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One of San Ramon’s few remaining relics from the area’s Gold Rush days was severely damaged in a fire Wednesday morning in a blow to local history buffs as well as the property owner who had been seeking to renovate the building as part of a proposed project for the site.
The San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District responded to the blaze in 150-plus-year-old Harlan House at 19251 San Ramon Valley Boulevard at 10:28 a.m. Wednesday, ultimately extinguishing the fire but not before it had torn through most of the structure’s upper story and its roof.
“The loss of the Harlan House is a heartbreaking moment for our community and for all who value our shared history,” San Ramon Mayor Mark Armstrong said. “Built in 1852 by Joel and Minerva Harlan — early pioneers who arrived in California just ahead of the Donner Party — the house stood as one of the oldest wooden structures in the state.”
The house’s historical significance – a rarity in the rapidly growing and redeveloping city – had previously been the subject of numerous talks about a proposed plan approved by the city in 2022 to redevelop the site into a residential senior care facility, with property owner Sohail Siddiqi seeking to restore the vacant structure as part of the project.
“We’ve been working so hard for the last eight years to save this house,” Siddiqi said.
That effort has come to an end as of Wednesday. Although Siddiqi had been in continued talks with the city clarifying requirements for the project, he said that at this point he doesn’t think the structure is “in any condition to be saved.”
Siddiqi had previously sought to have the building moved to a neighboring location in order to make way for the planned assisted living project he had planned for the 0.7 acre lot that he acquired in 2017. When that plan fell through, he was left with two options: restoring the house as part of the senior living project, or demolishing the historic building in order to make room for the project.
“At that time we were trying to figure out what was the best thing to do,” Siddiqi said. “Working very closely with the San Ramon Historic Foundation and councilmembers at the time, we all concluded that if we can somehow incorporate this house in our overall design, that may be the best solution.”
Had the plan to move the house gone through, it would have been the building’s second time being relocated over the course of its more than 150-year history.
“Originally located on the border between Alameda and Contra Costa counties, the Harlan House was moved in 1856 to its final site to avoid the burden of paying property taxes to both counties,” Armstrong said. “It was more than a home—it was a living reminder of our roots, our resilience, and the extraordinary journey of those who helped shape this region. Its absence leaves a void not just in our landscape, but in our collective memory.”
But despite the city’s support for preserving the Harlan House – dubbed El Nido or “the nest” by its Gold Rush-era builders Joel and Minerva Harlan, who raised their nine children there – Siddiqi said that the ongoing planning and development of the project has not been easy.
“We’ve been working with city planners’ specific requirements, and they wanted to make sure we followed the requirements to save this house,” Siddiqi said. “They made it so complex unnecessarily, just wasted so much time.”
Talks had been ongoing as recently as Tuesday, Siddiqi said, when he received a response from the city clarifying requirements for the project. He noted that without the lengthy negotiations and discussion process that the assisted living project – and restoration of the house – could have potentially been underway already.
Given the obstacles that Siddiqi said were posed by the city’s review process, the site was listed for sale last year as part of a “two pronged” approach.
“This whole process was dragging on so much, so we said if we can’t get to some kind of consensus with the city on the approval then we may have to sell this thing, because we’ve been at it for eight years,” Siddiqi said.
The site was initially listed for $5.3 million on May 7, 2024, with the asking price increasing to $8 million on Sept. 19, 2024, then dropping down to $6.3 million as of this week according to Redfin.
Trespassing and vandalism – and the risk of arson – at the vacant site were concerns Siddiqi had raised at numerous city meetings while applying for the project. He said Wednesday that he suspected the cause of the fire was arson by a group of young kids, but that the investigation was ongoing as of that evening.
SRVFPD maintained a presence at the site throughout the day Wednesday, ultimately clearing the scene at 5:44 p.m. A spokesperson for the district had not responded to a request for information as of Wednesday evening. A spokesperson for the San Ramon Police Department said that their agency was also investigating the incident, but declined to comment further and directed questions to SRVFPD.
In a Facebook post Wednesday evening, SRVFPD confirmed that the investigation was ongoing.
“Firefighters worked to quickly contain the blaze minimizing the spread to surrounding vegetation and preventing the spread to neighboring structures,” an SRVFPD spokesperson said on Facebook. “Our Arson Investigation Team is coordinating with the San Ramon Police Department and conducting a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire.”
Siddiqi said that the two city planners he’d been working with were out of the office this week, making the next steps for the assisted living project uncertain as of Wednesday.
What was clear as of Wednesday evening, according to Siddiqi, was that his eight-year goal of preserving the building was off the table, and that his work and investments towards that goal had been for naught.
“It’s unfortunate the way this whole thing has unfolded,” Siddiqi said.
