Rancho Rinconada, Cupertino, California

Rancho Rinconada is a residential neighborhood in the eastern part of Cupertino, California. It is bordered by Saratoga Creek (just west of Lawrence Expressway), Stevens Creek Boulevard, Miller Road, and Bollinger Road. Cupertino High School, Sedgwick Elementary School, and Hyde Middle School serve Rancho Rinconada.The homes in Rancho Rinconada were originally low cost single-story houses built in the 1950s by builders Stern and Price. These ranch houses or "ranchos" were based on a Cliff May modular design and marketed under the name "Miracle House". Similar projects were later undertaken in Palo Alto, CA and Long Beach, CA.

The modular construction and materials used were designed to keep the cost of construction to a bare minimum in order to produce a very affordable home. This modular design reduced materials and man hours to the point where a single home could be put up in a single day.

For the Rancho Rinconada development, savings started with the low cost rural property for a new subdivision project of almost 1,000 new homes. Foundations on concrete slabs required shallow footings for the light weight nature of the designs giving savings from shallow digging and less concrete required. The modules along with the rest of the building material to erect the home were...
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