Riviera-Westchester has been Bakersfield’s premiere urban district since the 1920s. The southern 2/3s of the neighborhood were developed before WWII and the 1/3 north of 24th Street was developed in the 40s-60s. The district has held its value ever since and commands the highest prices for Bakersfield neighborhood with decent urbanity.
The district has more typical suburban amenities with low density, good tree canopy, lots of well maintained single family homes, a couple of good schools, great parks, and low crime. It also hosts some decent mixed-use blocks on 19th Street on the edge of Dwtn and while F street is a pretty auto centric commercial district it still has some good urban stretches.
Riviera/Westchester has great access to Dwtn and residents on its eastern edge can walk to Dwtn and enjoy the many cultural and retail amenities it holds. For the neighborhood to be a great urban district it needs much more housing and density, which will help spur more walkability and amenities. Riviera/Westchester also needs more consistent sidewalks and ADA curbs and mixed-use infill along 19th St and F Avenue.
Click here to view my Riviera-Westcheser album on Flickr
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Decent public transit access and very convenient access to Dwtn across all modes of transit.
*Solid racial diversity and pretty good income diversity. Good generational diversity.
* Very safe district and limited blight.
* Good amount of rentals and moderately priced. 1-beds lease between 1K and the high 1Ks, some 2 & 3 beds that are lease in the 1Ks.
* Pretty good for sale range with the exception of much condo product. 2-beds range anywhere btwn 175K-450. 2 & 4 beds btwn 250K-750K. Some 5 beds sell for around 1M.
* High quality park amenities with 3 lovely parks, the Bakersfield racket club, a recreational trail along the river and a couple small parks. Along the massive Bakersfield ballpark complex is nearby.
* Solid Tree canopy.
* Decent cultural amenities including several restaurants & bars, a couple cafes. But mostly great access to all the cultural amenities Dwtn.
* Ok neighborhood amenities including a, a couple drug stores, tons of salons, a couple boutiques, a couple dessert spots & gyms, and the dwtn post office and a major hospital are nearby. But lots of retail amenities nearby in Dwtn.
* Lots of attractive historic homes esp. south of 24th St.
* Well regarded neighborhood in Bakersfield.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Very poor density, similar and sometimes even worse than a suburb.
* ADA curb cuts are pretty spotty and concentrated in the more commercial areas.
* About 60% of the district has consistant sidewalks. The SW section is largely missing them and the north 1/3 of the district.
* A very good public elementary school and below average high school are located in the district. Also a good elementary school nearby in Dwtn.
* Modern infill is generally auto centric junk but some good stuff.
* Not great pedestrian traffic.
Evaluating our Urban Communities [with a focus on America] 