The Primewood Eichler tract is a 35-house neighborhood in Sunnyvale, just south of West Fremont Avenue, built late in Joseph Eichler's career. Its houses date from the late 1960s and early 1970s, after Eichler Homes had closed and Eichler was building under a new company. They look it: steep glass-filled gables, pitched shake roofs and a "twin-cottage" model that departs sharply from the flat-roofed Eichlers of the 1950s.
This post covers Primewood's place in Eichler history, how its five streets fit together, the house forms to look for, and the single-story district the city adopted in 2017. It is an architecture history, not a market report. Our Sunnyvale mid-century modern page covers the city's other Eichler areas.
A late tract from Eichler's second company
Palo Alto's Eichler design guidelines sum up the end of the original company: large projects overextended Eichler Homes, which filed for bankruptcy and closed in 1967. Joseph Eichler then set up J. L. Eichler Associates and kept working as an independent developer until his death in 1974. The guidelines add that the last Eichler house was completed in Palo Alto, on Guinda Street, in 1975. Primewood belongs to that later period.
The dates differ a little by source. Sunnyvale's parcel layer, built on county data, gives build years of 1968 for 16 houses, 1969 for 9 and 1970 for 10. A published history of the tract gives 1969 to 1972. The two don't match, and no recorded map or permit we read settles it, so we give both.
That history credits the designs to Jones & Emmons and to Claude Oakland's firm, Claude Oakland & Associates. The city's own reports don't name the architects. For both firms, see our pages on Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons.
Five streets, one small tract
A 2017 city report describes Primewood as 35 contiguous lots on Allison Way, Lennox Way, Lennox Court, Blanchard Way and Beaverton Court. Across West Fremont Avenue to the north are single-family homes. Along Warner Avenue to the west and Bremerton Drive to the south are non-Eichler homes. The report calls the tract "essentially a pocket of Eichler homes surrounded by other types of homes on three sides."
The published history describes softly curving streets and shallow courts, buried utility lines, and only two ways into the neighborhood. In the parcel layer, Lennox Way holds 12 lots, Allison Way 7, Blanchard Way 6, Beaverton Court 6 and Lennox Court 4. The median lot is about 8,600 square feet.
One record conflict to note: the 2017 report says the district follows "tract map 4721" boundaries, while the parcel layer puts all 35 lots in Tract 4621. We couldn't check the recorded map, since the county's online map index doesn't reach tracts from these years, so we can't say which number is right.
The house forms: steep gables and twin cottages
Primewood shows the later Eichler vocabulary clearly. Palo Alto's guidelines credit Claude Oakland with widening the company's design range beyond the simple roofs of the 1950s, introducing hipped roofs, gabled roofs with flat peaks, and gables set parallel to the street. For contrast, Palo Alto's 1954–1955 Greenmeadow houses have roofs that are flat or about 2:12, according to their National Register nomination. The published Primewood history describes several forms:
Glass-filled gables. Many houses trade the flat roof for steep gables with glass filling the triangle. Through the clerestory you can see a second, matching gable roof beyond a roofless atrium.
The twin-cottage model. Two steep, side-gabled pavilions with shake roofs. Some versions have ridge beams that project like outriggers.
A clipped gable. At least one house has a jerkinhead, a gable with its peak cut back.
Textured siding. By the mid-1960s Eichler was using rough-sawn vertical wood siding with a swirl pattern, inside and out. One twin-cottage house is described with natural redwood siding.
Bigger plans. Mostly about 2,000 to 2,300 square feet, usually with four bedrooms and some with five, plus walk-in pantries.
County records today line up with those sizes. The median recorded building size is about 2,140 square feet, ranging from about 1,690 to about 2,970. Of the 35 houses, 28 are recorded with four bedrooms, 5 with five and 2 with three. All 35 are one story. For how the atrium plans in houses like these work, see our atrium living page.
What to look for, and what to protect
Primewood houses differ from earlier Eichlers, so the usual checklist needs adjusting:
Roofing. These are pitched roofs, and some were built with shakes, not the tar-and-gravel or foam of a flat-roof Eichler. Have a licensed roofer identify the current material and its condition. Ask the city whether a change in roofing material needs review.
The gable glass. The glass-filled gable ends and clerestories carry much of the design. Replacing them with solid walls or smaller windows would change the house's character.
The open atrium. The roofless atrium visible through the clerestory is part of the composition. Covering it would change that view. Greenmeadow's National Register survey, for comparison, counted atrium covers that alter the roofline against a house's integrity.
Siding pattern. If siding is replaced, match the rough-sawn vertical pattern instead of switching to a smooth panel.
Ridge beams. On twin-cottage houses, the projecting ridge beams were built that way and are exposed to weather. Have an inspector check their ends for decay.
The 2017 single-story district
In 2017, Primewood owners applied for a single-story combining district covering the tract. The city's report counted 35 lots with no two-story homes and called it the fourteenth such application since the district type took effect on January 1, 2001. The Planning Commission considered it on September 11, 2017, and the City Council was scheduled for October 17, 2017. Today's parcel layer shows the "S" combining district on all 35 lots.
In a Sunnyvale single-story district, homes are limited to one habitable story and 17 feet in height, with no lofts or mezzanines and a 45 percent floor area ratio cap. The 2017 report also noted that lots next to the district, outside it, could still add second floors. Sunnyvale's Eichler Design Guidelines, adopted in 2009, also apply. A June 2020 staff report says the city folded them into one consolidated design guidelines document with no substantive changes, and that staff were starting a review to make the residential standards objective enough to meet state law. Confirm the rules for a specific lot with Sunnyvale's planning division. The Primewood staff report has the full record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Primewood built?
County records date the houses to 1968, 1969 and 1970. A published history of the tract gives 1969 to 1972. Either way, it came after Eichler Homes closed in 1967, under J. L. Eichler Associates.
Who designed the Primewood Eichlers?
A published history credits Jones & Emmons and Claude Oakland & Associates. City reports on the tract don't name the architects.
Why do Primewood Eichlers have steep roofs?
By the late 1960s, Eichler's designs had moved beyond the flat and low-slope roofs of the 1950s. Palo Alto's guidelines credit Claude Oakland with introducing hipped roofs, flat-peaked gables and street-parallel gables. Primewood's steep glass-filled gables and shake-roofed pavilions belong to that later vocabulary.
Is Primewood in a single-story district?
Yes. The city considered the request in 2017, and today's parcel data shows the single-story combining district on all 35 lots.
Related reading
Sunnyvale Manor Eichler History: Where the AA-1 Prototype Began
Butterfly Roof Houses and Other Mid-Century Rooflines Explained
Want to know more about a Primewood Eichler's model or original features? Call or text the Boyenga Team at Compass at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or contact the Boyenga Team online.
