SocketSite™

I still hate the messiness of those overhead wires going along the main facade of the building. Couldn't the developers have worked out some undergrounding deal? It's a crime that downtown SF locations such as this can still have above ground utilities.

Hey, those look like the dorms I lived in in college!

Hopefully each floor has a TV lounge. :)

curmudgeon: Not all of those wires could be removed. Some of those wires belong to the 6-Parnassus and the 7-Haight, electric trolley lines.

How SF...bland and unobtrusive.

I don't have a problem with the trolley wires. I would have a problem looking out my window at a crappy old utility pole bulging with wires. And that's the view that you get all the way up to the fifth floor in some locations.

etslee. i would disagree on the unobtrusive part. i can't believe how small the curb is on gough. and with 7 stories and no shrinkage of the footprint as it goes up, the building feels like it's literally hanging over you if you walk by it. i don't know how it's allowed. didn't they figure out these things when they built the empire state building?

The setbacks do seem wrong. Instead of allowing for just a tiny bit of landscaping and decoration the building is right up to the sidewalk and then hovers over it. If it were limited to around four stories then maybe, but allowing eight floors of that right on the street is too much. This is an example of how simplistic embrace of density and the street can be unpleasantly smothering.

Putting the building, or even just a part of the building, back a little bit from the side walk and stepping back just a tiny bit every two to four floors would make a world of difference without giving up more than a few thousand square feet or so. That could also help with vandalism since right now the walls are essentially places to post or paint messages.

Maybe architects nowadays spend too much time being high powered office superheroes serving the super rich and not enough time outside in actual communities with street life? Maybe this is just the simple result of optimizing construction value given the current guidelines? It seems like the one thing missing from all of this is an inspired builder. Speculators dominate construction and so everything ends up aimed at the lowest common denominator.

I'm not sure what your college dorm looked like but mine didn't have big windows nor tie a historic stable building into the exterior facade. I think its a pretty hot looking building. Not Ferrari hot but definitely 7 series hot.

not sure but i hardly think a 100+ condominium building can be thought of as speculation. i heard the building was entitled back in early 2000's.

I agree with Moleman. It seems that we just don't learn in this city. Just a little more restraint would have made it a much friendly building for pedestrians. The Market Octavia plan is supposed to encourage that, but sometimes it seems that we allow building density to trump all.

Blah ... I like my neighborhood's (Rincon Hill) high-rises better.

It's greed. The developer obviously is trying to squeeze every single sqft out of the land by not providing a pedestrian friendly sidewalk.
Infinity on the other hand has a much wider setback than most new buildings. They are providing 15-20 ft. wide sidewalks on Folsom, Main, and Spear St with trees lining the middle. Now that's what I call a generous setback...

Dark Shadow Architecture

Tree and Sunshine killer,
our speciality,
Barnabas Architect AIA

"Sucking the soul out of the city,
one lot at a time."

Its pretty much what is expected of Heller Manus especially when they don't partner with another quality firm like Arquitectonica or KPF. Hopefully the stone wall facade near the sidewalk will save this project a little bit. On the positive, its great to have some infill housing near downtown and transit. I am convinced this city can still do better though.

missionbayres - agreed Infinity is doing a better job of things but I think sidewalk width is a product of neighborhood development plans rather than the generosity of developers :-)

are there ever any positive comments from any of you people on any aspect of living in SF? I have never seen so much negativity on one site about SF. Sure developers wanna make money, our politicians can't make any decisions due to the diverse crowd in this town and the economy sucks around the rest of the country. go out and make changes in this City that you live in and stop whining about it.....geeze!

FYI, Vinnie is the favorite sweathog from "Welcome Back Kotter"!

There are plenty of positive comments on this site. There are just a lot of people who care passionately about the public realm of our city, and making sure that new buildings do the best they can do to add to, rather than detract from, a liveable city. It is easy to criticize new projects like this one, because it has generally good intentions in several areas.

And I love the comparison of Heller Manus to Barbabus Collins. So apt....

Vinnie, this is not Stockton or Van Nuys. This is San Francisco, one of the most amazing and most expensive urban theme parks in the world. And it is natural for us to expect MORE from a city that charges so much to "enjoy". When I was youngish, I was an architect at WDI (Walt Disney Imagineering) and you should have heard the howls when certain junk was added to the parks. WHY? Because for many Disney guests, the parks were special and unique, and they desired new attractions and ideas, but wanted them to uphold the standards that were set when "Walt" was alive.
Is it too much to ask that new projects try to do more than just add density? Can't we ask that they actually improove the city as well?

super 8 here i come..i jsut hope it has super 8 prices. I will step out on a limb and say this is the most boring design that socketsite has ever featured. i don't think it is the ugliest or worst design, just the most boring.

kind of reminds me of a condominium's representation of cubicle land, if that makes sense

Actually, I don't think it is that bad. The ground floor will be stores. Use some nice two-tone colors, and it will be a ped-friendly block.

Of course it looks boring right now. All properties look boring before they get the color coat.

The usual naysayers are out I see. Architecture is subjective - and I'll leave it at that. The Gough sidewalk is tight - they really did attempt to squeeze every inch they could in terms of the building footprint. I'm in contract on a 1/1 there and they are still between 60-70% sold. They are getting increased interest from foreign buyers as the dollar keeps tanking.

Jamie - I like Rincon Hill too but I like walking to Symphony, Opera and Hayes Street even more ;)

I expect first move ins at 55 Page to be in February. I expect to be in by end of May, depending on when my place in San Leandro sells. Wish me luck - I'm going to need it.

I guess I should say here that every building does not need to be flashy and significant. A building of this scale can be a "background" building and simply fit comfortably into the neighborhood. "Boring" isn't so much a problem for me in this context. (It is with 1 Rincon but that's another thread). But I continue to think this building abuses it's relation with the street, and with just a little more finesse (and yes, lack of greed to maximize interior space) could have been wonderful.

And yes, retail will help. But wouldn't it be nice to perhaps have space for tables on the the sidewalk, or a little landscaping to Not possible with this design.

If this building is so great I'm a little surprised it's taken two years to sell 60%. It's not that big of a building...

Anyone know what the units cost? Just curious.

My wife and I did the hardhat tour of The Hayes after considering it for some time. For the price, the units are very small. I'm sure the finishes will be nice and the location is of course handy in its proximity to Hayes shopping and the Muni but, given the market conditions, I'm really surprised they've not dropped the prices more.

In a bit of nice timing, interest rates dipped last week right as we bought an older unit in Duboce Triangle instead.

Snark,

Current listings out on MLS and Movoto include:
Studio at $470,000
1/1 at $675,000
2/2 from $839,000

30 day notices went out today.

Wow ! What an awsome building. I took a hard hat tour and loved the units. Better buy quickly before they are gone !

Last time I checked, they are just about sold out.

[Editor's Note: As far as we know there hasn't been much movement from the 60% sold we reported at the end of January.]

Oh puhlease hayesbuyer, you are such a plant for this hideous building... I didn't think anything could be uglier than the new pink condos next to the federal building, but this definitely is! About the only good thing I can say about it is that it adds some housing to the area and replaces a parking lot. Building's like this however are what makes SF'ers even more NIMBY and change-averse than they already are.

Misinformation abounding I see. And I would not enjoy seeing what hayesbuyerisaliar thinks is not ugly. 55 Page is not an architectural masterpiece (that would be the Transamerica Pyramid or City Hall) but it is tastefully executed modern urban high end residential housing. Feel free to argue with my army of architect friends if you disagree.

1. The above photo does not accurately reflect the actual color of the bulding at 55 Page, which often happens with media transfer to the web. In natural light it is deeper in the green/moss palette and less gray/slate looking - there is also more color contrast than the photo indicates.
2. The building is between 60-70% sold, and move ins have begun.
3. The final sidewalks, which are now in place, give better spacing between the building and Gough Street. There will be trees on Page and Gough from what I saw at my walkthrough.
4. The lobby is stunning. It felt like entering a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton hotel. Elegant and unobtrusive. Not every building has to scream - sleek and stylish works great for me. Give me 55 Page over the new SOMA high rises any day. Different buildings for different folks.