Lochmoor is located in northeast Bellevue. If you’re a Modernist fan whose dream it is to dwell surrounded by homes built post-1950, Lochmoor may be exactly what you’re looking for.
In Lochmoor, you’ll find examples of nearly every type of Modern home built in the last sixty years. Classic flat-roof mid-century? Check. Beaver Cleaver faux Colonial? Check. Geometric Asian-influence design? Check. Also single-story ranch; sixties split-level; sixties and seventies two-story; contemporary Modern; and more.
LAKE SAMMAMISH AND MOUNTAIN VIEWS
True to its Scottish-inspired name (loch=lake; moor=heath or upland), Lochmoor is situated on hilly terrain, overlooking Lake Sammamish. None of Lochmoor’s homes are waterfront, but many have impressive vistas of Lake Sammamish and the Cascade Mountains. In the mornings, when the mist rises off the water and white clouds cling like cotton to the Cascade foothills, the view really is something to behold.
Lochmoor’s view homes tend to be fancier and pricier than non-view property in the neighborhood. Most of them also feature underground wiring and sport old-fashioned mid-century streetlights on wooden posts.
PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
You don’t have to purchase view property to find happiness in Lochmoor. When it comes to residential opportunities, there’s something here for everyone. Lochmoor is a neighborhood where you can buy into—or revitalize—your own mid-century Modern dream home.
Some of Lochmoor’s homes are in their original, well-maintained 1960s state. Their classic mid-century lines and original carports, for example, have not been altered. In other properties, the carport was long ago closed in, the house expanded and updated. Exterior materials are mixed—wood, brick, poured concrete, flat stones. And you know what? It all works. This is also a quiet neighborhood, with a fair amount of dead ends, cul-de-sacs, and no cut-through traffic. About the only automobiles you’ll encounter belong to the neighbors or Federal Express.
AT THE CROSSROADS
The Lochmoor neighborhood is marked by its original 1960s signposts on Northeast 8th Street. Pull out onto Northeast 8th, and this rural-like two-lane road soon turns into a four-lane thoroughfare.
By car, it’s only two or three minutes along Northeast 8th to either Crossroads Park or the Crossroads Mall (and the Crossroads Cinema). Continue on a couple more miles and you’re in Downtown Bellevue. Lochmoor is also only about three miles south of Microsoft in Redmond. And there are parks, nature trails, and freshwater beaches throughout the area.
CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Last May, when readers of the weekly Bellevue Reporter chose their 2011 Best of Bellevue Picks, they named Crossroads Mall—which is just minutes from Lochmoor—as “Best Place for Cultural Diversity.” They also voted the mall as having Bellevue’s “Best Italian Restaurant” (Firenze Ristorante).
Lochmoor is in the highly rated Bellevue School District. The neighborhood’s local high school is Interlake High School. In 2010, Interlake High was ranked #14 in Newsweek magazine’s list of the top 1,623 high schools in America.
Lochmoor is a fun, diverse neighborhood that has a lot going for it. If you’re looking for Modern living on the Eastside, you owe it to yourself to check it out.