Lakeshore, Homewood: homes, schools, parks and commute

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Sources: the Homewood Historic Preservation Commission’s neighborhoods tour, the city’s comprehensive plan update, the city’s address and school zone map layers, the state’s report card, Zillow Research, MAX Transit and OpenStreetMap.

Lakeshore is Homewood’s south side along Lakeshore Drive: Samford University’s campus, Homewood High School, the city’s soccer park and the Shades Creek Greenway, with residential streets north and south of the creek. U.S. 31, Montgomery Highway, crosses it on the way to Vestavia Hills.

What this means for you

• Zoned high school: Homewood High, at 1901 S. Lakeshore Drive. Elementary is split three ways; check the school locator map.
• Home value: $536,460 in ZIP 35209 and $409,889 in ZIP 35216 in September 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
• Nearest I-65 exit: exit 255, Lakeshore Drive and Lakeshore Parkway.

Part of our Homewood neighborhoods guide.

Where it is

The Historic Preservation Commission’s driving tour groups “Lakeshore, Mayfair and Windsor” as Ward 4 and starts it “near Samford University and Lakeshore Parkway.” Its stops include Samford’s Georgian-Colonial campus. The draft growth and conservation map in the city’s July 22, 2026, comprehensive plan workshop (PDF) treats Samford University as a “Special District,” an area “with unique functions” that needs its own planning approach.

On this page the area is the part of the city’s Ward 4 south of the Mayfair and Windsor Highlands streets and east of the Wildwood district, from about Saulter Road and the Samford campus south across Shades Creek. The streets with the most address points are Woodland Village, Crest Drive, University Park Drive, Lakeshore Drive, Lake Ridge Road, Shades Cliff Terrace, Lakewood Drive and Murray Hill Road. In the city’s address map, 53% of the 770 address points use ZIP code 35209 and 47% use 35216. All are inside city limits. The Samford campus has its own ZIP code, 35229, one of two ZIP code areas with at least 10% of their land in Homewood in the Census Bureau’s 2020 relationship file.

Schools

This is how the 770 address points split in the city’s school zone layer on Oct. 17. Grades are from the state’s 2024-25 report card.

Because the area is split three ways, check one address with the district’s school locator map, which the district says is not legally binding, and confirm with residency and enrollment at 205-870-2011. More in our schools guide.

Home values

The typical home value in ZIP 35209 was $536,460 in September 2026, up 6.70% from $502,785 in September 2025, according to the Zillow Home Value Index. In ZIP 35216, which Zillow files under Vestavia Hills, it was $409,889, up 3.56% from $395,804. The index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes in the whole ZIP code, not a sale price, so neither figure describes Lakeshore alone. The citywide Homewood figure was $568,543, up 6.59%. More in our home prices guide.

Parks and trails

• Shades Creek Greenway: the city’s main trail, with 145,600 visitors a year, the city says. No motorized vehicles; electric bikes are allowed.
• The soccer park, 1800 S. Lakeshore Drive. A new Greenway Pavilion is dedicated there with Christina’s Trail at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28.
• Homewood Preserve, a city green space near Homewood High and Samford, as mapped in the city’s green spaces layer.

More in our parks and trails guide and walking and biking trails guide.

Getting around

• Interstate 65: exit 255, Lakeshore Drive and Lakeshore Parkway, is the closest, by the exit numbers in OpenStreetMap. It is being rebuilt as a diverging diamond through fall 2027.
• U.S. 31: MAX Route 31, Highway 31 South, runs along U.S. 31 between downtown Birmingham, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and the Riverchase Galleria.
• City Hall: about 2.9 miles from the middle of the area by road.
• Airport: about 9.9 miles to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. Both are road distances measured on the OpenStreetMap network with the OSRM routing engine, not drive times.
• MAX On-Demand: rides anywhere in the city limits for $1.50 a trip, in the MAX Connect app.

More in our getting around guide.

Samford’s Creekside plan

In April 2025 the Planning Commission gave positive recommendations for rezoning for Creekside, a town square-style development planned south of Lakeshore Drive near the campus by Landmark Development. Residents raised concerns about salamander habitat and a proposed hotel of up to 10 stories, the city said. Check the city’s meetings page for its current status.

Groceries and everyday stores

OpenStreetMap shows no supermarket or pharmacy inside the area. The nearest are on U.S. 31 just over the line in Vestavia Hills:

• Publix, 784 Montgomery Highway
• Walgreens, 737 Montgomery Highway

How we drew this area

Lakeshore is named by the Historic Preservation Commission’s tour. Its edges here are ours: the south part of Ward 4 in the city’s five-ward map layer, the tour’s Lakeshore, Mayfair and Windsor ward, south of about Saulter Road and east of the Wildwood district. School shares are from every city address point inside those edges, checked Oct. 17, 2026. Store locations are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Frequently asked questions

What elementary school is the Lakeshore area of Homewood zoned for?

It is split three ways. Of the city’s address points in the area as we drew it, 40% are zoned for Edgewood Elementary, 38% for Shades Cahaba Elementary and 22% for Hall-Kent Elementary. All go to Homewood Middle and Homewood High, which sits in the area at 1901 S. Lakeshore Drive.

Is Lakeshore in Homewood a good place to live?

Here are the facts. Lakeshore is the south side of Homewood around Lakeshore Drive and Samford University, with the Shades Creek Greenway, the soccer park and Homewood High, which earned an A (94) on the state’s 2024-25 report card. Zillow put the typical home value at $536,460 in ZIP 35209 and $409,889 in ZIP 35216 in September 2026.

What ZIP codes does the Lakeshore area of Homewood use?

Two for homes: 53% of the city’s address points here use 35209 and 47% use 35216, toward Vestavia Hills. The Samford University campus has its own ZIP code, 35229.

Where does the Shades Creek Greenway start in Homewood?

The soccer park at 1800 S. Lakeshore Drive is the usual access point; the greenway runs east and west along Shades Creek. A new Greenway Pavilion is dedicated there at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28.