With a town called Sunnyvale, it is only fitting that DR Horton should offer free solar systems in its latest townhouse community, Lotus.  Lotus is a boutique development with only 36 units of 3 bedroom townhouses.  Each townhouse is built with a 2.1KW solar system included and pre-installed so that home owners don’t have to deal with the headaches of solar panel installation, such as getting HOA approval.  Other than the solar panels, the community also has some nice touches such as a 2 story plan and front porches.  I especially like the 2 story plan.  When you can walk through the entrance right into your living and dining area, it makes the house feel so much more welcoming and cozy.

In spite of the nice features, I can’t quite put my finger on the location.  It’s by Fair Oaks and East Taylor in the North Sunnyvale just south of 101.  North Sunnyvale has a hodgepodge of light industrial, commercial, apartment complexes, condos and single family ranging from $350K to $1.25M.  The area is as diverse or mixed use as you can get.  The official real estate term, if there is one, is called transitional.  Several small developments of townhouses push the area to transition into a more residential, family friendly direction.  As most of the lots are small, just like Lotus, we’ll need a few more to pick up enough momentum.  It will be interesting to see how the developers’ efforts pan out over the next 5-10 years.