Ridgemont, Oakland, California

Location of Ridgemont in the City of Oakland.

Ridgemont is one of Oakland's relatively newer affluent neighborhoods in the city's upscale hillside districts, this one located next to Merritt College along Campus Drive. First developed in the 1970s and 1980s as a tract-home development, albeit a decidedly upscale one, the neighborhood's stock of large tract homes has expanded to include exceptional custom estates and mansions perched on the neighborhood's choicest ridges, which offer expansive, uninterrupted views of the south San Francisco Bay. One of the last undeveloped hillside parcels in the city of Oakland, this district has in recent years added a new, less exclusive subdivision on the western slopes below Campus Drive. Begun in 2005 by Desilva, a real estate developer, this latest subdivision has nearly completed its first phase of homes on the ridge where the Leona quarry (also known as the Alma pyrite mine) was once in use. The higher-priced segment of this latest subdivision has yet to break ground on the restored upper reaches of the former quarry, which has undergone extensive environmental repair in preparation for the new subdivision. As of 2013, the country's continuing economic challenges in general, and the depressed housing market in particular, has slowed the pace of sales of existing units and the construction of the more upscale segment of the project. The former quarry –– even after having undergone extensive seeding and terraced hillside reconstitution –– is still visible for miles, even as far away as San Francisco across the Bay.