Overview
About Hillcrest
Hillcrest covers 18.5 acres and records 249 addresses, all with unit designators, on three parcels. Twelve streets run 0.98 miles inside the boundary, and eleven of them are gemstones: Alexandrite, Aquamarine, Carnelian, Diamond, Emerald, Jadestone, Jasper, Ruby, Sapphire, Turquoise and Zircon, with Hillcrest itself the twelfth. The general plan puts 16.2 acres at 6.5 to 14 homes an acre and keeps 2.1 acres as recreation and open space.
The whole boundary lies in flood zone X. Capistrano Unified serves it, and the district's address locator returns Viejo Elementary at 447 students, Fred Newhart Middle at 1,105 and Capistrano Valley High at 1,991 from every interior point tested.
View available homes in HillcrestHistory
How Hillcrest was built
Hillcrest runs on gemstones. Alexandrite, Aquamarine, Carnelian, Diamond, Emerald, Jadestone, Jasper, Ruby, Sapphire, Turquoise and Zircon account for eleven of its twelve streets, with only Hillcrest itself breaking the pattern. Alexandrite is the odd one to find on a street sign: it is the Russian stone that reads green in daylight and red under lamplight, and it is a long way from the more obvious choices a developer could have made.
The community was built in 1985 as attached homes, and it was designed so that no home sits above or below another, which is unusual for the density here: 249 addresses on 18.5 acres. Sales listings still describe the layout that way forty years on, which suggests it was the selling point at the time as well.
By the Numbers
Hillcrest by the numbers
Lifestyle
The Hillcrest lifestyle
Schools
Schools serving Hillcrest
Capistrano Unified serves Hillcrest, and the district's address locator returns Viejo Elementary, Fred Newhart Middle and Capistrano Valley High at every interior point tested. Enrollment below is the 2024-25 federal count.
9-12 · 1,991 students
6-8 · 1,105 students
K-5 · 447 students
FAQs
Common questions about Hillcrest
Who developed Hillcrest?
The Mission Viejo Company. Its name appears in the owner's certificate on Tract 12291, recorded in February 1985 and surveyed by Jack G. Raub in November 1984.
Why are the streets named after gemstones?
The recorded maps named them. Alexandrite, Aquamarine, Carnelian, Diamond, Emerald, Jadestone, Jasper, Ruby, Sapphire, Turquoise and Zircon are eleven of the twelve street names the city's address layer records inside the boundary.
Is Medical Center Road a public street?
Yes. Tract 12291 dedicates Medical Center Road and Hillcrest to the public for street purposes, with the Moulton Niguel Water District signing the map alongside the subdivider.
Which land grant does Hillcrest sit on?
Rancho Mission Viejo, also called La Paz, under the patent recorded in Book 1 of Patents in Los Angeles County. Most of the communities in this guide sit on Rancho Trabuco instead.
Which schools serve Hillcrest?
Capistrano Unified, and the district's address locator returns Viejo Elementary with 447 students, Fred Newhart Middle with 1,105 and Capistrano Valley High with 1,991 at every interior point tested.