Toro Park Estates

Toro Park Estates

Toro Park Estates is located in the sun belt just 5 minutes from downtown Salinas and 20 minutes to the Monterey Peninsula. Residents enjoy seeing the cattle grazing on the green hills to the east and sheep on the opposite slope. Back in the 1950's the Guidotti tomato fields occupied much of the subdivision as it appears today. Bollenbacher and Kelton purchased the Guidotti property and after a traditional battle between environmentalists and devlopers, the first model homes were built in 1964. Original owners have watched their home values increase over the years from $25-$30,000 to over 1 million dollars during the peak of the market. The subdivision has 6 sections that includes 476 homes. The developer donated to the county certain areas of the land for greenbelt and park areas. Toro Park School was built in 1974 and continues to be one of the highest performing schools in Monterey County. The Washington Union School District's success is evident when comparing school districts in Monterey County and has strong parental and community support.

Since Toro Park history dates back to the time when the entire Toro Area was included in the holdings of a Spanish Viceroy, it seems appropriate that many of the street name are Spanish bullfighting terms. Toro, of course, means "bull" and the members of the bullfighting team are the "Toreadors" or "Toreros". The "Picador" is the horseman who goads the bull with his "Estoque", and the "Matador" kills the bull. Famous bullfighters have been "Cordoba", "Ortega", "Ordonez" and "Manolete". The "Capote" is the cape worn by the cloth cap called a "Montera" which has a "Coleta" or tail of hair attached to it. The "Muleta" is the bullfighter's red flag. A "Veronica" is the name of a certain kind of "pass" the matador makes with his cape, and we all know about the famous bull named "Ferdinand". The Kelton's sons' names, David and Richard were combined to form "Davenrich", while the name of the previous owner of the land is "Guidotti". "Portola" is an important early Spanish explorer of the Monterey Region.

There are several neighborhood parks within the community, such as Kelton Park, Lopp Park, Warren Sutherland Park and a baseball field behind Toro School dedicated to the memory of Sean McAuliffe, a second grader who died after an accident. Many of these parks have playground equipment, park benches and are frequently used for birthday parties, gatherings and other events. There is a strong sense of community with the annual ice cream social, Christmas home decoration contest (including Gingerbread lane!), a directory of residents and phone numbers ($15 annual dues is requested) and because of the wonderful weather, neighbors enjoy walking (easy access to the BLM Fort Ord property for runners, joggers, pets and horses!). In the spring time the trails lead to fields of wild blue lupin! The neighborhood is a strong supporter of it's little league teams, football teams and soccer teams. 4H is also strongly supported with the close proximity to the San Benancio and Corral de Tierra areas. There is a small strip mall with a restaurant, 7-11 (gas and small store), vetrinary clinic, other retail and business services. Toro Regional Park is ajacent to the subidivision and has many events, as well as a prime location for local high school cross country events.

For properties ranging from 1500 to 3000 square feet, expect to pay between $450,000 and $800,000 dollars.

More information for Toro Park Estates is at http://facebook.com/toroparkhomeownersassociation.

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Toro Park Estates

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