Original Pictures,
Newpaper Add & More at Bottom
We Built 84 Bahl Cluster Homes in 4 phases. There were 4
different models. These homes were built from 1971 to
1974. They were built in 20 home phases beginning at Cheyenne
Drive and ending at Cape Blanco Way. (see location
map or close up aerial map)
The land that the Cluster Homes were built on was originally
part the land in Bahl Patio Homes -
Cheyenne North. We were going to build Patio Homes on
them. The Cluster Homes were designed in response to rising
housing costs. Even in 1969 home prices were rising beyond the reach of
most buyers.
The idea behind the Cluster Homes was to increase density while
maintaining a single family home feeling. This was a relatively
new concept in the City of Sunnyvale. In fact it was too new for
the city staff & planning commission, who recommended denial
of the project. Thankfully the city council saw otherwise and
approved it. When we built this project,
we also helped write some of Sunnyvale's requirements related to
Townhomes. This is because we were one of the first Townhomes built
in Sunnyvale.
What makes the Cluster homes special are the single family features
you find in these homes. Every house has a garage and most are
attached.
Everybody's mail is delivered to their door. The garbage is picked
up in front of everybody's house. Every home has a private yard.
(Many people built pools in their yards) We also built out stucco
walls around the windows in order to insure as much privacy for the
homeowners as we could. The idea being that with the yards being
so close together, people on the 2nd floor would not be able to look
into the yards next to them. We also tried to solve some construction
problems relating to noise. We double
framed the interior walls to try to stop the transference of
noise. We ran the plumbing down interior walls and not shared
walls so you won't hear your neighbors water running. We also mixed glue into the
insulation which would keep it from settling over time. The models for the Cluster Homes were
located on Cheyenne Drive. We built a swimming pool at 522
Cheyenne Drive. It was featured in the 1973 issue of Garden Ideas
& Outdoor Living. (read
entire article). It was also featured on the cover on the
June 1972 cover
of Homebuilding Magazine. The word was now out about the Bahl
Cluster Homes and we started appearing in other Magazines. House and
Home wrote a feature on us in their
September 1972 issue. In January of 1973 Donald J. Bahl gave a speech
to the National Association of Home Builders at their national
convention in Houston. Here is the complete copy of his speech.
In this speech, Donald J. Bahl outlines the benefits of developing and
owning a Bahl Cluster home. For
the original homeowner, you might remember our salesman Norm
Solis and seeing the sign for the tract which
sat out on Sunnyvale Saratoga Road. (Highway 9 as it used to be know)
|
