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The end is near for Morgan’s Masonry Supply, one of San Ramon’s longest standing businesses and a mainstay in the city’s northwest corner, with a closing sale now underway and a new housing project on the horizon.
The exact timing of that transition is not yet clear. An employee told DanvilleSanRamon that as of Friday, Morgan’s will continue to be open for business for the time being, with no closure date yet determined.
But the future of the site at 2233 San Ramon Valley Blvd. has been determined, and it does not include the masonry store that has been in operation for decades as the city has grown around it.
Applications for a 131-unit apartment project designated for extremely low to low incomes were advanced in 2024, having been determined as a housing opportunity site in the city’s Housing Element – both of which were factors that led to an expedited approval process.
“Because of the site’s status as a Housing Opportunity Site and their proposal to designate 100% of the units as affordable units, the project qualified for ‘by-right’ approval meaning there is no discretionary review required,” city planning division manager Cindy Yee said.
The site has been eyed for redevelopment even longer than that, with a 200-unit mixed-use project previously considered in 2017 during a conceptual review workshop.
“The property owners of Morgan’s Masonry have engaged potential buyers of their site over the last five years to redevelop their property; the owners have elected to work with a developer interested in proposing housing on the site,” City Manager Steven Spedowfski said. “The San Ramon Village Specific Plan identified the property as a potential residential development site back in the 1990s.”
While it’s unclear exactly when the business will close and when the apartment complex will be constructed, what is clear is that the new development will be sitting on a well-known and beloved historic site that dates back to before the city’s incorporation in 1983.
But that was also the case for Morgan’s Masonry Supply itself, built on the site of the former San Ramon Grammar School that itself served as a keystone for the growing community.
The business was established by late Danville residents Murphy Morgan and Gladys Morgan after the school’s closure in the mid-20th century, with the former passing away and leaving his mark on the San Ramon Valley in 1978, followed by the latter in 2008, according to her obituary. The couple’s grandchildren had gone on to take over the family business prior to Gladys Morgan’s death.
The schoolhouse’s impact on the region as one of the features that put the San Ramon Valley on the map early on is recognized with a historic plaque at the site
While it’s also not yet clear how Morgan’s Masonry will be recognized for its historic role in the city, the supplies it has provided for countless landscaping, paving, and other construction projects throughout the region over the decades are already serving as a tribute. There will be more to come – and at a discount – as the business commences with its closing sale.
