station to Martinez, the county seat.
Overlooking the North Concord Bart Station
Main thoroughfares include Willow Pass Road, Concord Avenue, Concord Boulevard, Clayton Road,
Ygnacio Valley Road and Treat Boulevard. The city is also served by Interstate 680,
and state highways 4 and 242.
Buchanan Field Airport is a public county-owned airfield in the City of Concord. It currently does not
have any scheduled passenger service, but was once served by WestAir,
Pacific Southwest Airlines, and later U.S. Airways for a short time.
Media
The city of Concord is served by the daily newspaper, the Contra Costa Times published by the Bay Area
News Group-East Bay (part of the Media News Group, Denver, Colorado), with offices in Walnut Creek.
The paper was originally a paper run and owned by the Lesher family. Since the death of Dean Lesher
in 1993, the paper has had several owners. The publisher also issues a weekly paper, the
Concord Transcript, which is the local paper for Concord and nearby Clayton.
Education
Concord is served by the Mount Diablo Unified School District. Concord's Clayton Valley High School
is home to several acclaimed California academies, specifically ClaytonArts Academy, a four
year English, social studies and arts based program with an emphasis on cross curriculum projects.
Concord is also home to Mt. Diablo High School, opened in 1905, and home to the Digital safari,
a three-year program involving the integration of multimedia with the core curriculum through
integrated, project-based learning. Concord's De La Salle High School is home of the record
winning streak of 151 games set by the football team between 1992 and 2004. During that span,
De La Salle won 12 California North Coast sectional championships, and was named
national champion five different times (once by ESPN, four times by USA Today).
Ygnacio Valley High School won the 1987 Northern California Boys Division I Basketball
Championship, Coached by Jim Grace.
De La Salle High School (a private Catholic High School) is bordered by its sister
school Carondelet High School and Ygnacio Valley High School.
The headquarters of the Kabul Soccer Club is located in Concord.
California State University, East Bay has a campus in Concord.
Public Libraries
The Concord Library of the Contra Costa County Library is located in Concord.
The library is adjacent to the Concord Civic Center.
Arts and Culture
Concord is the home of the annual Concord Jazz Festival and was the home of the
Concord Records jazz record label until it was bought in 1999.
Jazz musician Dave Brubeck was born in Concord and in 2006 a park adjacent to Concord
High School on Concord Boulevard was renamed in his honor (see below). Film star Tom Hanks
and Broadway actress Meredith Patterson were born in Concord. Actor Mark Hamill, Olympic
gold-medalist Natalie Coughlin and mixed martial artist Gil Castillo have also been Concord residents.
Actor/Comedian Carlos Alazraqui attended Concord High School. Concord is the original home of
the counter-cultural icons Negativland. Concord is also where American rock group The Federalists are based.
Concord is also home to many important local bands such as Truth Decays and Apothesary. Members
from these bands go to clayton valley high school and northgate high school and live in concord.
Concord is also home to the 13-time World Champion Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps.
The corps is made up of talented musicians from around the world. The Concord Blue Devils are the
most decorated drum and bugle corps in the history of Drum Corps International.
Public Access Television is operated through TelVue Virtual Television Networks.
Points of Interest
Parks
Sister City
In 1974 Concord became a sister city with Kitakami, Iwate, in Japan. The city established
a small Japanese style park in the city, and placed half of a sculpture, The Communion Bridge, in it.
The matching half of the bridge is in Kitakami.