Our History
The foundation for The McLellan Company was laid when David McLellan traded a parcel of land on Market Street in San Francisco, CA for approximately 3,500 acres in Belmont, San Mateo, and Foster City that stretched from the railroad tracks on the west, to the Bay on the east, to the former Bay Meadows Race Track to the north and Ralston Avenue to the south. This land became the principal asset of the new McLellan Estate Co., founded in 1932.
The company conducted limited farming operations on the land then parcels were periodically sold until the mid-1960s when the three grandsons, Hays, Wake, and Edgar decided to utilize the family land and develop apartments. Under the guidance of Hays McLellan, an engineer and contractor, two large apartment communities were built on Crest View Avenue consisting of 220 units. The Crestview Apartments were followed about 10 years later by the 182-unit Old County Road Apartments located at 707 Old County Road.
After the apartment projects were completed, the Company, led by Hays and later his son Laureston McLellan, purchased approximately seven acres on Martin Avenue in Santa Clara where they developed and leased three industrial buildings totaling nearly 92,000 S.F. The commercial portfolio grew as the Company expanded through the acquisition of numerous additional properties in Northern and Southern California.
The company portfolio has expanded well beyond our apartment communities to include 24 commercial properties with 59 buildings and over 275 tenants across California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah. In 2021, McLellan Estate Co. became The McLellan Company as the company positions itself for a dynamic and prosperous future!