Park Plaza, Richmond, CA

Park Plaza is a small, urban residential neighborhood in south Richmond, and its pitch is straightforward: older homes, a central location, and prices well under what the same house would cost a few miles south in El Cerrito or Albany. The gridded streets are lined with homes from the 1940s and 1950s, with some 1960s ranches mixed in, mostly modest two-bedroom houses with backyards. The location is the workhorse. On-ramps for both I-80 and I-580 are close, a BART station is within reach, and buses run Cutting Boulevard. John F. Kennedy Park, at Cutting and South 41st, gives the area a solid chunk of recreation space with courts and fields after its renovation. The honest framing is that this is an affordable, central neighborhood, not a polished one. It sits close to busy corridors and industry, upkeep varies from house to house, and you trade a bit of grit for the price and the access. For buyers who want a yard and two bedrooms within striking distance of everything, Park Plaza is one of the more attainable ways in.