B
renda Chizanskos wasn’t
looking for a new home
the day she and her three
children decided to take a bike ride in
their gated community, Eagle Ridge.
They had moved to what they felt
would be their forever home in Gilroy,
from Campbell, in 2000 (just seven
years prior). When they saw a sign
saying “Open House” they decided to
take a look. It was the kids, Joseph,
Jessica and Julia, who fell in love with
the home first. They actually put a
Powerpoint presentation together to
show their parents why they felt that
the house they had seen that day was
the “best in the world.” Joseph had
his eye on a tree that would be perfect
for a treehouse, and the girls found
the balconies and trees outside the
bedrooms they coveted just “magical.”
Brenda and Shawn just couldn’t say no.
And so their story of living in a 6,000
square foot, four bedroom, four and
half bath custom home that sat on
2.5 acres began.
Originally built by Shappell Homes
executive, Bob Moore, the home sits on
a double lot with open space behind it.
Moore had hoped to build two homes
on the property, one for his immediate
family and one for his parents. When
he was unable to build that second
home due to a landslide situation, he
decided to build one large home that
would accommodate his extended
family. The timeline was at the height of
the recession. After building the home,
he rethought his plans to move to
Eagle Ridge and instead put the home
up for sale.
Brenda smiled when she talked
about the first thing they did when
they moved in. It was the building of a
treehouse, complete with a zip line and
landing area, out on the back side of
the property. The next to be installed,
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018
was a volleyball court (both girls played
competitively at the time). “It just
seemed the natural thing to do,” noted
Brenda.
Karen Aitken Landscaping did the
original plans for the backyard, based on
the ages of their children at the time, but
when they finally got around to doing
the landscaping, the children had grown
and plans changed. Shawn found himself
drawing up what would be their final
plan. The large pool with water features,
a shallow sunbathing area, hot tub, and
room for 50 people wasn’t completed
until 2014. Their children, now 25, 22
and 20, when home from school, enjoy
spending time in the pool. The treehouse
and volleyball court are a little off their
grown-up radar.
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