724 Brazil Avenue - Engine Company 43

Listed for $2.6 million this past October and then reduced to $2.275 million in November, the list price for the Excelsior District firehouse which served as the setting for Mia’s house in the Princess Diaries has just been reduced another $425,000, now asking $1,850,000.

Or to quote the listing: “Seller says SELL!!!”

Built in 1911 for the horse-drawn Engine Company 43, the firehouse at 724 Brazil Avenue includes over 4,500 square feet of building space on a double lot and is currently configured as a two-unit building (which will be delivered vacant).

724 Brazil Ave Great Room

And once again, while still touting “a fantastic opportunity for units, live-work space, or your favorite tech start-up,” keep in mind the parcel is zoned for residential versus commercial use.

9 thoughts on “Princess Diaries Firehouse Price Dropped Another $425K”
  1. Death by a thousand cuts. This is the Excelsior District, correct? Look to your right, look to your left and see where the comps are. Best to lose the 1 before the 8, and let the potential buyers bid up, setting the real market value.

    I am only responding because the pneumonia vaccine knocked me down for a day and a half. Also because I am old.

  2. I’ve was inside this firehouse a few months ago (craigslist purchase of furniture from the then-tenants). The flooring on the ground level is made out of marble kitchen counter discards of highly varied colors and shapes. Kind of funky-cool, but probably not something the new owner is going to keep.

  3. I get it, it’s the Excelsior so it’s hard to sell. But I feel like there is so little culture or true edge left in SF. It’s turning into just one big piece of leed certified granite carera marble blah menlo park. I know the hood here is a bit sketch, but I’d much prefer to live in this house than the recently advertised blobs on Laidley and Duncan. You could fill this place with art and it could soar …

  4. This neighborhood is no more “sketch” than many southern neighborhoods including the Mission and people pay boat loads for that sketch. I only know the area superficially as my kid goes to preschool nearby but I get the crime reports since I live in Bernal and we’re part of the same district. And being in Bernal I keep up with Mission crime reports so I know what goes down there as well. Just last week three separate robberies at gunpoint not to mention regular smash and grab activity but that’s pretty consistent everywhere. Then of course the shootings in Hayes Valley recently which is another high value area. Point is, seems that folks have a high tolerance for “sketch”. So considering that… I’d like to hear from people that know more about the Excelsior than I do in regards to its chances of being one of the next areas to see more investment… or is it already? It has a Bart station relatively close, freeway access, a huge open space nearby, and a functioning retail area on Mission, and decent weather. Seems like it has the ingredients and maybe the firehouse could be a good play if you have the skills.

    1. Great point about the “high tolerance for sketch” in the Mission not necessarily being applied to other areas.

    2. true but the mission and hayes valley have lots of high end stores and restaurants so that makes the sketch more tolerable…lol

      I think Excelsior is going to start seeing a little more of that. prices have already gone up there a great deal. problem is BART is not super accessible since it’s in-between two stations and the only real connection is the 14 and 14L. There’s talk of BRT along Geneva from Balboa Park to Bayshore Caltrain (and a new onramp to 101) so I think that will encourage gentrification as well.

  5. Point taken. I’m very sorry for offending anyone or calling it a “bit sketch”. The point I was trying to make is that I like this property and would prefer to live in it than the more sterile properties at twice the price in “more desirable” locations (like upper noe/glen park shoulder) …

  6. I’ve lived in Excelsior for nearly ten years (a block from the firehouse) I have 2 young kids pre and elementary. I’ve also lived in the Mission, and Bernal. It’s changing fast, property prices are on the up, but at a lower rate than most other sf neighborhoods as far as I can tell. For the most part, it’s quiet here, I know all my immediate neighbors, and I haven’t seen or been affected by crime. The Mission was far far worse when I lived there, but that was ~12 years ago now. It always seems crowded to me now, but that’s probably a reflection of my age and life stage 😉

    I work downtown, and it takes me 40 mins door to door on Bart to Powell. The 14 Express gets downtown pretty quick too, but I use that less. MacLaren Park is a gem, one of SF’s hidden treasures imo, and gets a lot more use in recent years – check out Shakespeare In The Park at the amphitheater, and the annual mountain bike race. My kids and I bike there regularly – to the Crocker Amazon play ground which is flat!

    There are at least two cafes down on Mission, Mama’s and Cumaica’s – both are well patronized and I think both have live music. There’s also the Doctors Lounge, and pissed Off Petes, which although a little scary sounding is actually a great dive bar with excellent food options. On Geneva there’s the Dark Horse bar and restaurant, and the Broken Record.

    Anyway, this is a decent neighborhood, certainly no more or less ‘sketch’ than the Mission, and with far more space for the money. I toured the open house of the firehouse, would love to buy it, but it’s over budget… I think it’ll probably be a good investment in the long run, but needs money put into it. Monroe school has a good Spanish Emersion program and SF Community seems good from what I know from friends who attend. So that’s my observations, take them how you will. One thing I will say is that when I say I live in the Excelsior nowadays, people have heard of it! Years ago it was generally a ‘where?’

    Oh, one other thing – there’s a great community on nextdoor dot com if you want to connect with people who live here. This was a longer post than intended, please don’t flame me, I’m not a realtor, I don’t care if you come here or not, but the southern hoods in this city are underrated and on the up. Ps. If you’re the realtor for the firehouse, I can offer you 800k, tops 😉

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