Francis Ranch Neighborhood Guide | Dublin

Francis Ranch is Dublin's newest master-planned community — and right now, it's one of the only places in the city where you can still buy genuinely new construction. Trumark Homes is the master developer, building this out on the old Croak ranch in the eastern hills of Dublin, one of the last large parcels the city had left. Ground broke in 2022, the community held its grand opening in 2025, and it's slated to be fully built by the end of 2027. So if you've been touring resale homes all over Dublin and wishing you could get something brand-new — with current floor plans, warranties, and the chance to pick finishes — this is the answer, and it's selling now.

What makes Francis Ranch worth understanding is its range. There are 573 homes across six neighborhoods, built by two builders — Trumark Homes (Orchid, Azure, Marigold, and Jasmine) and Taylor Morrison (Primrose and Larkspur) — and together they span an unusually wide spectrum, from around 1,900 square feet up to nearly 4,900. Let me give you the shape of it. On the attached end, Jasmine is two- and three-story townhomes in the low-2,000s — the entry point into the community. In the middle are the detached single-family collections: Marigold's motor-court homes in the mid-2,000s, and Taylor Morrison's Primrose and Larkspur, two-story homes generally in the 2,600-to-2,900-square-foot range with downstairs bedroom suites and upstairs lofts. And at the top is Orchid — large single-family homes pushing toward 4,800 square feet, four to five bedrooms, three-car garages, the luxury tier of the community. A handful of plans across Francis Ranch also offer accessory dwelling unit (ADU) options, which is worth knowing if you want rental income or multigenerational space built in from day one.

The setting is the other selling point. Francis Ranch sits up in Dublin's eastern hills, so a lot of these homes come with real Tri-Valley views — genuinely uncommon for new two-story detached construction in the Bay Area. The community is built around two parks, Poppy Meadow Park and Wild Wind Park, with an interconnected trail network and dedicated open space woven between the neighborhoods. The architecture leans into a heritage-meets-modern look, with exteriors ranging from farmhouse to contemporary cottage to prairie.

Now the honest trade-offs, because new construction always has them. First, location: this is far East Dublin, up in the hills, so you're further from the freeway and BART than the central neighborhoods — the views and the newness come at the cost of being at the edge of town. Second, because it's actively building out through 2027, you'll likely be living alongside ongoing construction for a while if you buy early. And third — this is the big one for any new East Dublin community — be sure to ask about Mello-Roos and the HOA. New master-planned communities here typically carry both a homeowners association and a community facilities district (Mello-Roos) special tax that funds infrastructure, and those can add meaningfully to your monthly cost. Get the full carrying cost in writing before you fall for a floor plan.

On schools: the builder lists Francis Ranch as feeding Cottonwood Creek (a K-8 school, so it covers both elementary and middle grades) and Emerald High, all in Dublin Unified. Dublin is still adding schools in this fast-growing eastern area — a new campus, Shamrock Hills, is in the pipeline — so as always, verify the current assignment by the specific parcel address with the district before you write an offer, especially in a community this new.

If you're considering Francis Ranch, this is exactly where having an agent who knows the new-construction game matters — comparing builders and floor plans, understanding the incentives the builders are offering, weighing a Jasmine townhome against a Marigold detached or an Orchid estate, and making sure the Mello-Roos and HOA math actually works for you. I'm happy to walk through all of it, and to represent you with the builder so you've got someone on your side of the table.

— Rebecca Rook, Living Tri-Valley | Compass