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At the time, this was the largest development ever undertaken by residential homebuilder, Carl Dame (pronounced Da-May), but capitalizing on the success of Twin Creeks, he went on to develop many other subdivisions in San Ramon and Danville including Bollinger Hills, Canyon Crest and Bettencourt Ranch.

Work began in Twin Creeks in 1968 with the first homes being available for sale in 1969 along Canyon Creek Drive, off Twin Creeks Drive, right across from a large shopping center, now anchored by Safeway and Long's Drugs. It was soon apparent that this was going to be a popular development, not only benefiting from the proximity of shops and restaurants but also incorporating two elementary schools, Twin Creeks Elementary and Bollinger Elementary. both of which were soon to achieve wide-spread acclaim.

A further factor in ensuring the popularity of Twin Creeks was the wide range of home styles and lot sizes. This was truly a development where there was something for everybody.

At the most affordable level, Dame built a large number of two and three bedroom townhome-like condominiums, some with garages but most with just covered parking. This is Twin Creeks West, a neighborhood on and around Bollinger Canyon Road close to Crow Canyon Road. Also, quite close to these, he built a number of three and four bedroom one story and two story duets, all with attached two-car garages and yards, some with lot sizes close to a quarter acre.

At the other end of the spectrum are substantial two story and tri-level single family homes with 2500 to 2800 square feet of living space and three-car garages, many on large view lots up to an acre or more. Even now, it is rare to see a development with such a wide range of housing sizes and styles.

Now, almost 40 years after the start of this ambitious project, Twin Creeks is established as one of San Ramon's best places to live. The area is well established with wide tree-lined streets and homes that are almost all very well maintained, and many of which have been substantially improved and remodeled to a level that would undoubtedly give Carl Dame pause for thought. The schools and parks here are better than ever and residents frequently sell their Twin Creeks home only to buy another one, some moving up as their families grow, while others are down-sizing.

Of course a lot of change has taken place in San Ramon since 1968. Bollinger Canyon Road carries a lot more traffic than it did and it now reaches right across the east side of the city and up to Windemere. Two on ramps to the 680 freeway are close by providing easy access for commuters and we have more shops, restaurants, parks and entertainment options than ever before. The latest news is that San Ramon is to get a new City Center and by all accounts it will be a showplace. Twin Creeks is well situated for all of this.

In terms of real estate investment, as in many parts of the country, San Ramon has seen a correction in home prices in recent times and Twin Creeks has not escaped this. A small tri-level home that could have sold here for $840,000 a couple of years ago could sell for around $700,000 today but prices were rising so fast in the early part of this century that a correction of this kind was inevitable. This is not all bad news of course. For those trading up, the value of their target home will also be much lower now, and more important, so will the differential. People who are trading down have most likely lived in their home for sufficient time that they have built a substantial amount of equity anyway so they are really not so badly effected by the current state of the market.

Just like any other investment, real estate has its ups and downs but if the past is anything to go by, for most people, real estate is the best investment. Certainly it is the only investment that also provides you with a roof over your head. With this in mind, it seems certain that Twin Creeks will continue to be a popular place to live for the foreseeable future.