Concord's Eichler tracts are three subdivisions that published accounts date to the early and mid-1960s: Parkwood Estates, Rancho del Diablo and Rancho de los Santos. A 2014 published history calls the Concord Eichler homes little known to the wider public, and says many of them remain relatively intact.
This guide covers when each tract was built, the conflicting home counts, the streets, the models and architects, what Concord's development code says about design review and historic districts, and what to check before you buy or remodel. Official records on these tracts are thin, so much of the history below comes from published accounts. We say so each time, and we note where the sources disagree.
Three tracts, three names
Published accounts agree on the three names but disagree on when each tract was built and how many homes it has. None of these years or counts comes from a city or county record:
Parkwood Estates. A 2014 published history dates it to 1963 and calls it "home to 77 Eichlers with several interspersed ranch houses." A modernist-architecture archive dates it to 1964, with about 70 homes.
Rancho del Diablo. The 2014 history says it was built in 1964 with 69 homes, a few blocks from Rancho de los Santos. The archive dates it to 1963. A published local guide says it was built in the early 1960s and has about fifty homes.
Rancho de los Santos. The 2014 history says it has 41 homes and was built in 1965.
For the city as a whole, the published local guide counts approximately 175 Eichler homes in three neighborhoods, and a 2018 published account says 187. If the builder of one house matters to you, check its permit history and assessor record instead of relying on a total.
The 2014 history says two of the neighborhoods are nearly contiguous and that Parkwood is half a mile away. It places all three about two miles from Todos Santos Plaza along Clayton Road. On the names, it offers its own guess: "The saints and devils in their names were suggested, no doubt, by the looming peaks of Mt. Diablo." We found no record of why Eichler chose them.
Where the tracts are
The 2014 history lists the streets; we give them here as Contra Costa County's assessment parcel layer spells them. It puts Parkwood Estates on Gainsborough, Barrington, Merridan and Lancashire drives, between Concord Community Park and Babel Lane, as a cohesive enclave with no through streets that borders the city-run community pool and park. It puts Rancho del Diablo on Phoenix Street, Sacramento Street, Wilson Lane and Mendocino Drive, all east of West Street, and Rancho de los Santos across Clayton Road, on West Street, Salem Street, Houston Court and Santa Fe Court.
The county layer, which we checked in November 2026, shows each of those street names in Concord. Published accounts don't always match it: one calls Mendocino Drive a street, and another spells Lancashire Drive "Lancaster," though the county layer shows no Lancaster street in Concord. Use the county's spelling when you search records.
The county layer shows street names, not tract boundaries, and the 2014 history says Parkwood's Eichlers share the streets with ranch houses. A street name alone doesn't make a house an Eichler. Our Concord mid-century modern homes page covers the city's modern neighborhoods today.
Models, architects and what survives
No city or county record we found names the architects. Published accounts credit Claude Oakland, and one adds A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons:
A published local guide says Rancho del Diablo has three Eichler models, designed by Claude Oakland, A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons & Associates. It also mentions underground utilities, post-and-beam construction, radiant floor heating and a variety of floor plans.
The modernist archive says Parkwood Estates was "designed and marketed with Oakland" and lists three models: an A-frame, a peaked model with an atrium and a peaked model without one. It says Rancho del Diablo had three styles, two of them atrium styles with pitched roofs, and it lists a flat-roofed example there.
The 2014 history says Parkwood's homes are slightly larger than those in the other two tracts and come in more models, including a "double-steep-gable atrium model."
Oakland's own office records are in a university archive. UC Berkeley's Environmental Design Archives holds the Oakland & Imada Collection, which documents the projects of Oakland's firm and its predecessor, Claude Oakland & Associates. Its finding aid says the Eichler Project Records make up the bulk of the collection, with files, photographs, slides, architectural drawings and presentation drawings for projects Eichler commissioned. The finding aid we read doesn't list the Concord tracts by name, but the collection is the place to ask about original plans. Our guide to atrium, courtyard and gallery plans explains the layouts.
On condition, the 2014 history says some homes in all three tracts keep original paneling, bathrooms and even kitchens, and it describes one atrium that had been converted into an indoor room with a drop ceiling.
Concord's rules: design review
We found no Eichler-specific rules in Concord. The development code's overlay district chapters, as of November 2026, cover airport, transit station, cannabis and housing overlays; none is a single-story or Eichler overlay.
What does apply is design and site review, in Chapter 18.415 of the Concord Development Code. Section 18.415.020(A)(8) requires it for single-family dwellings in these cases, among others:
"Any addition resulting in a single-family dwelling with an FAR greater than 30 percent";
"Second-story additions where the area of the second floor portion is 40 percent or more than the area of the original structure located on the second floor, or second stories that are set back less than 10 feet from a side property line"; and
new homes and additions on sloped lots, under the hillside protection chapter.
Section 18.415.030 exempts additions and alterations to existing homes that don't increase the floor area or footprint by more than 50 percent over a three-year period, outside the hillside rules, and exempts single-family homes except as listed above. Ask the Planning Division how the second-story test applies to a one-story house before you design one.
Are the Concord Eichlers historic?
Not as far as we can find. The California Office of Historic Preservation's list of listed resources in Contra Costa County shows four Concord entries: the Don Fernando Pacheco Adobe, which appears twice (1950 and 1980), the Don Salvio Pacheco Adobe (1953) and the Don Francisco Galindo House (1988). None of them is an Eichler tract.
Concord does have a way to create a district. Chapter 18.450 of the development code lets the planning commission designate city landmarks and historic districts. A district nomination can come from the city council, the planning commission or "a majority of the property owners within the boundaries of a proposed historic district." A district must meet at least one of six criteria. Among them, a significant number of its parcels reflect patterns such as "distinctive examples of park or community planning," convey "historic or architectural cohesiveness," or "embody distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period, or method of construction," and another covers parcels that "represent the works of notable builders, designers, or architects." Section 18.450.050 adds that no property may be proposed as a contributing property in a district "without the written consent of all affected property owners." Once a district is designated, contributing properties need a certificate of appropriateness before they can be altered. The chapter also lets the commission keep a list of structures, sites and areas deserving recognition that aren't designated. We didn't find a published copy of that list, so ask the city whether any Eichler is on it.
This is not legal advice. Ask the City of Concord's planning staff whether any designation or review applies to a specific address.
What to check before you buy or remodel
Eichler or not. Parkwood mixes Eichlers with ranch houses. Compare the house with known Eichler features and check the permit history and assessor record. Our guide on how to tell if a house is an Eichler walks through the clues.
The model and roof. Published accounts describe A-frames, peaked atrium models and at least one flat roof, so the roof type, and the reroofing choices, differ from house to house.
The atrium. If an atrium has been enclosed, ask for the permit and look at how the roof and drainage were handled.
Design review triggers. Measure your planned addition against the 30 percent FAR and second-story tests in Section 18.415.020, and ask the city before you rely on an exemption.
Original plans. UC Berkeley's Environmental Design Archives holds Oakland's Eichler project records, which may include drawings for your model.
Frequently asked questions
How many Eichlers are in Concord?
Published accounts disagree. A 2014 history counts 77 in Parkwood Estates, 69 in Rancho del Diablo and 41 in Rancho de los Santos; other accounts give about 70 for Parkwood and about fifty for Rancho del Diablo. For the whole city, a published local guide says approximately 175 and a 2018 account says 187. We found no city or county count.
When were the Concord Eichlers built?
Published accounts disagree. A 2014 history dates Parkwood Estates to 1963, Rancho del Diablo to 1964 and Rancho de los Santos to 1965. A modernist-architecture archive dates Parkwood to 1964 and Rancho del Diablo to 1963. We found no city or county record of the build years.
Who designed them?
Published accounts credit Claude Oakland, and a published local guide also names A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons for Rancho del Diablo. We found no city or county record that names the architects.
Do the Concord Eichlers have a single-story overlay?
We found none. Concord's development code lists no single-story overlay district, but larger additions and some second stories need design and site review under Section 18.415.020.
Related reading
More guides on this topic: Eichler Neighborhoods & Tract Histories
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Want help confirming a Concord Eichler's model, permits or the city's rules? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
